Translator: Khan

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

So Isis felt uneasy by the unsettled anxiety and her eyes followed the disappearing man. It was the same with Oscar by her side. Isis hurriedly grabbed Mielle's wrist who was following Lohan into the mansion with a slight smile.

"I need to talk to you for a minute."

"What can I do for you?"

Isis had no time to care about her colder attitude, unlike when Mielle had left for Croa. Isis, who had taken her to a place where people were scarce, asked about the man who had just disappeared. She sounded impatient.

"Who was the man who just left?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"The man who asked for the permission of His Majesty and left the house!"

At Mielle who asked back not knowing anything, she raised her voice. Mielle replied casually as if she knew it,

"I don't know. He suddenly joined in the middle, and I haven't seen his face properly. I heard that he is the heir of a family... He seemed not to be an important person. I hardly saw him when we came to the cities in the middle, and I didn't care."

'How stupid!' Isis gritted her teeth and asked again, "… didn't you really see his face? Can't you think of anyone?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Yes, I don't know. Is that all you're wondering about? I'll go back to His Majesty; he may look for me."

"Ha…!"

No matter how young she was and didn't know the world, she was a woman who had a lot of learning among the nobles, but she was so stupid! Nonetheless, she didn't check his face. If he had joined them in the middle, he must have had some reason to do that. Isis hurried after Mielle.

As if he was watching this, Oscar followed her and asked,

"… who did she say, sister?"

"She said she didn't know."

Oscar frowned at the answer, and Isis hurried on, saying that it might be easier to ask Lohan directly. But before she asked it, Isis's body stiffened as she entered the lounge with the shocking words of Rohan.

"I don't have time, so it would be nice to recapture the Imperial Castle tomorrow."

"… tomorrow?"

"Yes, the morale of the soldiers is enough, thanks to your hard work, and you don't have to spend your time and money anymore. The preparation is perfect."

Indeed, a considerable amount of money had been spent, the Duke and the Duchess affirmed and had no further rebuttals, and Isis, who was about to ask if it was too hasty, also shut her mouth.

"So I think we should go out for dinner tonight, because we'll be busy tomorrow. How about enjoying the last dinner, Lady Isis?"

Isis asked back, surprised at the arrow that had suddenly returned to her.

"… alone with me?"

"Yes, I want to eat with you. We are going to be married, but we've never spent time together."

It was a suggestion she had never received from the Crown Prince who she had never experienced in a long time, so Isis nodded with a strange feeling.

"Then I shall work for tomorrow by evening, and first I ask you to give the Count of Keast the list of the places where the soldiers stay because he is in charge of the planning for tomorrow."

"Yes, I'll order it right away."

"And Lady Isis, you have to re-examine and make a summary of the terms and conditions, so I would like you to bring the letters and documents that we have exchanged, and collect the expenditure documents I have previously instructed. I think it's time to pay."

"Yes, yes..."

Isis replied with excitement, as Lohan finally said with a trustworthy face that he was going to deal with the problem that she had had in the meanwhile. Because of that, she sent her men to the houses of her nobles to collect all the papers, letters, expenditure documents, and carefully examined them as they handed them over to Lohan.

Of course, in preparation for the situation, Lohan would pretend not to know as she had last visited Croa, she got his signature on the documents that contained all the details of his promises and the documents she had submitted.

A smile came to Lohan's face when he saw them. "All right, perfect. There's no flaw. Lady Isis is smart and intelligent, as expected."

"... thank you, Your Majesty."

Isis said, blushing a little, to Lohan, who smiled and praised her as he was very satisfied with the documents. Recently, as she had heard only scolding and dissatisfaction, she was very excited by the praise and recognition that she heard in a long time.

Lohan, who stared at such Isis for a while with a smile still on his face, stood up from his seat, saying that it would be better to have dinner now.

"I already booked it for you. There is a restaurant I know very well."

"…did Your Majesty do it by yourself? Have you ever visited the empire?"

"Of course. I came quite often until my father died. I have an acquaintance here. It's where he often goes."

'Does he have a friend in the empire?' She wondered, but she didn't have a close relationship to ask who it was, so she just nodded and listened to him.

"Then let's leave. For the last supper for tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Majesty Lohan."

She put her hand over Lohan's hand as he held it out, and she gently laughed at him. The steps to the last supper were light.

* * *

Aria took a sip of warm tea while admiring the snowy landscape. Tomorrow was an important day, and this evening she had an appointment with Asher, so she was about to take a break.

So she tried to read a book for the rest of the time while waiting for Asher after all the dresses, but she couldn't do it because of the words he had uttered and expressions he had had. It had already been a while, but Aria smiled at her mouth and thought.

"… Though I was played on by others, I used to be a terrible wicked woman, and I hid myself to avoid repeating the foolish past that I was wielded by Mielle… Maybe you are being deceived."

She confessed that she had been a wicked woman, making him feel sorry for her as possible, as she thought he would understand her poor side. And he reacted as she had expected. He grasped her hands with a sad face as if he had been hard-pressed.

"It doesn't matter who you were. It doesn't matter what the past was. Just stay by my side. So please don't blame yourself…"

'How can I remember his face holding on to my hand and asking for it?' It was as if he was going to offer his everything if she did that.

Her fingertips shuddered in the love that he looked at only her. Honey and sugar-free tea were sweet. She was more than happy when her mother had said that she would marry the Count and told her that she no longer had to live a miserable life. She reminded her of his eager expression, which she had never ceased to recall many times, and someone knocked on the door and interrupted her rest.

"Who is it?"

"Aria, are you okay for a moment?"

"Mother…?"

It was the Countess who had been busy preparing and going out in the daytime.

It seemed that she had come back after work. When she answered her to come in, her mother, who was beautifully decorated, came in, reading her complexion. Aria was afraid that something had happened rather than feeling bad as she was interrupted in the pleasant recollection, so she hurried to ask her,

"Anything wrong with you?"

"…Huh? Oh, no. Nothing happened. It's always the same."

And her mother had quite an intense reaction at a simple question, and it made her worry even deeper. It was clear that something happened. Aria noticed that she didn't seem to tell her even if she asked it straight, so she recommended tea.

"Please sit down. It's cold, so you'd better have a warm tea."

"… Shall I?"

As she sat down on the other side without refusing, Aria was once again convinced that her mother had something to say to her. After she had Jessie bring a new tea, Aria tried to ask her mother what she was hiding, looking at the atmosphere for a while, but her mother suddenly asked her an unexpected question,

"Aria, what do you think if you have a father?"

"… yes?"

'Father? If it is a father, I have one now.' He was a father who couldn't control his body but was useless; anyway, nominally he existed.