Chapter 27

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, that’s not… “

“You must be feeling sick.”

How did you know that? I don’t think you can read minds- did someone notice that I threw up?

I’d never done it in front of someone else before, but I should be more careful next time.

“Well, actually, I ate too much greasy food this morning…”

“It makes sense since you ate with Brother, but you definitely need to increase the amount you eat. I asked the maid to serve you some dandelion tea, so please have some.”

Ah, nice. I’m scared to death of these siblings. Then again, if I complained, they would be irritated.

“For the time being, you’ll be having lunch with Brother every day. Keep that in mind.”

Oh, no, wait a minute. Beautiful sister-in-law, what was this all of a sudden? I thought we decided on no new type of tortures in the morning!

“B-But he’s busy…”

“Paladins, who pretend to be busy all the time, never skip meals. Don’t worry, he’s a picky eater, so he won’t be taking Ruby to a cheap inn.”

I see. Should I be relieved? I wanted to ask if I could eat with Ellen, but I put up with it because it was a very contradictory act for my role as a fan.

Of course, it was not a bad thing. It was rather really good. Even if I didn’t follow him around like a stalker, I’d have more natural chances to meet him every day. But why did I feel like a chick being dragged to a slaughterhouse?

“Oh, I heard that you have been interacting with Ari lately.”

“Ah, that’s…”

“I think it would be okay for you to visit the palace soon. I’m sure she’ll love it.”

“Are you sure that’s fine?” When I asked that carefully, Ellenia’s red eyes fluttered.

“If that’s what Ruby wants to do. It’s not something you need my permission to ask. You can pick a day and come with me.”

“With Ellen? Really?”

“……yes, if you don’t feel uncomfortable.”

What were these siblings up to today? If I went with Ellenia, the queen may feel a little uncomfortable, but the Princess would be happy.

After getting ready, I had some time left, so I started making bouquets by myself in the garden.

I was visiting the temple right after my first night.

Of course, I didn’t have a proper early night nor did I come here to make a point, but I felt somewhat awkward.

Sheesh, I’m sure I’ll lose track of it sooner or later.

With a dark heart, I followed the messenger and entered the sacred temple. I didn’t know what the inside looked like because I had only been in and out of the practice area, but when on a closer look, it was all black marble.

It was astounding that no one got depressed when the weather was gloomy all day, and even the decorations of the temple were dreary.

According to my memory, the priests of Elendale were much more faithful than the priests of Romagna, where even Satan would tremble, perhaps because they were active in a land infested with demons.

However, it was not their faithfulness that brought benevolence and forgiveness, but the faithfulness of the Inquisitors.

Their relationship among the Paladins, the majority of whom were proud nobles, was also subtle, so it was more like they were companions, rather than any competition.

The denomination of the Northern Paladins, which was rare elsewhere, also played a part in that.

The Longinus Knights, to which Izek belonged, were guardians of the temple and also a special unit that followed the king’s secret orders. In short, he was in a complicated position, and so, the conflict between the Britannia royal family and the temple couldn’t be avoided. No one knew which side to stick to.

“Oh, my lady?”

As I was walking around thinking about everything, I was startled by this sudden exclamation. A hall that looked like a resting area with stained glass, barely caught my attention.

The unwanted figure of the person I didn’t wish to see came into view. No, why was she here?

“I heard you’re going to visit the temple today. I’m so glad to see you.” Freya, who greeted me with a smile, looked like a goddess shining alone inside this grim and gloomy temple.

Ha, I feel this every time I see it, but she was a beauty that would melt anyone’s heart. This was the cheat of being the main character’s childhood friend. Anyway, I guessed that Izek and her talked about stopping by the temple. When had they met, though?

“Oh, haha, nice to meet you. What’s your business here, Lady Freya?”

“My uncle is the archbishop here. I stopped by with my sister to see her uncle and have lunch together.”

Her uncle? I didn’t know that. The men sitting at the back glanced at me, and then at Freya, who was smiling. Of course, they weren’t friendly gazes.

Lorenzo and other fellow trainees were there.

Andymion wasn’t present. That fact somehow felt fortunate. Tsk, if they played around like this, did that mean Lord Ivan left them alone? Well, since they were all nobles, they seemed to have their meals alone unless they were in an emergency.

“Lorenzo, why aren’t you saying hello? I guess everyone’s fascinated by your beauty?” In the face of Freya’s hand gestures, surprisingly, the boys sitting at a distance stood up.

Huh?

“You’re late.”

…Aha, yes, of course. That b*stard just showed up and everyone acted disciplined.

I looked back with a big grin on my face. Izek was the same as I saw him this morning… Slightly less brutal than he was before, maybe.

He closed the bottle cap and looked arrogantly at me.

This arrogant man. What did he do to sweat so much again?

“I’m sorry. Have you been waiting long?”

“No. I just arrived.”

You just told me I was late. Are you being sarcastic again?

“What is that?”

Hmm? I blinked and looked down at my hand. A colourful bouquet.

“I made this with Ellen for you in the garden earlier.”

In fact, Elenia did most of it. I was just observing, but it was fine to exaggerate this much, right?

“With Ellen?”

“Do you like it?”

I quickly lifted the bouquet of flowers so that he wouldn’t say anything else. That arrogant husband of mine, of course, criticized me with a look of disapproval.

“Your hands are a mess.”

“Hehe, that’s because my favorite flower was near a thorny plant…”

Will it kill you to just let me in? Huh? You son of a b*tch!

My face as a noble lady in the presence of my enemies and brats was somewhat fading, damn it.

“Hey, Iz… How can you be so blunt to your cute wife?”

“What are you doing here?”

“I came here to see my uncle. I called my brother, so don’t scold him for fooling around okay?”

“You seem to know that he fools around.”

“Ah, I’m thirsty. Can I drink your water?”

“You always try to steal my drink.”

“You’re too stingy with water.”

What a pleasant conversation. If I wasn’t there, it’d be perfect.

Hahaha. It’s okay, I’m used to this feeling.

Besides, Freya… was important enough to be present in this, no matter what she did to me.

Haa. Was there any way I could beat her? If she hadn’t touched me, I wouldn’t have thought about this. But if she left me alone in the future…

“By the way, Iz, my brother said he had something to tell your wife.”

“What?”

“My lady, I heard the other day that my brother had committed a great disrespect to you. Thanks to that, he made a fuss. I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize properly, would that be all right?”

Ah, that damn song he sang before?

“What do you mean by disrespect? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” When I asked, smiling brightly like an idiot, Lorenzo raised his eyebrows. He looked like he wanted to squint his eyes.

Freya opened her eyes wide for a moment but soon smiled coolly again, “You’re so generous. But you don’t have to hide your frustration. Because everyone knows it’s wrong. I was saddened because I thought you should have told me if you were upset.”

Did she have to stress on that? She was different from me who talked about this, in front of others, on purpose.

Yes, he was a jerk. What should I do? He could have apologized earlier, but he just had to do it now… If she had explained what happened late at the horseback riding meeting, I wouldn’t have thought of this twisted plot. Well, it can’t be helped now, because I’m just like this.

Don’t interfere with my way to safety, people.

“Your brother didn’t hurt me at all. When I first saw him, he teased me a bit, but that kind of joke is normal. I rather thought he was being pretty friendly.”

“My lady…” Freya’s lips began to twitch slightly.

I know, I understand. But my husband is watching. I have to look as harmless as possible. I shouldn’t look like a victim of vile jokes, as you intend. I have to appear as a naive idiot who forgets things like that in no time…

“My lady,” Lorenzo stepped forward, apparently judging that I would never let it slide.

Yes, I guess you were ashamed to hide behind your sister. But can you take a few steps back? I’m suffocating because of the animosity you hold for me.

“The other day, I… “

“Lorenzo.”

We all flinched at the cold voice.

Lorenzo, who turned around to look at Izek, immediately stepped back. Ah, this man… Why was the atmosphere suddenly heavy again? Or was I being too bright?

Was this mean guy misunderstanding that I was playing hard to get even with kids? Ugh, that’s just sad.

“Ahahaha, I’ve forgotten everything, so don’t worry about it…”

“Your complexion doesn’t look good.”

My husband cut off my words, as I rushed to reply. It seemed that my facial expressions were a mess. No, I was babbling too much.

It had been a long time since I threw up, and I was feeling a little dizzy, but the bad intentions of his friend and her brother were more deadly than that.