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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Stay
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When they returned to their quarters, Romeo, who had already made himself at home, greeted them.
“What's this? Where have you two been?”
“An after-dinner walk.”
Calix replied curtly. Romeo glanced at Lellia, his eyes asking, *Did you succeed?*
“I did. But...”
“But what?”
“It looks like I'll have to stay in the palace a little longer.”
“Really? That's fine. We were planning to stay here until Griffith and Oscar get back anyway.”
Romeo didn't even ask why, simply accepting her words as he turned his attention to a magazine on the table.
“Why?”
The question came from Calix. He plopped down in the seat across from Romeo and stared at Lellia, his gaze tinged with displeasure.
“...The truth is, Leo asked something of me when we were children. It seems I'll need a bit more time to fulfill his request.”
“...”
Calix’s brow furrowed.
As Lellia approached the table where the two sat, she suddenly noticed something and froze.
“...!”
[-100]
*What the...?*
Calix's affinity, which had been in the positive, had suddenly plummeted into the negatives.
*But why?*
Feeling bewildered, Lellia approached and took a seat diagonal to them.
*What did I even do?*
On a hunch, she checked the quest window and saw that Calix’s quest was grayed out.
The quest required her to raise his affinity by [+10], but it seemed to have been deactivated now that it had dropped into the negatives.
Quests only appeared when affinity was positive, after all.
Lellia wanted to scream in frustration, but she held it in and looked at Calix.
*What in the world is the reason?*
“Are... are you angry?”
“I am. No matter how I look at you, you look just like Leo.”
“...!”
Lellia froze, feeling as if she’d been struck by lightning.
Romeo, however, asked indifferently.
“What are you talking about?”
“...If Leo had lived, this is what he would've looked like. He was always scrawny like this one.”
“So what?”
“Is it the hair? It makes the resemblance even stronger. It feels like Leo's right here beside me... so you'd better watch yourself.”
Calix warned, pointing a finger at Lellia. Romeo, looking incredulous, came to her defense.
“What's he done to get you so worked up? You said you'd look after him like a little brother. Is picking on him how you show you care?”
“No! This guy was laying it on thick with the princess earlier.”
“What?”
Lellia's tension broke at Calix’s ridiculous accusation, and she let out the breath she’d been holding.
*That was a close call...*
I really thought he'd found me out.
But still, hitting on her? And laying it on thick...?
“Do you know what he did? He kissed the back of her hand, gave her this intense look, and said... ‘Raymond Levester.’”
As Calix said, “Raymond Levester,” he deepened his voice.
Lellia's voice couldn't go that low in the first place.
She had no idea who he was trying to imitate.
“You. You look just like Leo, so don't you go hitting on anyone. Got it?”
Lellia nodded dazedly. She had no idea what had upset him or what he meant by that warning.
Calix had always been difficult to understand, so Lellia decided to just be relieved she hadn't been found out.
Romeo, however, found Calix's impression hilarious and clutched his stomach, laughing for a good while.
*Still...*
Lellia narrowed her eyes at Calix and Romeo.
*Why aren't you two leaving...?*
Recalling her childhood days at the temple, Lellia’s shoulders slumped in exhaustion.
Fortunately, unlike in their childhood, the two left before Lellia had to ask them to.
It seemed they took their leave on their own, knowing she was a woman.
Once alone, Lellia locked the door and headed for the bathroom.
She knew she was alone, but perhaps because she was hiding her gender, she felt needlessly wary of her surroundings.
Before undressing, she glanced in the mirror, and the looks Yuriana and her ladies-in-waiting had given her came to mind.
*...To think I'd end up kissing Yuriana's hand.*
It left a strange taste in her mouth. Yuriana, of all people, acting shy around her.
It wasn't just Yuriana; the ladies-in-waiting behind her were the same.
With eyes full of excitement, as if spotting delectable prey, the ladies-in-waiting had practically snorted as they raked their gazes over Lellia.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, no one seemed to doubt she was a man.
On the contrary, their expressions were closer to ones of romantic interest.
*...Do I really look like a man?*
It was a strangely unpleasant feeling.
She peered into the mirror, tracing her jawline and examining her reflection from every angle.
No matter how she looked at it, her jaw and the line of her neck all seemed feminine.
*Well, it's better than raising suspicion.*
Lellia dismissed the thought and began to wash.
She didn't know it, but what Lute had said was true.
The most popular type of man among the young noble ladies of the capital was the "beautiful, pretty boy."
Just like Lellia in her male disguise.
This phenomenon was due to a painter named "Donatelli," who had recently become the most prominent artist in the capital.
Donatelli had always been a promising artist, but after suddenly vanishing, he had reappeared with a style of painting never seen before.
Many nobles were fond of his work, so everyone eagerly awaited his new pieces.
However, the paintings he produced were not the grand mythological scenes most highly acclaimed in the art world at the time.
They were portraits of beautiful young men, their features so delicate they could almost be mistaken for women.
Noblemen condemned the art as "decadent trash painted by a perverted pederast," but noblewomen swooned.
Though the reaction was mixed, the painter's "portraits of handsome men" sold like hotcakes to the young noble ladies of the capital.
There were even rumors that some noblemen secretly collected his paintings as well.
They were so popular, in fact, that even reproductions were impossible to keep in stock.
As a result, many aspiring painters began to produce similar art to make money.
However, the men in the paintings were so impossibly beautiful that they sparked much debate, as no one like them had ever been seen in real life.
Some noblemen went so far as to shave their beards, lose weight, and even shed muscle in an attempt to emulate the "portraits of handsome men."
But in the eyes of the noblewomen, their efforts were merely pitiful.
For this reason, Yuriana and her ladies-in-waiting had looked at Lellia with sparkling eyes.
Romeo, too, was as handsome as a painting, but he was tall and well-built, exuding a strong masculine air.
In that sense, Lellia in her male disguise was a perfect match for their tastes.
Lellia, never imagining such a reason, washed up in the empty bathroom, still glancing around cautiously.
As she lay down in bed, a strange feeling washed over her.
*To think I'd be sleeping in the imperial palace again.*
Her family in the Superion duchy would be terribly worried if they knew.
*I have to find the sacred relic as quickly as possible and go back.*
But when she recalled the way Lute had glared at her like an enemy, she sighed.
*A sub-quest... I don't want to do it.*
But some things had to be done, whether one wanted to or not. For Lellia, this quest was one of them.
The sacred relic and the shop system were too important for her future to give up.
And while finding the relic and confessing the truth to her friends was important, the affairs of the duchy were even more pressing.
The deaths of her grandfather and uncles, her aunt's misfortune, and the Superion duchy eventually falling under the sway of its vassals.
She had to prevent it all.
*I wonder if Uncle Carius made it back safely.*
She had asked Romeo to find out, and he'd reported that Carius had returned to the duchy the very day he arrived in the capital.
They had just missed each other.
*I wanted to at least say a few words to him.*
Still, he had looked healthy and uninjured when she saw him in the procession.
With all these thoughts running through her mind, Lellia couldn't sleep until dawn, only closing her eyes as the sun began to rise.
Perhaps because she had fallen asleep so tense, Lellia awoke early.
The clear sound of birdsong drifted in from outside the window.
Listening to the sound, she washed up, then picked at the food a servant brought before heading to the wardrobe.
*Come to think of it, I barely have any men's clothes...*
That was only natural, since she had originally planned to find the ingredients at the cabin and leave the palace immediately.
But to complete the sub-quest and obtain Lute's sacred relic, she would have to remain in the palace for some time.
*First things first, I need to buy some clothes.*
With that thought, Lellia put on her only other set of clothes and took her time tying the cravat.
Afterward, she went to find Romeo's quarters.
She planned to ask Romeo to accompany her to a men's tailor to help her pick out some clothes.
Romeo was always dressed in flamboyant attire.
At the very least, his fashion sense had to be better than that of Calix, who only ever wore dark colors.
