Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Even though this banquet was held in Argenta's territory, it wasn't a banquet where Argenta was the sole protagonist.
It was a meeting of the three families, after all.
Therefore, as the atmosphere of the banquet ripened, people began to talk to those they hadn't seen in a long time.
Of course, there were personal stories, but most of the conversations were to probe the other families.
That was the same regardless of status, whether they were members of the three families or servants.
"This time in Argenta..."
"Did you hear what happened in the desert?"
"You look darker than when I saw you last time."
Amidst the friendly yet sharp words, I took advantage of the moment when the attention on us had lessened to poke Dielo.
"Really, you seemed sincere. Just now."
When he was angry.
At my words, Dielo looked down at me.
"Of course, I'm sincere."
As he said that, his gaze swept over the people around us while smiling.
Ah, is he being careful because it's a banquet hall?
Well, since we don't know where other people's eyes and ears are, it seemed wise to be careful even if only the two of us were together.
"Okay."
I nodded.
But even so, I had to ask this.
—Clink.
The jewels on my dress made a clear sound as they brushed against his clothes.
When we were so close, I whispered.
"But getting angry like that might make people more aware of Dielo."
If they know you're someone who can get so angry, they might not let their guard down around you.
It was a very small whisper.
But Dielo seemed to have heard it clearly as he turned to me.
Looking into his blue eyes, I continued.
"It was unlike Dielo to get angry like that."
To the point that even I was surprised.
Like he was genuinely angry.
"..."
Dielo, who seemed about to answer, remained silent.
'Your eyes are pretty. Like the sea.'
I remembered what he had said when I told him that his clear blue eyes were like the sea sparkling in the sunlight.
'The sea from afar, yes.'
I don't know why it came to mind now.
Was it because his eyes seemed a little darker, perhaps due to the shadows?
'Do you know how long the priest was bedridden after using the Source?'
I remembered his face when he said that. His face, which had been coldly frozen.
...Was he serious?
Just as I was starting to get confused, Dielo smiled gently.
He handed me a glass that he had refilled, saying,
"Did you say it was unlike me?"
"...I suppose so."
I replied softly, and as our glasses clinked, he whispered.
"Then let's do this."
He tilted his glass and whispered in a low, ticklish voice.
"I'll be so madly in love with you that I lose my mind."
A faint smile was visible in his eyes.
He quietly put down his glass, and his arm wrapped around me, pulling me closer.
"To the point where I can't see anything, even in a place like this."
I thought a sweet scent scattered near my lips.
At that moment, he kissed the tip of my nose.
"To the point where I become daring, unlike Dielo."
After whispering that, his lips briefly landed on my upper lip, completely taking my breath away.
Thud, the glass I was holding fell without me realizing it.
—Clatter.
Dielo skillfully caught the glass and delved deeper into me.
It's acting. It must be acting.
But it felt like I was getting drunk on something hotter than alcohol.
After the banquet ended, Duke Alroze returned to the room assigned to him.
His eldest son, Pentas Alroze, followed him in.
He was frowning.
—Thump.
The door closed, and Duke Alroze turned to look at his son.
His voice echoed in the room where they were alone.
"Did you feel it too?"
"Yes, Father."
Pentas nodded.
They definitely felt it.
Of course, they hadn't examined Dielo Argenta's body directly, so they couldn't be sure, but the Lily's energy had definitely decreased.
Moreover, Dielo Argenta's fidgeting, as if he were handling a delicate sculpture!
Duke Alroze's serious expression gradually eased, and soon his face began to fill with joy.
"Krua, she succeeded."
She finally succeeded! In seducing Dielo!
"Now that the Lily has begun to disappear, it's only a matter of time before Dielo Argenta fails to awaken properly."
Pentas Alroze said with a sneer.
The relationship between the three Duke families couldn't be said to be good, but Alloze and Argenta were particularly bad.
Perhaps because they controlled opposing attributes of water and fire, they had historically clashed in opposing positions.
That gradually became a family feud, and soon they were busy slandering and comparing each other.
And the previous Duke Argenta openly ignored Alloze.
'Those who claim to be strategists but can only come up with petty tricks.'
He had said that even at a meeting where fighting was prohibited, so there was no need to say how deep the emotional rift between the two families was.
But.
"That bastard is dead, and I'm alive."
Duke Alroze smirked.
The previous Duke Argenta, who had ridiculed him, had died because of his scheme.
Even with the stigma that the heads of the three Duke families, who were said to have transcended the realm of humans, had died in a mere carriage accident.
Duke Alroze laughed coldly.
"Argenta will end in this generation."
If they killed all those who inherited Argenta's blood, they would be able to obtain the 'essence of Argenta's Power.'
If an Alloze person were to take it, the strongest family head who could control both water and fire would be born.
In that case, pushing aside Siete Kartiel, who was considered the strongest of all time, would be a piece of cake.
"But..."
There was something a little unsettling.
That was why his expression had been bad since earlier.
Pentas Alroze seemed to be thinking the same thing as he opened his mouth.
"Even if she used the Source's power, could Krua have stopped the sea monster?"
The Krua Alroze they knew was a useless person who couldn't even move the water in a teacup properly and often spilled it.
"It depends on how much of the Source she drew out."
The monster that appeared in Kartiel this time was so strong that Siete would have struggled if Pero hadn't been there.
Dielo defeated a monster similar to that but with a different attribute, alone?
That didn't make sense.
No matter how much Krua helped, it was impossible.
What difference would it make if that trash who couldn't even handle dishwater joined forces?
Kartiel seemed to believe that Dielo had somehow dealt with it using the power he awakened as his Lily disappeared, but Duke Alroze couldn't believe it.
"Just how much of the Source did she use?"
Pentas Alroze muttered.
The two had clearly seen the bandages wrapped around Krua's hands, but they couldn't know how deep the wound was, so they couldn't help but wonder.
In the end, Duke Alroze pulled the strings.
"Did you call?"
Then he ordered the Alloze assassin who entered the room.
"Ask Krua directly how much of the Source she used regarding the incident where she used the Source."
"Understood."
The assassin disappeared silently from the spot.
Meanwhile, Pentas Alroze said.
"I need to check how much of Dielo Argenta's Lily has disappeared."
As expected, Pentas Alroze had inherited the suspicious blood of Alloze.
"Hmm, are you going to ask Krua?"
No matter how much Krua Alroze was a puppet moving according to plan, they couldn't trust all the information she gave.
Especially important matters like how much the Lily had disappeared and how uncertain Dielo Argenta's future had become.
"No, I can't trust her considering what she used to do when she was at the mansion."
Pentas Alroze frowned.
Krua Alroze.
A stupid woman who only brandished her status and ran wild with her mouth, despite having weak Water Manipulation Ability.
Could she be lying about the progress to gain their trust on purpose?
"Then how do you plan to find out?"
At Duke Alroze's words, Pentas Alroze smiled viciously.
"Wouldn't it be possible to find out by undressing Dielo Argenta?"
And some time later.
Dielo's formal attire came into the hands of the assassins of the Alloze ducal family.
