Chapter 9
Episode 09
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In practice, even knowing it's not genuine, the strange atmosphere engulfs me, perhaps because we're on the bed.
"Krua Alloze."
Dielo called my name again.
"Why do you add Alloze? It feels distant."
I'm Argenta now, not Alloze.
I struggled to erase the strange sensation on my fingertip and spoke again.
"Try saying Krua, Dielo."
He used to say it just fine, but I don't know why he's so awkward now.
At my words, Dielo mumbled a few times before saying softly.
"...Krua."
Perhaps it was the dim lighting and the slight intoxication, or maybe the sweet scent of the wine.
His voice sounded as sweet as if it were from a newlywed couple's night.
"Good. You pass."
I removed my hand from his lips.
The strange sensation seemed to linger on my fingertips.
I felt like I might blush, so I subtly turned to lie on my back, facing the ceiling.
"As promised, I won't try to seduce you. Instead, we have to spend the night together so it doesn't look strange. Like tonight."
Even doing this kind of practice. I held his hand tightly.
"I suppose we do."
Dielo replied in a soft voice, drawing closer to me.
He was still looking at me, his breath touching my neck, tickling me.
It's more stimulating than before.
...Eventually, I turned back to him. Then I realized something important.
"Ah."
Even if it's a promised first night, there was something I had to do, just in case.
I turned my body completely towards Dielo.
"Instead, I have a request."
As practice.
"What...?"
I whispered to him as he tilted his head.
My little plan.
"...!"
Dielo looked at me with wide eyes after hearing my plan.
"Are you really sure about this, Krua?"
I nodded willingly at his words. Still, Dielo seemed a little conflicted.
But I had to carry out this 'plan' no matter what.
So I whispered even more earnestly.
"I heard there's a saying in Argenta, Dielo."
I held out my hand.
"'Do, or do not.'"
Dielo's eyes widened slightly at my words. I even nodded.
"So if we're going to do it, let's do it properly."
As soon as I finished speaking, Dielo seemed to have given up his hesitation. He let out a short breath and finally nodded.
Then he gently pushed my shoulders and climbed on top of me.
My vision was instantly obscured by shadows as I was trapped between his arms.
* * *
After the first night.
Acting out a honeymoon filled with sweetness wasn't difficult.
Above all, Dielo Argenta himself was a kind person from the start.
I only had to be a little more proactive in matching his behavior, so the acting wasn't difficult.
"The peacefulness is nice in its own way."
When I said that and leaned on him, Dielo, blushing, would embrace me, looking just like a shy groom.
Besides, it was as if he had made a firm resolution after the first night.
—Kiss.
Even the gentle kiss on my forehead.
He was becoming more and more skilled at acting.
The Argenta people began to expect more and more.
Once we had spent three full nights together and Dielo's Lily disappeared, they would receive the power that bloomed and become stronger.
Moreover, the fact that Dielo and I were getting closer faster than expected, and that I wasn't acting like a villain unlike the rumors, meant that there was no more restraint.
Thus, the sweet honeymoon, on the third day.
Today was also the last day for the Alloze maids to stay.
After today, the Alloze maids who were taking care of me, but really spying on me, would be completely gone from this mansion.
Of course, you can never know what people are really thinking, so I shouldn't forget to act in front of the Argenta people, but it would be a little easier to breathe than with the Alloze people openly watching me.
—Pour.
"This is Loraille tea, lightly brewed. It will help relieve your fatigue."
I was looking at the garden, which was very well-organized considering how quickly it was made.
Dielo was in his study for a while, dealing with Argenta matters.
'I'll be down soon, so please wait a little.'
His troubled and apologetic face as he left my side came to mind, and I chuckled.
"Thank you. Could you bring a cup to Dielo too? He must be tired from work."
"Yes, Madam."
Pielle now called me Madam.
The wedding ceremony had taken place, and I had become the undisputed mistress of Argenta.
It was around the time Pielle called another maid and gave her instructions.
"Waaaaah...! Mommy...!"
The sound of a child's voice came from afar.
"...Crying?"
I turned my gaze towards the sound.
A small child was trudging between the well-maintained flower beds.
"Oh...!"
Perhaps the child saw me through the tears, running towards me with a tearful face.
Pielle quickly stopped the child.
"You can't just approach her. And who are you...?"
Judging from Pielle's reaction, the child didn't seem to live in this mansion.
Well, of course.
Why would there be a child in a place where only the servants who serve Dielo and I should be?
"Help me, Miss!"
But the child, despite Pielle's restraint, insisted and tried to run to me.
Pielle's gaze quickly scanned the child.
She was clearly checking if the child was carrying any weapons.
Probably, like Argenta's 'cleaner,' she was checking if the child was a potential assassin harboring murderous intent.
Seeing that there seemed to be no problem, Pielle finally looked up at me.
"What should we do?"
It seemed the child had followed one of the servants.
"There are definitely no children among the Argenta servants."
Pielle answered immediately.
Meanwhile, the child's crying grew louder.
"Mommy...!"
The child, crying out like that, clung to me and wouldn't let go.
"It seems like the child is anxious..."
I stroked the child's head and looked back at Pielle.
"I don't think this will do."
Standing up, I cupped the child's cheeks and gently soothed the child.
"I'll take this child to the main road. Then it will be easier to find the child's mother."
"Madam. Security concerns—"
"It's okay."
I said in a clear voice to Pielle, who hesitated.
"I trust Alloze and Argenta."
When I said I trusted Argenta, I was looking directly into Pielle's eyes.
Alloze, who needed to use me, wouldn't harm me, and Argenta, of course, wouldn't harm me, who was known as the Pero of the Duke.
In other words, the knights guarding every corner of the mansion were all there to protect me.
"But just in case they worry, don't tell anyone else."
I winked at Pielle.
"I trust Pielle."
Pielle's eyes widened as I winked.
"Besides, what could a child possibly do?"
"Sniff..."
Eventually, Pielle nodded.
"Understood. You guys go and—"
It was when she was about to call the maids present to follow me.
"Waaaaah!"
The child's crying grew louder again.
The child, as if disliking strangers, hid the face in my dress and was trembling.
"Just to the main road, I'll be back quickly alone."
Eventually, at my words, Pielle dismissed the maids.
Only then did the child's crying begin to subside again.
"Shall we go?"
I stroked the sobbing child's head and moved my feet.
I didn't know the way around this mansion very well either, but I would find the main road and guide the child to the Alloze maids or knights.
—Step, step.
As we got further and further away from Pielle and the maids, the child stopped crying.
Around that time, I let go of the hand that had been stroking the child's head.
Then the child subtly began to pull on my dress.
Until now, I had been leading the way, but this was definitely a different action.
"Huh? Is there something over there?"
I asked, pretending not to know, but the child only pulled on my dress.
That sight made me even more certain.
Someone had intentionally sent this child to me.
1. The child was alone here despite the tight security, and happened to cling to me.
2. There was no place to get mud around here, yet there was mud on the child's shoes.
3. Above all, the Alloze crest was visible through the collar that was subtly pulled away as we moved away from Pielle.
That alone was enough to raise suspicion.
Of course, there was also the possibility that this child would harm me.
Even if Pielle had examined this child, it didn't necessarily mean that there were only visible weapons.
Above all, there were people who freely manipulated wind, water, and fire, so there was no reason why there wouldn't be magic to change appearances.
It could mean that the child wasn't even a child at all.
Either way, I wasn't worried about safety issues.
Argenta's 'cleaner,' Pielle, would be secretly following behind me.
In an emergency, her sword would reach out.
—Rustle.
The child who was leading me naturally led me to a deserted place.
And turned around to face me.
The childish appearance from before was nowhere to be found.
"Krua Alloze."
The child's cold voice rang out.
As expected, the voice, completely devoid of tears, gradually changed into the voice of an adult woman.
It seemed she was a disguised observer who had transformed into a child.
The Alloze crest sparkled on the woman's wrist.
Moreover, a strong Alloze power was felt from the crest. It meant that she was someone the Duke had personally sent with the crest engraved.
While I was confirming that, the woman asked.
"Did you spend the night with the Duke Argenta last night?"
...To think they would send someone to confirm this.
I opened my mouth slightly in bewilderment.
"...Of course."
I couldn't exactly say, 'We just held hands and slept,' so I answered immediately.
After all, they hadn't watched us spend the night, and the truth of last night was only known to us.
But the woman, absurdly, reached out her hand to me and demanded.
"Then, evidence."
She demanded evidence of our first night.
My eyes widened.
