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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: A Solemn Question
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“Why, why are you crying?”
I was so surprised I quickly offered her a handkerchief, but Yulia didn't even take it. She roughly scrubbed at her reddened eyes with her sleeve, then pulled at the tablecloth and loudly blew her nose into it.
“Yuli?”
“You… You should have told me sooner.”
Yulia muttered, her voice thick and nasal.
“Huh?”
“All this time, I didn't know anything! You were all alone! Ugh, we just thought you…!”
Her words were a jumbled mess, trailing off in broken fragments. The commotion made Isaac and Andrea stop their bickering and look over at us.
“Emily made Yuli cry!”
“Whaaat? Emily, what did you do?”
“Gasp. I bet Yuli did something wrong.”
“I did not!”
Yulia snapped, raising her voice over their whispering.
“Anyway, what I'm trying to say is!”
Yulia suddenly grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me.
“We want you to lean on us a little! If you have something worrying you, talk to us! Huh?! First, you hide meeting a weirdo, then you suddenly disappear and show up as an employee!”
“I'm, I'm getting dizzy…”
“It’s driving us crazy!”
At Yulia’s urging, I just nodded my head frantically. I was wrong! I admit it!
Seemingly satisfied, Yulia sniffled and let me go. Ugh, my head.
“Well done, Yulia.”
“For once, we're on the same page.”
Beside me, Edmond and Isaac were nodding in agreement. So cruel.
“What was that? Looks fun. Do it to me too!”
Andrea’s eyes were sparkling. It seemed I had no allies here.
‘If I told them I was cooperating with the Saint because of Penelope, they’d absolutely flip out…’
They’d surely fly into a rage, asking what I was doing hanging around that dangerous guy.
‘It’s not that I’m hiding it, um, right. Maybe I’ll tell them when things are a bit more certain.’
I muttered to myself and nodded.
“Wait a minute. What were you just thinking?”
Yulia lunged at me fiercely.
“You were thinking something foolish again, weren't you! Tell me right now!”
Are we twins, so now she can read my mind? Her intuition is scarily sharp.
“By the way, did you all go out without me?”
Andrea suddenly cut in.
“What?”
“Well. You just said something about an employee.”
“…”
“…”
Whoops. We all fell silent. Andrea’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline.
“You left me out! That's so mean!”
And with that, Andrea shot up from his seat and scampered out of the room.
“Ugh, I slipped up…”
“He already hates being left out. You should have been more careful.”
As Isaac chided her, Yulia pressed a hand to her throbbing forehead.
“I'll go after him.”
I stood up too. When Andrea runs off like that, it’s usually a silent protest, a demand for someone to follow him and listen to his complaints.
Sure enough, when I pushed open the dining hall door, I saw Andrea standing behind a pillar a short distance away.
He jumped when our eyes met, then averted his gaze as if nothing had happened.
“I t-told you not to follow me!”
“I'm not following you. I just came out for a walk in the garden.”
My playful teasing made Andrea pout. Then, as if surprised again, he gasped and clapped both hands over his mouth before glaring up at me.
“Hmph. Go away. You have more fun with our other brothers and sister than with me anyway.”
“Why would you think that? I love playing with you the most, Andrea.”
“Liar. The four of you are always hanging out without me these days.”
Even for a child, he seemed to have noticed that we sometimes whispered amongst ourselves.
As the youngest, with a significant age gap, Andrea had always been very sensitive about these things.
I wonder if he feels lonely even with so many siblings.
“That's... because of some complicated things lately. I'm sorry I couldn't explain it to you in detail first.”
“Are you going to tell me what it is?”
I looked into the boy's clear eyes.
I couldn't bring myself to tell my little brother, ‘I’m actually a warlock, the public enemy of this continent.’
In the end, I chose the familiar method.
“It's because of a disagreement with the elders. It's complicated to explain in detail.”
Evading the situation with a lie.
“…Hmph.”
Andrea stared intently at my face without a word. His round eyes seemed to be piercing right through me.
“I’ll accept that for now.”
Huh?
When I looked again, Andrea was smiling playfully, just like usual.
Did I mishear him just now?
‘…It can’t be.’
I wanted to believe that. There's no way my cute, innocent little brother would say something like that!
***
“I have come to escort you, my lady.”
Hazel bowed with an exaggerated gesture. She even escorted me into the carriage with a practiced air.
“What's this? Does the Holy See teach you this stuff too?”
“Respecting a lady is the most fundamental principle of chivalry.”
“You've got a silver tongue.”
Hazel closed the door and boarded the carriage with me. With a jolt, we set off for the imperial palace.
“From now on, if the Saint summons you, I'll be the one to pick you up.”
“Was that his way of being considerate? Since you're a Holy Knight, you can't just move about freely.”
“Perhaps.”
He’s so thoughtful in the little things. In that sense, Zion resembles my twin, Yulia.
“When did you get back to the capital?”
“…The day I first met you. I went straight there as soon as I arrived in the capital.”
“How embarrassing. You must have seen me meddling where I shouldn't have.”
Though it was closer to a wholehearted attempt at slacking off.
“Did you contact Natalie?”
“Right after hearing your story. …She was the same as always, so I was a little relieved.”
True. Aside from the parts related to Penelope, not much had changed about Natalie. Or perhaps the problem was that she hadn't changed at all since our academy days.
“You and Natalie both have a knack for getting caught up in strange things. I can't take my eyes off you.”
Hazel grumbled quietly.
‘If we’re being technical, I think you’re the one who got caught up, not me.’
But I swallowed those words. It wasn’t something a warlock hiding her identity should say.
“And, um, your brothers... ahem. Are they doing well?”
“…”
I remained silent, a grin plastered on my face. Wow, if I’m not careful, I’m going to burst out laughing.
I struggled to suppress the twitching of my lips and answered as naturally as possible.
“Yeah. My brothers are, pfft, the same as always.”
There was a close call in the middle, but I managed to get through it. Whatever she thought of that, Hazel's expression grew even more serious.
“They're not still like that even with you there, are they? I didn't get to say it last time, but no matter what, with their sister in the same house, that kind of… public display of affection is a bit much.”
Oh, this is killing me.
My stomach hurt from holding back my laughter. I turned my head to the window, stifling my giggles as I tried to catch my breath.
Pat, pat.
“Don't cry.”
Hazel even patted my shoulder, trying to comfort me.
At this point, it was getting suspicious. Could Hazel actually be an assassin sent by the warlocks to make me die of laughter?
“Pfft, phew… Thank you, Hazel. To be honest, I've also been… *hic*, worrying a lot about that.”
I had laughed so hard that tears were welling up in my eyes. I wiped the corner of my eye with my fingertip.
“It's not something I can talk about with just anyone… *hic*. But having you comfort me like this, it's a bit of a relief.”
I turned my head and gave her a small smile, and Hazel looked at me with pity.
No. Any more of this and my sides might actually split.
*Clunk.*
Just then, the carriage came to a stop. Phew, I’m saved.
“Are you okay to get out? We can wait a bit for you to compose yourself if you need to.”
“N-No, it's fine. He might be waiting.”
I quickly wiped away the tears clinging to the corners of my eyes and stood up.
Our destination this time was the Julietta Palace, where Zion was temporarily staying.
While its decorations were more modest than other places, it was the only palace in the imperial residence built in the style of a temple.
Since outsiders were forbidden from entering, this was my first time visiting.
“Where are we going?”
“The Saint is in the prayer room.”
Hazel led the way with a familiar ease. The ceilings were much higher than in the other palaces, and decorations modeled after holy relics adorned the highest points, giving the place a distinctly sacred atmosphere.
‘This place feels so holy that a warlock like me is committing a sin just by stepping inside.’
As I was having such silly thoughts, Hazel stopped in front of a door.
*Knock, knock.*
After knocking, she opened the door, revealing an interior that looked exactly like a familiar temple.
Brilliant, multicolored light streamed down through the stained-glass windows.
Zion, kneeling in the center in prayer, looked like a holy statue himself.
‘It’s hard to believe he’s the same person I saw last time.’
Where was the innocent young man who had followed me around the marketplace? All that remained was a creature of God.
It felt as if his humanity had evaporated.
Zion slowly opened his eyes, unclasped his tightly held hands, and turned around.
“You've arrived.”
“Thanks to you sending Hazel, I was able to catch up with an old friend. Thank you for your consideration.”
Instead of demurring, Zion simply offered a gentle smile.
“Emily,”
he asked in a solemn voice.
“Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to eradicate the warlocks?”
“…”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
What is this? A new way of suggesting suicide?