Chapter 23
23
"Huh?"
"Ah..."
Vincent's expression as he said "Ah..." was more serious than ever.
His fingertips were trembling slightly.
'He's working up the courage.'
To get closer to me.
Okay.
I opened my mouth wide.
"Ah..."
Crunch.
I took a bite of the cookie and widened my eyes.
Then, I looked down at the plate full of cookies again.
'Delicious...!'
The combination of the fragrant butter and the walnuts studded throughout was fantastic.
"I like these cookies. I really wanted to let Via know too."
Vincent shyly smiled as he munched on the remaining cookie.
'Ugh, so cute!'
I realized what Vincent was trying to do.
'He noticed I wanted to eat a cookie.'
But when I hesitated to say anything, he took the initiative to set the mood.
Reading the kindness underlying his actions, I smiled and nodded.
"Shall we take a little break then?"
"Yes!"
And so, a snack time began during the lesson.
Vincent, who had completely opened his heart to me, began to chatter about himself.
What he did today, what he liked, and what he disliked.
I listened to his story.
Perhaps I might discover the reason why Vincent killed Khadien in the future.
As I was concentrating on the conversation,
Neigh-
I heard what sounded like a horse's cry from beyond the slightly open window.
Since the stables were far away from here, I rarely heard horses, so I got up from my seat with a puzzled expression and approached the window.
I was flustered by the scene that unfolded before my eyes.
Knights in pure white armor and blue cloaks were riding white horses across the Mercedes Manor's garden.
I recognized them at once.
'The Holy Knight Order!'
I clung to the window frame and watched them approaching rapidly with surprised eyes.
Soon, they arrived in front of the entrance and dismounted, lining up in a row.
A man walked out from among the knights, lined up in perfect formation without an inch of error.
I recognized him at once.
Soft sky-blue hair, clear blue eyes, and a handsome face with a gentle impression.
'Eden Aquillium...'
He was one of the sub-male leads in <Everyone Loves the Saintess>.
As a Holy Knight, he seemed to shine with his very existence.
'Completely the opposite of Khadien...'
If Eden Aquillium was light, Khadien was darkness.
Winston was the one who greeted Eden.
He seemed very surprised by the sudden arrival of the Holy Knight Order, as he rushed over in a fluster, but soon composed himself and stood calmly before them.
'As expected of Winston.'
As Winston and Eden were talking, both of their heads turned at once.
I also looked in that direction and groaned softly.
'...Khadien.'
As the owner of this mansion, it was natural for him to appear, but I was nervous for some reason.
That's because Khadien and Eden's relationship in the original story was the worst.
I was worried that something might suddenly happen, but fortunately, after exchanging a few words, Khadien took Eden inside.
And a moment later.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
* * *
Winston rushed to the entrance as if running, due to the visit of the uninvited guests.
If those uninvited guests were ordinary people, he wouldn't have been so urgent.
'What business does the Holy Knight Order have here!'
Moreover, it wasn't just any Holy Knight Order, but the commander of the First Holy Knight Order, Eden Aquillium, who was directly under the High Priest and the Temple's strongest knight order, had come in person.
Usually, when they barged in like this without permission, it was only when there was a national security-level problem, such as treason or terrorism, which made him even more uneasy.
When Winston burst open the mansion's entrance, the Knight Order's horses had already stopped just a few feet away.
Soon.
Thud-
Thump, thump.
A man in pure white armor and a blue cloak dismounted and approached Winston.
Gulp.
Winston, who recognized him at a glance, bowed respectfully.
"What brings the commander of the First Holy Knight Order here without prior notice?"
Then, the man's blue eyes, the same color as his cloak, fell on Winston.
Soon, his lips, which had been silently closed, parted.
"Are you the general manager here?"
Unlike the heavy atmosphere, the voice that came out was quite soft and polite.
But Winston was not deceived by the gentleness and calmly replied.
"I am Winston Gregory, the head butler."
"I see."
He trailed off and looked around.
Winston, who immediately realized that he was looking for someone, was about to quickly add something when.
"How rude."
Winston was startled and turned his head at the sudden, bleak voice from behind.
'Master...!'
Beautiful silver hair with sunlight shattering like fragments, purple eyes like a barren land, pale skin, and lowered gaze.
It was as if he alone was in a different world.
He stood in front of the entrance, looking down at the Holy Knight Order, and sucked on his silver pipe.
Chik-
The sound of dry grass burning as the fire caught spread quickly through the silence.
The Holy Knight Order was shaken by the sight.
Eden was the same.
'So that's the pipe he smokes every time to suppress his Insanity.'
A silver pipe that went very well with the decadent silver-haired man.
He exuded an undeniable presence like the moon in the night sky.
Soon, he took his lips off the mouthpiece and looked down at the Holy Knight Order, especially Eden, with a dry look and said quietly.
"What's the Temple's mutt doing here?"
"You...!"
The Holy Knights who were waiting stepped forward, enraged by Khadien's remarks that insulted both the Temple and the Holy Knight Order.
But Eden did not waver and stopped them with a single gesture.
"Khadien Mercedes, it's been a while."
"Hmm, who are you again?"
A bitter smile hung on Khadien's lips.
The knights were once again enraged by his behavior of ignoring Eden, but Khadien didn't even blink an eye as if it was ridiculous.
Eden looked at Khadien, who seemed to exude an eerie aura just by his presence, with a slightly uncomfortable gaze.
'He's really annoying...'
The Temple and the Holy Knight Order were highly revered wherever they went in the empire, but only the Mercedes Ducal Family treated them with a gaze worse than that of insects.
Moreover, the Mercedes Ducal Family was the only family in the empire that did not worship the Goddess.
So, the aversion was bound to be extraordinary.
'He's not someone I would normally deal with.'
But today was different.
Unlike the excited knights, Eden spoke without losing his composure.
"The matter won't be long. Also, it won't cause any harm to the Mercedes Ducal Family. I promise."
Even the strongest knight order of the Temple, which had absolute investigative power, naturally had people who were reluctant to have their homes rummaged through.
In such cases, Eden reassured them with the words above. Then nine out of ten people would be relieved and open the door.
And Khadien Mercedes,
"So? That's not a reason for me to open the door."
Belonged to the remaining one.
Eden's patience was slowly reaching its limit due to Khadien's behavior of not opening the door easily, as he had expected.
But the other party was the Mercedes Duke.
A big shot among big shots that even the imperial family couldn't treat carelessly.
Eden swallowed a sigh and barely suppressed his tiresome emotions.
"Duke, this bickering is meaningless."
But in the end, contempt lingered in his clear blue eyes.
Khadien, who read the emotion, gave a bitter smile.
"We just need to take the tutor here."
The moment he revealed his purpose out of necessity.
'...?'
For the first time, Khadien's expression, which had been listless all along, changed.
"Tutor?"
"...Yes."
Eden nodded calmly, although he didn't know the reason for the change.
Soon, Khadien grinned and muttered.
"Interesting."
Khadien strode down the stairs and stood in front of Eden.
Khadien Mercedes of darkness and Eden Aquillium of light.
Everyone, from the Mercedes' servants to the Holy Knight Order, held their breath as if watching the confrontation between night and day.
Soon.
"I'll allow it."
Eden Aquillium couldn't figure out what on earth had moved this man.
* * *
Because of the timing, I told Vincent to wait and carefully opened the door.
The one who knocked on the door was Winston's servant.
"We're in class right now. What's the matter?"
"The butler sends word that you should come to the drawing-room immediately."
"Right now?"
He nodded at my question.
'Why me?'
I was flustered by the unexpected situation, but...
"Okay."
It was pointless to question him, and it might unnecessarily make Vincent uneasy, so I nodded obediently.
"I'll be right there."
