I lived a life where I had received quite the amount of love. As this was not a distorted fact, at the very least, it was the truth in their perspectives.

Recurring truths contained immense strength. Although the church which my aunt dragged me to was annoying, Chanmi made my life feel like h.e.l.l, and the theory of the girl who used to sit behind me was sad, Eun Minseon’s offer was, aaah, it was tempting. Those who were born as rulers must have had the ability to know when their subjects were at their weakest moments. I sincerely contemplated committing suicide. Ironically, the church which I was forced to attend kept me from doing so. In the church I attended, they considered suicide to be a crime that was on the same level of becoming an apostate.

Like that, I had returned to my first church. I was tired for several different reasons. I spoke like a creaking doll. Even though everyone has been saying that they’re doing these things for my sake, in truth, I’m suffering so much that I cannot endure it much longer. In the end, all of this is, well, my fault, isn’t it? My aunt answered me while still in her praying posture.

We are weak. We are also evil. That was how we were created. We are easily lured into temptation and commit crimes after becoming dyed in wickedness. However, Our Lord has not abandoned us. Our Lord is constantly trying to lead and bring us into his embrace. Even though it would have been fine if he were to throw us away, he tries to forgive our sins.

Did you know that history is written down in this book, lost lamb? The amount Our Lord admires us is written here. Did you know that he had even sent his own son down to us? Do you know how his son treated us? Did you know that his son’s life was taken by our hands? Did you know that regardless of that, he still forgave us when he resurrected? Did you know that, despite that, Our Lord still embraces us and opens the gates of Heaven for us?

Do you truly understand how much Our Lord loves us?

Even if you are unable to have goodwill, you need to at least be able to accept the goodwill given to us by Our Lord. If you have even the slightest bit of a conscience, then that’s what you must do.

I nodded my head. Aha, I see. In other words, my aunt believed in an existence that gave out good faith unconditionally. She followed him. My aunt, the other people were providing for me through that method. Like that, I was barely able to understand my aunt······ the girl who sat behind me, Joo Chanmi, Eun Minseon, I believed that I could understand them······.

I wanted to understand.

The Silver Lion Earl was a girl who only wore one outfit. She would only change momentarily whenever she went to sleep, but outside of that, she would always wear the same clothes. A coat with fluffy sleeves, a s.h.i.+rt, a skirt, knee socks, and several accessories. The Silver Lion Earl said this in regard to that.

〈This is my greatest equipment.〉

Zia, who was coincidentally walking by, nodded her head deeply.

〈I acknowledge this.〉

And continued on her way.

The Earl watched Zia leave with blank eyes before continuing her explanation.

〈For starters, this has the best performance. Different to the clothes in your world, Mr. Yujin, this world is filled with enchanted products. In other words, it means that not only do you have to consider the design when selecting articles of clothing, but you have to consider their performances as well. Aha, if you’re poor, then you have to only consider the performance and become a fas.h.i.+on terrorist, or if you’re rich, then you could do crazy things like becoming a monster and having protection enchantments lathered all over a bunch of cloth equipment, but I’m in the exact middle. I’m able to wear gear that has both a good design and performance for a long period of time.〉

Coincidentally, Zia, who happened to be pa.s.sing by, bowed her head deeply.

〈That’s basically Her Excellency the Earl’s balanced gear.〉

(TL note: After searching around, this is most likely a Mabinogi reference as there is a gear similar to this. I think.)

And she pa.s.sed by once more.

The conversation ended there as the Earl had then done a flying kick on Zia’s back, but in any case, the Silver Lion had boyish tendencies like that. If both the formality and performance weren’t superior, then she wouldn’t change into them. The fact that she wasn’t saving up to buy the next advancement of her gear, but was instead spending more money, made her seem even more like a young kid.

Even now, after the Silver Lion Earl had arrived after receiving the invitation to the banquet, she was wearing the same clothes. The only thing different was the fact that she was wearing shoes. She was wearing Samsun slippers with ‘Silver Lion Earl’ written on the white lines.

“It suits you.”

“As expected of Mr. Yujin. Your eyes go straight to the feet first.”

There was a sharp tone in her voice.

Zia, who was standing beside her, cleared her throat.

“Mm, Yujin. Guide us quickly.”

I couldn’t see Sophna.

The Silver Lion Earl’s mood was most likely dampened because of that very reason, but that was an issue I had to endure.

I glanced at Zia for a moment. I then nodded the instant Zia paused.

“This way.”

“Welcome, Your Excellency the Silver Lion Earl!”

The Goldbeard Merchant Group members were standing in the hallway outside of the banquet hall as they shouted in a resounding voice. The Silver Lion Earl’s expression relaxed slightly.

“Be at ease. Who is the head of this merchant group?”

Rihittle Odeon stepped forward and bowed.

“My name is Rihittle Odeon. We feel honored that Your Excellency is here to attend this hastily prepared banquet.”

“There is nothing to be honored about. Be at ease.”

“That is not the case, Your Excellency! We should have personally gone to ask after Your Excellency first, but we shall surely repay this dishonor for making Your Excellency grace us with your royal presence!”

They were behaving exactly as I had instructed.

Thanks to that, the Silver Lion Earl narrowed her eyes.

“Do I have to tell you to be at ease for the third time?”

Rihittle flinched. He looked at me with eyes that appeared as if he were saying that this wasn’t like how I had explained things to him, so I kindly made an expression that appeared as if I were also bewildered. As these sorts of incidents were going to happen continuously throughout the banquet, their evaluation of my ability was going to be lowered, and Rihittle Odeon’s sponsor, Lady Dansoomyo, was going to be given these demagnified pieces of information as well. If what Borg said about my reputation gradually spreading is true, then it would be best if people’s a.s.sessment of me was on the low side. The fact that Rihittle was going to constantly lose the initiative throughout the banquet was, well, a subsidiary effect.

Zia stepped forward.

“Head of the Goldbeard Merchant Group, as Her Excellency the Earl’s sword, I give you our thanks for your sincerity. We are looking forward to the banquet.”

“Ah, yes! Please come in!”

Rihittle hastily guided us to the banquet hall.

Despite it having been prepared in a rush, as expected of a merchant group that mostly handled food products, it was a splendid banquet. Oily rabbit pork ears that were fried, crispy baked rabbit pork ears, centipede chicken cooked enough so that their back rib-like things could be ripped out with ease, barbeque-seasoned centipede drumsticks, griddled mashed grape potatoes, grape potatoes vegetable pancakes, etc. These were things that were salty, greasy, and too stimulative for my taste, but it was because of these very reasons that they were perfect to capture the Silver Lion Earl’s appet.i.te.

“These taste great. Especially the grape potatoes vegetable pancakes.”

It seems to have captured Zia’s appet.i.te as well. Rihittle made a pleased expression.

“Uhuhu! Thank you for your compliment, Miss Azure Rose Knight. These grape potatoes were lifted from the farm managed by my mother.”

“Your mother owns a farm?”

“Yes. She is over sixty years old, but she is still hale and hearty. Ah, there was a thing that happened during the harvest season last year······.”

Rihittle went on to tell a story due to his excitement. It seems that Zia was talking to him while giving surprisingly sane responses.

Of course, this fellow would speak properly whenever she talked with people like Yudia or the other maids. From what I could tell, the only people Zia spoke Zia-like with was me and the Earl. For some reason, this feeling which would normally feel warm in a created story felt annoying to me right now. The fact that she could annoy me even though I wasn’t the person she was talking sanely to made her quite the impressive person······.

“I must have really missed you.”

“What are you saying all of a sudden, Yujin?”

“Nothing. Earl, have another gla.s.s.”

I poured a gla.s.s of wine that was supposedly made from silver strawberries and handed it to her. The Silver Lion Earl took a sip and let out a refres.h.i.+ng ‘kaah’ sound.

“Hmmm, it’s goood. This is good alcohol. It’s sweet as well. Merchant Head, where was this brewed?”

Rihittle looked as if he were rejoicing.

“Ah, that was brewed on my mother’s farm as well.”

“I see. Your mother’s farm must be quite large. Did you say that it was in the Pig Palatinate?”

“Yes. Has Your Excellency been there before?”

“It’s a nice place. Don’t they hold a rabbit pig hunting festival in the middle of the sixth month? There was a time when I had partic.i.p.ated in that. Although this was something that happened when I was still a really young lady.”

“I see. They also hold a rabbit pig contest around that time as well. When I was little, I was able to get second place with the rabbit pig I was raising. She was a spotted rabbit pig with a spot over her eye, but she was quite cute.”

“Ahaha, you had quite the cute childhood. Second place, was it? That’s impressive.”

“Haha, well, even if I say that, I’m the sixth child in my family so it was of no use······.”

“You must have had it rough.”

Her mood must have gotten better as the grinning Silver Lion Earl then wrapped her arm around my shoulder while I was seated beside her.

“Merchant Head, if my lover here was in any way discourteous towards you, then I shall apologize for it. He’s from another world, so he isn’t accustomed to the etiquette of this world.”

I lowered my eyes with an obedient and quiet look on my face. Rihittle glanced at me for a moment before grinning.

“Haha, no. He is quite the energetic person. I believe that he is like a splendid ring that flatters Your Excellency the Earl’s cla.s.s.”

“That is a relief, then.”

The Silver Lion Earl played around with my earlobe. A chill ran up my spine. I rubbed my head against the Earl’s shoulder before slightly raising my head and bringing my mouth to her ear.

“This is just some random muttering in order to make it appear as if I’m whispering something to you.”

The Silver Lion Earl chuckled.

“Mr. Yujin, you really are rather weak to alcohol.”

“I’ve loosened up not because of the alcohol but because of Zia.”

I looked at Zia as I said that. Zia was gazing at me with hesitating eyes.

The Silver Lion Earl spoke with a grin.

“I admit that as well. She’s quite the drug. But is this small talk necessary?”

“Yeah. If we converse while mixing in an appropriate amount of Korean, then the other party will continue to stay nervous.”

The Silver Lion Earl glanced at Rihittle Odeon who was making a nervous expression once more before smirking.

“All riiight. Do you mind if I ask you for some tips? I’m in the middle of playing a game on the VITA.”

“If it’s a game that I know.”

Like so, we talked about a game in Korean while we exchanged gossip with Rihittle Odeon in this world’s language.

“In other words, you’re saying that the purpose of your current visit is simply to do business and that it’s unrelated to your sponsor?”

“Yes, Lady Dansoomyo is not very interested in gourmandism. She is also going to be coming here with the Modification Bracelet Merchant Group which Chief Morso manages.”

“I see.” The Silver Lion Earl turned to face me. “So you’re saying that there’s a secret room there?”

“Yup. There was a doorplate that said something like ‘do not be afraid and charge forward’, right?”

“Ah, that’s what that meant. Nothing appeared when I used Search, so I disregarded it.”

“It’s a fake wall. You can go through it if you just rush forward.” I tilted my head at Rihittle. “Isn’t the Modification Bracelet Merchant Group the group that specializes in selling slaves?”

“Yes, that is the case. It is the merchant group that is the most loyal to Lady Dansoomyo. In truth, I sometimes get the thought that she may not be that interested in our side.”

“She’s like that. She indulges in her hobbies so much that she doesn’t realize who is truly important. She’ll probably stay in our castle when she arrives, so I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“Oh dear, Your Excellency the Earl. There is nothing more I could possibly wish for than that.”

“YesYes.” The Silver Lion Earl turned back to me. “What skill tree should I put my points into?”

Even I had to admit that the flow of the conversation was chaotic. It became even more hectic once Zia took part in it as well.

“Role-playing games aren’t really to my liking. Dating simulators are much more straightforward.”

“Aha, is that so, Zia? I wasn’t curious so I never asked.”

“Don’t be unreasonable, Your Excellency. I believe that grasping the preferences of one’s knights is one of the most important tasks.”

“Is what Zia says, but what do you think, Mr. Yujin?”

“As the expression ‘one of the most important’ is a typical example of English translationese, I believe that people should refrain from using that phrase too much.”

“Language is something that changes. Languages that refuse to change will only end up dying. Furthermore, there’s definitely a nuance out there that can only survive if that phrase is used. It’s there in that place that can be reached if you were to put your arm out. Despite that, can a fellow who goes against the rules of the past and refuses to reach their hand out be considered a knight in the truest sense? No. That person wouldn’t be a knight, they would be nothing more than a specter. In other words, by using that phrase, I’m able to save the existence known as the Korean language which is trying to become complicated, and all of the other nuances that could possibly be saved as well.” Zia Batsand brought her eyes back to Rihittle Odeon once she had finished her long-winded speech. “In that regard, there is something I wish to ask. Can you tell me what group is escorting your merchant group?”

“Ah, for now, we are handling it autonomously. There’s also the comrades I had back during my adventuring days. Once our scale becomes bigger, I plan to ask the people at the Silver Blade Mountain Cabin(Ri’ extro-padel, 銀劍山莊).”

“I see. I was simply asking because, among my nephews, one of them manages the Martial Origin branch within the Pig Palatinate······.”

The reason why Zia’s inexperienced nephew was a branch manager was due to the fact that Yudia had lived for such a long time that the family tree of his disciples had become convoluted. It seems that this was a common thing in this world where the concept of ascending existed. Albeit, looking at this, this made the price of my wager with Yudia seem incredibly shocking.

Rihittle Odeon rejoiced.

“Ooh, I am grateful for those kind words. I shall consider this offer positively.”

“That ‘consider this offer positively’ can be interpreted as a refusal.”

“Mm, as expected, is he afraid of my teacher······?”

“If anything, the issue is the supply routes. The Martial Origin has a premium seat right now, don’t they? If the merchant group doesn’t intend to develop a monopolized route, then using them as escorts would be a waste of money.”

“As expected of Your Excellency, such wisdom.”

“I’ve been told that since a long time ago. Although, if I remember correctly, you’ve been told that as well with me.”

“Moving the words of others is also proof of one’s wisdom. Isn’t there that one saying where the fools move food, normal people move knowledge, and wise people move words?”

The line that Zia had just spoken was one of this world’s sayings. Instead of moving a horse that cannot be moved, move a horse that will move with you, however, helping it move faster is the best type of movement. As you may have guessed, it wasn’t ‘words’ but ‘horse’. Therefore, Zia had made a pun at quite the peculiar moment······ I believe I’m also not quite right in the head since I was going out of my way to explain this.

The atmosphere of the banquet continued to elevate while within these circ.u.mstances. Rihittle Odeon served us with valuable bottles of alcohol unsparingly. This was, at the very least, going according to the information I had given him. I couldn’t say that she was a good drinker, and she most likely didn’t enjoy drinking that much either. The Earl simply knows how to drink.

And there was a need for the Earl to be reasonably intoxicated.

I stood up from my seat around the time I believed that she was drunk enough.

“Earl, I’m going to go use the restroom.”

“Huu~? I see that your bladder is weak. Have a nice trip.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back. Ariya, you can just stay here. I know where the restroom is.”

Like that, I stepped out into the hallway. I then walked forward and turned a corner.

Eye drops······ I probably won’t need them.

I then waited for a moment while gazing out the window.

I didn’t have to wait long.

A voice came from behind me.

“Yujin?”

It was Zia’s voice.

I pretended to hunch my shoulders as I let out a single breath.

“Yujin.”

I let out another breath before raising my head.

“Why’d you leave too? Are you going to the restroom as well?”

“Yujin, as I thought, did something happen?”

I let out another breath.

“Something? Nothing happened.”

“But your behavior has been a bit······ you were like this back when we met at the arena and also during the banquet just now. You kept glancing at me during the meal as well.”

So she noticed that. I was considering the possibility that she wouldn’t have caught wind of that at all.

“Moreover, before we left the castle, Als.h.i.+ said······.”

I raised my head at that moment, making Zia stop in the middle of her sentence. To be more precise, she stopped because the brands on my chest were revealed the instant I had raised my head.

Zia was speechless. I pretended to follow her gaze before pausing, adjusting my collar, and averting my gaze.

“That Als.h.i.+, I see that she said something needlessly.”

Once I answered in a way that sounded as if my secret had been discovered, a hurt look appeared on Zia’s face.

“Yujin······ those marks on your chest.”

“It’s nothing special. More importantly, shouldn’t you be heading back? You have to be at the Earl’s side, right, Miss Bodyguard Knight?”

“It should be fine for the time being since Ariya is with her. Rather, don’t try to change the topic, Yujin! How could this be nothing special, there’s no way······.”

This moment was crucial.

“There’s no way?”

Zia flinched.

“What if there is no way, my sword?”

I took a step towards Zia and looked up at her.

“Will you take responsibility and send me back?”

“Yujin······ you.”

Seeing as how Zia couldn’t finish that sentence, it seems that I was doing a good job.I was still capable of making the corners of my eyes red even without eye drops.

There was a long silence.

“······I’m sorry.”

Zia uttered those words.

“It’s fine.” I gave her a small smile. “That’s not like you.”

“But······ I’m, always just a helper. Even though these things are happening to you, I’m not doing anything······ I’ve been imitating drawings because I thought there was more time left······.”

Oh dear, she’ll start crying at this rate. I feel bad.

Fortunately, before she could show any tears, that man arrived.

“Good evening, Azure Rose Knight.”

“······!?”

Zia’s head shot up instantly and I followed her gaze.

As if he had been there since the very beginning, Borg Edentras was leaning against the wall.

Zia was fast when it came to recovering her composure. Really fast.

After immediately placing her hand on the handle of her sword, the Azure Rose Knight spoke coldly.

“Why are you here?”

Borg waved his hand.

“Whoa there, stop stop. I’m not here to fight. I’m only here because I have business with the lord.”

“Her Excellency is currently in the middle of her meal.”

“I know. I’m not sure if you heard, but I was also abruptly summoned while in the middle of my meal. The lord is an impartial person, so surely she’ll understand. 

Borg spoke as if he were still griping about what happened back when he was summoned in the Lord’s office. He was following my instructions well.

Zia closed one eye before opening it back up.

“Truly, you are a man of small caliber. So? What business do you have with Her Excellency?”

“Information about the Gongs.h.i.+k.”

Zia paused.

“······Did you come here just because you had gained information? I would have never guessed that you were a citizen with such deep loyalty.”

“Loyalty my a.s.s. It’s commerce. I’ve been low on cash lately thanks to a certain someone. If I have something to sell, then be it delivery or something else, I’ll do it. I’ll also be able to include that much of a service fee as well.”

As you might have guessed by now, I had instructed him to say this as well. There was a need for Borg to receive a fee for this disclosure of information since it meant that we would be able to avoid suspicion.

However, because this wasn’t enough.

“You have ulterior motives.”

I took a step forward.

“You could have sent a subordinate. There’s no reason for the branch manager of the Black Dragon Street to have come here in person. What’s your aim?”

Borg then looked at me with a gaze that appeared as if he were gazing at a b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I returned his gaze, and in return, I ended up receiving a look that appeared as if he were looking at a son of a b.i.t.c.h.

“As Mr. Otherworlder had said, I could have sent someone else. However, all of my men seemed to be afraid of the lord, so I was also afraid that they might mess something up if I were to send them. What other choice do I have but to come here personally?”

He was following my instructions to a T. This much should be enough for there to be no more questions about why Borg was here in person.

Honestly, we probably didn’t have to go this far. Zia closed her eyes and opened them slowly.

“Yujin, call Her Excellency the Earl here.”

“Will it be okay?”

“It’s okay. This guy isn’t an idiot. He most likely isn’t here to mess around. If he is, then you’ll probably catch wind of it. More importantly, you’re also helping with the investigation on the Gongs.h.i.+k. You’ll be able to lessen your workload if you’re able to get some clues like this.”

‘Like this’, I felt as if I could hear these words throughout my entire body.

Although I was grateful for these words.

“There’s no need.”

I glared at Borg and continued.

“If you have something to say, then say it here. We’ll determine whether we’ll convey your message to the Earl or not.”

Borg glared back at me. It wasn’t for long.

“Are you guys going to pay the information fee?”

“That isn’t for you to determine either. If your information is useful, then we’ll convey it to the Earl.”

“How foolish. Why do I have to comply with such a thing?”

“That’s because you’re here talking to us instead of going straight to the Earl. This means that there’s a reason why you aren’t able to go straight to her.”

Of course, there was indeed a reason. It was because I told him not to.

Borg then looked at me with a gaze that appeared as if he were looking at a pile of trash before speaking.

“Yeah, there is one. Azure Rose Knight probably knows about it well, but there are some circ.u.mstances that are preventing me from carelessly meeting Her Excellency the Earl.”

Zia appeared as if she understood. She probably jumped to the conclusion that it was difficult for Borg to approach the Earl since he had once been moving behind-the-scenes after being contacted by the Mage Tower. Furthermore, as he had mentioned earlier, he was in a situation where it was difficult to even send one of his subordinates. She most likely understood it as him trying to use her as a proxy since she was in the same situation.

Borg turned his head with a twisted face.

“At any rate, I get it. Since it’s the Azure Rose Knight who’s guaranteeing me, it’ll probably be conveyed properly. Azure Rose Knight, it’s also related to you.”

“······It is related to me? What do you mean?”

“The ones who a.s.saulted this otherworlder weren’t members of the Gongs.h.i.+k. The Gongs.h.i.+k members became corpses shortly after entering the city. They met their ends at the hands of your teacher, Yudia Batsand.”

Zia froze in place. This as well didn’t last that long.

“Do you have proof to back this claim?”

“I do.”

Borg took out a couple of doc.u.ments. After receiving the doc.u.ments, Zia’s face gradually became rigid as she read through them. I’m not sure if those doc.u.ments are real or not, but they seemed to be enough to gain Zia’s trust.

Additionally, everything that was said until now was the truth.

“Isn’t it interesting? The fact that those Gongs.h.i.+k members, who had died at the hands of your teacher a while back, had come back to life and a.s.saulted this otherworlder. It’s a bit too elaborate for it to be a coincidence.”

“The one who had dealt with the Gongs.h.i.+k members a.s.saulted Yujin······ In other words, you are saying that my teacher was the one who attacked Yujin?”

“If he did, then would this otherworlder still be alive?”

“He would not. ······Thus, you are saying that a group of people who were somehow able to find out about the Gongs.h.i.+k members’ deaths pretended to be a part of the Gongs.h.i.+k and a.s.saulted Yujin.”

“‘Somehow’? You’re beating around the bush too much. You know of a person who’s close enough to your teacher to hear about that and also possesses enough influence to have subordinates.”

 Zia touched her forehead.

She was silent for a while before shaking her head.

She raised her head once more and looked at me, or rather, my chest.

It felt as if I could see a glimpse of the countless thoughts that were going through her head.

I couldn’t actually see them. I didn’t have that sort of ability. I was only capable of guessing. However, it seems that guess wasn’t entirely off the mark.

“It seems like there’s a lot on your mind. I’ll be excusing myself now. I’ll be looking forward to my payment.”

Borg snorted in a timely manner and looked at me as he turned around. I gave him an approving look. With his eyes, Borg gave me the bite off all twelve fingers sign. If I were to make a comparison to my world, then that gesture was similar to giving someone the middle finger.

Like that, Borg left. After a long silence, Zia turned to look at me.

“So it was Miss Sophna.”

Her voice sounded tired.

“Miss Sophna most likely didn’t act in person. The maids who had set up Sii······ was it Ashya and Ferril’s group?”

Zia mentioned the names of the pre-established faction maids who followed Sophna.

I averted my gaze.

“Don’t worry about it. That was nothing more than the words of a thief.”

“······.”

“What a jump of logic. How could Sophna be the culprit behind the attack? What possible gain could she get from doing that?”

I didn’t say that this may have been the Mage Tower’s plot. There was a chance that Zia could agree to that.

This much was just enough and my a.s.sumption was on the mark. Zia spoke.

“Yujin, you may not know this, but Miss Sophna has a single-minded aspect to her. She’d go through fire and water if it meant that it would be for Her Excellency the Earl’s sake······ Even the things which Her Excellency the Earl refuses, Miss Sophna is someone who would always achieve her goal if she believed that it would be for Her Excellency’s wellbeing. She’s different to me for various reasons. As much as this is the case······.”

Although I was already aware of this ever since I witnessed her bind the Earl with her magic vines.

“It’s fine.”

I began to walk forward. I s.n.a.t.c.hed the doc.u.ments away from the still Zia.

I started to rip them apart.

“······Yujin?”

“Do you have a fire?”

“N-No, I don’t. Yujin, don’t tell me you’re about to burn······.”

“It has to be burned.”

I turned to look at Zia as I continued to tear the doc.u.ments apart.

“The Earl cherishes Sophna, right? She most likely cherishes her as much as she cherishes you.”

“Because Her Excellency the Earl would be sad if she found out that the person whom she cherishes, Miss Sophna, had done something like this······ Are you saying that you want to avoid this?”

Zia misunderstood my intentions like this for me. Nodding my head was a simple task, but no.

Responding like that wouldn’t be like me.

“Try putting me and the cherished Sophna on a scale. Which side would the Earl take?”

This was a statement that befitted me.

“······Are you saying that Her Excellency the Earl, won’t believe this?”

“No. She isn’t an idiot. She’ll probably believe this. However, it’s because she will most likely believe this that⎯⎯⎯if she learns this truth, then she’ll most likely get rid of me and not Sophna. She’ll then bury me at that line and end the matter there.”

“There’s no way that Her Excellency would······.”

“You think she won’t?”

Zia closed her mouth. She was unable to open it.

I spoke in a self-deprecating voice.

“If I play my cards right, then it may be possible. So if I obtain help from others first, for example, if I utilize you well at my side, then the Earl might be unable to dispose of me. Nevertheless, that’s also a bad plan. She would look weird publically.”

I gave an explanation.

“The Earl got upset about the act which the Gongs.h.i.+k members had committed. If the whole story is revealed, then the dispensation of justice to both services and crimes must follow after. But Sophna is the head va.s.sal and I’m the Earl’s lover.  If she punishes Sophna, then she would be taking the side of her lover and tossing her head va.s.sal aside. On the other hand, if she refuses to punish Sophna, then that would make the Earl a clown for getting upset over the incident so much. No matter what side she decides to take, the Earl would appear badly in the public eye. Moreover, she would appear even more badly since this would basically be advertising the fact that there’s a conflict between her head va.s.sal and her lover. In that case, the Earl wouldn’t, uhm, have particularly good emotions towards me, right?”

“But, but Miss Sophna tried to kill you······.”

“Yeah. That’s why it’s something that’ll be resolved if I hold myself back. If it’s for the sake of my self-preservation, then this is the best option.”

Zia clenched her teeth. She glanced at my chest for a moment again before meeting my eyes.

I spoke.

“Don’t make that face.”

“Yujin······.”

“I heard that some person named Lady Dansoomyo will be arriving soon. The Earl wants for me and Sophna to team up in order to deal with her. Since I’m in this sort of situation. If it’s for that, I’ll have to resort to this······.”

My body was abruptly pulled forward.

I had been pulled into a hug. Within Zia’s embrace. Knight-like and trained arms embraced me. She didn’t let me go.

A dim scent of roses enveloped me.

I could hear the sound of her heartbeat.

I could hear the sound of weeping.

I could feel the shoulders that were pressed against me tremble.

“I’m sorry.”

Zia uttered.

“Sorry.”

Zia Batsand uttered⎯⎯⎯

“I’m really, really sorry.”

With a soppy voice, Zia Batsand uttered those words over and over again.

“For calling you to a place like this, for being unable to do anything for you, I’m really sorry. Yujin······.”

There was a time.

There was a knight who had once told me that there were a countless number of things which I couldn’t achieve. There was a female knight who had said that things cannot change once they have occurred. There was a female knight who served the Earl and had once declared that I would die. There was a female knight, loyal to the Earl, who had once tried to kill me, said that no one would believe me, and that the Earl would support her.

This was only 2 months ago.

Within a mere 2 months, a person was capable of changing this much.

Understanding and sympathy were things that could sink in within a period of time that was as short as this.

Sei had said that only fire and poison had a reaction speed that was as fast as this.

Cha Minhee, if my G.o.ddess was undoubtedly fire, then I was undoubtedly poison.

The Lunar Scorpion, Borg Edentras had seen it well. Even if he was easy to handle, it seems that adults over the age of 30 naturally had decent insight.

“Zia, it’s fine.”

I patted her back.

“It’s fine, so don’t worry about it.”

If anything, I felt like I should be the one apologizing.

For truly a lot of reasons, Zia. I can’t hide how sorry I feel for you.

Rihittle Odeon opened his eyes wide once we returned to the banquet hall.

“That took a while.

Zia, who had calmed herself down before returning to the hall, nodded her head.

“I apologize. Finding the restroom was a bit difficult.”

“Ah, oh dear. I should have sent someone to guide you.”

“No······ Moreover, I also stopped to watch the moon for a moment while on my way back. The moon was rather clear. I ended up being inadvertently allured by it. I was with Yujin.”

“Haha! As one would expect from the one with the t.i.tle Azure Rose.”

Zia bowed her head once and sat back down in her seat. I sat as well. A gla.s.s of alcohol appeared in my line of sight the instant I took my seat.

It was the Earl.

“It’s not good for you if you drink too much.”

“Ah, be quiet.”

After sighing as if it couldn’t be helped, I held the bottle of alcohol with both of my hands and courteously poured her a gla.s.s. The Earl drank it down in a single instant and stretched her hand out towards me.

“Mm.”

Pat, pat. She stroked my head several times before leaning her body against mine. A heat was radiating from her small body. The sweet scent of alcohol. She rubbed her hair, which gave off the scent of mountain strawberries, against my cheek several times before, thud, b.u.t.ting her head against my chin.

“Mr. Yujin. Mr. Yuuujin.”

“Yeah?”

“Mine.”

The Silver Lion Earl only tilted her head up in order to look at me. Eyes which resembled the moon were directed towards me.

“You’re mine.”

“Yeah.”

I pressed my lips against her forehead.

“I’m yours, Silver Lion Earl.”

The Earl grinned.

She abruptly stood up from her seat and shouted as she raised her bottle.

“Haa! Today is a good day!”

The moonlight enveloped the entirety of the banquet hall as it flowed through the window. The Silver Lion Earl was standing in the air that was being lit by a frosty color.

“As you all may know, my deceased mother, the Blizzard Cat Countess was from the Cat Palatinate. Everyone is most likely aware of the rumors around the Cat Palatinate. As the lord, I am unable to give you the details, so please understand. However, I will say that a majority of those rumors were true, so although my mother was a calm and elegant person, I will only say that she had a connection with them.”

The Silver Lion Earl took a sip of her alcohol and caught her breath.

“Compared to her, what sort of person was my father!? I believe that all of you know about the rumors that had gone around about the previous earl. I will only say that the majority of those rumors were true. He was shallow, worldly, and quite the normal person.”

Her lips formed the shape of an arc.

“When I was younger, I was curious. How did the two of them meet? How could they marry each other? Once I found out about the concept of political marriage, my interest in the matter dissipated for a while, but after I found out that it was a love marriage, my curiosity surged even more than before. I wonder why. Why did the two of them get married? A girl from a cruel household and a normal and worldly boy? Are you all not curious?”

Everyone was holding their breaths as they gazed at the Silver Lion Earl.

“Of course, the two of them had some similarities. They had two things in common. Instead of competing and occupying things, they preferred to cooperate and distribute things. They also had the same standard when it came to women.”

Everyone looked shocked. The Silver Lion Earl chuckled and took another sip.

“Ah hah hah ha, they had quite the funny first meeting. Even if our head va.s.sal is mossy, she’s beautiful and pretty. Back when my mother was still an esteemed daughter of her household and here on delegation, she saw the head va.s.sal. My father was······ well, what do I even have to say? If you know what type of person he was when he was the lord, then you should be able to easily tell how much of a delinquent he was back when he was still the young master. Aha, in any case.”

The Silver Lion Earl knew how to s.h.i.+ne. She was like the moon.

“Surprisingly, my father was the one to approach her first. ‘Our head va.s.sal is pretty, right?’ My mother apparently gave a sidelong glance. ‘You are right.’ My father then suggested. ‘Do you want to do it together?’ My mother contemplated for a moment before nodding her head. ‘Let us do it together.’ Like that, the two of them joined hands and then began their first hunt. For the sake of our head va.s.sal’s honor, I will not tell you whether they succeeded or not. The obvious thing is the fact that the same thing continued to happen over and over again after that. Oho, yes⎯⎯⎯the two of them were quite the lechers!”

The Silver Lion Earl went up on the chair and abruptly pulled my head into a hug.

“That is probably similar to a family tradition. I heard that my ancestor who had first established the Lion Palatinate was also a lecher. And I definitely inherited their blood.”

The Silver Lion Earl started to lean her body against me. While using me as a support beam, the Silver Lion Earl glanced around at her audience and chuckled.

“I am grateful to Mr. Rihittle and the Goldbeard Merchant Group for arranging this banquet for us. I am grateful to Miss Zia for carrying out her duty at my side. I am grateful to Miss Ariya here for having come out here and work outside of the castle. However!”

She raised her bottle of alcohol high into the air once more.

“As a lecher, I wish to give a toast to Mr. Yujin here!”

The Silver Lion Earl held a mouth of alcohol in her mouth. She put the tip of her finger on my chin and started to lift my head.

She looked down at me as I had my head raised.

Her lips approached me like the moonlight and overlapped my lips. Her small and soft tongue reached through my lips, and my lips alone. The alcohol flowed through that gap. The mountain strawberry-flavored alcohol set the insides of my mouth ablaze. I could feel my cheeks heat up as well.

If the moon had a flavor, then it would most likely be this.

The Earl removed her lips from mine. She swirled the silver line that had extended and licked the tip of her finger before shouting with a smile on her face.

“Now then, let us drink!”

The banquet started to heat up once more and only ended after the Earl had become completely intoxicated. After Zia and I gave our thanks to Rihittle for his reception, we lifted the Earl up and moved her.

Ariya, who had been silent the entire time, helped us.

TL note: Thanks for reading the chapter. First and foremost, I should apologize for taking so long with this chapter. I’ve been getting distracted a lot ever since I built my new PC. I also finally got my new gpu last week, so I couldn’t help but want to try out new things. I say that, but I’ve been mostly on VRchat because of a couple of friends that got me into it. I’ve spent a lot of time just importing things and whatnot. I a.s.sure you that I didn’t stop translating this series nor did I die. I just couldn’t help but get pulled into this kind of social game, if that’s what you call it. Feel free to add me on VRchat if any of you guys want. It shouldn’t be hard to find me since I’m the only Shalvation.

In any case, there isn’t much left to this volume now and I really want to get back to translating Handholding again, so I’ll try to motivate myself to translate faster. I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.