A witch. A witch.
I spoke calmly, with a small sigh.
“One day, out of nowhere, Lady Aileen announces that she’s marrying me.”
&
“Oh my?”
“And I, not knowing any better, happily accept.”
I leaned lightly against the railing and continued.
“But everyone around us finds it strange. Why me, of all people?”
Aileen looked at me with interest in her eyes.
“Why did she marry some man no one’s ever heard of? A man with an ordinary face, from an ordinary family.”
“That’s not true, though?”
Aileen cut me off at once.
“You’re the one who found a way to cultivate rice. Even we failed, but Mr. Rayon found it. And someone like that is ordinary?”
I looked at her for a moment, then laughed.
“Is that so? Thank you for seeing me that way.”
“But...”
Aileen’s eyes sparkled even more.
“That delusion of yours is quite detailed, isn’t it? Is there more?”
I pretended to ponder for a moment, then continued.
The more I went on, the more Aileen’s expression changed little by little.
At first, it had been simple curiosity,
but before I knew it, her face was completely absorbed in the story.
“I thought I’d be happy after getting married. But...”
I continued speaking calmly.
A story about being summoned everywhere as I followed her around every day.
But at home, we never even shared a single meal together,
and could not even properly meet each other’s eyes.
Aileen’s expression gradually turned subtle.
I could have gone further and even talked about how I eventually started a rebellion.
But that was something one should not say even as a joke.
And yet, strangely, it felt a little refreshing.
It felt as though I had let a little of what had remained lodged inside me flow out.
“To call it a momentary delusion...”
Aileen said slowly.
“It’s very detailed.”
Her gaze quietly studied me.
“So much so that it feels like... something you really experienced.”
Gasp.
Ugh.
I really couldn’t speak carelessly in front of this woman.
I deliberately laughed lightly.
“Horrifying, isn’t it?”
Then I tapped the food on my plate with my fork and said,
“A man who goes on about such delusions with you as the subject.”
Yes.
I had to create distance like this, at least.
If she felt uncomfortable around me, she wouldn’t approach me anymore.
That suited me better.
Honestly, I wasn’t confident.
I wasn’t confident I could push her away if she came closer.
“It would be hard to look upon favorably, I suppose.”
I laughed lightly and picked up the last bit of food to eat.
Aileen smiled as well.
But soon, she shook her head slightly.
“Still...”
Her voice continued softly.
“Usually, delusions like this are either very much to the person’s taste, or they have a happy ending.”
Aileen looked at me.
“But your delusion is a little different, Mr. Rayon.”
A playful smile rose to her lips.
“It’s actually interesting.”
She chose her words for a moment, then added,
“How should I put it...”
Aileen’s eyes quietly looked at me.
“It feels as though you really know me well.”
“Guh! Were you a villainess?”
“Oh my, I’m exactly a villainess, aren’t I?”
She took my joke so naturally like that.
As expected, she was one move ahead.
No, two moves ahead.
But it was strange.
Why didn’t she dislike it?
Even though I had brought up a story like that, not a single change appeared on her face.
Ah.
That’s right.
That woman had always been like that.
She never showed anything on the surface.
If there was something she needed, she would suck it dry to the very end,
and once the matter was over, she would turn away as though nothing had happened.
That was why she was even more frightening.
I swallowed a sigh inwardly.
I was sure she would find me unpleasant now.
I thought our connection would naturally be cut off around this point.
And yet, we were still smiling and continuing our conversation.
It was then.
“What, you were here?”
At the voice from behind, the two of us turned our heads at the same time.
“You two are stuck together again?”
Aileen shrugged.
“You’re late, Ian.”
“I just arrived.”
Ian slowly approached.
“I looked for you as soon as I got here, and you were here.”
His gaze brushed over me once.
“And with that man again.”
Oof.
Look at those eyes.
Before, they were eyes that simply ignored me outright,
but now, they were openly saying I was getting on his nerves.
Looks like he’s finally becoming aware of me.
I opened my mouth, worried the atmosphere might get tangled for no reason.
“Please don’t misunderstand. I just happened to—”
“Not yet.”
Aileen cut me off.
“I am making advances a little, though.”
She said it as if it were nothing.
“But I keep getting rejected.”
Pardon?
I turned to look at her in that instant.
“H-Hahaha... Lady Aileen. That joke is a little scary.”
“It’s not a joke, though?”
This is driving me insane.
Why is this woman suddenly acting like this?
Ah.
I get it.
She’s trying to kill me like this.
She’s trying to use Ian to get rid of me on her behalf.
Yes.
That woman had always been like this.
She never dirtied her own hands at all.
She would slightly twist relationships between people, and in the end make someone else start the incident.
And once things blew up, she would stand there with a face that said she had nothing to do with it, just like always.
I laughed shortly to myself.
Looks like I really did earn her hatred.
“Hahaha! As expected of Aileen. Even your jokes are quite entertaining. You, with your perfect eye for people?”
“Exactly.”
Aileen calmly played along.
On the surface, it sounded like a light joke, but there was a clear meaning mixed into those words.
Ian was speaking about my level, and Aileen answered by implying that because her eye was accurate, she would never look at someone like me.
There was no way Ian didn’t understand that.
But his face showed he didn’t care at all.
“Pfft. Right. It wouldn’t be fun if it were easy.”
Ian looked me up and down.
“Come to think of it, what was your name again? I think I heard it that time... Sorry. I forgot.”
“You don’t need to remember it.”
I said it because I genuinely thought so,
but it seemed Ian took it to mean something completely different.
The corner of his mouth rose slightly.
“Oh-ho.”
He took one step closer.
“A rival, are you?”
A rival?
Me?
For a moment, I was dumbfounded.
“Good. I like it.”
Ian smiled.
“Even a man like me needs a rival.”
With that face?
I laughed awkwardly for no reason.
“Ahaha. I don’t think this is a place for me to intrude, so I’ll be going now...”
Just as I was about to slowly slip away.
“We still have a lot to talk about, though?”
Aileen lightly grabbed my arm.
Please let me go, you villainess.
At that moment, Ian opened his mouth again.
“Come to think of it, there’s a strange rumor going around about you lately.”
“You’re quick, as expected.”
Aileen chuckled.
“So is it true?”
Ian looked at Aileen with interested eyes.
“Did you really succeed at that?”
Ah.
He’s talking about the rice.
Now that I thought about it, of course.
Lucevalt had also been researching rice cultivation.
It was only natural that they would be interested in it too.
Aileen shrugged.
“Who knows?”
She smiled ambiguously.
After that, the conversation between the two of them continued naturally,
and in the midst of it, I quietly lowered my gaze.
Below the banquet hall.
I could see nobles busily coming and going.
My gaze passed over them and drifted farther and farther away, and then.
A carriage slowly approaching from afar entered my sight.
How dazzling.
At the splendid decorations and gleaming patterns,
my gaze stopped.
“Uh.”
A short sound slipped from my mouth,
and at my reaction, Aileen and Ian naturally turned their heads as well.
And the eyes of both of them widened at the same time.
It was a royal carriage symbolizing the Kingdom of Elstragad.
The person who stepped out of that carriage was none other than
Baron Bel Elstragad.
The First Prince.
In truth, the person most likely to become the next king.
Since its founding, the Kingdom of Elstragad had been a nation with strong respect for the “strong.”
And the strength spoken of here was not simply martial power.
Authority, talent, political ability.
Absolute power that encompassed everything.
In that sense, Baron was the person most befitting Elstragad.
Especially when it came to martial strength.
He was a complete monster.
On top of that, he was a man who enjoyed battle itself.
And such a man had appeared in this banquet hall now.
The moment the prince showed himself, the surroundings began to stir in an instant.
Everyone bent at the waist all at once.
“We greet Your Highness.”
The nobles offered greetings as they knelt on one knee,
but Baron showed no particular interest in those greetings.
Thud. Thud.
He strode in calmly, then picked up a piece of fruit that had been placed on a table.
And bit into it just like that.
Crude.
There was no hesitation.
From the outside, it looked like the behavior of some street thug.
But the atmosphere was completely different.
Overwhelming confidence.
“I don’t care how you people see me.”
That attitude itself instead created an even stronger presence and status.
He first exchanged greetings with the head of House D’harmont,
and after that, briefly conversed with several influential nobles.
Aileen, Ian, and I also returned inside from the balcony and paid our respects from a distance.
In any case, the two of them would surely approach the prince and speak to him a little later.
So it had nothing to do with me, and I quietly stepped back.
If I stood nearby for no reason and ended up getting on his nerves, it could become a huge problem.
Because the irritation of people in positions like that was an area I could not comprehend.
So I tried to quietly slip away.
But.
“Let’s go together.”
What?
Why are you following me?
“What, aren’t you going to greet him? You met him last time, so you should be greeting him, shouldn’t you?”
Exactly.
“I don’t think he came here to see us, did he?”
Aileen said calmly.
“Is that so? Then I’ll go too.”
You, don’t come. Please.
No, neither of you come.
I cleared my throat for no reason.
“Ah... then I’ll just go to a corner.”
“That sounds good.”
Aileen immediately nodded.
“I was a little hungry.”
Why are you doing this, seriously?
“I’m hungry too.”
Even Ian joined in.
Ah, fine.
Let’s go. Go!
Follow me, you bastards.
As I sighed inwardly and turned around, Aileen laughed lightly.
In the end, we put food on our plates again and headed to the balcony.
Thanks to Baron appearing in the banquet hall, everyone had crowded into the hall,
so there was no one on the balcony but us.
Nice and quiet.
I looked at the food on my plate.
Yes.
At times like this, I should at least eat plenty of delicious food.
Just as I was about to take a bite.
“You were all gathered here.”
At the familiar voice, I turned my head,
and Serafinlie was standing there.
The problem was
that Prince Baron Bel Elstragad was there too, and that was a truly huge problem.
At some point, two guards in golden armor were standing at the entrance to the balcony,
blocking anyone else from entering at all.
Whoa.
Look at that frightening atmosphere.
I should get out of here.
Just as I was trying to sneak away tactfully, his gaze fixed on me.
Truly, quite literally,
my body flinched as if the tip of a blade had touched my throat.
“Are you Rayon?”
“Ah, pardon?”
I froze in that instant.
“Yes! That is correct, Your Highness. It is an honor!”
Why does he know my name?
The meaning of that one sentence was significant.
That was why all three of them looked at me in surprise.
Understandably so.
Because the first person the prince paid attention to after coming here was me.
In particular, Ian’s eyes changed.
This is bad.
I think he really sees me as a rival now.
I glanced at Aileen for no reason.
Aileen was looking at me and smiling beautifully.
Isn’t this fun?
Huh?
Now that your plan to slowly drain me dry is flowing this way?
I let out a short sigh inwardly.
At that moment, Baron opened his mouth again.
“Lucevalt, D’harmont, and Belmardian.”
He slowly looked around at us.
“To think the talents who will lead these houses in the future are gathered here so amicably.”
The corner of his mouth rose.
“In particular, weren’t Belmardian and Lucevalt hostile to one another?”
Baron looked back and forth between the two of them.
“But seeing you now, you seem rather close.”
“It is all thanks to the peaceful reign created by the Kingdom of Elstragad.”
Serafinlie answered immediately,
and Baron grinned.
“That’s what I’m saying.”
His voice sank low.
“In this peaceful age... peace must not be broken.”
In an instant, the air changed.
It did not take long to understand the meaning of his words.
An overwhelming pressure.
And.
A chill running down my spine.
I swallowed my breath unconsciously.
Baron’s gaze moved slowly.
And stopped on Aileen.
“From now on.”
He said leisurely.
“I will tell you one interesting fact about Serafinlie.”