CHAPTER 61……………
From the moment that mysterious guest started showing off his booming voice, I had a bad feeling. Turns out, I was right—he was as stubborn as they come.
That shrill, rattling voice grated on my nerves so much that I shot Theodora a look.
It meant: Get rid of him quickly.
“Leave it to me.”
Theodora nodded confidently, sword in hand, and went out.
But she returned sooner than expected. Before I could even ask what had happened, she whispered something to me with a grave expression.
“…What?”
The moment her words ended, I shot up from my seat.
Damn it. No wonder that voice had sounded so irritatingly familiar.
I knew my face looked like I was about to kill someone—because Aslan, who had been watching me, instantly clung to me with a worried look.
“Mom, your face is scary.”
“…Go hide among the knights for a bit, Aslan.”
I tried to soften my expression, but it didn’t work. Aslan’s drooping brows said it all.
But right now, calming Aslan wasn’t the most urgent matter.
I armed myself with a sword and headed for the counter with Theodora.
I decided to stay hidden and observe first, while Theodora continued speaking with the suspicious guest.
“I asked the master like you requested, but the answer is no. Leave at once.”
“Please, can’t you make an exception? I can pay as much as you want!”
“This isn’t about money. It’s a matter of safety.”
“S-still, surely there’s a way…”
Sneaking a look, I saw the man begging pitifully, like a wet rat.
At least, that’s how it appeared on the surface.
Anyone else might have turned back at this point, but knowing who he really was, I kept watching him closely.
And, as expected—
“Damn it!”
“How dare you!”
He forced his way past Theodora into the inn.
For someone who started the fight, he was subdued ridiculously fast. He was never any good at fighting, so it was only natural.
Theodora twisted both his arms and slammed him down onto the floor in an instant.
“Ow, ow, ow! Let go! Please, let me go!”
“How dare you!”
Even though that slam must have hurt, he refused to give up.
I would have preferred not to confront him, but this man never quit.
In the end, I had no choice but to step out myself.
I revealed myself, pointing my sword at his throat.
“I said no.”
The voice that came out of my mouth was like a blade of frost—even I barely recognized it.
But it seemed more familiar to him than to me. Through the hood that had slipped down, he locked eyes with me.
“…Miner—”
Swish.
Instead of warning him not to say that name, I pressed the sword deeper against his neck.
One wrong move, and his blood would spill.
He clearly hadn’t expected me to go this far—he flailed desperately to prove his harmlessness.
“W-wait, wait! It’s me, it’s me! Archibald! We used to play together!”
“You think I don’t know?”
Archibald Bright.
The nuisance of House Bright.
And Mars’s childhood playmate.
“Ugh!”
Thud!
Archibald was dragged out by the scruff of his neck and thrown into an alley by Minerva.
His clothes were soaked in filthy water, but he cared more about the shoulder he had slammed on the ground.
“Isn’t this too harsh for an old friend?”
“Friend? Who, you?”
Minerva let out a bitter laugh.
“Don’t make me laugh. When were you ever my playmate?”
Archibald had never been her playmate.
He had been Mars’s.
And that was only true up until the twins were about twelve.
Archibald gave a strained smile, as if he hadn’t expected her to draw such a hard line.
“You don’t have to take it that way…”
As he tried to casually stand, two blades instantly pointed at him again.
Unarmed, Archibald raised both hands nervously.
“W-wait! Don’t do that! I don’t have any weapons! That’s against chivalry.”
“Oh, and you were ever chivalrous?”
The barbed words implied far more than just this incident, and Archibald forced a troubled laugh.
Rain poured harder, thunder cracking overhead.
The perfect weather for blood to wash away and screams to be buried.
There was something he wanted to ask Minerva, but doing so now might get him killed.
Still, it was impossible to avoid mentioning her. They were both thinking of the same person.
“Did Gabriel send you?”
“What are you talking about! You two still haven’t made up?”
Clench.
The sword in Minerva’s hand pressed harder. The remark had thoroughly disgusted her.
Archibald Bright—whose head was emptier than a flower field—firmly believed Minerva had been imprisoned simply for offending Gabriel.
This Gabriel-fanatic idiot.
Even as her glare screamed shut up already, Archibald’s loose tongue never knew restraint.
“I-I just don’t get it! Back when Gabriel was your playmate, you two got along so well. So why did it all change so suddenly—”
Slice.
A thin cut appeared across his cheek, slowly beading with blood.
The rain washed the crimson line down his face as fast as it formed.
She had really cut him.
But worse than the wound was the look in Minerva’s eyes.
Eyes that once reminded people of spring greenery—now they rippled with venom, like liquid poison.
Archibald hastily dropped to his knees.
“S-sorry! I’ll stop! But believe me—I wasn’t sent by Gabriel!”
“I’ve never believed a word you’ve said. With that innocent-looking face, you’d lie even to Her Majesty herself if it was for Gabriel.”
Archibald couldn’t deny it.
“Whether Gabriel sent you, or you came crawling here on your own for her sake—it doesn’t matter. You’ve always been useless. And this time too, you’ll leave empty-handed.”
Her words struck his sore spots without hesitation.
And finally, she gave him a warning.
“If I see you again tomorrow, you’d better be prepared, Young Master Bright.”
Splash.
Minerva kicked a puddle hard and turned away.
Archibald, frozen stiff, couldn’t reply. Before she disappeared completely, he called out one last time.
“…Minerva.”
She shot him a sidelong glare.
Archibald bowed his head for a long while, then finally raised it to speak.
“Can’t you really just give me a spare room? I’m freezing out here in the rain…”
The tension drained right out of Minerva at his pathetic face.
What a waste of time.
“Then go freeze to death.”
With a look as if she were staring at garbage, she left him behind.
Relieved to be freed from her killing intent, Archibald slumped onto the wet ground.
“Hah… still as cold as ever.”
He let out a long sigh, touching the side of his neck.
Still intact.
His cheek stung, but he’d expected at least that much.
I knew I’d get hurt running my mouth, so if this is all, she really held back.
If it had been Mars, his head would have already been severed.
Archibald forced his trembling legs to stand, leaning against the wall.
Still… I can’t believe she really refused to let me in.
Now, drenched in filth and stench from the gutter, he sighed deeply.
He had thought she’d at least let him in for old times’ sake.
After all, Minerva had always kept dangerous things close—to watch her enemies.
So why let me go?
It wasn’t fear of him—she knew full well he was useless in combat.
Even with a sword, he was no match for Minerva barehanded. And Theodora was there too.
If anything, maybe she was afraid she’d lose control and kill him.
But given her circumstances, killing him wasn’t an option. Which left only one answer.
Minerva has something to hide.
Five years ago, even though it was clearly a trap, she didn’t resist at all. She simply accepted her confinement.
And now suddenly she was seeking the Emperor’s protection?
Archibald gazed at the inn she had entered, eyes gleaming with suspicion.
A curious smile spread across his face—
“Care to step aside a moment?”
“Wh—ugh…!”
A massive shadow loomed over him. Before he could react, a heavy blow struck the back of his head.
Archibald collapsed instantly, without even a scream.
The hulking pair who had knocked him out exchanged a look, confirming he was unconscious.
Then, slinging him over their shoulders, they carried him away.
