Chapter : 33
Noel’s thoughts were tangled in a complicated knot.
She casually turned her head and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. Given the current situation, there was no way to find out how Sirinu had managed to obtain permission for Selene to accompany him.
If she couldn’t learn the method, then all she had to do was use the cards she already held. What mattered was preventing Sirinu from monopolizing Selene.
Noel spoke in a deliberately casual voice, as if probing him.
“Isn’t all His Grace the Grand Duke wants the Demon King? What I want is the justification that I helped seal the Demon King. Wouldn’t that make things easier for both of us?”
Sirinu, too, was deep in thought. Turning Noel into an enemy would undoubtedly be troublesome in more ways than one.
It would be better, at least temporarily, to join hands.
And yet, just imagining Selene spending time with that woman made irritation rise within him.
This must also be a side effect of an incomplete contract.
I can’t let it be discovered that I formed an incomplete contract with her.
That would clearly become a weakness. So Sirinu decided he needed to make it look like he was keeping Selene by his side solely to defeat the Demon King.
As the two exchanged glances, trying to read each other’s intentions—
A sharp tension hung in the reception room when Arkas’s voice rang out.
“Forgive me for speaking out of turn.”
The locked gazes of Sirinu and Noel shifted to Arkas.
“What is it that you need to say so gravely?” Noel asked lightly.
Arkas, his face still stiff, replied,
“Have you both… forgotten Selly’s role?”
“…What?”
Noel stared at Arkas with widened eyes. Sirinu looked at him with mild interest.
Grinding his teeth, Arkas continued.
“This is not the time for the two of you to be locked in a battle of nerves.”
When neither of them responded, Arkas clenched the fist resting on his knee.
“Didn’t she say she would go to the prophet herself?”
“……”
“She was dropped into an unfamiliar place—how frightened must she have been? She encountered monsters as soon as she arrived, and she was forced to interpret an ancient tome.”
Noel raised an eyebrow and spoke awkwardly.
“Hmm. Count Wedden.”
“And yet she says she’ll go meet the prophet. On her own. Without being persuaded. What is the most important thing for a person of prophecy? Everyone here knows.”
Arkas’s lips trembled.
“To coax her, gently, somehow… so that she goes voluntarily…”
He bit down on his lip.
She wasn’t even his real sister. He hadn’t known her long. And yet, he had already experienced this once before.
He knew better than anyone what his role was. He knew his words were right. But they wouldn’t come easily. It felt as though Selene were a real younger sister he had watched over since birth.
Thinking of Selene smiling sweetly at him, calling him “big brother,” the word sacrifice refused to leave his mouth.
As silence briefly fell, a knock echoed through the room.
“A guest has arrived.”
When the butler entered and spoke, Arkas tilted his head, looking puzzled.
“Were we expecting someone?”
“It seems showing up without notice is the trend these days,” Sirinu remarked, glancing at Noel.
Noel lifted her teacup.
“I invited them.”
Moments later, Eloy and Viviana entered the reception room, guided by the butler.
As soon as the door closed behind them, their eyes sparkled.
“So the interpretation of the ancient tome is finished?”
“You told them that too?” Sirinu said, looking fed up.
Noel replied calmly,
“It’s something they needed to know anyway. Besides, they’re not the type to move without information of this caliber.”
“So what’s your plan?” Sirinu asked.
Only after personally pouring tea for Eloy and Viviana did Noel speak.
“In exchange for explaining the contents of the tome, there is something His Grace the Duke of Riprix, Lady Calat, and Lady Erilleon must do.”
Arkas lifted his head when he realized his own name had been excluded. Noel smiled lightly at him.
“Count Wedden is already doing an excellent job with his assigned role, so I don’t believe you need to be involved in this matter.”
Though Noel was smiling, Arkas’s heart sank.
It was clearly praise—yet somehow, his mood darkened.
My job is to help Selly live comfortably, and to protect her until the day of sacrifice… But is that truly protecting her?
Leaving behind the conflicted Arkas, Noel turned to Eloy and Viviana.
“The Demon King must be sealed when the moon is at its fullest, and the Prophetic Family can provide the guidance necessary for that sealing.”
“Shouldn’t Selene herself hear such an important prophecy?” Eloy asked.
Sirinu replied coldly,
“That ‘important person’ just declared she’s going alone.”
Viviana raised a hand to her lips.
“That won’t do.”
“That’s why I gathered you here. Now that everyone knows the situation, your goal is to persuade Selene by any means necessary.”
Eloy smiled brightly.
“If someone earns credit for persuading Selene, will there be some benefit later?”
Noel beamed.
“I never forget either debts I owe—or debts owed to me.”
* * *
On the first day, Eloy visited the estate.
She handed me a bag of crisp cookies she said she’d baked herself. Holding the warm paper bag instantly lifted my spirits.
I felt like I could forgive myself for having gotten out of bed earlier than expected.
Eloy said she had brought information about the Prophetic Family and grabbed my hands, shaking them excitedly.
“Where is it? If you tell me, I’ll get ready!”
When I said that, Eloy widened her eyes and tilted her head.
“But… it’s information I brought. You’re not taking me with you?”
“Of course I have to go alone! I’m grateful enough that you shared the information.”
“I want to go right now!”
“Hm? Then would you like to go ahead first? I still need to prepare money…”
At my words, Eloy rolled her cute eyes dramatically.
“It costs an absurd amount of money! A money demon—no, no, I mean, unless it’s the Erilleon family, there’s no house in the Empire that could prepare that much on short notice.”
More money than the imperial family? Thinking of Viviana’s elegant appearance, I nodded.
Eloy continued sadly,
“To get such valuable information and not go… it’s such a shame. I heard prophecies are incredible… What if someone else learns about this?”
“That would be unfortunate. If there’s anything you’re curious about, should I look into it for you?”
I popped a cookie into my mouth. Eloy pressed her lips tightly together.
On the second day, Viviana visited.
Croissants from a famous bakery sat on the table. The buttery aroma made me feel like I could almost forget the sadness of having to leave my warm blankets.
Viviana also gifted me precious jewels, dresses, and riding clothes.
“I recently purchased several new horses. I brought one for you as well, Lady Selene.”
“…What?”
I stared at her in shock. I’d been too scared to ride a horse even on vacation—aren’t horses incredibly expensive?
I gently touched the riding outfit she brought. The fabric fit snugly beneath my fingertips.
“I’ll also cover the expenses needed for your visit to the Prophetic Family.”
“Oh my, goodness. Thank you so much.”
When I smiled at her, Viviana slightly lifted the corners of her lips.
“I’ve always wanted to meet a prophet myself. May I accompany you?”
“Ah, I decided to go alone. So you’re looking for a companion…”
If only Eloy and Viviana got along, they could go together. I stayed silent and sipped my tea.
Viviana fiddled with a necklace set with brilliant jewels.
“It’s not easy to travel there alone. Monsters have been appearing frequently lately.”
“Don’t you have knights at your estate?”
I thought of the knights at Sirinu’s castle. Even our count’s estate had them—how could such a wealthy house not?
Viviana sighed.
“They keep making excuses not to go. No one wants dangerous work. Isn’t the Wedden family the same?”
“I’m not sure?”
Would anyone really disobey an order from the Crown Prince? I said to Viviana, who was staring intently at me,
“Lady Viviana, what about hiring mercenaries?”
I took a bite of my croissant.
On the third day, Sirinu came.
As I stared at the strawberry cake arranged on a pretty plate, Sirinu said,
“Last time, you ate it well.”
I ate most things enthusiastically… but the fact that he remembered the strawberry cake specifically touched me.
While I was still basking in that emotion, Sirinu—who had been silently drinking tea—suddenly tossed a remark my way.
