Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: New Phase #1
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Phew.
I took a moment to catch my breath before opening the door.
Creak.
When I opened it, Mirna was standing there awkwardly, a cardigan draped over her school uniform.
“Lady Mirna, what brings you here?”
I feigned ignorance as I asked. I had a pretty good idea why she’d come to my room at this late hour.
What really had my attention was the wardrobe behind me.
The one Elga had slipped into.
“May I come in?”
Mirna handed me the cardigan she’d been wearing.
She wanted me to hang it on the nearby rack, no doubt. Though she’d asked permission to enter, her actions made it clear she fully intended to come inside.
In a situation like this, saying no would only arouse unnecessary suspicion. Perhaps sensing my hesitation, she quickly added an explanation.
“I know it’s late. But I just want to exchange a few brief words.”
“Then please, come in.”
“Excuse me.”
I stepped aside, and Mirna entered the room.
The room was dimly lit by the lantern, staged to look like I’d just been about to go to sleep. Mirna Draco glanced around, seemingly pleased by the cozy atmosphere.
“This is my first time entering a man’s room.”
“Really?”
As far as I knew, she’d barged in not long ago and found Professor Stella the elf’s stockings.
That black history of a memory must have been completely erased from her mind.
Perhaps reading my thoughts, she said awkwardly,
“I mean properly invited, of course, like this.”
“I see.”
“It feels different from how it looked during the day. Different from what I imagined, too. And it’s so clean—it even smells nice.”
Mirna’s impressions of my room were mostly positive.
Good thing I had the scented candle going.
Elga’s perfume scent should be gone by now.
Rustle.
Mirna sat on the edge of the bed.
I considered opening the fridge to offer her a glass of water but stopped when I remembered the beer Elga had stocked there.
If Mirna asked, “Don’t you avoid alcohol? What’s this?” it’d be awkward to explain.
“It’s too late for me to offer anything proper. My apologies, Lady Mirna.”
“It’s fine. I just have a little something to discuss anyway, then I’ll go. So, Theo Gospel, I hate to take up your time like this, but I’ll get straight to the point.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“What do you think about what happened earlier today?”
“…What exactly do you mean by that?”
“I’m asking about that pathetic provocation from Lady Lioness. Trying to wedge herself between us at this point. Do you have any idea what her game is?”
As Mirna questioned me, I couldn’t stop fixating on the slightly ajar wardrobe door.
The room was dark, thankfully, but I was certain those blue eyes were peering out from the blackness, fixed on Mirna.
Elga was watching us like a beast hidden in the underbrush.
It left me no choice but to tread carefully in my response.
“I’m not really sure myself. I don’t know why this came up all of a sudden…”
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“So it really was just Lady Lioness acting on her own arrogant, shameless whims. I knew it. She’s clearly gunning for the Draco family.”
“The Draco family?”
“Theo Gospel, it’s probably just an excuse involving you. Logically speaking, there’s no way the sky-high, shame-free Lady Lioness would go after a slave-born half-elf like you.”
“Well…”
From Mirna’s perspective, it made perfect sense.
If I’d been raised from childhood as the lady of a great house, I wouldn’t have eyes for a prince but wouldn’t spare a glance for a lowborn slave half-elf either.
“That does make a lot of sense, Lady Mirna.”
“But if you, Theo Gospel, are Mirna Draco’s fiancé, that changes everything. That wicked girl just wants to steal what’s mine and rub it in my face.”
“Hmm… I see.”
I listened to Mirna while devoting equal attention to the wardrobe behind me. She had no clue Elga was hearing all this.
If Mirna said anything more negative about Elga, it could sour their relationship irreparably.
Before things worsened between them, I needed to somehow defuse the situation.
But talking outside might prompt Elga to burst out of the wardrobe and demand, “What were you talking about out there?”
No good options came to mind.
As I racked my brain, Mirna asked,
“So, Theo Gospel, what do you think of Lady Lioness?”
“About Lady Elga?”
Rustle.
Something shifted inside the wardrobe. Had to be Elga.
I had a gut feeling I’d fallen into a trap.
Mirna in front of me, Elga behind.
Sandwiched between a massive dragon and a lion, I was like a barking squirrel about to be torn apart by the females.
I had to give an answer that satisfied Mirna while also pleasing Elga.
“Lady Elga does have a rough, arrogant side that makes her seem untamable, and she’s willful and uncontrollably violent at times. Also…”
I glanced at Mirna’s face. She looked quite pleased. But the prickling gaze from the wardrobe behind me brimmed with displeasure.
“Still, she has her depths in her own way. And as a woman, she’s quite attractive.”
Rustle.
The gaze on my neck seemed to soften a bit.
But Mirna, right in front of me, furrowed her brow, clearly unhappy with my words.
“To think a wild mare like her has appeal as a woman. I just can’t understand it. If it came down to me, Mirna, or Lady Lioness, you’d obviously choose me, right?”
“Well—”
Mirna was in front of me, so maybe a nod?
I hesitated for a split second.
That brief pause didn’t sit well with her.
To Mirna, who knew nothing, there was no reason for me to hesitate.
“Why can’t you just say it straight? Why hesitate? You’re not thinking something ridiculous like choosing Lady Lioness, are you, Theo Gospel?”
Mirna shot up from her seat.
She placed a hand on my forehead, checking if I had a fever impairing my judgment.
“No fever. Then why hesitate on your answer? You’re not weighing me, Mirna, against Lady Lioness, are you?”
Mirna looked deeply anxious.
Of course—this went beyond mere romance; it was a massive war involving 300,000 gold and the fate of her house.
With the choice in my hands, she couldn’t help feeling rattled. Her mind was probably conjuring images right now.
Me choosing Elga over her.
“Think about it, Theo Gospel. Lady Lioness is the woman who treated you like a slave. She’s the one who left that horrific scar on your eye.”
Throb, throb.
At her words, the scar on my right eye began to ache fiercely. It never bothered me usually, but once I focused on it, the pain was unnaturally sharp.
Twitch.
At the same time, I sensed someone in the wardrobe shudder faintly. To Elga, that scar symbolized her guilt.
Oblivious to that, Mirna pressed on.
“Imagine marrying Lady Lioness, who has no affection for you. Your married life would be over before it began. You’d be a henpecked husband for sure!”
Mirna sounded like a savvy salesperson badmouthing a rival product. That’s exactly the role she was playing.
Tear the opponent down to build herself up.
And it was working all too well.
My mind conjured an image of myself as a bullied husband under Elga’s thumb. Just as a “that’d be rough” thought formed…
—Rustle, rustle.
Something in the wardrobe made a loud noise.
Mirna, mid-sentence, stopped.
“What was that sound?”
“Oh. That’s…”
I whipped my head around. On the desk near the wardrobe sat a small glass tank. Inside, Kungkung the barking squirrel was spinning his wheel.
“It’s Kungkung. My pet barking squirrel. He must’ve woken up from our talking and started moving.”
“Barking squirrel? Now that you mention it, I recall you said you had a pet. Can I see?”
“Of course.”
I showed Mirna the squirrel in the glass tank. My pet Kungkung kept diligently running the wheel, heedless of our attention.
—Kungkung!
“Cute. It’s my first time seeing a live barking squirrel up close. I heard they don’t warm up to people easily.”
Her words reminded me of my earlier chat with Aira. She’d said the same about barking squirrels.
I had no idea how I’d tamed this one.
I just fed him, and he ate what he wanted. Sometimes he’d go out for a walk and come back on his own.
—Kung.
Kungkung barked softly once, stretched his front and back legs, and let out a big yawn.
Most rodents are thought to be nocturnal, but barking squirrels are active in mornings and daytime, so they sleep at night.
He soon rummaged through the sawdust bedding, dug into his burrow, and went to sleep. Watching this, Mirna said,
“It wouldn’t be polite to disturb his sleep with noise. Theo Gospel, this involves 300,000 gold. Please think carefully about the right choice.”
With that, our conversation ended.
After she left and enough time passed with no more presence felt, the wardrobe creaked open.
Elga poked her head out and asked me,
“Hey, is she gone?”
“Seems like it.”
I quickly scanned Elga’s expression. I had no idea how she’d react after eavesdropping.
But her face looked surprisingly calm. Not angry, not overly happy.
Then she let out a big yawn, mouth wide open. Her fangs gleamed sharply in the lantern light, sending a chill down my spine.
“I’m off to bed now, too. Things are gonna get busy starting tomorrow.”
Elga left my room as if nothing unusual had happened.
The room felt light, like a boat unburdened of heavy cargo, yet eerily quiet and desolate.
A day full of events.
One certainty: starting tomorrow, many things would enter a new phase.
Elga and Mirna would do anything to crush the other and win my choice.
Since it had come to this,
I had no choice but to make maximum use of the situation.
That aside,
I decided to hit the bed for now.
Tomorrow was Sunday.
I had a lot to do with Aira.