Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: New Phase #4
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I had no choice but to admit it honestly.
That I had overlooked one thing.
Elga wasn't nearly as docile as I'd assumed.
Of course, I hadn't expected her to sit there quietly like a tame cat.
But the fact that she'd gone off on her own to confront Mirna, or that she'd visited Aira's room last night for a chat—it all showed that Elga was far too proactive for her own good.
Was this what they called an alpha girl or something?
I gazed at the serene pond.
Unlike the storm raging in my heart, the pond was perfectly still, save for the ripples made by the fish. Just looking at it calmed me a bit.
Seizing the momentum in my mind, I spoke.
“What did you and Lady Elga talk about yesterday?”
Even as I said it, my heart pounded fiercely.
It was a dizzying vertigo incomparable to when the hunter had ambushed Aira earlier. Because Elga's mouth was practically the gateway to ruin.
She knew too much about me. If she let even a hint slip, I couldn't even imagine how Aira would treat me afterward.
Last night must have been right after I'd hidden in the wardrobe and snuck back to my room.
“Curious? About what Elga said.”
Aira, perched with a blue bird on her finger, seemed quite relaxed. She didn't seem to blame me, nor was she pressing me.
Given how normally she'd treated me today, she probably hadn't heard any fatal secrets or weaknesses from Elga.
Finally, Aira spoke.
“Theo, she asked if it was okay for her to marry you.”
So direct.
I was so flustered that I created a brief pause in the conversation. Aira slipped in a few more words.
“I figured something like this would happen eventually.”
“That is... what do you mean?”
“Well, Theo. You're a man I've acknowledged. The wisest after me, the second most sagacious person in the world. It's only natural for a woman to fall for a man like that, isn't it?”
“......”
Aira's words were overly optimistic.
Unlike Mirna and Elga, who looked down on me slightly for being a former slave, Aira was vastly overestimating my abilities.
According to her, I was such an exceptional man that Elga falling for me was inevitable, just a matter of time.
「Composed situational judgment!
You gain experience from the talent 《Composed Thinking》.
All job experience +5」
I see.
“So, what did you say?”
I grew curious about how Aira had responded to Elga. At that, Aira released the blue bird from her fingertip, sending it fluttering into the air.
“I told her it's not my place to interfere. Whether you take Elga as your wife is your freedom, Theo.”
Aira seemed largely indifferent to whether I met Elga or not. Her response brought some relief, but also a twinge of frustration somewhere deep down.
It meant she had no desire to possess me as a man.
Which meant conquering Aira was still a distant, arduous goal for me now.
Then Aira added a few words.
“But Theo. As I've said many times, my cousin Elga isn't exactly wife material. If you make a wise judgment, you won't choose her as your lifelong partner.”
“Wife material... You mean someone like Queen Aira, as you mentioned before?”
“Exactly. Your memory is sharp, as always.”
Aira caught her hair in the whistling breeze.
Such a simple motion turned into a picturesque scene. Probably due to her Peerless Beauty job trait.
「Peerless Beauty: A job only a tiny fraction of women can acquire. As levels rise, the probability of captivating and influencing others increases dramatically.」
Thanks to traits like that, even mundane actions carried elegance from her fingertips to her toes.
I asked the graceful young lady.
“Then, what kind of man does Queen Aira like?”
Though I'd had plenty of conversations with Aira since becoming like this, I'd never asked about her preferences in men.
I'd had no time to care who she liked or what type. Survival had been my sole focus.
Ah, but I knew who she disliked.
She hated Prince Kasim of Turki. She'd called him a smug, self-aggrandizing fool.
Come to think of it, there was still so much I didn't know about Aira.
Then Aira said.
“Hmm. I haven't thought about it much. But he'd be humble, not arrogant. To be a queen's husband, he needs to know humility.”
Humility.
It was an important virtue to her. That's why she disliked Kasim—his nouveau riche arrogance was the opposite.
“And devoted to me. But if he's too devoted, it'd be boring, so he'd argue with me sometimes.”
Aira spoke plainly about her ideal type.
Kind. Capable. Humble. And so on. A standard ideal that any woman might dream of, which surprised me a little.
“That's all?”
“No, come to think of it, one more. Tall. Taller than me.”
At those words, the height difference between Aira and me stood out anew.
Aira was a few centimeters taller than me. If I was pushing late 160s, she must be early 170s.
In other words, taller than me.
I was shorter than Aira.
I, Theo Gospel, didn't meet Aira's ideal type. Probably because of my diminutive half-fairy build.
She likes tall guys, huh.
That explained why she saw me more as a pet than a man.
Damn half-fairy.
Still, overall, it felt pretty ordinary and plain for a queen's ideal.
“More ordinary than I expected.”
“Yeah. But surprisingly, there aren't many like that.”
I see.
* * *
“What the hell is this? Calling me out on a Sunday evening?”
After my nighttime stroll with Aira.
I had Elga meet me in the park behind the Platinum Dormitory. Dressed in her usual short dolphin pants and tracksuit top, she shuffled along in slippers, barefoot underneath.
She acted like she had no idea why I'd called her.
I spoke to Elga, who was spitting into the flower bed.
“You told Queen Aira, didn't you?”
“Told her what.”
“I heard you said you wanted to marry me.”
Her expression, which had been curtly dismissive with “What,” twisted instantly.
“Ugh, damn. Aira told you? Well, it wasn't a secret or anything. But it reached your ears already? Aira's got a loose mouth. No secrets between people.”
Elga grumbled about Aira's loose lips. But to me, Elga was the one with the loose mouth.
“Lady Elga. How am I supposed to handle you acting on your own like this? Think about my position—I have to clean up after.”
“What do you mean I acted on my own? Is there some reason Aira can't know about us?”
“...No, not really.”
“It's all for you. Starting tomorrow, I'm gonna stick to you like glue. To provoke that bitch Mirna's jealousy.”
“Jealousy?”
“Yeah! If I cling to you, acting all cutesy, won't Mirna think she can't lose and start doing the same?”
“Hmm.”
“I gave Aira a heads-up beforehand in case any issues arose.”
Elga's brazen attitude was enviable. If I could stand tall and speak like that, life might be easier.
She had a point, though.
She did have a point—but.
It was true I needed to rein her in firmly now. If things kept escalating unpredictably, I might lose all my hair from stress.
“Still, acting without consulting me first... I have my own thoughts on this.”
“Yeah? What thoughts.”
“I'm going to punish you, Lady Elga. You know the contract on that collar around your neck is still valid, right?”
“......”
Elga glared at me like, This little shit. The collar around her neck probably felt more prominent now.
Honestly, I hadn't mentioned 'punishment' since that incident, nor did I want to.
Recalling how she'd panicked and bawled made me dizzy even now.
But if Elga kept running wild like this, I had no other options.
“If you're curious what the punishment is, keep acting out.”
I'll spank your ass. Loudly, smack smack.
“...Hmph.”
Elga snorted as if daring me to try. But she was noticeably less confident than usual.
She'd stay quiet for a while now.
“So, anything happen today? I heard Aira was attacked?”
Elga tried changing the subject. This girl, switching topics when cornered. I felt like calling her out but let it slide for now.
“Yeah, something like that. It blew over like it was nothing.”
“Blew over like nothing? That's weird. Aira gets attacked and it's no big deal? Hard to believe.”
“She said no one was hurt or bleeding, so that's why.”
“Still. She's been acting really off lately. You know that, right? You know best.”
True to her familiarity with Aira, Elga seemed sensitive to her cousin's changes.
“Think about it. The Aira now versus the old her. Who'd think it's the same person? She's like a completely different one.”
“Arc's education must be working wonders.”
“Yeah, right. She barely attends anything except tea time lectures.”
Elga was the same. To them, Arc was just a device to play student or cadet legally.
Like using exam prep or college as an excuse to goof off legitimately.
I was the only one diligently attending lectures at Arc.
But in the end, Elga was more subdued than before.
Aira had gained so much mental leeway that even Elga called her different.
It was proof that dragging them to Arc—while shouldering infamy and speaking casually to Aira—had paid off.
Elga spoke as if amazed.
“Honestly, I thought it was impossible.”
“What?”
“Aira gaining some mental breathing room. I've known her since we were kids, so I know. Even my father probably never imagined she'd calm down this much.”
Her mention of father brought to mind old Reinhardt, like a white lion, then faded. The man who'd laughed loudest at the idea of enrolling the queen at Arc.
Aira was an untamable typhoon, he'd said.
What would he think seeing her now?
Would he belatedly admit I was right?
Then Elga let out a short “Ah.”
She finally unzipped her tracksuit with a rrrip. Her ample bosom and skin emerged under the bright lamplight.
Jiggle.
Though covered by pretty lingerie, those large breasts were stimulating. I flushed red and quickly scanned around. No one could see this.
“Lady Elga, what are you doing? This is too out in the open...!”
“What're you talking about? I'm giving you this.”
Srrk.
Elga pulled something from between her large breasts and handed it to me. A letter, sealed with a crying lion emblem.
From the Lioness Family.
And only one person would send Elga a letter.
“A letter from Duke Reinhardt?”
“Yeah. The reply. I wanted to see what it said but held off to read it with you. Let's open it.”
“A reply...”
I recalled how Elga had sent a letter to her father via messenger bird recently. This must be it.
It probably contained—
“It's probably about Isaiah Angmar.”