Chapter 125
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: News from the North
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed unlikely that Hestia would have asked for help first.
Just seeing Hestia today was enough to realize this was by no means a situation she had wanted.
In the end, it could only mean that Sage knew something and had knocked on the door himself.
"I knew because of the necklace."
"You knew from just that?"
"Because you always wear it, Aileen. Every time I saw it, the amount I could feel from the necklace was slightly different. When you collapsed, only an empty pheromone stone was left. It doesn't take much thought to figure out where it went."
"Really...?"
It was such a trivial detail you wouldn't have noticed unless you were looking closely.
So did he realize his own pheromones would work by sensing the lingering energy in the necklace?
There were still some parts that didn't sit right with me, but I decided not to ask.
"Does that answer your question?"
"Yes."
Right. After all, it wouldn't be long until I returned to the South.
When we arrived in front of my room, I turned to Sage to say goodbye.
"Thank you so much for today. I'll head in now."
"The necklace."
"Huh?"
Just as I was about to go inside, Sage stared at the necklace around my neck.
There was no point in hiding it now that he knew everything.
As I looked at him, wondering what was wrong, he pulled a differently crafted necklace from his inner pocket.
"I don't think that one will be enough for you anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"A gift."
A gift? I examined the object in his hand. It hadn't even touched my skin, yet I could feel a refreshing coolness from it.
Don't tell me he filled it with his own pheromones?
As I widened my eyes, Sage smiled faintly.
"I thought you might need it."
"...Thank you for your consideration, Sage."
"Let me put it on for you."
"Okay."
I nodded for him to go ahead, and he carefully replaced the necklace for me.
Wherever Sage's hand brushed against my neck, a completely different level of coolness spread through me.
I flinched, my body trembling. At the same time, his hand, which seemed to hesitate for a moment, finished fastening the chain and quickly pulled away.
Feeling a sense of disappointment, I glanced up at Sage. He flinched, then gave a bright smile and took a step back.
...What was that just now? That was incredibly unnatural.
"I'll refill it when it runs out, so just let me know if you need it. If you can't find me, you can wait in my office."
"Okay."
"You should head inside. I have things to do, so I'll be going now."
He turned and left without a second thought. Standing in front of my room for a long while, I muttered suspiciously.
"Suspicious."
Sage's attitude seemed to have changed in a strange way.
It wasn't just my imagination.
When I ran into him on my way back from meeting Hestia this morning, when I grabbed his arm in front of the head's office just now, and even up to this moment.
Sage was definitely avoiding me.
"Why is he avoiding me?"
I couldn't understand why he would suddenly start avoiding me.
Even as I entered my room and took out a pen and paper, Sage's dubious behavior wouldn't leave my mind.
***
The previous dawn. After receiving the urgent news that Aileen had collapsed, Kaide couldn't sleep a wink.
The shock was even greater because the news had arrived not long after Set and Arban had returned.
He couldn't rashly order her to return.
Staying in the North was a much better option for Aileen than the South.
Set and Arban, who had come to the office at dawn after hearing the news, were also still keeping watch.
*Bang!*
"My lord!"
"What is it, Baon?"
The day after the urgent report arrived. Baon burst into the office, making a commotion.
"Young Lady Aileen has woken up! A letter she sent herself has arrived."
"What?! Is that true?"
Arban shot up from his seat and checked the letter in Baon's hand.
"It's her handwriting!"
At his shout, Set let out a sigh of relief, relaxing his body which had been tense all this time.
Kaide, with a weary expression, massaged the corners of his eyes.
"She's still as good as ever at making people worry."
"It seems she sent the letter as soon as she woke up, worried the three of you would be anxious."
The heavy atmosphere in the office lightened considerably.
"Then I shall read it for you."
Baon said as he opened the envelope. A rather thick, folded letter emerged from within.
Just as he, grinning from ear to ear, was about to open the letter, a letter knife came flying sharply through the air. It was from Kaide.
"Whoa! My hand almost flew off, my lord."
"Who gave you permission to read my daughter's letter first?"
"...I was merely trying to convey the contents fairly to all three of you."
"Give it here."
"Here you are."
Baon, suitably chastened, handed over the letter with a formal posture.
As he opened the letter, Aileen's distinct, rounded handwriting came into view.
The corners of Kaide's mouth softened instantly.
But the moment he read the first line, his eyes widened.
"What is it? What does it say, Father?"
Set asked, unable to bear the wait.
As Kaide continued to read, his expression grew progressively more serious, but strangely, he burst out laughing at the end.
In the postscript, there was a cute threat: if he didn't reply this time, she would pretend not to know him when she returned to the South.
"I suppose I'll have to reply this time."
"The young lady has finally drawn her sword. Threatening to ignore you when she comes to the South."
Baon, who had glanced at the letter over Kaide's shoulder after he set it down, wore an amused expression.
It was the first pleasant chat they'd had in a while.
Kaide turned his gaze to his two sons sitting on the sofa and spoke.
"Set, Arban."
"Yes."
"Aileen says she's become an adult."
"...What?"
Set asked blankly. Aileen had become an adult?
No matter how much her growth had accelerated, it was an impossible feat.
The two of them had only recently become adults themselves, so how could Aileen, who was born later, already be one?
"What on earth happened to her?"
"She left that part out. Says she'll tell us the details when she returns."
"Which means it's something difficult to talk about."
That was synonymous with there being a situation that would be very troublesome if the family knew.
Just as Aileen knew her family through and through, they knew her just as well.
For example, her tendency to gloss over things that would be troublesome if her family found out...
"This is quite a strange coincidence."
Baon, who had been listening to the letter's contents, tilted his head.
The gazes of all the Astrofel's in the office turned to him.
"Actually, I met Durias before I came here."
"Durias?"
"Yes. He looked busy this morning, so I asked what was going on. He said he had to send a congratulatory letter to the Kiraas family."
Kaide gestured for him to continue.
"The heir of the Kiraas family has also become an adult."
"...That bastard became an adult too?"
Kaide's hand tightened, crumpling a corner of the letter.
"Ha, this is it."
Arban's eyes flashed. His intuition was screaming at him.
That it was absolutely no coincidence the two of them became adults at the same time.
"I told you, big brother! We shouldn't have just let it go back then!"
"Nothing has been confirmed yet, so calm down. Hestia will organize the details and send them soon."
Arban reluctantly shut his mouth. As Set said, nothing was certain yet.
But it felt strangely unsettling.
Of all things, for her to become an adult at the same time as Sage Kiraas.
"Come to think of it, Hestia's report is missing. She must have been overwhelmed. It seems it will be a little late."
"Now that we know Aileen is safe, we can wait for the report, can't we? If she's become an adult, all that's left is for her to return to the South."
There was no reason for her to stay in the North any longer. The purpose for her going there had already been more than achieved.
Becoming an adult wasn't part of the plan, but it was a welcome development.
However, Kaide shook his head.
"No, it's still too early. Hestia said it would be best to wait a little longer and observe."
"Indeed, her growth is excessively fast."
"And."
Kaide paused for a moment.
His expression turned quite serious.
Baon, as if knowing what was about to be said, closed his eyes.
Sensing that a heavy conversation was about to begin, Set and Arban shifted their positions and waited for Kaide's next words.
"Hestia said she will request to be cast out."
***
Under the clear sky.
Diel Artban was leisurely looking down below as he listened to a report.
The curve of his lips showed just how satisfied he was with the new territory he had conquered.
The fierce territorial struggle that had lasted for decades had finally come to an end, and the Artban family's flag was planted throughout the entire East.
Devouring the territory from which the Miat family had been driven out was only a matter of time.
"What are the reactions from the other leading families?"
"The family that responded immediately was the Kashmere family of the Lion Clan. We received word that they will be sending an envoy soon."
"That's good. What about the other families?"
His obsidian-like eyes opening, Diel turned his head to his aide.
The aide finished the report he had been about to give.
"And surprisingly, a favorable response came from the North."