Chapter 133
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: The Lord of the East
134
"I'm glad we see eye to eye."
Diel took a sip of tea, then got to the main purpose of his visit to the North.
"Let's get straight to the point. I hope for the North and the East to enter into a military pact, becoming powerful allies to one another."
"That doesn't sound bad. And?"
"It would be even better if we could sign a treaty allowing free exchange between our clans."
"I see."
Sage showed his interest and began to check the documents one by one.
Diel couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about his attitude.
Sage Kiraas's response was certainly not far from what he had expected.
Diel was confident that he would be cooperative in this agreement.
That much was obvious just from the attitude of Sage's aide.
Besides, it was a situation Diel himself had experienced back when he was the young lord, so he quickly grasped what was happening.
Depending on how he handled this, Sage Kiraas's standing within his family would change.
But it was strange.
At the very least, the reaction from his aide was genuine.
Yet Sage Kiraas, who should have been the most eager, seemed utterly unimpressed.
The contrast was so stark that an outsider might mistake the aide, not him, for the current heir of the Kiraas family.
Sage, who had been scribbling something, put down his pen.
"Then I will take this into consideration and review it myself. Our next meeting will be on the promised date of the agreement. I hope you have a comfortable stay until then."
"Thank you for your consideration, Young Lord Kiraas. However…"
Diel trailed off. Sage's gaze turned to him. As if he had been waiting, Diel opened his mouth.
"If I may ask, what is your relationship with Aileen Astrofel?"
"Why do you ask?"
Sage furrowed his brow.
He didn't like hearing Aileen's name from those lips.
It was all the more irritating knowing that Diel Artban was interested in Aileen.
And since Aileen herself wouldn't tell him anything, didn't it seem like the two of them were hiding some kind of secret?
Diel tilted his head.
"Was that an inappropriate question? I only ask because her pheromones are on you."
"Ah. This."
Sage mumbled as if he'd forgotten.
He had purposely left Aileen's pheromones on his body after they had transferred by chance.
Aileen, already accustomed to Sage's pheromones, seemed not to have noticed that her own were clinging to him.
Sage’s eyes crinkled as he smiled.
"Is it a habit of yours to ask what you already know?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"When two people carry each other's pheromones, doesn't that answer the question?"
"......."
"I trust you understand what that means without me having to spell it out."
For a moment, Diel's expression froze, cold and unmoving.
"It seems the two of you are very close."
Sage paused at the stiff tone. Diel's reaction was, by any measure, excessive.
He knew the Artban family wanted Aileen, but could it be that he desired her romantically?
Just as a sense of displeasure began to well up from deep within his gut…
Sage's eyes flew wide open and shot toward the window. The others did the same.
A massive, suffocating energy had erupted, causing everyone to freeze for a moment and stare outside.
The energy was coming from the direction of the training grounds.
Sage shot up from his seat.
"That's…"
Eve muttered blankly. At the sound of her voice, Diel's aide, Elvin, looked puzzled.
"Is someone there?"
"Yes. Most likely…"
"Eve."
"Yes?"
But at Sage's low call, Eve couldn't finish her sentence. An unnerving gaze was fixed on her.
"Don't let anyone near that area."
"Ah, understood. I'll see to it at once."
Eve answered, quick on the uptake.
Sage didn't want anyone to know that Aileen was currently at the training grounds.
*I almost let it slip.*
Eve quietly rose from her seat, bowed her head, and left the reception room.
Now, only the three of them remained.
Sage looked at Diel and spoke.
"It would be best to conclude our conversation here."
"It seems something has happened."
Diel asked probingly, having noticed that he was hiding something.
Sage, who was about to leave the room, paused and looked down at him.
"I was under the impression that the only thing Lord Artban needed to concern himself with was the pact. You must be quite confident in the outcome, to have the leisure to be interested in other matters."
It was a clear warning, just as he had given at their first meeting: do not concern yourself with anything beyond what is permitted.
Diel's expression grew cold. Elvin, flustered, was about to say something.
The reception room door closed.
* * *
*Where could Sage be?*
I'd checked all the places he was likely to be, but he was nowhere to be found.
At this rate, I felt like I'd be searching until dawn, so I decided to stop a passing Kiraas clan member and ask.
"Excuse me."
"…Yes? Me?"
The man, who had been shrinking back, looked from side to side before asking if I was calling him, pointing a finger at his own chest.
I nodded to confirm.
The man, his face pale, maintained a certain distance as he asked.
"Wh-what can I do for you?"
"Do you happen to know where Sage is?"
"Ah, the Young Lord."
He was fidgeting, his eyes darting away nervously.
*Why's he acting like a puppy that has to pee?*
Come to think of it, his face looked familiar. Where had I seen him before?
As I studied him and stepped closer, he sucked in a sharp breath.
His tense body was pitiable to see.
Unable to understand why he was acting this way, I tilted my head and asked.
"Have we met somewhere before?"
"What? Ah, no. We have not."
"But you look so familiar."
Where had I seen him?
I searched my memory, and then my eyes widened as a scene flashed through my mind.
He was one of the Kiraas clan members who'd had a staring contest with my escorts last time.
When I gave him a look of recognition, his face crumpled as if he were about to cry.
"I am truly sorry about what happened that day."
"…Pardon?"
"From now on, I'll stay quiet and out of sight, as if I were dead."
…What was this all about?
I knew all the Kiraas members who had been in the staring contest that day were dragged away. I'd even heard they were taken to a cell.
I thought it was just a simple incident, but what on earth happened in there to make him react like this?
"What did Sage say to you?"
"Don't tell me he said he'd do something to you the moment he laid eyes on you again."
*Flinch.* He trembled, his body shrinking in on itself.
It seemed I was right.
As if recalling something, his pale face was now turning blue. I learned one thing for certain here. Sage sometimes handles things a bit excessively.
Especially when it came to matters involving me, he showed no mercy.
I felt a pang of pity for the man, who looked like he might actually burst into tears if I said another word.
"What's your name?"
"…Ergo."
"Where is Sage, Ergo? I won't ask you to guide me."
Asking that much would feel like I was doing something wrong. Ergo's complexion improved slightly.
"The Young Lord is currently with Lord Artban. He arrived about an hour ago… so they're probably just exchanging simple greetings. He should be out soon."
"Oh, is that so?"
I already knew the Lord of Artban was scheduled to arrive today.
But to think they were still exchanging pleasantries in the reception room.
…I might run into him on my way.
"The reception room is on the… ack!"
"I know. The reception room is on the first floor, right?"
"…Young Lord."
Ergo whispered softly. I turned my head in the direction he was looking.
Sage was there, his expression terrifyingly stiff. He saw me, then let out a deep sigh and covered his face with his hands.
"Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine."
"Then what was that just now?"
"I'll explain later, Sage."
"…Later?"
"Yeah. I have something more important to talk about."
"What could be more important than your condition?"
Sage scowled. I gave an awkward laugh.
*There is something. I kind of completely wrecked the Kiraas castle's training grounds.*
"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine."
He scanned my body from head to toe, and only after confirming that I was truly unharmed did he pull me into a relieved hug.
"I thought something had happened to you."
"I'm sorry for worrying you."
I could hear the rapid thumping of his heart. He must have been really worried. A small smile escaped my lips.
"You think this is funny?"
"…No."
*Shake, shake.*
As I shook my head, nestled in his arms, Sage looked down at me and asked.
"So. What was this important thing you had to explain?"
"Well, you see."
A cold sweat broke out on my brow. I had told Hestia I would explain it well, but now I couldn't seem to get the words out.
As my eyes rolled around, avoiding his gaze, Sage's eyes narrowed.
"Did you cause trouble?"
"…Yeah. A little. No, actually, a lot. Big trouble."
"Spill it."
Sage said, as if to say, *Let's just hear it*. I hesitated for a moment before beginning my confession.
"…The training grounds are gone. About half of them?"
"We can just repair it."
"No, well… repairs might be a little difficult."
"Why?"
Because it was completely soaked in my poison, making it impossible to recover for the time being.
I smiled brightly and kept my mouth shut. Sage poked my cheek firmly.
"You're not going to explain properly?"
"Well. …It might need a purification process."
"…A purification process?"
Sage froze and gently pushed me out of his embrace.
Then he stared at me intently, as if demanding I spit out the words I was holding back.
I stubbornly avoided his gaze until my eyes met a man in the distance.
He was a man with long silver hair and dark, purplish-black eyes, possessing a somewhat decadent beauty.
The moment our eyes met, he smiled as if he'd been waiting. A shiver ran down my spine.
As I stood frozen in a daze, Sage sensed something was wrong and turned to look behind him.
"I see this is why you left in such a hurry."
The man, who was with someone who appeared to be his aide, slowly closed the distance between us.
I recognized the man at once.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Diel Artban."