“...So, how about going to the Kingdom of Anigma with Gnosis?”
It was a bit awkward for me to speak to Perdes directly, but I had no choice but to do so since Gnosis only spoke with the utmost accuracy.
“...”
Perdes didn't say anything and just looked at me blankly.
I felt a little uncomfortable because he was staring at me so persistently.
I was also worried that it would be discovered that there was some other ulterior motive besides pure kindness.
I wanted to turn my head away, but I was afraid that I would really get caught, so I tried to act calm and met his gaze.
“Are you serious?”
Then Perdes tilted his head slightly.
“Do you really want me to go to the Kingdom of Anigma with Gnosis?”
"Yes."
Even if my intentions were not pure, my wish for him to go to the Kingdom of Anigma was genuine.
When I nodded without hesitation, his eyes closed thinly like a flounder.
He looked at me intently as if trying to gauge whether I was being sincere.
It was a persistent gaze like before, but this time it wasn't particularly burdensome, perhaps because it was sincere.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
When I asked with a smile, Perdes frowned and asked back.
“Why do you want me to go to the Kingdom of Anigma?”
“Well, Lord Perdes, you’ve always wanted to travel the continent freely and study magic. But because of me, you couldn’t leave and were stuck here.”
It was a question I had expected, and I had thought about how I would answer in advance, so I answered without hesitation.
“That’s been on my mind... Now that this great opportunity has come, I’m telling you this in the hopes that you’ll grab it.”
Perdes said with a furrowed eyebrow.
“I never thought that I was stranded here because of you, so give up such strange thoughts.”
“Even if you say you’ve never thought about it that way, Mr. Perdes, it seems that way to other people.”
“...”
“That applies to me too.”
The wrinkle between Perdes' eyebrows deepened.
I could see that he was upset, but I pretended not to notice and continued talking.
“There’s something I really want to ask of you, Perdes.”
“...Is there anything you would like to ask of me?”
"Yes."
“What is that?”
“First of all, since you have come all the way to the Kingdom of Anigma, I hope you have seen and learned a lot, just as Lord Perdes had hoped.”
“Hmm.”
Perdes crossed his arms and sank deep into the back of the sofa.
“It looks like you’re going to ask me something difficult since you’re saying that from the beginning.”
“It might be a little bit of a hassle, but it won’t be difficult. You just have to watch from the side.”
"Surveillance?"
“Yes. Please have Perdes watch over Gnosis to make sure he doesn’t leak the magic circle or what he sees and hears here to the outside world.”
Perdes' eyebrows were slanted.
“That means you don’t believe in Gnosis.”
“I don’t completely believe him.”
Gnosis was someone Perdes trusted, so I trusted him more than others, but he was not someone I could trust with work as much as Perdes or Sir Aldor.
So a trustworthy watchdog was needed, and by all accounts, Perdes was the perfect man.
“There is no one I can trust other than Mr. Perdes.”
“...”
“So, I beg you, Lord Perdes.”
“...Haa, really.”
Perdes sighed deeply and shook his head.
“I can’t refuse if you say so.”
“Are you going to the Kingdom of Anigma with Gnosis?”
“Yes. I’ll go. Just go.”
Thank God.
I was worried that he might reject me, but now I feel relieved.
This will allow me to continue with my plans with peace of mind.
“I’m asking just in case, but you’re not making up excuses like this to get me away, are you?”
My heart pounded at the words that cut to the heart of the matter, making me feel relieved.
“What do you mean?”
I forced the corners of my hardened lips upward and blinked my eyes as if I knew nothing.
“Why would I want to separate myself from Perdes?”
“No. It’s nothing. It has to be something else.”
Perdes muttered to himself, thought about something, and then asked me.
“So when are you leaving for the Anigma Kingdom?”
“I’ll have to talk to Gnosis a bit more about that, but I think you’ll be leaving early next week at the latest.”
"What?"
Perdes' eyes widened slightly as if he was taken aback.
“We’re leaving that quickly?”
“Can’t you do that? Oh, is it because you’re doing business with Nicole Tesis?”
“No. I’m doing this because of the Emperor.”
Perdes frowned and clenched his chin.
“Even if I finish the investigation and return as quickly as possible, it will take a month... Then I won’t be able to attend the wedding.”
The wedding that Perdes is talking about now was mine and his wedding.
To be exact, it was a wedding unilaterally arranged by the Emperor, without any consideration for our wishes.
“If the Emperor finds out about this, he will be furious.”
“Don’t worry about that part, I’ll take care of it.”
“Ah. Now that I think about it, you told me before that you would take care of the marriage issue so don’t worry.”
Perdes let out a small exclamation as he belatedly remembered that fact.
Soon, narrowed eyes turned to me.
“But you didn’t tell me what the plan was.”
“You will understand naturally as time goes by, so please wait a little.”
“That means you still have no intention of telling me.”
When I laughed instead of answering, Perdes frowned.
“You say you trust me, but you don’t tell me things like this.”
"Sorry."
“No, it’s okay. I’m used to it now.”
Contrary to his words that he was okay, his expression was not very good.
“What I can tell you for sure now is that everything will be sorted out by the time Lord Perdes returns from the Kingdom of Anigma.”
“How far... No. I’m not going to ask because you won’t answer even if I ask.”
Perdes shrugged his shoulders, looking half-resigned, and stood up.
“Then I’ll be going now. Have a good night.”
He left the room without even looking at me, after saying a brief greeting.
“Are you angry?”
Well, it makes sense since I said I believed in him but kept it a secret.
"Ha."
I sighed and sank deeper into the back of the sofa.
The soft sofa hugged me as warmly as my mother's arms, but my mind was filled with other thoughts, so I didn't have the luxury of feeling that comfort.
I didn't notice it earlier because I was focused on sending Perdes to the Kingdom of Anigma, but after that problem was solved, other problems came to mind.
One of them was that it seemed like it would happen around the time that Perdes arrived in the Kingdom of Anigma.
Then he would immediately realize that I was the one who started it and try to return to the empire.
Then there would be no point in sending him to the Anigma Kingdom, so I had to stop him somehow.
“I have no choice but to ask you a favor.”
I didn't want to ask him for a personal favor, but I had no choice.
After deciding what to do, I burned the unfinished letter I was writing because Gnosis suddenly came to visit me, and took out a new letter.
After talking with Gnosis, they decided to leave on Monday.
Perdes also said that it was okay at that time.
Even though it's the coming Monday, there are only three days left.
It was a little tight trying to get ready to leave.
It was even more burdensome because I had to prepare without others knowing.
The only people who knew that Gnosis and Perdes were leaving were the two parties involved, me, and Sir Aldor.
I didn't want to tell Sir Aldor, but I had no choice but to do so since he had to prepare for their departure on my behalf.
“Here are the train tickets you mentioned and the pass to the Kingdom of Anigma, my lady.”
"Great job."
There was no need to check the train ticket separately, so I just looked at the pass.
Gnosis was a commoner, so it didn't matter if his status was exposed, but Perdes wasn't.
Since he was a member of the royal family, he could not use his real identity, so he disguised himself as the spirit of a certain nobleman.
And as a noble of the Kingdom of Artina, not the Empire.
Not only was it relatively less noticeable for a noble from the same Allied nation than from the Empire, but Prophetes IV could immediately come to their aid if anything happened.
“I received it because the maximum period of stay allowed at a time is one year. Is that okay?”
“It’s okay. Thank you for your hard work, Sir Aldor.”
“Is there anything else you would like to ask me?”
“Then, when you return to the Knights, would you please give this ledger to Harnes?”
“Yes, Miss.”
I learned this while handing over the ledger: Sir Aldor's expression was brighter than usual.
His eyes also seemed to sparkle with life.
“Sir Aldor, are you feeling well?”
I was just asking, but Sir Aldor looked at me with surprise as if a secret had been revealed.
“What? Why are you so surprised?”
“...It’s nothing.”
No, I think there's something.
My intuition told me so, having watched Sir Aldor for nearly 20 years and even having once married him.
As I stared at him persistently, Sir Aldor lowered his gaze with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“There’s nothing particularly pleasant about it. It’s just...”
"Just?"
“There is something a little bit happy about it.”
Isn't that it?
“Then I will go now.”
Sir Aldor went out without even listening to my answer.
To anyone who saw it, it looked like he was holding his tail back because he was afraid that I would pry him apart.
It's a little cute.
I picked up the papers, smiling.
It was a bit awkward for me to speak to Perdes directly, but I had no choice but to do so since Gnosis only spoke with the utmost accuracy.
“...”
Perdes didn't say anything and just looked at me blankly.
I felt a little uncomfortable because he was staring at me so persistently.
I was also worried that it would be discovered that there was some other ulterior motive besides pure kindness.
I wanted to turn my head away, but I was afraid that I would really get caught, so I tried to act calm and met his gaze.
“Are you serious?”
Then Perdes tilted his head slightly.
“Do you really want me to go to the Kingdom of Anigma with Gnosis?”
"Yes."
Even if my intentions were not pure, my wish for him to go to the Kingdom of Anigma was genuine.
When I nodded without hesitation, his eyes closed thinly like a flounder.
He looked at me intently as if trying to gauge whether I was being sincere.
It was a persistent gaze like before, but this time it wasn't particularly burdensome, perhaps because it was sincere.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
When I asked with a smile, Perdes frowned and asked back.
“Why do you want me to go to the Kingdom of Anigma?”
“Well, Lord Perdes, you’ve always wanted to travel the continent freely and study magic. But because of me, you couldn’t leave and were stuck here.”
It was a question I had expected, and I had thought about how I would answer in advance, so I answered without hesitation.
“That’s been on my mind... Now that this great opportunity has come, I’m telling you this in the hopes that you’ll grab it.”
Perdes said with a furrowed eyebrow.
“I never thought that I was stranded here because of you, so give up such strange thoughts.”
“Even if you say you’ve never thought about it that way, Mr. Perdes, it seems that way to other people.”
“...”
“That applies to me too.”
The wrinkle between Perdes' eyebrows deepened.
I could see that he was upset, but I pretended not to notice and continued talking.
“There’s something I really want to ask of you, Perdes.”
“...Is there anything you would like to ask of me?”
"Yes."
“What is that?”
“First of all, since you have come all the way to the Kingdom of Anigma, I hope you have seen and learned a lot, just as Lord Perdes had hoped.”
“Hmm.”
Perdes crossed his arms and sank deep into the back of the sofa.
“It looks like you’re going to ask me something difficult since you’re saying that from the beginning.”
“It might be a little bit of a hassle, but it won’t be difficult. You just have to watch from the side.”
"Surveillance?"
“Yes. Please have Perdes watch over Gnosis to make sure he doesn’t leak the magic circle or what he sees and hears here to the outside world.”
Perdes' eyebrows were slanted.
“That means you don’t believe in Gnosis.”
“I don’t completely believe him.”
Gnosis was someone Perdes trusted, so I trusted him more than others, but he was not someone I could trust with work as much as Perdes or Sir Aldor.
So a trustworthy watchdog was needed, and by all accounts, Perdes was the perfect man.
“There is no one I can trust other than Mr. Perdes.”
“...”
“So, I beg you, Lord Perdes.”
“...Haa, really.”
Perdes sighed deeply and shook his head.
“I can’t refuse if you say so.”
“Are you going to the Kingdom of Anigma with Gnosis?”
“Yes. I’ll go. Just go.”
Thank God.
I was worried that he might reject me, but now I feel relieved.
This will allow me to continue with my plans with peace of mind.
“I’m asking just in case, but you’re not making up excuses like this to get me away, are you?”
My heart pounded at the words that cut to the heart of the matter, making me feel relieved.
“What do you mean?”
I forced the corners of my hardened lips upward and blinked my eyes as if I knew nothing.
“Why would I want to separate myself from Perdes?”
“No. It’s nothing. It has to be something else.”
Perdes muttered to himself, thought about something, and then asked me.
“So when are you leaving for the Anigma Kingdom?”
“I’ll have to talk to Gnosis a bit more about that, but I think you’ll be leaving early next week at the latest.”
"What?"
Perdes' eyes widened slightly as if he was taken aback.
“We’re leaving that quickly?”
“Can’t you do that? Oh, is it because you’re doing business with Nicole Tesis?”
“No. I’m doing this because of the Emperor.”
Perdes frowned and clenched his chin.
“Even if I finish the investigation and return as quickly as possible, it will take a month... Then I won’t be able to attend the wedding.”
The wedding that Perdes is talking about now was mine and his wedding.
To be exact, it was a wedding unilaterally arranged by the Emperor, without any consideration for our wishes.
“If the Emperor finds out about this, he will be furious.”
“Don’t worry about that part, I’ll take care of it.”
“Ah. Now that I think about it, you told me before that you would take care of the marriage issue so don’t worry.”
Perdes let out a small exclamation as he belatedly remembered that fact.
Soon, narrowed eyes turned to me.
“But you didn’t tell me what the plan was.”
“You will understand naturally as time goes by, so please wait a little.”
“That means you still have no intention of telling me.”
When I laughed instead of answering, Perdes frowned.
“You say you trust me, but you don’t tell me things like this.”
"Sorry."
“No, it’s okay. I’m used to it now.”
Contrary to his words that he was okay, his expression was not very good.
“What I can tell you for sure now is that everything will be sorted out by the time Lord Perdes returns from the Kingdom of Anigma.”
“How far... No. I’m not going to ask because you won’t answer even if I ask.”
Perdes shrugged his shoulders, looking half-resigned, and stood up.
“Then I’ll be going now. Have a good night.”
He left the room without even looking at me, after saying a brief greeting.
“Are you angry?”
Well, it makes sense since I said I believed in him but kept it a secret.
"Ha."
I sighed and sank deeper into the back of the sofa.
The soft sofa hugged me as warmly as my mother's arms, but my mind was filled with other thoughts, so I didn't have the luxury of feeling that comfort.
I didn't notice it earlier because I was focused on sending Perdes to the Kingdom of Anigma, but after that problem was solved, other problems came to mind.
One of them was that it seemed like it would happen around the time that Perdes arrived in the Kingdom of Anigma.
Then he would immediately realize that I was the one who started it and try to return to the empire.
Then there would be no point in sending him to the Anigma Kingdom, so I had to stop him somehow.
“I have no choice but to ask you a favor.”
I didn't want to ask him for a personal favor, but I had no choice.
After deciding what to do, I burned the unfinished letter I was writing because Gnosis suddenly came to visit me, and took out a new letter.
***
After talking with Gnosis, they decided to leave on Monday.
Perdes also said that it was okay at that time.
Even though it's the coming Monday, there are only three days left.
It was a little tight trying to get ready to leave.
It was even more burdensome because I had to prepare without others knowing.
The only people who knew that Gnosis and Perdes were leaving were the two parties involved, me, and Sir Aldor.
I didn't want to tell Sir Aldor, but I had no choice but to do so since he had to prepare for their departure on my behalf.
“Here are the train tickets you mentioned and the pass to the Kingdom of Anigma, my lady.”
"Great job."
There was no need to check the train ticket separately, so I just looked at the pass.
Gnosis was a commoner, so it didn't matter if his status was exposed, but Perdes wasn't.
Since he was a member of the royal family, he could not use his real identity, so he disguised himself as the spirit of a certain nobleman.
And as a noble of the Kingdom of Artina, not the Empire.
Not only was it relatively less noticeable for a noble from the same Allied nation than from the Empire, but Prophetes IV could immediately come to their aid if anything happened.
“I received it because the maximum period of stay allowed at a time is one year. Is that okay?”
“It’s okay. Thank you for your hard work, Sir Aldor.”
“Is there anything else you would like to ask me?”
“Then, when you return to the Knights, would you please give this ledger to Harnes?”
“Yes, Miss.”
I learned this while handing over the ledger: Sir Aldor's expression was brighter than usual.
His eyes also seemed to sparkle with life.
“Sir Aldor, are you feeling well?”
I was just asking, but Sir Aldor looked at me with surprise as if a secret had been revealed.
“What? Why are you so surprised?”
“...It’s nothing.”
No, I think there's something.
My intuition told me so, having watched Sir Aldor for nearly 20 years and even having once married him.
As I stared at him persistently, Sir Aldor lowered his gaze with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“There’s nothing particularly pleasant about it. It’s just...”
"Just?"
“There is something a little bit happy about it.”
Isn't that it?
“Then I will go now.”
Sir Aldor went out without even listening to my answer.
To anyone who saw it, it looked like he was holding his tail back because he was afraid that I would pry him apart.
It's a little cute.
I picked up the papers, smiling.
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