From what I've heard from him so far, Duke Lucien is the type of person who blurts out things without any basis.
So, that statement was likely just a passing remark, but what made me wonder if that might not be the case was Sir Aldor's reaction.
“...!”
For a split second, his eyes shook helplessly. Anyone who saw it could tell that he was agitated.
Why are you doing that?
If you're not going to betray me, then there's no need to be agitated. Why?
I was taken aback by his unexpected reaction and stared at him half-absorbed.
“Then I will take my leave now, Duke Leopold.”
“Please take a look, Your Excellency, the Duke of Lucien.”
On the other hand, Sir Aldor calmly escorted Duke Lucien away on my behalf as if nothing had happened.
What?
Did I see something wrong?
That can't be true.
I looked at Sir Aldor with half-belief and half-doubt.
He looked back at me only after the Duke of Lucien had completely disappeared from sight.
“...”
The moment our eyes met, it was only for a moment, but I could clearly see his pupils fluctuating.
As expected, I wasn't seeing things wrong.
“If you wish to return to the Duke’s residence, please take the carriage....”
“Why did you get so agitated just now?”
“...”
I cut him off and asked him straight to the point.
Then, Sor Aldor swallowed what he was about to say, looked at me blankly, then let out a long sigh and spoke to Sir Aaron.
“Sir Aaron. Go ahead and prepare the captain’s carriage.”
Sir Aaron looked at me instead of answering.
It was a look that asked if it was okay to do as Sir Aldor ordered.
I nodded, as I also agreed with Sir Aaron giving up his seat.
After Sir Aaron left, Sir Aldor asked me.
“There are a lot of eyes watching here, would you like to go somewhere else for a moment, Miss?”
Same facial expression and voice as usual.
But I'm sure it's not just my imagination that feels strange.
"Is it so."
We went inside the corridor, avoiding people's eyes.
Fearing to hide himself behind a large pillar, Sir Aldor knelt on one knee and placed a hand on his chest.
“I sincerely apologize for any concern I may have caused you due to my personal circumstances.”
“What personal circumstances were there?”
“That’s... I keep having strange dreams these days.”
Dream?
“In my dream, the young lady and I… … .”
Sir Aldor stopped speaking, covered his mouth with his hand, and lowered his head.
“Sor Aldor?”
“... I know it’s a blasphemous dream. Even though dreams can’t be controlled at will, I shouldn’t have dreams like this...”
“What on earth did you dream about that makes you do that?”
When I asked him in a questioning tone, Sir Aldor lowered his head and muttered.
"...That."
The voice was so small that I couldn't hear it even if I pricked up my ears like a rabbit.
“What did you just say?”
“...”
“Stop making people uncomfortable and speak straight.”
When I urged him, Sir Aldor spoke in a louder, but still small voice.
“In my dream... the young lady proposed to me.”
Huh?
“You asked me to marry you because you couldn’t trust anyone else but me... I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay.”
Yes, it wasn't Sir Aldor's fault.
As he said, dreams were not something you could control at will.
Besides, I didn't think it was his fault since I had actually proposed to him in my second life saying similar things.
And if my guess is correct, then perhaps it is not just a dream.
“Tell me more about that dream.”
“...I know you might feel a little offended, but are you okay with that?”
"It's okay."
Even though I said it was okay, Sir Aldor hesitated for a while as if his mind was still on the line, and then cautiously opened his mouth.
“It was a dream so I don’t remember the details, but Miss...”
Even though he didn't remember, Sor Aldor went into quite some detail.
Thanks to that, I too was able to recall, one by one, what happened when I married him in my second life.
“You said you wanted to eat an apple, so I climbed an apple tree and fell.”
“It wasn’t me who said I wanted to eat it, but Sir Aldor who offered to give it to me first.”
“...How did you know?”
How did you know?
I know, I've experienced it too.
“Just. I just felt like Sor Aldor would do that.”
However, Skr Aldor thought it was all a dream, so he couldn't tell the truth and just muddled things through.
Even Sor Aldor passed it by without much suspicion.
“If I had only dreamed it once or twice, I would have just thought it was a bad dream and let it go, but as I kept having dreams, my mind started to feel restless and I became sensitive to even the smallest things related to the young lady.”
Sir Aldor continued speaking, bowing his head slightly.
“In particular, the young lady repeatedly warned me never to betray you.”
That's what it was.
At that time, I wasn't betrayed by the people around me, but I was still scared.
I wanted to make sure that Aldor was on my side, so I told him that several times and received a definite answer that he would not do that.
“So when the Duke of Lucien said that strange thing, I suddenly remembered that and was shaken. I’m sorry, my lady.”
“Um, no.”
If that's the reason, then it's completely understandable.
It's understandable to be confused when you've had a strange dream not once, but several times.
...Actually, it’s not a dream.
Anyway, if Sir Aldor had dreamed of what happened in my second life, it was somewhat understandable why he said such things last night while drinking.
It would be a lie to say that there was no awkward part, but at the time, he was also quite drunk.
I guess he said that because he couldn't tell the difference between dream and reality at the time.
The problem was that this hypothesis presupposed that Sir Aldor liked me.
Sir Aldor, do you like me?
The words rolled around in my mouth and then disappeared.
I don't have a habit of beating around the bush, but it was impolite to ask such a question directly.
If it's someone you're close with, you have to be even more careful.
Moreover, unlike Perdes, Sir Aldor seemed to be trying his best not to show off, so I was even more cautious about asking.
“Seeing you dreaming about marriage, I guess Sir Aldor wants to get married soon too.”
Still, I wanted to check his feelings.
If it was true, it had to be cut off decisively.
Because I will never marry him like in my second life.
“Well, that makes sense, since your younger brother said he’s getting married soon. I hope Sir Aldor also meets a good person soon and gets married.”
I wonder if you understand what I'm trying to say.
Sir Aldor nodded, smiling as if he had chewed bitter herbs.
“Yes, I hope so.”
***
“Huff, huff, let’s go a little slower, Young Master!”
Gnosis gasped and cried out desperately, but his voice did not reach Perdes.
“Ugh, ugh.”
Finally, when Gnosis, out of breath and with his legs giving out, collapsed, Perdes stopped and looked back at him.
“Are you only this tired? That’s why I told you to train your physical strength regularly.”
“At my age, this level of physical strength is great!”
“Stop joking and let’s go quickly.”
“Oh my, really...”
Gnosis sighed deeply and stood up awkwardly.
“But is there a reason you’re in such a hurry?”
“Of course. I have to meet Byblos.”
Byblos.
A great sage who is believed to be half-elf and half-human.
The reason Perdes came to the Kingdom of Anigma was to meet him.
But here too a problem arose.
The thing is, Byblos mostly stays in the royal laboratory and rarely goes out.
While Perdes was anxiously waiting for the chance to meet him, he heard that Byblos was visiting the Royal Library for a regular magic research meeting.
“My source said that he wasn’t just going to the library for a bit and leaving, but that he would be staying for at least half a day because of the Magic Research Society.”
“But once the Magic Research Society starts, it’ll be hard to find a good time to talk to him. That’s why I’m trying to meet him before they start.”
“I doubt we’ll ever meet.”
“Once you try it, you’ll know.”
Is that okay?
Rather, he thinks it will make the other person angry.
Gnosis was half in doubt, but looking at Perdes' current condition, he didn't think Perdes would listen to anything he said, so he didn't bother to say anything.
“Let’s go quickly. The magic research meeting will start soon.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll go.”
They hurried their steps, which had paused for a moment, and headed toward the library.
Thanks to the early morning rush, he was able to arrive at the library just in time for its opening, but there was one problem.
“Where should I start looking?”
The problem was that the Royal Library was unnecessarily large.
Perdes casually asked the librarian about the location of Byblos, but he consistently pretended not to know, so he couldn't get any help.
'But it's impossible to search all of this place.'
Perdes frowned and looked up at the high library ceiling.
Gnosis also looked embarrassed and asked him.
“What are you going to do now?”
“...I have to find him.”
“Huh? Are you sure you’re going to search through this whole place?”
“Since he is a great sage, he would have brought along magicians and servants to assist him. So, I think it would be best to look for places where there are a lot of people.”
“That’s easy to say...”
“Then come up with another good method.”
When Perdes opened his eyes wide and looked at him, Gnosis stepped back, grumbling.
“Then I’ll look to the east, and you look to the west. Whether we find it or not, I’ll meet you back here in the central hall in an hour.”
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