After hearing my response, Rodrick immediately asked a question.
"Then why."
"Because I was sick of the palace. I needed a way out of there. Thanks to the Archduke's safe return, that wish has already been fulfilled."
"..."
"In other words, your hard work was not in vain. So calm down."
Even though I said that he still looked displeased.
He is a very broad-minded person.
Whether I enjoy luxury or suffer persecution here is none of his concern.
I found it strange that he continued to care about me, the client, even though he had already received the commission.
I beckoned to him, who was still standing there with a discontented look on his face.
"Rather than that, let's sit down for now. I have a lot of questions to ask."
With a deep sigh, Rodrick finally sat down across from me.
I wanted to offer tea, but I was afraid that doing so would kill the conversation, so I got straight to the point.
"How did you end up in the North? I thought you were in the South. If you were, I wouldn't have heard about the competition, so I was surprised when you showed up out of nowhere."
Literally, if he had been in the South, he would never have heard of the monster hunting competition being held here.
His participation in the competition meant that he had been staying in the North recently.
Did he have some business to attend to in the North? So he stayed nearby and happened to hear about the hunting competition and participated?
I was secretly curious.
He surprised me with his unexpected answer.
"I came to see Your Highness."
"Me? Why?"
The compensation has already been properly paid and confirmed.
In that situation, it was difficult to understand why he came to see me.
With a shallow sigh, Rodrick answered.
"You seem like you forget relationships that have already passed without looking back, but I am very broad-minded."
"..."
"I heard that the Grand Duke led his army all the way to the palace. He's not the type of person to kill people recklessly, but you never know. He might have suddenly turned his head and stabbed someone with his sword."
Certainly, Kishian's momentum at the time was unusual.
Because he had led the army intending to burn down the palace.
Meanwhile, Rodrick continued speaking.
"I heard that he took Princess Letie away without much fuss and that His Majesty the Emperor and Princess Elona remained safely in the palace..."
"So you're worried about me? About my well-being?"
Rodrick nodded and added.
"That's why I went to see Princess Elona to check if she was okay. But the person in the palace didn't remember me at all, so I vaguely realized that you had been switched."
I felt like I knew what was going on even without hearing the rest of the story.
This broad-minded mercenary must have been worried about my well-being ever since.
So, while he was wandering around the North to check on me, he happened to find out that there was a hunting competition going on and he applied for it.
Now it's clear why Rodrick suddenly showed up.
My curiosity was satisfied, but this time I felt uneasy in a different way.
"Thank you for your concern, but it's unnecessary. I know how to take care of myself even if you don't."
"Are you sure you know how to do It? It seems like you're not being treated particularly well here."
"..."
"If you were dragged here by force because you were afraid of the Grand Duke, I will do something..."
"Rodrick."
He was cut off by a firm call.
Thankfully, he kept his mouth shut for a moment.
I looked straight into his eyes, which were still full of concern for me, and said something a little cold.
"Sometimes, sympathy given with good intentions can become violence to the other person."
"..."
"I am not as weak as you think. I did not come here because I gave in to the Archduke's violence. As I said before, I came here of my own free will."
I rejected the sympathy he offered.
There could not have been a more certain rejection.
He seemed to understand what I meant and didn't open his mouth any further.
He just ran one hand through his hair as if something was bothering him.
I waited without giving any separate order for him to leave, and eventually he got up on his own.
He stood up from his seat with a somewhat rough smile on his face, as always.
"Well, I'm sure you'll do well, but I guess I worried for nothing."
"Are you leaving?"
"I'll have to go south tomorrow morning, okay? Can I stay one more night? If I get kicked out in the middle of the night, something bad might happen to this frail, handsome man."
As I watched him throw out pointless jokes like he always did, I couldn't help but laugh.
"It's hard to agree with the saying that you're a fragile beauty, but please stay as long as you want. It's not like there's a shortage of rooms if you stay one more person."
"Well then, I guess I'll be going now. Have a good night."
He walked briskly toward the entrance as if he was about to leave.
But before opening the door and going out, he suddenly seemed to remember something and started walking towards the road.
As I looked at him with a puzzled look, he took something out of his arms.
"Here, just in case, keep it."
"What is this?"
What he held out was a butterfly-shaped brooch with several blue gems set into it.
"It's a magical tool. It transmits voices to someone far away."
A magic tool? If so, it must be quite expensive.
I've paid a fortune to wizards for even the simplest spell of changing the color of the jewel between my collarbones.
I paid such a high price for a single spell, so I couldn't even imagine how much it would cost for a tool that could be enchanted and activated whenever I wanted.
While they were surprised, Rodrick continued his explanation.
"If anything happens, just hold on to that thing and tell me so I can hear you."
"But something this expensive..."
"It's not that expensive. I'm just giving it to you as a courtesy, so please don't talk about unwanted sympathy or violence."
I tried to hand him the brooch again, telling him that I could not accept such an expensive item, but he refused to take it.
Only after he saw me put it in my arms did he finally feel relieved and start walking again.
He never looked back at me after that.
Rodrick quietly left the office, closed the door, and disappeared.
I had set up shop in the North and he had set up shop on the other side, so I might never see him again.
Unless I use this magic tool to contact him first.
"..."
Should we have at least said goodbye properly?
Suddenly, a feeling of regret came over me, but I soon shook my he
ad and shook it off.
The sun has already set.
Now that my curiosity about Rodrick was resolved, it was time to go see Kishian.
***
When I returned to the bedroom, Kishian had already finished showering.
As I also finished showering and came out in light slippers, he nodded to the seat next to him.
It must have meant to tell me to come there and lie down.
Since my hair was still wet, I shook my head, meaning that I would just shake the water off and leave.
After that, I was sitting in front of the dressing table, drying my hair with a soft towel when suddenly Kishian got up from the bed.
Then, like a bored cat, he came to me for no reason.
"..."
He came closer and stroked my wet hair with his somewhat dry and rough fingertips.
My senses became more sensitive due to the fingers occasionally brushing against the back of my neck.
Even though he was just fiddling around without any particular meaning, strange scenes kept appearing in my head.
It was a scene where he slowly put his hand inside the slip.
It was while I was daydreaming that I heard an unexpected question.
"I heard you were alone with Rodrick today."
“Ah.”
"What did you talk about?"
It seemed like Walter had submitted his report.
I answered with a faint smile on my face, similar to my usual one.
"I just asked him how he happened to participate in the hunting competition. As far as I know, he's a mercenary king who operates in the south. He said he just happened to participate... Then he asked if he could stay another day. He said that he was a fragile and handsome man and that if he got kicked out in the middle of the night, he might get into trouble."
"Don't joke around."
"Really. Other than that, we didn't talk much."
In fact, we talked quite a bit about the past, but it was a secret from Kishian.
I wanted to make sure that he never found out that I hired someone to help him.
Because I felt a little embarrassed that I had done that secretly, whether it was for my personal purposes or whatever.
Even after hearing my answer, Kishian didn't take his eyes off me.
"Really?"
"Yes, really. What else can we talk about? Is there anything that bothers you?"
A smile spread across his lips when I asked him back as if to ask why he was asking so persistently.
It was just a slightly stiff smile.
"If I don't care, isn't that strange? You're having a cozy time alone with another man."
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