TMTNO - Chapter 76

As the smile on Shish's lips deepened, the shameless Bilau's face hardened. Good.

"I've often heard from the abbot that you're a wise priest. He said he's considering you as the next abbot."

As if unaware of this, Shish continued speaking in a quiet tone.

“Please, make a choice that will not disappoint the abbot’s expectations.”

Shish uncrossed his arms, placed his right hand on his chest, and bowed politely. It was so formal that it almost seemed sarcastic.

The Third Princess was so thoroughly loathed that Bilau meekly backed down. The defeated twin brothers withdrew, leaving only Sish and me in the room.

“Master, are you awake? How are you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

So, I want to go to the Rose Palace.

“I’m glad you recovered.”

But before I could open my mouth, Shish twisted his lips into a smile.

“I have many questions for you, Master.”

“I’m sleeping!”

It's a question from the Prime Minister, so even if you think about it a hundred times, it's not good!

I covered myself with the blanket up to my head, but soon Shish took it away.

“It’s cold. Really? I told you it’s cold.”

The room was warm, so I wasn't cold at all, but I cried hard because I felt like my shield had been taken away.

Fortunately, Shish obediently covered me with the blanket.

Come to think of it, I've changed into my pajamas.

He wouldn't have ordered a maid to change it, so Shish must have changed it himself. My liver was too small to be judged by such things, and this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

As the blanket covered my body, a feeling of relief washed over me, but then a murderous question was asked.

“I wondered where you had been for two months, and it turned out you were staying with men in a monastery that no one could enter?”

“There is room for misunderstanding.”

Red eyes visible in the dim light look at me as if asking me to speak.

“It wasn’t like that for two months.”

Was that an excuse that didn't even sound like an excuse?

There was no change in Shish's cold, hard expression, and I slowly moved my body to the side.

"Hey, Shish. I told you I didn't run away. The tower exploded, that's why. It just happened to fall into the monastery."

So I am innocent!

I tried desperately to persuade him, but Shish didn't respond. Sitting next to me, he reached out and pointed in the direction I'd been running.

I looked up at Shish, and Shish looked down at me. He's handsome even from below.

The handsome man cupped my left cheek with one hand.

“That’s right. It’s not your fault, Master.”

Did the excuse work?

“By the way, if you fell into the monastery... it means they ignored the official document I sent.”

Shish lowered his eyes as if trying to remember something, and even though it was a simple action, a chill ran down my spine.

“Official document?”

“Yes. In the name of the royal family, we sent out several official documents asking that anyone who was unidentified be brought to us.”

Of course, there's no way he would stay still.

"I always got the answer that there was no one, but I was suspicious. I received reports of someone similar to you in other places, so I was looking around those places and even visiting the monastery when you returned."

It's a bit sad that you didn't just arrest me, but went out of your way to find me.

“There was a reason why they said there wasn’t anything.”

Shish's thin lips drew a curve, and for a moment, I worried about the future of Bilau and Cain. You guys, it seems like you just provoked a formidable opponent...

“Somehow, the way you look at my master is bothersome.”

“Did you just kick them out on purpose?”

“Because it seemed like the master wanted to avoid them.”

His narrow, curved eyes were so beautiful that my mouth fell open. Then, Shish's thumb rubbed my lips.

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill them. After all, they're your older brother, right?”

Yes, they're my older brother.

“But what did you do with him?”

I was shocked by the new realization and was dumbfounded when I was suddenly struck.

“Haha, hahaha. Nothing?”

"Nothing?"

I grabbed the hand that was covering my left cheek and pulled it over my face, then peered at Shish's expression through the gap between his long fingers.

“...Master, you’re quite cute. You’re very cute, but I won’t let you pass today.”

It wasn't something I did to look cute, but aside from that, I liked the feel of Shish's palm, so I buried my face in his hand.

“You won’t tell me this, right...”

The low, hushed voice gave me goosebumps.

I threw away Shish's hand, worried that my actions might seem like a change of subject, and his eyes widened.

Wasn't this supposed to be wrong?

“Did you do something you can’t tell me about?”

“I’m your master, so why do I have to report every single thing you do? Yes?”

My mouth was still arguing, but my body slowly moved to pass under Shish's arm, which was blocking my way.

Then, Shish's hand moved and stopped me again.

“Yes, master.”

The calm voice was so frightening that I couldn't even look at him. Then the hand I had been burying my face in reached out.

Shish gently pushed my right cheek with the back of his hand, making me look at him.

“Why do you think I couldn’t go see the master before the founding of the country?”

You weren't able to come to see me? I thought you weren't coming.

"I don't think the Master knows, but I copied that book. It's the book I used to summon my master."

I wanted to turn my head to the side, but I was frozen and couldn't move.

“I copied it, but since it was a language I had never seen before, I didn’t know it, so I just kept it as is. But this time, the book the master brought from the magic tower was written in the same script?”

My breathing became slower and slower. No, I couldn't breathe.

“After comparing the two books, I was able to read them.”

Oh my goodness, I never said you were this crazy!

“Is the woman who fell for the Knight Commander and the Tower Master, the one my Master spoke of before, the one I was destined to become?”

Please, please, please.

I hope you're just saying that to scare me.

“The heroine of the book?”

I hope this is just a guess.

“The name is,”

I was revealing my emotions clearly in those red eyes, but I couldn't even think of hiding them.

“Was it Titian?”

Thud.

I thought I could hear my heart beating.

"Titiana Groval became Count Groval's adopted daughter about two months ago. She was trained as the Count's adopted daughter for two months, and now she's making her debut."

Yes, that's just what Shish investigated. There's no way he could read the book properly.

“The Knight Commander and the Lord of the Tower call her Titi... right? Yes, everyone, including the Crown Prince and me.”

Even if you were a novice, you wouldn't know what Yuno called the heroine when he met her today. Did you really read the book?

Oh my god.

“Now that the heroine has appeared, are you planning to push me onto her?”

Shish was smiling prettier than ever, but you could tell he was angrier than ever.

“And you want to live happily ever after with His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“What are you talking about, Shish, I-”

“-You met outside the book.”

The emotion in Shish's ruby ​​eyes, which had come so close that our noses were touching, was anger. The emotion I was revealing, immersed in a swamp of anger, was shock.

“It’s impossible that with all my power, manpower, and wealth, I can’t find a single person.”

The confidence of someone who knows all too well their own strength.

"But the master disappeared from this world without a trace. It was as if you had never existed."

“...”

“But that couldn’t be true, so I searched diligently. But you never showed up.”

Shish, illuminated by the dim light, looked very lonely.

“I thought you’d turn away when you showed up with His Highness the Crown Prince, who was out on an inspection tour, but I felt more relieved to see you again.”

A smooth hand slowly stroked my cheek, as if telling me to breathe.

“Yes, master.”

Shish continued talking while I took in oxygen little by little through the tip of my nose.

"I remember all the details of your work, including the process. I might get confused about the details, but can you give me a general idea of ​​the timing and process?"

I know that saying I'm confused is just being humble.

“I didn’t know anything until His Highness the Crown Prince returned from his absence, but then, when I started entrusting him with the work, I started to notice something strange.”

I wanted to cover my ears because I thought another story would come out that would suffocate me.

“I haven’t handed over any work to the Crown Prince in two months, not even for a long time before that.”

“...”

"Obviously, with a matter of this magnitude, I should have at least formally reported it to the Crown Prince in person. Why don't I remember doing that? The seal is there, after all."

As he sorted through the suspicious cases one by one, Shish quietly added that he had come to the conclusion that the Crown Prince had been absent for over half a year.

Half a year.

The period of time my senior spent outside.

It was so clear that I couldn't deny it.

“What’s even funnier is that memories of the Crown Prince only come to me when I need them.”

Shish's mind works incredibly quickly, so there's no such thing as a delayed memory. When he sets his mind to something, it's immediately organized in his head.

The mad Prime Minister is someone who has complete control over his own personality and usual behavioral patterns.

So, are you saying that you derived all this from the fact that the process of handling things through your own habits did not match?

“And the Princesses also exhibited similar traits. To be precise, they were the opposite of the Crown Prince.”

The first time he met and spoke with the Princess was about six months ago.

“I couldn’t confirm this part because my memory was vague, but I was able to understand it after reading the book.”

Shish, who explained everything one by one as if he was trying to shatter the vague hopes I had, made me realize that this situation was real.

“There was no Princess originally, was there?”

I couldn't even blink.

"Perhaps it was created to make this story plausible. I still don't know why it exists."

It was a strange voice, but to me it sounded like thunder.

“If the unnecessary Princess is to appear, the Crown Prince cannot simply leave his post.”

Shish smiled brightly, his eyes forming crescent moons.

“Then the Crown Prince must have spent half a year in only one place. Isn’t that right, Master?”

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