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Chapter 28
Zephyrus tried to calm the heat rising in his face and spoke coldly.
“Sexual harassment.”
“Whaaaat?”
Clémen froze, her mouth agape.
A compliment had become a crime.
She couldn’t understand it.
‘Grandmother used to be happy when I said someone was pretty…’
Still, Clémen reluctantly nodded.
Unlike the desert, where people wore burkas to shield from the sun yet were tolerant of exposure, the North was more conservative. Different standards weren’t strange.
“I accept fully. I’m sorry.”
She clasped her hands together in apology. Zephyrus, still flushed, muttered coldly at her.
“At times like that, one says ‘humbly.’”
**
Zephyrus sat with his arms crossed, looking down at Clémen. Clémen straightened her back and lifted her chin slightly, mirroring his posture.
“How do I look, Master? Do I look like a noble too?”
“You look like a monkey imitating a human.”
“Hey! Fine! Say I’m a Southern person copying a Northern one! I am still human!”
The corner of Zephyrus’s mouth twitched, and he cleared his throat.
“Then I’ll begin the interrogation.”
“I’ll watch my words.”
“That’s obvious. Now, answer only what is asked. Do not speak freely.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ssshh.
It was the warning sound she sometimes heard from her grandmother. Clémen almost raised her arms automatically. Feeling embarrassed, she let out a sheepish laugh, only to be met with Zephyrus’s cold remark.
“Do not laugh.”
“Yes… uh, no.”
Clémen covered her mouth with both hands and signaled Zephyrus, indicating that the interrogation should begin.
“Ahem… first, your family background.”
Clémen rolled her eyes playfully. Did he just ask that? But his tone didn’t rise.
“Answer.”
“Oh, so I can answer.”
Zephyrus let out a faint sigh, and Clémen lowered her hands with a giggle.
Her laughter could blow away even a sigh. Some might call it delayed fact-checking. But for the Duchy, it was the best approach.
Although information agents had been sent to the South, they would just now be arriving. Travel alone took about two months, so there was no other choice.
They couldn’t wait endlessly, so this was their method: gather all available information about Clémen from the Empire and cross-reference it with her answers to gauge reliability.
Their trust depended on her forthcoming responses.
“My grandmother raised me. Now I’m alone.”
“Parents?”
“I don’t know. I’m curious too. By the way, Master, what kind of person was your father?”
“What did he do in the South?”
“Um… just…”
Clémen cast a sidelong glance at Zephyrus, who ignored her, and stared briefly at the air.
‘This was the first real work I did, wasn’t it?’
Since her grandmother had become a star in the desert, she hadn’t done anything significant. When hungry, she dug in the sand or hunted. She drank from oasis waters and wandered the desert.
“I just played!”
“But without money, how did you come here?”
“I had money. I just didn’t use it.”
It was her grandmother’s inheritance. There were quite a few jewels.
She had never seen her grandmother earn money, so it was a mystery how she had accumulated so much.
Anyway, Clémen had been quite lost at the time, feeling as if she were alone in the world. Having no one to stop her when she got angry was painful.
She didn’t like using her grandmother’s wealth. She didn’t know how.
So she endured.
She befriended the sand and used the stars as guides, wandering through villages. She faced threats and even came close to death.
“Why come to the North?”
“I already told you that—”
“Repeat it with your own mouth.”
“I thought my body’s warmth would feel better in a cold place.”
“No other reason? Just that?”
Clémen stared at Zephyrus for a moment. She asked again, somewhat irritably.
“Would there be any reason to choose the North besides that?”
“…I see.”
Zephyrus’s shoulders seemed to slump. Oh no, Clémen pressed on with the next question.
“And is there more? Oh, there’s quite a list here.”
The paper Zephyrus held was filled with questions. Only the matron knew that Zephyrus had written them all himself.
“We’ll proceed quickly.”
“Yes!”
“How did you get to the North?”
“I walked!”
“You didn’t take a carriage?”
“The horse couldn’t have managed it, I think.”
She had tried riding a camel once and failed.
“That doesn’t seem so bad.”
“I told you coming North was nice. The heat has mostly gone away.”
Zephyrus wrote her answer down.
“Next, what happened at the Mage Tower that caused a fire?”
“Oh.”
Clémen pursed her lips.
“Why the surprise? Were you planning to lie?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
Recalling what the mage studying her constitution had said about the Pruna Duchy, she only thought that even if circumstances were difficult, nobles were still nobles.
‘They said no one would ever know who caused the fire…’
Clémen explained briefly.
“I went to the Mage Tower because they were curious about my body. The mage researched me. Then there was a fire! And I got kicked out…”
“Are you saying we’re supposed to believe the Tower let you go after causing a fire?”
“They confiscated everything. Took all my possessions! I was left penniless!”
Her grandmother’s jewels had all been taken there.
“I clearly said it wouldn’t work.”
The mage, however, insisted she needed to see the limits to understand better.
Eventually, the lab caught fire, and she collapsed. The mage had some shame, so he didn’t demand compensation, but she did pay for medical care—which was nearly all her wealth.
“So, did you learn anything?”
“No! Nothing!”
Clémen grew angrier the more she thought about it. Zephyrus gestured to her.
His hand, hotter than usual, touched hers.
He pulled her onto his lap and held her.
“There’s still something important left.”
“What?”
“Do you have any favorite foods?”
“Bear meat was good—wait, is the interrogation over?”
“It’s ongoing, isn’t it?”
Clémen looked confused, twisting to face him. His face was serious, without a trace of playfulness.
“As I said, it’s an important question. And foods you dislike?”
“…I just avoid insects, I guess.”
“Insects…”
Zephyrus shuddered slightly, closing and opening his eyes.
“Favorite books?”
“All the books I’ve read so far?”
“Why is there a question mark after everything?”
Clémen scratched her head.
“I’ve never really thought about it.”
“I see.”
Zephyrus handed her the pen he held.
“It’s your assignment.”
“Eek!”
Despite her protest, the assignment was given without mercy.
“From now on, every time you find something you like, write it down until you have ten items.”
“Ten?”
“Yes.”
“Bear meat, potato salad, oh, potato bread…”
“One item per category. One book, one food, one color. Like that.”
Clémen’s lips quivered. She couldn’t put her feelings into words.
She disliked it—something about it felt wrong! But why, she couldn’t tell.
Eventually, she whispered the same question back to Zephyrus.
“What about you, Master? What do you like?”
There was no special reason Zephyrus asked. He just wanted Clémen to live comfortably in the North—food, clothing, daily life. She had said she wouldn’t leave, but people’s hearts change. Perhaps catering to her preferences would keep her in the North longer.
“Hmm. Alright, maybe I’ll think about it.”
But being asked the same question in return made him realize something.
He had never once been curious about himself.
“What are you going to do with the things you find I like?”
“Hmm… make you happy, I suppose.”
“You? Make me happy?”
“Yes. If you’re happy, I think I’ll be happy too.”
Zephyrus’s eyes widened. Then he slightly curved his lips upward.
“I can’t handle this.”
“Wow.”
“Wow? Why is that?”
Clémen’s expression went blank, then she burst into laughter.
“No! I’ll go do my assignment then! Hahaha!”
She jumped up and left the room before Zephyrus could stop her.
“…”
He silently glanced down at the paper on the desk and moved his lips slightly.
“What… did I do wrong?”
