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Chapter 05
The thought of his sapphire-like eyes was terrifyingly beautiful, but it didn’t evoke any emotion in me beyond fear.
Only after I saw the man waving goodbye to me with a smile as he boarded the carriage with the Luhanes ducal crest emblazoned on it did I feel like I could finally breathe properly.
What the hell just happened?
I was halfway out of my mind, my head in my hands, realizing that all my hard work had been for nothing and that I was right back where I started.
I could still feel the sensation of his fingers brushing against my ear as they passed through my hair.
I lifted my sleeve and rubbed at my ear.
Oh, this isn’t it. This really isn’t it.
I had a feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.
* * *
Knowing that Michael wouldn’t be at the Kristenner Marquisate at this hour, I headed straight for the mercenary guild’s headquarters in the capital, ‘Dion.’
As soon as the carriage arrived in front of the headquarters building, I practically rolled out of it. I caused Owen, the coachman, and Rachel, the escort who had followed me, to scream before I dashed into the building.
I flew up to the top floor of the building where I assumed Michael would be.
I ignored the mercenary guild’s employees and familiar branch managers who greeted me with, “Milady!” and kept running.
When I found the office right next to the reception room, I kicked the door open and shouted, “Michael!”
Michael, who had been sitting at his desk working on paperwork, looked up with a fierce expression as the door suddenly flew open and I rushed in.
“I told you not to run around like an ill-bred lady. And I told you to knock before entering my office, didn’t I? You’re not a three-year-old with a runny nose anymore, are you…?”
“No, that’s not important right now! Why is Lyxion Luhanes at my arranged meeting?!”
I approached Michael as if I were charging at him and slammed my hands down on his desk.
My rude behavior seemed to deepen the wrinkles between Michael’s brows, but then he suddenly asked in surprise, “Oh, did the duke really show up?”
Huh? What kind of reaction is that?
He sent me to an arranged meeting with Lyxion Luhanes, and now he’s acting like he didn’t expect the other party to actually show up. What the hell is…
As I stared at him with blatant bewilderment, Michael cleared his throat as if he were embarrassed and opened his mouth.
“Well, there are circumstances.”
“I’d like you to explain those circumstances to me in detail, from beginning to end.”
“Alright, but calm down and sit down first.”
Michael pointed to the sofa far away from his desk as he watched me start to breathe heavily like an angry bull. His gesture clearly indicated that he wanted to put as much distance between us as possible.
“I had to meet with the previous Duke Luhanes a while ago.”
“You? With William Luhanes? Why?!”
I was so surprised that I exclaimed out loud as I walked over to the sofa.
“I’m not deaf.”
I ignored Michael’s annoyed remark and put on a serious face.
Why? Why did Michael Kristenner meet with William Luhanes?
In the original, it was clear that they had no significant public or private dealings. Why?
My head, which had been in turmoil ever since Lyxion Luhanes showed up at the arranged meeting, became even more confused.
“They came to me for advice on a gift for Her Majesty the Empress’s birthday.”
A birthday gift for Empress Serena? Did they come to the mercenary guild for help?
I made an even more confused face as I listened to his answer.
I knew that Empress Serena’s birthday was coming up soon, but there was nothing in the original about William contacting Michael in relation to her birthday gift.
No matter how much earlier than the original’s starting point it was, I didn’t like the idea of a relationship between them that didn’t exist in the original at all.
Could it be because of me? Did the story become strange because of the appearance of Elizabeth Kristenner, who didn’t exist in the original story?
But I haven’t done anything that could have damaged the original story during this time. Why was I quietly and meekly staying within the Kristenner’s fence for the past 23 years, even though I had something I wanted to do?
I minimized contact with others and lived as quietly as the dust floating in the air.
‘Does that mean it was all meaningless?’
I had a feeling that my existence itself was already a problem, but I never thought it would be to this extent.
I was stunned and blankly spaced out, and Michael’s worried gaze reached me as he grew increasingly concerned.
“What’s wrong with you? What happened with the Duke?”
“…So?”
Michael tried to approach me as he sensed that my condition was unusual, but I raised my hand to stop him and asked calmly.
“What conversation did you have with the former Duke of Luhanes that led me to have an arranged meeting with Lyxion?”
“Ah, that.”
Michael seemed to have more to say after seeing my unusual state, but it seemed that he wanted to answer my question first.
The story that Michael told was simpler than I thought.
“The former Duke of Luhanes came to me because he wanted to get his hands on a necklace made of ‘mermaid’s tears’ to commemorate Empress Serena’s birthday….”
It was natural for William to contact Dion, the largest and most influential merchant group in the Kaiden Empire, regarding the matter. Since Dion actively interacts with dwarves and merfolk, it would be possible to obtain a necklace made of mermaid’s tears with a little effort.
Up to this point, it was a story that I could just let pass. But the problem started from here.
“After listening to his story, I heard that there was also a nagging problem within his family.”
Michael and William unexpectedly had one thing in common. It was the fact that their precious children, who had long passed the marriageable age, were still single and living at home like burdens.
Even though they didn’t have much contact, they were both aware of each other because it was so well-known that they had burdens to deal with, and they quickly hit it off. Both families had a good image of each other, and they were families that they would rather welcome with open arms, so it was natural for them to talk about getting their precious children together and getting rid of them at once.
However, unlike me, who would just lie down flat and watch, Lyxion was the kind of person who would ignore even his father’s words as if a dog was barking somewhere.
“I didn’t think it would be easy to actually have an arranged meeting, so I was satisfied with just having a good conversation.”
But for some reason, William was more serious about this arranged meeting than I thought. He must have wanted to make the arranged meeting between me and Lyxion happen at all costs, so he even brought Empress Serena into it.
“Empress Serena stepped up?”
“Yeah, well… It’s not surprising that the Empress would cooperate in arranging a marriage. Most older sisters would want their younger brothers, who have passed the marriageable age, to meet a good partner.”
I was surprised because it was so unexpected, but I was told that Lyxion readily accepted the arranged meeting, even though Empress Serena had been prepared to ask him to do so.
In fact, Michael said that he didn’t expect the arranged meeting to happen even after Empress Serena offered her cooperation. Moreover, Lyxion’s misanthropy and hatred were already famous within the aristocratic society, so he was honestly worried even if the arranged meeting did happen.
But he couldn’t just back out after having already had a long conversation about it, saying, ‘Now that I think about it, I don’t think I can connect your character-flawed son with my younger sister….’
So, to be honest, he secretly hoped that Lyxion Luhanes would just cancel the arranged meeting on his own.
“I thought they might just talk big over there but not actually show up for the blind date… but they really did, so I was a bit surprised.”
Michael asked again if it was really Lyxion Luhanes who showed up for the blind date, as if he still couldn’t believe it, wondering if it was really him or someone who just looked very similar.
I had been listening quietly up to that point, but I looked at Michael with an even more absurd expression than before.
“But why didn’t you tell me in advance, when things had already gotten to that point?”
I shot him a look that said, “Are you crazy?” and he replied with an endlessly indifferent answer.
“I had a feeling that if I told you that Duke Luhanes was going to be your blind date, you’d just run away.”
…How did he know that?
