Chapter 161

Late Night (2)

In truth, the fact that she followed Aiden wherever he went was a much bigger deal than one might think.

To begin with, this man’s status alone was high enough to draw attention even from foreign nations, and the people he dragged around with him were not the sort who would be treated lightly anywhere.

So whenever Aiden made a move, even though the Imperial administration grumbled as if they were about to die from stress, it strongly felt like they were making preparations in advance in one way or another. Even now, when the priestess of the Tribal Alliance suddenly dragged him off to a foreign country, the way they briskly completed the administrative procedures as if they had expected it said enough.

Even so.

…It was certain that even they would not have anticipated a foreign royal barging in without notice.

“……By the way, may I ask just one thing?”

With that in mind, Katya asked as she looked down at the woman who was, at this very moment, the embodiment of a nightmare for the Imperial administration.

To be honest, I had never even imagined she would be here, so the moment I spotted her in the dead of night, I could not help but question her with a fierce expression as if subduing an enemy.

“What on earth possessed you to follow us all the way here?”

“…….”

Milene subtly averted her gaze and avoided answering as well.

Katya was not particularly related to the Imperial administration, but at least for now, her reaction was one that could fully sympathize with their anger…….

“You just followed that man without thinking, didn’t you? Just like when you crossed over from the Holy Crown Kingdom to the Empire.”

“…….”

“You just trailed after my friend, didn’t you?”

…Mainly because there was now one more troublesome woman who was sticking close to the man I had already marked as mine.

I had already been thinking deeply about Noel, the stone that had long since lodged itself in place, and now the later-rolling stone had followed behind the earlier one that had come rolling in first—it was far more of a headache than I had expected…….

“Yes, unni.”

“…….”

But then, an utterly unexpected form of address slipped from Milene’s lips, making even that worry vanish in an instant.

As if unaccustomed to being called that, Katya Heinkel Craven flinched and looked at her.

The very sight of Milene kneeling on the ground and gazing up at her with bright, round eyes felt burdensome…….

“Why am I unni?”

“You’re the Second Princess, Katya unni.”

“…….”

At those words, Katya’s expression went blank.

“…Ah, right.”

Come to think of it, my royal rank was indeed higher than Milene’s.

It was just that I had never once paid attention to such things.

“…….”

Hmm.

But even so, it didn’t seem normal for her to call me unni.

“…You, um, don’t find me strange?”

“Yes?”

“Strange, I mean. If you’re a royal of the Holy Crown Kingdom, shouldn’t you hate me?”

More than just hate, according to religious doctrine, I was technically a being that should not exist—someone to be despised.

At this point, Milene’s attitude of treating me calmly, as if I were a cousin she had not seen in a long time, was what should really be considered abnormal…….

“Come to think of it, I was treated just as strangely by the other royals as you were, unni. Why would I hate you?”

“…….”

At those words, Katya froze stiff.

Now that I thought about it, compared to the other royals, Milene had always been the one who stood apart.

Her situation had been better than mine—since I had not even been acknowledged as a fellow royal—but still, because of her unusual personality, she had not exactly received much recognition either.

“…….”

Huh.

Thinking of it that way, I felt like I could not simply stay angry as I had intended.

Perhaps Milene, like me, had wandered on the fringes for a long time and had merely found someone who offered her even a single proper relationship—and was now trying to cling to him.

“…Ah, seriously—”

In the end, no matter who it was, the real problem was that man who left openings for everyone.

“Aren’t you also following that person around, just like me, unni?”

“…….”

As if to prove it, she immediately struck at the truth. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The feelings Milene now held were, to begin with, no different from the reason I had been trailing after Aiden.

“…I can’t deny it.”

No sooner had those words fallen than Milene shuffled closer to Katya.

I had to admit, even while wearing armor that tightly covered her entire body, it was impressive that she could manage such movements…….

“Then you’re my senior, right?”

“Huh?”

“Unni and senior.”

“…….”

Hmm.

Hmmm.

For someone like Katya, whose very first friendship had been with Aiden, those titles carried a strangely destructive force.

I had formed a horizontal relationship with someone—Aiden—but being looked up to vertically like this was something I had never experienced before.

Without realizing it, my shoulders straightened and my chest swelled with pride—it could not be helped…….

“Then, unni senior. Could you teach me a little?”

“…Hm. Hm. Wh-what do you want to ask?”

Katya asked back, her face faintly flushed.

She looked as though she might snort proudly at any moment…….

“That person named Aiden—what does he like?”

“Ah, I can’t tell you that.”

“…….”

“First of all, I’m more curious why you’re asking me that. Do I look easy to you?”

Feeling pleased was one thing, but it was clear that her guard regarding that matter was still firm.

As the first stone that had come rolling in, my instinct to keep the second rolling stone in check did not seem like something that would be easily subdued by mere flattery or sweet talk…….

“…….”

Tch.

I thought it was going too easily.

While Milene clicked her tongue inwardly, Katya tilted her head and looked around.

“Well, I think we can have that kind of conversation in more depth a little later.”

At those words, Milene’s body flinched for a moment.

Near the facility where we were staying, I could sense the presence of people.

They were trained presences. A cluster of those accustomed to fighting—or killing—others.

“…It seems we have guests.”

The moment she said that,

flames burst forth from her body.

At the very least, their numbers and attire were not suited for a simple late-night visit.

▣

Meeting someone of the opposite sex alone in the middle of the night required more courage than one might think.

Especially if the other person was someone whose intentions you could not predict.

“…….”

“…….”

Without a word, wine was poured into a glass and set down in front of Aiden with a heavy thud.

It would not be an exaggeration to say it was the roughest invitation to drink he had ever received…….

“…….”

“…….”

As if she had no intention of waiting for a response, she raised her own glass and poured the contents straight down her throat in large gulps.

It was obvious there was unspoken pressure for Aiden to do the same…….

“…….”

For now, I matched that pressure and brought the wine to my lips.

It was no ordinary proof. The alcohol was strong enough to make my head spin in an instant.

The intent was clear.

Drunken truth.

The intention was to use intoxication as an excuse to lay everything bare between us.

“Aiden.”

“Yes, Sir Noel.”

“Drop the ‘Sir’ and call me by my name.”

“…….”

Perhaps because of that, the intensity was no joke from the very beginning.

Back in the Holy Crown Kingdom,

when Karva had been introduced to this person,

I caught a glimpse of that same toughness again.

A powerful aura and qi flowed from her words and actions in steady streams—strong enough that even Aiden had once been dragged along helplessly…….

“…Noel.”

“Yes, Aiden.”

Noel, whose eyes were beginning to unfocus, forced more wine down her throat as she answered.

“Why do you think I came?”

“…Uh, well.”

“I’ll be blunt. I like you, Aiden.”

My words caught in my throat.

“It’s not as if you don’t know. Honestly speaking. You don’t seem foolish enough for that.”

Her eyes were unfocused,

and her tongue slightly tangled,

but the will carried in her sentences undoubtedly belonged to a perfectly sober Noel.

It did not feel like she was recklessly charging at me under the influence of alcohol, blurting out a confession without thought.

“I was the one who abducted you first, and I’m the one who dragged you into all sorts of trouble… but even so, that’s how it is.”

With those words, Noel poured more wine into her glass and continued.

“…Aiden.”

“Yes.”

“I won’t ask you to look only at me.”

“…….”

“But let’s keep it reasonable.”

Even though this was not some drunken, impulsive confession, that one sentence made me understand at once why she was drinking.

The way she was drinking now was, in a sense,

closer to disinfecting a wound.

Saying these words hurt in itself, and though she was fully aware of that, she was trying to suppress the bursting frustration she felt each time I brought another woman into the picture.

Rather than borrowing courage, it was more like taking a sedative.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Are you apologizing for what you’ve done so far, or does that include a promise not to increase the number going forward?”

“…….”

“Are you planning to increase it any further?”

And here I was, a ruin of a man who could not even give a clear answer to Noel in this state.

“…I think there are about two more.”

At the very least, the priestess I saw in that vision… and the one presumed to be her sister probably had to be counted.

“…….”

Noel’s face twisted sharply as she poured the rest of the wine into her glass in one go.

It was such a bold motion that a chill ran down my spine just watching her.

After draining it all in a single gulp, Noel let out a sigh as if she had lived through the whole world and opened her mouth again.

“Fine. As long as it doesn’t increase beyond that.”

…Fine?

Really?

She was letting this slide…?

Even I found myself gaping inwardly at that answer, when Noel, on the verge of hiccupping, spoke again.

“Instead, I prepared something.”

With that, she began rummaging through her pocket.

“…Making a woman do something like this first. Honestly, what kind of man are you. Seriously.”

“…….”

Fragments of ominous sentences slipped out between her movements, but separate from that, the way she carefully retrieved something was incredibly cautious.

Clutching the object tightly in her pocket, she fidgeted before speaking to me.

“-Would you, perhaps, later with me—”

Noel’s words cut off abruptly.

“Hey, where are you! There’s an intruder!”

At the same time as Katya’s voice rang out, flames burst up all around us.

“…….”

“…….”

This—

was the exact moment Noel would be furious beyond measure.

Sensing that instinctively, I turned my head slightly.

“When someone. Went through all the trouble.”

It seemed my premonition had not been wrong.

“I even prepared myself to confess my feelings…!”

Dawn.

Pale moonlight streamed through the window.

And with a presence that seemed ready to crush even that pale moonlight,

the frost-laced fury of a woman whose heart had been unjustly trampled bloomed white in every direction.

“I’ll be blunt. I like you, Aiden.”

My words caught in my throat.

“It’s not as if you don’t know. Honestly speaking. You don’t seem foolish enough for that.”

Her eyes were unfocused,

and her tongue slightly tangled,

but the will carried in her sentences undoubtedly belonged to a perfectly sober Noel.

It did not feel like she was recklessly charging at me under the influence of alcohol, blurting out a confession without thought.

“I was the one who abducted you first, and I’m the one who dragged you into all sorts of trouble… but even so, that’s how it is.”

With those words, Noel poured more wine into her glass and continued.

“…Aiden.”

“Yes.”

“I won’t ask you to look only at me.”

“…….”

“But let’s keep it reasonable.”

Even though this was not some drunken, impulsive confession, that one sentence made me understand at once why she was drinking.

The way she was drinking now was, in a sense,

closer to disinfecting a wound.

Saying these words hurt in itself, and though she was fully aware of that, she was trying to suppress the bursting frustration she felt each time I brought another woman into the picture.

Rather than borrowing courage, it was more like taking a sedative.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Are you apologizing for what you’ve done so far, or does that include a promise not to increase the number going forward?”

“…….”

“Are you planning to increase it any further?”

And here I was, a ruin of a man who could not even give a clear answer to Noel in this state.

“…I think there are about two more.”

At the very least, the priestess I saw in that vision… and the one presumed to be her sister probably had to be counted.

“…….”

Noel’s face twisted sharply as she poured the rest of the wine into her glass in one go.

It was such a bold motion that a chill ran down my spine just watching her.

After draining it all in a single gulp, Noel let out a sigh as if she had lived through the whole world and opened her mouth again.

“Fine. As long as it doesn’t increase beyond that.”

…Fine?

Really?

She was letting this slide…?

Even I found myself gaping inwardly at that answer, when Noel, on the verge of hiccupping, spoke again.

“Instead, I prepared something.”

With that, she began rummaging through her pocket.

“…Making a woman do something like this first. Honestly, what kind of man are you. Seriously.”

“…….”

Fragments of ominous sentences slipped out between her movements, but separate from that, the way she carefully retrieved something was incredibly cautious.

Clutching the object tightly in her pocket, she fidgeted before speaking to me.

“-Would you, perhaps, later with me—”

Noel’s words cut off abruptly.

“Hey, where are you! There’s an intruder!”

At the same time as Katya’s voice rang out, flames burst up all around us.

“…….”

“…….”

This—

was the exact moment Noel would be furious beyond measure.

Sensing that instinctively, I turned my head slightly.

“When someone. Went through all the trouble.”

It seemed my premonition had not been wrong.

“I even prepared myself to confess my feelings…!”

Dawn.

Pale moonlight streamed through the window.

And with a presence that seemed ready to crush even that pale moonlight,

the frost-laced fury of a woman whose heart had been unjustly trampled bloomed white in every direction.