Thud.

“Don’t touch her carelessly.”

“……Our tough knight is following behind Shailyn like a tail-wagging dog again today?”

Raviel, who slowly shifted his gaze to Carl, smiled sharply.

Before the two men’s vicious power struggle could begin in earnest, fortunately Shailyn came to her senses.

“I’m fine, Raviel. I’m okay, Carl. Shall we go inside for now?”

Since other priests and Philip were also present, if the two had even a small argument, it could greatly damage their dignity.

Especially Shailyn’s.

She, who barely prevented an incident from occurring, sat facing Raviel in the temple’s reception room.

Philip sat next to Shailyn, and the temple’s head priest sat next to Raviel.

Carl stepped back and stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Raviel, who had been slowly looking around the interior, opened his mouth with a puzzled voice.

“But where is Count Sharofe and why is only Shailyn here?”

“Right in front of you, Count Sharofe.”

Shailyn confidently placed her hand on her chest. Raviel, who hadn’t heard the news that she had inherited the title, opened his eyes in surprise.

“Shailyn became a count?”

“Yes, that’s right. Now I have not only wealth but also honor.”

Shailyn proudly flipped her hair back. Raviel, who blinked his eyes, gave light congratulatory applause.

“Unexpected, I thought you had no particular interest in such things.”

“I need to increase my competitiveness to get the husband I want.”

“Hmm.”

Raviel’s eyes narrowed strangely for a moment before returning to normal.

He hadn’t expected Shailyn to come out as the territory owner, but anyway, he had to do the given work.

He spoke in his characteristic low and soft voice.

“I tend to separate public and private matters. I plan to stay here for a few days and conduct an audit, so don’t feel bad even if I examine things thoroughly.”

“Don’t worry. I also separate public and private matters.”

Shailyn, who had diligently filled the gaps before Raviel’s arrival, nodded her head.

Unlike her, who had hidden the dark circles under her eyes with makeup, Philip revealed his haggard face and presented the report he had prepared.

It was the beginning of the audit.

***

On the way out of the temple.

“We’ll be okay, right? Since I filled back the budget that the previous count embezzled, there shouldn’t be any major problems, right?”

Unlike Philip, who only worried about the audit, other worries were floating around in my head.

It had been like this since right after the mission occurred.

‘Ha, how do I entice Raviel?’

What exactly should I say to get him to participate in finding someone else’s mother’s keepsake?

I had to succeed in this mission to be able to conquer his favorability, which was all or nothing……

“It seems impossible. I’ll have a bit more conversation with the priest before going. Please go in first.”

Philip, unable to overcome his anxiety, returned to the temple, and I sighed as I went to ride the carriage with Carl.

Then Carl raised one eyebrow and asked pointedly.

“Why have you been sighing like that since earlier? Do you have some worry?”

“Yeah, I need to entice Raviel but I don’t know how to do it.”

An overly honest answer flowed out without me realizing it.

Carl, who quickened his pace to get ahead of me, frowned and said.

“What are you going to do by enticing a man who gives off such a cold aura? In that time, pay more attention to your bondservant instead.”

“I always pay attention to you. And even though Raviel is cold, he’s handsome.”

“Then what about me.”

“You? You’re handsome too.”

“Which of us is more handsome.”

What kind of childish question is this?

When I looked at Carl with a bewildered face, he had the most serious expression in the world.

Really, handsome guys are even worse.

I slowly moved my lips while picturing Raviel and Carl side by side in my head.

“In my eyes…… you’re more handsome.”

Because Raviel is more on the beautiful side than handsome, he’s more pretty than handsome.

Carl’s lips loosened with satisfaction at my answer.

“Fortunately, your eyesight is fine.”

“Tsk, I should deduct some points for your lack of humility.”

“It’s already too late. You know that once words are spoken, they can’t be taken back, right?”

“Really……”

Sometimes he’s like a child.

But strangely, Carl’s smirking lips didn’t feel childish or pathetic.

Well, I just discovered a new cute side of him?

In the end, I went home like that that day. There was no particular contact from the temple side.

I, who had to solve the mission within the short time of five days, decided to first figure out the exact location of the keepsake.

Then I’d have to entice Raviel to go together.

For this, I went to find the person who knew the temple best. Not Raviel, but our temple’s head priest.

“Priest, can we talk for a moment?”

“Yes, what is it?”

I called him to a quiet place and had a conversation alone.

“I was wondering if my mother’s keepsake was ever entrusted to the temple.”

“Hmm, when did your mother pass away?”

“Nineteen years ago.”

“Then I don’t know well. I came to this temple five years ago, and the previous priest died of old age.”

This can’t be.

The previous priest even died so I couldn’t go ask him.

After parting with him without any particular gain, I fell into worry again.

‘Hmm, what should I do……’

Then, I suddenly remembered that I had obtained a hint usage ticket as a success reward from the previous mission.

Give me a hint right now! Tell me how to solve this mission!

— Ding!

【We will provide you with two hints about this mission.

Hint 1: Diane Sharofe’s keepsake is hidden in the temple’s basement.

Hint 2: You suffered a carriage accident when you were young and lost some of your memories.】

I, who had been cheering after seeing the first hint, read the next hint and narrowed my brow while tilting my head.

Huh? Me? Memory loss?

‘No, when exactly was this setting about me that I didn’t even know added?’

It was a bit bewildering. But if they’re telling me now, does it have something to do with this mission?

Anyway, now that I roughly figured out where the keepsake was, I had to entice the head priest.

***

Raviel lived in the temple’s guest room while conducting his work.

Today, he was carefully checking how the budget had been utilized from the last audit day until recently.

Tap.

A neatly folded note fell in through the door gap.

When he picked it up and unfolded it, mature handwriting had written the following:

「Come out to the temple backyard when you’re free.」

Hmm, what’s this?

‘It’s not a duel challenge, is it?’

He, having briefly thought of Carl, soon shook his head. If it were that guy, he wouldn’t have used such polite language.

Raviel, secretly exhausted from three consecutive days of work, went out to the backyard out of curiosity.

He saw a familiar back figure under a large tree. Ah, so that person was the one who called me out.

“Shai……”

Raviel, about to call her name quite happily, hesitated.

Something flickered above the silver hair that fluttered lightly in the wind.

A form like a small, young girl.

A throbbing headache suddenly came. He pressed his forehead and frowned.

‘What? What just passed through my head?’

While he was confused, Shailyn casually turned around, discovered him, and approached with a happy face.

“Ah, you came? But are you hurt somewhere? What’s wrong?”

“No…… I’m fine. I just felt dizzy for a moment because I was tired.”

“Gasp, then shouldn’t you rest? Go back in and get some sleep.”

Shailyn, seeing Raviel’s already pale complexion turn ashen, spoke worriedly.

She was being considerate because if she brought up the mission story while he wasn’t feeling well, there was a high possibility she wouldn’t get the answer she wanted.

But Raviel, his headache quickly subsiding, smiled gently.

“Well, I think I’d feel better hearing Shailyn’s voice rather than sleeping.”

“Raviel…… you seem to be good at saying subtly sweet things.”

“Haha, do I?”

He, laughing calmly, asked.

“So, why did you call me out?”

“……I have something I really want to say.”

Shailyn shyly lowered her eyes like someone about to make a confession.

Then once again an unidentifiable form overlapped with her, making Raviel’s heart beat mysteriously.

He stared at Shailyn’s lips without even blinking. Her lips, which were always reddish even without applying anything, slowly opened.