Chapter 68

The atmosphere in the office upon returning was strangely subdued. Well, it would be odd if it were cheerful after what had happened.

Sitting down at her desk, she dismissed the mood as unimportant. 

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m fine.”

Of course, she herself was fine, but Pell was not.

Pell, who had been glancing nervously, responded with a quiet “Yes” and buried his nose in the documents.

“This is this week’s counseling report.”

“Alright.”

In contrast, Masetike acted as if nothing unusual had happened, wearing his usual expression.

Then, suddenly, he reached out and ruffled her hair.

Caught off guard by the unexpected gesture, she didn’t even think to shake off his hand, instead staring at Masetike.

“What are you doing?”

“Comforting you.”

It was absurd. Stunned, she didn’t even think to push his hand away, and his palm pressed firmly on her head, causing her limp hair to flop down.

As this occurred, the door to the Grievance Counseling Office opened. Familiar voices chatting softly were followed by the appearance of familiar faces.

It was Eched and Eurell.

When their eyes met, their voices abruptly stopped.

The way they looked at her made it obvious they were silently asking, “What’s going on here?”

Masetike, bowing his head slightly in greeting to them, returned to his seat.

The hinge of the partition door leading to the counseling room creaked as it closed, leaving a peculiar awkwardness lingering in the office.

She frowned at the suffocating atmosphere. She wanted to immediately ask, “What’s the problem?” but held back, knowing it would only make the mood worse.

Trying to act as if nothing was wrong, she tidied up her hair, which Masetike had messed up, and looked at them as if to ask why they had come.

Eched approached her without making a sound and extended his hand toward her hair. He seemed to be intending to fix the mess she hadn’t managed to straighten.

“….”

However, she instinctively avoided his hand, and the office was once again filled with stifling silence.

‘Ah…’

Watching Eched’s slowly retracting hand, she realized she had made a big mistake. Moreover, Eched’s eyes were now glowing with a sharp intensity, making it impossible to miss.

Lately, Eched had been expressing his emotions more openly, and the anger in his gaze, which had been absent before, was now palpable.

It wasn’t intentional. It was just… her unsettled mind had caused an unconscious reaction.

But even considering explaining herself felt burdensome, so she chose to remain silent.

What remained, then, was shamelessness. It was a self-defensive and selfish choice, but in this situation, there was no other option.

“It’s been a while, Eurell. What brings you here?”

Ignoring Eched’s displeased expression, she addressed Eurell instead.

Eurell, after shifting his eyes briefly, soon revealed his purpose.

“I came to inform you that the Saintess will arrive in the capital soon for the celebration.”

“Has it already been a month?”

As soon as Anella received the goddess’s oracle, she had entered a closed-door retreat.

The month-long retreat was a ritual where she remained confined in the chapel, praying daily to the goddess to expel any lingering negative energy from her body.

Although it must have been stifling, Anella had endured it for a whole month, and that alone was impressive.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“It seems His Highness the Crown Prince wishes for you to assist the Saintess during her stay in the capital, Duchess.”

“Me…? Why?”

It was absurd. 

I don’t even know how to do anything, yet they wanted me to look after Anella?!

“The idea is that if you are by her side, Duchess, the Commander of the Knights Order will naturally follow…”

Eurell trailed off, as if he himself found the reasoning ridiculous. She glanced at Eched.

That was enough for her to grasp the situation.

They must have separately asked Eched to guard the Saintess, but he had refused. So now, they were using her as leverage to involve Eched as well.

“I don’t want to…”

“It’s an imperial decree.”

“….”

That damned imperial decree… 

She bit back a curse.

“But do I really need to stick by her side? During the parade, the knights escorting her to the cathedral will be there, and after that, it’s all scheduled to take place in the palace, isn’t it?”

“It coincides with the Falling Leaves Festival, so the Saintess will likely participate in various events. There will be plenty of spectacles, including tournaments for swordsmanship, jousting, tennis, and ball games.”

“So basically, you’re saying I need to follow her around like a babysitter?”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t like she could tell Eched to handle it on his own. Left with no choice, she waved her hand at Eurell, signaling her agreement.

***

Thus, peaceful days passed until an incident occurred.

“Lady Shaterian!”

A man with a friendly demeanor came to see her, calling out cheerfully.

He was someone who worked in the capital, brokering land sales on a large scale—essentially a real estate agent.

“I’ve found a great property among the ones you mentioned before, so I came to inform you.”

Ah. Only then did she remember that she had asked him months ago to let her know if he found suitable land for living in the countryside.

However, the land was no longer necessary for her. She had given up on the idea of living in the countryside.

She was about to tell him it was fine, but his next words stopped her.

“It’s a property that would be great for investment purposes, even if not for personal use. The village in that area has been developing rapidly, and many nobles have their eyes on it. Land prices are steadily rising.”

Investment purposes rather than personal use…

‘Should I take this opportunity to invest in land?’

She had been wondering what to do with the money piling up, and now this opportunity had come along.

She licked her dry lips.

“Alright. Where is it?”

“It’s in a village called Kamil, on the northern outskirts of the capital. It’s about a two-hour carriage ride from here.”

“The north…”

“Yes. It’s near the Mon Pellinier Ducal territory. While Kamil is a forest village, its proximity to the ducal land means you won’t face significant inconveniences living alone there.”

The man continued to provide information about the land.

It was the best property available within the price range she had mentioned.

“It has a yard and a vegetable garden, so you can enjoy small-scale farming as you mentioned.”

The man took out a contract and a sketch of the property’s exterior from his pocket.

The house was exactly what she had envisioned. It was slightly secluded from the village, making it less noticeable to others but still sufficient for solitary living.

“There’s also a river connected to the nearby mountains.”

“It’s surprising that such a property hasn’t been sold yet.”

The sudden voice was Eched’s. Startled by the voice coming from above her, she turned her head.

Eched, with his usual expressionless face, was examining the sketch of the house.

It felt like she had been caught doing something wrong. Her instincts immediately sensed the odd atmosphere, warning her of danger. A cold sweat seemed to trickle down her back.

She quickly reached out to stop Eched from snatching the contract, but of course, she failed.

Eched, standing tall, had too much of a height advantage. His sharp eyes scrutinized the contract more meticulously than a judicial clerk.

“The price is suspiciously low. It seems like a scam.”

His piercing gaze shifted to the real estate agent. The agent, startled, turned pale and couldn’t even refute the claim.

Poor guy. 

Seeing the agent starting to sweat, she clicked her tongue.

“Be reasonable. Who would dare scam me? They’d lose their head immediately.”

And with that, she made a slicing motion across her neck. The terrified agent quickly stammered, 

“Y-yes, that’s right!”

“Now give it back.”

She stood up abruptly and snatched the contract from Eched’s hand.

Scolding him for looking at the contract before she even had a chance to, she began reviewing it herself.

Given her status, no one would dare cheat her, so naturally, there were no problematic clauses in the contract.

The land area and price matched what the agent had described…

“Please sign here and place your seal next to your name.”

After writing her name, she pressed her thumb into the bright red ink pad the agent had prepared.

Just as she was about to stamp her thumbprint next to her name, Eched suddenly grabbed her wrist.

“Are you really going to buy it?”

“Yes?”

“Why?”

His low, ominous voice sent a chill down her spine. She tried to pull her wrist free, but his grip was so strong it wouldn’t budge.

“It hurts.”

At that, Eched’s eye twitched slightly. Slowly, he loosened his grip on her wrist.

Taking advantage of the moment, she quickly tried to stamp her thumbprint, but the contract was snatched away again.

She had reached her limit. Letting out a deep sigh, she glared at Eched.

“What’s your problem?”

Why was he interfering with my attempt to expand my investment portfolio?!

But Eched, as if his lips were glued shut, remained silent and offered no explanation.

When she tried to snatch the contract back, he stubbornly refused to let go.

Then, in a low, almost eerie voice, Eched muttered,

“…So you’re really going to leave me… and move to the countryside.”