/
Damian sighed in relief.
“It’s a relief. As expected, Lady is tough, so I’m not worried wherever you put it.”
It didn’t sound like a compliment.
“By the way, who is that old woman?”
“—Old woman? Look at this arrogant boy! You shouldn’t say that to young women. You don’t have manners when you become a knight, huh?”
Madame Pompadou seemed very sensitive to the word ‘old woman’. How angry she must be, forgetting that she was trembling in fear of Cesare earlier. Catherine whispered to Damian.
“A lot of things happened while Damian was not conscious.”
Just in case, she looked around and found that the man who was trying to hunt the nephilim disappeared without even showing his nose.
With both hands in his pants pockets, Cesare turned towards Catherine. He beckoned lightly towards the exhibition exit.
“If you haven’t eaten yet, let’s go together.”
Is the question of how he knows will be too lame? She thought it would be under his palm no matter where he was.
“…What about the nephilim?”
Is it because the man who threatened her left? Madame Pompadou was quiet unlike before.
“I don’t think there’s any need to worry because she still has a lifespan. If you want, I can drop it into the nearby sea and go.”
That’s a bit—.
“Ah. I didn’t know that His Highness Cesare, whom I had only heard of through rumors, would be so cruel to Lady!”
Madame Pompadou swept her chin with a groaning sound. Damian, who was stretching lightly, narrowed his eyes.
“I understand that it is a national emergency for the Nephilim, whose lifespan is short, to board the ship.”
“I know, boy.”
Huh? A boy?
No matter how much Nephilim lives twice the average life span, there are things to say and things not to say.
Madame Pompadou continued, putting back her cap twisted with her slender fingers.
“Well, I want to say that I was that desperate. If it were that jerk earlier, even if he died, he would have destroyed everything in this area—because he wouldn’t be able to shoot and finish against the Grand Duke. I think it’s better to die this clean.”
Cesare’s eyes as he listened to her words did not contain any interesting emotion. Predictably, his attention will be focused solely on when Catherine will go to eat.
“Let’s just go eat.”
Look at that.
Looking at Cesare’s expression and calm voice, he had already forgotten the existence of Madame Pompadou. As a reassuring gesture, she answered with her regretful words.
“This person has no interest in Madame. It doesn’t matter if you enjoy the tour like this.”
Madame Pompadou, who blinked her big eyes, covered her mouth and laughed.
“Ahaha! Yeah, that’s right—. Whether I’m a disaster or not, if the Grand Duke is there, you won’t have any worries.”
At this point, she should probably go her own way. Cesare said there was no need to worry, and she didn’t want to meddle in other people’s affairs anymore. But Madame Pompadou grabbed Catherine’s ankle again, who was about to leave.
“Hmm. How about this, Lady? I won’t even want a contract. Leave me on your escort until I get out of  Lilith.”
“Hey, old woman. What nonsense are you talking about? The Lady’s escort knight is me.”
At Damian’s angry cry, Madame Pompadou raised the corners of her mouth and laughed.
“Pfft. What escort is a boy who can’t even resist my magic properly? If I decided, I could’ve grabbed your neck when you lost your mind!”
And in a very brief moment, time in the exhibition hall stopped. In the quiet world, Madame Pompadou’s body begins to be engulfed in black smoke.
“I won’t do anything weird, so please don’t stop me, the Grand Duke.”
Madame Pompadour was covered with complete smoke. At first, she thought she was going back to the bed she was hiding in. But the one place where the smoke headed was not a bed but a bag. Yeah, in the tote bag Catherine was holding.
「Ugh! This is my place!」
「Just hang in there, cute cat.」
At the same time the smoke disappeared, the magic was dispelled, and the paused time began to flow. Madame Pompadou came into her tote bag and said,
「You think the same, don’t you, Lady? Now, if you don’t hand me over to that shameless person, I’ll do my best to protect you—. I’m Madame Pompadour, Lady. I told you, right? I have a lot of connections on this ship. I think I’m more useful than that knight boy who doesn’t have anything other than that face?」
“This old woman really—”
Damian, who was angry, blinks with a stupid face in the empty spot. This magic seemed to be unrecognizable.
“Customer? Would you like to order?”
At that time, an employee standing quietly in the corner carefully asked her.
‘Ah, bed.’
Yeah, it’s not the time to be distracted by Nephilim. If she can’t take this bed, there’s no point in getting on the passenger ship!
She re-entered the information on the order form that she had already filled out. The man who was the only obstacle had disappeared, so she was able to complete the order with peace of mind.
“Here.”
“Thank you. If you need my help, please feel free to call me.”
The employee who bowed his head glanced at Cesare, then took a step back and disappeared. Perhaps because he appeared as a regular in the newspaper, there seemed to be no one in the world who did not know his face.
“I want to ask if you’re okay.”
When asked by Cesare, she looked at the bag for a while and answered.
“If you’re asking about the bed, that’s fine. If you’re asking about Madame Pompadou— Well, it’s fine for a little while.”
“Do you sympathize with her?”
“I don’t know. At least I don’t think it’s going to hurt me.”
“Nephilim on the verge of death are not reliable people, Miss Catherine. You don’t know.”
It had been a long time since she had heard negative comments from him. Cesare smiled sweetly and shrugged his shoulders.
“People can do anything to live, right?”
Maybe it’s because he’s saying it, but somehow she felt uncomfortable. Catherine shook her bag for no reason and asked.
“Then should I just leave it?”
Cesare shook his head.
“Although we share our souls, we don’t have to get my permission for everything. I just give advice that I can give. The decision entirely belongs to Miss Catherine.”
His words often made Catherine fall into a strange feeling.
The mother and father who raised and taught her had never been more for Catherine than Cesare. It means that they never patted her on the shoulder to abide by her decision.
When she fell into this kind of thought, she wondered what blood ties meant. In the end, his existence, who will be with her for the rest of her life, is a devil that hasn’t even come across her for a season.
“But you’d better be careful about the man before.”
A wizard whose face only smudged that threatened Mrs. Pompadou. She thought she couldn’t see it because it disappeared immediately, but it was an idiotic illusion. Cesare said with a rather cold look.
“What’s scarier than death is belief.”
Belief? Why suddenly Belief—.
As expected, that man was a pseudonym! Yeah. She’s not afraid of cults who sacrificed their lives for their beliefs.
“It’s good to learn, but can we go eat first? My stomach will stick to my back.”
With Damian’s grumbling full of complaints, they left the exhibition hall.
She doesn’t remember how much she spent, but it was clear that she had used it a lot, and it was a satisfactory expense for Catherine. The fact that she sprayed money alone felt like her stress was relieved.
After eating, Catherine headed straight to the stern.
Cesare said there was a small meeting and wanted  Catherine to accompany him, but Catherine refused. It was because the odds of meeting Percyville increased remarkably at the level of gathering he was involved in.
After arriving at the stern, Catherine was able to find a suitable place only after searching for a long time to see if she could meet a pseudo man. As if she had just fallen asleep again, she could only hear a small sigh standing in her bag.
「By the way, Lady, since when did you start dating the Grand Duke? It’s the first time I’ve heard that he has a woman. This is a headline.」
Madame Pompadou whispered as if she had been waiting as the surroundings were quiet. There’s no time when she doesn’t hear those words. With a small sigh, she denied her curiosity.
“We’re not dating.”
「Huh? I heard you shared your soul. It looked so romantic to say that with that flashing face. Unlike public reviews, he must be a very emotional person.」
「All human emotions are dead.」
The cat, who he thought was sleeping, snorted at Madame Pompadou admiration. No matter how sleepy he was, the evaluation that Cesare was emotional could not be ignored.
“What’s the public’s review?”
“Didn’t you see my colleagues’ reactions yesterday? It’s scary.”
Damian also seemed to want to say something about Cesare.
She felt a little sorry for him turning around and shaking his shoulders thinking where he would appear. She doesn’t know about anyone else, but she thinks it touches his heart, even more, when he says that.
「So that’s the case with knights boy.」
“Please that ‘boy’ is a bit.”
Hmph. Madame Pompadour snorted at Damian’s annoyance.
「Among the wizards… He is truly something to admire. The Grand Duke is like luck to Shagweed II. He is an ally from heaven. It’s nearly impossible for an Archmage of their level to be born of blood in one era or country. Even the Grand Duke’s modifier genius is regrettable. Because all the geniuses of the times have bowed their knees to him! TThis Pompadou truly recognized the Grand Duke! Really! When I hear his story, I sometimes feel like he is a God, not a person.」
「Hng.」
This time it was Meow’s snort. The meaning of laughter was easily interpreted. It’s like, ‘That’s because he’s not a real person.’
While listening to Madame’s praises of Cesare for a while, Catherine pulled out a small business card from the back of her bag. It was the first business card she recognized when she got her bag back from the waiter after finished eating.
<Busperfield Admission Ticket: Giovanne Busperfield>
As the pseudo disappeared, it was clear that he secretly stuck it in her bag.
Busperfield, and Giovanne.
She wondered where she heard the name Giovanne.
Busperfield was a name that people living in the present era could never know. They were outlaws who did not belong to any country and were groups that shouted out the humanity and freedom of the Nephilim.
It was too oppressive for that.
That street thug man must have been Busperfield’s commander-in-chief, Giovanne.
“Madame.”
「Hmm?.」
“Then do you know about a man named Giovanne?”