The first time I heard of Lisittea Lemper was through Heiner and Rodolph.
As mentioned once before, their long-cherished desire was to find out the identity of the Gottfried Knights and convince them to betray Kellerhan, yet despite countless efforts, they suffered repeated failures.
When Heiner and Herbert almost gave up trying to coax the Gottfried Knights, the card Rodolph brought was Lisittea Lemper.
[There is no negotiator like this woman. If we hire this woman, even those stubborn Gottfriedâs hounds will have no choice but to be convinced.]
It was like that.
Lisittea Lemper was a popular lobbyist when I was 19.
No matter how difficult the deal was, if Lisittea Lemper was attached, it would immediately be successful, and three laws were created as a result of her performance.
Because of her outstanding ability, there was rarely a talk about her family, so even when I heard her last name, Lemper, I couldnât connect her to the lobbyist I knew, Lisittea.
[Really? Sheâs that amazing?]
Looking at the portrait Rodolph had brought, Heiner smacked his lips, and the people of the Duke of Lodgemund went to great lengths to hire Lisittea Lemper.
Yet she didnât help Lodgemund.
Itâs because of the iron rule of not accepting requests for impossible tasks in the first place.
Anyway, the conclusion is that this timid girl in front of me will become a person with tremendous abilities in the future.
I was lucky enough to have a relationship with such a talented person in advance!
Due to the nature of Kellerhanâs job (?), a connection of the lobbyist, Lisi, will be of great help.
âMiss Lisi!â
âY-Yes!â
Lisi was taken aback by the sudden brightening of my voice.
I squeezed her hand with my eyes twinkling.
âLetâs get closer from now on.â
At those words, her eyes also began to glow.
âIf I can get a friend like Miss Isabella, Iâd love it!â
After chatting with her for a while, the maid of the Imperial Palace brought her new clothes.
Lisi changed into clothes that Her Highness the Princess had specially lent her and left the lounge.
Originally, it would be impossible for Lisi, who had no connections in the Imperial Family, to borrow the Princessâ clothes, but the Emperor paid attention to the fact that I was with Lisi.
Our conversation soon turned to the topic of my life.
âIt must be very difficult for you because the environment suddenly changes.â
I smiled and said that it was okay at Lisiâs concern with her sincerity.
âThe Duke is good to me, and the Young Lord also, so there is nothing to worry about.â
At those words, Lisi made a strange expression.
âExcuse me, Miss Isabella.â
As I left the villa where the lounge was located, she leaned over to me and asked in a small voice.
âIsnât Young Lord Barmuth⊠a little scary?â
Yuta is scary, she said? I tilted my head.
Did she misspell âDukeâ as âYoung Lordâ?
(they sound veeeery similar in korean: êł”ì and êł”ì)
âIf itâs scary, arenât you referring to the Duke?â
âOf course, the Duke is also scary!â
Lisi made a fuss.
âBut I donât think the Duke would pay any attention to us because heâs been clearing out dark magicians, yet the Young Lord is a little differentâŠâ
Lisi turned her green eyes.
âThe Young Lord is? How is he any different?â
âI feel like doing something thatâs even a little irritating him will lead to big problems.â
âIs that so?â
I was really puzzled and asked again.
âDidnât Miss Isabella feel it? Young Lord BarmuthâŠâ
Lisi, who had been talking that far, suddenly shut her mouth and moved away from me.
âGosh, weâve arrived.â
She murmured.
Just as she said, we were back in the garden where the tea party was being held.
Perhaps the time for drinking tea at the table was over, adults gathered and enjoyed conversation, and children gathered among themselves, with simply men and women mixed without distinction.
And I saw the group of Lady Oris looking at us from afar.
Lisi suddenly stopped talking and pulled away from me as she was conscious of the group.
âItâs okay, Miss Lisi. If youâre worried about the future, I will take responsibility.â
I had taken a detour before, wondering if I was making things bigger, but since Lisi became my friend, the story was different.
I intended to help in any way I could if she had a hard time in the future.
When I held out my hand to say it was okay, she widened her eyes.
âMiss IsabellaâŠâ
It was the moment when Lisi tried to hold my hand, her tears welling up with emotion.
âIsabella!â
I heard a familiar voice from beside me.
I turned around and saw Yuta standing there.
Yuta looked at me and Lisi alternately with eyes full of unknown emotions.
Somehow, his atmosphere seems different from usual.
Come to think of it, is this the first time that there were other people besides Kellerhan and the people of Barmuth between me and Yuta?
âWho is⊠that⊠next to you?â
Yuta asked in a trembling voice.
I simply thought that he was shy
âYoung Lord. This is Miss Lisittea Lemper of the Lemper family. Lisi, this is Young Lord Barmuth.â
I quickly introduced the two of them to each other.
Lisi also took a step back as if she was shy, and hid behind me.
ââŠLisi? Are you calling her by name?â
Yutaâs eyes widened.
âName? Ah, thatâs right, weâre friends.â
ââŠSo you made a friend.â
âYes! I never imagined that I would make friends this quickly. Since it happened like this, Young Lord and Miss Lisi can also get closer⊠â
âH-Haha! I just remembered something urgent, Miss Isabella. Iâll be going.â
Lisi suddenly cut me off and said so, and then she disappeared as if she was running away.
What is it? It would be nice if the three of us could play together.
I was a little disappointed, yet Yuta held my hand tightly next to me.
âLetâs go, Isabella.â
I was a little surprised as it was the first time we held hands rather than just touching it, then Yuta said.
âShe seems to have some really urgent business.â
Somehow, Yutaâs voice sounded a little excited, but Iâm mistaken, am I not?
âAre we in the game too?â
I followed Yuta and asked.
Most of the kids in the stadium were watching Yuta and me with their heads all the way back, not interested in the ball.
Apart from not liking Barmuth, theyâre very much interested.
âThe game isnât fun.â
Yuta shook his head.
âBut everyone is participating. We too⊠â
âLetâs just stay by ourselves.â
He looked right at me and said.
Was Yuta originally a child who spoke so firmly?
I tilted my head at the strange side of Yuta I felt today, as well as us holding hands.
He must have been nervous about the tea party at the mansion, and it seems that he hasnât relaxed enough yet!
Hmm, hmm. Thatâs right.
If you have a shy personality, you might not want to play a game where the kids get tangled up and compete.
âIâd like to. Then letâs take a rest.â
I came to a quick conclusion and sat down with Yuta on a bench under a large garden tree near the stadium.
Besides me and Yuta, there were a few other children who were too weak to participate in the game and were sitting under the trees in the garden, so we didnât stand out as much as we thought.
I saw a scene in which a gorgeous blonde boy who looked about 12 years old asked the Imperial Palace servant to bring him a drink, so I asked for a cool drink from the servant next to me.
Soon Yuta and I were watching as the kids passed the ball and kicked it into the net, cold lemonade in one hand.
Is it a tchoukball?
Itâs a well-chosen sport that even children can enjoy.
It was when I was thinking such silly thoughts.
âHey.â
It was familiar, yet unlike Yutaâs voice, I heard an unpleasant voice that made my spine chill just by hearing it.
Looking up, as expected, Heiner was standing there.
Heiner had four big boys behind him who looked like thugs.
It was so threatening that I was very nervous.
What should I do? If Heiner does any harm to me and Utah.
I looked around to see if there was anyone I could turn to for help.
âThe 1st Knights arenât here to protect you today, though? The adults are also far away.â
However, there were only children around who desperately pretended not to be interested in this side.
The blond boy who had asked the attendant for a drink earlier was looking at me, but he didnât seem to be of much help.
âDid they say youâre Isabella Schwires?â
He leaned over to me.
Surprisingly, Heiner didnât seem to hold a grudge against me.
Rather⊠Could it be the eyes of a predator who enjoys watching its prey struggling?
There were goosebumps all over my body
How many times have you looked down at me to be able to look at me like that?
âBrother Heiner, stay away from Isabella.â
Yuta murmured in a low voice.
Yet he snorted at Yuta and ignored his words.
âWhat if I donât want to? What are you going to do? Are you going to make a fuss again when His Imperial Majesty is here?â
I bit my lip.
The other day, it was in Barmuthâs courtyard, thatâs why we were able to act relatively freely, yet today is different.
Causing trouble in the Emperorâs presence is never wise, even if Iâm the victim.
âIâll give you one last chance.â
Heiner raised one of his fingers and waved it right in front of my eyes.
âBreak off your engagement and come to my family.â
He spoke in an arrogant, familiar, now weary tone.
âEven if you lower your head now and say, âI was wrong,â Iâll make it happen. I donât like it, but what can I do when my father wants you so much? And besides, wouldnât I be better than this insignificant bastard?â
Saying that, Heiner pushed Yutaâs head with his index finger.
Yuta lowered his head.
I could see the boyâs hands shaking on his laps.
My goodness, how could he lay his hands on Yuta?
The other day, I was lucky enough to somehow subdue Heiner, but Yuta is 4 years younger than Heiner and very fragile!
He might be able to handle a sword, but it would be impossible for him to fight a real person!
I was so angry that I hugged Yuta and looked up at Heiner with ferocious eyes.
âWhat? You will hit me?â
I was getting angry with all my might, yet Heiner was still making fun of me.
âI will never go to Lodgemund, so wake up.â
I gritted my teeth and spoke, emphasizing letter by letter.
âAnd Young Lord Yuta is a hundred times better than a human like you.â
I felt Yuta flinch in my arms.
At the same time, Heinerâs face contorted.
âDonât you have eyes for anything? Indeed, thatâs why you must have turned away from the radiant Lodgemund and went to the family of the hounds that wags its tail at the Imperial Family.â
Heiner, this guy really couldnât come to his senses after being hit like that the other day.
I donât know if heâs insulting me, but his remarks that insulted Yuta and Kellerhan raised a fever in my head.
âDonât call me the Duke âhoundâ.â
So it was like that. I said something bold that I wouldnât have normally said.
âBecause Duke Barmuth is far better than despicable Lodgemund.â
âYou reallyâŠâ
That was the moment Heiner grabbed my face.
âAaakh!â
I couldnât quite figure out what had happened.
All I saw was Yuta clutching Heinerâs wrist at a bizarre angle.