/
Griffith was taken back in surprise, but in fact the most frightened was Lelia.
Lelia looked at Kalix with a strange look.
It was difficult to tell whether what she just heard was real or not.
“What nonsense is that?”
Griffith replied irritably without realizing it. Kalix shrugged his shoulders.
“Really, I know that men can’t marry each other. That’s why I’m asking you.”
Lelia, who had only blinked, barely opened her mouth.
“… Sir Kalix?”
[T/N: …Kalix…?]
[Are you crazy? ]
Lelia wanted to grab and shake Kalix’s hair right away.
At her call, Kalix glanced at Lelia and winked lightly with one eye.
It’s like he was suggesting ‘You have to trust me.’
[T/N: I can totally imagine Kalix saying this xD]
Griffith watched them and massaged his forehead as if he was in trouble.
“Kalix, you just said it. It’s impossible for two men to marry.”
“I meant, you do it for me.”
“I can’t either.”
“You cheap son of a… What’s wrong with marrying a man?”
Lelia wondered what was wrong with Griffith.
[How can you say that when you have to clear up this misunderstanding?]
She was ignored when she tried to confess that she was a woman, but from what Griffith said, it was as if he was acknowledging that she was indeed a man.
“You can’t marry Lelia. Never.”
At Griffith’s stern words, Kalix sighed deeply.
Then he looked at Lelia.
“Did you hear that? I was going to do the right thing by you. Well, I don’t need to be so proper anyway… Do you think you’re okay?”
“What’s okay… that I am a woman?”
“Dressed up as a woman in a wedding! I don’t like that. I don’t want to ignore your identity.”
It was simply a total mess.
Lelia looked at Griffith as if she were asking for help.
[Please say something!]
But Griffith only shrugged.
Kalix murmured as if he were despondent, “Yeah, wedding ceremonies don’t matter. If we just live together for the rest of our lives, that’s what being a couple truly means…”
“You’re so…”
Griffith stopped trying to finish his sentence. Kalix didn’t care a bit and kept saying what he had to say.
“Anyway, we’ll do it! Hey, you. You don’t have to dress up as a woman anymore. Don’t wear these gowns, okay!?”
Kalix spoke vigorously and gently shook the hem of Lelia’s dress.
Lelia was surprised and snatched the hem of her dress from his hand.
Kalix looked as if everything was fine, like a man of great tolerance.
‘You don’t have to be a woman anymore. I can take you for who you are,’ was what his eyes were saying.
“……”
[Wow… How can I explain this?]
In actuality, Kalix had no choice but to be sure that Lelia was a man due to those alchemy pills.
So it was even more frustrating.
She can’t take off her clothes and prove it was an illusion he saw back then…
[Wouldn’t it be easier to explain that I was Leo?]
Lelia’s eyes looked toward the gauge in the corner of her sight.
The gauge, which said it would take about 10 days, was 60 percent full.
“Well, I have somewhere to go, so I’m leaving first.”
At the end of that remark, Kalix leapt to his feet and patted Lelia on the shoulder.
Watching Kalix disappear through the window, Lelia was exhausted and closed her eyes.
“You’re not really going to marry him, are you?”
At Griffith’s words, Lelia opened her eyes wide.
[What are you talking about?.]
Looking at Lelia’s fierce eyes, Griffith nodded to say that her answer was enough.
***
Lelia watched Kalix nervously for fear that he might talk nonsense to her family.
Two days later, Romeo and Oscar returned to the estate at dawn.
Lelia, who was worried about the delay, greeted the two with a bright face.
The two appeared to have come to Lelia’s garden using Oscar’s powers without having to pass through the gates.
Lelia, who was trying to welcome them, immediately made a face when she saw the two of them.
“What is this…”
The man, who was ragged and being dragged like a piece of luggage, looked like Lelia’s uncle.
Lelia carefully approached while looking around to see if anyone else could see.
“Almos Galicia… He is your uncle, right?”
The man’s face was swollen from the wounds, making it difficult to recognize him properly.
“……”
Lelia looked at Romeo, asking for an explanation.
Romeo shrugged and made excuses.
“You remember I told you about the village where the pagans lived? I found this guy there.”
“But why is he so hurt…?”
Romeo shrugged with a look of innocence, but his index finger below his waist was pointing towards Oscar.
Lelia noticed the gesture and turned to Oscar.
Oscar was staring at Lelia with an angry look on his face.
Lelia, who was puzzled as to why he was angry again, was soon able to guess why.
As soon as they arrived, she hadn’t greeted him first, but instead focused on the man and talked to Romeo.
Maybe that isn’t the reason, but… Somehow, she was convinced that it would be.
Lelia sighed and thanked the two.
Then she looked at her uncle lying on the floor of the garden.
[What should I do about this…?]
Covered with blood, he was unconscious.
Lelia immediately called on Griffith.
She asked Griffith for a healing spell to heal her uncle, who had come to his senses.
Perhaps due to the aftermath of the violence, Almos looked around with anxious eyes and asked.
“Hey, this is…”
“It’s the Superion estate castle.”
He shrugged in surprise at the mention of Superion estate. Lelia felt it – his eyes had changed in an instant.
As expected, this is the criminal.
Lelia asked in a tone that everyone could recognize.
“Why did you make a gambling bill in the name of Aunt Atias?”
“… What do you mean? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“……”
“More importantly, what are you doing to me? You dragged me all the way here. My lord would not sit still if he knew!”
Almos glanced at Oscar, Romeo, and Griffith, who were standing behind Lelia, even though he spoke with such conviction.
It was then.
The result of the requested ‘intelligence mode’ has arrived. Check it out now! |ʘ‿ʘ)╯
Looking at the flashing message, Lelia thought the timing was good and checked the contents.
Like the last time, documents in the form of reports appeared in front of Lelia.
It was all about Almos Galicia.
Lelia’s forehead was wrinkled while she was still reading the contents.
It was completely different from the investigation of households, which contained no indications of financial corruption.
Almos was constantly siphoning off funds from the top of his dealings.
And where was the money headed…?
“I know you have a girlfriend.”
“What, what? No, what nonsense?”
Lelia looked at Almos with a frown.
Come to think of it…
When she first left the estate and went to the capital, she traveled there by riding her uncle’s carriage. She thought it was strange at the time that her uncle kept staying in the wagon the whole time…
“That’s who she was. The one who was in the wagon you used to go to the capital with me…”
“No! What kind of slander…!”
Lelia then turned pale as she turned to the next page of the report.
Just a few days ago, it was written that he hired a murderer.
The target he commissioned was Carius Superion.
It was also written that Almos had planned to use pagan forces in anticipation of Uncle Xenon’s appearance in battle.
He was initially aiming for Uncle Xenon, but when that failed, he immediately changed his target to Uncle Carius.
Her throat tightened at the thought that a dizzying situation might have happened a little later.
As with the household vassals, there was a separate report on Almos’ “weakness”.
His weaknesses included the word “son.”
“I heard you have a child with your girlfriend. It’s a son, too.”
“……!”
When she brought up the son, Almos’ eyes immediately turned fierce.
“Does Auntie know about this?”
“What if she knows? She can’t even have children anyway!”
Lelia’s expression hardened at the shocking remark.
Almos was already scared and nervous, but speaking about his son made him even more so.
His mouth dried up with nervousness.
His secret son was his only hope. His only hope of living a life no longer being ignored by the vassals of the Superion family.
A child who will one day become a family member and be raised to carry the Superions!
If such a son was exposed to violence like he was…!
Almos’s eyes quickly turned alive.
“Don’t touch that kid. If you mess with him…”
“……”
“I’ll kill you!”
In an instant, Almos rushed at her. Rather, he tried to jump at her.
Crack!
She could feel something splash over her face with an unidentified sound.
Lelia, who had closed her eyes tightly in surprise, slowly opened them.
“……!!!”
She opened her mouth unknowingly at the scene in front of her.
Almos, who was about to rush toward Lelia, had a dagger stuck in his neck.
What splashed on her face was Almos’ blood.
And…
Standing behind Almos’ figure, Oscar looked at her with a nonchalant look.
“Close your eyes.”
Oscar instructed her, and as soon as Lelia closed her eyes, he pulled out the dagger stuck in Almos’ neck.
After hearing a terrible sound, Lelia slowly opened her eyes again.
Over Oscar’s shoulders stood Romeo, who looked fed up, and Griffith, who was expressionless.
With Oscar killing people without a moment’s hesitation, Lelia felt goosebumps all over her body.
***