Julianna looked shyly away the moment her eyes met Leliaâs.
[Shy?]
[Why is she being shy�]
ââŚâ
Lelia was greatly flustered.
What on earth?
Ruthâs gaze, which has been intensely staring at Julianna, shifted to Lelia. Lelia was stunned by the intense glare from her left side. He stared at her as if he was going to kill her.
[Are you staring at me like that because of Julianna? All of a sudden?]
[What about when you asked me to listen to your worries until just a moment ago?!]
It was surprising to Lelia to see the fiery change to his attitude.
âWhat are you doing here? Letâs go,â said Kalix, who had been watching.
âOh, you know each otherâŚ?â Julianna muttered at the sight and took a step forward to greet Lelia.
âNice to meet you, Sir. Iâm Princess Julianna.â Julianna naturally held out the back of her hand.
She was very graceful and dignified as a princess.
ââŚâ
Honestly, Lelia didnât feel like it, but it couldnât be helped. Since she is acting as the man, Raymond Le Vester.
Lelia kissed Julianna lightly on the back of her hand, acting as the perfect gentlemen. When she looked up, she saw Julianna with a flushed expression and the ladies whispering behind her.
Kalix, who looked as if he had seen her impeccable manner as something very bizarre, came into view.
[T/N: Kalix xD]
Pretending not to see Kalixâs face, Lelia said;
âItâs an honor to meet you. I am Raymond Le Vester, and I am staying in the Imperial Palace under the Emperorâs consideration.â
âOh, youâre a distant relative of Prince Romeo, arenât you?â
âThatâs rightâŚâ
âAhâŚâ
Julianna gave Lelia a quick cheerful look.
For Lelia, it was almost embarrassing.
When she turned her head slightly, she met the wide-eyed Ruth.
Ruth spoke with his eyes.
âWerenât you supposed to help? Is this your way of helping?â
Ignoring Ruthâs gaze, Lelia looked at Kalix to help her escape quickly.
He raised his eyebrows and moved first.
Lelia bid farewell to Princess Julianna, and the ladies standing behind her. Then she hurried along with Kalix.
***
When they got to her room, Romeo was waiting to welcome them.
âWhat? Where were you?â
âWalking after dinner.â
Kalix answered sharply and Romeo looked at Lelia. His questioning eyes seemed to be asking about her success.
âI succeeded. ButâŚâ
âBut what?â
âI have to stay a little longer at the Imperial Palace.â
âI see. I donât mind, we can stay here until Griffith and Oscar come back.â
Romeo looked at the magazine on the table. He figured even if he asked why, she wouldnât answer.
âWhy?â
It was Kalix who asked the question. Sitting across from Romeo, he stared at Lelia.
Somehow he looked displeased.
âActually⌠When I was young, Leo asked me to do something. I thought Iâd need a little more time to complete it.â
ââŚâŚ.â
Kalixâs eyebrows furrowed.
Lelia was at the table with the two of them when suddenly she saw something and froze.
ââŚâŚ!â
[-100]
[What?]
Kalixâs favorability, which had been in the positive, suddenly dropped and turned negative.
[Why on earth?]
Lelia sat facing him in a resigned mood.
[No matter what I do.]
Just in case, she looked at the quest window and saw that Kalixâs quest was grayed out.
The content of the quest was to raise favorability [+10], but when he suddenly fell to [-], it seemed to have been invalidated.
In the first place, quests come out only when they like her.
Lelia wanted to scream impatiently, but she held her breath and looked at Kalix.
What the hell is the cause?
âAre you⌠angry?â
âYes, you look exactly like Leo.â
ââŚâŚ!â
Surprised, Lelia stiffened like she was hit by lightning.
Romeo asked in an indifferent manner.
âWhat are you talking about?â
âI think⌠Leo would have grown this big if he had grown up instead of dying. Isnât that what he used to look like?â
âWellâŚâ
âIs it because of his hair? You look so alike. I feel like Leo is alive and next to me⌠So be more careful.â
Kalix pointed out and warned Lelia. Romeo sided with her as if he was being absurd.
âDid she bully you? I take care of her like a sister, but all she does is bully me.â
âNo! She was sucking up to the princess earlierâ
Lelia relaxed at the sound of Kalixâs nonsense and exhaled the breath she was holding.
[What a surprise.]
She thought she was caught.
[By the way, what does he mean by sucking up?]
âDo you know what she did earlier? Kissing the back of her hand and gazing⌠and saying âIâm Raymond Le Vesterââ.
Kalix had a lower voice than usual when he said, âIâm Raymond Le Vester.â
Lelia canât speak that low in the first place.
[I donât know who the hell heâs mimicking.]
âYou look like Leo and donât talk to anyone, okay?â
Lelia nodded in a daze. She felt offended by it, and she didnât know what that warning meant.
Kalix was a hard person to understand most of the time. So Lelia decided to be relieved that she wasnât caught.
Romeo laughed for a long time, while holding his stomach. Maybe he was laughing at Kalixâs imitation of her.
[By the wayâŚ]
Lelia squinted and looked at Kalix and Romeo.
[Why arenât you guys leaving?]
Recalling her childhood at the temple, Lelia stretched her shoulders as if she were tired.
Unlike when they were young, the two got the hint and left before Lelia had to tell them to get out. They knew that Lelia was a woman, so that she wanted alone time.
Lelia locked the bedroom door and headed to the bathroom. She knew no one should be entering, but she was worried about it because she was hiding her gender.
When she looked in the mirror before taking off her clothes, she remembered the looks from Julianna and her ladies.
[I never thought Iâd kiss her on the back of her handâŚ]
She felt guilty for some reason. She couldnât believe Julianna, and her ladies-in-waiting, would be flustered by her appearance. The ladies looked at Lelia out of the corner of their eyes in excitement, as if they had scented prey.
Fortunately or unfortunately, they werenât suspicious of her gender.
Rather, they looked at her with more romantic thoughts.
[Do I really look like a man?]
It was strangely unpleasant.
She looked into the mirror and fiddled with her jawline. No matter how much she looked, her jawline and neckline all looked like a woman to her.
[Well, itâs better than being suspected.]
Lelia thought little of it and began to wash.
She didnât know, but Ruthâs words were true.
The most popular male type among the daughters of the capital aristocracy is âBeautiful Boy.â
Like Lelia dressed as a man.
This phenomenon is due to a painter named Donatelli, who recently became the most prominent artist in the capital.
Donatelli was a promising painter, who suddenly appeared with a painting in a style that had never been seen before.
There were many aristocrats who liked his painting, so they all had great expectations of new works from him.
His painting was never considered on the level of Grand Mythical paintings, the most highly regarded area of art.
It was a beautifully drawn picture of a calmly smiling man, who looked like a woman.
The aristocratic men condemned it as âdecadent trash painted by a perverted young manâ, but the aristocratic women praised it.
The reaction was split, but the prints of âPortrait of a Beautiful Manâ sold like hot cakes to the capital aristocrats.
Some say that a number of male nobles secretly collect his prints as well.
It was so popular that there were none available to buy. As a result, many amateur painters imitated the original to earn money.
However, the handsome man in the picture was so beautiful that no real life man could compare.
In order to look like a âPortrait of a Beautiful Manâ aristocratic men shaved, and lost weight.
But in the eyes of aristocratic women, their efforts were fruitless.
For this reason, Julianna and her ladies-in-waiting brightened at the sight of Lelia.
Romeo also had a beautiful appearance that could be used for a painting, but he was tall, well-built and masculine.
In that respect, Lelia dressed as a man perfectly suited their taste.
Lelia washed herself in an empty bathroom while dismissing thoughts of the painting.
She felt strange lying in bed like this.
âI canât believe Iâm back in the palace and sleepingâŚâ
If the Superion family knew about it, they would be very worried.
[I must find the holy relic and return home as soon as possible.]
She sighed when she remembered Ruthâs gaze, which had been staring at her like an enemy.
SubquestâŚ
[I donât want to do it.]
But even if you donât want to, you have to do something.
The quests were like that for Lelia.
She couldnât give up because the sacred object and the shop system were so important for the future. It is also important to mend the holy object and confess the truth to her friends.
But her family situation was more urgent than that.
The death of her grandparents and uncles, her auntâs misfortune, and the family eventually falling into the hands of its vassals.
She had to stop everything.
[By the way, did Uncle Carius arrive safely?]
According to Romeo, Carius returned to the Superion territory on the first day of his return to the capital.
Lelia saw him at the crossroads.
[I wanted to talk to himâŚ]
He looked fine and unharmed in the procession.
Lelia was awake until dawn thinking about it. She finally passed out when the sun came up.