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âYes. Itâs like saying good morning. Of course, itâs not something you do to just anyone, but most people do it to their lovers or family. Weâre engaged so we should do it.â\n\nâIs that so?â\n\nâYes.â\n\nâThen Iâll also have to do it to Miss.â\n\n⊠huh?\n\nâUh, yeah. I guess⊠so?â\n\nThe book also certainly mentioned the couple gave a morning kiss to each other.\n\nâWell, because other couples give kisses to each other, I guess youâre right.â\n\nThatâs true, but still. As I stood still on the stairs, suddenly I swiftly turned around and shot upstairs.\n\nâMiss Epheria?â\n\nâItâs not morning anymore!â\n\nIf you want to do that, do it in the morning. To receive his kiss now somehow made me felt embarrassed and I donât like it! As I dashed straight to the second floor, I came to a halt after being blocked by an unexpected hindrance on my way. The hindrance, -which was Ortzen-, looked at me and Captain Jullius, -who came upstairs to go after me-, in turn with narrowed eyes.\n\nâYou two, follow me.â\n\nWhatâs the matter? I didnât do anything wrong, but I felt like I did something wrong.\n\n\n\n\n\nWeâre summoned to Ortzenâs office and sat next to each other on the sofa. Ortzen, who was sitting across from us, heaved a long sigh and looked at me.\n\nâDid Sir Siegfred tell you to go spreading the fact about your kiss with the Captain all over town?â\n\nâ⊠which bastard dares to tell tales on me?â\n\nâI heard everything from inside the room.â\n\nWell, I did shout a bit too loud, ahem. But you didnât have to be discomposed by such a thing, right?\n\nâSo what. Let the rumors spread then.â\n\nâYou canât be serious.â\n\nâI donât mind. Captain also has no problem with that though? This kind of rumor could be unfavourable for women, but if anything, itâs kind of beneficial for men.â\n\nIn response to my idle talk, Captain Jullius flinched and opened his mouth.\n\nâIf itâs unfavourableâŠ.â\n\nâAh, Iâm fine with it. Thereâs nothing to worry about.â\n\nâI bet Sir Siegfred must be thinking that itâs not okay.â\n\nThe moment Ortzen said so, my heart sank. I forgot about that. I looked at Ortzen with the most pitiable look I could make.\n\nâWill he be angry?â\n\nâProbably.â\n\nâYouâll keep it a secret, right?â\n\nâDo you think just by keeping my mouth shut is enough?â\n\nâThen you should forbid the Special Task Squad members from talking about it now.â\n\nâWhatâs the reason for me to doââ\n\nâDo me a favor, please. Please do it for me.â\n\nâThatâs why in the first placeââ\n\nâCaptain! Ortzenâs being cheap!â\n\nAfter I nudged him, Captain Jullius also lent me a hand by putting in a good word for me.\n\nâItâd be nice if you could do it.â\n\nâItâs not like I canât do that butâŠâ\n\nâThen please do it for me. Anyway, if you didnât have any intention of helping me out, wouldnât you have said it directly right from the start?â\n\nDragging it out like that, nine times out of ten heâd do me this favor, but he seemed to be in deep trouble and had a hard time so such a thing shouldnât happen again in the future. I mean, if you easily agreed to it, then you could easily clean it up as well. In response to my words, Ortzen raised one of his eyebrows.\n\nâWhen you put it like that, it makes me disinclined to help you.â\n\nâThen should I keep my mouth shut?â\n\nâAlright, I get it, I get it. But judging from Lord Roelâs attitude, it looks like youâll spread it around again soon after I block it.â\n\nâDonât worry. I hardly make the same mistake.â\n\nActually, if itâs not because of Siegâs nagging, then I donât mind if the words spread out.\n\nâBy the way, to capture the Demon King who cursed Lord Roel alive, Captain and Clauen will take a leave from the Special Task Squad as planned. In the first place, Captain isnât allowed to go out of the Capital, but the High Priest said he would grant him the permission.â\n\nIf itâs a matter related to the demons, Clauenâs definitely someone we could rely on. Since the matter related to the demons was concerning ourselves, we must not recklessly go around blabbering about it.\n\nâAnd Sir Silac is also slated to go with you.â\n\nâWhat? That person-, no, I mean why is that man coming with us?â\n
âBecause heâs the most reliable force.â\n\nâR, really? So itâs like that.â\n\nThough I was confused by his reason, I still nodded my head. In fact, all responsibilities heâs in charge of was those kind of things where he asked for assitances from someone we could definitely put our trust in. If Sieg together with Ortzen guaranteed him, then he must be totally trustworthy⊠Perhaps because I used to have much prejudice against him, I still felt a bit uncomfortable.\n\nâIâll go telling them to keep their mouth shut now before itâs too late. I couldnât give the report to you since today you entered the court right away, so Captain, please wait here. And Lord Roel should return to your own home.â\n\nâAlready?â\n\nâSir Siegfred told me to send you back before lunch.â\n\nSheesh. Iâm scared of the aftermath so Iâll return first and then run away again.\n\nI came out of the office and walked down the corridor together with Ortzen. I was sad by the thought of going home. Oh!\n\nâOrtzen.â\n\nâYes?â\n\nâDo you happen to know if thereâs any romance book for men?â\n\nâRomance book for men?â\n\nâMhm. Sofia said itâd be better if there wasnât any, so it means that thereâs romance book for men out there, but on the other hand adjutant Sieg said thereâs no such a thing.â\n\nIt looked like adjutant Sieg lied to me though. Ortzen seemed to be troubled for a moment then he opened his mouth.\n\nâYou arenât referring to porn books, are you?â\n\n(T/N: ëììì can be translated to painting book and also porn book.)\n\nâPainting books?â\n\nâIf you said itâd be better if there wasnât any, then maybe it means that kind of thing.â\n\nâThat kind of thing? Like what?â\n\nâHave you never heard of it? Well, thereâs no way that kind of thing can be brought into the church.â\n\nWhat is it? Is it something illegal? But then again, I think Iâve never seen anything like the womenâs books I read yesterday inside the church library. Maybe. Iâm not sure either since I havenât gone through all the books in the library. AnywayâŠ\n\nâSo it means there is indeed romance book for men, right? Where can I get it?â\n\nâErmm⊠Thereâs a famous bookstore in the back alley of North Ginsae Street, but please donât ever tell Sir Siegfred that I told you about it.â\n\nâI got it. Donât worry.â\n\nItâs located on the back alley of North Ginsae Street. Iâll have to go there soon.\n\n\n\n\n\nI left the carriage for Sofia and borrowed a horse to go home, and when I arrived at the mansion, I saw an unfamiliar carriage standing in front of the main buildingâs entrance. The presence of the carriage was obviously unfamiliar, but the engraved coat of arms looked very familiar in my eyes. Haha, I shouldnât have come back.\n\nâIt looks like the Prime Minister is here.â\n\nSo this is why he told Ortzen to send me back before lunch. When the three-headed serpent and gold coins coat of arms representing the Ministry of Finance came into my sight, I couldnât help getting chill down my spine. I wish to run away, but if I were to run away from here, he would revisit several times later. As I heaved a deep sigh without getting off the horse, a maid came up to me and bowed her head politely.\n\nâMiss, Prime Minister Mord and the butler are waiting for you inside.â\n\nâOh⊠okay.â\n\nâLetâs go inside.â\n\nâAlright. I guess I should go inside.â\n\nNothingâs going to change just by dawdling here. I got off the horse and followed the maid into the mansion. Thereâre hardly any people in comparison to the big mansion, so it was very quiet except for the sound of footsteps. I unconsciously walked stealthily and quickly patted on my wrinkled dress hem to smooth it down as I moved. It looked like my hair was a bit disheveled because I did a flip before. Did my dress get stained with crumbs? What did I eat today? There shouldnât be any cream or jam that fell on it. The dress was wider than the pants, so itâs more likely for it to get dirty.\n
While I was checking over my body here and there, the maid stopped in front of the room thatâs probably the parlour. The dress looked fine from the front, but I wasnât sure about the back. I even sat on a boulder so I wonder if it didnât get dirty. I should try my best to just let them see my front side.\n\nâItâs here.â\n\nThe maid spoke politely and knocked on the door to inform the people inside that I was here. Adjutant Siegâs voice came from inside the room telling me to come in. As I saw the maid open the door, I swallowed drily.\n\nâWelcome, Milady.â\n\nWhen I walked into the room, adjutant Sieg got up from his seat and greeted me with a smile. And there was a man, who appeared to be in his mid forties, sat on the sofa across from him. The silvery-white haired middle-aged man was so neat and tidy that it was hard to even find a speck of dust from the two lenses of glasses to the tip of his black suit and shoes. It made me feel all the more intimidated when I looked at him, then I furtively came up to adjutant Siegâs side so that my back wouldnât be seen. A sharp gaze attentively looked me up and down.\n\nâ⊠this girl is Roel.â\n\nâYes, so Iâve heard.â\n\nUh⊠I should greet him first.\n\nâUmm, itâs been a while. Your Excellency, Prime Minister. You look healthy.â\n\nâRoel, youââ\n\nPrime Minister Mord raised his glasses by using the tip of his finger out of habit.\n\nâI see that the way you walk is strange for a Lady.â\n\nâThatâs because Iâm nervous to see Your Excellency again like this.â\n\nPerhaps because adjutant Sieg had put in a good word for me in advance, the way he spoke was gentler than expected. At the sign of a good start, I felt a bit relieved as I sat down. As soon as I thought about how to build a favourable impression for Captain Jullius, he brought the issue up.\n\nâDo you really think of marrying Sir Rizar?â\n\nâYes. Perhaps.â\n\nâPerhaps?â\n\nâNo, I do. I do.â\n\nPrime Minister Mord looked at adjutant Sieg then turned his eyes back to me again.\n\nâSiegfred said otherwise.â\n\nâ⊠yes?â\n\nI was surprised by what he said and I glanced back at adjutant Sieg. What the hell did you tell him? Youâre supposed to say only good things about Captain Jullius!\n\nâWhat⊠did you say?â\n\nPrime Minister Mord clicked his tongue instead of replying back.\n\nâFrom the way you speak to the way you behave, each and every one of themâŠ..â