At that moment, a gentle afternoon breeze blew. This made her hair move, gently brushing her temples softly.
Chellos unconsciously stared at the flying hair. Even though he sees it every day, today he feels that his hair is extremely strange.
More precisely, it seemed like he felt it was beautiful.
I don't know if what I said saved the situation?
Meanwhile, Irel worriedly looked at Chellos's face. He is one of Varkan's closest confidants. Therefore, only when he somewhat relaxed his guard could she find a way out.
Chellos's face lowered his eyes, looking confused. Just as she was fidgeting because she didn't know what he was thinking, a joyful sound rang out.
[Ting! Chellos Azerica's favorability score has increased by 10.]
“Huh.”
Irel was surprised by this sudden increase in sympathy. She thought she would be lucky if her score didn't drop further, but she didn't expect the reaction to be so good.
Is it because of this hairpin?
Irel gently touched the 'Star Nightingale Hairpin' she received from the previous side quest. The option is to maximize the effectiveness of the compliment, which seems to work better than she thought.
If she continued to complete side quests and collect more items like this, would it help her survival? She unintentionally stared into space because she was lost in thought. Seeing that, Chellos next to him asked in confusion.
“What's the matter, ma'am?”
“Ah, I thought something was moving over there.”
Laughing awkwardly and saying 'It's nothing' in this case is just the action of an amateur. Irel didn't flinch at all, just roughly pointed somewhere and made up a lie.
Fortunately, Chellos, who thought she was a naive noble lady, did not suspect anything. He willingly turned his head towards the direction Irel was pointing.
Right at that moment. Chellos's delicate eyebrows suddenly frowned, and a low murmur escaped his lips.
“…That person.”
"Yes?"
Is there really anything there? This time Irel looked back a little panicked. She saw a dark red shadow approaching from afar.
People?
That's right. A middle-aged man wearing a red shirt with yellow buttons, black pants and a coat was walking towards them. More precisely, towards Chellos.
“Long time no see, General Manager Chellos.”
The man stopped in front of him and greeted him properly. Chellos also reluctantly bowed in response with a neat posture.
"Head of Internal Affairs Huan. What are you doing here?"
That man is the Head of Internal Affairs? Irel's ears seemed to stand up. She tried to secretly observe the man named Huan as naturally as possible. She wondered why his uniform was so outstanding, it turned out he was a person with a position in the royal court.
"I'm so rude. I sent a request to visit General Ha Mash, but when he arrived, he wasn't present. So I went to the General to replace him."
"I'm sorry, sir. Master may have gone away for a while. I'm very sorry for wasting your precious trip."
"Haha! How dare I blame the son of the Godhead? Even that freedom like the wind is a gift from Hashva."
Sure enough, Huan smiled calmly, just like the experienced look of a person in the palace. But no one knows whether he 'really' didn't mind being made to climb a tree despite sending a visit request.
“…I'm so sorry. I don't know how to express my apology.”
Chellos raised his hand to his forehead and sighed in complexity. It seemed like this wasn't the first time this happened, a bit of fatigue flashed across his face.
Varkan never discussed or announced anything in advance. He often does everything his way and reports back later. Like a tyrant makes a mess and then orders: 'Go away.'
Thanks to that, the one who always has to deal with the consequences is Chellos. Even though he was used to this, Varkan's recklessness in calmly allowing the person sent by the king to climb the tree still made him break out in a cold sweat.
However, Irel, who did not know Chellos' situation, looked at Huan with curious eyes. She was originally considering seeking refuge from the royal family. Huan's timely appearance before her eyes made her quite happy.
Maybe because she was staring too hard? Huan discovered her, smiled politely and said hello.
“Hello, beautiful lady.”
“Hello, sir.”
“If I'm not rude, may I ask what your noble name is?”
“I am Irel of the Elourance family.”
Irel lifted her skirt and bowed. Contrary to her timid appearance, her mind was filled with cold sweat.
I didn't make any mistake, right?
This body of hers still had some memories of this place. Thanks to that, greetings flow naturally like an ingrained habit. But the head belonged to Lee Raeyeon, so she didn't know if the greeting just now was appropriate for the situation or not.
Luckily, Huan didn't seem surprised at all. On the contrary, when he heard Irel's name, he seemed happy.
"Oh my God. Are you the Marquis Elourance's youngest daughter?"
“Yes, that's right.”
Irel felt nervous as the conversation took an unexpected turn.
Perhaps he knew her father, Calver?
"Once upon a time, I went to the Marquis's territory to deliver a letter. The weather was bad so I stayed for a few days, and the Marquis..."
“Was… what?”
“Never stopped praising my daughter!”
"Huh?"
Irel was stunned by that unexpected word. But Huan didn't pay attention, he even more enthusiastically described Calver's actions at that time.
"Needless to say. It's true that father can't win against his daughter. That taciturn Governor, just mentioning his daughter, makes his face relax and boast endlessly."
“Ah, yes… is that so?”
"He praised his daughter for not only being beautiful but also gentle. From childhood to adulthood, she had never bothered him once. I only have naughty boys, so how much I admire the Marquis!"
Hearing that, Irel couldn't help but laugh, her expression became awkward. The person who was praised for never bothering anyone was now bothering Calver
worry
more than ever.
The letter that brought great humiliation to her yesterday must have arrived at Earl Elourance's mansion. What will her family's faces look like when they read the letter begging to marry Varkan?
It's definitely not stretched at all. Maybe it's eye rolling.
"At that time, I thought the Marquis was a father who spoiled his children too much, no different from a hedgehog father. But when I met Miss Irel in person, I completely understood. If I had a daughter like you, I would also be very proud."
Huan's words made Irel's conscience even more guilty. The weather wasn't hot at all, but her sweat was pouring out like a stream.
“Um?”
At this moment, Huan looked puzzled as if he had just realized something.
"That's strange. What is Marquis Elourance's daughter going to General Ha Mash's mansion for..."
“Head of Internal Affairs Huan.”
Fortunately, before the awkward question was asked, Chellos intervened promptly.
“Didn't you say you had something to discuss?”
His decisive voice was extremely solemn, but cold as if drawing a line. The question reminding him of the purpose of his visit to Baslow Moore's mansion made Huan stroke his chin.
"Hmm. Of course it's something."
“In that case, let's go over there to discuss.”
Chellos glanced at Irel and suggested in a respectful tone. Huan was silent for a moment.
How arrogant.
He is a messenger receiving orders from the great King. Therefore, Chellos was not wrongly criticized. He did not come here to gossip with the Marquis's youngest daughter.
But…
This lowly servant dares to teach me.
Huan is also a civil servant with the national salary, so he tends to be conservative and respectful of rank. Therefore, the look at Chellos, who dared to give orders to him, was not pleasant.
However, because he did not come here for personal reasons, he had to try to avoid conflicts as much as possible. He was just a messenger of the king's orders, nothing more, nothing less. Therefore, Huan suppressed his discomfort and obediently nodded.
“Then please ask the General to lead the way.”
"Yes."
Is he gone? Irel looked at Huan with regretful eyes. Before they left, Chellos turned back to her to ask permission.
"I'm sorry. It won't be long."
"It's OK."
“You can walk in the garden for a while, I'll be right back.”
“Just keep working, don't worry about me.”
Irel smiled with a seemingly harmless expression and waved. And as soon as Chellos disappeared from sight, she turned around.
What to do now? Should I go inside and write a note?
Then find an opportunity to secretly give it to Huan when he returns? An opportunity like this probably won't come a second time.
Irel walked nervously towards the mansion. But those steps quickly stopped.
No, it's not the time yet.
Even if she wrote a piece of paper, what would she write? Warn Huan that Varkan will overthrow the country in the next few years and should be careful? What evidence do you have to prove that?
She calmly looked back at her position, or rather the situation of ‘Irel Elorance’. A young girl, surrounded by her family, does not understand life, is shy and only has Beatrice as her friend, a passive loner.
Someone like her suddenly denounced the treason plot of Varkan, the strongest Masaka in the capital? And without any evidence to support it?
That is completely absurd. Apparently she was so happy to see the possibility of approaching the royal family that she became hasty. Too hasty to the point of being unable to make rational judgments.
That's right. A piece of paper?
Irel turned around with a dejected look on her face. She planned to take a casual walk in the garden to pass the time, like Chellos had told her to.
Right at that moment.
“Sniff…”
In the breeze, she heard sobbing from somewhere.