“Don’t worry~ Once Xiao Yaya marries in, I promise my boy absolutely won’t bully her!”
Kelvidi said with a smile, showing no trace of grand duke’s airs in front of his close friend Grosset.
He had three sons.
The eldest was the most outstanding and looked the most like him (especially the beard, which the grand duke was quite proud of).
The second son was gentle and kind, a peaceful type who kept to himself.
As for the third son… well, he was a useless playboy who didn’t deserve mentioning.
His plan was naturally to marry his friend’s daughter to his most capable eldest son, making her the future grand duchess~
This wouldn’t disgrace the Eastern District Jewel at all, and it would be a great honor for his friend as well.
“Phew… do you have to keep pestering me about this?” Grosset glanced sideways at Kelvidi, his red eyes identical to Ileya’s, filled with irritation and helplessness.
As the leading noble of all East County, Grosset had no need to rely on or flatter anyone.
If possible, he would prefer his daughter to marry someone she truly loved.
Not some prince or grand duke’s eldest son.
Most importantly, with Ileya’s personality… it was indeed safest to keep her under his own watch, within East County.
“Tsk… this war could break out anytime—maybe in a year, two years, even ten years, but it could also be tomorrow! Or even tonight!”
Kelvidi was also a little helpless at this moment.
“That’s why the sooner we settle this, the better. You understand that, don’t you?”
“…Sigh.” Although reluctant to admit it, the marquis could only acknowledge the truth.
“Alright, you’re just afraid my boy doesn’t have a foundation of feelings with your precious daughter! Fine then… I’ll send him to East County so they can meet first!”
With a grand gesture, Grand Duke Kelvidi declared.
“They’ll get to know each other, and maybe feelings will develop… What do you say?”
Seeing this proposal from his old friend, Grosset knew Kelvidi’s intentions were sincere.
So his expression softened slightly, and he slowly nodded.
This was his positive response to the grand duke’s well-meaning efforts.
…
In a dimly lit room, the girl apologized to her newly awakened older sister…
Her head bowed low, afraid to meet her sister’s gaze.
“Sigh… lift your head. Since it’s happened, you have to face it properly, right? Besides… it’s not your fault.”
Ilu’s voice was tired as she looked at her sister, who suddenly seemed much more mature.
She didn’t lose her temper.
Since the other party had such thoughts, it was only a matter of time before they acted.
This time had just been an opportunity given to him.
Even without this chance, there would be a second or third.
As long as Mein planned this, and she was unaware… without any defense for her senior brother or master…
They would succeed eventually.
Now… though she didn’t know what had become of that bastard, the hypocritical old apothecary had indeed received his due punishment.
This outcome… wasn’t something she couldn’t accept.
“Sorry~” Ilu gave a weak smile.
She finally said the words she should have spoken last night when she returned home.
“I was… truly neglecting your feelings before, Lili. From now on… I’ll be more mindful.”
“Sis… sis!!”
Holly suddenly threw herself into her sister’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
“All right~ all right~”
Watching her finally release the pent-up feelings inside, Ilu smiled in relief and gently stroked her sister’s head.
As the two sisters embraced… Ilu felt Holly’s breathing grow steadier.
Having finally earned her sister’s forgiveness, Holly relaxed.
She hadn’t yet told Ilu about wanting to go to the border with Ileya and the others…
before she fell asleep… or perhaps slipped into unconsciousness.
…
“Have you… really made up your mind?”
Beina looked at Reliel in front of her, wanting to persuade her but unsure how.
Next to her stood the Hunter Blade Mercenary Group’s Captain, who had rushed over overnight after hearing the news—Reliel’s foster father.
His brows furrowed deeply, his tone serious.
“Is your information… accurate?”
Sigh… Reliel nodded slowly.
She didn’t know why she trusted that man so much, but… in a matter like this, he wouldn’t lie to her, right?
“Mm… I understand your thoughts, Reliel… You’re different from us.”
The Hunter Blade Captain nodded slowly, then looked earnestly at the adopted daughter before him.
“What’s so different…” Beina muttered quietly beside them.
Since childhood… her father had told her that the mute girl was different from her.
But how exactly was she different?
“Let me think this over… You’re not leaving for another three days, right?”
The man slowly stood.
“When the time comes, I’ll give you my answer.”
Reliel obediently nodded to her father’s words.
“Hey! Why suddenly want to leave… did someone in the group say something? Tell me! I’ll go beat up those dogs…”
Click.
The door shut, blocking out their daughter’s chattering.
In the dim room, the Hunter Blade Captain stood still for a dozen seconds.
“Sigh… I guess it’s time.”
He spoke softly, relief mingling with lingering reluctance in his eyes.
After all, he had raised her as his own daughter for over ten years.
Though Reliel rarely spoke and appeared cold…
she was actually a very gentle girl.
Her talent wasn’t something ordinary mercenaries could match.
If she could obtain extraordinary power, she could truly soar… Keeping her in the group was holding her back.
“Hoo…”
After many thoughts flashing through his mind, the Captain exhaled and sat back at his desk.
He took paper, pen, and an envelope from a bag beside him and quickly began writing something.
Life in the small town had always been peaceful.
The old apothecary had died, and how he died… the guards claimed it was a sudden illness, but some said he was hacked into pieces.
Regardless of the rumors, the herb shop had barely opened these past few days.
This caused inconvenience to the townsfolk.
About three days later, someone heard that Mein, the old apothecary’s son, had gone to the Town Mayor’s house to say he wanted to give his father’s herb shop to his junior sister, Ilu.
As for himself, he apparently planned to travel.
Of course, this event was true, but…
When Mein said those words, he was no longer alive—he had been turned into a walking corpse by Ileya out of boredom.
The reason for keeping him alive for two more days was because the young lady wanted to see if the real culprit behind the Mission of the Disappearances Under the Moon would come looking for this imitator who threw the blame on them.
During this time, Mein had been running a few rounds late at night, followed by Amisa in his shadow.
But there was no result whatsoever.
Whether those people didn’t care about the imitator or had noticed Amisa’s presence and dared not approach was unknown.