Chapter 81

I accepted the apology and somehow managed to get Juliana to head home. It seemed I had been taken a fancy to by a truly troublesome woman.

“Emma, Fiene, leave us. Kota, I’ll have you tell me exactly what happened.”

Lady Clara’s voice felt colder than usual.

“Excuuuuse us…”

Mumbling in small voices, Emma and Fiene withdrew from the room.

“Sit.”

After letting out a heavy sigh, Lady Clara gestured for me to take a seat. It was the long sofa the Saint had been occupying just moments ago. Since it was currently the lunch break, there was still plenty of time left.

I decided to disclose everything to Lady Clara, down to the smallest detail.

“It all began with the scent of flowers I caught at the scene of the murder, on that very first day I was supervising the sewer cleaning.”

I told her everything: how I had come to suspect the Saint, the fact that Juliana could use Charm magic, and how I had coincidentally run into the Saint’s party atop the city wall, learned the truth, and engaged in a duel.

When I finished speaking, Lady Clara looked me straight in the eyes.

“Why didn’t you confide in me?”

Though it was a little late, I spoke the honest truth.

“I felt guilty. Even with someone like you in my life, Lady Clara, I found myself drawn to the Saint, however briefly. I suspected the Charm was at work, but I couldn’t be certain of my own feelings.”

“……”

Once again, I felt the temperature in the room drop just a notch. Lady Clara…

“Why did you duel her?”

“I didn’t have the confidence that I could resist her Charm magic forever.”

“What did you wager on the duel?”

Lady Clara’s eyes burned with anger.

“If I won, she would break the Charm cast upon me.”

“And if you had lost, Kota?”

“I would have become the Saint’s property…”

A frigid aura erupted from Lady Clara, and the surrounding area began to frost over.

“If! If you had lost, Kota, I would have lost you without ever knowing why!”

I realized then that I had acted quite rashly.

“I am deeply sorry. However, I felt there was no time to spare.”

Tears began to spill from Lady Clara’s eyes. I had moved with the intention of not making her sad, yet here we were. It was pathetic of me.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine now. You have come back to me, Kota…”

“No, it isn’t fine. But please, believe this: at every moment, the one occupying my heart was always you, Lady Clara. The only reason I was able to endure the Saint’s Charm was because you were there.”

Lady Clara stood up, and her hand reached out toward the top of my head. Then, just like that… she gently stroked my hair.

H-Hey, I’m not a dog!

…But it did feel good.

“It’s fine now. I am no longer angry.”

Finding relief in being told she wasn’t angry while having my head patted by Lady Clara, who was ten years my junior… what was wrong with me? Still, it felt wonderful.

Lady Clara sat down beside me, applied a bit of strength to her hand, and pulled me toward her. She was much stronger than me; I couldn’t resist at all.

“Lady Clara?”

“Just relax and come here…”

Before I knew it, I was being treated to a lap pillow.

“What is this?”

“…It’s a punishment.”

Are you sure you didn’t mean a reward? A lap pillow from my boss in the office in the middle of the day… I was incredibly happy, but it would be bad if someone walked in.

“What’s come over you, Lady Clara?”

“I won’t give you up.”

“Pardon?”

“Kota, you are mine. I won’t give you to anyone.”

Was the Saint’s interference making Lady Clara a little bolder? Her jealousy had clearly been piqued.

I was happy, but… was this really okay?

“Lady Clara, doing this in the office at this hour is—”

“Be quiet for a moment.”

While her hand gently gripped my hair, my words were cut off by Lady Clara’s cherry-pink lips.

.
.
.

The kiss lasted much longer than usual. Perhaps I had truly made her feel that sad. I reflected on my actions once more.

When her lips finally parted from mine, Lady Clara turned away shyly. The gesture was so adorable that I placed my hand over hers, which was still resting against my head.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here by your side, Lady Clara.”

“…Mm.”

When I gave her hand a gentle, encouraging tug, she finally looked back at me.

Lara, the tutor, arrived at Juliana’s chambers to explain the final arrangements.

“My Lady, the preparations are complete. May I have a moment of your time to go over tonight’s plan?”

However, Juliana didn’t seem to grasp the meaning of Lara’s words.

“Plan? What plan was that again?”

“The condemnation of the Emotzel Temple, my Lady.”

The Condemnation Bandits were scheduled to raid the Emotzel Temple tonight, following yesterday’s postponement. As the leader, Juliana was expected to participate.

“Ah, that was a thing, wasn’t it? However, I’ve become quite busy.”

“Pardon…?”

“I’m going to bake cookies for Hinoharu. I must deliver them to the barracks first thing tomorrow morning. I’ve heard that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, after all.”

Since the bandits’ activities involved danger, Lara actually preferred it if Juliana didn’t tag along.

“I understand. I shall leave the operation to the strike team.”

“Yes, please do. I heard the Bishop there has been making playthings of young monks under the guise of ‘Admonition’ (religious discipline). He ties them to the Holy Tower with ropes. He’s even sent a few lecherous gazes my way. Be sure to condemn him thoroughly.”

The Holy Tower was a square-based pyramid that served as the symbol of Nordism. It was essentially their equivalent of the Christian cross. Knowing that, one could understand just how immoral the Bishop of the Emotzel Temple truly was—tying boys and girls to the very symbol of the temple to toy with their bodies as his desires dictated.

“He also seems to have embezzled quite a bit of the tax revenue from the manor.”

“Indeed. I’m counting on you for a proper condemnation. …Though, try not to hurt the others if possible.”

Lara bowed deeply.

“Now, Karina, let us head to the kitchen. You want to make them with me, don’t you?”

“That’s… not…”

The maid’s face turned bright red.

“Even if you lie, I can tell immediately. I had no idea you had a thing for older men, Karina.”

“P-Please…”

“You were worried about Hinoharu when he challenged us to that duel, weren’t you? It was painfully obvious.”

“Uuuh…”

“I sent you to fetch the healer because I thought it would be too pitiable to make you watch him get beaten. But then Hinoharu put on that grand performance. If you had seen him fighting, you would have fallen for him even harder.”

“Please, have mercy on me,” the maid pleaded in a voice so quiet it was almost non-existent.

Unbeknownst to Kota, it seemed there was a cross-dressing boy harboring secret feelings for him.

“Hey, why don’t we mix some of our saliva into the cookies? And then we’ll have Hinoharu eat them.”

Juliana was frolicking about as if she had just come up with a brilliant idea.

“My Lady! Such an unladylike thing…”

“Oh? Does that mean you don’t want to do it, Karina?”

“Well, that’s…”

Karina turned scarlet and froze. From any angle, Karina looked like a lovely young girl, but on the inside, he was a boy with all the proper parts attached.

“Ufufu, don’t be shy. Let’s mix ours in together.”

“Lady Juliana… I love you too, Lady Juliana…”

Juliana pulled Karina close and stroked his head.

“I know. We’re the best of friends, aren’t we? Now, let’s bake some cookies filled with the love of two people.”

Lara watched the exchange between the two with eyes full of affection. In this room, there were only people who were slightly removed from the world’s definition of ‘normal.’