Chapter 88

“You’re going to swell up badly.”

My eyes were puffed up so much from crying without stopping that my pupils were barely visible. After bursting the anxiety I’d been holding down, I felt somewhat calmed. There was no clear solution, but I tried to accept the situation as it was.

‘I feel sorry to Aidan.’

He had lent me his shoulder for a long time before leaving. I always thought he was the type who cheerfully questions things until he gets an answer, but in moments like this he felt more mature than I did. I decided to thank him properly later and got ready for work.

‘First, let’s reduce the puffiness.’

I could only leave the house after wetting a spoon in cold water and holding it against my eyes several times.

Fortunately, my brother and sister seemed unaware of what had happened thanks to Aidan’s magic.

The Chancellery as I returned to was as busy as ever. After briefly greeting my colleagues, I began handling the backlog of work. Lukan slid up to me.

“Did you have a good trip?”

I smiled back at his kindly face.

“Yeah. It felt nice to go back to my hometown after a while.”

He studied my face and tilted his head.

“Did something happen?”

I thought my swollen eyes might not have fully recovered, but I answered calmly.

“No, why?”

“Hmm… it’s just that. Something seems different.”

“Actually, going back home after a long time brought back a lot of memories. I felt nostalgic.”

“Really?”

Lukan didn’t press further and moved on to another topic.

“Did you see the notice about the delegation?”

It was the first I heard of it.

“A delegation?”

“They say they’ll send a delegation to the Yuno Kingdom.”

Elysia, who seemed interested in the topic, came over to join the conversation. I don’t know why everyone prefers to speak directly like this instead of using communication artifacts.

“Yuno is that the country where Marcus, the former Chancellor, hid slush funds?”

This matter, which began with an adultery scandal, had gone so far I couldn’t help but be astonished. Elysia pushed up her glasses and continued quietly.

“That’s right. It seems they’ll go to negotiate, including tracing overseas funds. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will lead the delegation. Each department will send at least one person. It’s safe to assume Coco will almost certainly go.”

“Is that so?”

Well, no one would know the noble asset registration system better than I, the bill’s sponsor, so it made sense for me to go. Then the attendees would mostly be people from the Asset Department….

When the Duke’s face came to mind, my chest tightened.

‘Would the Supreme Justice go all the way there? He’d probably send the chief magistrate.’

Muttering that senior executives don’t move about often, I headed up to the third floor where the Minister of Finance’s office was. From there I saw the Duke walking toward us, talking with Illya the aide.

‘No.’

Not ready to see him yet, I unconsciously ducked into the nearest office and hid.

“Who…?”

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I’ll be out in a moment.”

I ran into a bureaucrat who had been sprawled sleeping on the sofa, but I wasn’t curious at all.

Only after the Duke and his party had passed could I come out and feel relieved. I didn’t have the confidence to meet him with the same easy smile as before.

‘Let’s live like this for a while.’

So whenever I might see the Duke, I hid like a mad person. When I did see him at work meetings, I discussed only the agenda and dashed out of the meeting room as soon as it ended. It might’ve looked a bit petty, but given the circumstances, it was the best I could do.

It was like the minimum protective shield to keep me safe.

But there was a place I couldn’t avoid.

‘If someone comes without an appointment like this, you’re helpless.’

He showed up urgently saying he needed advice, and I couldn’t bring myself to refuse. Even with my face hidden, I felt guilty about rejecting him.

“I confessed.”

“…!”

To be honest, I wanted to avoid it even more because I expected this would be the topic.

But here I wasn’t Cornelia; I was Master Quokka. He didn’t know my identity, so I composed myself and raised my energy.

“O~!! A real man indeed! Did it work?”

It felt almost guilty to ask when I already knew the result.

“No. I got rejected.”

“Oh my! Not recognizing Little Lamb’s worth—what a shame for them!”

It sounded like something he was saying to himself.

“No. It’s okay. She must’ve been flustered too. I wasn’t planning to confess like that either, but the situation… it turned out that way.”

“…Y-yeah.”

We both felt solemn without any need for implied words because we had experienced it directly.

“So, did you come to discuss how to win her heart back-? Hmm… sorry, but I’m not a relationship expert—so I can’t be of much help—.”

I tried to gently turn him down, but the Duke’s thoughts were different.

“You’re probably better than me at it.”

“……”

“Actually, that’s true as well.”

I wanted to sew my mouth shut for babbling then, not knowing the one he had confessed to was me.

“Rather than my confession… actually, I have another concern.”

Relieved to be able to change the subject, I brightened.

“Oh, okay, okay. What is it, what is it-?”

“She is avoiding me.”

“……”

For a moment I lost my breath, but managed to continue speaking. I hadn’t thought he’d know that.

“Why do you think that-?”

“When she sees me from afar she suddenly hides somewhere, and if I try to speak to her she darts away as if fleeing.”

“Oh, how did you notice that?”

“I could see everything.”

Only then did I realize I’d overlooked one big fact: his physical abilities weren’t ordinary—they were enough to shake a war.

According to Pinea, even the current royal knights’ captains couldn’t beat the Duke in swordsmanship. I couldn’t confirm the truth, but since it was in the gossip column it probably wasn’t entirely false.

“She was fine until a few days ago, then suddenly started acting like this; I don’t know why. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to grab her and force questions. She’s the type to face difficult things confidently.”

‘He doesn’t know how cowardly and timid I am.’

He was considering my position even though it would be understandable for him to be upset. My throat was dry. I wetted it with the water beside me and steadied my voice.

“Maybe she has her own circumstances.”

“Circumstances?”

“There might be a reason she can’t return your feelings, and if her behavior suddenly changed there could be unavoidable circumstances. From what I saw, she’s dealing with something in front of her right now, leaving no room for you to get in. She’s a busy person, after all.”

“……”

The Duke listened to me in silence.

“If you keep waiting you’ll get hurt. Don’t take it to heart; let her go. She already rejected you. …Sadly, think of it as not meant to be.”

Saying words I didn’t mean made my heart sink endlessly. After a long silence, the Duke slid Little Lamb’s mask off with both hands.

“If it were as easy as saying it… then I wouldn’t have even started.”

“……”

Even though I was wearing the Quokka, I couldn’t say anything.

The day the delegation departed arrived. As expected, my name was on the list. Having avoided the Duke for so long, I made up my mind today: I would complete the talks safely and return.

‘I can do it.’

Because the Yuno Kingdom lacked mages and had no royal gate, we had to travel by ship.

“Coco, over here!”

When I arrived at the port, Lukan and Elysia waved. Since it was a delegation, they had sent a few more people from each department to gain experience. From the Ministry of Finance came Reyra and finance officer Abel; from the Ministry of Justice the Duke and Iliya the aide accompanied us. And the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be joined by Simon, Shaun the foreign officer, and the Foreign Minister.

‘Since the Foreign Ministry is leading, the Foreign Minister is joining too.’

“Coco!”

The Magic Tower representative Aidan appeared, his fair features framed by pale violet hair, and waved as he approached.

“Aidan.”

He looked at my face intently and gave a small smile.

“You look better than before.”

I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Thanks to you, Aidan.”

“I’m attending this delegation because of Coco, so you have to have fun!”

The mature demeanor he’d shown before was gone; he was back to being an innocent magic enthusiast.

“I’ll definitely repay my debt. But this is work, so work comes first.”

“Heh…”

I pretended to pout but it didn’t work on me. The mage who looked like Aidan’s aide’s eyes nearly popped out, but I just shrugged. I decided to accept that Kiara’s family now inexplicably liked me.

Before departure, the Foreign Minister gathered the knights, servants, and officials aside from us and spoke.

‘I think I’ve seen him before.’

Ian Yudora, the Marquis. His face seemed familiar.

But I couldn’t place him clearly. I assumed it was because his face was common.

“The Yuno Kingdom is a coastal realm. The weather is fine so lodging shouldn’t be a problem, but as a foreign country you must not act in ways that harm the Empire’s dignity. Moreover, since Prince Raven will be going, be extra careful not to create any scandal. If anything happens, I will report it in full to His Majesty.”

It was a terrifying speech. After leaving that grim warning, the Foreign Minister quickly ordered departure, saying he was busy. It was a week’s voyage. The ship left, and I couldn’t step out of my cabin for the entire week.

“Ugh!”

It was because of seasickness. It was an unexpected variable. In my previous life I’d never been on a ship, so I didn’t even know I got seasick.

‘I didn’t expect to feel like I was going to die like this.’

My stomach heaved like severe hangover and my head spun. I couldn’t stand upright in my right mind and could only lie in my cabin with my eyes closed. The fellow who was supposed to be the next Magic Tower Master didn’t know how to cure seasickness with magic either. Such useless magic.

At least one good thing was that when the Duke came to check on me and voiced concern, I could answer him naturally.

“Secretary Cornelia. Are you all right?”

“No… please save me….”

I thought I saw myself grabbing the captain by the collar, but feeling so sick I assumed it was a hallucination and fell into a deep sleep.