2
The Lord’s office, second building, fourth floor. The place was almost entirely deserted, without a single worker in sight. Only the automated cleaning machine whirred as it scrubbed the hallway.
“Okay, this is the last time we’ll check in!” Commander Mismis clapped her hands. “Starting today, we’re out of Special Division III and joining Special Division I! And our first task is to look after Miss Alice, Miss Sisbell, and Miss Rin.”
“By ‘look after,’ you mean keep tabs on them,” Jhin continued seamlessly. “Two Sovereign princesses and an attendant. Normally, we’d need way more than the four people to keep guard over them. And we’re already short-staffed as it is.”
This was because of the witch Elletear’s raid. After eliminating the Eight Great Apostles, she had gone straight to attacking the Imperial forces’ base, leaving many casualties in her wake.
They didn’t have enough soldiers to mobilize. Tending to the wounded and reorganizing the chain of command was the priority now.
With their colleagues occupied, Unit 907 would have to watch over their guests on their own.
“So let’s get to the important part: How are we divvying up the work?”
“Jhin, Ms. Risya already decided that for us!” Nene pulled out her comm.
She checked the message on the screen.
“I’ll just read it for you,” she said. “‘Unit 907 is responsible for Princess Aliceliese, Princess Sisbell, and their attendant, Rin. Isk should focus on surveilling Princess Aliceliese and Rin, since they have the greatest combat ability. Jhin-Jhin, you help him out by watching the feed from the security cameras.’”
“I don’t have a problem with that. How about you, Iska?”
“I think I’m fine with that, too.”
It sounded just like the type of proposal that Risya would make.
……We’re separating the three of them based on combat ability.
……I bet Risya’s thinking we can use Sisbell, who can’t fight, as a hostage if we need to.
They were going to separate Sisbell from the others. Even if the other two girls went on a rampage through the capital, they could use Sisbell to make them stop.
“Then Miss Sisbell is with me and Nene…” Commander Mismis nodded demurely. “Yeah… That seems good.”
“Captain?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, Iska. Just a little personal thing.” Commander Mismis smiled, then turned to Nene.
“Miss Sisbell has gotten up to some mischief in the past… We’ll need to keep a close eye on her.”
“If we let our guards down…she’ll sneak right into Iska’s or Jhin’s room… Ha-ha…,” Nene said.
The two were whispering to each other. Their voices were so quiet that it sounded like they didn’t want anyone else to overhear.
“Iska.”
Suddenly, Jhin interrupted Mismis and Nene’s conversation. That was unusual, even for him.
“I need to make sure you know this. Or rather, that you keep this in mind,” he said.
“What is it, Jhin?”
“…” The silver-haired sniper hesitated. After mulling over his words, he spoke. “You should assume that Sisbell’s older sister, Aliceliese, is the Ice Calamity Witch.”
“Huh?!”
“What?!”
“Whaaaaaa?!”
Iska, Nene, and Commander Mismis all reacted in more or less the same way. Iska was slightly shocked. Nene was bewildered. And Commander Mismis was surprised that Jhin had realized the truth.
“Wh-why would you think that, Jhin?!” Commander Mismis asked.
“Back when I fought that eidos monster thing, Aliceliese used ice astral power. You saw it, too, Boss.”
“I—I suppose I did…”
“Sisbell is a princess, and so is Aliceliese. That means she has to be a purebred.”
The Sovereign royals were few in number. The forces didn’t have a full picture of the family tree, but they did know that the Ice Calamity Witch was a purebred and that Aliceliese was a purebred ice mage. So wouldn’t it stand to reason that she and the Ice Calamity Witch were the same person?
Jhin had simply connected the dots.
“Y-you think Miss Alice is the Ice Calamity Wi…?” Nene gulped before she could finish.
Commander Mismis was giving Iska a meaningful look. They couldn’t let Jhin or Nene know.
……But since it’s come to this point, should we just reveal Alice’s identity to Jhin and Nene?
……I’m not sure. It’d be dangerous to have the secret spread.
The Ice Calamity Witch was the largest individual threat to the Imperial forces. Even if she wasn’t currently at odds with them, no one in the forces would easily accept that as true.
……We shouldn’t do anything that leads to unnecessary conflict.
……We’ll have to keep Alice’s identity a secret as long as she’s in the Empire.
And so…
“I’ll keep that in mind, Jhin,” Iska said, nodding at the silver-haired sniper as naturally as possible. “We can’t be sure whether Alice is the Ice Calamity Witch, and if we ask her, she’ll be even more wary of us, so I want to avoid that. But I’ll watch, her assuming she is.”
“That’s right.” Jhin leaned against the wall. “I’m going to the intel room on the first floor. I’ll track your movements on the security cameras, but make sure you’re ready to draw your astral swords at any moment.”
“I got it. But…I’m not too worried about Alice and Rin making trouble.”
They split up.
Jhin headed to the intel room. Iska went to the fourth floor, where Alice and Rin were waiting. Nene and Mismis made their way to the third floor, where Sisbell was.
They went their separate ways.
The Lord’s office, fourth floor.
An empty office had been repurposed into a shared room for Alice and Rin. Iska remembered that as he opened the door.
The first thing he saw was the extravagant chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Next was the floral wallpaper all along the walls. Both were clearly new luxury items that couldn’t have been easily procured.
“Huh?” Iska rubbed his eyes.
He’d heard the office had been abandoned for decades, but somehow, it had been turned into the living room of a high-class hotel suite.
“Were the offices always this fancy…?”
“Don’t be stupid.” Rin’s hands were in his face. She held several thick furniture catalogs up to show him. “I picked out all of these furnishings, and we’re currently in the middle of remodeling this place. I rush ordered the new wallpaper, lighting, and carpet.”
“Wow, you’re quick.”
“I also scrambled to set up the makeshift shower and bath, which is in the back.”
“I don’t think you could call any of this makeshift!”
“Oh, this place has a long way to go. Look at that antiquated desk!”
Rin slapped the top of a rather old piece of furniture. She hadn’t replaced it yet.
“I’d much prefer Sovereignty-made items, but we’ll make do with the best brand-name desk the Empire has to offer for now.”
“You’ll ‘make do’?”
“Anything to create the most fitting living arrangements for Lady Alice.”
Rin speedily flipped through the furniture catalog on the desk.
“And we’ll need a grand piano, a clock to hang on the wall, and—”
“Say, Rin…,” a lethargic voice called into the room.
Iska turned to find Alice sinking into an expensive-looking sofa.
“I’m entirely satisfied. Just look at this couch. I’ve sunk so deep into it that I’m struggling to even get up…even if you order the most expensive things in the catalog, that won’t mean they’re actually any good.”
“No, no. We still have a long way to go until any of this is satisfactory, Lady Alice.”
Rin continued marking the catalog with red circles and writing out a list of things to rush order. Iska watched the attendant work away for a while.
“Pardon me.”
Then he walked into the back of the living room.
He used the ladder that had been brought into the room to place a small surveillance camera in a corner of the ceiling. Then he put another under the clock on the wall opposite. He also set one up on the floor in another corner of the room. The cameras were the same color as the wallpaper, making them difficult to spot.
“Oh?” Alice observed him with deep curiosity. “Iska, what might those be?”
“They’re security cameras. They’re pretty handy. They don’t need a power cable, so you can set them up like this, and they’ll function a full forty-eight hours straight.”
“I see… Well, the furniture sellers are coming in soon, so please be quick about it.”
Alice sank into the sofa once more. She had a faraway look in her eyes. “I’ve never had anyone openly set up surveillance cameras around me.”
“I’ve never had to do this, either.”
Alice and Rin knew they were being watched, and they were aware that there would be cameras.
But I won’t double-cross them.
He assumed that Alice was accepting the presence of the cameras to show her willingness to cooperate.
Iska needed to set up eight of the devices in total. Four were in the living room at various angles, and another two were in the hallway. Now he just had to think about how to set up the last two.
“Uh, so the living room and hall are done… Oh, what about here?”
He found a frosted-glass door at the end of the hall.
“Hold it, Imperial swordsman!” Rin rushed over. “That’s the bathroom! Do you really mean to set up a camera there?!”
“What? Oh, sorry! So this is the makeshift restroom…”
Iska quickly backed away. He’d been so caught up in placing the cameras that he’d almost put one in the last place where one should be.
“Imperial swordsman…are you trying to sneak a peek at Lady Alice?!”
“It was just a misunderstanding! This is an assignment, so I wanted to set them up to have a larger view.”
“Yeah, a larger view of Lady Alice in the nude!”
“I never said that was what I was trying to do!”
They heard footsteps behind them.
“What’s wrong, Rin? Iska?”
“Lady Alice, you must listen to this!” Rin turned around. She pointed plaintively at Iska as she began to tell Alice what had happened.
“Do you know what this Imperial swordsman was trying to do?!”
“No, don’t!” Iska cried.
“He was about to set up a security camera in the bathroom!”
“He was what?!” Alice’s eyes went wide. “Iska, you weren’t going to…?”
“This is all a misunderstanding! I just have eight cameras, so I was looking to install them in places besides the living room…”
Alice was speechless. In situations like these, Iska was more afraid of her silence than of her yelling. After that unnatural pause, what words would spill from her lips…?
Iska unconsciously held his breath as he watched her.
“I understand everything…” Alice nodded. She sounded entirely serious, too. “So I suppose this means you’re so obsessed with seeing me naked that you’re even willing to set up cameras to sneak a peek.”
“How did you get to that conclusion from this?!”
“But now that I think about it, you have seen me in the nude once before…”
Alice looked up at the ceiling. She looked serious, too, but for whatever reason, she was clearly turning red.
“B-but no! Even if you caught a glimpse of me once, I’m not going to just allow you a second look! Not that easily! At least don’t get cameras involved! Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt to give you a small—”
“What are you saying, Lady Alice?!” Rin clamped a hand over Alice’s mouth. “You can’t, even if there weren’t any cameras around! Please compose yourself, Lady Alice! Do not be swayed by the swordsman’s wiles!”
“What?! So he was trying to trick me!” Alice said.
“In what way was I trying to trick you into anything?!”
After Iska and Alice finally sorted that out, the security cameras ended up in the living room, hallway, and bedroom. However, the bathroom was left without surveillance.
The following day, nine o’clock in the morning.
When Iska arrived, Alice’s room was even more elegant than before.
“You’re late, Imperial swordsman,” said Rin, pouring some tea. “Is the Lord awake?”
“No luck. Ms. Risya is watching them, but she said it would take days, at this rate. She wants you to stay here until then.”
“We thought this might happen…”
Alice got up from the sofa.
Until yesterday, she’d been wearing an expensive-looking dress, but today she was wearing a T-shirt and long pants. She was probably trying to look like an ordinary Imperial citizen.
“We have no other option. I suppose you’ll just have to keep watching over me.”
“That’s simply how it is, Imperial swordsman. I am personally reluctant to allow this, but I shall give you half the honor of looking after Lady Alice.”
“Uh, this seems like it’s going to be a lot of work!” Iska quipped.
Then again, it was all part of his duties. Though he was technically supposed to surveil Alice and Rin, they were also the Empire’s guests at the moment.
“… Okay, fine. But the most I can do is get you daily necessities and order some food. Just let me know if you want anything.”
“I do, actually. Right now.”
Alice pointed at a large screen on the wall. The Lord’s office had no windows to speak of. Instead, the outside world was shown through screens like the one she was pointing at.
It showed people walking down a large road. It was early in the morning, so many of them were wearing suits and seemed to be on their way to work. She pointed at the pedestrians.
“Should they really just be walking around outside like this, without a care in the world?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the Empire’s pollution!” Alice pointed at the sky above the building. “You’re the most mechanized, industrialized culture in the world…but that also means your air is clogged with exhaust. Plants wither and die, flowers shrivel up, and people break out into coughing fits simply from breathing. You’re quite infamous for your smog, you know.”
“We’re not!” Iska countered. “That’s just plain misinformation!”
“Is it really?”
“You can see it for yourself on the screen. See, the sky is clear.”
“I don’t believe it! Are you saying that the ministers were lying when they told me that the Imperials walked around wearing gas masks?!”
“You should probably fire whoever told you that!”
Iska was so taken aback that he was appalled. He couldn’t believe anyone would really think such a far-fetched lie was true, even someone from the Sovereignty.
“Lady Alice.” At that moment, Rin’s eyes glinted as though she’d seen the perfect opportunity to pounce. “You mustn’t let your guard down. This is only an image on a screen. The people on the street could simply be elaborate robots, and that clear sky might be doctored…”
“You’re right!”
“No, not right! The Empire has good water and air!”
“…” Alice lapsed into thought. “You’re right…”
She held up a half-empty water bottle. “I was worried I’d struggle to acclimate to the air and water here. I’ve had that happen in another country where the water didn’t agree with me. But this seems to be fine.”
“I find it acceptable as well,” Rin reluctantly agreed. “Though if I must say, I do find the water somewhat bitter to the tongue, but I believe that’s a result of the difference in minerals in the soil between the Empire and the Sovereignty. Ignoring that, I suppose the water and air quality here is tolerable.”
“See?”
That was a relief to Iska. To Rin and Alice, the Empire was enemy territory. Though he could keep them physically safe, he couldn’t do anything if the environment didn’t agree with them. It would just cause more problems.
“What would you like to eat for lunch?” he asked. “It’s still early, but if we order now, then it should come right on time.”
“Hmm…” Rin’s eyes glinted as though she’d found another opportunity to strike. “Lady Alice, this may be an excellent opportunity for research.”
“How so?”
“We can observe the enemy. Instead of finding cuisine that resembles what we eat in the Sovereignty, why not sample the fare of the Imperial masses?”
“In that case, I have an idea!” Alice got up from the sofa, then picked up a pile of flyers on the desk. “How about this? We can try this Titan Burger place that’s based in the Imperial capital! It’s a famous Imperial burger joint, and I’ve seen a branch in Ain as well. I’ve always been curious about it. They’re particularly well known for their titan burger, which is loaded with spices and—”
“Lady Alice.”
“Uh?!” Alice came back to herself when she heard Rin’s cold tone of voice. “Ahem… Pardon me.”
“You seem very well informed about it. I remember you were also quite passionate about the Imperial court painter, Vibran.”
“Th-that’s not relevant here!” Alice quickly tried to deny it and waved her hands. “In that case, Iska, we would like to have those titan burgers for lunch. I’ll have a salad side, and Rin will have fries. And be sure not to forget to get their specialty salt on the fries, either!”
“You sure do know their menu well.”
“I-I’ve just heard about them in passing! Don’t look at me like that, too, Iska!” Alice quickly said, turning away.
That afternoon.
The freshly made meals from Titan Burger’s main location had arrived.
“It’s here.”
“It really is!” Alice exclaimed.
“As I’ve said before, Lady Alice, please do not pounce like that…”
Alice pulled off the lid on the box of food. Steam and the delicious smell of the burgers wafted out.
“So these are the famous titan burgers!”
“People from here just think of it as any old burger joint, though,” Iska said.
“That’s all right. Let’s eat right away!” Alice’s voice was jubilant as she picked up a burger.
Since she and Rin had acclimated so well to the Empire’s air and water, Alice must have been somewhat less anxious about the food. She bit right into her burger.
“Guh.” But then she stopped. She seemed to be scrutinizing all the layers of the vegetables and meat between the bun.
“What’s wrong, Alice?”
“I-it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
She took another bite.
Silently, she got through half her burger.
“Uck!” Alice coughed abruptly, holding her burger in one hand and putting her free hand over her mouth as she kept sputtering.
“Lady Alice?!” Rin exclaimed. “Imperial swordsman, you couldn’t have! Did you poison her?!”
“O-of course not! I didn’t!”
Iska knew it wasn’t poisoned because he had been eating the same meal as they were. He’d finished his entire meal, and nothing about it seemed wrong. It had tasted just like any other titan burger.
“Uck… I-it’s not that…” Alice downed her glass of water and held a hand to her chest as she took a deep breath. “The flavors are so strong that I started to choke…”
“What? You think that’s strong? It’s just a little spicy.”
“That’s it!” Alice enthusiastically nodded. “There’s too much pepper and mustard on this! The spices are so stimulating that they detract from the flavor of the ingredients themselves! And it’s plain too salty!”
“Personally, I like food this salty after working up a sweat.” In Iska’s opinion, the best thing you could do for your body when you were tired was eating flavorful food. That was why the populace loved Titan Burger, and was how it had made a reputation for itself.
“It’s too much!”
“You think so?”
“Yes, I do. It’s far too intense. Don’t you think so, Rin?”
“……Huh?” Rin was taken aback. She had gotten the same hamburger as Alice and had even finished the fries. All she held in her hands was the paper wrapping.
“…” Rin stared at it intently for a while. “You’re right, Lady Alice! Hey, Imperial swordsman, you thought we’d actually like these terrible burgers? Get them made again!”
“But you already finished it!”
“You better watch yourself when you order dinner, Imperial swordsman.”
Rin poured water into Alice’s cup.
“As you can see, Lady Alice has a delicate palate. Prepare a meal where the ingredients sing and have no unnecessary alterations. That said, the meal shouldn’t be lacking anything. Make sure it is rich and will also move her heart.”
“That’s way too demanding!”
Iska had no idea how he would fulfill Rin’s request.
That fateful dinnertime.
Iska had selected an upscale bento prepared by a hotel restaurant that served classic Empire cuisine. To find somewhere that would suit Alice’s tastes, he had asked Commander Mismis and Nene if they knew any restaurants, then had used Risya’s connections to ensure he could order.
Rin was the first to taste it.
“Guh!”
She winced as soon as she took a bite of the main protein of the meal, then planted her elbows on the tabletop and swayed.
“You’ve really done it now, Imperial swordsman!”
“D-done what?!”
“This is delicious!”
“That was so misleading!”
“As much as it pains me to do so, I really have to hand it to you. It’s an Imperial meal, but its flavors are incredibly delicate. I believe Lady Alice wouldn’t reject this. Lady Alice…?”
“This is delicious!”
“That was quick!”
Alice had started eating right after Rin’s first bite. She hadn’t been able to wait.
No wonder the hotel was famous. Since it served guests from all over the world, even the two citizens from the Sovereignty could enjoy it. Neither girl so much as uttered a complaint as they finished their meals.
“Mm… I can’t believe the Empire has food that’s this good,” Rin said as she wiped her mouth. “How was it, Lady Alice?”
“I can’t find anything to complain about.” Alice was enjoying black tea after her meal. “Amazing, Iska. I knew you could do it.”
“I’m relieved to hear that,” he replied.
“Yes. Even I could eat this every…” Alice stopped in her tracks.
Just then, she returned her teacup to its saucer, and her smile disappeared from her face. It looked like she was mulling something over. She folded her arms and started muttering to herself.
What in the world had happened?
While Iska and Rin observed her, Alice suddenly opened her eyes wide.
“Wait, Iska! I have to revise that statement!”
“What?”
“This meal won’t do at all! I can’t eat it!”
“But you already finished it!”
What was she talking about?
She’d just had a deluxe bento from a famous hotel that even Rin had admitted to enjoying. Rin also looked confused as she stared at Alice.
“The meal was of top quality. I found that it was indeed elegant and delicately flavored.”
“But it was bad?”
“It was! Because there wasn’t any compassion in it!” Alice stood up. “Iska, do you know what the most important thing about a meal is?”
“That it tastes good and is nourishing?”
“No, it’s sincerity!”
Alice placed a hand on her chest. As she acted the part of an opera singer onstage and looked up at the ceiling, Iska and Rin watched her with their mouths wide open.
“Yes, the food was indeed delicious. The ingredients were top class, and the flavors were delicate, but that isn’t enough to sway someone’s heart! The people who made this have no fondness for the person who will be eating the meal… Do you understand?”
She stared at them.
Even as she had made her speech, Alice stole glances at Iska.
“This meal was made for me, so someone who understands me well should be preparing it. Someone close to my side!”
“You heard her, Rin…”
“Well, if you so insist, I suppose I’ll cook for you starting tomorrow, Lady Alice.”
“No!” Alice said, turning bright red. “Rin, you’re meant to be a guest like I am. In which case, you know what we must do…!”
“In which case what?” Iska had no idea what she was getting at. Never mind all the stuff she was saying about sincerity—why did she want someone who knew her well to prepare her meals?
“He’s so dense…,” she whispered.
Iska thought he heard Alice say something, but it was so quiet, he couldn’t be sure.
“Ugh, fine! Then I’ll just come out and say it! Iska!”
“Wh-what?”
“Didn’t you say you make pasta for yourself on your days off? Whip up some of that tomorrow. I’ll judge the quality of your meal!”
“Why are you judging me now?!”
And so, thanks to Alice’s strangely insistent request, Iska was now going to make her and Rin a home-cooked meal.
The next day.
Iska donned an apron and began a staring contest with a boiling pot of pasta. He was in the middle of cooking for Alice.
“Why am I doing this…?”
“Come now, Imperial swordsman. Work your hands, not your mouth.”
“I already am.”
As he boiled the pasta, he got started on the sauce in the frying pan next to it. Though, it was only a simple sauce of salted and peppered cherry tomatoes.
“Mm-hmm.”
Rin was watching him with a great deal of interest, which he found surprising. She’d claimed to have come to the kitchen to make sure he wouldn’t poison the food, but once Iska got cooking, she grew fascinated with what he was doing.
“What a simple method of cooking. You’re not doing anything special at all.”
“That’s because it’s pasta I make on a regular basis. I even bought these cherry tomatoes at a grocery store in the capital.”
“Hmph… Lady Alice is so oddly intrigued by this.”
Rin set out the utensils. She was trying to show that she could help in her own way.
“Lady Alice has grown up eating food from the palace chef. You couldn’t possibly make a meal that would satisfy her delicate palate.”
“Honestly, I agree.”
“Oh dear… Fine, we can agree on something for once.” Rin put a hand on her hip and let out a long sigh. “You should consider it a victory if Lady Alice can eat a single bite of your meal. At worst, you should be prepared for her to reject it upon tasting it.”
Ten minutes later, and the meal was ready.
Iska brought over the finished tomato sauce pasta.
“This is delicious!” Alice exclaimed.
“No way?!”
“What?! Lady Alice, are you sure you’re feeling okay?!”
Alice had suddenly brightened. Both Iska and Rin were surprised that she’d praised his cooking.
“Lady Alice?! Wh-what do you mean?!” Rin panicked and tried the pasta herself. “It isn’t bad, but it’s simply normal pasta. Not even restaurant quality. This tastes like a typical home-cooked meal.”
“It’s not simple; it’s homey.” Alice nodded and ate another bite of the pasta. “I can have dishes that have the best of ingredients prepared with the most time-consuming cooking techniques at the palace anytime. But I never wanted Iska to make something fancy like that. You said Iska’s food is typical home cooking, Rin, and that’s exactly what I wanted… Oh, it’s like something from a two-person household!”
“Why are you turning so red?”
“B-because you said something weird, Rin! I started imagining things!”
“Imagining what?”
What was she talking about? Iska and Rin exchanged glances as Alice finished her pasta.
“This is it! This was exactly what I was looking for!”
“R-really?”
Her praise was unexpectedly exuberant. But Iska wasn’t going to complain about a compliment.
“I want you to make all three meals per day from now on!”
“That’s unreasonable!”
Naturally, he protested that idea. He could cook for the two of them every once in a while, but he didn’t know enough recipes to make them three dishes a day.
“And if I do make your meals, I’d need to know your likes and dislikes, Alice…”
“You’re right, so I’ll tell you them. So, I— W-wait!”
“What?”
“Don’t talk to me! I-I’ve realized something!”
Alice put up her hand to stop him. Then she brought her palm to her forehead and started to murmur quietly to herself. “Think carefully, Alice. If I only enjoy his meals, that’s too one-sided. Maybe I should make him something, too? Then he might say, ‘I expected nothing less from you, Alice. I really can’t compete with you.’ ‘Heh. Your cooking wasn’t so bad, either, Iska…’ This is it! That would be so much better!”
“Alice?”
“Lady Alice?”
“All right, I’ve decided.” Alice turned around after she was done talking to herself. She looked as though she’d figured out the solution to everything.
“I’ll make dinner tomorrow! I need to treat you, too, Iska!”
“Pardon?!”
“Wait, Lady Alice?!” Rin tried to intervene, of course. “You seem oddly determined about this…”
“I feel like cooking. Rin, please prepare my apron as soon as possible!”
“Please wait!” the attendant yelled, which was unusual for her. This was the first time Iska had seen her scold her own lady so harshly. “Though it is presumptuous of me, I would like to make a request.”
She knelt before her lady. “I understand your sentiments, Lady Alice. However, please reconsider.”
“Why would I need to do that?”
“I believe your cooking could kill. And I do not think it would be wise to poison the Imperial swordsman right now.”
“I never said I’d poison him!”
“If he were to die eating your cooking, you would become a prime suspect, Lady Alice!”
“Why do you think he would die in the first place?!”
He couldn’t believe it. Iska shuddered as he listened to them converse. “Alice, you wouldn’t do that, would you?”
“This is a misunderstanding!” Alice frantically shook her head. “I—I really just wanted to make you a nice meal!”
“No!” Rin firmly denied her. “I apologize for my discourtesy, but I’d much prefer a loaf of bread exposed to the elements for a week in an Imperial dumping ground than my lady’s cooking!”
“That’s the height of discourtesy!”
Rin’s comment had endangered her like never before. Iska felt a chill.
At their insistence, Alice reluctantly gave up on making a meal herself.
Around the same time.
Sisbell, who was staying in a room apart from Alice and Rin, had already finished her meal.
She was bored.
If she were in the palace, she could be reading one of her favorite books right now, but she didn’t have anything of the sort in the Lord’s offices.
She was in low spirits. Normally, Sisbell would cling to a stuffed animal to fall asleep at times like these.
“So that’s why I’m here! Good evening!”
Sisbell had come to the Lord’s chambers. In that solemn hall—outfitted with dozens of tatami mats—she began acting as though she were in her own home.
“Ms. Risya, I can’t sleep without a stuffed animal. And it needs to be a warm one that’s very fuzzy… Huh? Ms. Risya?”
The Lord’s staff officer was missing. The only one there was Lord Yunmelngen, who was still fast asleep.
“C’mon, I don’t know what to do. I simply must have a stuffed animal. A fluffy, warm, finely made stuffed animal… Oh my!”
Sisbell’s eyes opened wide. She looked right in front of her.
A silver beastperson with plenty of fur was slumbering before her eyes.
“They’re just like a fluffy stuffed animal…”
She gulped unintentionally.
“So fluffy… Oh no… And they’re right in front of me… So very fluffy…”
She couldn’t turn away. She was especially fascinated with the Lord’s furry, foxlike tail.
Lord Yunmelngen’s tail.
It was undoubtedly of the best quality in the world. She wondered how amazing it would feel to hug.
“Haah… Haah… Ahh… I—I can’t… B-but after seeing that tail… The beast inside me compels me…”
She couldn’t hold back any longer.
Sisbell launched herself toward the tail of the defenseless, sleeping beastperson.
“Found you!”
But someone grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her before she could.
“Miss Sisbell?”
“I was wondering what you were doing out of your room in the middle of the night.”
“Oh no?!”
The moment Sisbell turned around, her face went pale with fear.
It was Commander Mismis and Nene. They both had a glint in their eyes, like hunters who had just spotted a predator.
“Come on, let’s go back to your room.”
“Good girls should be in bed by now.”
They dragged her away.
She tried to resist, but they were grasping her so firmly that she couldn’t even move.
“Aaaaaah! But the most fluffiest thing in the world is right in front of me!”
Sisbell’s regretful wail echoed throughout the Lord’s chambers.
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