233 – Back to the Eiffel Tower
“Ha ha.”
I let out a sigh.
The situation was unfolding in a very different flow than I thought. Normally, you should have politely declined the offer by now and joined the academy and enjoy the healing field trip.
In reality, he entered the royal villa in a vaguely withheld answer without being able to properly refuse.
Because of just one name, Juliet.
I somehow glanced at Sharon, who looked just like her and her twin. Even at a moment like this, his expressionless expression makes it difficult to read what he is thinking.
She stared at her for a moment and then asked her cautiously.
“Are you okay?”
“Which one do you mean?”
“I answered alone without consulting you.”
After hearing what I was saying, Sharon tilted her head as if she didn’t understand, and pointed it out point by point.
She said, “As I remember, you didn’t say yes, but I think you asked for a little time. Isn’t the reason why we came here now to discuss it from now on?”
“No, what… It is, but.”
She slightly narrowed her eyes at my weak reaction.
“Something is bothering you.”
“… Huh?”
“There is absolutely no reason to apologize to me in a situation like this that no one expected.”
I was flustered by the logical pressure that suddenly hit me, but I finally came up with an excuse.
“That’s right, because of me, you have to wait here now…”
“I can’t say it’s your fault for not being able to cut it off and say no. If that’s the case, why didn’t you apologize for not being able to refuse the king’s invitation in the first place? If that was the case, there would be no reason to be here in the first place.”
She had nothing to say, so she kept her mouth shut, so Sharon continued to speak to her without pause.
“Unlike then, if there is a reason for apologizing now, it must mean that I feel responsible for this situation. Does this mean that you are somewhat involved in the situation the Queen just talked about?”
I have completely lost the will to refute her powers of reasoning, which makes her bewildered by her admiration. How can you draw such a conclusion from a single word?
From noble mtl dot com
“If you think about what the Queen said, she probably knows something about an organization called the Resistance, or knows who Juliet is. Or maybe both.”
It was such a perfect reasoning that I doubted if he was reading my inner thoughts.
After a while, Sharon stared at me and asked.
“So, what is the correct answer?”
What should I do?
To be honest, there won’t be any big problems if you shamelessly pretend. It’s not like there’s any physical evidence anyway, so there won’t be any way for Sharon to find out anything more if I hold on to it until the end.
But I also wondered what the meaning was of saying that now. Anyway, it’s a situation that is almost the same as being exposed. Besides, where else could there be an ally as trustworthy and reliable as her now?
Is there any reason to obsessively hide something else when the biggest secret of my identity, Raven the Phantom Thief, has already been revealed?
The only thing that bothered him was Juliet’s comfort.
To be honest, I don’t really care if she’s a foreign spy or a resistance fighter. Getting involved in such complicated issues is annoying in itself.
But you’re already involved. A subordinate who was so competent that he thought he was suspicious turned out to be a reactionary who tried to overthrow and destroy the system of another country.
It’s on such a scale that if I’m not careful, the fire could spread to me. Besides, without Juliet, the Lupine Foundation wouldn’t be able to run as well as it does now.
After much consideration, I decided to tell Sharon the truth.
It took longer than expected to explain one by one from the beginning.
Establishment of a foundation for Lupin, an identity to deal with stolen goods stolen by a thief. A woman resembling Sherlock whom she met by chance at the orphanage she sponsored. Suspicious circumstances she discovered after recruiting her as a secretary. And even the identity that I just realized through the queen’s story.
Sharon, who was quietly listening to my story, muttered softly while holding his chin.
“I had a slight suspicion, but you really are Lupine.”
“…You even noticed that?”
“I wasn’t sure. It was a long time, so I was just in case.”
No matter how hard he tried to hide his identity, it seems impossible to completely deceive him.
“Anyway, I roughly understood the situation. Are you saying that the female employee at your foundation is an executive of the organization the queen was talking about earlier?”
“Yes. I didn’t know, but I think it might be.”
In fact, until now, I had only thought of it as a spy from the Frankish kingdom. However, I never imagined that it would be a resistance that was hiding in a foreign country and dreaming of a revolution.
“What would you like me to do?”
To Sharon’s straight-forward question, I expressed my true feelings.
“Whatever Juliet does in this country, she is a competent secretary to the Lupine Foundation when she is in London. I have no intention of betraying her first as long as she does not harm me.”
“In other words, he will hide it.”
Nodded. Hearing my answer, Sharon shrugged her shoulders and responded lightly.
“Okay then.”
“…Was it?”
“Yes. We just have to turn it down saying it doesn’t seem like something we can touch, and then go back.”
Was this a problem that could be solved so easily?
“Will the queen accept me…?”
“What can I do if I can’t accept it? They wouldn’t be able to touch us, who are from other countries and have the status of academy students.”
However, is it okay to refuse a request from the ruler of a country like this?
Maybe I, who came from modern times, rather accept the king as a great being.
“Yes. Let’s say no.”
After hardening her heart, we headed to her throne room to face the queen again.
As if she had been waiting for us to come, she jumped up and greeted us.
“Oh! You’re here. Okay. Is her heart made up?”
It was quite difficult to get the word out, but I apologized in the most polite way possible.
“Sorry. The two of us have discussed it, but it seems like a matter too serious for us to intervene. I think it will be difficult to help you because you are in a difficult situation to focus on your studies right now.”
The queen whose complexion visibly darkens as soon as she hears my answer. It was such a pitiful expression that guilt creeped out of her for no reason.
“Jim isn’t asking for much help either. Couldn’t you just let me know if you found someone named Juliet…?”
There wasn’t really a good reason to turn this down, and I felt very sorry for the queen who was staring at her earnestly with her honestly weeping eyes.
As for her, she must be trembling and scared day by day. Suppose she had a good night’s sleep and every day she feared that an assassin might come and stab her with a knife, or that she might poison her daily meal.
In the end, he couldn’t resolutely reject the request that was close to the queen’s plea, and he answered appropriately, blurting out the end of his words.
“Yes. You say that…”
“Thank you very much. It seems like it was good to meet you too.”
As soon as I accepted the offer, I returned to the relaxed and dignified appearance I had when I first saw it, but it was not difficult to guess that it was a mask that had already been made. The real inside must be similar to the crying expression I saw earlier.
We were finally able to get out of the palace after hearing thank you for helping us several times.
Actually, not much time has passed, but in the meantime, I feel exhausted.
“Have you had a good talk with His Majesty?”
Exupery, who was waiting for us leisurely in the waiting room, looked at us with curious eyes.
She must have been curious about what kind of secret conversation she had with the queen, having taken over herself as her guide. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t give you the details. Perhaps if she had an idea herself, she wouldn’t ask outright.
“So what did His Majesty say?”
“·······.”
Um. I forgot. The fact that this guy is a person who doesn’t think at all.
“It doesn’t matter if I tell you, but the Queen might not like it.”
“Kuhm! Well, then you don’t have to tell me.”
I can definitely understand what the queen is saying. Did she say that she is trustworthy because she is stupid and not a vessel for rebellion? When she recognized that she was a superior person, she seemed to be the type to prostrate herself unconditionally.
“Hmmm. She did a good job anyway. They say the academy is looking at the Eiffel Tower right now. I’ll take you there in my carriage.”
“Thank you.”
No matter what, it’s finally over. After a long struggle, it was finally time to enjoy a sweet break.
I arrived in front of the Eiffel Tower while touring Paris in Exupery’s carriage.
“I hope we have a chance to meet again next time.”
Well. I wish I never saw you again
“Then be careful!”
“Yes. Thank you.”
After a fitting farewell, we crossed Mars Square at the Eiffel Tower.
“Where are the kids?”
“It’s quiet.”
It was as Sharon said. The surroundings are somehow too quiet to be Paris in the middle of the day.
The moment she felt uncomfortable with that fact, in front of her, a woman she could never forget was leisurely enjoying her tea time as she had in her memories.
“Oh, long time no see.”
The Witch of Prophecy looked at me and grinned.