5. Bread and dagger (23)
The road to Delphine’s bedroom was long.
There were several reasons for this, but first, Yurdina Castle was too large.
Recently, I have been walking on the road to success, but I was only the second son of a rural viscount. Starting from my personal connections, I only had memories of hanging out with people of my level wherever I went.
It was a life that had only been seen at the level of a ‘mansion’ when it came to a place where nobles lived.
Arriving at the ‘Castle’ abruptly, it took time to adapt to its size.
It was the sad limit of the lower nobility.
In the first place, I had no experience of being invited by a high-ranking aristocrat.
Then, I was about to receive a letter from Delphine. If I had to follow the order, I would have skipped several steps.
The Yurdina family was the only leader in the north. It was even one of the five noble families of the Empire, so its power was incomparable to other high-ranking nobles.
The place where the owner stayed also had to be large and grand.
It was fortunate that I had a period of adaptation at the academy.
Of course, there was no building that could be called a ‘castle’ in the academy, but some research buildings boasted a size far beyond a ‘mansion’. So I remember having a hard time finding my way back when I was a freshman.
It was the same even now.
I had to navigate long corridors, relying on my poor intuition.
In addition, the meeting between me and Delphine belonged to confidential matters.
It was part of the task of finding out the family traitor. Whoever the traitor was, it was better not to discover the blade’s whereabouts.
It was better not to know what sword Delphine was holding.
And above all else, there was another reason to be careful about your conduct.
It was that me and Delphine were men and women in their prime.
At midnight, a man and a woman of marriageable age have a tryst in their bedroom alone?
There was nothing to say about any misunderstanding. I wanted to avoid such an unfortunate incident.
It was because the scene from the other day at the Percus Mansion flashed through my mind.
When I was in a strange atmosphere with the saintess, Elsie-senpai came to me with a cleaver.
At that time, those burning blue eyes looked sincere without any room for words.
If the onlookers hadn’t come in droves, it might have happened. Incidentally, even the saintess, who had recently shown a strange sense of distance to me, was staying in the castle.
I never wanted to let it be known that I met Delphine alone in the bedroom.
I was worried about Emma for no reason.
So I had to permeate the corridor like a shadow avoiding the light. After wandering around for a long time, I arrived at Delphine’s bedroom.
After checking the nameplate several times, I knocked on the door.
It was a tense moment for no reason. It was the same even though he had broken into Delphine-senpai’s bedroom many times.
I didn’t even know if it was because Yurdina Castle was still an unfamiliar place to me.
Even after knocking, there was no answer to come inside the room. It was just that the door opened by itself.
From my short insight, I wondered if this was also a kind of magic.
Even the door to the bedroom was enchanted.
It was a dream that could not have been dreamed of if it were not for the 5th aristocratic family, a symbol of wealth and power. One of them was on my side, but on the other hand, it was reassuring.
I let out a sigh of relief and slowly entered the room.
It was a moment of tranquility.
As soon as I caught the view of the bedroom, I jumped in fright.
“No, Delphine senior. What are you wearing… … !”
“Shh.”
Delphine put her index finger to her lips and smiled seductively.
The door closed by itself as if it had been opened. The dimly lit room became a complete secret room.
So I couldn’t even step back.
Delphine senior’s outfit was erotic.
It was as if he was half naked, so he had no choice but to do so. Delphine was barely covering important parts with her red underwear.
It was hard to find where to look when the white naked body was revealed.
Even the underwear was made of a thin material, so the curves were exposed without filtering. In addition, it seemed that even the inside was slightly reflected beyond the soft lighting.
It was a look that stimulated men’s lust.
Eventually, I couldn’t stand it, and I let out a small noise once more.
“Clothes, put on clothes! No, I don’t know how scary men outside… … .”
“Why is the master an extramarital man?”
However, Delphine, the person who revealed the truth, was calm.
A white hand held a glass of red wine. Even the act of sipping alcohol with her legs crossed seemed captivating.
Delphine smiled slightly as if tempting.
“I am your property. So take a good look, what you have… The higher you go, the more you have to do that.”
Of course, it was an absurd claim to me.
I desperately averted my eyes from Delphine-senpai’s half-naked body and muttered a dejected voice.
“I don’t remember saying I would have Delphine.”
“You defeated me, then you subdued me again.”
Delphine said in a plain tone, as if preaching an obvious truth.
With a thud, the empty glass fell onto the table.
“So you should have it. Wouldn’t it be a nice booty for me?”
It was a logic with holes in places.
I wanted to say a few more words, but first of all, the main topic was important, so I held back. I sighed and sat across from Delphine, who hesitated.
Then, Delphine naturally poured the wine.
The cup was filled and the fragrant incense spread out.
It’s just the two of you with a naked woman.
No matter how you think about it, it was dangerous. An instinctive sense of crisis that there might be a rebellion tonight ran through my brain.
No, it might not be a sense of crisis, but a sense of anticipation.
My eyes glanced over Delphine’s body. She was always a charming woman.
Of course, it was only an instant.
I patted the mug with the palm of my hand. It was to calm the mind that was lax. If it was already shaken, the future was a bigger problem.
When Delphine saw me doing that, she just laughed softly.
It was a rather happy look.
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Judging by the smile on his face, it was clear that he intended to make fun of me. How did I turn into a toy for my senior, my situation was pitiful.
Frustrated, I drank all the wine.
Delphine threw a few words with a meaningful smile.
“Are you cool? In the North, you have to drink from the glass in one go… Listen to what it says to be a man. Not bad for a northern son-in-law.”
“Stop teasing me.”
“Tak,” he said as he put the glass down.
I felt the stench of the wine slowly rising.
The fragrant steam rises up the esophagus and extends to the tip of the nose.
It was a good drink. It was natural for Delphine-senpai to enjoy it.
I opened my mouth, concentrating on that sensation as much as possible. Only then did Delphine’s naked body flickering in front of his eyes seemed to be erased.
“Rather than that, I’d like to hear about the ‘traitor’… How can I help you?”
Then, Delphine sighed as if it wasn’t funny.
The drink in the glass was spinning around. It meant that the troubles weren’t over yet.
I patiently waited for Delphine’s words.
It didn’t take long for that time to be rewarded.
“… … Head to the front line.”
It was what was expected.
I let out a long breath.
The thought of going through all sorts of hardships made me hungry for alcohol. I snatched the bottle and filled the glass.
And once again the alcohol pours into the stomach.
Delphine continued her languid voice.
“Recently, elves have been escaping from the coniferous forest more often. And the frequency of raids on villages… The Yurdina family must stop it. Small estates can’t afford it.”
“How should we proceed with the search for the traitor?”
“The point where information is cut off is usually about the village of the elves. I haven’t been able to figure out the detailed trend yet, but the Imperial Intelligence Department has moved recently… … .”
Delphine’s crimson eyes glanced at me.
It was a calm, deep gaze. It was a pupil that only those who already knew a lot could have.
“Do you have any information you can pass on to me?”
Where else did the information leak out?
Suspicion toward Neris-senpai was wriggling for a moment, but looking back closely, the possibility was not high. If that was the case, Delphine wouldn’t have to ask me again.
Delphine senior was a northerner. I didn’t like the useless verification process.
I told senior Neris to activate the contact network of the Imperial Intelligence Service, but he probably noticed it then.
The northern spies must have been investigating the cult of the elves as well.
I obediently told Delphine the information I had heard from Avian.
It didn’t seem like anything new anyway. The scale of the cult among the elves seemed impossible to ignore.
As I guessed, Delphine didn’t show a particularly dramatic reaction.
“It’s similar to the information we gathered… However, there is no information about where the elves live and where the cult is flourishing.”
“The possibility that the elves are simply heavy-mouthed?”
“Hundreds of elves?”
It was a valid objection.
I immediately closed my mouth and remained silent. Hagiya Delphine-senpai had already said that the frequency of the elves’ raids had increased.
The more frequent raids meant the more elves leaving the coniferous forest.
The number of elves captured by the Yurdina family had to increase accordingly. And it was impossible for all the hundreds of elves to keep the secret.
Unless you resort to coercive means like magic.
Then there was only one correct answer.
“… … After all, a trustworthy person has to go spying?”
“It is a dangerous mission.”
It was a mission to observe the elves’ trends.
Of course, we had to infiltrate into the middle of the enemy camp. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t dangerous.
Even so, Delphine showed no signs of apologizing.
“That’s why there’s no one else to entrust except the master.”
It must have been a greeting that went through some troubles in its own way.
The youthful fatigue in Delphine’s face was testifying to this. In this situation where he had to doubt his vassals, Delphine had the hardest time.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t fathom that.
I also had to doubt my family back home. The experience of that day was painfully engraved, and I felt sorry for Delphine-senpai’s weakness.
Above all, the Dark Church was my enemy anyway.
Delphine continued talking with a wry smile.
“Of course, I will give you a reasonable reward. I’m your property soon, so I won’t say anything if I take anything… … .”
“No need.”
Those bloody eyes, unknown to me, turned to me.
Delphine sunbaenim was lying on the table halfway, as if he had suffered a lot in the meantime. It was the first time he had shown himself so defenseless in front of me.
That’s why I couldn’t ask for anything from Delphine.
I just wanted to prove that there was at least one side of her in the world.
“It’s Delphine-senpai’s job.”
It was short and clear language.
In fact, no further reason was needed.
Delphine smiled faintly and lowered her head for a moment.
and after a while
Delphine-senpai muttered in a drunken voice.
“Then can I ask you one more favor?”
The tone felt sad, so I didn’t say anything.
It was then that Delphine raised her head again.
Delphine’s face with a sad smile was so charming. The feeling of my heart pounding, my breath stopping, and all my senses being focused on the woman in front of me.
The woman was now revealing her weak heart.
That fact came more stimulating than any words or actions.
“Today, let’s sleep together.”
It was a phrase I had often heard from Leah from before.
However, Delphine-senpai probably didn’t mean it in such a cute way.
If it wasn’t a clumsy illusion, the implication could only be one.
It meant going to bed.
For the first time in my life, I heard that from a woman.
Let’s goo Ian