74 – Illusion
I was pretty sure this woman was Rayel Tarden. It was exactly as Duke Jespen had said.
A lively tone for a middle-aged woman. Talking is like that too.
So Shael must have noticed that she was Rayel Tarden.
However, what I heard was Shael’s words with an aggressive expression on his face.
“Who are you, are you here?”
“Who is this? She must be the aunt of my cute nephew.”
“⋯⋯I’ve never had an aunt.”
Shael answered, frowning her face. She tried to stop Shael in a situation where a fight would break out at any moment, but she couldn’t because Shael stopped her by shoving a cookie of hers into my mouth.
Fortunately, Rayel Tarden did not lose her smile despite Shael’s actions.
Rayel Tarden said.
“You never had an aunt like me. When was the last time you followed me like that as a baby?”
It was a fact I heard at first glance from Duke Jespen. She said that when she was young, she and Rayel lived together so much that Shael couldn’t even remember.
But Shael said as if she wasn’t convinced.
“I don’t remember.”
“I feel sad. I also changed diapers…”
Shael shakes her head and looks at me. Even without that, I too was able to recognize that the statement was false.
It was the Azbel family that had developed a lot of magic. In a world where even magic to replace diapers exists. So there was no way the Azbel family would use diapers.
There’s no way Rayel Tarden, who isn’t even a maid, will change diapers in the first place.
Rayel Tarden, who seemed to have finished the conversation before he knew it, reached out his hand. The cupcakes I made were in her hands.
“Looks delicious.”
“⋯⋯That!”
Of course, Shael would have been frightened. Because she was a Sael who loved my dessert to death.
In particular, the cupcakes Rayel was holding were also the type of dessert that Shael particularly liked.
Despite Shael’s jersey, Rayel Tarden took a bite of my cupcake.
“⋯⋯ Ugh.”
Rayel Tarden looks at the cupcakes disapprovingly. It has to be. For Sael’s health, these are desserts without sweet ingredients.
Even a five-year-old would know that dessert without sugar is not delicious.
“What kind of cupcake tastes like this? There is no sugar at all.”
“Yes. It doesn’t taste good.”
Shael eating my dessert after talking to Rayel Tarden. Of course, that was Sael’s lie.
It’s tasteless, so don’t eat it. Shael’s lie with such a hidden meaning. It was a cute lie.
Seeing Shael enjoying my dessert, Rayel Tarden opened her mouth.
“⋯⋯ Suddenly looks delicious.”
“⋯!”
At the same time, she picked up and ate the cookie that Shael had reached her hand to eat.
Then she said, frowning at the tasteless cookie.
“It’s delicious, so I should eat it all.”
I heard from Duke Jespen. Rayel Tarden is playful.
Looking at it now, it was a perfect fit. It was a situation where a sigh came out spontaneously.
Shael’s trembling body. Shael opened her mouth.
“⋯⋯Anyone wants.”
After that, Shael did something that made him sigh even more.
“⋯⋯Up.”
So many cookies went into Shael’s mouth. It was amazing speed.
I wonder how so many cookies got into one bite.
“⋯.”
“⋯.”
Rayel made an absurd expression as she looked at Shael, who was absorbed in eating dessert.
“No, what are those tasteless things like…”
“No, it’s been a while.”
Sael, who had a whole cookie in her mouth, spoke with a strange pronunciation.
It must have been painful to shove in cookies that far, but Sael’s expression looked happy.
Rayel Tarden asked in a cold sweat at the sight of Shael.
“Have you not eaten rice yet?”
“⋯⋯I just finished eating.”
“It’s not like I had a beggar in my stomach…”
No, is that right? After muttering that for a while, Rayel looked at the dessert placed in front of Shael.
Layel, who was using magic, moved the desserts to the corner of the table.
He meant that now that dessert is over, let’s talk.
“For now, we’ll talk about the rumors floating around in the empire later…”
“⋯⋯?”
“I am very curious about their relationship. Have you ever kissed?”
Shael frowned at her, saying she wouldn’t talk. However, Shael was firmly giving her answer to her question.
Because Sael’s face was red.
I haven’t kissed yet, as if to say that.
Rayel Tarden must have recognized Shael’s signal right away.
“You haven’t tried it.”
“⋯.”
After that, a barrage of questions from Rayel Tarden unfolded. Eventually, Shael’s face only blushed several times.
* * *
While talking to Rayel Tarden, I heard regular breathing from Shael.
At some point, Shael was sleeping. She did look particularly tired today, but…
I don’t know why. I should have slept enough. Could it be that he did something secretly all night?
Anyway, it was a good opportunity. Rumors that Rayel Tarden had spoken about were circulating in the Empire. A good chance to hear it.
If it was the kind Duke Jespen, he would worry about Sael and me, and he would hide the rumors and try to solve them alone.
Rael Tarden opened his mouth.
“There are bad rumors going around about Sael.”
“I was roughly expecting that.”
“Yeah, but rumors aren’t the problem.”
Then what’s the problem? He was silent and looked at her.
“Because the rumors about Shael weren’t good in the first place.”
“⋯⋯It is.”
It was the villainess, Shael. Of course, the rumors were bad. No matter how socially awkward she was, she must have attended a tea party where numerous young ladies gathered at least once.
If she was Sael with a bad personality, then of course she couldn’t have been well liked by her young ladies.
It was something you could understand just by thinking about what happened in the banquet hall of the Magic Tower. Said Rayel.
“I checked before coming to the Azbel family. The movements of various aristocratic families are suspicious.”
Clié, the heroine, had a wide network of people. Rayel’s words continued.
“It seems that the Mage Tower and the Imperial Family are gradually cutting off communication with the Azbel family.”
It was obvious what that was for. She listened to her words, unable to hide her frowning face.
“The Azbel family’s magical power and prestige are so great that it’s a shame. If that wasn’t the case…”
I don’t know what could have happened.
But that will only be a while. No matter how much she said she was a duke.
If you become an enemy of many powerful people, things will change. It wasn’t just the Azbel family and the Baslet family that were dukes in the empire.
In addition, the tower lord and the crown prince will become stronger as time goes by, and they will hold mighty power in their hands.
First of all, they are, according to Clie, mentally ill.
The countless nobles who must be friendly with Clie won’t be able to ignore it. She was, of course, like a heroine in a romance fantasy novel, she was quick-witted and made friends with many aristocrats.
Perhaps, besides the Magic Tower Master and the Crown Prince, there might be plenty of men Clie has seduced.
Breaking the bracelet did not end the fight. Now was the time to deal with Clie’s connections.
Rayel said after waiting for my agony.
“So, first of all, it would be better not to go to the scheduled Blessing of the Holy Kingdom and the Imperial Festival.”
“⋯⋯I have to go.”
It won’t change anything if you avoid it. First, you need to meet Clie.
If you don’t go to the Blessing Party and the Imperial Festival, you might lose items that are unlikely to be found in romance fantasy novels.
That’s why you shouldn’t avoid it.
As if my firm will was conveyed, Rayel Tarden, who had been watching me silently, opened her mouth.
“Okay, so what?”
Rayel Tarden nodded her head in agreement. But then he shakes his head and says.
“⋯⋯But why are you so shy when you’ve been engaged for quite some time?”
It was Rayel Tarden who had just asked Shael and me great questions.
And Shael and I, who had just checked our hearts, didn’t meet Rayel Tarden’s standards.
In the first place, her standards were too high.
Rayel clicked her tongue and pulled out something from her.
“⋯⋯Tsk. Why don’t you take this and use it?”
“What is it used for?”
“It’s no fun if you tell me that.”
“Then I won’t accept it.”
A potion that looks ominous at first glance. Of course I refused. But as she used her magic, the potion was in my pocket before I knew it.
As she raised her arm to take out her potion, she heard Rayel’s voice.
“Wait. Isn’t that the ring of control? Why is that precious thing?”
Maybe her vision was narrow, but now she’s checking the ring I’m wearing and she approaches.
You can’t take off the ring without Sael’s permission anyway. If he hastily tried to remove the ring, Sael’s wrath could make him unable to talk to women forever.
In fact, it was still like that now⋯⋯.
But sometimes Shael gave me freedom. It was because she was able to talk to Rayel Tarden.
“Let’s see.”
In spite of the refusal, Rayel Tarden approaches. It was like the blood of the curious Azbel family. The words of Duke Jespen come to mind. Rayel Tarden has a tired personality and is playful.
Agreeing with that statement, it was the time I was about to push Rayel Tarden away who held my ring as if I were going to take it off.
I heard someone’s voice next to me.
“Now, what.”
It was Sael’s voice. You can feel the brutal atmosphere. What Shael was looking at was Rayel Tarden holding my hand to see her ring.
Shael noticed that she misunderstood something. In fact, she was already married, and her age was so much Rayel Tarden that she didn’t match me, but ⋯⋯.
-‘Then, I’m sure it will be taken away.’
This is Rayel Tarden who played such a prank. In the first place, there is no way that Shael, who looks like an idiot in this situation, will notice that she is misunderstood.
In my opinion, Sael was also on the very jealous side.
I heard Sael’s voice.
“⋯⋯A woman who is already married.”
Inappropriate words to say to an aunt. Shael hugged me and said. It was also something that she couldn’t help but sweep her face off upon hearing it.