The Coniferous Forest of the North boasted an imnse expanse.
Before reaching it, the land had been mostly barren, with barely any moss in sight. The very fact that so many trees could grow there was astonishing in itself.
The forest was a cradle of life.
Plants played the role of absorbing the nutrients from the soil. And it was only when plants ford the foundation of the food chain that an ecosystem could be sustained.
Thus, the Coniferous Forest held great significance.
It was likely the place with the most life in the North, but it also concealed dangers far beyond that.
And I was planning to explore the mysteries of that great wilderness…
If only Senior Elsie hadn’t suddenly barged in on .
Her clumsy attempts at seduction continued.
“Master, so… um, i-it’s a bit hot, isn’t it? Why don’t you take off your clothes?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“C-Co on, don’t be like that!”
She, after much effort, finally managed to get to sit on the bed.
Her determination to sohow use this opportunity to advance our relationship was impressive. She was even trying to fumble with my clothes by now, attempting to take them off.
Of course, no matter how strong she was, Senior Elsie was no match for and, on top of it, her attempts were far too clumsy. It was clear she lacked understanding of n’s clothing.
Co to think of it, Senior Elsie was also a virgin.
Even though I only spent a single night, here I was nonchalantly assessing soone’s level of sexual experience. If Leto saw now, he’d be beyond scoffing—he’d be completely dumbfounded.
But what could I do?
Senior Elsie was like a pure white canvas, knowing nothing, while I was the one who just spent an intimate night. For our mindsets to differ was only natural.
Also, she seed unusually hasty right now.
I silently took hold of Senior Elsie’s hands that were fumbling with my clothes and she flinched in surprise, her body slightly trembling before she cautiously glanced up at .
She looked just like a puppy caught doing sothing wrong.
I needed to say sothing comforting to reassure Senior Elsie.
“Senior Elsie, what’s wrong?”
“W-What do you an…?”
Recently, she started using a mix of formal and informal speech with .
There was only one reason why she would switch back to formal speech now—it ant she was feeling psychologically intimidated.
She was trying to make a sexual advance, sothing she had never done in her life.
I couldn’t tell what was going through her mind, but to say she wasn’t anxious or trembling would be a lie. After all, a first experience is both thrilling and terrifying for anyone.
This isn’t sothing limited to won.
Even among n, many have difficulties during their first ti due to excessive nervousness. It was a piece of advice once given to by Leto.
Didn’t he even say that, to help ease my nerves, he’d share his own detailed experiences?
What nonsense.
The mont I found myself drunk in front of soone like Senior Delphine, my rationality and self-control beca utterly aningless. The thought of it still left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Especially because I felt guilty toward the Saintess and Senior Elsie.
In many ways, both of them shared significant connections with . I even found myself, at tis, imagining a future with each of them.
Life with the Saintess or Senior Elsie would certainly never be dull.
And I’d occasionally thought about life with other won, too.
For example, Emma.
If I ever wanted a peaceful later life, she would probably be the ideal choice.
Of course, these were nothing but idle fantasies. Marriage was a union of two lives and it required not only mutual consent but also several other conditions to align.
Senior Elsie, however,was an exception.
She conveyed her feelings to and I was also seriously contemplating our relationship.
So the responsibility lay with .
I had a duty to respond to her sincerity, even if we’ve yet to be anything.
In a soft voice, I tried to soothe Senior Elsie.
“You’re acting strange today. Telling to take off my clothes over and over… I always thought you had the calm composure of soone more mature, Senior Elsie.”
It was a comnt with a hint of exaggeration.
Senior Elsie hardly ever ca across as soone older. Though she seed to have regained so composure lately, the perception I’d built up over ti was deeply ingrained.
It wasn’t enough to overturn my assessnt in such a short period.
The only reason I portrayed her that way was simply because she seed to prefer it.
Senior Elsie’s odd insistence on the idea of being seen as the older one was sothing I only recently ca to realize.
As if to prove my suspicion, she soon cleared her throat and tried to regain her composure.
“A-Ahem… I-Is that so?”
Yes, very much so.
Swallowing back the words that rose in my throat, I replied to her.
“It’s just that you seem a bit off today. And since we’ll be moving through enemy territory starting tomorrow, it’d be a problem if one of our strongest fighters was feeling unsteady, don’t you think?”
It was rare for to speak so highly of her.
People like her tended to be vulnerable to this kind of complint. After all, she always liked being petted by , my high regard would naturally lift her spirits.
I normally wouldn’t feel the need to go out of my way to reassure her, but right now, my priority was getting the information I needed.
Seeing the corners of Senior Elsie’s mouth twitching slightly, I decided to deliver the final blow.
“Besides, when you’re uneasy, it doesn’t sit right with either.”
This was true.
I just hadn’t said it aloud before, as it was too embarrassingly sincere.
It was only when I saw her being harassed recently that I realized—
The fact that my relationship with Senior Elsie would no longer be the sa as before.
Yes, it was the truth.
But saying it out loud brought a surprising wave of embarrassnt. I ended up clearing my throat and averted my gaze away slightly, feeling my ears growing hot.
Still, it seed to have been worthwhile as Senior Elsie couldn’t hold back a proud grin.
She puffed out her chest and declared confidently.
“R-Right?! Of course Master can’t help but be concerned about ! Naturally!”
Now was my chance.
With an animalistic instinct, I delved into the main point.
“Exactly. So, why don’t you tell ?”
Senior Elsie’s body flinched slightly, but I didn’t give her a chance to hesitate..
“Why do you look so anxious? And you said you couldn’t sleep last night.”
“T-That’s because…”
Senior Elsie scratched her cheek and turned her gaze away. From her slightly flushed face, it seed that it was an embarrassing confession, even for her..
I urged her once more.
“Senior Elsie, I confessed despite my embarrassnt. So you should tell the truth too.”
“Ah, um, i-it’s just that…”
Even though she hesitated until the end, she couldn’t overco my persistence and surrendered in the end.
“Ah, seriously! So strange rumours keep going around!”
I folded my arms and let out a thoughtful hum.
Strange rumours, she says.
At least it ant that Senior Elsie wasn’t the one who witnessed it.
Even so, I was still concerned, so I pressed her further.
“Strange rumours?”
“W-Well… that Delphine bitch is eyeing you, Master…”
That was undeniably true.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have spent the night with .
That enticing smile of hers still lingered in my mind. In fact, it was thanks to Senior Delphine that I was able to keep my composure in the face of Senior Elsie’s advances.
Compared to Senior Delphine, Senior Elsie’s attempts were nothing more than child’s play.
As I remained silent, Senior Elsie continued in a sowhat agitated tone.
“That bitch—doesn’t she have any conscience at all?! After stabbing us in the back during the Hunting Festival, now she says she’s interested in you? Pfft, haha… It’s truly ridiculous!”
Judging from the way she tightly clenched her fists, it seed Senior Elsie was quite angry.
And it made sense.
Even without this, Senior Elsie had been wary of the won around . And now, she heard that Senior Delphine was interested in .
Considering the longstanding rivalry between both of them, her anger was entirely justified.
She even began resorting to tricks to sway .
“M-Master… you’re not going to just fall for that woman, right? I don’t know for sure, but she’s probably been with more than a few n?! Just this morning I heard that, the night before, moans were echoing through the corridors…”
Half of it was true and half was false.
The truth was that Senior Delphine did indeed let out moans last night.
Since I was the one rolling around in bed with her at that ti.
And the falsehood was that Senior Delphine had a promiscuous history.
Having confird her virgin blood last night, I knew for a fact that it was all baseless rumours. It was just regrettable that I couldn’t clear her of that false accusation.
What if I were to reveal the truth about last night here and now?
On a whim, I decided to ask Senior Elsie.
It was a question posed as a joke.
“Are you perhaps jealous? Afraid that I might fall for Senior Delphine’s seduction?”
At my half-joking inquiry, Senior Elsie was startled and started frantically waving her hands.
It was a desperate denial.
She hesitated and then replied.
“N-No! How could I possibly doubt you, Master? It’s just that…”
That ‘just’ was the signal.
A gloomy shadow began to fall over her eyes. The words that leaked through her tightly clenched teeth were chillingly cold.
“It’s just that if that person really dares lay a hand on you, Master… they’d better be prepared, right?”
Who, and prepared for what.
I barely suppressed the questions suddenly surging up. Instead, only an awkward laugh flowed from my mouth.
“Aha, hahaha… I see, yes.”
Hearing my laughter, Senior Elsie gave a gentle smile.
A smile full of trust, as if believing such a thing couldn’t possibly happen.
That lovely face pricked at my heart like an arrowhead.
Before leaving, Senior Elsie gave one last, cryptic warning.
“And one more thing… watch out for that milkbag bitch too.”
Her speech had reverted to its usual mix of formal and informal.
The insulting nickna she used carried an almost chilling edge. It was certainly rude, yet a certain soone ca to mind as soon as I heard it.
The Saintess.
The sudden ntion of her na made tilt my head in confusion.
“Why the Saintess?”
“Because we made a bet.”
It was a confession tinged with a hint of annoyance.
Before I could even ask about the details of the bet, Senior Elsie waved her hand and left the tent. Still, it was nice that she left with a smile.
Senior Elsie looked better when she was smiling like that.
So I’d make sure to keep her smiling in the future.
I must never let her discover my relationship with Senior Delphine. Though not as dangerous as Seria, Senior Elsie was still a potential threat.
The sight of Senior Elsie showing up at the Percus Manor wielding a kitchen knife was still vivid in my mind.
Now, only one question remains.
Who was the woman who witnessed the night between and Senior Delphine?
Now that Senior Elsie was ruled out, only two candidates remained.
The Saintess or the Princess.
Emma was excluded, as she was simply overwheld by the luxurious bedroom.
But it was tricky to directly confront them. The more I pushed, the more likely it was that the witnesses would try to cover up the truth.
If they intended to reveal it to , they would have already approached .
It seed I’d need the help of a specialist.
I pulled out a small note from my pocket.
It was a reply to a letter I sent to the Academy so ti ago. The words written inside were exceedingly brief.
‘I will visit you soon.’
I couldn’t trust the Yurdina family’s intelligence network, and I had to suspect everyone to root out the traitor.
I had no other choice.
I had to call in soone of my own.
And since I was asking for assistance anyway, I might as well add a small favor to the request.
I began checking my equipnt to prepare for tomorrow.
Starting the next day, we would head straight into the Coniferous Forest.
So I thought it would be best to go to bed early today. I was concerned about Emma and the Princess, but given it was our first night here, they probably needed so ti for their own personal preparations.
Yes, I had no intention of eting anyone else tonight.
That is, until the Saintess ca to see .
“Ian…”
On the verge of tears, the woman stumbled and buried her face in my chest.
“Are you, are you tired of ?!”
It was a phrase I felt I’d heard sowhere before.
Even as that thought crossed my mind, I recognized the scent tickling my nose.
It was the sll of alcohol.
It seed the Saintess was going through sothing emotionally difficult.
“Why, why did you leave … sniff, why did you do that!”
I silently patted her back and wondered to myself.
Why was she acting like this again?
Though it wasn’t a question that lingered for long.
Because the sensation of the Saintess’s ‘Holy power pouches pressing firmly against my upper body felt quite nice.
It looked like there was yet another woman I needed to console.
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