'Can't it be done with magic? Should I ask Arkana?'
Tilting her head, Sigrid suddenly looked down at her hand, struck by a thought.
The signet ring shone heavily on the middle finger of her right hand.
She was a countess now, with power. She had so-called "well-connected friends" in the capital too.
'I've never used power like this before.'
But it was sothing she had to do.
Sigrid lightly clenched her fist, then relaxed it and set out to find Arkana. It was late in the evening.
'This house is too big.'
There were so many rooms that it was difficult to get used to.
Sigrid stopped at the end of the corridor. The sunset pouring in through the glass windows lining the hallway was quite majestic. The white relief statues in the corridor seed to glow red.
Looking out the window, she could see the vast, symtrically managed garden at a glance. The air slled of fresh greenery. After gazing outside for a mont, Sigrid resud walking.
Knock knock.
At the sound of knocking, Arkana looked up.
"Who is it?"
"It's ."
"Co in."
Arkana answered casually, not getting up from his seat. The door opened and Sigrid poked her head in.
"Are you working?"
"I just finished."
Arkana closed his notebook with a thud and placed it on the side table.
"What's the matter?"
At his question, Sigrid approached him stealthily. Arkana smiled and said:
"What? If it's about the marriage proposal, I won't discuss it with you."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Because that's truly sothing you need to decide entirely on your own."
"That's harsh."
Sigrid's shoulders slumped. She shook her head and said:
"But that's not why I ca."
"No?"
"No."
Sigrid drew very close. Arkana looked up at her with a puzzled expression.
"You know, as a countess, I have so power, right?"
"You do."
"And I have so good friends too."
"That's right."
"I've never wielded power before. No, I don't think this is wielding power, but rather doing sothing just."
"What is it?"
Arkana asked again, and Sigrid whispered lowly:
"Who is it?"
Arkana imdiately understood her aning. Her crimson eyes stared intently at him.
"Tell
who it is. Arkana."
"I......"
"You gave up, Arkana. To protect your little sister, to beco a magician. But I haven't given up. I haven't taken any vows. And you're as good as my precious family. Pass the blood price to . I'll make those bastards pay."
"I—"
Arkana started to speak again but closed his mouth. Was it right to pass this on to her? But the temptation not to pass it on was too strong.
Arkana looked at Sigrid. She was telling him to give up the nas of the criminals, like a judge.
It wasn't an easy decision to entrust or defer revenge to another.
But was Sigrid really "another"?
"There are two people."
Arkana quietly divulged the personal details, and Sigrid listened attentively. She committed the nas to mory with satisfaction and leaned in to kiss his cheek.
"Thank you, Arkana."
Sharing revenge is as difficult as sharing a life.
Sigrid was grateful to Arkana for allowing her to enter that far into his world.
"I'm the one who's grateful."
Arkana smiled faintly. He reached out to take her hand and kissed the back of it.
"My knight."
"Leave it to ."
Sigrid said firmly and smiled. It was a smile that seed to sll of blood in the sunset.
"They'll pay the price."
"It will be as you wish."
Arkana replied. Still holding her hand, he continued:
"Actually, I'm in favor."
"Huh?"
"Beramund Lunatil."
"Oh? Oh, oh! R-really?"
Sigrid asked, nearly jumping. Arkana laughed at how different she looked from just a mont ago.
"Yes."
"Eh? Why?"
"Siri, because you like him. Don't you?"
"Well, I do like him. But— Arkana, you see....... I won't have children."
"Oh?"
"Yes. I want to continue being a knight, and after giving birth, it would be difficult, wouldn't it? Because the body weakens."
"If that's the issue, I could help with that?"
Arkana said, tilting his head. Sigrid responded with a "Huh?"
"I could fix it with recovery magic. Make you good as new."
The reason he didn't suggest contraception was because she hadn't said she 'didn't want' to have children. As he expected, instead of saying 'that's not it', Sigrid's eyes widened.
"Eh? Really?"
"Really. So, give
an excuse other than that one."
"Well—"
Sigrid looked quite flustered and at a loss. She let out a deep sigh and said:
"Well, it's not like we have to get married, right?"
"That's true. But you don't want to break up, do you?"
"......You're right."
Sigrid groaned.
"Actually, I've been thinking about it a lot. You know, at that ball. Just thinking about Beramund being with soone else made
upset. But I thought that was just my selfish thinking, and then Beramund proposed. So, but, is it okay?"
"What is?"
"To be honest, Arkana."
"Yes?"
"I'm different from ordinary won, aren't I?"
Arkana looked her up and down.
"How so?"
"No, not on the outside. I an, I'm not good at dressing up, I can't act cute—"
"Like Marie-Chez?"
"Yes! And I'm not calm like Lowengrin either—"
At those words, Arkana burst out laughing. However, Sigrid's face was serious, and Arkana stopped laughing too. Sigrid said:
"I've never cared about those kinds of things. I thought I'd never have to care about them in the future either."
She had never cared about how others saw her, about their gazes.
"I'm a knight, so I thought I just had to be faithful to that. Well, now I'm a lord too, so I need to be faithful to that as well. But......"
Arkana said quietly:
"You care about how Beramund sees you as a woman, don't you?"
"Yes. Right now it's new. When you first see an interesting new sword technique, you want to learn it, right? But in the end, what you end up honing is the familiar, traditional technique."
Arkana smiled faintly and said:
"Siri. That's why I like you. And I'm sure Beramund feels the sa way. If he was looking for soone cute, well-dressed, and dominating in social circles, he would have chosen soone else, not you."
"That's......"
"He didn't choose you out of a thirst for power, nor was he desperate for a woman, right?"
"Yes......"
"Then why don't you just ask him honestly about that?"
Sigrid hesitated at the question, then asked:
"Should I?"
"Yes."
Why did she always take a step back when it ca to that man?
It must an she loves him that much.
Arkana smiled and said:
"Of course, if you reject him, I'll happily applaud from behind. To be honest, he seems like a playboy, frivolous, and lazy with his work."
"That's not true. Beramund is surprisingly diligent."
Sigrid defended him without realizing it.
"Surprisingly, huh?"
"Arkana!"
"Hahaha."
Arkana laughed out loud and stood up. He said:
"So why don't you go back and talk to him now?"
"Now?"
"Yes. While the topic is fresh, in one go."
Arkana grabbed her shoulders and pushed her out the door.
"It's rude to keep him waiting too long. If you're going to reject him, just do it quickly."
"Ugh—"
Sigrid knew well that she had indeed dragged out her answer to the proposal for far too long. During that ti, Beramund hadn't complained once and had consistently shown his affection.
It was true that he had been a great help with the territory's affairs and had been attentive in every way.
Sigrid took a deep breath and said:
"Alright. I'll go."
"Good."
Arkana massaged her shoulders and patted them a few tis.
"Off you go."
"Okay, Arkana. Thank you."
"Don't ntion it."
Arkana smiled slightly. Sigrid smiled back and started walking. Arkana watched her retreating figure until the end, then quietly closed the door.
Sigrid stood in front of Beramund's room, which wasn't far away, and raised her hand. After a mont's hesitation, she knocked on the door. Not long after, the door opened.
"Siri?"
"Beramund."
Beramund smiled and stepped aside from the door.
"Your timing is perfect."
At this unexpected remark, Sigrid tilted her head.
"Why?"
Sigrid entered and sniffed. There was a nice sll.
"Did you bring flowers?"
"No."
Beramund chuckled and pointed to the teapot on the table.
"I was just brewing the tea we received from the Third Prince."
"Ah—!"
"That's why I said your timing was good."
"Were you planning to drink it alone?"
"It was given to , wasn't it?"
"Still. We should drink it together."
Sigrid grumbled, and Beramund offered her a seat, saying:
"We ended up drinking it together naturally. I'm not sure what kind of tea it is, but the aroma is lovely. I guess expensive tea really is different."
"It is. I've never slled such a sweet fragrance from tea before."
The scent grew stronger as they approached the teapot.
As she sat down on the plush sofa, Beramund asked:
"Would you like so ice?"
"Do you have so?"
"I can ask for it to be brought."
"Hmm, no. I'll drink it as is today."
She didn't want to call anyone.
The conversation they were about to have was an important one between just the two of them. Sigrid tried to relax. Beramund nodded.
"Is that so? Well, to enjoy the aroma, it is better warm. Even in this weather."
"Even in this weather, indeed."
Beramund smiled and leaned forward to pick up the teapot, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. Sigrid unconsciously rubbed her forehead.
'Co to think of it.......'
If he was going to get tired of her, wouldn't he have done so long ago?
Even though she had postponed her answer to his proposal for a month, Beramund was quietly waiting without pressuring her. The affection in his eyes remained unchanged.
'Isn't it ti to trust rather than question?'
Suddenly, such a thought crossed Sigrid's mind.
Hadn't Beramund already shown enough?
Beramund placed two cups and poured the tea in turn.
The golden tea liquid rippled.
"So?"
Beramund asked as he sat down and picked up his cup.
"What brings you here?"
"Do I need a reason to co?"
"Huh? No, of course not. I'm happy to see you. Yeah, did you co because you missed ? I missed you too."
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