That July day, the cicadas were singing.
They say cicadas sing to find mates. In that sense, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call sumr, filled with their incessant chirping, a season brimming with passion.
In this ardent world, Harte arrived at the ducal mansion, his heart full of love.
"I'm back, Elphisia."
"Hmm... Welco back."
Elphisia wanted to challenge Harte's casual greeting. This was his workplace, yet he acted as if he'd returned ho.
However, Elphisia had grown more tolerant lately. She could let such a minor contradiction slide.
"No troubles today, I assu?"
"Sa as always."
The absence of troubles was obvious. But there were matters that blurred the line between trouble and non-trouble.
Recently, social circles were abuzz with Askalion's entry into the capital. Unlike the puppet emperor controlled by the Empress Dowager, the politically savvy Askalion was rapidly expanding his influence. He seed to be making the most of his reputation as a child prodigy whose mother had been assassinated.
Even so, if Elphisia put her mind to it, she could still control him. But ever since growing closer to Harte, she'd been distancing herself from politics.
The erging factions mistakenly believed Askalion had suppressed Elphisia. In reality, House Luminel was simply allowing it to happen at their own expense.
The current Elphisia didn't want to do anything that might disappoint Harte.
That was all there was to it.
"...Yes, nothing unusual. Nothing at all."
Elphisia folded her arms. Harte approached her as if it were the most natural thing in the world, unfolded her arms, and repositioned them to escort her.
"It's hot."
Elphisia rebuffed the sudden closeness.
"Give your fan. I'll cool you down."
"As if that would make much difference."
"I'm quite good at it, you know. I may not look it, but I'm skilled with physical tasks. I'll make your hair flutter with my efforts."
"You fool..."
She didn't want to hear such earnest excuses over trivial matters. The more Harte explained, the more pathetic Elphisia felt. After all, what truly worried her was sothing else entirely.
Elphisia knew Harte well.
He was the type to easily ignore indirect hints. So, swallowing her pride, she voiced her true concerns.
"...I don't want to sll of sweat."
"Pardon?"
"You're so you, making say it out loud."
To Elphisia, Harte was a peculiar man. Be it sumr or winter, his body odor was always faint. Because of this, Elphisia beca even more conscious of her own cleanliness.
Whether aware of this or not, Harte's face showed only a desperate attempt to hide his bashfulness.
"S-Sweat sll? There's no way you'd sll, Elphisia..."
"No, I'm human too, you know..."
"But Elphisia is special. So even your sweat sll would be special... Uh, I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm saying..."
"You're really letting loose. I must have beco quite comfortable for you."
"...I'll try to make you even more comfortable. Because we're, you know... lovers."
"Ahem."
Elphisia's shoulders twitched as Harte uttered the word 'lovers'. She silently gazed into the distance, but her ears, seemingly flushed from the sumr sun, matched her auburn hair in a camouflage of color.
But thinking about it, she felt indignant.
Why should she react to every little thing Harte said?
Irritated by this thought, she pinched Harte's cheek hard.
"Ow... Elphisia? It hurts."
"It wouldn't be worth pinching if it didn't."
"Is that so?"
Harte raised his eyebrows at Elphisia, who maintained a prim attitude.
"If Elphisia says so, do it more."
Harte gently took Elphisia's other hand. He brought it to his remaining cheek and smiled brightly.
"Do you like it?"
"L-Like it? What's there to like! Are you an idiot? A pervert? Why are you encouraging to hurt you..."
Elphisia hastily withdrew her hand. Her heart pounded as fiercely as her harsh words.
'Is he a child or what...?'
A thirty-year-old man acting so childishly without hesitation. Worse, his radiant smile was bad for her heart.
She had seen her fair share of n rumored to be deadly charming, but they never stirred any emotion in her. Apparently, her weakness wasn't flawless pretty boys, but rather faces as pure as a baby bird's.
Realizing her preferences made her feel even hotter. As if the sumr heat wasn't enough, she felt she might actually start slling of sweat.
'I can't tell if I'm spending ti with a lover or playing with a large dog...'
A large dog - certainly a fitting comparison for Harte.
A pure-hearted creature with snow-white fur, panting and smiling at the sight of its owner. Yet capable of bristling its fur and baring its teeth when serious.
This was a being that anyone with a shred of human emotion couldn't help but find endearing.
That must have been why.
Elphisia's unconscious act of stroking Harte's hair was so unexpected.
"More, Elphisia."
Harte bent his knees and lowered his waist to make it easier for her.
Only then did Elphisia realize what she was doing and let out a silent scream.
"Ugh...!"
She felt as if she'd gone completely mad. She had always consciously controlled her limbs throughout her life, yet that discipline had crumbled so easily...
This was a weakness she could never reveal to others.
'Not a large dog... More like a fox in disguise.'
Undoubtedly a fox masquerading as a large dog. How else could he make her accept such a miserable acknowledgnt?
The bitter acknowledgnt that she seed to have fallen hard for this man...
---
---
If one were to define the relationship between Harte and Glen, they would be the sun and moon orbiting Elphisia.
Just as the sun and moon took turns rising and setting, the seat beside Elphisia alternated with day and night. During the day, Glen stood by as her shadow guard and secretary, while in the evening, Harte shared intimacy with her as her lover.
Thus, with Harte currently at the ducal mansion, Glen was out performing his duties.
'Security has tightened. What could have changed?'
Glen's assigned task was to monitor Askalion. Originally, he had been ordered to assassinate him, but after encountering Harte, Elphisia had lowered the severity of the command.
This was because Askalion's actions leaned towards benevolence.
He provided relief for the poor and exposed corrupt officials. Elphisia feared that if she persecuted such an Askalion, Harte would look at her with cold eyes.
Though it might seem a small change, to Glen, it appeared a significant shift. At the very least, it was clear that Elphisia's worldview was changing.
'...I hope this change continues.'
It was undeniable that Elphisia had abused Glen. Nevertheless, Glen found himself unable to truly hate her.
He had seen hell in his youth.
Kidnapped for resembling the Baskhill bloodline, he fell into the hands of corrupt nobles. The atrocities committed by a family that treated a nation's royalty as a plaything were etched into his mind like nails.
One day, he caught the strange interest of a young lady from that family. Even as a filthy, scarred boy, his striking features made a strong impression.
Of course, the price for such unwelco attention was horrific. The mories of that ti still haunted his dreams.
The curse of the past continued to bind his present.
Then Elphisia appeared.
In an instant, she cast the corrupt nobles into ruin and took everything. And that 'everything' included Glen.
Afterwards, recognizing Glen's talent as a warrior, Elphisia nurtured him.
It was a harsh period, but he couldn't bring himself to hate her completely. Elphisia, who could purge the corrupt nobles he had worshipped like absolute gods as easily as stepping on ants, appeared dazzling to him.
He resented her, yet also admired her. At the sa ti, he pitied her for her lack of human emotion.
At least, until Harte appeared...
'The Duchess will change.'
She was gradually regaining her humanity, and soday she might overturn her reputation as a villainess. If that happened, the relationship between Glen and Elphisia might change as well.
If the winds of change pushed at his back, perhaps he could... overco his past and move forward.
As Glen was lost in such reverie.
The soft conversation between Askalion and Court Count Arwel reached his ears.
"It seems we made the right choice in distancing ourselves from Viscount Peter, Your Highness."
"It was re intuition... Has sothing happened?"
"It was dreadful. Who would have thought Viscount Peter had a hidden daughter?"
"Isn't an illegitimate child barely worth ntioning in noble society?"
"The problem is that she's not illegitimate, but a legitimate daughter."
"...What?"
Glen's ears perked up involuntarily at this rare piece of information.
"It seems Lady Rochelle Peter was originally a twin, but one of them was blind, so they kept her hidden."
"I suppose a family that prospered through marriage alliances couldn't tolerate a flaw in their bloodline..."
"You've hit the nail on the head. And now, the corpse of that twin lady has been discovered. Given the family's connections to prestigious houses, the social circles are bound to be in uproar..."
According to the Court Count's gossip, the room where the corpse was found was filled with rotten leaves. The level of abuse was beyond comprehension...
A bitter end. That's what Glen thought.
"My word... I wonder how many more unjust deaths must pile up before the darkness in the empire lifts, Your Highness."
"As long as the Empress Dowager and Duke Luminel stand, it seems a distant future."
"You must be careful. Though they've been quiet recently, Duke Luminel is likely to be a far more formidable foe than the Empress Dowager..."
"Indeed, a formidable person... But we might not be without a breakthrough."
"Pardon?"
Court Count Arwel's eyes widened in surprise. At the sa ti, the whites of Glen's eyes beca prominent. The image of Elphisia kneeling was difficult to conjure even in fantasy.
As if mocking this, Askalion unilaterally ended the conversation.
"Let's discuss it when the plan is formulated. It seems too early to speak of it yet."
"I look forward to the day when I can hear of your secret plan."
After Court Count Arwel paid his respects and left.
Alone in the room, Askalion opened the balcony doors. This forced Glen to hide behind a tree at the corner of the balcony.
In this situation, Askalion cooled himself in the night breeze and recalled the demon's statent.
'To think the Demon King's only bloodline would be human. And a black-haired, black-eyed child resembling Letitia Baskhill, the betrayer of humanity...'
Calculating backwards, that child would be around his age. And Askalion had been faced only one person who fit these conditions.
'Elphisia Luminel's assassin. We must capture him alive.'
The outline of a plan to overthrow the villainess was taking shape.
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