CH 175

Perhaps it was not a bluff to say that they were invited as distinguished guests, the Nortons were able to cross Garcia’s border in an instant without any special procedures.

There was no checkpoint, so Lloyd didn’t even have to take his hood off.

‘Annoying.’

Lloyd wanted an excuse to get a check and blow it all up, so he clicked his tongue lightly.

“I have been waiting.”

They arrived at a mansion. A mansion whose owner is unknown.

But Lloyd could quickly guess who was behind it.

‘If they are friendly to the nobles of other countries to this extent, it is safe to say that the influence of a high-ranking official, perhaps the Pope, is in.’

As soon as he thought like that, the person who greeted them spoke up.

“You have proven that to be cooperative with Garcia. We will pay you a reasonable price for what you deserve.”

“In return, what you promised?”

“Of course.”

It was as expected.

This was not simply a problem limited to the single Viscount Norton family. Lloyd watched silently.

‘Are they going to plant a double agent?’

A double agent would be common.

To some extent, even in Principality Valentine, spies were periodically searched out and pruned. Even though people outside the Valentine border never even set foot in the devil’s lair.

So it really wasn’t a big deal.

It was boring and obvious enough for him to yawn, and it wasn’t even worth paying attention to.

‘As long as I have witnessed it myself, I can’t leave it alone.’

But if that happens, Aria might be sad. He didn’t want to take away her little happiness, so he was contemplating it for a while.

As they walked through the hallway after being assigned their own rooms, he heard a voice coming from the crack in an open room door.

“Father, he was trying to kill me! He grabbed my neck and tried to strangle me. Can’t you see the handprints on my neck?”

“……”

“Even if that bastard is the most powerful soldier in Attis, how can the man who was after my life be protecting us?”

It was Young Lord Norton. He kept fussing, “What if he tries to hurt me while I’m sleeping?”.

“…ha. This punk.”

The Viscount sighed as he saw the red handprints left on the nape of his son’s neck.

He got strangled?

‘That’s obvious.’

When a husband saw another man set their eyes on his wife, it was a natural reaction.

However, that did not mean that the Norton’s would consider the feelings of the insignificant commoners. It was pathetic what his son had done, but the Viscount was furious at the situation that the commoner dared to touch his son.

‘How dare you try to kill my son.’

Viscount Norton was outwardly scolding his son, but inwardly he was determined.

‘I must dispose of it.’

“Alright, so get out now.”

“Are you going to kill him before returning to Attis?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Still, please finish in Garcia as much as possible. No, how shocked Ria…. No, Mrs. Valen would be. She is a delicate person. She could be resentful, so make it an unfortunate accident…”

Ria Valen. This is the pseudonym Aria used in Attis.

Lloyd could clearly see what he was thinking that it was almost really predictable. Young Lord Norton plans to kill Lloyd in Garcia and take Aria, who has lost her husband and is left alone.

He recommended Lloyd as an escort in the first place for that, and he provoked Lloyd for that as well. No wonder he immediately left and didn’t make a lot of fuss, even after Lloyd strangled his neck.

Viscount Norton, who had been silent for a moment due to his son’s indescribable pity, screamed loudly.

“Didn’t I tell you to go out?!”

It was only after he threatened, that Young Lord Norton rushed out of the room.

Lloyd naturally turned his body and stayed out of sight.

‘Hmm, this is something.’

A satisfied smile appeared on Lloyd’s expressionless face, who had been listening to their conversation from beginning to end.

‘You’re finally making a cause.’

He can go back to Aria sooner.

Aria had just arrived in Attis.

When she opened the door to the house, there was Lloyd pouring tea.

‘Eh?’

Aria couldn’t react right away.

She didn’t know that Lloyd, who should be in Garcia by now, was already here.

Not only that, he was leisurely brewing tea.

“Baker said that fruit-flowers blended tea is trendy these days. On the way home, I stopped by the capital to buy tea leaves.”

Lloyd said as he held out a teacup in front of Aria. She asked as she sat across from him abruptly.

“You look good.”

“It has to be good, isn’t it?”

Lloyd said, habitually swiping the ring on his ring finger.

Aria remembered later.

She had contacted Lloyd straight away as soon as she found the Freeze in the Book of Forbidden Spells. She had forgotten that she was excitedly discussing this and that with the doctors and Vincent before she came here.

“I’m glad you found a peaceful and ethical way.”

Lloyd said so and hung a faint smile on his lips. She doesn’t know where ‘peace’ and ‘ethic’ are in forbidden magic.

‘Somehow, it’s relaxing.’

Lloyd seemed more and more bored as he got older. He knew how to relax, and learned to enjoy patience and relaxation.

It felt even more so today.

To compare it, she would say that he was like a wild beast that has become drowsy after filling its stomach after a hunt.

“Wow…….”

Aria sipped the tea without thinking, then widened her eyes and looked into the cup.

It’s just water from tea leaves. The taste and aroma were so different from the tea that Aria made.

“Lloyd is a good cook.”

As Aria kept trying to cook, Lloyd made it with her several times……. At that time, Aria understood a little bit what being a dullard means after seeing a genius for the first time.

He wasn’t that good, but even Baker was surprised by his skill.

‘He didn’t have any interest in cooking, so he got bored.’

Aria smiled as she drank the sweet, fragrant tea. Even now, he was able to brew a tea that is precisely tailored to her taste.

“I remember Lloyd baking a strawberry cake. It was delicious.”

Although it was actually more correct to say it was a cake he made as he helped Aria from the side. But he did most of it, so it would be right to call it that.

“I can make it any time you want.”

“Ah really?”

Aria, who still likes strawberry cakes, has sparkles in her eyes just like her childhood.

“Then make it for me at my coming-of-age ceremony.”

It will be coming soon.

Aria was often overcome with a vague fear that she might have to leave, perhaps even before her coming-of-age ceremony. But not anymore. Because she was steadily progressing in the process of activating the Freeze technique.

It was such a peaceful time for her. She is drinking tea relaxingly in the autumn sunlight that seeps through the window. She wished she could live like this for the rest of her life.

“So why did you come so soon?”

Apparently, when they exchanged messages with each other, he did not show much expression.

Then Lloyd said, ‘Ah.’ ‘ briefly.

With an expression that one would make when they think of something that is not particularly worth remembering.

“It’s not a big deal. After confirming that I was hired as an escort to be killed afterwards, I came back first before I got involved further…”

“What?”

Aria suddenly slammed the desk and jumped up, and Lloyd’s words got interrupted in the middle.

“Kill? Who? Lloyd?”

No, but he did nothing and just came back? She was dumbfounded.

If it was the usual Lloyd, the moment he found out about the plan, he would immediately make them pay for it with their life.

But why did he leave them alone and come back?

“Why did they want to kill you all of a sudden? Didn’t they take Lloyd because you were a rare talent?”

“That…….”

“No, it doesn’t matter why.”

Aria was furious. For whatever reason they dared to kill Lloyd.

Aria had pushed him into this situation without realizing it, telling Lloyd to accompany them.

“Why did you leave them alone?”

You never have that kind of personality.

Hering Aria’s exasperated words, Lloyd’s eyes widened for a moment before answering with a grin.

“Because it’s really not that important to me.”

They dug a trap to kill him, but it didn’t matter. When did Lloyd become such an adult? Aria was amazed.

She told Lloyd to put up with their atrocities, but she didn’t mean to stay still as they conspired to kill him.

Then Lloyd pulled Aria’s left hand and touched her face as she got closer, then added.

“The most important thing to me is…”

“……”

“When I feed Aria something sweet, you smile without realizing it, putting flowers between books, bragging about meaningless things to me, making food that tastes strange and giving it to me, taking out a sketchbook whenever you have time and drawing my face.”

“……”

“Well, things like that.”

He doesn’t want to lose those things because of some insensitive idiots. Lloyd said so and released Aria’s cheek.

This time Aria couldn’t say anything. Aria, who had been frozen for a moment, barely opened her mouth.

“I should catch them all and kill them.”

It was a quote from Tristan.

She grabbed Lloyd’s hand and stood up. He was simply dragged along by her gentle touch. Lloyd slowly licked his lips as he followed her bold lead.

“Didn’t you want to stay here in peace?”

“Yes, I did, but I didn’t mean to force Lloyd to show your patience like a saint.”

Of course, Lloyd isn’t a saint. He had no intention of being patient anyway.

Because after he reassured Aria on the surface, he was planning to mash the Nortons in the mud behind her. He can’t help it if this is called deception, but, in fact, it was Lloyd’s own sneakiness.

“I’ll expose them to the very bottom and push them until they take their own life.”

Aria, who wasn’t very talented at speaking harshly, kept quoting Valentine’s expression.

This means that she is pissed off.

Lloyd, who was silently following her, said with a smirk on his face.

“I’m looking forward to it.”