CH 4.19

“… What?”

Even though I spoke loudly, Ziontin still seemed not to understand what I’m saying. At this point, I’m wondering if she’s doing it on purpose, and I’m getting frustrated. I moved closer to Ziontin and spoke directly into her ear, as clearly as I could.

“They are fond of you.”

“…… It tickles.”

“I told you they like you. Everyone.”

“I understand now, stop—!”

Dame Ziontin took a step back and grabbed her ear.

I laughed and looked down at Ziontin’s flushed cheeks.

“Dame appears to be the type who blushes when she is embarrassed.”

“To make fun of people—!”

“I’m not making fun of you, Dame. Everyone admires you. Although it appears to be more akin to envy.. But anyway, it’s not that they don’t want to get to know you; it’s just that Dame is so expressionless that they’re afraid to talk to you.”

“……!”

Ziontin turned to face the princess as soon as I finished speaking.

“Well, nothing is wrong with what Lady Oberon said.”

“But didn’t Your Highness expressly state that I am a difficult person to get along with?”

“That is also correct. To be close, you must open your heart to them, which you do not do. Aside from that, aren’t you rather expressionless? When you’re like that, it’s difficult for young ladies to approach you.”

“You mean……”

“They don’t hate you.”

“……..!”

Ziontin’s face became distorted with injustice as soon as she received the princess’s confirmation.

But she would never say anything to the princess.

Ziontin looked around, slightly surprised. It was her own fault that she thought they hated and disliked her until now. In fact, the ladies were just unable to approach her.

It was a difference that was thicker than a sheet of paper.

“How shameless! Aren’t you embarrassed to commit such a heinous act?!”

But it was then.

The inside of the store suddenly became noisy as I was picking up the glass of champagne that I had dropped.

“He suffers so much because of people like you! You—You, broken bracelet-like human!”

The origin of the sound was Carrots.

I mean, it was Macy Amantine, a lady with carrot-colored hair. She appears to have attempted to curse in her own way, but what does she mean by “broken bracelet”? I want to watch more because her effort is commendable, but as the party’s host, I had an obligation to break up fights.

Unfortunately.

“Oh ho ho ho, when you want someone, you must go to any length to get him!”

“What are you on about? That’s impolite. Can you imagine how difficult it is for him to be around people like you?”

“How dare you say my actions were impolite! My actions were all motivated by love, so there’s now way they burden him. There is just no way! That’s also why we’re buying and collecting hair without anyone knowing.”

“Ha! You’re saying that’s not pressuring? —That’s so vulgar!”

As I got closer, I could hear the two ladies having a heated argument.

As someone’s admirer, you can go in a variety of directions.

You should be fine as long as you’re not the crazy type.

But wouldn’t it be too creepy to buy hair and other items illegally?

I fanned my fan gently while watching Macy and the nameless creepy lady argue.

“I know you’re jealous, Macy. If you are jealous, just simply admit it and say so. Also, aren’t you curious about what I’ve obtained this time?”

“I-I’m not the least bit interested in what it is!”

“Well, prepare to be surprised! It’s the towel he used to wipe his sweat! It is an extremely rare collection that can only be obtained through connections within the Knights. It’s something you’d never have if you were as passive as Macy!”

The two eyes of the creepy lady who yelled like that twinkled with ecstasy.

Macy shivered and clenched her fists in disgust.

She appeared to be thinking hard on what to say next because she wanted to properly scold her opponent but failed to think of anything.

I took advantage of the brief pause and stepped in between them.

“Oh my goodness, Lady Macy. What is going on here?”

“… … !”

“Why do you appear to have seen someone you shouldn’t have? Was there something I should not hear?”

When I smiled and continued fanning, Macy became perplexed. She seemed apologetic for making such a big deal about someone else’s fiance. The creepy lady, on the other hand, had the exact opposite reaction to Macy’s.

“You! Are you the so-called Phantom Thief?”

Her eyes glinted as she faced me with even more burdensome gaze than before.

Her eyes were no longer glinting, they were now flashing.

“Phantom thief?”

“The thief who stole his heart! I cut out and saved all newspaper articles about the two of you. I was curious about your appearance, and I can’t believe I’m meeting you like this!”

She took one step closer to me.

I didn’t avoid it.

A black aura seemed to spread around her, but it wasn’t particularly scary or repulsive.

In a strange way, it’s cute?

“Can you tell me the name of the lady?”

I folded the unfolded fan at once and stared at her. She then approached me and responded without hiding her greed.

“It’s Narnia Zerpienter.”

“Dear Lady Narnia.”

“Gasp. How can you pronounce my name like that? Please say it again. Please call me Narnia, and—!”

The aura emitted by Narnia filled the space around her. When she was hooked on someone, she seemed to be the type of person who wouldn’t see anything else besides it. She clearly doesn’t care what kind of expression she wore around me. I opened my mouth and spoke in the sweetest possible tone.

“Narnia.”

“Yes, Yes!?”

“Do you like me?”

“Of course, it was love at first sight! What a stunning outfit you’re wearing! You mixed purple and red, but you made it look good! And not to mention your jewels! Everything is so perfect right now that I can’t breathe…!”

What an exaggeration.

Narnia was a very focused individual. She lacks common sense and tends to grab and dig into one thing at a time. To be honest, I didn’t dislike this type of person.

However, there are some things that she cannot do.

“What towel did you just get, Narnia?”

“Oh! You must want it because you’re his lover. I paid a lot of money for that towel, but I’ll give it to you if you want. I rarely take my collection outside, but…”

She sees no problem with her actions and is incapable of considering the perspectives of others.

However, if she truly did it because she was unaware of the consequences of her actions, I can forgive her, but just this once. Well, unless Lacius heard about this.