Chapter 140

[Translator – Night][Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 140: False Appearance (1)

Two days had passed since Cyan and Set had gone on an unauthorized outing.

As Cyan had instructed, Nana hadn’t attended any classes and aside from daily rounds near the dormitory for a survival report(?), she hadn’t engaged in any external activities.

However, there’s no perfect disguise, and if there’s a tail, it will eventually be caught.

Crawling out of the royal palace and lurking near the main building, Nana and Brian ran into Silica coming out of the building.

Silica’s eyebrows trembled as she looked at them.

Her gaze seemed to penetrate everything, even without saying a word.

Nana and Brian froze in place, unable to utter a word.

“Come with me immediately!”

Silica grabbed them and dragged them to her room.

*Thud!*

She slammed the door shut and immediately cast a privacy spell to prevent eavesdropping.

After a moment of trying to restrain her emotions, Silica looked at Nana and asked directly. “Why are you transformed into Cyan, Nana?”

“H-How did you know? Hehe…”

Nana laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of her head.

“I sensed something strange from you that was much stronger than usual! You must have polymorphed into Cyan’s appearance, right? It’s lucky for you that I spotted it first. If someone like the principal had seen you, you would’ve been caught immediately!”

Fortunately, the headmaster, Kundel, was not at the academy at the moment, which was a relief.

“W-Well, that’s because the master asked me to do this first…”

As Brian opened his mouth to defend, Silica’s intense gaze turned towards him.

Brian felt his heart stop for a moment as he shrank back.

“Explain everything! Leave nothing out!”

Driven by survival instincts, Brian told Silica everything he knew: how Cyan had used Nana as a decoy, where they had gone, who they had met, and every other detail.

Cyan had instructed them to tell everything if they were caught by Silica, so in essence, they were just following their master’s orders.

“Haha…”

Silica let out a sound that could have been laughter or a sigh and began to fidget.

“Cyan! You always…!”

One thing was for sure; it was definitely not a positive reaction.

“Both of you, return to the dormitory immediately! Once you’re there, don’t you dare step out! Not even a single step! You don’t need to pretend to be there! You’re not leaving the dormitory until Cyan comes back! Do you understand me?”

Both of them nodded so vigorously that it seemed their heads might fall off, then hurriedly fled from her room as if running away.

“Wow! I was really scared! Lady Silica is terrifying when she’s angry, isn’t she, Brian?”

“I-Is there someone scarier than master…?”

Brian wrapped his arms around himself, still feeling the fear from earlier.

“What are we going to do now? Are we just going to stay in the room all the time?”

“It seems like we have to. Since the master said he wouldn’t be back for at least a week, maybe if we wait a little longer…”

As they walked through the corridors discussing various things, they soon found themselves stopping in their tracks once again.

As they say, trouble never comes alone.

Now, they faced another woman they would rather avoid: Arin, the imperial princess who had become Cyan’s fiancee.

Beside her stood Ressimus.

Perhaps surprised by the unexpected encounter, they hesitated and stopped in their tracks, unable to pass by.

After a long silence,

Nana, back in her Cyan persona, gave a stiff nod and said with an indifferent expression.

“Hello, Your Highness.”

Then, without another word, she passed by Arin with Brian.

Following Cyan’s instruction to greet but not engage in any further conversation, they continued walking without speaking.

Just as they thought they would pass without any further incident,

“Um, Cyan?”

Arin called out to them with a trembling voice.

Nana and Brian instinctively turned back.

“Could we have a moment to talk?”

“T-Talk…?”

They were taken aback.

Although Cyan had strictly instructed them never to speak to the princess, in the heat of the moment, their minds went blank.

They hadn’t exactly shared a close relationship with her, had they?

It was awkward to casually pass by someone who had given them delicious snacks and fun conversations when they were bored.

It was uncomfortable for Nana as well.

“Is it okay with your schedule? If you’re concerned about others’ gaze, shall we go to your room? Oh, by the way, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, hasn’t it? If it’s okay with you, we could go to your room…”

“I-I’ll go to Your Highness’s room!”

“…?”

Brian and Ressimus were equally surprised.

“In…my room?”

“Is that not acceptable?”

Arin, belatedly startled, waved her hands.

“N-No, it’s fine! Shall we go to my room?”

A faint smile appeared on her anxious face.

“S-Sure! Let’s go to my room!”

With a rushed motion, Arin turned and hurried towards her own room.

“P-Please take your time and come slowly!”

Ressimus hurriedly followed after her. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ ɴøᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Left behind in the corridor once again were Nana and Brian.

Nana scratched her head with a conflicted expression.

“Did I do something wrong, Brian?”

“Um, can I ask why you did that in the first place?”

“It’s just that sister Arin looked so unhappy… No matter how much I act like a tough guy, I don’t like being constantly ignored like this! Why do we have to treat sister Arin like this?”

“W-Well, it’s because the master instructed us…”

“But aren’t Papa and sister Arin soon to be married? It’s really strange for people who are going to get married to not even speak to each other! Don’t you think so, Brian?”

Brian was left speechless by Nana’s eloquence.

“Well, as long as master doesn’t find out…”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

It’s a lost cause to try to undo what’s already done.

With thoughts of where Cyan might be by now, they headed to the Royal hall, where Arin’s room was.

Arin’s room, where they hadn’t been since they were caught two years ago.

It felt tidy and dignified, as befitting a princess’s room.

After hesitating for about three seconds, Arin took a deep breath and spoke.

“I thought we should have had this conversation earlier. I’ve been indecisive, and I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize.”

Nana replied, trying her best to mimic Cyan’s tone.

“I may sound a bit strange saying this, but I actually think positively about my engagement with Cyan.”

“Really…?”

Nana and Brian’s pupils shook almost simultaneously.

“I-I mean, there’s no other meaning! As you know, I’ve been making efforts to make Cyan mine. I think if we get engaged, we’ll be one step closer to that. Of course, Cyan, you probably don’t think the same way…”

“Why would you think that?”

“As a princess and a member of the royal family, I wouldn’t be of any help to you. You may be of great help to me, but I can’t be of any help to you. I might even cause trouble…”

For a moment, Nana thought.

Why did she think that way?

The Arin she knows is not only kind and talented, but isn’t she also a big-hearted person who cares about her papa as much as she does herself?

But the more she listened to Arin, the more it felt like Cyan disliked her.

Does Cyan dislike Arin?

Nana didn’t think so.

The Cyan she knew might be rough around the edges, but wasn’t he still a very kind person?

And that wasn’t just true for herself but also for Arin, she thought.

It’s just that his expressions are clumsy.

With a strange smile, Nana said.

“That’s not true.”

“…?”

“In fact, I really like Princess Arin.”

“…Huh?”

Arin blinked as if doubting her ears.

“You’re undoubtedly a capable princess. You’re too much for me to handle. I also think positively about my engagement with you.”

This situation, which they couldn’t have imagined and never thought would happen, felt like it wasn’t their first time.

It was almost to the point where they doubted whether the boy in front of them was really Cyan.

“Are you serious, Cyan?”

“Of course.”

A response without a hint of hesitation.

Had Arin finally gained recognition from Cyan?

Unable to control the surge of emotions, Arin’s body trembled nervously.

“There were so many things I wanted to say but couldn’t. It feels like they’ve all disappeared. Thank you, Cyan, for saying that…”

A feeling of thawing the hard core that had been accumulating in a corner of her heart.

Arin showed a brighter smile of gratitude than any other laughter.

Feeling uplifted, Nana also smiled and whispered to Brian beside her.

“Did I do well, Brian?”

However, Brian couldn’t answer that question.

What did Nana say to the princess just now?

If it really was Cyan, it was an extremely risky behavior, something he would never lie about.

From the beginning, Cyan hadn’t been interested in his engagement with Arin, and telling him not to talk to her was also a way to keep their distance.

Now, to say something that would move the princess’s heart…

Brian was already afraid of how he would explain this situation when Cyan returned.

“Well, then, we’ll take our leave now. It’s time for Nana and me to eat.”

“Yes, yes! Nana must be very hungry! Thank you for your time today!”

As Nana rose from her seat, she hesitated for a moment, then suddenly grabbed Arin’s hand.

“W-What are you doing?!”

Arin’s face turned as red as a beetroot in an instant.

“You don’t need to look so dejected, Princess. Have confidence in yourself. You’re already a wonderful person.”

“Cyan…”

Tears of emotion welled up in Arin’s eyes.

Nana felt a great sense of satisfaction internally, feeling that she had brought Cyan and Arin closer together in some way.

After unintentionally completing their mission (?), as they were about to leave without any lingering thoughts,

“But Cyan…?”

Arin grabbed the departing two again, her voice containing a hint of doubt this time.

“Why do you have a tail?”

* * *

As the atmosphere in the chaotic Academy and city began to stabilize somewhat, merchants who had avoided the city began to trickle into Luwen one by one.

As the sun leaned towards the western sky, signaling the end of the day, five merchants, having passed through the inspection, entered the city, pulling carriages laden with fabrics, groceries, magical ingredients, and more.

The merchants who had been surveying the area around the city soon turned their direction towards the deserted back alleys, rather than the bustling market.

“Doesn’t it feel like the inspections are even stricter than before? Can we really proceed with this request? I’m feeling quite uneasy…”

“You’re saying unnecessary things, Jason. Do you think I don’t know that you’re the most excited one here?”

“Well, that’s true. After all, it’s not every day we get a commission from the royal family. Just the advance payment alone could keep us living lavishly for years, and when you think about the remaining payment we’ll receive after finishing the job… I can’t help but get excited.”

“Be careful what you say, Jason! Even if there’s no one around, try not to mention anything related to the royal family while we’re in this city.”

“I know! I know! So who’s the guy we’re supposed to kill?”

The man with brown beard looked around for a moment before opening his mouth.

Then, he cast a soundproofing spell around them.

“The target’s name is Cyan Vert. He’s the youngest son of Duke Vert, also known as the guardian of the continent. The client requested that we leave traces as cruelly as possible. It’s okay to tear his body into pieces or leave him naked in the streets. Anyway, make sure that the people who find the corpse are enraged.”

“What a crazy request! That’s why I like it! So, can I have a little fun with this Cyan guy?”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s any other time, but I’ll consider it this time. In my 20 years as a mercenary, I’ve never seen anyone with such a ruthless hobby as you.”

It was only about half-hearted consent, but it was enough for Jason to relish it.

Even his colleagues, who watched him, couldn’t help but shiver, unable to conceal their expressions.

“Cyan Vert… I hope he’s cute.”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]