CH 89

What? Was she really waiting for me?

The lady raised her head like a meerkat and widened her eyes while holding her hands together. As if she had been waiting impatiently for a long time, a welcome look was shown on her face.

Elusiana stopped walking and laughed vainly. Doesn’t this inevitably lead to doubts? Whatever the truth, her intention wasn’t pure.

“H-hi, Elusiana.”

Eirin, who stood where she had greeted her in the morning, cautiously moved her steps in front of her.

“Hu, firstly, let’s go inside and talk.”

Taking Eirin to the dining room in Waieos Mansion, Elusiana sat across from her, quickly setting the cup of brewed tea in front of her.

“Let’s hear it.”

“T-thank you. But why do you talk like that? J-just talk to me as comfortably as you used to… Elusiana.”

“…Hmm.”

Elusiana answered after a sip of tea, pretending not to know.

“Take it slow. There’s nothing urgent.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ll decide after hearing about your business. Even if you had business, it’s the first time we met in 10 years, so it wouldn’t be strange to say that we don’t know each other at all.”

“Ah.”

“Well then, tell me. What do you have to say to me?”

“T-that’s—”

Is it because she was embarrassed by the sudden straightforwardness? Eirin’s face, which had been smiling awkwardly, quickly turned pale.

“What? Did you suddenly run out of things to say?”

“N-no. That’s not… like that. Uh, I don’t know how to bring it up.”

Her innocent eyes rolled as if looking at her eyes. In terms of her appearance alone, Eirin was small and fragile enough to trigger her protective instincts. But she had no intention of waiting any longer.

The ‘friendship’ she didn’t even know existed suddenly fell from the sky. Isn’t this too contrived for anyone to see? After enjoying the tea for a while, Elusiana put down the teacup she was holding.

“Lady Eirin.”

“Yes. Yes?!”

“If you have nothing to say, would you please stand up now?”

“Yes?”

Elusiana said, wiping the smile off her face. “Go away now.”

“…!”

Erin’s eyes, startled, shook violently as if she had been swept away by the storm. It was because she couldn’t imagine that Elusiana would openly kick her out right in front of her face. But Elusiana was adamant.

Today was already a tough day for me, right? Thinking that the cause was this lady in front of her, she couldn’t say something nice to her.

“You can leave me alone, right? If you leave the dining room, the doorway is right there, so you won’t get lost. Then, goodbye.”

“B-but I have something to say…”

Elusiana, who had already risen from her seat, smiled softly. She could predict the line asking for her favor would be said from looking at Eirin’s eyes.

“Please! I have a favor to ask!”

Eirin grabbed Elusiana’s wrist and clung to her as if pleading.

“I-I know this is rude. I-I know how shameless of me to suddenly come and say this.”

“You know it’s a shameless remark, but you’re also showing shameless behavior.”

“That’s right. You’re all right.”

Eirin closed her eyes tightly and shouted. “Sorry. I’m sorry. B-but I have no one to ask but you. Please… please help me!”

Elusiana’s eyes sank coldly. What’s with this coercion when you ask for a favor? When did we get close to each other to ask for help each other? Do you want me to help you? Don’t you have a conscience?

Elusiana said as she removed Eirin’s hand from holding her wrist. “I don’t think there’s a need to talk more. Please go back.”

Elusiana turned coldly. This lady asked her for a favor, but she was only thinking about her own safety. In the first place, it couldn’t have been a good favour as she never contacted her before and only contacted her when she needed her.

It’s a waste of sympathy for a person like this. It was obviously giving someone an inch and they take a mile.

Did she guess how Elusiana felt? Eirin grabbed Elusiana’s arm again. Right now, Elusiana was her only lifeline. A lifeline she should never miss or let go. When she thought like that, the guilt that had been weighing down her throat disappeared like a lie. She clung to Elusiana’s arm like a cicada.

“No! Don’t go!”

“…What are you doing? Let go of me.”

“You can’t go like this, Elusiana. If you don’t help me, I… I… I will… cry. Huhu.”

Eirin, who slumped down to the floor, began to cry sadly as if the world would end soon. Elusiana put on a dazed expression as she clasped her arm that was about to fall off.

…What’s wrong with this lady?

* * *

“I’m going to die!”

The voice of Eirin, who had been crying, came to her mind. Elusiana frowned in irritation as she brushed her wet wait.

“I’m speechless. Did she entrust her life to me? Suddenly showing up and threatening someone?”

It was like a bolt out of the blue from a clear sky. It was beyond disbelief, to the point of her being dumbfounded.

“You just need to come with me for a moment. It doesn’t matter if you just show your face for a moment. J-just for a moment, okay? You just need to stay with me for a moment.”

Elusiana, who shook her head, clicked her tongue briefly.

“You want me to go to a social party?”

Her friend, who appeared for the first time in more than ten years, asked her to attend a social gathering that would be held a few days later? For some reason, it was clear she had no good intentions.

“Could it be Lady Eragost?”

At first glance, Elusiana’s thoughts deepened. But she shook her head soon. No way. It’s nonsense. No matter how much she hates me, she won’t even plan something dirty like this, right? Elusiana, who tried to smile, saying it was excessive speculation, suddenly hardened her impression.

She cleared the misunderstanding with the Grand Duke’s help. Still, Camilla was unable to restore the lost honor of the Eragost family. But will that proud lady just stand still? She would seek revenge, even if borrowing someone’s hand.

Scratching her chin, Elusiana narrowed her eyes. Eirin’s appearance was somehow unnatural. As if she had been forced, and not by her own will, making her sense of desperation stand out more. And that fueled Elusiana’s suspicions. Then, is Eirin another victim of Camilla?

“Ug. What nonsense am I thinking now? Are you going to go there with me? Crazy. It’s crazy. Whether she dies or not, what does it matter to me!”

She was blackmailed by the lady who said she would die. Trying to convince her weak heart, she threw bait and set a trap as if hunting her. No matter how well Elusiana tried to look—

“Don’t be swayed. If you get swayed here, you’re really being a fool, Lusi.”

Unbeknownst to her, she could become prey caught in someone’s trap. Trembling, Elusiana nervously shook the towel, unable to hide her agitation.

* * *

The next day, Elusiana, who had been awake all night, went to work at the Grand Duchy Sestein with a tired face. However, for some reason, the atmosphere in the duchy was more chaotic than usual.

What’s going on? Slightly taken aback, Elusiana tilted her head and looked around.

Oh? I’ve never seen that person before. People who she had never seen so far stood out, and something unusual seemed to have happened. Then she saw Heilla crossing the hallway. Elusiana quickly approached her. 

“Madam Heilla.”

Heilla stopped her face and looked at her in surprise. “…Lady? How can you be here?”

“Did I come too early? I got off work early yesterday, so I came early today. But—”

Elusiana, who was close to Heilla’s side, lowered her voice. She forgot about Eirin’s threat and remembered when she left the grand duchy yesterday, the butler said he had something urgent to report.

“By any chance, what’s going on? I see people I haven’t seen… The atmosphere is a bit different than usual.”

It looked a little busy, but the air around seemed to have sunk heavily. As Heilla glanced at the stairs behind her, her expression became perplexed.

“Is it a problem if I know?”

“It’s not like that.”

“What’s going on?”

“That’s—”

Heilla paused for a moment, swallowed a heavy sigh, and answered quietly. “The first young master is back.”

“Ah, I see, the first young master— Pardon? W-who is back?” Elusiana, who nodded casually, widened her eyes.

Who is the first young master? He surrendered to the power of the current Grand Duke and went to study abroad as if being forced. But he is the legitimate successor of the Grand Duchy of Sestein in name and reality. At the same time, he should never set foot here if he wanted to stay alive.

Elusiana grabbed Heilla’s arm without realizing it and asked her urgently. “W-why is he here? Why did he come back all of a sudden?”

It was then. There was a bang sound somewhere, and the whole building shook as if it were going to collapse.