Unedited
For some reason, I found myself watching Edgar’s mood closely.
I suspect it was because he didn’t seem to be in the best of health. Edgar, that is. Aside from everything else, he looked quite pale. When he told me that he was suffering from teleportation sickness, I was genuinely shocked.
“Oh my gosh, did you teleport here all the way from Nadon?”
“Then did you think I came riding an elephant? Do you know how cumbersome animal import procedures are?”
“I’m asking just in case, you did get a visa to enter the country, right?”
Lately, I’d been plagued by nightmares of my identity as the ‘anonymous viscount’s daughter’ being exposed to the public, so I had been keeping up with the newspapers. However, I have never read about Duke Ramos visiting Milua.
I was taken aback when Edgar confidently shook his head. Crossing the border by teleportation was a major violation of continental law. When I pointed this out, Edgar brazenly replied that as long as he didn’t get caught, it was fine.
I thought about how the Magic Tower didn’t set up magic detection barriers at the borders for free, but I decided to drop the matter. Anyway, I wasn’t really curious about how the genius wizard Eddie got to Milua. I wondered what he came for.
“I heard that my old friend, the Marquis of Hyland, had a girlfriend, so I came to see for myself.”
His response wasn’t pleasant. First of all, the fact that he called Jaden the ‘Marquis of Hyland’ implied that Eddie was deeply displeased. It seemed that his pain wasn’t just physical.
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Edgar. His mask made it hard to read his expression.
“Why are you upset?”
“Why am I upset? Are you asking because you really do not know?”
When I couldn’t stand it anymore and opened my mouth, he ruffled his hair irritably and approached me with a rather menacing aura. So I slowly backed away from him, trying to figure out why he was upset.
Did I spill something on his clothes? I glanced over, but his muscular torso, wrapped in his shirt, made me lose focus.
Was it because I used his magic as if it were mine? My embers were so small compared to his pillars of fire that even the magic tower wouldn’t know that we were chanting the same spell.
Or had he spent too much money? That seemed plausible. He had poured it all in without hesitation, and perhaps more coins had spilled out than he intended. Maybe he kept thinking about it, but it was too embarrassing to ask for it back.
“Well, I think I can pay for half, if not all, of your donations. But can’t we just deduct what overflowed from the donation box?”
“What are you saying now?”
My sincere suggestion, offered with the feeling of cutting off a piece of my own flesh, was rejected immediately, leaving me feeling rather indignant.
It was certainly Edgar who brought me out of the abyss of shame, and I was very grateful for that. But I hadn’t asked him to save me, had I?
Moreover, wasn’t His Highness, the Duke of Ramos, the one who thoughtlessly overflowed the donation box? When I mumbled something along those lines in dissatisfaction, Edgar pounded his chest in exasperation.
“Do you think I’m doing this because I’m stingy about money?”
That was the most plausible explanation I had deduced.
“No?”
When I asked, dumbfounded, Edgar seemed completely fed up with this great detective who possessed an intellect level of 2.
“You’re really asking because you don’t know, huh… You really don’t know.”
He massaged the back of his neck, muttering to himself. Then a chillingly low voice scratched its way up his throat.
“Then I guess I should tell you.”
I felt a strong pull at my waist, and the next moment, I was falling into Edgar’s arms. Unlike the crown prince of Illestia, who had a refreshing scent, the prince of Nadon smelled warm. A thick musk with a hint of spices. When he took off his mask as if it were inconvenient, his wheat-colored bangs scattered in the air, revealing his glowing red-purple eyes.
Even if it wasn’t his forte, Eddie was often adept at flirting around with women, regularly engaging in idle mischief. But when he did, there was always a hint of amusement in his eyes and mouth. So that anyone could tell it was a joke.
But now, well. I had seen a similar expression on him before. It was after being attacked by his brother’s magic doll, and no one but a pervert would find joy in such a situation.
“What, what are you trying to do now…?”
I stammered stupidly. Nadon was a country with a stronger royal family than Illestia. Edgar Ramos was the prince of Nadon and, at the same time, one of the most outstanding wizards on the continent. To him, turning someone into ashes was simpler than spinning a unicorn top.
He knew well enough how to make someone kneel with just his gaze or gesture. I was completely overwhelmed by the oppressive force that enveloped me.
“Can’t you see? I’m going to kiss you.”
With a dull thud, my dragon mask fell to the ground. The sudden touch of air to my skin where the mask had touched gave me a slight chill. As his lips moved closer in a teasing yet persistent manner, I reached out to push him away.
Then Edgar kissed my palm, looking into my eyes between my fingers. It was a very strange contact. My heart pounded again.
“Why, why?”
“I heard you’re dating the Marquis of Hyland. I have to prove that I’m better than him.”
“I’m not! I’m not dating him!”
Edgar’s movements, swatting away my flailing arms as if they were annoying, suddenly stopped. His eyebrows knitted together.
“You’re not dating?”
“Yes!”
“Really?”
“Really! I’m only pretending we’re dating because he asked me to help him!”
At my desperate shout, Edgar’s demeanor abruptly brightened. He stepped back with his hands up to shoulder height and picked up the dragon mask lying on the floor. Despite having thrown it there himself, he carefully blew off and brushed away the dust from it. It was absurd.
“Alright, I was just messing with you; I’ve been wondering if you two are really together, but I figured you wouldn’t tell me if I just asked.”
Soon, the mask, with a slightly chipped horn tip, was back on my face. As he wrapped his arm around my neck and fiddled with the strings, the lost amusement returned to his eyes and lips. Just moments ago, he had been toying with an innocent girl—though I had resolved to become an active asshole, I still wasn’t ready—and now he looked as if he was having a great time, which made him all the more infuriating.
“You asshole. Are you seriously toying with people?”
After fumbling with the cute ribbon knot and making sure it was secure, I kicked Edgar’s shins with all my might.
“Ouch. Did you put a piece of metal in the nose of your shoe?”
“I’m going to add blades and poison next, so look forward to it.”
“Oh, scary.”
Edgar hummed as he picked out the crab meat from the salad bowl I had placed on the railing. I suppressed the urge to shove him off the balcony, reminding myself of my gratitude for his generous donation. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck me.
A man whose only assets were his looks and gold coins—how would he fare in a casino? With the Nadon royal family’s wealth, catching those three elusive leprechauns would no longer be a dream.
“Edgar, what are you doing tomorrow? There’s a place I really want to go with you.”
“Wow, are you trying to seduce me?”
“No! Why do your thoughts always go in that direction?”
“I have a schedule tomorrow that would be difficult to miss. Bryce’s birthday banquet. But with you begging like this, I’m starting to waver.”
“When did I—wait, it’s Bryce Nadon’s birthday? Doesn’t that make it your birthday too?”
“Is it?”
Edgar’s response was nonchalant, his words trailing off lazily. He really acted like it was someone else’s affair. After all, he was his brother’s sword and had to impersonate him in official settings. In other words, while there would be a celebration for Bryce Nadon, there would be no banquet for Edgar Ramos. If he did this every year, it was no wonder he treated it like someone else’s business.
But that shouldn’t be the case. I believed hardly anyone disliked celebrating their birthday. For example, on her birthday, Cynthia, the darling of the Villard estate, had to be congratulated by everyone she knew. If even one person passed her by without greeting her, she would be overcome with great sadness.
Edgar didn’t seem like the type to be devastated by not receiving birthday wishes, but he would surely be a bit happier if he did.
While gauging the time by looking at the shape of the moon, I pulled a voice recording and playback device from inside the folds of my dress. There was a recording of the cheers I’d planned to play in case the fire show I’d organized was met with an overly chilly response. Without hesitation, I pressed the record button.
“Edgar Ramos!”
“Huh?”
“Happy birthday!”
“What?”
Edgar looked at me as if I had lost my mind. Ignoring him, I triumphantly held out the device to him.
“Listen to it later, after twelve.”
“Did you record it?”
“There are some amazing cheers in there too.”
With uncharacteristically careful movements, Edgar wrapped his hand around the device I handed him. Soon, he smiled with an embarrassed smile and then said this.
“It’s the best birthday present.”
***
When I returned alone after seeing off the genius wizard, who was excellent at teleportation spells but not capable of reciting motion sickness spells, I happened to run into my cousin Jodie.
“Get over here right now, Ariel Dalton.”
“Does my mask have my name on it?”
“No. But anyone who knows you would immediately think of you when they see that fire show. You should be grateful that your only acquaintances in the capital are your relatives.”
As I fiddled with my mask, a sudden wave of lethargy overcame me. So, after Edgar Ramos, I let Judith Green kidnap me without any resistance. We left the banquet hall and walked together along the path leading behind the fountain visible from the ballroom.
“Why on earth didn’t you tell me in advance!”
As soon as we reached a secluded spot, Jodie snapped. Her sharp voice hurt my ears.
“Tell you what?”
“That you’re the ‘Anonymous Viscount’s daughter,’ for God’s sake! They say a quiet Manticore strikes first, and its true! How long has it been since you broke up, and you’re already dating? And with Prince Spencer, no less? Does Aunt Lisa know?”
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