“Why?”
“There is no problem with the event itself. I don’t like the organizer of the event.”
The host was, of course, the Empress, an enemy of the Grand Duke’s family. That meant that the Empress would also be there.
“There is a record of an attempt to harm you, a witch, by feeding you peppers at the Emperor’s last birthday banquet.”
“Yes.”
To her, she was a benefactor in the end, but when she looked at the process, her intentions were clearly evil.
“What are you calling me for this time? I don’t have a good feeling.”
“Actually, I don’t feel like it either.”
Of course, the reason she didn’t want to go wasn’t because the host was the Empress. The venue for the event was the Holy See.
“It’s far and…”
Moreover, the date of the event was three days later. She had to leave now to be able to attend on time.
“You have to keep picking peppers and drying them. If it rains, you have to quickly put it inside…”
She sighed and looked up to see Elliot avoiding her eyes and muttering.
“…I can’t promise to do that for you.”
“Hmm… Then what?”
* * *
For a new era of reconciliation and harmony. The banner of the event was plausible. The neutral imperial family takes the lead in reconciling the two powers that have been at odds for thousands of years for the peace of the empire. The intention was also plausible in the eyes of someone who didn’t know.
One day, those who received an invitation without notice and were forcibly called to the event looked confused, regardless of whether they were members of the Vatican or the Magicians’ Association. Since they had ears to hear, everyone had the same question, even if they couldn’t speak. Reconciliation? Unity? peace? Now you come? In a most peaceful time? In order to wash away the long-standing resentment accumulated over the history of the empire and promote harmony… The wording on the invitation sent by the Empress was also questionable. She had nothing to complain about, so why was the Empress saying it was hundreds of years too late? Her strength was fundamentally mismatched, and the Vatican still rules that magical power was profane. However, the hostility between the two camps had long since disappeared, to the extent that the Paladins also bought health recovery potions from wizards and drank them. In addition, it was perplexing that the person who was promoting harmony was the Empress. Hundreds of years ago, the imperial family was devoted to reconciliation between the two sides, but the current imperial family, including the Emperor, was a group that had no interest in wars taking place within their own country. She couldn’t help but be confused when the imperial family suddenly invites people who get along well without fighting to reconcile. Were they trying to extort money from the event in the name of donations? Had the imperial family become so impoverished? Everyone guessed in their minds about the Empress’s true intentions, but no one guessed correctly.
“What? You can’t come?”
The ‘crown prince’ sighed as he opened the letter, which arrived only before the event.
“What? Just because of the peppers?”
The woman had recently grown peppers, and she is concerned that the spicy energy of the peppers would absorb into her body and cause harm to those gathered at the event. So, she would not attend with tears in her eyes. It was an excuse she hadn’t even thought of.
‘This whole event is a trap just for that woman.’
In the end, her event was canceled just before the opening on the pretext that the Empress’s physical condition had suddenly deteriorated.
“Aaaah!”
The empress’s condition was really bad.
“I’m going to turn everyone into frogs!”
Lorraine let out a sigh of relief as she watched from behind her pillar as the witch, enraged at the news of her not coming, went on a rampage, sending her flag flying.
‘That woman, she looks dull, so I thought she would get over it easily, but it’s not easy. Did the quick-witted Grand Duke stop her?’
Clink!
As the vase flew at her feet and shattered, Lorraine pressed herself up behind the pillar.
“Tell me! She acts confidently, saying she can create the right time and place, and this is the only result?”
“There was nothing wrong with my plan.”
It’s not Lorraine’s fault that she’s weird, but she finds a good excuse. Just because she refused to attend, she couldn’t send soldiers to drag her away.
“It seems like they are wary of the ‘Empress’ because she mixed red pepper into the food at the last birthday party.”
So, the reason she didn’t come today is because it was the witch who planned it. But she couldn’t even put those words out of her mouth.
Thud! Wow!
The sound of things breaking became louder and soon quieted down. She glanced beyond the pillar and saw the witch staring out the wide open window, her fists pressed against the windowsill, grinning. A black forest stretched out in the distance outside the window.
“I can’t take it anymore. I have to go to the cabin right away.”
“That’s dangerous…”
“Shut your mouth!”
The moment the witch pointed her finger in this direction, a beam of green light shot out from her fingertips.
“Omg!”
As soon as she ducked behind the pillar again, a light passed by her and she darted through the open window on the other side.
Quack! Croak!
At that moment, a pigeon that was sitting on the window sill picking her feathers turned into a frog instead of Lorraine.
‘I can’t leave it like this.’
Lorraine let out a weary sigh.
* * *
As she was about to enter her room from the hallway, she stopped. During the day, Elliot, who was usually in the office or training hall, was walking straight from the end of the hallway. She only realized it when he got closer. His shirt and pants were covered in dirt.
‘It looks like he’s going to take a shower after training.’
When Elliot found her and shook his hand, she held someone else’s hand and shook it, not her own. He immediately narrowed his eyes and asked:
“What are you doing with my past lover?”
The hand she was holding and shaking was Lulu’s.
“To find out about my lover’s past.”
She asked, lowering her head to the rabbit doll she was holding in her arms.
“Miss Lulu, was Elliot a good boy?”
“No. He was a mischievous person who would sneak out at night by climbing the balcony pillar without the adults knowing.”
The moment she ventriloquized Lulu’s voice, Elliot’s eyes narrowed even further.
“Giselle told me. I know not to leave you alone.”
Elliot came up to her, muttering wildly, and he asked.
“Why Lulu?”
She turned Lulu behind her and showed her tail. The stitches on her buttocks beneath her tail had burst and white cotton was sticking out.
“Oh no, you need surgery. Lulu, I hope you get well.”
Elliot stroked the rabbit doll’s head as if to comfort her, and he lowered his head towards her. It was now a natural behavior. Maybe that’s why he thought about it only after he did it. He asked, pausing just before their lips touched.
“Did you eat?”
It meant whether he ate red pepper.
When she kissed him not long after eating, Elliot paralyzes his holy power for half a day. Although he had no need to use his holy power in the peaceful Grand Duke’s residence, he was dissatisfied, saying that he could not sense her traces.
“No.”
Grinning, the soft curved lips moved down again and stopped again.
“Oh, I’m the problem.”
Elliot wiped her dusty lips with the back of his hand and he took a step back toward his bedroom.
“Have a good time with your girlfriend and see you later.”
She went into her room and headed straight to the cabin. She found a sewing box in the storage room and sat down at the table.
“Don’t be nervous, patient. It’s a simple surgery. I will do my best to perform the surgery beautifully.”
As she was threading a needle and talking to the doll lying on the table, the lady lying on the sunny carpet raised her head and glanced at her.
[He is so… Should I be proud of playing well on my own, or should I be worried about playing like a child until I get older?]
“Beef jerky.”
[Oh my, our Hazel is great.]
[What is this? Are you eating?]
Daisy showed great interest, asking if I was eating it, as she did every time I brought something out.
“No, this is Luca’s rabbit doll. The seam was torn, so I brought it to have it sewn again.”
Luca has grown to the point where he no longer needs to sleep holding a doll. Still, she did not throw it away and always kept it carefully by her bedside. Because it was a keepsake that still bears traces of her mother. It was an object that you only occasionally dust, but do not touch. Still, as it has aged for a long time, her cloth and thread have worn out, making her doll fall into place on its own. As she watched, she felt sad and decided to work on the doll with Luca’s permission.
“Is this color the most similar?”
She sewed the cracked area tightly and firmly with thread of the same color as much as possible. As the thread became tattered, she also reattached the buttons that had become loose.
“Okay, that seems like a good idea.”
As she looked with pride at the now stronger doll after repairs, she felt like something was missing.
“I feel empty…”
She clapped her hands while looking intently at the doll.
“Ah, Ribbon!”
When she first saw Lulu, she had a yellow ribbon tied around her neck. Then one day, she took Lulu on a picnic in the forest and lost her ribbon. Luca said it was okay, but it still bothered her.
“Do you have a yellow ribbon at home?”
She searched everything from the sewing box to the closet and warehouse, but there wasn’t even a yellow ribbon, let alone anything similar.
“Hmm… Do you want to stay in town? What?”
It was time to get ready to go out.
Hee hee hee!
The sound of a horse neighing loudly was heard outside.
“What’s going on?”
She looked out the window.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on February, 10.
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