While Seraphie and the others stared intently at the feathers, Orkis alternated between looking at Eks and his muddy dog with disbelief.
“…What’s with that mess?”
“Is that how you speak to a prince?”
“I wasn’t talking about you. I meant Rara.”
“Huh? Aah, this?”
Eks had been playing in the garden with Rara, as evidenced by the dog’s dirt-streaked paws and snout.
“Woof!” At the sound of its owner’s voice, Rara wagged her tail enthusiastically.
“Sorry, Countess,” Eks pointed to where they had been playing. The grass was torn up, with holes in the ground resembling mole tunnels.
“It wasn’t me, though. Rara did it.”
“Woof woof!”
“And of course, her guardian will take full responsibility.” Eks lowered Rara to the ground, and the dirt-covered puppy ran back to her owner. “My apologies.”
“I’ll fix it later with magic…”
“It’s fine,” Seraphie said as she placed one of the three remaining feathers into one of the holes nearby.
Rara curiously tilted her head and then used her little paws to cover it with dirt.
“Smart dog,” Seraphie said, crouching to pet the puppy. The dog’s wet snout sniffed at her hand.
“Rara got excited when she saw those,” Eks said, pointing to the animal-shaped ceramic figurines scattered throughout the garden.
In the well-maintained garden—at least it was fine before Rara’s rampage, the figurines, resembling rabbit on its hind legs and a squirrel hiding an acorn under a tree, gave the garden a lively feel, though they were, of course, just decorations Seraphie had carefully placed.
“How charming and cute.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
The compliment was directed at Seraphie, but the one who felt proud was Lunie.
“By the way, Your Highness…” Seraphie began.
“Just call me Eks.”
“What brings you to this place?”
“I was bored,” Eks responded.
Seraphie thought the excuse was absurd. For someone claiming to be a carefree prince, visiting a place that held a treasure of the gods didn’t seem like something done out of boredom. It was like believing that her estranged father had regained his sanity.
“Well…” Even Eks wasn’t really expecting anyone to buy his excuse. “I heard you messed with Count Mars.” He straightforwardly revealed the purpose of his visit. “The Mars family supports the crown prince.”
At that, Seraphie gently massaged her temples. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before this would give her a headache.
“They’re the one that provides the most political funds for my older brother.”
“…”
“Countess is smart, so I’m sure you understand the implications.”
“You overestimate me.”
Seraphie didn’t bother stifling a laugh, and Eks didn’t point out it was rude either.
“…Your Highness,” Seraphie said, standing up with Rara in her arms. The puppy rested her head against her chest, wagging her tail quietly. “I apologize for causing you concern.”
Seraphie kicked some dirt over the hole where she had buried the feather, pressing it down with her feet,
That pink-haired old man… Did he really run off and tattle in that short moment? More than shocked, she found herself impressed by that man’s swiftness.
Either way, this confirmed it. I’ve fallen out of favor. No—if only she had just fallen out of favor, that would’ve been better. I’ve been marked. The fact that Eks had come to warn her, despite only meeting her once, was proof enough.
By opposing Count Mars, she was indirectly coming under the scrutiny of the crown prince’s faction. While the emperor still held power, the crown prince’s supporters were the most influential group in the empire. This wasn’t something from the original story—this was knowledge Seraphie had gained from her experience in this world.
The Katio family, who had sent her a proposal; Lady Tipeon, who dared to provoke the crown prince’s fiancée; and the Mars family, who had tried to burn down Lunie’s shop. Everything that had tormented and obstructed Seraphie in her earnest attempt to live properly had been tied to the crown prince.
“…”
Seraphie preferred peace above all else.
She raised her gaze from the garden’s lush greenery and looked to the sky, her eyes stinging from the sunlight. Underneath slowly blinking eyelids, her eyes darker than the sky shimmered.
Until she could return to her original world, she sincerely wished that no war—as written in the original story—would break out.
“I won’t make an enemy of the Mars family.” Seraphie finally said, meeting Eks’s eyes. “I don’t have the courage or the will to do so.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way…”
Kyaaaa! Suddenly, a scream rang out from behind them. Seraphie and Eks turned back to the pavilion in alarm.
“Woof woof!” Rara barked loudly and buried her face in Seraphie’s chest.
“Se-Sera!” It was Lunie who had screamed, looking shocked, as did the other two at the table.
“Hold still.”
However, the first to approach Seraphie was Orkis. His face was filled with concern as he wrapped an arm around Seraphie, pulling her close.
Caught off guard, Seraphie clamped her lips shut, trying to suppress a scream. Her cheek pressed against the fabric of Orkis’s shirt, and the neatly buttoned seams came into sharp focus. Seraphie squeezed her eyes shut but cracked them open just enough to see Rara happily wagging her tail between them, her tongue sticking out.
“The feathers…”
Orkis slowly released his grip, revealing three feathers in his hand. Seraphie’s eyes widened in shock, her entire body tingling as if all her hair were standing on end.
“…T-They weren’t there?” Eks said, equally surprised.
Earlier, Seraphie’s back had been completely clean while she was playing with Rara.
We burned one earlier, and another was buried…” Eks pointed to the spot Seraphie had just covered, and Seraphie immediately dug into the soil with her hands. Orkis helped, and Rara eagerly joined in.
But the feather was gone. At the table where Peonia and Lunie sat, the ashes from the burned feather had vanished in the blink of an eye. Yet of the original four, two still remained—and the three now found on Seraphie’s back, making five in total. It had increased by one more.
“…”
Seraphie, still dazed, placed his hand on Orkis’s arm, which was still supporting him.
“Lord Felicia,” Seraphie said softly, though Orkis’s eyes were already focused on her.
Despite being startled by the feathers, Orkis seemed more concerned with Seraphie’s well-being, which oddly reassured Seraphie.
“Darling.”
Orkis made the dumbest face of his life at the sudden term of endearment.
“…!” Even Eks looked more shocked by this than by the appearance of the feathers.
“Focus,” Seraphie whispered in a low voice. “We agreed to pretend we’re dating after that incident, didn’t we?”
“T-That’s…” Orkis, barely regaining his composure, stammered. “Do we really have to do this now?”
They had agreed to fake a relationship to deceive the crown prince’s circle.
“It’s better to get into the habit now. Let’s not be awkward.”
“That’s a terrible habit to develop.”
“Don’t ruin the mood.”
Seraphie’s strength began to wane as she spoke.
“Hold me up a bit longer, Darling.” With that voice—one devoid of even a speck of affection. “I think I’m about to faint.”
And then, for the first time since arriving in this world, Seraphie lost consciousness. The constant stress and the eerie feathers had finally pushed her over the edge.
* * *
It was on the day Seraphie and Count Mars were to renegotiate their contract.
“Have you been well?” Count Mars greeted her with his usual boisterous, energetic tone.
Today, they were meeting to renegotiate the contract to distribute the god’s treasure due to the Mars family’s ‘trust-breaking’ actions. Count Mars’s overly casual demeanor was suspicious. In fact, his behavior had a clear purpose. He was trying to downplay the seriousness of his family’s mistakes.
“Haha, you’re looking well, Countess!”
“Are you feeling unwell?”
But the response that came back was chilling.
“Do I look well?”
As she said, Seraphie slumped in her chair, her face twisted in a grimace as he leaned against the armrest, clutching her throbbing head.
“As much as I look unwell, Count Mars, you seem exhausted too.”
“…”
“Well, it’s understandable,” she said, saying she understood. Given the situation, Seraphie slowly straightened her hunched posture.
“…Haha.”
Count Mars forced a laugh, but something felt off. No matter what, she wouldn’t break the contract on the spot, right? She had clearly told himself not to worry—that there’d be no major consequences. That’s why Count Mars hadn’t been too concerned about today.
“Well, it’s just that I’m worried about my runaway daughter…” Count Mars hastily added, “How is Lunie? I’ve been concerned about her, as well as the shock to you and Lady Felicia…”
“For someone who says that you haven’t reached out to ask, though.”
“…”
“Well, never mind.”
Seraphie assumed he’d been too busy—busy running off to snitch to the crown prince. Of course, he had no time to check on his daughter or her friends.
“Since neither of us is feeling well, let’s get to the point,” Seraphie said.
“Ha, haha…”
Count Mars’s forced laughter cracked, much like his increasingly strained expression. His bulky frame seemed fragile under the weight of the situation, and he was beginning to realize that things weren’t going as expected. What truly humiliated him, though, wasn’t the unexpected turn of events.
To think I’m being humiliated like this…! Having to grovel in front of a woman the same age as his daughter—there was no greater disgrace. But if things go wrong…
What truly frightened Count Mars wasn’t Seraphie but the crown prince’s involvement. The crown prince had been keeping a close eye on this situation, displeased with the loss of the god’s treasure, and resented Seraphie’s allegiance to his mother, the emperor. If today’s renegotiation resulted in any loss to Mars, the consequences would be severe.
“…” Count Mars swallowed nervously.
“Here is the revised contract with the new terms.” Seraphie slid the contract across the table.
With trembling hands, Count Mars put on his glasses and carefully examined the document. But something was off.
The contents haven’t changed…!
Hello, Alyalia is here~
Some of you might be wondering where I had gone to for the two past weeks. Sorry guys, I was on vacation and didn’t bring my laptop with me. I had made announcement in the discord and kofi about it though, but figure it out late that most of you probably hadn’t join. It was dumb of me to forget make announcement in the website too o(╥﹏╥). Anyway, I’m back now. The update schedule will be the same as before.
Oh right, one more thing! I found some comments asking for the discord link. If you go to our home page, you will find the sentence ‘Join our Discord Server’ at below if your in phone (at right if you’re in laptop). You just need to click the banner below that sentence and voila, you joined the our discord. I hardly recommend it to join just in case something like this happen again in the future.
That’s all I have to say, thank you for reading it~
If you enjoy the story, please leave a review in the Novelupdates. Thank you~
