WTBHI 40

Chapter 40

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After finishing a late breakfast that doubled as lunch, Gremory was pulled into the garden by Isollen for tea time. Isollen watched as Gremory crunched away at a goat bone and asked,

“Mori, are you really not interested in pretty gemstones?”

“Yeah. They just seem like clutter.”

“They’re not as bad as you think. Having at least one is fine. Wait here a moment.”

Isollen got up, removed her emerald necklace, and stood behind Gremory. She gently fastened the necklace around Gremory’s neck.

“How does it feel? Super awkward?”

“Not as cumbersome as I thought.”

“Great! Then it’s yours now. You wear it.”

“Why? You always wear this one. I thought it was your favorite.”

“When you give something precious to someone precious, it becomes twice as special.”

Beaming, Isollen sat back down. Gremory stared at her, trying to read between the lines.

“You really enjoyed seeing me make a fool of Kenneth Ortega, didn’t you?”

“I did. It was so satisfying. And… thank you.”

Gremory put down the goat bone and looked down at the gemstone. Her eyes sparkled as she admired it.

“…Thanks to you too.”

“Haha! You saying that with those sparkling eyes—so cute!”

“There’s so much pretty stuff in the human world.”

“Kenneth’s gem was probably fancier than that one, though.”

“It had something dark and sticky all over it. Wasn’t pretty at all.”

“Dark? It looked spotless to me. Maybe I missed something from far away.”

“So you were spying.”

“Hehe.”

A warm spring breeze drifted past them. Gremory absentmindedly watched the light green leaves rustle in the garden.

Isollen, basking in the breeze, suddenly declared with solemnity,

“Hm. Spring has truly arrived. Which means… the Imperial Banquet is near.”

“Oh, right. The banquet.”

Gremory dug up that old memory. She’d started etiquette lessons because of this banquet. Chesion, still recovering from spider venom at the time, had asked her to accompany him as his partner. The Emperor and Crown Prince had also promised her a grand reception.

She still didn’t quite understand what the banquet was, but it seemed like a very big deal for everyone in the manor.

“Sigh… That damn Oriennite is going to be the hot trend at the banquet, isn’t it? And since we offended the Ortegas, we’ll be the only ones showing up without any.”

“Probably.”

“Still, we shouldn’t lose confidence. My family’s gemstones are pretty decent too.”

Gremory stared at her. A faint dark aura swirled around Isollen.

Despite her confident words, she was clearly worried about being mocked.

“Isollen.”

“Yeah?”

“You gave me something pretty, so I’ll give you something pretty too.”

Gremory clenched her fist tightly. A faint red energy gathered, and when she opened her hand, a gem even more brilliant than a ruby appeared.

“Whoa! What is this?! How did you make it? It’s so beautiful!”

“I can make one in green too—like your eyes.”

She did it again. This time, the gemstone sparkled a brilliant emerald green. Isollen was instantly captivated.

Any human would be. The gem was a crystallization of a witch’s power.

Gremory grinned proudly.

“That’s a witch’s gem. It can charm people’s hearts.”

“Wow, that name fits perfectly! Thanks! When did you even prepare this?”

“I told you—it’s a real witch’s gem.”

“Yeah, yeah. I hear you. Hoho! I need to go have this set immediately!”

With that, Isollen gleefully skipped off to find a craftsman. Gremory watched her with satisfaction. The darkness around her had completely vanished.

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Every time Chesion received an invitation to the Imperial Banquet, there was something he had to do.

Check on his half-sister, Seaira.

Born of a maid, Seaira was despised by the Empress. Chesion had protected her until she was seven, but after his exile from the palace, Seaira had lived a lonely, painful life.

All he could do now was secretly confirm she was still alive whenever he got the chance. He had no authority to visit her, much less bring her out.

Confirming her well-being required a special operation. So Chesion gathered the right people for the job.

Sitting at a square table with two women—Isollen and Gremory—he made an important announcement.

“The banquet is in one week. As I told you before, I’ll use that chance to see Seaira. I’d love to rescue her, but this time I’ll likely only be able to check on her condition.”

“So what do you want me to do? Just smile and eat human food while pretending to follow etiquette?”

“Well, that too. But originally, Isollen was supposed to help me alone. Now that you’re involved, we’re upgrading the plan.”

“Okay, so what do I do?”

“You and Isollen will have a loud, dramatic fight for at least 30 minutes. While everyone’s distracted, I’ll sneak away to find Seaira.”

“That’s… surprisingly low-tech.”

Isollen nodded seriously in agreement.

“It may seem dumb, but it’s been refined through trial and error. If we’re too subtle, palace knights will get suspicious and block the way. But if we go over-the-top stupid, they’ll lower their guard.”

“I’ve never fought a human for 30 minutes. I don’t even know how.”

“Just do what you did to Catherine. And we’re going with a love triangle angle.”

“…You want us to fight over you?”

“It’s the most believable scenario.”

“…Why…”

Gremory had no say. Chesion pushed ahead.

“Seaira’s locked in the western spire. I’ll need at least 30 minutes to bypass security, check on her, and return. You two need to buy me that time by putting on the loudest, messiest scene imaginable. So starting today, we’ll rehearse daily.”

“I’m ready!” Isollen declared proudly.

“Great. Let’s start now.”

Isollen struck first.

“You lowborn tramp! How dare someone like you dream of standing beside the Grand Duke? Know your place! Go find yourself a man among the other uninvited losers!”

“What are you even saying, ugly? All bark, no use, and always drunk.”

“…!”

Isollen’s eyes blazed. But Gremory, trained by years of demonic insults, remained calm.

“You uncultured wretch! How dare you insult a noble!”

“You’re just a ‘count’s daughter’ with nothing else going for you. The only thing you’re good at is throwing tantrums and bragging about filing paperwork.”

“!”

Chesion was now fully invested. Even the maids in the hallway had gathered to eavesdrop.

“I thought we were friends! You knew I loved the Grand Duke—how could you betray me like this?!”

“I did know. But it wasn’t me who entered whose bedroom first.”

“!!”

“And I went in too. We spent the whole night together.”

“!!!”

“Honestly, seeing your face every day makes me want to vomit. Just go back to your precious count’s estate—or that witch’s cage where you belong.”

Isollen’s face turned beet red. Alarmed, Chesion grabbed her shoulders.

“C-Calm down, Isollen! It’s just a rehearsal!”

“AAAHHHHH!”

Overwhelmed, Isollen fainted. Steam practically puffed from her head.

“Oh no. Mori! You’ll have to tone it down at the actual banquet! At this rate, Isollen will collapse in five minutes!”

“Fine.”

“And please—try not to make your insults so… accurate. This is a play, remember? I don’t want your friendship to actually end over this!”

Chesion massaged his temples. This wasn’t going to last 30 minutes. They’d be lucky to survive ten.

It looked like the plan needed revision: Isollen and Chesion would act out the love triangle, while Mori infiltrated the tower to find Seaira.

 

After all, she was the “battle mage of the northern snows.” She could handle it.