Chapter 50

Request

The general consensus regarding Noel Astrea Simus while she was on duty was, to put it nicely, no more than “dedicated to her work.”

She strictly separated business from personal matters, prohibited small talk during work hours, and handled everything efficiently and rigidly.

She didn’t abuse her authority or throw tantrums, so it was hard to call her a bad superior, but if one asked whether she was the kind of boss one could grow emotionally attached to, most would tilt their heads in doubt.

After all, when someone’s too uptight, it’s difficult to feel close to them.

As a person, she must have had bad days or days when she didn’t feel like working, but Noel during work hours always operated like a machine, performing the same way without fail. While one might admire her for that, it wasn’t easy to feel close to someone like her and that was human nature.

In that regard—

“Noel, are you alright?”

“Are you feeling unwell anywhere—?”

“If something’s wrong, you should go rest—”

The fact that everyone was taking turns saying this to her was almost unheard of.

She answered every word as if something was weighing heavily on her, her face was oddly flushed all day, and cold sweat was dripping down her body—it was enough to worry anyone who saw her.

“…I feel like I’ll end up saying something horribly embarrassing if I let my guard down even for a second.”

“……”

“So, Mr. Aiden, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak to me unless absolutely necessary.”

When he asked what was wrong with her, that was the reply that came back.

‘…Come to think of it.’

Wasn’t the first time something like this happened also because of Aiden?

Noel shot a look at Aiden filled with a strange sense of grievance, but it wasn’t like Aiden himself was doing any better receiving that gaze.

‘What do I do about this?’

Aiden, breaking out in cold sweat just like Noel, had that very thought.

While she often appeared eccentric or even downright otherworldly at times—she had never once faltered when it came to work.

Wasn’t it Noel who crossed swords with the Warden of the Realm just because she saw it as her duty?

…At this point, the effect of the potion that was troubling her so much was starting to seem terrifying.

The only silver lining was that the potion Noel had just bought from the Point Shop and drank came with the description that its effect duration was short, so this state probably wouldn’t last too long—

-System Message

▶ Time remaining for the ‘Lowest Grade Random Potion’ effect on ‘Noel Astrea Simus’: 14 hours!

“……”

So, not exactly that short after all.

Potions sold at the Point Shop had proven to be surprisingly efficient in many ways—if you excluded the fact that their effects were completely random.

…The problem was that, at the moment, it wasn’t exactly a welcome situation.

‘If this goes wrong, won’t it become a serious issue?’

If it had been anyone else, people might’ve just shrugged it off as someone acting drunk all day and left it at that. But the problem was, of all people, the one who drank it happened to be someone who regularly came face-to-face with all sorts of dignitaries as naturally as breathing.

If this state continued and she happened to commit a serious faux pas, it could easily escalate into a major diplomatic incident…

“……”

In that case, he had no choice but to take decisive action.

Aiden took a deep breath and stepped closer to Noel, bringing his face close to hers—so close that she flinched and instinctively recoiled.

“Noel.”

“-”

The moment their eyes met, Noel clearly lost her breath, then quickly squeezed her eyes shut and spoke.

“-Mr. Aiden. If you come any closer, I’m going to punch you.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Because, compared to the other impulsive urges I'm having, that one would be the most decent.”

“……”

“Please. Don’t let me do anything weird to you.”

…It was honestly scary to even ask what she meant by that.

And though he did feel a bit guilty after hearing her say that—

He couldn’t just leave her like this.

“Noel, let’s go.”

“–What?”

He was fine with getting punched.

There was no way he could just leave her like this.

Katya Heinkel Craven had been in quite a foul mood lately.

…To be precise, her emotional ups and downs were almost entirely dictated by Aiden Kellermain, and recently, they hadn’t been interacting much.

‘He went on about earning points and all that.’

She found herself recalling the annoying face of the Pontiff, who had abruptly taken off to the Holy Crown Kingdom not too long ago.

In truth, she had been the one to handle all the critical aspects during the fight.

She’d planted the Subjugation Pillar, saved Aiden when he was on the verge of death, and even supported him as they withdrew from the area at the end.

The outcome of the battle didn’t matter much, but she had cared far more about Aiden’s safety than that lion-hearted guy.

And yet—

Lately, Aiden had been far more focused on other things than paying attention to her.

He’d been wandering the library reading bizarre books like “The Ecology of Beasts” and “Beast Studies,” running around all day doing basic physical training that didn’t even suit him, studying how to maintain swords and guns…

“……”

Come to think of it, they were all somewhat productive activities but regardless, Katya found the situation utterly unsatisfying.

‘Why is he wasting time on pointless stuff like that!’

If something dangerous came up, Katya would take care of it anyway. That’s what friends were for!

Instead of doing that, he could at least spare a moment to give Katya a compliment—

‘…Oh, right. He did give me one.’

—Well, he could give her a few more, at least. And what harm would it do if he cut down the time he spent with that annoyingly smug Lionhearted, who was even more insufferable than the Pontiff, and spent more of it with her?

Unfortunately, Katya was not someone who knew how to hide her emotions from her face. As a result, everyone she came across in the Capital Government Office was visibly startled and turned around the moment they saw her.

Before long, rumors spread around the office that Katya looked ready to kill someone. Not that she particularly cared.

…What was approaching her now, however, was definitely something she should care about.

Aiden was dragging Noel by the arm, pulling her somewhere. Even at a glance, it was obvious he was trying to take her somewhere specific.

Katya’s face twisted in an instant.

‘—What the hell.’

Leaving her behind, he looked like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Resentment boiled up in her chest. She had the sudden urge to storm in between the two of them, scream her head off, and forcefully separate them.

She might’ve actually done it too—if not for the thing that made her freeze.

It was Aiden’s expression, especially the way he looked while pulling along that Lionhearted woman. His face was stiff and unusually grim.

And the Lionhearted being dragged behind him looked not just red-faced but practically ashen.

There was no romantic mood to speak of…

“……”

Her instincts spoke.

Those two were about to have a serious conversation.

With that gut feeling, Katya unconsciously curled her lips into a sly grin and masked her presence.

‘A serious talk from the Lionhearted, huh…’

She didn’t know exactly what it was, but it felt like the kind of thing that would be really useful later when she wanted to get under that woman’s skin.

…Though they hadn’t gotten into an open fight recently, the fact remained that she and Noel still had a tense relationship.

She trailed behind them in secret, and just as they reached a deserted area, the Lionhearted violently yanked her hand free from Aiden’s grip.

As if holding hands with him even for that long had been a horrible ordeal.

—The drama was about to begin. Katya rubbed her hands together, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

“I told you already—I’m in a state where my mouth is incredibly loose right now—!”

“If you have something to say, then say it. Even if it’s embarrassing, I’ll listen.”

And Aiden said that without the slightest trace of irritation.

His whole demeanor radiated the kind of presence that said, no matter what she said, he wouldn’t mind.

“After all, we are married, aren’t we?”

“……”

“I doubt anyone would find it strange for you to say something like that.”

At those words, Noel blinked blankly.

She looked so shocked that even her strained restraint—holding herself back to carefully choose her words—vanished in an instant.

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

It was a process to trace back the source of that shock.

The conclusion came to her quicker than she expected.

‘Déjà vu.’

…Come to think of it.

That had been exactly how Noel used to act.

Back before she developed any particular feelings for him, she thought—we’re married anyway. They had agreed to this arrangement together.

This kind of thing was just part of the “contract.”

Because he and she were bound by a fake marriage.

“……”

The moment she realized that again, Noel’s eyes darkened deeply.

As soon as she became aware that he was still framing their relationship in that way, her mood took a sharp nosedive.

To be more precise—

She was upset.

Very much so.

And then, pure white qi burst from Noel’s entire body.

“W-Whoa? Noel?!”

Even Aiden sounded flustered at the sheer intensity of it. It looked like she was about to enter combat at any moment.

No, actually—

Aiden had plenty of opportunities to deal with qi himself, and he had observed the techniques of none other than Meyer, the greatest martial artist of the era.

But the force Noel was emitting now was by no means inferior. The determination in her eyes alone was that of a general heading into battle—utterly resolute.

“…Huff—!”

And then she did something utterly absurd—perfectly matching that intense energy.

Instead of manifesting that qi into some kind of combat form, Noel shoved it all inward, deep into her own body.

Then, as she stabilized her breath and circulated the qi throughout her entire body—

The clear liquid she had ingested began to drip from her fingertips.

She had gathered and drawn out the entire substance of the liquid circulating through her body and expelled it externally.

‘—Good heavens.’

That reaction came instinctively.

She had already consumed the potion, and it had spread throughout her body—yet she had identified only the drug and forcefully expelled it?

To do something like that—exaggerating just a little—it would require a level of focus and calculation akin to controlling every single pulse of every cell in the body.

It was a feat worthy of a true knight, extracting only the specific “color” of qi. But the real question was—

‘…Why go that far?’

Wouldn’t the drug just be naturally expelled from the body over time anyway?

At most, she might’ve ended up saying a few embarrassing things and that would’ve been it. He hadn’t expected she’d go so far as to exhaust herself with such a terrifying act just to avoid that.

And clearly, it had taken a serious toll on her. Noel was gasping for breath, visibly drained.

Her entire body was drenched in sweat. Her face was bright red, her breathing was ragged.

…In a way, she looked worse than when she was under the potion’s effect. But that wasn’t just because of the exertion of purging the potion from her body.

“You said… if I had something to say, I should say it.”

Yet, contrary to Aiden’s thoughts—

This was something she had to go through.

Because what she was about to say had to be her unfiltered truth.

With a clear mind, of her own will, she had to convey her thoughts in a way that left no room for misunderstanding.

“Yes. I will.”

But, even now, the words wouldn’t come out. Just moments ago, the sentences had felt like they’d leap out the moment she opened her mouth but now they wouldn’t form into sound.

The emotions returning to her—

Self-restraint, embarrassment, shame, worry, and anxiety—pressed down on her like a weight.

Her mouth opened and closed again and again. Her heart pounded; her mind went blank.

Every organ in her body was probably screaming, “Don’t do it.”

Just turn back and walk away. Don’t ruin the fragile relationship you’ve barely managed to maintain.

But still—

“Aiden—!”

“…Yes?”

Oh.

Oh no.

What was with her now?

The look in her eyes was no joke. If she suddenly declared she was off to assassinate the Crown Prince, it wouldn’t even be surprising. That’s how intense her expression was.

While Aiden stood there sweating nervously at the sight, Noel gathered all the energy remaining in her body, as if to hurl it out from deep beneath her throat.

“With me—!”

It looked like flames were blazing in her eyes. She was grinding her teeth so hard it wouldn’t be surprising if they cracked.

“Tomorrow!”

And it was only natural for her to be that intense.

“Would you have dinner with me—!”

Taking the first step away from “contract” and toward something “real.”

For her, it undoubtedly took that much courage.

“……”

And Aiden’s mouth fell open as he grasped the meaning behind her words.

“……”

…And Katya, who had been secretly eavesdropping nearby, grimaced.