“Sir Alte was famous as a genius knight. Although he excelled in educating his successor, he was admired by knights for his swordsmanship. Clearly, he was not a less competent person than Lady Frittil.”
Considering Annecy Bethelgius’s standards, 99% of the world’s people were incompetent, so it wasn’t a convincing story for him. Annecy compromised with a profound expression.
“Public reputation is not the same as true character.”
“And although it’s not about me, there are some rumors about you that you might need to address. Should I tell you?”
Rumors about him were all the same. Since he had already heard those that could negatively impact his politics through Kolabe, Annecy nodded without much thought.
However, as Goyo began to speak and suspicions about his sexual preferences were brought up, Annecy found it difficult to maintain a calm expression.
After Goyo finished speaking, there was a brief silence.
“…So, what did you say?”
“I said, since we’ve kissed, I argued that you’re not gay.”
“‘Since we’ve kissed?’ ‘Argued?’…”
“Since I don’t know the full story, I can’t make definitive judgments.”
Was she teasing me? Even as he looked into his wife’s face, Goyo Bethelgius’s expression was as calm as ever. Her almond-shaped eyes were devoid of any humor, and her thin lips were not curved.
In fact, Goyo seemed to genuinely believe that this might be true.
Annecy’s lips quivered slightly. They’ve kissed multiple times, yet she still considered that possibility?
For the first time, the innocent-looking brown eyes became irksome, causing Annecy to pull his lips into a thin smile.
“Then, I suppose I’ll have to make it clear.”
Annecy grasped the back of the chair where Goyo was sitting with one hand and took hold of her pale face with the other, pressing their lips together.
As their lips touched, a breath slipped into her open mouth. The intense and intimate scent made Goyo reflexively grasp Annecy’s shoulders.
The longer the heat exchanged, the harder it became to breathe. Her once pale face gradually flushed red.
Although she could take shallow breaths through her nose, Goyo’s breathing became so strained that short gasps were barely enough.
Finally, just as her hands, which had been gripping his shoulders, began to push him away, their lips parted.
Goyo hastily took in a deep breath. The cold air entering her lungs felt foreign, making what had just happened seem even more obscene.
‘This is completely different from last time.’
Could this even be considered a talent?
Annecy laughed as he watched Goyo frown slightly while trying to catch her breath. His own face was also flushed, but since he could breathe more easily, the color was much fainter compared to Goyo’s.
“Do you still think it’s something you don’t know about?”
“…But we’ve kissed before. There’s no need to force yourself to convince me.”
Forced…? What exactly does my wife think of me?
Annecy could now truly understand the dull and common sentiment that trust between a husband and wife is crucial.
“I can’t even force myself, Goyo. Just imagining kissing Kolabe…”
He could vomit everything he ate three days ago.
Before he could finish his sentence, there was a sound of something falling.
When the couple turned their heads in unison, they saw a shocked face. It was Kolabe Perroto, with his slightly droopy eyes and somewhat raccoon-like appearance.
Kolabe met Annecy’s gaze and quickly covered his mouth as he began to back away.
“I apologize!”
Kolabe picked up the dropped file and quickly disappeared as if he was sprinting.
Watching him, Annecy smirked coldly.
‘The day has come to take his head.’
“It seems there was a misunderstanding just now…”
“He’s doing it on purpose. He’s always looking for an opportunity to upset me. These days, it’s hard to tell who’s in charge.”
“Oh, you had a good relationship with Viscount Perroto.”
“…Is today Kolabe Perroto’s day? I feel like I’ve been mocked all day.”
Goyo had only mentioned that they had a good relationship, yet Annecy spoke of being mocked. As she looked at him with a puzzled expression, Goyo quickly found a new topic to change the subject.
“You have lipstick on your lips, Annecy.”
Looking where Goyo’s gaze was directed, Annecy immediately knew where the makeup had smudged. However, instead of wiping it off, he feigned ignorance and asked, “Where exactly?”
“It’s smudged below your lips.”
“Here?”
“No, to the left. A little more left, you’ve gone too far.”
As Annecy’s finger continued to miss the mark, Goyo, seemingly frustrated, pointed to the smudged area with her hand. At that moment, Annecy took hold of Goyo’s hand and brought it to his mouth.
A soft kiss touched the inside of her palm, surprising Goyo enough to pull her hand away.
Smiling at her startled expression, Annecy used his thumb to wipe away the lipstick stain from his mouth.
“Thanks to you, it’s gone now, my lady.”
Seeing his now clean lips, Goyo realized that she had been tricked again.
* * *
Sitting in his office, keeping an eye on the door, Annecy finally smiled when it opened.
“Get down on the floor, Kolabe.”
Whether or not he understood the command from his superior, Kolabe, who had not yet grasped the situation, obediently dropped down, his body recalling the discipline from the battlefield.
“Let’s not show our faces until my anger has subsided.”
“Could you consider my feelings as well?”
“If you know it’s not going to work, it’s better to keep your mouth shut.”
His pettiness knows no bounds. Kolabe grumbled internally, thinking that Annecy’s heart was too small to even fit a single bean.
“I’ve already mentioned it, so if you don’t file a complaint, it could damage the madam’s reputation.”
“Is that really necessary? We could just brush it off later…”
“Do you think I’ll overlook the fact that you hinted to Goyo that there’s something between us?”
“‘There’s something between me and the Marquis’… So that’s what this is about.”
Though he had once laughed off rumors about being gay or having no sexual desires, this was the first time he’d heard such a rumor involving himself. Kolabe’s expression turned cold.
Although their focus was slightly different, both master and servant were equally angry.
“Exactly. At this point, a lawsuit might be the only way to restore the Marquis’s dignity.”
“And Goyo’s too.”
“…Yes, for the madam’s dignity as well.”
Even though they had decided to proceed with the lawsuit, Annecy still felt uneasy.
He considered getting rid of Frittil but quickly shook his head. The time wasn’t right.
Annecy Bethelgius’s outward appearance was best when it seemed like he was a wealthy upstart whose resources weren’t all that solid, a promising newcomer with a bright future but still too green, and a middling noble who could be mentioned as the next leader of the aristocrats but hadn’t grown enough to be truly feared.
A seemingly harmless middling noble would gnaw at the enemy’s heart without appearing too dangerous. Until then, it was crucial not to reveal what lay beneath his skin.
If he took care of Marquis Frittil, a key figure of the conservative faction, the caution against him would instantly rise.
Moreover, Duke Rubiette had already been casting appraising glances his way from time to time, so provoking him and raising suspicions was out of the question.
‘But I can’t afford to be underestimated either, so for now, I’ll just deal with Renier.’
Having reached a conclusion, Annecy gripped the armrest of his chair in frustration. The armrest twisted and deformed instantly.
“What was the reason you came here earlier? Surely it wasn’t just to mock me? A suicide attempt?”
“Please don’t say such dreadful things. It was to report on Mathel. But I decided to postpone it when I saw the madam present.”
“You were quite quick to find out. Fine, stop playing the obedient dog and give me a proper report.”
How could someone manage to grate on a person’s nerves with every single word? Trying hard not to grind his teeth, Kolabe stood up.
He picked up the documents he had brought into the office and handed the file to Annecy.
“We secured a testimony that a woman with gray hair was spotted at the Port of Forshendo. Based on that testimony, we investigated further and found that the woman with the broker was indeed Mathel.
She had settled in a small town in Albre, but her trail suddenly went cold. However, we confirmed that she changed her appearance with the help of another broker, and the last place she was seen was in Rudban. In Rudban, there’s…”
“A portal spot set up by brokers. A large gate for illegal entry, crossing borders.”
So, what’s next?
“We haven’t yet determined her whereabouts after that. However, we do know that the portal the unidentified woman used branched into three paths. Loranth, Aragon, and Solaris.”
“She returned to this country?”
“I believe there must be a reason why she chose a distant location instead of using the closer portals connected to Loranth and Aragon.”
Did she hide under the wings of the dragon, or was that also a disguise?
Annecy stopped himself from overthinking and smiled thinly.
She wasn’t that clever of a piece of trash.
“Deploy all available intelligence networks in Solaris to track her down, and get the full details of the broker she connected with.”
After quickly scanning the documents one last time, Annecy handed the file back to Kolabe.
One more thing.
“You’ve taken care of Count Eliom, haven’t you?”
“I disguised it as a suicide. I caused a fire to make it appear accidental, so the body couldn’t be identified. There should be no further issues.”
“No issues, you say… Kolabe, do you know who visited the estate today?”
Seeing his superior smirk, Kolabe knew what he was about to say. Kolabe Perroto had also had his suspicions when he learned about the guest Goyo had brought, so it was no surprise that Annecy shared them.
“When investigating Count Eliom, I confirmed that he had no contact with his children.”
“So do you really think Rajin Eliom just happened to attend the same tea party as Goyo, happened to see her using magic, and then, like a child, excitedly approached her? Is that what you think?”
“It seems she has attended Vermus’s tea parties before. I haven’t confirmed anything about the magic, so I’ll investigate further.”
“Bring me the information within two days.”
Two days… Kolabe replied with a strained “Yes,” his face turning more sour by the minute.
Annecy, unconcerned about his subordinate working late, sank into thought instead of dwelling on Kolabe’s disheartened expression.
His elegant fingers absentmindedly tapped the deformed armrest. The image of Rajin Eliom’s face flickered faintly in his mind.
“Are you certain she’s really a woman?”
“Sorry? Ah, yes, she is.”
“Not a man in women’s clothing?”
“If she were a man in drag, wouldn’t she wear more common clothing? Only wearing a uniform that makes it unclear if she’s a man or a woman is odd. It could be a woman disguised as a man, but if a man disguised himself as a woman disguised as a man… wouldn’t that make him a man? Or a woman?”
“Why don’t you try parting ways with stupidity for once?”
Kolabe shot a silent glare at Annecy, who clicked his tongue in open disdain.
“But why do you ask? Are you perhaps jealous?”
Annecy furrowed his brow silently, but his subordinate, much like his superior, didn’t hold back even when faced with a withering expression.
“As much as the Marquis is a perfectionist, I don’t think this kind of behavior suits someone with that trait. Putting on such an act might actually make your disguise more obvious. Constantly flirting and kissing like that… People might think you’re either a fool in love or putting on a show, but given your image, they’d probably lean towards the latter.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Do you like the madam?”
“You’ve finally lost it.”
Annecy’s voice was as cold as ice, devoid of any warmth, but Kolabe remained undeterred.
“Though I’ve never met Lady Chloe, I’ve heard that after you made that promise, your expression looked like rotten mold. Surely, you’re not being so kind to the madam out of affection?”
“Stop your delusions and come back to reality.”
“Affection…?”
“Yes. I’ve grown attached to her like one might to a pet. When the time comes, I’ll cut it off, so stop worrying and keep your mouth shut.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize you held the butler in such high regard. Do you… also want to kiss him?”
Even with the intention to overlook it, his subordinate had a knack for pushing boundaries to the point where overlooking wasn’t an option.
Though tempted to cause physical harm, Annecy refrained, knowing Kolabe still had much work to do. Instead, he opted for a more restrained approach, pulling out a white envelope with a smile.
“Kolabe, do you know what this is?”
“Huh? What is that?”
“It was your bonus just a moment ago.”
As Kolabe reached out in dread, Annecy tore the envelope to shreds before he could touch it.
“Voila, it’s gone.”
“No, don’t!”
Yes, it is.
Laughing at Kolabe’s dismay, Annecy burned the remnants of the envelope to ashes.
Now, only Annecy knew that the contents weren’t money but meaningless scraps of paper.
With a gentle smile towards his foolish subordinate, Annecy left the office.
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