“Hey, what’s your name?”
“I don’t have one.”
Clearly, the empress didn’t give a name to her chess pawn. Tsk tsk, I clicked my tongue and called him a name that came to mind.
“Your name is Lumian from now on.”
“…Lumian?”
Lumian, who had blinked blankly, jumped up excitedly when he heard his name for the first time. Three snakes jumped out of his mouth, claiming to be Lumian and fighting and hitting each other on the body.
“My name is Lumian!”
“No, you aren’t!! It’s me!”
“My name is!”
Nobody intervened to stop the escalating brawl. Nanabi and Sihael just stared at them, as if it were nothing new.
It seemed I was the only one who could stop this fight.
“Stop! From the right, you are Lu, Mi, and An. Okay?”
The monster’s eyes twinkled when I split the name as a temporary measure.
“I am Lu!”
“I am Mi!”
“And my name is An!”
When I saw Lumian, a demonic monster, clapping and jumping with joy over something so insignificant, I shook my head and covered my forehead.
‘No matter how good-looking he is, his behaviour is not within my acceptance level.’
The sight of the three snakes joyfully dancing and shaking their bodies was difficult for me to accept.
“If at all possible, Lumian, don’t come out as a snake.”
“Yes, yes!”
While nodding his head excessively, Lumian slipped the snakes back into his mouth. Hearing his responses felt good. Unlike Shasha, he listened to me well. I also liked how quick-witted and obedient he was.
“Get out of the way.”
Sihael threw an ecstatic Lumian at Nanabi and sat down next to me. In a sulky tone, he said,
“You’re being too nice to him.”
“Even though I have taken him in, are you okay with it? After all, Your Highness, this guy was aiming for you.”
“I’m not okay, but I can’t help it since you seem to care about him.”
It was natural for him to be uncomfortable with Lumian. It would be safer and better for Sihael to cut Lumian’s head off and get rid of all the aftermath.
“The empress used him to clobber you, right? Then I will have to release him back to the place where he used to live.”
“I don’t care about it. I was your only dog, but now some snake bastard has crept in. It’s extremely irritating.”
‘Didn’t he say he didn’t like being called a dog?’
I couldn’t decide which rhythm to follow. Sihael, who was glaring at Lumian with venom, smiled beautifully as he noticed my eyes on him.
“However, I believe I am the only one you should adore.”
I nodded, my gaze drawn to his charming features.
* * *
After I had fully recovered, I went to the baron’s office for a walk and to look over the business.
“My Lady, are you all right?”
I shrugged my shoulders at the baron who ran towards me with a surprised face.
“Yes, I took a good rest. It only felt like I had a minor cold”
Even after seeing my cheerful face, his concern did not fade.
I know he is worried about Rosetta becoming ill from the poison, but there is really nothing to worry about. I am quite hale and hearty now.
I sat down, blocking the baron’s gaze, and immediately brought up the main topic.
“We are going to the Imperial Capital with His Highness.”
“I heard from the young master.”
It was actually Lanoa’s decision, but I quietly decided to follow it. I had previously been hesitant to travel to the capital because I did not want to interfere with the original story and also did not want to be associated with the Empress.
But now that the Empress was after me and saw me as her adversary, I didn’t have to keep an eye out for her. Besides, as Lanoa had mentioned, I had no idea when she would send another monster to bother me.
So staying within the duke and his wife’s fences in the capital was much safer. My goal was to live a safe and peaceful life. Things had gone wrong after meeting Sihael, but my ultimate goal had not changed.
“My Lady, if you don’t mind, why don’t we show Asila’s work ahead of time at His Majesty’s birthday banquet?”
“At the banquet? I think my coming-of-age ceremony is enough.”
“I believe it would be better to show them ahead of time. It’s a birthday banquet, so not only will all the nobles of the capital attend, but also the nobles of each region. If we show it then, we will certainly get a good result.”
True, but…. I had no intention of attending the birthday banquet.
But the Baron also had a valid point. The Emperor’s birthday banquet was one of the biggest events, and it was attended by even the nobles from the outskirts. There was no better way to advertise Asila’s work.
“Well, the baron is already going there, so do I need to go?”
I made it seem that I didn’t like it. It was not because of the empress, but simply because I found it tiresome.
“Of course, because you have a great influence in the capital, it has to be you, young lady, to have a proper publicity effect. Who would like it if a boring old man did it?”
Baron… …don’t say such sad things. And it’s well known that the influence the baron was referring to was in fact horrendous…
It was clear that the wizards and nobles would rather gossip from afar than approach us.
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