‘How many appointments have I made in one day?’
There were even three appointments scheduled for tomorrow alone. Besides those, there were more than just a couple of other commitments.
I had written down the appointments I made before I forgot them in my notepad. Looking at the neatly written schedule, I felt a sense of nostalgia.
Unconsciously, a faint smile appeared on my face.
“…I didn’t know they would like me this much.”
Rather than liking me, I thought they would dislike me. After all, I had become a nobleman and carried all sorts of gossip with me. That’s why I prepared myself mentally in my way before attending the tea party.
From situations where they talked among themselves excluding me, to openly mocking me. I pledged to myself that I wouldn’t be intimidated and would handle everything well, no matter what happened. But now that I was being welcomed like this, it felt like I had returned to my childhood.
A strange excitement tickled my chest. However, I quickly regained my composure.
‘The central nobles were as fickle as reeds. They probably pretended to be close to me to figure me out.’
So, the next day, I went to my appointments with a lot of tension. Despite that, they seemed eager to become close to me. It was evident from the way they showed special interest and listened to whatever I said.
‘Why are they going to such lengths?’
I wanted to ask for the reason, but we weren’t close enough to engage in trivial conversations yet, so I kept my mouth shut.
It was when I walked around the city until my feet hurt. Erin asked me out of the blue.
“By the way, Siara, what is your relationship with the High Priest?”
Harin, who was standing next to me, also chimed in.
“The young boy who accompanies you everywhere is called the Administrator, right?”
“Oh my, Siara, your connections are amazing.”
They looked at me with sparkling eyes.
Finally, I felt like I knew why they were treating me so well.
‘Yeah, I don’t see why they’d like me for no reason.’
The names of Adandito and Hierian are quite remarkable. Moreover, I, unexpectedly, stayed in the palace, so they must be very curious about the reason. The things I enjoy are so remarkable that they could be called privileges.
Originally, not all central nobles had territories near the capital. Among the central nobles, some had territories farther from the capital than Astita. However, what set them apart was that they had personal mansions in the palace.
Having a personal mansion in the palace required the emperor’s permission. That’s why those who had palaces in the capital were called “central nobles.”
In other words, when other nobles came to the capital, they had to find separate lodgings or be invited to the mansions of these central nobles.
However, while I continued to stay in the palace, I had a splendid network of relationships and even carried gossip. Everyone was curious about my true identity.
‘In reality, it’s because I couldn’t find other lodgings.’
Anyway, I didn’t need to tell them all the trivial details, so I calmly replied,
“We just happened to become friends.”
“By chance? I have a favor to ask the High Priest that I’ve been waiting for since last year…”
Erin had a gloomy expression. It seemed like she wanted to ask me for something, so I cautiously asked,
“If you don’t mind, would you like me to tell him?”
“Uh, is that okay?”
“Of course.”
“Then may I send something to be blessed to where you are staying? My sister’s body is very weak and she wants to get a blessing.”
Such a heart-wrenching story. I nodded understandingly.
* * *
The item Erin mentioned was delivered to the quarter where I was staying the next day. What she sent me was a pendant with the family crest engraved on it.
Thanks to the favor I asked Adandito right after parting with her yesterday, he obediently accepted the pendant. Then, with a subtle frown, he turned to me and asked,
“Siara, didn’t you say it was because her younger sister is frail and she wanted to request a blessing?”
“Yeah, is there a problem?”
“…It’s nothing. By the way, can I personally return this pendant to her?”
Although I wondered if there was a need for him to do so, I thought Erin would be happy if Adandito took it himself.
‘Her younger sister, who was sick, would also be pleased. And it might help with her illness if she receives the blessing.’
I readily nodded. Then, Adandito got up from his seat.
“Well, I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll go now. I’ll also give blessings in the prayer room. Oh, Hierian. I bought the peanut chocolate you asked for from the store earlier, which is quite hard to find. Let’s go together.”
“Huh? Me?”
Hierian seemed taken aback by the sudden invitation, but then he quickly realized something and stood up.
“Wow! That’s extremely hard to find! I’ll go and get some for Siara, too!”
With that, the two of them hurriedly left the room. I waved goodbye to them. The room, which had been bustling with noise, quieted down, and a wry smile formed on my face.
“…Seems like something interesting happened with the pendant.”
Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to hastily leave the room to deliver a blessing gift that wouldn’t take even a minute, and bring Hierian along as well.
* * *
Adandito walked toward the prayer room.
The prayer room, prepared for the imperial officials assigned to the palace, was quiet as there was no one there due to the festival.
s soon as the prayer room door closed, Hierian, who had been following Adandito and shouting “chocolate~,” froze with a serious expression. He swiftly snatched the pendant from Adandito’s hand and furrowed his brows.
“What is this shoddy magic?”
“I don’t know what kind of magic it is, but she brought it all the way here.”
“Good, because Siara seemed happy to make friends.”
Hierian released the concealment magic on the pendant. They had disguised it as an ordinary accessory to prevent anyone from recognizing the magic placed on it.
“I wonder if it reveals how poorly hidden the concealment magic is. Only fools would use it so carelessly.”
Hierian carefully traced the flow of mana. With his skill in tracking magic, he could read the events associated with the object. In other words, he could find out what kind of trickery was hidden within.
It was something that only a Grand Mage would be able to do, but it was as easy for Hierian as twisting a child’s wrist. As he quietly read the memories, a smug smile formed on his lips.
“Heh, how trivial.”
“What’s the matter?”
“It just cast a surveillance magic on Siara, out of curiosity about her lies and her relationship with us.”
“To doubt Siara like that, they must be unforgivable scoundrels.”
“That’s right. And…”
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Hierian continued.
“I thought I might find some weaknesses as well.”
“To use that as an excuse for prying is impure.”
Adandito chuckled. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. But to Hierian, that was a familiar face, so he injected a fake image into the pendant and smirked.
“After pretending to be virtuous after the suppression, you’ve finally returned to your old self.”
“I was indulging in a dream until now.”
“A dream?”
“That’s right. Anyway, did you handle Erin without her noticing?”
“Of course. But you still have to personally deliver the blessing.”
Hierian handed the pendant to Adandito. Adandito received it without much enthusiasm and mumbled with an indifferent expression.
“Oh, divine beings, bless the wearer of this necklace with eternal light.”
Golden divine power glittered as if filling the prayer room, then it was absorbed into the pendant and disappeared. Whatever the reason, the pendant had received the blessings of the central nobles. Adandito tightly clenched the pendant in his hand, and an unpleasant sound came from the collision of the pendant chains.
“Anyway, we should go get the chocolate now.”
* * *
Adandito and Hierian returned not long after. True to their conversation, Hierian held a box of chocolate in his hands.
Excitedly, Hierian hopped over and sat next to me, offering the box of chocolate.
“Ta-da! I haven’t opened the packaging yet because I wanted to eat it with Siara.”
Adandito also sat on the opposite side and showed me the pendant. It emitted a faint divine power.
“We performed the blessings in the prayer room. I put a lot of effort into it, so it should bring benefits to her younger sister. I will deliver it as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.”
I gazed at the pendant in silence. It didn’t feel particularly strange, and it was filled only with Adandito’s divine power.
‘Is he not going to tell me anything?’
I wondered.
It would have been nice if he had told me at least some of what had happened. It always felt like I was left out when it came to important matters.
Should I express my disappointment?
While contemplating, Adandito looked at me with a questioning expression. Seeing his nonchalant expression as if nothing had happened, it seemed like he truly believed that I wouldn’t know anything.
‘If I don’t say anything, nothing will change.’
So, I opened my mouth and spoke to Adandito.
“What happened with the pendant? It wasn’t under some curse or anything, was it?”
“…Why would you think that? We were just because of the chocolate—”
“Oh, right. The chocolate.”
I accepted the chocolate that Hierian offered and murmured.
“The chocolate is delicious. But I’m tired now. I’m going to rest.”
Erin, Harin, and the others seemed curious and eager to get to know me. But it was okay. They had just learned about me.
‘But not you guys.’
Moreover, they had regained their memories of the suppression. Yet they still had conversations without me and left me out of important matters.
I turned away from them, swallowing my disappointment. Then Adandito called out to me.
“Siara.”
“…What?”
“Do you already know everything?”
“…”
As we fell into silence, Adandito placed his hand on top of mine and spoke.
“There’s no need to be upset. They’re just incapable of understanding the extent of their actions.”
“…I’m not upset because of them.”
I looked at them and said,
“There’s no need for you to lie, pretending to consider my feelings.”
