EDTATO 08

Chapter 8

“You want to go outside the mansion?”

“My lady, your health is still rather weak.”

“Why don’t you have tea with us instead?”

“Or perhaps you’d like to look around the dressing room?”

By now, I had more or less finished familiarizing myself with the Grand Duke’s residence, and I wanted to explore the duchy.

But whenever I mentioned going out, all the maids somehow managed to block my every attempt to leave.

They seemed to be hesitating, as though waiting for someone’s permission.

Who could it be?

Other than the absent Grand Duke, the only people in this mansion who could give such an order were Payden or Ian.

Surely it couldn’t have been Ian.

Could that crazy High Priest, Payden, have been worried that I might cause some kind of trouble?

I bit down hard on my lip.

Then, while I was taking a walk, my body suddenly collided with someone’s chest and was stopped in my tracks.

It was Ian. I had no idea when he had returned. He had deliberately hidden his presence and approached me, apparently intending to surprise me.

“Heine, I’ve been looking for you.”

“Looking for me?”

Against the backdrop of the crimson sunset, Ian held out his hand.

“How about having dinner together? I’ve made a reservation at a nice place.”

“Oh, I’d love to!”

I immediately nodded at his invitation to go out together.

I couldn’t stop the bright smile that naturally spread across my face.

So I was only imagining that someone was trying to keep me confined to the mansion.

Besides, wasn’t Ian practically desperate to do everything he possibly could for me?

Even now, he was smiling as though he couldn’t contain his excitement at the prospect of going out with me.

I was particularly weak to that clear, innocent face of his, so I neatly folded away my faint suspicions and climbed into the carriage.

The place we went to was a restaurant featuring the course meals that had recently become fashionable.

Ian stepped down first and naturally offered me his hand, skillfully escorting me inside.

Spending a spring evening with him beneath a sky dyed purple, the colors spreading like paint, felt precious.

It had been so long since I had enjoyed walking upon warm, solid earth that, without thinking, I slipped my arm around Ian’s.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he soon gently ruffled my hair with his large hand.

He seemed to know very well that his gentle touch reassured me.

The restaurant doors opened with a welcoming smile from a pleasant-looking attendant.

Beyond the brown doors, the soft sounds of beautiful music, delicious aromas, and pleasant conversation drifted out.

“This way, please.”

The waiter politely extended a hand and guided us inside.

Ian and I walked together in a way that would have made anyone who saw us mistake us for lovers.

And then—

That woman is…!

Sticky, lingering gazes immediately clung to me.

I quickly moved my eyes around, taking in the faces of the nobles sneaking glances in our direction.

They were all trying to appear refined, but none of them could conceal their curiosity.

Some seemed desperate to find even the slightest flaw in me, but before long, they lowered their heads, having revealed their own defeat.

How cute. All of you.

It was unfortunate for them, but after experiencing death countless times over an unimaginably long period, this body could not even be scratched by petty jealousy.

“Heine, this way.”

Ian wrapped an arm around my waist and gently pulled me toward him.

Perhaps the excessive attention was bothering him. His expression looked as though, if possible, he wanted to hide my very existence from everyone.

I wanted to tell him not to worry because I was fine, but Ian shook his head first.

I’m not fine with it.

His face tightened with anxiety, yet the voice that eventually whispered softly into my ear was gentle and warm.

That single small act of consideration from him made all the surrounding sounds fade away.

“What about that young lady?”

A young man who was dining asked the middle-aged man seated across from him.

“Whom do you mean?”

The middle-aged man hurriedly wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked around.

The young man who had asked the question lowered his knife and gestured toward Heine.

“Over there. The one with Sir Ian.”

The middle-aged gentleman sitting opposite the young man rubbed his chin and followed his gaze.

As Ian and Heine, smiling affectionately and absorbed in one another, moved farther away, the middle-aged man narrowed his eyes for a moment.

Then he could no longer hide his excitement.

“Oh-ho! The lady with Young Lord Fortena… Could that be the young lady from the rumors?”

“The young lady from the rumors?”

Even as the young gentleman raised an eyebrow, the middle-aged man continued his explanation in an amused voice.

“You know, isn’t there quite a stir because of the rumor that Sir Ian suddenly brought a young lady who supposedly saved his life into the Grand Duke’s residence?”

There had even been rumors that she was merely a fabrication because the young lady had never appeared anywhere in high society.

But apparently, her health was quite poor.

It was even said that Payden himself, the High Priest, was personally tending to her with great care, and that everyone in the Grand Duke’s residence had already taken a liking to their young master’s fiancée and was treating her with the utmost devotion.

The middle-aged gentleman’s mouth moved without pause as he enthusiastically recounted the rumors circulating throughout society.

“I thought it was just gossip, but it seems the story about her being more beautiful than a doll really is true!”

His exaggerated excitement finally subsided as he spoke of something he had now witnessed with his own eyes.

“More beautiful than a doll…”

The young man dryly repeated the comparison, then glanced sideways with a soft hum.

It was impossible to tell whether he was intrigued or bored.

The young gentleman ran a hand through his golden hair while maintaining his cool, almost icy gaze.

The moment the two had passed by, everyone around them began quietly whispering.

“Did you see them just now?”

“Of course! I couldn’t take my eyes off them!”

“I saw them too! That was definitely Sir Ian.”

“I was so captivated by the young lady from the rumors that I almost forgot to breathe!”

“To call her merely a benefactor seems a little…”

“Right? They seemed awfully close.”

“Who would have thought Young Lord Fortena had such high standards?”

Even though Ian and Heine had already disappeared from sight, the surrounding tables remained busy whispering about the two of them.

The portly gentleman sitting opposite the young man was also thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere and continued chattering away like an excitable fool.

“If he had such a beautiful young lady in his heart, he should have announced it sooner. He never seemed to so much as glance at anyone who approached him.”

“……”

“Isn’t he Young Lord Fortena, after all? It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he’s captivated the young ladies of Bonasea—no, the entire nation of Ainz!”

“That’s right.”

The young man seemed bored by the subject. He casually rested his arm on the table and leaned to one side.

Only then did the middle-aged gentleman realize his mistake and hurriedly tried to wrap up his rambling.

“Ah, of course! Though I must say, there is an extraordinary gentleman sitting right in front of me as well. Extraordinary doesn’t even begin to describe you! Your appearance, character, abilities—you lack nothing in any respect! And besides…”

“That’s enough. You may stop there.”

The man’s hair was a cold, brilliant gold, like the moon shining on the coldest night of winter.

The smile beneath it was excessively beautiful—a carefully crafted smile designed to be liked by everyone.

As that smile slowly disappeared, the young man’s eyes, nose, and lips were undeniably handsome, yet cold.

There was something strange about the perfection born from that icy beauty, something unsettling about the languid air surrounding him.

His features were undeniably pleasant, yet there was something about him that made people instinctively tense.

The portly gentleman concealed his cold sweat with a few awkward coughs before lowering his voice.

“Lord Dekiel. As I’ve said many times, it is truly an honor to be able to accompany you today!”

The eyes of the man called Dekiel followed the trace of Heine, who had long since disappeared from view.

His gaze lingered obsessively upon the woman’s fading image, his irises red like the heart of a freshly caught beast.

“If this were not the Year of the Oracle, I would hardly have dared hope for the opportunity to meet someone of your standing like this…”

The middle-aged gentleman trailed off as he glanced around at the tables filled with nobles from every corner of the country.

The Year of the Oracle.

At the Ainzian temple dedicated to the god Kosejira, an important ceremony is held once every ten years, on the final day of the year, when an oracle is received and blessings are bestowed.

In accordance with this occasion, not only the dukes from across the country but nobles from all over Ainz had gathered at their townhouses in the capital, Bonasea.

Even though spring had only just begun, the entire capital was already buzzing with excitement as though summer had arrived.

“The Year of the Oracle… Indeed. This will certainly be a very important year.”

Dekiel smiled faintly as he picked up the fork and knife he had set down.

Juice seeped from the meat as he cut through it.

Although he lifted a piece of meat that he had no intention of putting into his mouth, his gaze remained remarkably languid.

He thought of Heine’s luxuriant silver hair.

And those eyes, exactly the same color as his own, looking sweet and tempting like bright-red fruit.

“More importantly, do you know the name of Sir Ian’s fiancée?”

The gentleman, who had been stuffing a large piece of meat into his mouth, hurriedly moved his jaw at Dekiel’s question.

“Her… Her name was rather unusual.”

The gentleman thoughtfully searched his memory, rubbing his chin.

What was it? What was it…?

After muttering to himself for quite some time, he suddenly slapped his palm on the table as though he had remembered.

“Heine!”

Dekiel’s eyebrow twitched.

“Heine?”

“Yes. I heard it was Heine.”

Dekiel set down his fork and knife and lifted his glass.

He slowly swirled the wine around, seemingly lost in thought, before taking a quiet sip.

Sensing his opportunity, the middle-aged gentleman leaned closer and asked in a falsely familiar tone.

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“Ah. I’ve found something I want.”

“What might that be?”

The middle-aged gentleman leaned closer, looking as though he were ready to procure and offer him anything he desired.

Dekiel subtly avoided him and sank deeper into the soft cushion.

His posture was more arrogant than even that of the Grand Duke who ruled this nation.

Wearing that arrogance as elegantly as an ornament, his red eyes shimmered vividly, as though they held fire within them.

“Something very… beautiful.”