IWIAHC Chapter 32

Aiden turned his head and asked:

[Why?]

"Oh, it's nothing."

She hastily suppressed her laugh.

'Last time it was like a puppy, now a cat? What's wrong with my eyes, thinking such things about a grown man...'

Aiden stopped bothering the crate and resumed watching Lily. The gaze felt burdensome, so she spoke lightly:

"By the way, is there anywhere you'd like to go? I can take you not only around the castle grounds but to the village as well. Oh, or would you like to tour the estate directly? Shall I mention it to the aide?"

[Anywhere?]

"Yes, anywhere at all."

Lily spoke confidently.

[Then take me to the annex prayer room.]

"Ah..."

She quickly revised her previous statement.

"Anywhere except the annex prayer room."

Aiden stared at her intently.

'Wh-what...! He's insisting even though he knows perfectly well it won't work!'

Though she thought rather boldly inside, lest their eyes meet, Lily deliberately organized luggage at a distant spot.

The annex was a remote building reached by walking briskly for fifteen minutes from the main building.

Its surroundings were neglected to the uttermost limits, leaving the landscaping a mess. The building itself was shabby compared to other parts of the ducal castle.

According to what Lily had heard from a senior maid around the time she'd just been employed, in the very distant past it had been where a lord sent an estranged wife.

Perhaps for that reason, the annex wasn't visited by maids except under special circumstances.

It was the perfect location for the Emperor's soul to stay.

[So you're going to leave me out again? You left me behind when moving the talisman too.]

"Calling that 'leaving you behind' seems a bit inaccurate, doesn't it?"

Aiden didn't reply. A surreptitious glance showed him with arms crossed, displaying his profile with a deeply displeased expression.

After the false Emperor departed, the ring had been moved without incident. It was thanks to drastically reducing the time spent holding the ring through the so-called "pick-up-and-throw" operation.

This method was based on very clear logic.

The point was that possessing the ring meant getting caught up in accidents. In that case, wouldn't one only need to hold it for the briefest moment? Without giving any curse-like thing time to activate.

The role of making contact with the ring had fallen to Wolfram. While he donned gloves, Lily opened the window and checked outside. Then, timing it when no one was about, she gave him the signal and Wolfram hurled the ring out the window with all his might.

After that it was the same. Pick up the ring, throw it, pick it up, throw it...

At first everyone harbored half-formed anxieties, but after trying it a few times, its safety became certain. After that it was lightning-fast.

The flaw was that finding the fallen ring proved somewhat bothersome. Lily had to widen her eyes and scan the estimated landing area, searching for the ominously creeping aura.

However, what had truly been most awkward were the deliberately averted gazes of people they happened to encounter.

Wolfram concealed his humiliation and acted dignified. As for Lily, she behaved as though unconnected to Wolfram's actions.

Of course, it hadn't been particularly effective.

'Lily, what on earth were you doing with the aide that evening?'

On her last night in the quarters, Marie had been unable to contain her curiosity. Lily had laboriously concocted an answer:

'Mmm, the aide suddenly said he wanted to test his arm strength...'

'Arm strength? I heard you were throwing some ring around?'

'Right. He was testing how far and long he could throw a ring. Strange even to you, isn't it? He could have just done push-ups, but instead he made me stand beside him and search for the ring. The hobbies of nobility are utterly incomprehensible.'

It had been a wretchedly poor excuse. As expected, Marie looked entirely unconvinced, but kindly nodded anyway.

Lily had the premonition that Marie would likely file an additional report to the head maid regarding Lily Dienta's abnormal symptoms.

Truly a memory she wanted to erase from her mind. Lily bit her lip hard and said:

"His Majesty's urgent priority is regaining stability, and to that end, it's best he not encounter Your Grace. It's certain, seeing how his condition recovered somewhat the moment he left his lodgings and distanced himself from Your Grace."

[So you plan to go alone from now on?]

"That does seem necessary..."

[To so boldly declare a tryst.]

Lily nearly jumped in shock.

"A tr-tryst! How can you use such an unseemly word?"

[You're saying you'll meet Julius alone, in a place without me. Isn't a secret meeting called a tryst in one word?]

"What kind of tryst involves giving notice before going!"

[You're not telling me what conversation you'll have, or how you'll persuade him. It's as good as a tryst.]

Though the tone was gentle, the content resembled the remarks of a man suspecting infidelity. However, Lily, having her own guilty conscience, failed to notice this and averted her gaze while making excuses.

"That's because the plan isn't fully finished yet. Once I've organized the plan completely, I'll tell Your Grace then."

Aiden changed tactics, cajoling her with insinuating speech.

[I was planning to trust that you'd tell me soon and wait. I'm sorry I couldn't wait until the end. But you can't lie. You've already thought it all through. Why won't you tell me? Are you afraid I'll object? Even so, you should at least share it, Lily.]

Despite the thoroughly reasonable arguments, Lily kept her mouth firmly shut.

'I'm sorry, but even if heaven splits in two, I cannot tell you, Your Grace the Duke. As if I'd be mad enough to say I'm planning to use a honey trap?'

After a long silence, Aiden let out a deep sigh.

[Haah...]

He turned his head and ran one hand through his hair. Then he spoke in an old-fashioned manner of speech she hadn't heard in ages.

[I shall go take some air.]

He actually went outside.

Left alone, Lily stared at the door for a moment. Then, feeling that merely looking was somehow insufficient, she hovered near the door.

However, she couldn't quite bring herself to chase after him, and eventually returned to organizing luggage.

Uneasy feelings were uneasy feelings, and work was work.

It was some three or four hours later when Lily finally straightened her back. The study had been tidily arranged so it could be used starting tomorrow if needed.

Aiden still hadn't returned to the room, whether he was still taking air. Lily scratched her head. She hadn't expected him to be this petty.

They were fundamentally in an interpreter-and-foreigner relationship. True, there was the peculiarity that the foreigner's "foreign" referred to another dimension rather than another country.

In any case, returning to basics, there was no obligation to do absolutely everything together or share 100% of the thoughts in her head.

Of course, she wasn't ignorant of the attachment one might feel toward the only person who could see oneself.

'But still... isn't this a bit excessive? Almost childish?'

Only now did something catch her attention that she'd been too busy thinking about various things to notice before. Duke Aiden's dependency on Lily Dienta—was this degree acceptable?

'Oh, forget it. It's not like I can do anything about it anyway.'

Lily rolled her eyes once.

It was time to carry the crates out to the corridor to finish the cleaning. She opened the door and turned around, only to come face-to-face with Aiden standing right beside her.

"Eep!"

She was so startled that she dropped the luggage she'd been supporting with one hand. It was a stroke of tremendous fortune that her toes weren't crushed.

This was the first time since their initial meeting that she'd been so alarmed at seeing him.

His expressionless face darkened upon seeing such a reaction from Lily. It felt as though she'd committed some grave sin by making a fuss at the sight of him.

However, even setting aside his being a ghost, anyone would be flustered to open a door and encounter someone unexpectedly. Instead of such explanations, Lily stammered:

"Wh-when did you arrive?"

Without answering, he glanced at the tumbled crate and entered the study.

Reading the atmosphere, Lily stacked the crates against the corridor wall. She moved the remaining ones from the room likewise.

The work finished faster than expected, and she closed the door hesitantly.

[Sit.]

He indicated a chair. Only belatedly did she realize that beneath his coldly settled expression, the eyes looking at the chair glowed.

Come to think of it, when he'd looked at the crate on the floor earlier too, he'd had those eyes...

Aiden clenched his fist hard as he withdrew the hand that had pointed at the chair. He looked as though he were cursing with his eyes, fury having reached its peak.

When such a man sat across from Lily, she swallowed dryly.

'A one-on-one interview with an angry superior. I might actually faint.'

What Aiden would say was as obvious as fire. He'd press her immediately to divulge her persuasion plan. He'd say he'd give up on going along, so at least tell him what she intended to do.

The basic principle of negotiation: give and take.

'Should I just tell him? His Grace's patience looks precarious too... No. If he finds out, he'll probably explode even more. I'll show him with results.'