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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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“I have a fiancé(e) in the Clover Kingdom.”
River’s words were shocking.
So shocking that Amy and I stared at her, speechless, for about ten seconds.
“W-what? A fiancé(e)? Right… someone like Seymour probably has a fiancé(e)…” Amy glanced at me.
She was curious if I had one too. “I don’t.”
I had one before, but it was cancelled as soon as it was discovered that I couldn’t grow.
I met her once. It was so long ago that I couldn’t remember.
Engagements were common among nobles, to strengthen ties. And love was usually not a component.
River’s expression was confirming, it was a business agreement.
“He’s an old man, much older than me. It seems they asked for me when my family had a problem. They’re coming from the Clover Kingdom, and I was afraid he would show up… I wanted to get stronger.”
The fact that it was an arranged marriage was clear. The current heads of the Seymour family, River’s parents, were not the type to sell their child for money.
Something bigger was involved. ‘I read all the stories and yet I’m still surprised? I want to strangle the author’
There was no such thing in the original story, so it was likely that this was a character that would cause problems later.
‘The Clover Kingdom becomes a puppet state for the Devil’s Church in two years… This is something that I probably would’ve missed.’
They must have been trading with the church and then fell victim to it.
“I was being impatient. My fiancé(e) is not someone from the Academy. I was just being silly.”
River laughed awkwardly. She must have been embarrassed.
“What’s so scary about a wrinkly old man! The one-on-one duelist who defeated the Flame Sword?!”
“Ugh…!”
I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer. River was startled, her face flushed.
“Don’t worry. I keep my promises. I’ll make you a high level Expert, in a few months. You won’t be intimidated by some old, potbellied noble.”
“You’re good with words…”
She pouted. But she didn’t seem angry.
“…Thank you for telling me.”
“No problem. I feel relieved after saying it.”
The mood had lightened up. They smiled and laughed for a while, before parting ways.
‘A fiancé(e).’ That was the clue. It was unlikely to be a normal person. He was the one who had helped when the Seymour family was in danger, it was a very fishy situation. I’ll have to start investigating that connection.
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I snuck out early before lunch. I was enjoying tea with Shara Frigia, in one of her private rooms.
It was a secret, unused room, perfect for private meetings.
I had said that there should be no one else present. She was a very dangerous person to be alone with. She had attacked me before, and almost succeeded. This girl was dangerous.
“Do you like the tea, Sponsor? It’s a special blend from the Great Forest.”
Shara smiled, pouring tea into my cup.
Her smile, like that of an angel, was only reserved for me. The tea was dark green, the color of Professor Praha’s potions.
I ignored it, and said, “Next time, serve me the regular tea, I don’t like the elven ones.”
I knew how expensive that tea was, but it was tasteless. Elven tea tasted like grass. It was like the tea from the Great Forest. I almost died. They must be drinking it because they are used to it. People in this world preferred human tea.
“I… I’m sorry, I didn’t know…!”
Her face turned pale, as her hand started to tremble. She seemed scared.
She quickly stood up. “I’ll… I’ll clean it up!”
“No, don’t. ”
I wanted to taste it but she was already holding the cup, her hands shaking.
The tea spilled, staining my shirt, and my pants. But she had seen me at my worst, this was nothing.
Her skirt was also stained. If the other nobles saw her, her reputation would be ruined, she was so careful with herself.
I grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “You don’t have to stain your own clothes.”
She stood up and looked at me, with teary eyes. I grabbed her hand. And looked at her small, trembling fingers, they had traces of the tea, but there were no injuries.
I had to make sure that she would be okay if not someone would have another reason to blame me.
“Atlas…”
Her hands had stopped trembling, and her eyes were now focused on me. ‘She likes this kind of thing, doesn’t she.’ She was easily scared, but she also seemed very happy when she was shown some kindness.
“Let’s get to the point. Shara, I need your informants.”
“Informants?”
“Yes. You’re good at that, right?”
She had a network of informants, I had seen her sending assassins.
“Yes… If it is for you, then I will not disappoint you.” She was happy that I needed her help.
“I need information. About the students who will be participating in the student exchange from the Clover Kingdom, and I need information about River’s fiance(e) from the Clover Kingdom.”
“Is that all you want?”
“Yeah.”
She was nodding, completely devoted to the task, a dangerous glint in her eyes.
She suddenly hesitated. “If I do this well… will you reward me…?”
‘A reward…?’ What reward did she want? I had to be careful, just in case she wanted something extreme. “I… I’m sorry, I went too far…” She was probably expecting me to ask her to do it for free.
I had to reward her, after all, if she did well. It was her own skills that earned it.
“It’s fine. If you do a good job, you will be rewarded.”
“Yes…!” She smiled innocently. I had to think about what to do to reward her.
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