Chapter 156 - 154

Chapter 156: Chapter 154

"DUKE VESPHYR!!!"

My voice echoed across the entire Renardon Estate.

A flock of birds immediately flew out of the garden trees.

Somewhere in the mansion, I heard someone drop a tray.

"..."

"..."

Not even three seconds later, the servants simply continued with whatever they had been doing.

One gardener kept trimming the hedges.

A maid dusted a window without even looking up.

There was a reason why they seemed to be immuned to my screams already.

Every single time I visited, Vesphyr had this terrible habit of unconsciously transforming into his beast form the moment he sensed my presence.

And every single time...

He would come charging towards me at full speed before enthusiastically pouncing on me like an oversized golden retriever that had been left alone for five minutes.

The first time it happened, I genuinely thought I was about to be mauled by a legendary beast.

Instead, I had been flattened into the ground while screaming his name at the top of my lungs.

The second time wasn’t much better.

By the fifth time, the servants had started placing bets on whether I’d stay standing for more than three seconds.

I never won.

Eventually, all of us, including the servants, developed a routine.

Before I even stepped inside the mansion, I’d yell his name as loudly as possible.

Somehow, hearing his name first seemed to snap him out of that unconscious transformation before he could sprint across the estate and tackle me into next week.

It wasn’t a perfect solution but it significantly reduced the number of surprise fox-related concussions I suffered.

The butler merely bowed politely as he walked past.

"Welcome back, Miss Blanca."

"Thanks!"

To an outsider, it probably looked insane.

To everyone living in the Renardon Estate...

This was simply the official announcement that Miss Blanca had arrived.

"My Lady."

Gawain’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Can you behave like a proper lady while we’re visiting someone else’s residence?"

"No," I rolled my eyes. "You didn’t teach me how."

"So that’s your excuse?"

"It is."

He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"And besides," I continued, gesturing toward the enormous estate, "I practically live here now."

"You absolutely do not."

"I know where the kitchen is."

Gawain let out a long sigh that sounded as though it came directly from his soul. "You’re still a guest."

"I don’t feel like one."

"The Duke is not your family."

I shrugged. "I treat my clients like family."

"..."

"...As long as they tolerate me..."

"..."

"...And can afford my rates."

Gawain slowly turned to stare at me. "So that’s the condition?"

"I have standards."

"They’re wealthy."

"They’re wonderful people."

"They’re wealthy."

"They’re kind."

"They’re wealthy."

"Successful business requires proper client relations."

"It requires you to stop adopting every rich household that feeds you."

"I don’t adopt them."

"You absolutely do."

"I simply become emotionally attached."

"To their wallets."

"To their personalities."

"The wallets come first."

"The personalities come second."

"..."

"...You’re hopeless."

I smiled. "I’m an achiever."

"Money-grubber."

"That’s called being realistic."

"You mean materialistic."

"Tomato, tomahto."

"Those aren’t even remotely the same words."

"They have the same energy."

"They absolutely do not."

I placed a hand over my chest. "I contribute to society."

"You charge society."

"They pay willingly."

"They don’t have a choice."

"They literally hired me."

"They underestimated the consequences."

"..."

Before Gawain could continue roasting my entire business model, the front doors of the mansion suddenly flew open.

A familiar white-haired man stepped outside.

"Finn!"

Finnian smiled the moment he saw me. "Welcome back, Miss Blanca."

I looked past him toward the entrance. "Where’s the duke?"

"His Grace isn’t here but Sir Sykelion is still here."

"Did he hear me announce my arrival?"

"...Yes."

I clasped my hands together expectantly. "So?"

Finnian pressed his lips together, clearly trying very hard not to smile.

"He said..."

He cleared his throat before flawlessly imitating Sykelion’s deadpan voice.

"Tell that walking headache I’m coming."

I gasped dramatically. "I’m deeply wounded."

"You’ll recover."

"My heart has been shattered."

"It seems to be functioning normally."

"I demand compensation."

"You already invoice us enough."

Before I could continue my performance, another voice came from inside.

"I thought I heard excessive noise."

Sykelion casually walked through the doorway, one hand tucked into his pocket.

The moment our eyes met, he sighed.

"...It really is you."

"What kind of greeting is that?"

"The truthful kind."

He stopped a few feet away before giving me a polite smile.

"Miss Blanca."

"Sir Sykelion."

"It’s a surprise seeing you here without being forcibly dragged over to fulfill your side of the deal."

I placed a hand over my heart. "...You’re hurting me."

"Am I?"

"I came here on my own."

"I noticed."

"I came here to do business."

"I noticed that too."

"And this is how you greet your duke’s favorite business partner?"

"I’ve greeted you exactly as expected."

I narrowed my eyes. "You make me sound like a tax collector."

"You appear just as frequently."

"I can’t believe you’d compare me to taxes."

"I apologize."

He nodded thoughtfully.

"Taxes are less noisy."

"..."

Finnian and Gawain immediately looked away although their shoulders were shaking.

"Anyways..."

I ignored his comment entirely before turning around and taking the black suitcase from Gawain as I set it down in front of Sykelion.

"Where’s the Duke?"

"His Grace was urgently summoned to the palace."

"Let me guess," I folded my arms. "The sudden increase in Rogue activity?"

His eyebrows lifted slightly. "You already know?"

"Yes. I just came from Soren’s estate."

"Figures."

Without another word, I pushed the suitcase toward him. "Then give this to him when he gets back."

Sykelion looked down at it. "...What’s this?"

"A present."

"..."

"...From you?"

"...Why do you sound suspicious?"

"Because you don’t give presents without charging an absurd amount of money from it."

"I am trying to be a good Samaritan, and you’re sabotaging my character development?"

Sykelion ignored me and picked up the surprisingly heavy suitcase. "...What’s actually inside?"

"I spent the last several days making a whole batch of energy stones."

His eyebrows rose. "...All of this?"

"They’re for the Duke. I probably won’t be able to contact him for about a month, so I figured I’d leave these with you."

"...He’s going to be very happy."

"I hope so."

He looked back at me. "...A month?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"I made a deal with someone."

"So where are you going?"

I immediately narrowed my eyes. "...Why do you want to know?"

"N-Nothing," He answered a little too quickly. "I was just asking."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"No ulterior motive?"

"...None."

"You’re acting suspicious."

Sykelion immediately straightened his posture. "...Have a safe trip, Miss Blanca."

I stared at him for another second before laughing.

"I will."

I turned around and waved over my shoulder.

"Tell the duke that I’ll meet him again when I get back from my trip."

"Yes Miss Blanca."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Northern Border

Hundreds of kilometers away near the northern border, the battlefield was a complete mess.

Rogues poured from the forest while soldiers and knights fought to contain them and standing on opposite sides of the battlefield were two very important men who received calls at almost the exact same time.

Soren answered first. "Mikael."

At the same time, Vesphyr activated his own. "Sykelion."

The two aides spoke simultaneously.

"Commander, Miss Blanca just arrived and has already left again."

"Your Grace, Miss Blanca came by the estate and left you a present."

"..."

The battlefield suddenly became much less interesting.

A Rogue lunged at Soren and without even turning around, his fist connected with its jaw.

BOOM!

The Rogue disappeared into the distance like a shooting star.

"What?"

Another Rogue charged at Vesphyr as one of his tail flicked lazily.

CRACK!

The Rogue froze solid before shattering into thousands of ice crystals.

"...A present?"

The two conversations somehow continued in perfect synchronization.

"Did you give her the letter?" Soren asked immediately.

"Yes, Commander."

"What was her reaction?"

Mikael smiled faintly. "Miss Blanca was blushing."

"...Really?"

The corner of Soren’s lips lifted before he could stop himself.

Scavon, one of the Mad Dogs watched in horror. "...Did the commander just smile?"

Govard rubbed his eyes. "I think I’m hallucinating."

"No," Spade whispered. "I saw it too."

"Should we be worried?"

"I think we should be celebrating."

Back on the OmniSync, Mikael continued. "She also seemed disappointed that you weren’t there."

Soren’s smile grew.

"And..." Mikael added with just enough emphasis to make it hurt. "...she felt guilty for arriving too late to see you."

Soren quietly covered the lower half of his face with one hand.

"...Commander?"

"I’m listening."

"...Are you smiling?"

"No."

"..."

"...You’re smiling."

"I said no."

"..."

Spade leaned towards Aquila. "...He’s smiling."

"...Should we pretend we didn’t see it?"

Spade nodded. "For our own safety."

On the other side of the battlefield...

Vesphyr frowned thoughtfully. "...What kind of present?"

Sykelion looked down at the heavy black suitcase resting beside his desk. "...A suitcase."

Vesphyr slowly closed his eyes. "...Does it contain a whole batch of energy stones?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

Vesphyr pinched the bridge of his nose. "...I knew it."

"What?"

"I paid for that ’present.’"

Sykelion looked down at the heavy suitcase beside him. "...Ah."

"I commissioned those."

"I know, Your Grace."

"I was supposed to personally receive them."

"I know, Your Grace."

"I wanted to meet her before leaving for this damned subjugation."

"..."

There was a long, respectful silence before Sykelion spoke. "...My condolences, Your Grace."

Vesphyr let out a long, exhausted groan. "I didn’t get to see her..."

Another Rogue charged him and without opening his eyes, he snapped his fingers.

The Rogue instantly froze into an ice sculpture.

"...because of this damn emergency mission."

The ice sculpture shattered a second later.

A nearby knight swallowed nervously. "...His Grace looks upset."

"You think?"

"He just annihilated a Rogue while sighing."

"I’d hate to be whoever disappointed him."

"..."

"..."

Back at the estate, Sykelion cleared his throat. "Miss Blanca did leave one message."

Vesphyr immediately opened his eyes. "What did she say?"

"She said that she’ll come see you again after she returns from her trip."

For the first time since receiving the call, Vesphyr’s expression softened. "...Is that so?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

A tiny smile appeared on his face.

"...Good."

A knight happened to glance in his direction.

"..."

"..."

"His Grace is smiling too."

"...Today is terrifying."

"I think the apocalypse has started."

"First the Commander..."

"...Now the Duke..."

"..."

"...Should we tell the others?"

"No."

"They won’t believe us anyway."