[V7C3] Meeting of the Three Young Sages

The day after Monica was entrusted with Princess Cecilia’s guard duty by Louis, she found herself staying in the capital.

Although Princess Cecilia’s visit was still a few days away, there were numerous preparations to be made and meetings she had to attend.

One unexpected occurrence was that the Second Prince, Felix Arc Ridill, had not been summoned to the castle for the visit of Princess Cecilia.

Regarding this matter, Isaac had this to say:

“Rather than not summoning me, they probably don’t want me to come at all.”

Monica didn’t quite understand, but it seemed there were political maneuvers happening behind the scenes.

As a result, Isaac decided to stay behind in Sazandol along with Nero.

Monica was concerned about the matter Isaac seemed to be hiding, but for now, she had to focus on the task given to her. After all, this was an important guest from the Empire.

Upon arriving in the capital, Monica’s first destination was the residence of the Abyss Shaman, Ray Albright.

The main house of the Albright family in the capital was a splendid mansion, and the reception room she was led to was adorned with luxurious furnishings.

“Ray, your place feels more modern and trendy than mine!”

Seated next to Monica was the Thorn Witch, Raul Roseberg, another member of the Seven Sages. These were his remarks while surveying the room.

Today’s gathering was a meeting of the Three Young Sages (as named by Raul).

Across from them, Abyss Shaman Ray Albright contorted his face into a frown.

“Y-You’re implying that we’re far inferior to House Roseberg in terms of history. I know what people say behind our backs, that we’re just a money-grubbing family that rose to prominence in the previous generation… even though it’s just Grandmother who’s a money-grubber… Ugh…”

“No way, I envy a new and beautiful mansion like yours. Our place can’t even get rid of broken stuff; all the furniture is antiques. I need Grandmother’s permission to throw away a single chair!”

Raul pursed his lips in discontent, before remembering something and rummaging through his bag.

“Oh right, I brought some stuff from my sister. Here Monica, this is for you!”

Raul took out two small bottles. Both contained a whitish ointment, but they had different labels.

“Medicinal ointments. One is almost odorless but reasonably effective, and the other smells awful but works incredibly well.”

“…She’s evil for even preparing such a nasty option…”

Despite Ray giving the bottles a gloomy scowl, Monica was genuinely grateful. The wound on her right hand had healed considerably, but Melissa had ordered her to apply the medicine to ensure no scar would remain.

“Thank you, Raul-sama. Um, please convey my thanks to your sister.”

“Yeah, I’ll let her know! And Ray, this is for you! A congratulatory gift for your engagement!”

As Raul started searching through his bag again, Ray squeezed all his facial features together, creating an indescribable expression.

“That woman gave me an engagement gift…?”

“Uh, yeah… Found it. Here you go!”

What Raul presented was a glass bottle filled with salt. Moreover, it was a high-grade rock salt produced in a region called Uriah.

Seeing the bottle of salt in front of him, Ray groaned with all his might.

“…‘Go sprinkle this on that slug bastard‘… That’s the intention, right…”

“Wow, Ray, that’s amazing! You knew exactly what my sister said!”

“See! That woman was never going to congratulate me properly!”

Ray shouted with frustration while tearing at his hair.

Ray and Melissa had joined the Seven Sages almost simultaneously, but their relationship seemed to be more strained than Monica thought.

Once Ray’s shrill shouting subsided, Monica voiced a question in a quiet tone.

“Um, Ray-sama, is Frieda-sama coming today…?”

“She’ll probably come out in a bit. Right now, she’s making sweets to treat everyone… Frieda’s cakes are incredibly delicious…”

As Ray fiddled with his bangs while looking around the room, Raul spoke up with a smile.

“You seem to be getting along well with Frieda!”

“G-Getting along? What’s the standard for ‘getting along’? But, yeah, yeah… going by my life standards, it feels incredibly, incredibly good… Hehe, hehehehe… Yes, very good.”

Ray’s way of laughing was eerie and creepy, but he did seem genuinely happy. His usually sickly pale face now had a faint blush of red.

“The other day, we went on a long ride together… That’s a date, right? Me, going on a date with a girl… Kuku, kufufufufu…”

“Huh? Ray, can you even ride a horse?”

“Of course not. Frieda held the reins, and I rode behind her.”

Apparently, women from Valmbelk were proficient in horse riding as well as swordsmanship.

Monica vividly imagined the scene of Frieda riding a speedy horse with Ray seated behind her.

“Moreover… during the stroll, I almost tripped, and Frieda grabbed my hand… Then we walked holding hands for a while…”

After saying that, Ray quickly covered his mouth with both hands. However, his smile wasn’t completely hidden, and an eerie “fufuhehehe…” laugh leaked out.

“Holding hands is nice… Really nice… Kufu, kufufufu…”

Walking while holding hands with someone you like?

Imagining herself in that situation, Monica thought about the slender hand being offered to her and…

(…Wah…!!)

Her cheeks blushed red simply from the thought. Monica lowered her head and covered her face with both hands.

She had to hide herself from this incredibly lewd activity, uttering a short comment.

“That’s… um… really amazing.”

“Oh yeah, it was really amazing… Kufu…”

To reiterate, they were talking about holding hands.

Maintaining his creepy smile, Ray began idly twiddling his fingers.

“M-Maybe I can’t put it into words, but I want to be able to convey ‘I love you’… S-Someday… I’ll kiss the back of her hand…”

“Sorry for interrupting. I’ve brought some snacks to go along with the tea.”

Entering the room with a plate of sweets in hand was a tall woman with short blond hair and sharp gray eyes——Ray’s fiancé, Frieda Blanquet.

Once he noticed Frieda, Ray alternated between blushing red and turning blue.

“D-Did you hear that just now…?”

“Methods of expressing love vary from person to person, so I don’t think it’s necessary to be fixated on formalities. That said, I do appreciate your sincerity, Ray.”

“Oh no no no…”

“Please feel free to ask if you are in need of my hand.”

“Ah ah ah ah…”

After placing the plate of sweets on the table, Frieda turned towards Monica and Raul, offering a polite curtsy.

“It has been a while, Thorn Witch-sama, Silent Witch-sama. Please enjoy the sweets; it’s a cake made with red currant jam.”

Frieda immediately got to work cutting the cake.

It had a firm texture similar to cookies, with red currant jam sandwiched between. The fragrance of honey and cinnamon wafted from the dough.

Frieda offered a slice of cake, but Monica had something she needed to say before accepting it.

“Um, Frieda-sama…”

“Yes?”

“T-The other day… I was mean to you, and I’m really sorry for that.”

In their first meeting, Monica, playing the role of a villainess, had harassed Frieda. She had yet to properly apologize for this, which had been bothering her.

Frieda tilted her head in confusion at the deeply bowing Monica.

“Silent Witch-sama, I’m afraid I have no memory of you being mean to me.”

For the record, the only villainous action Monica Everett had performed was to make a creepy laugh from behind her fan. That was it.

However, this was the most wicked act of mischief that Monica could pull off.

“I was very mean… and I’m so sorry…”

“I don’t mind at all, so please don’t worry about it.”

Impressed by Frieda’s calm response, Monica’s eyes grew teary.

“Y-You’re too kind… even though I was so mean…”

“Indeed, my fiancé is very kind… Kufu…”

Monica remained stuck in a look of adoration, and Ray continued chuckling to himself.

Ignoring those two, Raul had already started chomping down on the cake. Then, he suddenly remembered something, handing a small bottle of salt to Frieda.

“Here’s an engagement gift from my sister.”

“Salt, is it? Since my hometown is so far from the sea, salt was a very precious item until not too long ago. I’ll gladly accept it. Ray, please look forward to tonight’s soup.”

In response to her words, Ray shouted, “My fiancé is too wonderful!” and began rolling around on the floor.

If Louis Miller had been here, he would likely ask, “Has our shaman turned into a mop now?” However, the disrespectful Louis was not present, so in his place, Frieda calmly scolded Ray, saying, “You’ll dirty your clothes.”

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