[V8C21] The Soup Was Enjoyed Outside To Erase Evidence

“Ahem. Exerting my power has tired me out, so I will be going to sleep. Wake me up when we’re back at Marquis Highown’s mansion.”

Leaving only those words, Sophocles suddenly fell silent. The rainbow-like glow of his gemstone seemed slightly dimmer than before.

Seeing this, Monica voiced her doubt to Cyril.

“Um, do ancient artifacts… need to sleep?”

“…I don’t know.”

After a brief moment of thought, Cyril decided to hide the ring by putting on his leather glove.

But surprisingly, Raul had an answer to that question.

“I heard that ancient artifacts can temporarily turn off their consciousness. Well, in this case, he probably did it to hide his embarrassment about getting jealous!”

“Ah, I see…”

Monica nodded to herself as she pondered the subject further.

Sophocles had been dissatisfied at being third behind Pikeh and Thule, causing him to grow jealous of the two.

(…Jealous, jealous.)

This was a word Monica had little experience saying, so she silently mouthed it to herself a few times.

To tell the truth, Monica did not have a complete understanding of how jealousy worked. However, this was clearly the emotion in her chest when she learned of Cyril’s engagement, as well as the cancellation of his engagement.

(…I think I can understand “jealousy” a little now.)

Since Monica could only meet with Cyril during their joint research, she felt a slight envy towards Thule and Pikeh for being with him all the time. Also, when she heard Isaac talking about his time with Cyril in the boys’ dormitory, she had thought, “That sounds nice.”

(This must be because I want to know more about Cyril-sama.)

That would explain why she became so delighted when she saw a “slightly different Cyril-sama,” when he descended the stairs with his hair down.

(…I feel like I’m getting more selfish lately.)

Living your life without any feelings of jealousy is actually quite difficult.

Ever since leaving the mountain hut and starting to interact with people, Monica would continue to compare herself to others, and sometimes feel jealous as a result.

(But selfishness is bad. Yeah, I should avoid that.)

After all, she had just witnessed all the trouble caused by a jealous ring. Thus, Monica silently reminded herself to use this incident as a lesson.

＊　＊　＊

The group walked back to Raul’s workshop, but right as the building came into view, Raul paused and looked off into the distance.

There was someone standing in front of the building. They had brown curly hair and a petite figure——Monica gasped upon realizing his identity.

Meanwhile, Claudia murmured the visitor’s name.

“…Neil.”

“Claudia-san!” Neil shouted, rushing over in a hurry.

Claudia gave Isaac a side-glance, muttering, “…Truly, what an overly considerate attendant.”

“I knew he was working in the capital, so it’s only natural,” Isaac replied.

Apparently, he had sent a letter to Neil just before departing Sazandol. Since they had taken it slow on the trip to Raul’s mansion, it only made sense that Isaac’s letter arrived first.

“Jeez! I told you to stay at home so many times!”

Neil raised his eyebrows in an angry expression, staring up at Claudia. Considering his always calm demeanor, this was a rather unusual side of him.

“Come on, Claudia-san, what if something happened to you or the baby in your stomach!?”

Monica let out a surprised “Huh?” and it wasn’t just her. Cyril and Raul stared intently at Claudia with similar faces. The only one still smiling was Isaac.

Cyril trembled all over and shouted with a flushed face.

“Why wasn’t I informed, as your brother…!?”

“Huh? You didn’t tell your brother!?” Neil asked in turn.

Cyril’s booming voice caused the weasels on his shoulder to puff up their tails in surprise, and Neil also widened his eyes in shock.

While it was not uncommon for noble ladies to hide pregnancies for their own safety, Claudia was currently the wife of a baron. There was nothing particularly dangerous for a lesser noble like her.

In response to the dumbfounded group staring at her, Claudia averted her eyes and let out a soft mutter.

“…Perhaps the letter informing you was lost in an unfortunate accident.”

Everyone there immediately understood that this was a lie. If Cyril had been kept in the dark, then clearly, Marquis Highown was in on it.

“I-I didn’t hear anything about this… If I knew, I wouldn’t have made you travel so far… Ah, is it okay for you to be standing? I’ll go get you a chair…”

With a strange mixture of anger and concern on his face, Cyril began flailing his arms meaninglessly. The weasels were forced to cling onto his shoulders with their small limbs.

“Cyril, you’re being loud again,” Pikeh commented.

“He’s really panicking,” Thule added.

“How can I not be panicking! It’s outrageous for a pregnant woman to journey by carriage! Wait, isn’t that dress too thin? We should get you a blanket…”

Ignoring the flustered Cyril, Claudia turned back towards Monica and the others. Her gloomy expression seemed to say this: And that’s why I didn’t tell him.

“…Get it now?”

“Uh, erm…”

As Monica faltered in her words, Neil offered the group a deep bow.

His appearance had not changed much, still showing traces of youth from his Serendia Academy days. However, the present Neil had the composure of an adult, making him look strangely dignified.

“It seems my wife has caused quite a bit of trouble. Isaac-san, thank you for the letter.”

“You’re welcome. Do you need arrangements for the return carriage?”

“No, it’s okay. The carriage is parked right over there… Claudia-san, now that my work is done, let’s go straight home!”

Upon hearing Neil’s words, Claudia tilted her head slightly.

“…Oh, but wasn’t your job supposed to be a long one?”

“Don’t worry, I finished it in a hurry!”

Though her face still showed no emotion, Claudia immediately approached the proud Neil and clung onto his arm.

Even a year after their marriage, Claudia was still slightly taller than Neil. Whenever they hugged, it looked like she was leaning on him.

Maintaining this pose, Claudia turned toward Monica and the others, smiling with a sinister yet unmistakably cheerful smile.

“…Isn’t my husband just so great?”

“Hold on, Claudia! Did you arrange for a doctor? A wet nurse? Do you have everything you need, like baby clothes? Also, when is the due date…?”

Ignoring all of Cyril’s questions, Claudia started walking away, practically dragging Neil along.

“…Well then, good day to you all.”

“Claudia-san!? Please make sure to write a proper letter to your brother later, okay!?” Neil shouted.

“…Sure, after giving birth.”

“Claudia-san…!!”

The Maywoods departed like the wind, leaving Cyril covering his face with both hands and bowing his head in despair. The two weasels stroked his cheeks with their tails to comfort him.

＊　＊　＊

In the dining room of the Roseberg residence, Cyril lay slumped over the antique desk, muttering, “Why was I the only one not informed…”

Meanwhile, Raul placed a bowl of soup in front of him.

“Cheer up, Cyril! Look, I made the soup extra hearty!”

Since Cyril remained depressed, not touching the soup at all, the two weasels began to climb all over him and pull at his hair. Apparently, this was also an attempt to cheer him up.

“You seem really down,” Pikeh remarked.

“Cyril, cheer up,” Thule added.

“It’s unusual for you to be depressed without getting angry.”

“Yeah, Cyril usually gets angry.”

Finally, Cyril lifted his upper body and glared at the weasels, seemingly very dissatisfied.

“…Do I really get angry that often?”

The golden weasel, Pikeh, descended from the desk and looked straight up at Cyril.

“You don’t think so? You shout, ‘What are you doing!’ at least ten times a day.”

“…I don’t do it that much.”

“You do. From now on, I’ll count each time you shout.”

In response to Pikeh’s remark, Cyril hung his head again, covering his face with both hands.

“…So Claudia refused to tell me because I’m so quick-tempered? Maybe she’s right, my temper was the main cause of the incident with Sophocles too…”

As Cyril continued muttering about areas of improvement, Thule gently brushed his fluffy tail against Cyril’s cheek in a comforting gesture.

While observing this interaction between Cyril and the weasels, Monica whispered a question to Isaac.

“Um, Ike, did you, um… notice about Claudia-sama?”

“Yeah, just a hunch though.”

Despite claiming it was “just a hunch”, Isaac seemed pretty confident. He had been incredibly thorough in his preparations, such as carrying Claudia’s luggage and arranging comfortable carriages.

Come to think of it, whenever Claudia needed to step down a carriage or staircase, Isaac had always positioned himself to be below her. Perhaps that was to catch her in case of an accident.

“I… I didn’t notice at all…” Monica muttered.

“I didn’t either, so don’t worry about it! Anyway, let’s think about how we’re gonna celebrate the baby!” Raul followed.

By the time Raul had finished serving everyone’s soup, the sound of the front door opening echoed through the room… followed by the clattering of high heels.

“Hey Raul! Do we have guests or something?”

“Oh, my sister’s back.”

In the next moment, Isaac silently stood up. After grabbing the bowl of soup and spoon placed in front of him, he leapt out of the window and vanished from sight.

Monica, Raul, Cyril, and the weasels were all stunned by the sheer efficiency of his movements.

As everyone sat dumbfounded, the door opened, and Melissa walked in dressed in an outdoors dress, including an elegant hat and a fur wrapped around her neck. She widened her eyes upon seeing Monica and the others.

“If it isn’t Moni-Moni. Oh, and Cyril-sama, I’m so glad to see you again.”

Despite hearing Melissa’s greeting, Monica continued to stare at Isaac’s seat and the window.

(Oh, I get it now. Melissa-oneesan knows what the prince looks like…)

Melissa had mentioned killing time by staring at Prince Felix’s face during boring ceremonies, so if anyone could see through Isaac’s disguise, it was her.

Nevertheless, Isaac’s escape was extremely thorough. He had carefully returned his chair to its original position, which, combined with the missing bowl and spoon, meant he had erased all traces of another person in the room.

As Monica marveled at this feat, Melissa pinched her cheek.

“Well, excuse you, Moni-Moni. Why are you spacing out when I’m offering such a polite greeting?”

“Eeek, I-I’m so s-sorry…”

Monica apologized with teary eyes, followed by Melissa putting on a cunning smile, perhaps having come up with a good prank.

“By the way, I just watched a play in the capital. The leading actor was just so cool, it was absolutely fantastic.”

“Um, I see.”

“I handed out throat lozenges to some acquaintances of mine, and they gave me a bunch of coupons as thanks. But, you know, they’re pretty expiring soon.”

Melissa produced a coupon from her coat pocket and placed it in Monica’s hands. Then, she continued after a meaningful side glance at Cyril.

“Here, I’ll give you one, so go watch it with someone.”

“Wow, this coupon is valid for up to four people! Let’s go watch together!”

After peeking in from the side, Raul made the proposal with great enthusiasm, causing Melissa to groan, “This damn moron…”

Meanwhile, Cyril straightened out his slouched and depressed posture from a few moments ago and thanked Melissa.

“You are far too generous, Lady Melissa. What kind of play is it?”

Melissa, who had been glaring at Raul with a pressure comparable to the First Thorn Witch, responded to Cyril with a friendly smile in the next moment.

“Bion, Bringer of Happiness——a modern rearrangement of the classic. There was a short comedy based on the original work a while back, but this one is an adventure-style adaptation focusing on Bion’s exploits.”

That instant, Monica saw it. A sparkling in Cyril’s widened eyes.

Cyril let out a small gasp before responding with a gentle smile.

“I would love to see that.”

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