I Became a Childhood Friend With the Villainous Saintess - Chapter 169



169 – The Meeting (4)

It was towards the end of the meal that we started talking about something a little more serious.

When Isha, tattered from concentrated fire, had a face that seemed to have lost its soul, and the sour sorbet melted on Sirien’s tongue.

The Norden Lord brought up the story in passing.

The chaotic atmosphere calmed down for a moment.

“As some of you may already know, the system is already in turmoil.”

The suicide attacks that plagued us on our way to Edelmarion.

The intention, which was unknown before arrival, was revealed only after arriving in the capital.

Their goal was the explosion itself.

To be exact, I was hoping for the noise that an explosion would create.

We used the imperial highways as we went up to the capital.

And along the imperial highway, there were many estates of local nobles and villages of imperial citizens.

Although it did not pass through any other territory along the way, the explosion that occurred near the road was enough to attract attention.

It seems that the raiders did not want Gamigin to come to Edelmarion quietly and then quietly leave.

I heard that the Emperor was going to have a meeting with Kamigin, and that someone was going to attack him because they didn’t want that to happen.

“There has been no problem so far. It wasn’t a top secret mission from the beginning, so it should be considered a planned outbreak.”

Even though he was the emperor, he could not unilaterally decide to meet with Kamigin.

This is clearly the result of the imperial political council. It is a fact that most of the central nobles are aware of.

It was impossible to silence all of them, so it was not surprising that information eventually leaked out from somewhere.

I guess you could say that I didn’t necessarily go out of my way to brag about it, but I had no intention of hiding it.

However, the speed at which the rumor spread was too fast.

So much so that it’s clear that someone is deliberately spreading it behind the scenes.

It was extremely unnatural that we arrived in the capital today and the news had already spread to Edelmarion.

Thanks to this, the current system has been noisy on this topic among both commoners and nobles.

And from ancient times, accidental events have a tendency to occur during commotion.

“There may be many opinions about Kamigin. This old man is too old to think that far ahead. But there is one thing I know. It is the order I received. And as far as I know, the order has not changed.”

Although his attitude was extremely polite, his tone was extremely firm.

Our mission is to keep an eye on Gamigin to make sure he doesn’t cause any chaos within the empire.

On the contrary, it was to prevent Gamigin from being attacked.

It seems unlikely, but if Gamigin were to die on Imperial territory, all the Dove Demon Kings would turn their backs.

Whether it was a situation where Gamigin was running wild or a situation where Gamigin was dying, it was absolutely necessary to stop it.

“Please take good care of me until the end of this mission.”

Sir Norden nodded lightly.

When Sirien readily responded with applause, others soon followed suit.

* * *

After an eventful day, the promised time quickly arrived.

Perhaps because I slept soundly without being on night watch, the fatigue from my body seemed to have washed away.

Even though it was said that the Sword Master could go without sleep for days, there was nothing that made him happier than sleeping soundly.

“Razen, are you ready?”

“Just a moment. I’ll just button up and go out.”

“Can’t I come in?”

“Then just come in. The door is open.”

As soon as the morning dawned, we prepared to go to the banquet hall to which the Emperor had invited us.

Although he had called me to talk, the emperor was not a person with much leisure.

It was clear that the intention was to coordinate the content in advance before the full-scale talks.

I chose the same clothes to wear to the luncheon as I did for the award ceremony.

Since I’m not really interested in clothes, I don’t really have anything to wear… … Even if I were to get a new one, I’m not sure if I could get something better than this.

Above all, because these were clothes that Sirien personally chose for me. Since they were clothes that my lover gave me as a gift, I became attached to them in some way.

‘It’s not something I’ll wear often, so it’s better to wear it when I can.’

The only downside is that it’s a bit complicated and annoying to put on, but since they’re palace servants, they helped me out with their skillful techniques.

Luckily, Sirien smiled brightly as soon as she saw me.

“You’re wearing those clothes. I’m glad I bought them last time. Do you know that they look amazing on you now?”

“Is that all? Well, if it’s okay with you, then it’s okay with me.”

“Yeah. Sometimes I think it would be nice to show off to you like this. Hey. Can you come over here for a minute?”

Sirien beckoned to me.

As I approached her as she called, Sirien put her foot down.

“The decorations are messed up. I think I touched them when I got dressed.”

“Oh, I see. Thank you. Is everything okay elsewhere?”

“Yeah. Just in case, I’ll take one more look. Turn around.”

Delicate hands touched every part of my clothes.

He touched up the slightly disheveled parts and moved the decorations so that they wouldn’t wrinkle when he walked.

Sirien, who had been touching my clothes for a few minutes, smiled with satisfaction.

And then the eyes that were looking at me with bated breath.

I kiss her cheek, as if she wants something.

Only then did Sirien laugh out loud.

“How about me? Do I look good on you?”

“Is there anything that doesn’t suit you? Your face completes any outfit you wear.”

“Aha, where did you learn that? Did you prepare it?”

“No. I just said what came to mind.”

Sirien couldn’t hold back her laughter and covered her mouth.

“There was this side to you. Well, it doesn’t feel bad. Please say that to me often in the future.”

It seemed to me that Sirien was in a much better mood.

Even though she covered her face with her hand, her cheekbones were twitching, and her eyes were crescent-moon shaped and smiling.

But I didn’t make up words that weren’t there.

Even in modern times, isn’t it said that the face is what completes fashion?

Sirien has no place to fall, so she can wear just about any kind of clothes.

What’s more, today he was wearing a uniform just like me.

A red half-cloak symbolizing Illencia on a white background as white as snow.

Although the dress that emphasized her femininity suited her well, Sirien shined the most when she wore such elegant clothes.

And those clothes… …were clothes that had a symbolic meaning of their own.

The uniform that will symbolize the Grand Duke of Illencia in the future. It is also the clothing that Sirien often appears wearing in the original work.

The moment the civil war broke out in the empire, when Illencia made her ‘decision’, Sirien was wearing that outfit.

The Duke of Illencia clung to me and grinned.

“This is a big deal. If you want to get more flattery later, you should give him something as a reward now. I don’t really have anything to give you.”

“I think what I gave you earlier will be enough.”

“Really? If that’s the case, I can give you as much as you want. Okay.”

The magpie’s feet are erected once again.

I chose the cheek, but Sirien chose the lips.

Deeper than a kiss. Shallower than a kiss.

They exchanged breaths, and their eyes met for a moment, exchanging some emotions.

Sirien, who had parted her lips, smiled brightly.

“Shall we go now?”

The Emperor’s banquet hall, where we arrived a little early.

Around the round table that was set up in a circle, there were guests who had already taken their seats.

It wasn’t exactly a coincidence, but most of the faces were familiar.

“You’re here? It’s been a while.”

“It is an honor to greet you again.”

The most notable ones were the two representatives of the Pantheon.

Saint Isabella Lobelia, the saint of faith, and Saint Achilles, the saint of order.

The first to greet us were representatives of two religious groups that could be said to be enemies.

Are those two the end of the Pantheon?

I looked around more, but it seemed that War and Charity were not present.

Well, those two aren’t really interested in the internal affairs of the empire.

Because Ja-ae has a strong tendency to play alone, and War, true to its name, is only interested in war.

In the original, the war only appeared after the outbreak of civil war. Although Ziae didn’t even do that.

“I thought we would be the fastest, but when did you get here?”

“I haven’t been here long. If I had known that nasty guy was going to be here, I would have come a little later.”

“I just wanted to arrive early and say hello in advance. The Saint of Faith’s attitude is regrettable.”

“Hey, just hearing your voice makes me feel like throwing up. Can you please just get out of here?”

“That’s a shame too.”

Isabelle reacted particularly sharply.

Achleon is also speaking nicely, but he doesn’t look friendly at all.

The two of them were already growling at each other, and it seemed like they would lose all their energy if they got caught between them.

In fact, it was natural that people from the Pantheon would attend this banquet.

Because the war with the Demons cannot be discussed without religion.

Even if he was the emperor, it was too burdensome a choice to make an agreement with the Demon Tribe without the consent of the Pantheon.

A little further inside, the crown prince could be seen, but he seemed not to be paying attention in that direction.

I guess so.

In a situation like this, it would be much better not to pretend to know each other.

As we were looking around, Achilles was the first to ask a question.

“Did you find what you were looking for?”