The surroundings were still.
It was as if time itself had stopped, and as I looked around, I found myself unable to utter a single word.
‘How did she…’
No, more importantly,
“When did you get here?”
“…..?”
Delilah tilted her head and popped a chocolate bar into her mouth, her eyes squinting slightly
at the corners as she savored the rich, satisfying taste.
Indeed, chocolate was one of the few rare things that could get her face to change.
The tip of her tongue lightly licked her coral lips.
“I was here the entire time.”
“…Eh?”
No, you weren’t. I thought about it for a while but held my tongue. She probably meant she had been here since the start of the meeting.
“Did nobody notice you?”
“Even if they tried, they wouldn’t be able to.”
“Right…”
I then looked around and stared at the people around me, frozen in place. I couldn’t really grasp what was happening around me, but if there was one thing that I could tell, it was one thing.
‘She’s gotten stronger again.’
I had never seen the full extent of Delilah’s strength in the past. I knew she was strong, but never to the extent. I could only make a few guesses based on the pressure that she gave out and her actions.
This time, however, I clearly felt something different from her.
She…
‘She’s exuding the same pressure the old man had just before he passed away.’
My mouth went dry, and I licked my lips. A thought occurred to me and something pressed against the back of my throat.
‘…Don’t tell me she’s close to reaching the Zenith.’
Could she really do it?
“What are you thinking so deeply about?”
“I was-Oy, you’re too close.”
When I lifted my head to respond, I suddenly realized she was standing just a few inches away, her gaze fixed intently on my nose. My heart almost leaped out of my chest as I took a step back, but before I could even do so, a hand pressed against my shoulder.
“Stay.”
“What, why? What are you looking a—”
“You.”
“…Eh?”
“You.”
Once again, I licked my lips. My gaze dropped briefly, following Delilah’s eyes as her lashes fluttered. Because of how close we were, I almost felt like they might brush against me if either of us moved.
When I leaned back against one of the pillars, Delilah’s head followed like a magnet.
She just wouldn’t look away from me and as I found myself looking at her features, an undeniable tension coursed through me.
She was undeniably beautiful—I knew that. And because I knew it, I also knew I had to walk away.
Dangerous, she was too dangerous.
“Dangerous…”
“What is?”
“Hm?”
I pursed my lips. Did I say that out loud? I almost wanted to slap myself, but as I was about to answer, I suddenly noticed Delilah’s lips curl into what looked like a smile. A teasing one.
She knew!
“You-“
“You’ve gotten stronger.”
Cutting me off, Delilah switched the conversation.
“…Your rate of progress is very fast.”
Her words contained a hint of something, but I kept silent. I couldn’t tell her that I had ‘cheated’ with the quests.
Besides, I was certain she was already accustomed to my progress being like this.
‘At least, as far as I’m aware of…’
She just never really showed it. As a matter of fact, she never really showed much.
In any case,
“Did you stop time just to tell me that?”
That was a bit… How should I say…? Extra?
“No.”
Though Delilah said that, her gaze turned sideways. She seemed to be avoiding eye contact. Tilting my head, she tilted her head further.
As expected, this really was the case.
I had plenty of questions swirling in my mind at that moment, but it felt like pushing further probably wasn’t the right thing to do.
In the end, I just laughed.
“What? Why?”
It only seemed to confuse her, but all it did was make me laugh even more.
“Why?”
*
“I can’t believe they’re willing to strike a deal with our Houses.”
“How much money do you think we’re going to make?”
“A lot, probably.”
“Fuuuuck…”
The meeting stretched on for several hours, with the House Heads outlining the terms of the deal and how things would unfold from here on. Since none of us were in control of our families yet, we had to send our house representatives to negotiate on our behalf.
Everything went smoothly, and most importantly, nobody seemed to have noticed Delilah at
all.
She had been standing there beside everyone the whole time, yet no one seemed to notice her
at all.
It was as if she was a ghost.
Was this some sort of new skill of hers, or was it something she could’ve done since the start?
‘If she really could’ve done this from the start, why in the world did she polymorph into a child so
often?’
I silently clicked my tongue before tossing the issue to the back of my mind.
There were more pressing matters at hand.
“Are you going to contact him?”
“….I’m thinking about it.”
“You should.”
“I know.”
“So do it.”
“You talk too much.”
Leon’s constant nagging was starting to give me a headache. I understood where he was
coming from, but the last thing I wanted to do was talk to the family head.
He gave me the creeps.
“If you keep dragging this then I might do it in your stead.”
“…Would you actually?”
I looked at Leon with a hopeful look.
If he did it then…
“No.”
||
Ah. So he’s also scared of the family head.
“Pussy.”
11
Leon raised his brow, looking at me an expression that seemed to say, ‘Coming from you of all
people…’
I ignored him and massaged my face.
“Fine.”
In the end, with no other option, I pulled out my communication device and tried to get in touch with Aldric. The first thing I did was send him a message.
One that went; If you aren’t busy, call me. There’s something I’d like to contact you for.
I sat there, fiddling with the communication device in my hand for a minute after sending the message until it finally started vibrating.
I stared at it with a complicated expression for a moment before finally answering.
||
***
Evenus County.
It was eerily quiet within Evenus County. With all major issues resolved, the county was experiencing unprecedented growth. Their progress was so remarkable that all the major noble houses were closely monitoring their development.
If their growth had only been a result of recent events, none of the major houses would have paid much attention to them. But now, things were different.
Within the Household, there were two figures whose presence drew the attention of many.
The twin stars of the Evenus Household.
With talents that could be considered the pinnacle of the four Empires, all eyes were fixed on
them.
If nothing went wrong, there was a very real possibility that one of them would become the
next Monarch.
No, not just one, perhaps… there was even the possibility of both of them becoming
Monarchs.
This wasn’t something the other noble houses could take lightly.
A Monarch represented the pinnacle of power, standing at the top of the world. For there to be
two such individuals… well, the implications were immense.
That was why the Evenus Household was under such close scrutiny. Many were going to great
lengths to win their favor, offering various incentives and even proposing marriage alliances. Of course, for every house eager to form alliances, there were those who were less than
welcoming. This was especially true for those who had past conflicts with the Evenus Household or one of their allied houses-the Verlice Household.
As a result, finances began to tighten within the Household. Many major forces imposed heavy tariffs on their goods or outright refused to trade with them.
This put a heavy burden on their finances, especially at a time when they required a lot of capital in order to recover from the recent war the Household had sustained.
The lack of capital wasn’t something that could be easily fixed, forcing Aldric to rack his brain
for a solution for a long time. He had all sorts of different ways to solve the capital problem,
but all these problems would require time, which they lacked.
The situation was grim.
…Or at least, that was how it was supposed to be at first.
It was then that he received a strange message from his son.
“Pardon?”
The corner of Aldric’s mouth twitched ever so slightly as he overheard Julien’s words.
He had to do a double take on the news he had just received, struggling to fully grasp the
situation.
-The Eastern Kasha wishes to cooperate with our Household. They’re offering us trade rights to several exclusive products from their territory.
Upon hearing the news again, Aldric remained quiet for a few seconds in order to absorb the
information.
The Eastern Kasha… What did it mean to gain exclusive trading rights with them? Aldric’s mind went into overdrive, a flurry of different products flashing before his eyes as he
considered the possibilities.
From Shadow Stones to Mana Gems, the Eastern Kasha had an array of products that could be sold for enormous profits. If what Julien said was true, this could be a massive opportunity for the Household. If they played their cards right, they could solve all their financial issues and
then some.
Aldric’s mind was quick to calculate everything, and his face eventually cooled.
-They wish for us to send a representative from our side in order to-
“Who else has been given such a deal?”
-Yes?
Confused, Julien stopped.
After a short while, he answered,
-Leon, Aoife, Kiera, Evelyn, Ame-
“Refuse it.”
-Uh?
Julien’s stunned voice reached Aldric’s ears.
-Did I hear that right? Did you just-
“Yes, refuse the offer. Make sure everyone sees it, and request something else for your
reward.”
-That…
Julien was confused at first, but soon something clicked in his mind.
-Wait, don’t tell me…
“Given our current situation, accepting the deal would lead to unnecessary trouble. I want you
to refuse their offer publicly.”
Julien didn’t answer immediately. He seemed to be absorbed in his own thoughts before he
carefully opened his mouth,
-But only as a ruse, correct?
“Correct.”
Aldric answered while licking his lips.
His greed was practically radiating from him, manifesting into a large, sinister demon that seemed to claw its way up from his chair.
“We’ll have the Verlice family act as our intermediary, or ghost merchant. Given that they
have their own deal, nothing will look suspicious. Their wealth will skyrocket, and before long, they’ll be one of the wealthiest households around. At that point, I’ll have them pull away from us as we struggle with our finances…”
Aldric started explaining, the demon behind him becoming more and more corporeal. “Eventually, they’ll be approached by the other Households-particularly those who might
be against us. And with our finances being quite low, they might try to…”
Aldric stopped there, but his plan was now clear.
His greed was clear.
It was so clear that, despite Julien’s best efforts, he couldn’t stop himself from breathing
heavily.
‘This lunatic…’ Julien thought, his grip over the communication becoming tighter.
He wants to swallow several households at once again.