At first, Noelle hadn’t found it too strange when she received the report of someone from the Nightingale clan coming over to their city.
It wasn’t too strange for the Gray Wolfe’s heir to get a bodyguard like that even while he was in ‘hiding’, after all. But only she knew the shock in her heart when she realized that things weren’t quite as simple as they seemed.
Unfortunately, things already seemed to have spiraled out of her control by the time she found out, and Noelle wasn’t sure what steps she should take without figuring out Emilia’s intentions, either.
Noelle knew that taking the wrong medicine was even worse than simply waiting to die. Thus, the gray-haired girl believed it was crucial for her to understand what was going on first, lest she make things worse.
Did Emilia already start on her ‘revenge’ against the Nightingale clan? Noelle couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive when she thought about it.
Even if there was no way to convince the younger girl otherwise… Noelle truly felt that they weren’t yet ready to tackle this level of threat on their own.
Heaven forbid if the Gray Wolfe and Black Tiger struck them at the same time… there was no way they could survive unscathed. And if these two enemies decided to truly team up against them… perhaps Emilia’s ‘mission’ would become just a distant, unachievable pipe dream.
Just thinking about the crimson-haired girl’s bright, beautiful blue eyes losing their glow and turning hopeless and despondent made Noelle breathless with despair.
There was no way she could let that happen, and that was why she had to make sure that Emilia understood the gravity of the situation.
Looking at Emilia’s playfully glinting eyes, Noelle could only sigh in defeat. “Alright… since that is so, I won’t fuss over it either. Just tell me everything clearly, so I don’t mess up with the ‘clean up’…” She paused to give the crimson-haired girl a meaningful look. “By the way, I already know about that man from the Nightingale clan, so don’t try to gloss over that either.”
Emilia couldn’t help but blink in surprise. ‘No wonder she kept thinking it must have been my doing.’
It hadn’t been long since they talked about getting revenge on the Nightingale clan, after all. If Noelle was told that all of this was just a coincidence or fate, it was understandable that she would be a little doubtful.
If not for the fact that she hadn’t shared this information with anyone but Cynthia, even Emilia would doubt all of this to be just a ‘coincidence’.
Fortunately, a princess did not need to provide ‘evidence’ to support their words.
Emilia reached out to take Noelle’s palm in her own, and placed it against her ‘heart’ before staring into her eyes. “The ones who beat Alexander up were Dixie’s grandpa and his friends, and I definitely didn’t make them do it!”
Half of Noelle’s rationale was already eroded as it focused on the soft feeling against her palm, and the other half really didn’t want to argue with Emilia, so she just nodded.
Emilia grinned. “As for the old guy from the Nightingale clan… ahem, let’s just say he’s a double-edged sword at our disposal… for now.”
Although Noelle already believed everything the younger girl said, she still couldn’t quite figure out why it happened the way it did.
She knew that Dixie’s grandpa was quite strong. He could even be considered the leader of the martial artists in their country. But they weren’t really people who should meddle with what was probably the strongest organization in the world for no reason.
Alexander Grey was not some chicken or pig that they could just slaughter at will without consequences! Even if his injury couldn’t be considered severe, who was to say that he or his parents wouldn’t hold a grudge?
Not to mention the Gray Wolfe, just their ‘lapdogs’ alone would be enough to completely ruin this small organization to its core, regardless of whether the country tried to protect them or not.
The gray-haired girl couldn’t help but frown. “Doing it like this… isn’t that just stirring up the hornet’s nest naked? And keeping that kind of person on our side… that’s the same as keeping a hornet in your pocket thinking you could fling them at your enemies later, right?”
Emilia couldn’t help but blink in surprise. ‘What’s up with all the hornets?’
Cynthia coughed. “Childhood trauma, perhaps? She might subconsciously picture her old clan as the worst thing she can imagine.”
The crimson-haired girl hummed in thought. ‘Interesting… how difficult is it to eradicate hornets from existence?’
”… I should have just kept quiet, huh?”
’Cynthia? Hello?’
A gentle tap on her head broke the crimson-haired girl out of her ‘thoughts’.
”Are you spacing out?”
Emilia couldn’t help but rub her cheek in embarrassment. “S-Sorry.”
Noelle sighed. “Anyway, even if that man is a traitor, there’s no way the Gray Wolfe won’t find the real culprit eventually. At that time… even if we’re covering up for them, it will be difficult for these people to endure their wrath.”
Although this was their ‘home turf’ and the Gray Wolfe was a foreign force, it wasn’t like they had complete control over everything here. Not to mention that there was still their competition, Black Tiger, but there was also the existence of the government.
For Emilia to ask her to ‘cover up’ this incident was easy, but Noelle knew that doing so flawlessly would be close to impossible. Maybe she could barely pull it off if she had been informed in advance, but now that things had already happened? There was simply no way.
Emilia interrupted the older girl’s grim thoughts with a playful peck on her cheek. “Don’t be so glum. It might seem like things can turn out bad for them, but… that is only if they’re the ones who take the blame for it!”
Noelle couldn’t help but be stunned. “W-What do you mean? Are we going to frame someone else?”
The crimson-haired girl grinned as she leaned in closer to whisper something in Noelle’s ear, and the older girl’s expression slowly turned more and more dumbfounded.
’T-This girl doesn’t just go to poke the hornet’s nest, she even dares to frame it on the tiger she kicked on the way!’
As for who will suffer when the two of them fight… was that any of her concern?
It all sounds good in theory, but Noelle shuddered just thinking of the consequences if something went wrong.
After all, pitting these two enemies against each other exponentially increased the risks of them discovering that they had a common adversary that was benefiting from their fight a little too much.
Lost in her thoughts, Noelle never realized how dumbfounded she looked at that moment.
Emilia’s eyes twinkled as she looked up at her with a smile. “Hey, compared to the usually cool and steady look on your face, this naïve and dumb expression… it has its own charm! Right, big sister?”
The faint sound of a camera shutter gave Noelle a rude awakening, and looking at her so-called boss clicking away at the capture button on her phone without stop made her head buzz with disbelief.
”What are you doing, Sam?!”
The tall girl almost dropped her phone in fear. “I-I’m not recording a video, j-just taking some photos, y-you know? … M-My little sister looks cute as usual, ha ha…”
Noelle’s expression immediately turned dark. “Do you think I’m stupid?!”
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