episode_0043

At the words telling her to go back, tears fall from Claire’s eyes.

Anxious gaze and trembling fingertips.

I don’t know what hope she had, but at least for now she had nothing to offer Claire.

Did they mistake me for some kind of panacea?

As if she had been told by the doctor that ‘you have no more life left’, Claire grabbed my sleeve with trembling hands.

“Okay, I was wrong. Can’t you give me one more chance? Okay? Lee Han, please…”

Shaking.

Her anxiety and desperation were conveyed through her sleeves.

But that was it.

Because both the anxiety and the longing are Claire’s.

Lloyd didn’t sympathize with that sentiment at all.

“Please, please…”

Kuk.

The moment when Claire’s hand, holding onto his sleeve, begins to feel strength.

— Smart!

The door opened with a rough knock.

With pure white platinum hair that falls to her waist, and blue eyes that shine blue even without light, she is a person who is both beautiful and dignified, even with her awkward smile.

“Excuse me. I brought you some cookies…”

Julia stood holding a plate with several cute bear-shaped cookies on it.

The delicious smell of freshly baked cookies wafts through the room.

“Can I come in?”

The expression on his face as he looks this way is extremely awkward.

Lloyd’s eyes narrowed.

Julia flinched and shook her shoulders.

‘I guess you were eavesdropping.’

I can hear the awkward eye rolling from here.

Anyway, wasn’t the timing itself bad?

Claire’s hand, which had been exerting force as if to pull on his sleeve, slowly loosened.

Julia was also staring intently at Claire’s hand, literally staring at it.

If you keep doing that, fire will come out of your eyes.

“Of course. Thank you.”

Lloyd greeted Julia with a sigh.

“Ahem.”

Julia comes in with a slight cough.

Even the hand movements of placing a plate on the table are as elegant as a dance move.

Claire’s eyes, which had been blankly staring at it, opened wide.

Blink, blink.

She looks at Julia and hurriedly gets up from her seat.

“Hwa… Princess? Princess Julia?”

“Haha…”

Julia raised the corners of her mouth in embarrassment as if she had been caught.

“Nice to meet you, Claire Youngae.”

“Huh, why is the princess here?”

“Because this lab is mine.”

“Ah… You said you were going out of the palace…”

“As expected from the best boss on the continent, you know the news.”

“…Yes.”

“Please have another cup of tea. Claire Youngae is our guest today.”

Have you two ever met?

The conversations of the upper class nobles were sometimes difficult to understand.

Anyway, Claire was fidgeting and receiving the tea the princess gave her.

The extremely awkward atmosphere flowing between the two.

That makes sense, because in an aristocratic society it would be absurd for a princess to serve someone else.

Even if Julia leaves the palace and such etiquette no longer applies.

Julia opened her mouth, seemingly speaking in passing.

“You knew Lloyd, didn’t you?”

“Yes…? Oh. Yes… before. So, if I tell you the story, it’ll be a bit long.”

“There’s no need to explain too much. You can probably tell how complicated it is just by looking at it.”

“, thank you.”

Claire bows her head.

Lloyd was once again impressed by Julia.

Claire is one of the three heroes with a lot of power and wealth. Strictly speaking, Claire is stronger than Julia.

Yet Julia quickly took control of the dynamic between the two.

‘Is that the dignity of the Estrid bloodline?’

Julia cut the tea stems with great care.

A teacup that claps without a single drop of water splashing.

Claire, who was watching Julia’s expression, carefully puts the tea in her mouth.

Julia smiled and sat down across from Claire, next to Lloyd.

“There seems to be more to it than I thought, Lloyd.”

“Well, there are various things.”

“Why didn’t I, the owner, know?”

“Phew! Yes? Master?”

Claire asked, spitting out tea.

Julia covers her mouth with her hand, saying, “Oh my”.

“Didn’t our Lloyd say anything?”

“…Huh?”

“This child is my servant.”

Julia, who especially emphasized the words ‘her servant’, seemed to be clearly asserting ownership.

‘The fights between noble women are truly scary.’

I wonder how he survived the warrior party.

Ah. Now that I think about it, I couldn’t hold out.

Lloyd sighed softly and looked at Claire.

Claire was now unable to control her eyes as if she didn’t know what was going on.

“Hwa… Princess. I didn’t know you were the 3rd Princess’s servant…”

“I said this, but Lloyd is still my advisor. I respect him, so even if Miss Claire knows about this, nothing will change. Feel free to ask for favors or anything. Instead.”

Julia, who emphasized the word ‘instead’, crossed her legs.

“It would be easier to organize later if you know exactly who owns it, right?”

He speaks with a smile, but his voice is infinitely cold and at the same time seems to have a sense of dignity.

Shudder.

Claire’s hand that had been holding Lloyd’s sleeve trembled and then quietly lowered itself under the table.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Claire agreed.

It had been a few weeks since the days when she was the Third Princess. Claire had already been pretty devastated by the simultaneous outbreak of illness and treason.

“Hwa, Princess and Lee Han… So Lloyd won’t be bothered by anything.”

She muttered with her head down.

Julia nodded with a smile as if she understood.

‘…Why is it so scary?’

Lloyd dropped his arm.

Because Julia, who claimed ownership, was particularly creepy.

That fear was fleeting.

— Boom!

There was another commotion at the door, and I turned my head to see the village chief hurriedly picking up a tray that was about to fall. Was that a cake?

The village chief, who was holding the plate precariously, shouts at Julia in panic.

“Hwa… Princess? Are you saying that you are the princess, or rather the princess?”

◆

The village chief’s uproar soon died down.

Anyway, since he was an experienced man, he quickly realized that Julia was a princess and began to be polite.

“Please forgive my rudeness and please know that I did not disrespect Estrid’s bloodline…”

“Okay, I got it. Okay, so stop. I had no intention of being treated as Estrid since I left the royal family anyway.”

“… Well. Then. Just like before.”

“Yes, that would be good.”

The incident ended with the village chief becoming slightly more polite than before.

“Anyway, the important thing is that from now on, we have to fight the Seven Deadly Sins.”

Lloyd attracted attention.

The village chief pointed to Claire and pointed out.

“I heard this girl was carrying out a pretty big conspiracy. Is it okay for her to stay here?”

“… Where did you start eavesdropping?”

The village chief scratched his head at Lloyd’s comment.

“From the beginning.”

“Phew.”

Lloyd let out a small sigh and summarized briefly.

“Claire needs me because she has mana hypersensitivity. I checked by raising her sensitivity while she was here and it is true. ”

“Ah. There is no one more trustworthy than someone whose life depends on it.”

After briefly convincing the village chief, Lloyd turned to Claire and asked her a question.

“First of all, the power of the Seven Deadly Sins is important. Claire. You said you were attacked at the East Tan branch? Who attacked you?”

“My…my butler suddenly attacked me.”

“Was it Chilsaldae?”

“That’s not true, but I saw a symbol of the Blood Regeneration Sect stamped on his arm.”

Well, this is new.

Are the Jaehyeol Church and Chilsaldae connected?

“The situation is getting a bit more complicated. Our forces are not enough to deal with the Blood Cult.”

Lloyd shook his head at Julia’s muttering.

“You can just do it all at once.”

“One-shot deal?”

“Yes. You push the Chilsaldae away before you can even ask for help from the Jaehyul Church.”

The village chief nodded at Lloyd’s gesture of bumping fists.

“I like him because he’s manly.”

“……..”

Julia shook her head, but there seemed to be no other solution.

Then, it is confirmed that we will strike Chilsaldae like this.

Lloyd asked Claire.

“Do you know anything about Chilsaldae?”

“That’s right, the hideout is very complicated, so you need to know the exact location and…some kind of authentication to enter.”

Lloyd took his keys out of his pocket and shook them.

“Uh…yeah. That’s enough.”

“The entry and exit problem has been resolved. What is the opponent’s power?”

“Strong.”

“Specifically.”

Claire stood up from her seat.

Then he started drawing lines on the operation board he had prepared in advance.

The internal structure is neatly drawn.

“First of all, there is one staff member at the reception desk.”

About 180cm tall. Slim build. Short hair, wearing a uniform.

A clear explanation has been added to the side.

“He’s not an ordinary strong man. He’s definitely one of the core members of the Seven Killers. I’d guess he’s between the third and fifth killers.”

“What are your specific abilities?”

“I don’t know about that. But it feels like there’s no mana, so it’s a physical strengthening type.”

“Okay.”

Claire’s voice brightened a little, perhaps because Lloyd’s words sounded like a compliment.

“These are the hallways and stairs leading to Ilsal’s office. There was always a maid and a butler cleaning whenever I went. It seems like Mana wasn’t hiding it, so it seemed like she was giving me an open warning.”

“They must be strong too.”

Lloyd’s gaze was fixed on the space beyond the stairs and hallway.

A magnificent office that seemed to span at least two floors at once.

Claire continued her explanation, pointing to her own drawing.

“Lastly, Ilsal. Age is in the late 20s to early 30s. He is confident in every gesture, and in terms of ability, he is at least the best in East Tan.”

Gulp.

Claire swallowed and continued.

“I was convinced that I wouldn’t win, or that I wouldn’t even be able to get hurt.”

Despite this, Claire is one of the three heroes who defeated the Demon King. Of course, she had Lloyd’s carry, but in terms of ability and actual combat experience, she is clearly a top-tier ability user.

An opponent that she judged would be difficult to even confront.

The corners of Lloyd’s mouth went up.

“It has to be that much to enjoy the boss fight.”

Of course, it wasn’t unfounded confidence.

One-shot abilities and counters.

Because Lloyd already knew them.

“Will this work, Your Highness?”

“… I’m not sure either… No, I told you to speak as you always did, Chief. I have to use formal language too. ”

“…Yes.

Leaving the two nervous fools alone, Lloyd opened his mouth to Claire.

“Claire.”

“Uh…yeah!”

“I’ll call you if I need to. That’s enough for now.”

“Ha, but!”

Claire becomes obsessed with the guest house immediately.

Lloyd shook his head firmly.

“Isn’t Mana stable enough?”

Lloyd spread out his glasses and examined her.

A fairly stable flow has been continuing since a while ago.

“Go back to your branch and properly grab the attention of the Seven Deadly Sins. One or two of them must have infiltrated the branch. Since they’ve done their job, they’ll want to take you down for sure. I’m talking about drawing aggro. You can do that, right?”

Lloyd’s orders.

Could it be that Lloyd needs him?

Claire nodded hastily.

“Oh, I see! I’ll do my best!”

This completes the preparation.

Lloyd stood up from his seat and led Julia and the village chief.

“Then shall we set off now?”