Ch.4141. Who would eat, suspecting that medicine might be mixed into the food again?

“…Oppa, what are you doing right now?”

I had never cheated on anyone in my life.

But I was certain that the feeling of getting caught would be exactly like what I was experiencing now.

The tightness in my chest and uncontrollable pounding of my heart.

My face stiffened like rigor mortis had set in, and words wouldn’t come easily.

Currently, Luna’s Affection Deficiency score was 90.

It had suddenly shot up by 80 points, meaning if “Blood Massacre” were to activate, the Ebis territory would likely be completely devastated.

And sitting before me was none other than the second Imperial Princess.

What if Luna were to harm Princess Sairine?

One year later, forget about the monster wave—our Alphonse family would be erased from the Eastern Continent.

“Oh my, isn’t this the person who was with you earlier when the fight broke out at the restaurant? Could she be your fiancée?”

Luna’s face turned bright red at Sairine’s tactless question.

“Fiancée…?”

*Ding* ♪

━Luna’s Affection Deficiency

= 90 → 80 changed [↓ 10 decrease]

Then, as if she had maxed out her friendliness skill, Sairine pointed to the empty seat beside her.

“Please sit down. I owe Jawil Wilson a debt of gratitude today. I was just about to have some tea for dessert—why don’t you join us?”

“Jawil Wilson?”

Luna stood up abruptly from her chair with a bewildered expression. I winked at her, then turned my gaze back to Sairine.

“Haha! There seems to be a misunderstanding. This isn’t my fiancée, but Luna Brillhart, a knight serving me and Selden Alphonse.”

“A-a knight!? Wow! There are only a few female knights in the entire Eastern Continent!!”

Luna stood frozen as if her brain had short-circuited. Only when I tugged at her clothes once more did she finally sit down.

“H-hello. I’m Luna Brillhart.”

“I’m Philia. I’m the one whose life was saved thanks to Jawil Wilson today.”

“Life?”

“If it weren’t for Jawil Wilson, I might have been killed by a bad person.”

Luna flinched at the word “killed,” and her dark aura seemed to subside a little.

Then she slowly raised her head toward me, who had sat back down in the chair.

“What happened?”

“I stopped by a clothing store to buy some clothes, and as I just mentioned, this person was in a difficult situation, so I helped her. We were just having a meal as a token of gratitude.”

“…I see.”

Things seemed to be going better than expected, but the anxiety that Luna’s Affection Deficiency score might explode at any moment kept gnawing at my chest.

My primary thought was that I needed to separate Luna and Sairine immediately, now that I’d managed to defuse the situation.

I grasped the edge of Luna’s clothes with my fingertips and stood up from my chair.

“We’ll be going now.”

“A-already?”

“The sun will be setting soon, and since Lady Philia has finished her business, she should head home.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Let’s meet again if we have another opportunity.”

After that, Luna and I fled from the restaurant.

I felt somewhat relieved now.

I was satisfied that even if Luna’s “Blood Massacre” were to activate, the chances of Sairine being harmed had decreased.

At least our family wouldn’t face complete annihilation now.

“May I ask why you changed your name to Jawil Wilson, young master?”

Luna followed me to my room as soon as we returned to the inn and posed the question.

I casually hung my coat on the rack and spoke.

“The person we just saw at the restaurant is an Imperial Princess.”

“I-Imperial Princess?”

“Yes, not Philia, but Her Highness Sairine, the second Imperial Princess.”

Luna kept tilting her head in confusion.

“So you both deceived me?”

“No, that’s not it. I remember her from an imperial event when I was young, but Princess Sairine didn’t recognize me. She approached me while hiding her identity, so I couldn’t exactly reveal that I knew her.”

“Ah…”

“It seemed like she had come out without any escort knights, so I just guided her for a bit. The meal was just her way of thanking me.”

“I understand now…”

Was it simply because Sairine was a woman?

Despite saying she understood, her Affection Deficiency score hadn’t decreased.

Well, I had another approach.

“The reason I used the name Jawil Wilson was because I had no reason to meet the Princess again. I didn’t want to create any unnecessary connections.”

━Luna’s Affection Deficiency

= 80 → 60 changed [↓ 20 decrease]

Easy, so easy.

I might not understand women in general, but Luna is refreshingly straightforward.

Luna seemed satisfied and spoke in a bright tone.

“Aha!! But won’t deceiving the Princess create troublesome situations later?”

“It’s fine. The Princess also used a fake name, so we’re even. She won’t have any reason to look for me anyway.”

“I’m still worried about you, young master.”

“Never mind about me. Have you eaten?”

“No, not yet…”

“I’m sorry for eating alone… The Princess insisted on treating me to a meal out of gratitude, and it seemed impolite to refuse.”

I spoke with self-reproach, trying not to increase her Affection Deficiency, and Luna shook her head, saying it was fine.

“It’s okay! I’ll go eat something so you don’t worry!”

“Really? Then I’ll rest for a bit.”

“Understood.”

The calm after the storm—I was left alone in the empty room.

Without even time to sigh in relief, I took the egg out of my bag and placed it on the table.

Thump-! Thump-!

Indeed, the vibrations were clearly felt.

Despite the possibility of hatching, I couldn’t help feeling anxious.

What if it really is a high-grade monster as Sairine predicted?

Even so, it wouldn’t be strong right after birth, so it should be easy to handle, right?

I stroked my chin and placed my palm on the egg.

“You need to grow up well. You’re a good person.”

I gently caressed the egg, thinking that positive influences might make a difference, like prenatal education.

“That’s right, I’m your daddy. So when you’re born, you need to listen very well.”

Even as I spoke, I found it amusing.

But what else could I do?

Although it didn’t appear in the original work, what if it’s a dragon-class monster?

If I could properly tame it from a young age, the monster wave coming in a year would be a piece of cake.

That’s why I was so desperate.

“Hatch quickly and help daddy out, I’ve been having such a hard time with these crazy women lately. Ah… sorry, my child should only hear good words. That was too harsh.”

After pressing my lips to the egg and lamenting my situation a few times, I felt like the vibrations grew stronger, though it might have been my imagination.

I also took out the “Raiden Sword” from its scabbard to examine it once more.

Clunk- Rattle-!

When I lifted the Raiden Sword, I heard something falling from inside the scabbard.

Looking down, I saw a beautifully crafted ruby rolling on the floor.

‘When did a ruby get into the scabbard?’

No wonder the sword had felt slightly loose in the scabbard—was it because of the ruby?

I casually placed the ruby on the table and admired the Raiden Sword.

Despite spending twenty years in a damp cave without seeing light even once, it hadn’t developed even a hint of rust, and the blade remained razor-sharp.

My smile, confident in its status as a legendary sword, hadn’t faded when I heard Luna’s knock, indicating she had already finished her meal.

Knock-knock-!

I put the Raiden Sword back in its scabbard and opened the door.

Luna entered carrying bread and milk on a plate, which she had obtained from somewhere.

“I just had a light meal, but the bread and milk were so delicious that I brought some for you too, young master.”

There was no way I would eat bread and milk that Luna brought me unless I had lost my mind.

Think about it.

How could I eat it, not knowing what kind of drug might be in the food?

I cleared my throat and slightly furrowed my brow.

“What should I do? I have a milk allergy…”

“Milk allergy?”

“And I don’t eat flour when hunting monsters because it makes my body heavy.”

“But you ate bread for dessert at the restaurant yesterday…”

“Th-that’s why I’m not feeling well today. Ahem!!”

“Oh, is that so…?”

A cold atmosphere seemed to blow through the inn.

As I frantically rolled my eyes trying to change the mood, my gaze fell on the ruby that was sitting on the table.

“Oh right, I bought a gift earlier while walking down the street.”

“A-a gift?”

“Yes, I saw a pretty ruby in a jeweler’s display.”

As expected, Luna was beside herself with joy.

When I handed her the ruby from the table, she looked at it with an expression that seemed about to burst.

“H-huh… I haven’t seen many jewels in my life, but this is the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen. H-huh… to receive such a gift from you, young master…”

“Really?”

She was so happy that she clutched the ruby tightly in her hand, unable to control her breathing.

She pressed down on her chest several times, taking deep breaths. As I patted her back asking “Are you okay?”, a system message appeared in my view.

*Ding* ♪

━Luna’s Affection Deficiency

= 60 → 0 changed [↓ 60 decrease]

┗’Color Demon’ is now activated.