Chapter 42

Chapter 42

I Proposed While Drunk and Now the Princesses are Obsessed.

Episode 42: The One Who Is More Precious Than Holy Relics Has Come! (3).

The soldiers’ lower bodies were already frozen.

The cold slowly rising from below and the freezing energy creeping up from the soldier’s toes reached their jaws.

“Eeeeeeek!”

A rather strange scream echoed sharply.

“Stop! Stooop! Stoooop!”

Poof!

For a moment, the space shimmered like a mirage, and a small-statured magician fell from the air.

With her hair braided into two pigtails and round glasses. Perhaps, if a rabbit were born as a human, it would look like this.

The female magician’s name was Tether.

Jaekiel watched Tether, who appeared out of nowhere.

‘Surprisingly, for someone so noisy, she’s quite substantial.’

There was a saying that an empty cart makes the most noise.

Like a small dog barking desperately, noisy people were usually incompetent. But this woman was an exception.

Her actions were funny and loud, yet she was substantial.

She had unusual skills. She must be highly skilled.

The small-statured magician shouted at Jaekiel.

“I-I will! I will explain everything!”

But perhaps because she rushed in so recklessly, Tether’s body also began to freeze from the cold.

“Oh, it’s cold! Please do something about this cold first! I’m on your side! I’m definitely not an enemy!”

At this, the imperial soldiers looked at Tether with wide eyes. She frantically waved her hands.

“…I’m not betraying the imperial family! I am Tether! I’m still on the side of the imperial family!”

This time, Jaekiel quietly stared at Tether.

Tether, finally with a tearful face, shouted.

“Ah, I’ll explain everything! So…!”

…..

“…Yes. That’s how it happened.”

Tether’s explanation was simple and clear.

She herself was the secretary of the 2nd Princess, and Jaekiel was undoubtedly the guest designated by the Princess, so the fight must stop.

“Come on! Everyone, apologize to the Auditor!”

Tether took something out of her bosom.

A gold coin engraved with a black dragon—a token indicating she was carrying out a mission under Princess Hedera’s command.

“…”

Only then did the soldiers start to bow their heads one by one.

“We are sorry, Auditor.”

“Our rudeness has crossed the line.”

After confirming their actions, Tether turned to face Jaekiel with a warm smile.

“Hmhm, I am truly sorry.”

Tether bowed politely.

It was a light gesture, but it was deeply courteous, showing that she had served a noble person for a long time.

“I formally introduce myself again. I am Tether, the secretary of the 2nd Princess.”

“I am Jaekiel, the Auditor of the Imperial Tower.”

It was a short reply, but it carried immense pressure.

Tether clearly felt it. The cold that easily froze the soldiers, and everything else—he was definitely no ordinary man.

Of course, there were many other surprising points.

‘To be an auditor at such a young age…?’

It was said that one had to achieve many academic accomplishments and reach a certain age to become an auditor. Yet, such a young man was at the top of the Tower.

‘He must have incredible skills or incredible connections.’

…Maybe both?

Tether was sure.

If Tether had been even a little later, it would have been a disaster.

Her attitude naturally became more respectful.

“Isn’t it rude to keep a guest standing for so long? I will guide you right away!”

“Before that.”

Jaekiel interrupted Tether.

“The soldiers here seem to have heard nothing. Couldn’t you have informed them a bit faster?”

“…”

Cold sweat ran down Tether’s back.

This man’s sharp sense was not limited to magic. He was accurately digging into the essence of why this situation occurred.

What should she do?

Should she just tell the truth?

No, she couldn’t do that.

That would surely cause big trouble!

“Indeed! You could think that way!”

Tether tried hard to appear calm.

“I received the order not long ago. I moved without any delay after receiving the 2nd Princess’s command, and that’s why I just arrived now…”

“I see.”

Jaekiel nodded surprisingly easily, making Tether somewhat relieved. Was this enough?

She felt guilty for lying, but this much should be okay. Yes, this much…

But.

Tether soon realized her thoughts were wrong.

“So, the 2nd Princess is around here, then.”

“…”

She swallowed dryly without realizing it.

‘Where is the 2nd Princess now?’

The assumption that the 2nd Princess was nearby was correct. She must be wandering around the Imperial Palace with her entourage.

What if the 2nd Princess runs into Jaekiel?

What if she talks about the tasks she entrusted to Tether?

…No. That must never happen.

“…Hahaha! Of course, it wasn’t a command given face-to-face. She just left a short letter for me to confirm.”

Lying is bad, but…

Somehow, lies keep begetting more lies….

Jaekiel nodded, and Tether felt relieved for now. She had to protect her life first, after all.

Tether took a deep breath and quickly continued.

“Then let’s move quickly. The holy relics prepared for you, Auditor, must be seen right away!”

A hurried push disguised as fuss.

There was no choice. For Tether, the best option was to send Jaekiel away as quickly as possible. If she dragged out the time, the Princess might visit late…

But it was then.

“…Tether! Tether!”

A group was running quickly toward them, all urgently calling for Tether.

Tether easily recognized the group.

“…The guardians of the treasure vault?”

They were the guardians of the Royal Treasury’s interior. Tether shouted with wide eyes.

“What is it? How can you leave your post?”

“That’s not the problem now…!”

The guardians’ expressions were very urgent.

“The spirit stones in the treasure vault have started to rampage! Especially the Fire Spirit stone! It’s very serious!”

“It’s a real problem. If a holy relic gets damaged at this rate…! We need to solve it quickly!”

“Huh…?”

The treasure vault contained not only holy relics but also various precious things. Among them, the spirit stones contained elemental spirits.

The fact that they were rampaging was something she had never experienced before.

Amidst that.

A thought flashed through Tether’s mind, making her go pale.

─Check the interior of the treasure vault countless times.

─Make sure the holy relics are in the best condition.

…What?

If this goes wrong, is it my responsibility too?

“…Gasp!“

Tether jumped in place.

Among the orders given by the 2nd Princess was to thoroughly check the treasure vault’s condition for the soon-to-arrive Auditor.

It was a big problem. A really big problem.

“No… No! Why now of all times?”

But Tether was quite resentful about this part.

‘It was definitely fine until last night!’

Tether might sleep a lot, but she always did her best with her tasks. She checked the treasure vault’s condition right before sleeping, so why now of all times?!

Why now?!

“What on earth… what were the guardians doing?!”

Tether shouted in frustration.

Of course, the only responses were ones of disbelief.

“We are just guardians. We don’t know anything about the principles or effects of the holy relics and spirit stones! That’s entirely your responsibility, Tether!”

One of the guardians started to argue point by point.

“Why are you still here in the first place? I heard you were supposed to have already visited the treasure vault with the guest.”

“Hm?”

Tether’s eyes widened.

“The 2nd Princess told us that Tether would bring the guest in the morning, so we should carefully hand over the items.”

“Hm…?”

The Princess gave you detailed orders too?

Hm.

But if you say that…

“Did you oversleep again? Did you?”

“Oversleep…”

“We already checked the attendance log. There are traces of you changing the times again. Did you slack off again?!”

“…”

“We don’t care anymore! You handle it yourself, Tether!”

By now, everyone was looking at Tether.

“…”

Tether chewed on her lips for a moment.

“Wait, wait!”

She carefully raised one hand.

“I know. I know you’re all angry, but…”

She then spoke while looking around.

“What’s the best option right now? First, calm down and find a way to soothe the rampaging spirits─”

At the entrance of the Royal Treasury vault.

It was already in chaos.

“What should we do now?”

“If the Princess finds out, it will be a real problem!”

The guardians and guards were mixed up, spouting all sorts of things. They were all caught in fear and confusion.

“First, we need to deal with the rampaging spirit stones! Is there no way? Ah, you said the Fire Spirit is rampaging! Then we should request help from the Red Tower…”

“You fool!”

One of the guardians shouted angrily.

“We’re not boasting that there’s a problem in the Royal Treasury vault, are you kidding? We can’t let this get out!”

“But this is the first time something like this has happened. We don’t know how to handle it, and there’s no way we can solve it on our own…!”

“If I say no, then no! It’s not just the Fire Spirit that’s rampaging. The Fire Spirit is just the most out of control.”

As the commotion continued endlessly, Tether just watched, unsure of what to do in this tangled situation.

In the midst of this.

“Everyone, stop.”

With just one word, everyone fell silent.

Jaekiel, at last, had spoken.

“…”

“We’re sorry. We dared to…”

Everyone cleared their throats and avoided eye contact.

No matter how urgent the matter, causing a commotion in front of a guest was clearly rude.

They expected comments about the state of the holy relics, pointing out etiquette… such things.

They just waited quietly for the criticism directed at them.

After a while.

Jaekiel asked something unexpected.

“Guardian, you said the spirits are rampaging.”

“Yes? Ah, yes. They are rampaging…”

“Does that include the Ice Spirit?”

“The Ice Spirit? If it’s the Ice Spirit…”

The guardian’s eyes widened.

“Oh? No. The Ice Spirit is as quiet as a mouse.”

They did their best to answer, but no one understood why the Auditor was asking such an odd question.

Meanwhile, Jaekiel was thinking about something else.

The sudden rampage of the spirits. He had a hunch.

Suddenly, a memory from the past surfaced.

Back when he encountered the elemental spirits long ago.

─You, human! We get it. Just back off a bit!

─It’s cold! It’s so cold, we can’t stand it!

─Is this guy really human?

─What? His cold is worse than the Ice Spirit Glacia…!

The trembling reactions from each spirit.

The Ice Spirit was fine, but the Fire Spirit was rampaging.

It was certain.

“…”

…This rampage, no matter how he thought about it, was caused by him.