Chapter 41: Chapter 21.1

‘Why is he so stiff?’

It was probably a bit exaggerated, but Seira found it uncomfortable that something as big as her forearm was pointing at her right hip. Except for that, the rest of his chest and thighs were warm and firm, so it wasn’t that bad.

‘How old is he that he couldn’t even control himself when he’s riding a horse with me?’

The situation made her click her tongue. It was hard to disregard, not when Baron’s pheromones were uncontrollably wild and oozing. When she distracted him with small talk, he’d somehow regain his senses, but after a while, his pheromones turned wild again. Seira ended up getting soaked in his heavy wood scent.

“Baron.”

Seira’s mouth parted as a sense of crisis took over her. She was at the brink of losing control herself.

“Is Pommel fixed already? I told you to have it fixed and charge me for the repair,” Baron said.

His voice was low as he tried to speak while riding a galloping horse, but such was not a problem for master-class slayers. Seira heard him clearly, as she had far better hearing than ordinary people.

“I already did have it fixed… but it may take a while,” she admitted.

“Why?”

“They said we needed to acquire Rementa first.”

The money needed was not small. She and Aven were already having a hard time funding it, much more than purchasing Rementa for Pommel which was a Greatsword.

“Then why don’t you ask the head of Haipon?” Baron suggested.

Haipon, the largest magic engineering research facility in the empire, was owned by Franto. Obviously, the top of Haipon must have secured Rementas for himself too.

“I have no intention of doing business with him,” Seira flatly refused.

Baron added after a minute of silence, “Don’t do business with Haipon as much as you can. I don’t know what’s going on, but he usually sells them at a higher price.”

“What?” Seira’s brows shot up and asked, “Then why did you even suggest I call him? Are you spying on me or something?”

“I just ran into Aven in front of the top’s building,” Baron made a hasty excuse.

“By chance?”

“Yes, by chance,” Baron insisted, as if dissuading Seira from her obvious disbelief of his words.

“So you mean to say that Aven sent you here?”

This time around, Baron put on a mask and replied, “Is that how you see it? Anyway, he told me that if I wanted to meet you, I could just go directly to the duke’s castle. I was about to go to town, but I turned around.”

Seira bit the bottom of her lips. It seemed like Aven really meant what he said about considering Baron as her partner. It was unusual for him to divulge her location that easily- especially when she didn’t want to be disturbed.

‘I’m strangely disappointed,’ she suddenly found herself thinking.

No matter how far their relationship is from true love, the way he was trying to neatly draw a line made her feel empty inside.

‘But perhaps it’s a good thing at the moment.’

Didn’t she decide to get a new alpha to use as a shield? Even when the chances were slim, she could still talk to Baron.

‘This is not the time to be caught up in useless feelings.’

Before she knew it, the high walls of Viseltium started to surface from the horizon. Without even hiding it, her face turned gloomy at the sight of it. Viseltium was where Calrad resided.

“It’s not like you are going to be imprisoned…” Baron said in a murmur.

“I was ordered to keep my mouth shut. I don’t think you’ll take issue with it.”

“…Yes.”

Even when she didn’t do a single thing, there were many reasons and ways to put her in a tight spot with just a flick of the Emperor’s finger.

“Oh, Baron, I need to stop by the boutique first,” she turned to ask him.

“The boutique?”

“Yes, my clothes are soaked. Of course, you’ll buy me a pair because you were the main culprit, right?”

Detecting Baron’s body suddenly stiffening with realization of her words, she thought deeply. No matter what the situation was, she should avoid riding a horse with the huge Alpha in the future.

* * *

“I think this would look great on you, too. The dress suits you well.”

Seira looked at Baron with an absurd feeling. He had suddenly sneaked up behind the designer and handed Seira a dress.

When she first came into the boutique to pick garments, she soon found herself stuck at a corner like a mannequin. What she needed weren’t luxurious dresses, but a ready-to-wear outfit. However, Baron kept on sweeping sample after sample for her to try.

Seira didn’t seem to be the only one embarrassed by his behavior. Even the staff and the chief designer were staring at him wide-eyed.

“This is the first time your Excellency took interest in clothes. The last time I sent someone to take your measurements, you would just say you’d do it on your own despite the staff visiting the mansion.”

Whether or not the designer muttered with a depressed expression, Baron was too busy looking around with sharp eyes to see if anything was worth Seira’s time trying as well.

Seira, who changed into clothes immediately repaired to her measurements, poked fun at him as she passed by Baron, “It seems like you would buy more clothes for me than I would ever buy myself.”

“What do you mean by that? Weren’t you the one who told me to take responsibility?”

Seira lowered her voice as she pulled his sleeve suddenly and hissed at him, “Responsibility? Don’t make it sound any weirder, Baron.”

The staff, who closed the boutique today due to Baron’s sudden visit, kept their eyes somewhere else. But it was obvious where their ears were directed. Of course, if they wanted to continue working in Viseltium, they wouldn’t talk about it. Seira didn’t want more attention than what was necessary.

“Stop it and let’s go,” she told him.