she couldnât find a way to counter calradâs power or control her raging power, but it wasnât like she didnât gain any progress.
âmaybe i should keep a double contract in mind.â
louis franto and baron jeff⦠the two of them needed to be involved. if so, she had to make a way to work things out before she signed a contract with louis.
she grabbed her throbbing head from all the complicated calculations that came into mind, and seira thought of what louis and baron could really want from her.
âfirst, letâs get everything that might be helpful for now.â
she was going to take the remains of the nest as well as the angcoras that she captured and put them in the greenhouse.
the remnants of the nest, which were stolen with the intention of digging up secrets hidden by the temple, seemed to be impossible to find out without going through the research institute anyway.
âsome say itâs dangerous if handled in the wrong manner.â
rather, after commissioning research through louis, it could be more helpful to determine whether there was a special link between franto and the temple.
seira left the bathroom with her body dripping wet and a roughly worn gown on.
âi put it in the jewel box.â
crossing the room to check the black piece in the jewelry box on her dressing table, her eyes gravitated towards the door.
âaven,â she said with widened eyes.
somehow, a stiff-faced aven was standing in front of her bedroom door.
âduchessâ¦â he greeted her after approaching her and stopping a few steps away.
âis everything all right?â he asked her.
âwhat?â seira blinked at him. she really didnât understand where his question was coming from. âoh! did you see the wheat field from the dews estate on your way here? even i was truly surprised. i think frantoâs ability is more than i thought.â
ââ¦â
âother than that, nothing in particular, i think? what are you doing here? do you have any bad news?â she asked.
looking into her eyes, he dropped his gaze and said, âhis majesty has called a grand meeting. he said he would charge treason to anyone that wouldnât attend.â
âwhat? treason?â seira opened her mouth in bewilderment. âwhy did he call for a grand meeting?â
âthe official letter did not specify the reason.â
the conference to summon all the duke, marquis, and count household heads wasnât convened unless it was very important to the security of the empire. this is because it takes more than three days to get to the ecliptic from the furthest border, even if one was accompanied by an intermediate wizard capable of moving magic.
âwhen would it be?â
âin five days.â
seira, who had been lost in thought, soon concluded, âthen there is a high possibility that it is related to the nest.â
the first to find the beastâs nest was the temple, not anyone else. she didnât know if their searching ability was great or if they received trust through the saintess, but there were few exceptions.
ânot to mention on the night of the banquet, the high priest and saintess came to see him.â
it mustâve been something urgent for them to come to the banquet hall and ask for an audience with calrad.
âjust in case, our knights should hurry up with maintenance.â
less than a week after the dissolution of the subjugation party, the beastâs nest appeared, and if the location wasnât good, there was enough reason to summon family heads from the counts and higher.
âunderstood,â aven answered calmly like he always does.
seira looked at him with meaningful eyes, âdid you worry about what happened to me? do you think calrad would come this far out?â
his expression froze at her funny question.
âhis majesty is extremely obsessed with youâ¦â
seira burst into laughter.
âno, but thereâs no way weâre going to call a grand meeting because of me alone.â
aven, who had his whole world centered around her and worried for her constantly, was cute and a bit absurd too. he lowered his gaze as he looked at her laughing and laughing.
âi donât know. i donât know how iâm going to tie it up next timeâ¦â he suddenly stopped talking and his eyes widened at something. his hands grabbed for her sleeve and then exclaimed, âduchess, your hands! how did you end up with this?â
âoh⦠i got injured by mistake while training. itâs not that big a deal. it doesnât hurt much.â
âthereâs no way this wound wonât hurt,â he worried.
as always with matters like this, he didnât take her word of âall rightâ as the truth.
âplease wait for a moment. i will bring the ointment.â
seira stared at avenâs back, who immediately left the room.
âwellâ¦â
she thought that if he had an omega that he liked, his attitude towards her would change a little, but it seemed to have stayed the same. the way he gave her attention and worried for herâ¦
âi shouldnât like things like this.â
helping herself, she sat down on the bed and stared at her palms.
she was fine when she was alone, but now that she showed aven her wound, it suddenly began to tinge strangely.