Chapter 36

The next day. Roseanne, who had called Enria to her office, widened her eyes when she saw Enria’s swollen lips.

“What happened to your lips?”

Roseanne asked, and Enria offered an awkward smile.

“Something just… happened.”

She felt she would die before admitting that she had been tormented all night, unable to hear the lullaby because of Caldeon’s demand for a kiss while trying to listen to his lullaby the night before.

“But what is the matter…”

Just as Enria was about to change the subject and ask Roseanne, the communication device on Roseanne’s desk rang.

“It’s Lord Tearen.”

Roseanne, her face immediately flushed, smoothed her hair and answered the device.

“Lord Tearen.”

[Good morning, Roseanne.]

Though higher than Caldeon’s, Tearen also had a low, pleasant voice. Enria, curious about Tearen’s face, quietly crept closer to Roseanne and craned her neck to peek into the communication device.

A very mysterious man with long violet hair, almost indigo, and deep green eyes filled her vision. Tearen’s face, which felt like the perfect middle ground between the sharp looks of Caldeon and the pretty-boy aura of Rahar, was incredibly beautiful. His horizontally elongated eyes were quite large, highlighting his green eyes, which matched his violet hair color. Enria blinked, recognizing why Roseanne liked Tearen, and kept stealing glances at him from an angle where she wouldn’t appear in the device.

“You too, Lord Tearen. Did you receive contact from Lord Caldeon?”

[I did. He asked me to remove the illusion magic cast over the entire Empire.]

“Yes. As I told you yesterday, Lord Caldeon, having learned that Hayden is his son, wants to quickly make Enri and Hayden members of the Jupiter family.”

At Roseanne’s words, Enria, who was subtly peeking at Tearen’s face next to her, observed his reaction.

‘Tearen said he could make time starting next week. He plans to revert everything.’

Caldeon’s words from a while ago came back to her, and she realized that he and Roseanne were planning to erase the illusion magic that had deceived the entire Empire with Tearen’s help right now.

[But have you prepared for the situation after the illusion magic disappears? Leaving others aside, what about His Majesty the Emperor and your father?]

“Lord Caldeon said he would take care of it. For now, I think he’ll ask for the illusion magic concerning the fake wedding to be removed first, and then the illusion that I entered here as the acting Grand Duchess.”

[I wonder how far that bastard plans to turn me into a criminal.]

Tearen frowned at Roseanne’s words, as if appalled.

“I’m sorry, Lord Tearen.”

[You don’t need to apologize. After all, I owe that guy a debt.]

At Tearen’s words, Enria, grateful to him for buying them time with the fake wedding with Roseanne, nodded her head.

[I think I should go there first. We need to discuss the details of your role as the acting Grand Duchess before I can even start casting the illusion magic. It seems too complicated to discuss over this device.]

“Ah, right? Then I’ll get permission from Lord Caldeon immediately.”

When Roseanne jumped up and spoke, Tearen nodded and said he appreciated it.

[For some reason, that bastard has blocked the use of the teleportation stone that leads to the Grand Duke’s castle, so I haven’t been able to see his child even once.]

As Tearen muttered, sounding wronged, Roseanne glanced at Enria and offered an awkward smile. Enria also smiled awkwardly and scratched her cheek with her index finger.

“Then I’ll get permission from Lord Caldeon first and contact you again.”

[Okay. And while I’m there, I’d like to see Rahar, too.]

“Ah, my brother and Caldeon are together right now because of something with a fire spirit that allied with the tower.”

Tearen nodded at Roseanne’s words and said he would wait.

“Should I go with you?”

Enria asked Roseanne as soon as the communication device was cut off.

“Yes, let’s do that. Originally, I asked you to come over because I wanted to talk to you privately, but if Lord Tearen is coming, it’s better for all of us to talk together.”

Enria nodded, agreeing that it would be better to discuss things in a group rather than individually, whatever the issue was. As she followed Roseanne to Caldeon’s office, Enria kept glancing at Roseanne, whose face was flushed with the anticipation of meeting Tearen soon. She was truly the face of a woman in love, and Enria could tell how fond she was of Tearen.

***

“No.”

“We can go to him.”

Caldeon and Rahar immediately refused Roseanne’s request to unblock the use of the teleportation stone so Tearen could come to the Grand Duke’s castle.

“No, why? Don’t you need to meet with Lord Tearen directly to discuss the new illusion magic that will be cast over the entire Empire?”

“Rahar and I can go to him.”

“That’s right. We were planning to wrap up the Panz issue and head over to Tearen anyway.”

As Rahar agreed with Caldeon, Roseanne’s brows immediately furrowed in annoyance.

“I need to meet Lord Tearen too!”

“Then you come home for a bit. We can tell Tearen to stop by your place.”

“No, why are you trying to stop Lord Tearen from coming to the Grand Duke’s castle?”

When Roseanne asked, looking genuinely bewildered, Caldeon said to her with an utterly frosty expression.

“I will not allow any man into my castle from now on.”

“…What?”

Roseanne, looking dumbfounded as if she had misheard Caldeon, immediately pointed at her brother with her hand and said.

“Rahar is a man, too, though?”

“He’s fine. Enria doesn’t see him as a man at all.”

At that, Rahar took offense.

“How do you know if Enria sees me as a man or not?”

“If she did, your neck wouldn’t be attached like that.”

“Ha!”

“You acted as the guardian of my woman and my child while I was gone. If Enria saw you as a man, the four of us wouldn’t be sitting here so peacefully.”

Caldeon said, looking at Enria.

At that, Enria laughed awkwardly, unsure how to react, and Roseanne put her hands on her hips and shouted in annoyance.

“Seriously, why can’t you get rid of that inferiority complex toward Lord Tearen, Brother?!”

“Me? That’s ridiculous.”

Rahar let out a hollow laugh, dumbfounded by her words.

“If this isn’t an inferiority complex, then what is… Ah, fine. Then please allow Enria and me to leave the castle for a bit.”

“What?”

“Leaving the castle?”

As Caldeon and Rahar both looked puzzled at Roseanne’s words, Roseanne raised her chin toward them and said.

“Enri and I will meet Lord Tearen outside the castle for a moment.”

“Meet him alone?”

“Why are you taking Enria with you?”

Caldeon and Rahar immediately countered her words. Roseanne wiggled her eyebrows wildly at them and said.

“There are things Enri and I need to discuss. So if you won’t allow Lord Tearen entry into the castle, then allow Enri and me to leave the castle.”

At that, Caldeon stared intently at Rahar. Rahar also looked at Caldeon and shook his head almost imperceptibly. Then Enria abruptly interjected and said to Caldeon.

“There really are things the three of us need to discuss, please.”

Caldeon, who had stared at her for a moment at Enria’s words, eventually turned his head and said to Roseanne.

“Outside the castle is a no. I’ll unblock the teleportation stone, so tell him to come over to the Grand Duke’s castle.”

At those words, a victorious smile spread across Roseanne’s face.

***

Tearen, who had traveled to the Grand Duke’s castle via the teleportation stone, smiled awkwardly at Caldeon and Rahar, who were glaring at him as if they wanted to kill him.

“You’re even more handsome in person.” When Enria greeted him with that honest remark, feeling that the communication device hadn’t captured even half of his beauty, Caldeon’s and Rahar’s eyes, glaring at Tearen, began to blaze as if they were on fire.

Tearen, though flustered, politely offered his thanks for Enria’s comment.

“I’ve heard a lot from Caldeon. Your Ladyship is also very beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t flirt with my woman.”

“Enria, that guy is a womanizer, so it’s better not to get too close to him.”

As Caldeon and Rahar spoke to Enria, wary of Tearen, Tearen let out a hollow laugh, asking what they meant by him being a womanizer. Roseanne also spoke to Caldeon and Rahar with a look of exasperation.

“Brother and Lord Caldeon, please go and attend to your work now. The three of us have some things to discuss first.”

When Roseanne waved her hand at them, the expressions of the two men simultaneously changed to frantic looks, like children about to have their food snatched away.

“There shouldn’t be anything concerning Enria that I don’t know about.”

“Of course, I should listen to the conversation you’re having, too.”

As Caldeon and Rahar spoke at the same time, looking at Roseanne, Roseanne’s face twisted into one of slight disapproval.

“I think it’s better to just talk like this, Roseanne.”

The quick-witted Tearen gave Roseanne an awkward smile, then turned his attention to Enria and asked.

“Where is Caldeon’s child? I’d like to see him.”

“Why do you want to see my son?”

“Hayden is not a child to be shown just to anyone.”

This time, the two men immediately became hostile, causing Tearen to let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

“He’s eating his baby food right now. I’ve told them to bring him here once he’s finished, so you’ll be able to see him soon.”

When Enria spoke to Tearen, ignoring Caldeon and Rahar, the two men simultaneously looked at Enria. The moment Rahar opened his mouth to say something with a displeased expression, Roseanne abruptly asked Tearen.

“Would it be possible to change Enri’s birth with illusion magic? For example, changing her Saintess status to a noble of a viscount family that didn’t originally exist?”

At her question, the eyes of Tearen, Caldeon, Rahar, and Enria all widened simultaneously.