ILOIML 18

Chapter 18

Cassia smiled gracefully at Leon, then turned her head to look at me.

“Duchess, I apologize for visiting without notice.”

“It’s an honor to have you visit Aster Castle. Please, come inside.”

We walked with Cassia to the reception room.

“Bell-bell, sit next to me!”

Leon rushed into the room and shouted excitedly.

“I’m sorry, but I would like to speak with the Duchess alone.”

Cassia spoke quietly to me, watching Leon wiggling and smiling on the sofa.

“You mean… not with the Duke, but really just with me?”

“Yes, that’s right, Duchess.”

So she really came just to talk to me?

Didn’t she say she fell in love at first sight?

Leon was waving his legs, and Cassia was staring only at me—both ignoring each other.

What’s going on?

Feeling confused, I gently spoke to Leon.

“Leon, the saint wants to talk to me privately. Could you go take a little walk for now?”

“No! I want to be with my Bell-bell!”

For some reason, even Leon’s cheeky tone sounded cute today.

“Leon, if you step out just for a little while, I’ll let you do whatever you want later, okay?”

Leon kept his mouth shut, thought for a second, then reluctantly nodded.

“You promised, Bell-bell!”

His mischievous smile made me feel uneasy, but I had no choice.

Leon left the room with light steps.

Watching his cheerful back, I smiled without meaning to.

Now, only Cassia and I were left in the room.

“Did you visit the temple of Thea, the goddess of Aster, recently? I heard you stayed for about a week.”

Cassia asked bluntly without any formal greetings as soon as she sat down.

“Yes, I did.”

Her soft smile faded, and her expression turned cold.

“And I heard the guest rooms at the temple were majorly renovated right after you left.”

“Our Aster duchy decided to sponsor the temple.”

“……”

“You didn’t come here to ask for support for the Rianus temple, did you?”

I joked lightly, but Cassia didn’t laugh. Instead, she narrowed her eyes.

“I’ll ask directly. Where is the holy sword, Aesir?”

“……”

“I’m searching for the sacred relics by the will of the gods.”

“…I don’t want to lie to you, Saint. So yes, I did find Aesir. Completely by chance. And now the sword has gone to its rightful owner.”

“Rightful owner…? The gods didn’t give ownership to anyone. Aesir belongs to the divine.”

Cassia spoke firmly, not allowing any room for argument.

“May I ask why you’re collecting the sacred relics?”

I fidgeted with my fingers and asked her.

I was suddenly curious—does she even know the world is ending?

“I’m only following the will of the gods. As a mere human, I cannot understand their reasons. But I believe their purpose will be revealed in time.”

“Do you really not know?”

I asked again.

Cassia closed her eyes, then opened them sharply.

“Where is the sword?”

Her interrogating tone started to annoy me.

Was Cassia always this cold?

She had seemed warm and kind at first, but now she felt completely different.

It would’ve been easy to just tell her where the sword was.

But since she didn’t know Leon, and didn’t seem to know about the world’s end, I didn’t know how to explain it.

Also, I had sold the sword to Leon for 50 solas.

“Well… it’s hard to explain, but the sword’s current owner—don’t look so serious! Let’s say borrower instead. The borrower is someone I know, and that person really needs the sword. I believe they’ll use it properly.”

“Return the sword.”

Cassia didn’t move. She repeated the same demand firmly.

“That doesn’t make sense. I found it first…”

“The sword’s owner…”

“Then how about this—I’ll make a promise under my title as Duchess. If the person isn’t worthy, I’ll make sure the sword is returned to you.”

“……”

She looked at me with doubt.

What could I say to make her trust me?

“If you want, I’ll write a formal contract under my name as Duchess.”

“I’ll decide if the borrower is worthy or not. Who is it?”

“I can’t say.”

To Cassia, I probably looked like someone who had stolen a holy item.

I understood why she looked at me with such suspicion, but it still felt bad to be disliked by the heroine.

“But I promise—really. Please trust me for now.”

Cassia lowered her eyes and went silent for a while.

After sighing a few times, she looked back up with determination.

“I’ll be clear. If the person using Aesir doesn’t meet my standards, the sword must be returned immediately.”

She kept mentioning “God’s will” and now suddenly it was “her standards,” which was confusing.

But at least the crisis had passed, so I nodded.

“Understood.”

If she ever found out that Leon had the sword, she would realize it did go to the right person.

“I will trust you, Duchess. But you must take full responsibility for your words.”

After confirming my answer several times, Cassia smiled again—like her usual gentle self—and left Aster Castle with a warm farewell from the people.

Leon wasn’t among the crowd.

I didn’t tell anyone to go call him either.

After Cassia left, I headed to the study, where Leon was.

He was walking out with Kalsen after having a serious conversation.

Kalsen spotted me first and nudged Leon with his elbow.

Leon frowned at him.

“Leon!”

The moment I called him, Leon’s face lit up.

“Bell-bell!!”

“The Saint just left, and I came back after seeing her off.”

I didn’t ask why he hadn’t come to say goodbye.

“I was sleepy, so I was going to take a nap. Did the Saint leave safely?”

“Yes. I’ll walk you to your bedroom.”

I walked beside him, glancing at his face.

He didn’t look any different than usual.

I really wanted to ask what he thought about the Saint, but I held back.

“By the way, why did the Saint come to our house? Did she come to praise me because you prayed so hard to the gods, Bell-bell?”

“Maybe. That could be part of it. But actually, it was about the sword I gave you before.”

“What?”

“That sword is Aesir.”

“……”

“She probably came to take it back. But don’t worry—I never told anyone who has it. So you have to keep it a secret too.”

“Ae-Ae-Ae… Aesir? What’s that?”

Leon’s lips trembled.

I stared at his pale face carefully.

Don’t tell me… he didn’t know that sword was Aesir?

“You don’t know Aesir? The legendary sword used by Goddess Thea herself. Didn’t I tell you? Or even if I didn’t—shouldn’t you have known just by looking at it? You really didn’t know?”

“Ah… A-ah, maybe I did? But it’s mine… right?”

“Shh! I said it’s a secret! Don’t tell anyone I gave it to you. And don’t mention you paid money for it either. That could put the seller in danger, you know?”

Leon’s eyes went wide, and he nodded hard.

Watching him, I realized something.

I am not a good merchant.

If Leon had paid that much without even knowing the sword was Aesir, then maybe…

‘I… I really should renegotiate my allowance…’