Chapter 135
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ED: LonelyMatter
Chapter 135 – Will You Love Me?
It was a night in Heim, after spring, and before early summer.
Grint’s fiancée had come to visit him at the Roundheart Mansion in Heim’s capital.
“Thank you for taking the time to see me when you’re so busy…”
When she said this with a thoughtful expression on her face, Grint was so fl.u.s.tered that he kept denying it.
“No, it’s not that! I just wanted to be with Anon! I don’t need this kind of unnecessary worry!”
Grint, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, raised his voice in a nervous manner.
“Fufu. I’m very happy.”
Then, Anon’s happy face.
That was enough for Grint.
“But I’m sorry, we’ll have to part in the morning.”
“I understand. It’s an important job.”
The next morning, Grint has to deliver the letter in his possession to Euro.
After that, the letter would probably reach Ishtalika.
“Oh, that’s right. It’s the last communication with Ishtalika before the meeting.”
Anon continued to ask, looking at Grint, who was talking in a tedious way.
“Is the case of the August family also connected to this?”
“Mmm… Yes. I can’t say it out loud, but the case of Elena-dono still has a big influence.”
“It’s like she’s a different person, trying to do things in a moderate way…”
Anon continues to speak carefully as if trying to read Grint’s mood.
“As expected from Anon, you know a lot.”
Having said that, Grint got into bed and went next to Anon.
“Even His Highness would be offended by this…”
“…If it were Elena-sama’s words, wouldn’t the others have been upset as well?”
“You’re really getting to the point, Anon.”
“I’m sorry…”
Grint hugged the apologizing Anon and opened his mouth to say that it was okay.
“It’s okay. It’s the truth. The problem is what Elena-dono said.”
Elena returned from Ishtalika.
Her actions had been discovered by Ishtalika, and she was sent home on a special Ishtalika ship.
She was also shown around the military port and other facilities on her way back.
Up to that point, things had been fine, but Elena became even more cautious than before.
In fact, she even said things like, “Heim should be more modest…”
“Maybe thanks to this, Elena-dono’s work has decreased dramatically. I guess that means more work for me.”
“And my time with you will decrease as well, right?”
Grint smiled wryly when he saw Anon sulking.
“It’ll settle down soon. Once this meeting is over, we should be able to relax for a while.”
“I hope that happens.”
“Yes, please. Seriously… what an annoying country.”
Grint, who looked listless, felt sick when he thought about Ishtalika.
Not only because of his brother but also because he remembered the shame from last time.
“Anyway, let’s stop talking about that country for now. …Since we’re here, I’m going to buy some souvenirs from Euro. Is there anything you want?”
His expression changes completely, and he turns to Anon with a smile.
“A souvenir…?
“Yes. If there’s something you’re interested in, I’ll go and buy it.”
“If that’s the case, may I ask you to deliver a message for me?”
“Hmm? To whom?”
Hearing that the message was for someone in Euro, Grint looked at Anon curiously.
“I have an old acquaintance. My family has asked for his help on several occasions, and I thought I’d contact him after all this time…”
“Oh, I see. Well, leave it to me.”
“Thank you, Grint-sama.”
Grint seemed satisfied just by seeing Anon’s happy expression.
“So, who should I give the message to?”
“Well, it’s someone you know very well, Grint-sama.”
“Someone I know too…?
Anon put her hand to her forehead and thought, then looked at Grint and smiled.
“Well, who could it be?”
Intrigued by who it could be, Grint looked at Anon’s mischievous smile and thought even harder. But he still didn’t know who she was talking about.
“I have no idea who you’re talking about.”
“Then, after you make love to me again, I’ll tell you.”
As Anon said this, she let her body drop towards Grint.
＊＊＊
It was the morning that Grint left for Euro.
Many ships crowded the port city of Roundheart.
Among them were not only Heim’s ships but also those of the trading city of Birdland and ships carrying adventurers.
Many of them had been hired to act as escorts for Heim’s ships.
“Your Highness, what is the situation?”
“Oh, it’s Logas!”
Logas approached Tigre, who was observing the situation in the harbor.
“I feel more and more sorry that I had to bother you, Your Highness.”
“Don’t say that. This is what I wanted, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
Tigre, smiling happily, tapped Logas on the shoulder.
“The sound of the seabirds is very pleasant.”
“Yes. Let’s let this sound heal us now, in preparation for the meeting with Ishtalika that will begin soon.”
Although it can’t be seen from this harbor, there should be an island beyond the horizon that will be used for the meeting with Ishtalika.
Tigre stares intently in that direction.
“We have finally taken the first step. It was really a long way…”
With his hands on his hips and feeling the sea breeze, Tigre thought back to the long investigation that had gone before.
“I’m sorry about Elena. Maybe she got cold feet, but I can’t leave her in charge of the investigation now.”
“…Yes.”
“I want to believe her too, but I can’t back out now.”
As if complaining, Tigre spoke to Logas.
But there was no trace of his feelings for Heim in his words.
Logas felt it.
He thought he was putting his pride and his own love feelings first.
“Yes, that’s right.”
However, Logas had no intention of pointing this out.
As the great general of Heim, he must never contradict the Royal family.
He had always done so in the past and would continue to do so in the future.
“By the way, Logas. I heard that your son and your wife are also coming…”
“You forgot to add the ‘former."”
“Well, you’re right. But still, Olivia is the woman you lay with, and that man is the child born of that union.”
“But…”
“I’m sorry. Forget it. I asked a mean question.”
After hearing Tigre’s words, Logas stopped speaking.
He was overcome by a feeling of nostalgia or perhaps anger.
“Has Grint left already?”
“Yes. He rode his horse to Euro as soon as he woke up this morning.”
“I’m sorry to have caused him so much trouble.”
“No, I’m sure Grint is happy about it.”
A letter with the intention to make a final confirmation.
It would be sent to Ishtalika via Euro.
This letter would be the last communication before the meeting.
“I’m glad to hear that he’s getting along well with Anon. It seems that our Holy Knight is also happy thanks to this.”
The two were known for their affection for each other.
Although many people had asked for the favor of becoming the second wife, Grint had stubbornly refused.
“Speaking of which, it seems that Anon-dono asked him to do something for her.”
“Hmm? Is it something to do with going to Euro?”
“Yes. Apparently, she asked him to deliver a message to Ed-dono…”
Tigre was intrigued by Logas’ words.
“You mean the Bruno family had a connection to Ed?”
“Apparently, when Ed was an adventurer, they asked him to do something for them…”
“I see. That makes sense. So what was the message?”
Tigre’s answer makes Logas remember the message.
“I think the message was, ‘Let’s prepare for a new stage."”
“What’s that? Are they going to put on a show together?”
“Actually, I don’t really know. But I think it’s close to what Your Highness was thinking.”
Tigre said, “Oh well,” and didn’t seem too worried.
“Whatever, but for now I guess we’ll just wait for our Holy Knight to return.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
The number of ships gradually increased as they spoke.
Logas haf never seen the port city of Roundheart so busy.
“It looks like it’s going to be a big party.”
“Yes, we’ve also hired a lot of adventurers. That’s why the sea route is so expensive.”
“There are also a lot of knights coming over. From the Royal Family, we have His Majesty, Prince Tigre, and His Highness, the First Prince, right?”
“That’s right. As for the influential n.o.bles, there’s the Roundheart family, a few from the Bruno family… and the Lance family. Finally, we’ll take Elena from the August family.”
It will be a meeting attended by many influential people.
When you look at it, you can see how much effort Heim was putting into it.
“Our main forces are all here.”
“Yes. Even against Ishtalika we won’t be outdone.”
Logas nodded.
With such an array of talent, they could compete with Ishtalika.
In fact, they might even be able to use the meeting to their advantage.
“I have one last question. If you were to get information about Lady Krone and the others…”
“It has been decided. I will get Krone back, no matter what it takes!”
——…It was the answer he expected.
With diplomatic relations severed, even communication with them is done through a third country, Euro.
It was easy to see how Tigre wanted to make the most of the few opportunities he had.
He won’t mention Graff’s name, will he?
Logas couldn’t help but smile to himself.
“Father also gave his stamp of approval to Krone.”
“Really? I’ve never heard of that… How come?”
Hearing Logas’ answer, Tigre felt better and opened his mouth.
“Oh, apparently ‘the wonderful people of the Red Fox’ will be there to bless my relationship with her! They’ve been supporting us more than ever lately.”
Hearing Tigre’s happy words, Logas also smiled.
“If that happens, the meeting will really be a big turning point.”
“Yes, that’s why I’m counting on you, Logas!”
＊＊＊
Three days after Grint left for Euro.
As planned, Grint returned to Heim.
Grint was happy that he had returned without any major problems along the way.
“Your Highness, I’m back!”
The first place he went when he returned home was Tigre’s room.
Although it was late at night when he arrived, Tigre had been waiting for Grint’s return.
“Oh, you’re back, Grint!”
As he approached the returning Grint, Tigre walked up to him and gave him a big hug.
“Well, Your Highness!”
“Hahaha! Don’t worry about it! It was a long journey, wasn’t it, Grint!”
He expressed his pleasure and patted Grint on the back before sitting down.
Then he motioned for Grint to take the seat in front of him.
“So, how did it go?”
“Yes, I definitely delivered it to the people of Ishtalika. However, as usual, they were rude… they had no manners at all.”
“I see. That’s to be expected from the Ishtalikans. I don’t mind, but it’s not a good feeling.”
“Yes. So we must show our presence at the meeting.”
Tigre nodded deeply when he heard that.
“Grint is right. …But we’ll go to the meeting with Ishtalika in a few days.”
Tigre said with a sigh.
“Yes, it feels like it’s been a long time, but finally.”
Several years had pa.s.sed since they received Ishtalika’s response.
Interactions between countries took time, but on top of that, they were dealing with a country from another continent, and diplomatic relations had been severed.
When that happened, it was easy to understand why it took so long.
“Ah, well… I’ll tell you anyway. There are no changes to the schedule, and we from Heim will go to the prepared island as planned.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Yes. Hiring adventurers and preparing ships is an expensive business. But it’s a necessary expense, and I hope we can bring back a positive result.”
Grint nodded deeply.
A lot of taxpayers’ money had been invested in this, so they didn’t want to come back without results.
“By the way, did you give Ed a message?”
“Yes, I did. Anon seems to be on good terms with him, so I gave him a quick message.”
“So what did Ed say?”
Grint didn’t think he was paying too much attention, but Ed was a man who could defeat Logas.
He was curious to know what kind of reply he had given.
“He said he was ‘preparing for his role,’ but I couldn’t understand what he meant…”
“Ah, I don’t understand that either. But I guess he’s probably going to see a play or something.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
When he saw that Grint had agreed, Tigre changed the subject.
“What do you think, Grint? Once we’ve settled in a bit, how about we go to Birdland and take a vacation?”
Birdland had many luxurious inns.
Spending leisure time there was a kind of status symbol for n.o.bles.
“That sounds wonderful. Then I look forward to going to Birdland.”
Grint smiled when he heard Tigre’s words.
He was a good prince for Grint, being so considerate.
The two of them chatted for a while in Tigre’s room.
Grint left Tigre’s room halfway through to report to Logas.
Tigre was left alone, but even after Grint left, he was still excited about the meeting.
＊＊＊
It has been a few days since Grint returned to Heim.
Finally, the day has come for them to leave for the meeting with Ishtalika.
The people of Heim have flocked to the port city of Roundheart to see the many ships lined up there.
Seeing this, Grint called out to Elena, who was standing next to him.
“Look at all these people… Elena-dono.”
“Yes, it is.”
Lately, Elena had not been given any work.
However, she still had to be brought to this meeting.
In her heart, Elena also thought that she had to go, so she was relieved that she could go with them.
“I’m sure you wouldn’t have seen crowds like this in Ishtalika.”
Grint spoke with confidence, but Elena’s expression was somber in contrast.
“Y-yes. I think the crowds today are wonderful.”
In truth, it was incomparable. She wanted to say that but remembered Tigre’s att.i.tude towards her.
She feared that if she made Grint feel bad, too, they might leave her at the last minute.
“You may have your own thoughts, but we need your help, Elena-dono.”
Grint knew.
He knew that Elena’s power was essential for this meeting.
“I understand. I will do my best in this meeting.
If it comes to that, she would have to stop it herself.
Elena would go into this meeting with this determination.
Just as she steeled herself, a woman approached her.
“Oh, there seems to be a guest here, so I’ll go to the ship first.”
Elena, noticing the woman, quickly left the area and headed for the ship.
Grint wondered what was going on, but when he saw the woman who had come, he understood why.
“Grint-sama, I’ve come to see you off.”
“Anon! You came!”
Grint hugged Anon, who had come over without worrying about what others might think.
Anon didn’t seem embarra.s.sed either, just happy.
“Of course. After all, you’re the one who’s leaving.”
Grint, who was tired from the crowds, also felt comforted by Anon’s words.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t get to spend much time with you.”
“It’s true. …Have you suddenly come to dislike me?”
“Don’t be silly! My feelings for you have never changed!”
Anon looked surprised when Grint looked straight ahead and blurted out these words, but soon, she smiled and opened her mouth.
“I’m a lucky person. I’m glad you said that.”
Grint was also relieved to see that Anon looked relieved.
“I’ll be away from Heim for a while, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be away from you, Anon.”
“Yes, I understand. I believe in you, Grint-sama.”
“Oh, you can wait for me with the feeling of being on a big ship!”
“Oh, that’s funny. Isn’t it you who will be on the big ship from now on, Grint-sama?”
Anon spoke with a chuckle.
Grint heard this and laughed and said, “That’s right.”
After a short time, the group from Heim set sail from the harbor to attend the meeting.
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