ᴠɪʟʟᴀɪɴᴇss ɪɴ ʏᴀɴᴅᴇʀᴇ ᴅᴀᴛɪɴɢ sɪᴍ

4 | Festival

Noah gazed out the window, taking in the sunrise that would usher in the dawn for the empire.

"My beloved little sister did something interesting yesterday."

He smiled and turned to face the knight kneeling in front of him.

"Overnight, a brat who couldn't do anything but throw tantrums changed. I assumed it was just a load of baseless rumors."

As he narrowed his eyes, his smile grew even deeper.

"Ah... this could be dangerous for me."

He covered his mouth with his gloved hand, gulping.

His sharp amethyst eyes landed on the knight in front of him, and he released his hand from his mouth, his smile unflappable.

"Your job is to find out whether or not she's just acting. Find out today or-"

Veins appeared on his neck, as if to suppress his anger.

"I'll cut off your head myself."

Even though the knight shook with fear, he nodded his head, sweat beading on his skin.

"I understand, young master."

***

Graciella was greeted by a familiar screen in front of her the instant she opened her eyes.

[Ask Louis Grandet to go to the Iris Festival.]

The moment the screen disappeared, she groaned and wrapped herself in a blanket.

(My first task in the morning is to continue sleeping.)

(I'll ask him to the festival later.)

She was jolted awake by Louis when he opened the door so loudly that she couldn't even close her eyes to return to her dreamland.

"Good morning, Lady Graciella!"

Graciella frowned, but she decided to get up anyhow because he'd be so noisy about it if she didn't.

She rises up in a sitting position after releasing her blanket.

"... Good morning, Louis."

She yawned after she greeted him, which made Louis giggle.

"Breakfast will be served in a minute."

"... Thanks."

She suddenly remembered her task and redirected her gaze to Louis.

"Louis, I heard a town around here is having a festival."

Louis's eyes widened in disbelief, as he hadn't expected a noble lady like Graciella to be aware of such a small town festival.

"Yes, lady Graciella. I'm surprised you noticed!"

With a broad grin on his face, he expressed his joy.

"It's located in Iris Town."

"Where is that?"

"It's only a short distance from the duke's fief! Isn't it wonderful that the duke intends to make Iris Town his own fiefdom?!"

Graciella recalled how the duke gazed at her during yesterday's dinner after Louis mentioned the duke.

When she thought about it, she still shivered and was frightened.

She couldn't help but believe it wasn't a good idea for the duke to take over Iris Town.

(He's never been like that before, even in Graciella's memories. Does it-)