A brown-haired girl at 15 letting out a frozen breath from her petite lips. She stood at the third-floor balcony of an eastern-style building, her eyes followed the figures of the pair of man and woman in black clothes walking away from the building and merging with the still bustling snowy afternoon townscape of the capital.
The sounds of footsteps could be heard approaching her from behind.
"You surely are taking your time with him, Fylio. What, did you already lose your virginity, not just lips?"
A seductive adult voice asks the young girl, Fylio.
Fylio pouted when she looked at the woman walking towards her with a playful smile—her senior. She threw her face away from her senior with an angry face.
"There's no way I would lose my virginity! I've said it earlier, but I work here just until I find my relative and get some money to live for a while. Kissing is okay, but further is a big No!"
"Ehh... But sex is so good~." Her senior jokingly said.
She smiled and patted Fylio's head.
"W-who cares!?"
Fylio, on the other hand, blushed in embarrassment and distanced herself from the woman like a stray cat.
Meanwhile.
As time passed by and the night time was near, Loryarc and Marie finally reached the Scarlet Palace with the sky colored in darker blue above their heads.
The Scarlet Palace is located at the center of Noble District the south of the Capital, while the Marble Rose House is located in Commercial District, in the North of the Capital.
The exact opposite locations mean they should walk for quite a long way.
Marie also took this opportunity to buy some new clothes and accessories for herself, adding more time to their walk. That's why they needed a very long time before could reach the palace.
When they entered the Palace gate, they immediately spotted the figure of a golden-haired and golden-eyed woman standing in the middle of the stone-paved road with folded arms.
She was... Smiling.
"I am questioning as to why my fiancée is so late... So you had quite a date with your little maid, hmm~?"
Glamoria tilted her head slightly and placed her hand on her cheek, looking at the two with narrowed eyes.
W-was she angry?
Marie unintentionally took a step back and hugged the bag of clothes and accessories she had previously bought in the town.
Compared to Marie, Loryarc is calm.
Marie already noticed it while she was watching her Master discussing things with Fylio... The Young Miss.
Her Master, when talking about his family, was... Serious.
Maybe because he suffers from memory loss, but he often asks about whether his parent was kind parents or the kind of parents who were harsh towards him, and such questions.
But she was still surprised seeing her Master look so calm facing Lady Glamoria, who was... Well, someone beyond her comprehension.
"I was going to see you, Glamoria."
Loryarc stepped forward and looked right into Glamoria's eyes.
"Oh?"
Glamoria's interest seems to be piqued by him when he says such words.
"I had something to talk about with you. Let's move to a more convenient place."
Without even waiting for Glamoria's confirmation, Loryarc walked past her and entered the Palace.
Marie nervously looked between her Master's back and the silently smiling Glamoria, before bowing to Glamoria and following her Master.
Loryarc immediately took off his clothes and headed toward the bathroom right after he reached his room.
Marie requested to help him take a bath, but he refused with a questioning face. Did Marie used to take a bath with him before? He thought.
After that, her Master and Lady Glamoria have dinner in the Feasting Chamber.
Her Master's dinner was Lady Glamoria's 32nd Special Menu, Gharoga Tongue Meatballs. Her Master gulped in horror, but he silently ate his meal while having a focused expression on his face, glancing at Lady Glamoria from time to time.
Lady Glamoria, meanwhile, is just smiling while watching her Master eat her special menu. She, as usual, had a brilliant dinner.
After dinner time was over, the two silently looked at each other while waiting for the Maids to tidy and clean the Feasting chamber and bring the emptied dirty plates, teapots, and cups to the kitchen.
Only after the Feasting chamber was cleaned thoroughly, her Master opened his mouth.
"Let's talk in my room."
He just said that sentence to Lady Glamoria before standing up and walking toward his room.
Marie glanced at Glamoria.
She still smiled, but she stood and followed him.
His Master's room had been left as it was since the morning, with an untidy bed sheet and scattered books. Marie used these books to teach her Master about this world's common sense last night, and since they rushed to the town this morning, Marie didn't have time to clean the room.
So, Marie began to tidy and clean the room for a while in front of the two, placed the books back on the shelves, and swept the floor a bit before lit the candle on the table inside the room to fulfill her Master and Lady Glamoria's need of light source while talking.
Marie continued to clean the room while the two sat on the sofas, facing each other with the table separating them.
Unexpectedly, it was Lady Glamoria who first broke the silence.
"Isn't it rare, Lory, for you to be so serious-looking? I wonder what happens today?" She asked in a light tone as usual.
She always smiles, so her mind is hard to read by just looking at her cute and gentle smile. She looked like a very beautiful, kind-hearted woman at first glance, but you would find her scary and strange after knowing more about her.
Loryarc looked right into her golden pupils, trying to read her thoughts but couldn't, so he gave up and immediately stated what he wanted to talk about instead of giving her an explanation about what happened today.
"I heard that my family's territory, the Lapizburn County, suffered a chaotic rebellion and were on conflicts between the branch families."
"You should be aware of the fact already, aren't you?" Loryarc asked Glamoria; his eyes didn't falter even a second when making eye contact with her.
Glamoria remains silent for a while. She brought her pointer finger to pinch her elastic cheek and put on a cute-pondering pose.
"Hmm~... Come to think of it, I think I have heard once about that somewhere before~..."
Glamoria's answer was vague and evasive. It was hard to tell whether she knew about the rebel or she knew but didn't pay any heed to the fact.
But Loryarc was sure that a Lady of a powerful Family like Glamoria should already have her ears on the words about the rebels in one way or two.
"It's good that you've heard about this matter. I wouldn't pretend anything. I want to return to my County and calm the conflicts." Loryarc stated his intentions without a facade, his eyes still locked on her eyes.
Glamoria intertwined her fingers beneath her chin and tilted her head while looking at her fiancée's handsome, serious face. Her eyes see through his determination, see through his sheer desire to regain his hometown.
"Glamoria... Please." He pleads.
After not saying anything for a while, Glamoria opened her mouth.
"... Okay, fine." She said, smiling. "I'll allow you to return to your hometown, Lory. You must have been developing homesick after a year, aren't you~?"
Loryarc's and Marie's faces lit up after hearing her allowance.
"Then...!"
"BUT."
But.
"With a condition."
You should satisfy this young woman first~.