"The stationery is in the second drawer of the desk, and the pen is on top of it..."
"Then sit on the sofa, Lady."
Before I could even finish speaking, Lishid strode off.
Without giving me a chance to stop him, he grabbed one of the desk legs and, in a single swift motion, leaped onto the desktop.
Whoa.
I stared at him with genuine amazement.
To think that tiny body could get up there in the blink of an eye.
No wonder he fights monsters for a living.
Though, come to think of it, that might have been the fastest movement I'd ever seen from him.
Was it really necessary to put that much effort into fetching some paper and a pen?
Hmm... Maybe he really does feel sorry.
Watching him with narrowed eyes, I sat down on the sofa.
A moment later, he placed the stationery and pen in front of me.
"Thank you."
Up until now, I had always been the one taking care of Lishid. This was the first time he'd done something for me.
For some reason, it made me oddly happy.
This must be the result of all my hard work.
We've gotten this close... It feels like I've taken another step away from death.
"What are you doing? Aren't you going to write?"
"Ah, right!"
Suppressing the grin threatening to spread across my face, I hurriedly picked up the pen.
Now then... the High Priest's name was...
Erkael.
Even his name was beautiful.
Murmuring to myself, I wrote down the High Priest's name.
Just then, Lishid climbed onto the desk.
Startled, I looked up.
He pulled a fresh sheet of paper toward himself and spread it out.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of reading your letter."
"Are you writing one too, Your Grace?"
"I need to tell Cassel Elviance—that idiot—to find a way to deal with those Western nobles."
Right...
I'd almost forgotten about the Marquis Langard problem.
First the Duchess searched my room.
Then I was confined to the mansion for giving flowers to High Priest Erkael.
There had been so much happening that I'd temporarily forgotten.
Setting my pen down, I rested my chin on the table and watched Lishid.
Holding the pen with both hands as though hugging it, he began writing.
I thought he'd tell me to stop staring.
Instead, he seemed too preoccupied to even notice my gaze.
He really must be furious with those Western nobles.
Naturally.
In the original novel, he'd been caught off guard.
But now that he knew the truth, there was no way he'd simply let it slide.
His crimson eyes moved across the neat lines of writing like polished rubies rolling over glass.
As he walked across the white paper, his black hair swayed ever so slightly.
Despite his tiny body, Lishid wrote with remarkably elegant movements.
...So... so cute.
Ahem.
This wasn't the time to be admiring him.
Snapping back to reality, I carefully spoke.
"Um, Your Grace... I actually thought of a possible solution earlier."
This is troublesome.
Having unexpectedly ended up trapped in the same room as the young lady, Lishid frowned.
He had only acted on impulse, wanting to test whether her feelings were genuine.
He had never imagined it would lead to consequences this serious.
It seemed urging her to give flowers to the High Priest had truly been a mistake.
He had intended to apologize to her once the right opportunity arose.
After all, thanks to her drawing everyone's attention today, that fool Cassel Elviance had managed to avoid a rather awkward situation.
But the resolve he'd built up to apologize...
"...It's just because the High Priest is handsome. You don't often get to see a face like that up close."
...Melted away at those insignificant words.
"...The High Priest is handsome?"
Lishid stared at her in disbelief.
Yet her answer was even more astonishing.
"Yes. He looked just like an angel."
Seeing her expression—as if wondering why he was asking such an obvious question—made his fists tighten.
"So... that's your type after all."
"Huh?"
"How utterly ridiculous."
He should have realized it sooner.
The woman who'd been declaring she liked him was now openly praising another man's looks.
And calling him an angel?
Do you even know who the real angel is?
Airel Blandiche had always possessed a face that perfectly matched Lishid's sense of beauty.
Lately, however, she'd somehow become livelier than before, making his eyes drift toward her again and again—
...No.
That wasn't the point.
Even to someone like Lishid, who had never been in love before, the young lady's behavior was unbelievably insensitive.
But that wasn't the strangest part.
Why is my heart beating so fast?
His breathing felt strangely labored.
His body felt warm.
Just like when he'd met the High Priest earlier...
And now as well...
Ever since being reduced to this tiny form, his own body no longer felt like his.
She keeps doing such bizarre things... Perhaps staying around her is making me lose my mind too.
That was why he turned away.
He thought that if Airel Blandiche disappeared from his sight, he'd feel better.
But then—
"Anyway, now that things have turned out this way, I should write the High Priest a letter."
"Wait. Why?"
The instant she mentioned writing to the High Priest, he shot to his feet like a puppy jumping up to see its owner off.
Damn it.
Lishid silently cursed his own absurdly fast reflexes.
Meanwhile, Airel turned toward him with a bright smile.
Not merely a pretty face—
Certainly not an ordinary one.
Rather, the kind of breathtaking beauty that would make anyone walking past glance back three times.
Not that Lishid had fallen for her.
Not at all.
It was simply...
Cute.
Adorable.
Beautiful.
No—
Just... a face that somehow kept drawing his gaze for reasons he couldn't explain.
"Because of someone, a huge—absolutely enormous and disastrous—misunderstanding has happened, so shouldn't I clear it up as soon as possible? Of course, I'm sure the High Priest doesn't care in the slightest—not even a tiny little bit—but I should make it absolutely clear that I don't have feelings for him."
"An excellent idea."
Lishid interrupted the moment she finished speaking.
"Write the letter immediately. Where are the stationery and the pen?"
For reasons he himself didn't understand, his mood had suddenly become much lighter.
Almost as if possessed, he volunteered to fetch the writing supplies and laid them before her.
Normally, he would never have done such a thing.
But his emotions had been swinging wildly enough that he didn't even realize what he was doing.
Still...
When Airel stopped writing and simply stared at his face—
...This is rather distracting.
The moment he noticed her sparkling gaze fixed on him, even breathing comfortably became difficult.
So he deliberately ignored those shining eyes and focused solely on writing his own letter.
Cassel Elviance.
Those are the eyes of my utterly useless aide, Cassel Elviance.
He repeated the words to himself like a spell.
Then Airel spoke again.
"Um, Your Grace... I actually came up with an idea."
Tapping the table lightly to draw his attention, she smiled brightly.
"A way to shut down the Western nobles' unreasonable demands. Would you like to hear it?"
"Ather Chamber... Have you ever heard of it?"
Ather Chamber.
In the original novel, it had only been mentioned briefly.
It was an information guild whose network of eyes and ears extended throughout the entire Retinoa Empire.
Was it near the end of the story?
In the original plot, Airel stole one of the Blandiche family's heirlooms and offered it to the master of the Ather Chamber in exchange for helping her escape the Retinoa Empire.
Because the organization didn't shy away from criminal dealings, they readily accepted her request.
Of course, after getting her out of the Empire, they cut ties with her immediately...
Having handed over such a priceless heirloom, Airel assumed the Ather Chamber would continue helping her.
So when she found herself in danger again, she asked them for assistance.
Their answer was merciless.
"Our business has already concluded. If you want another job done, bring money."
Reduced to a fugitive, Airel received that reply, fell into despair...
...and was captured by Lishid not long afterward.
That was exactly why I'd originally planned to stay as far away from the Ather Chamber as possible.
But right now, Lishid needed their help.
"Ather Chamber? No. I've never heard of it."
"It's an information guild based in the capital."
"...An information guild?"
Lishid looked at me curiously.
"Lady, are you suggesting we buy information about the Western Alliance's corruption or weaknesses?"
"That would work too, but I'm thinking of the opposite."
I shook my head.
"Your Grace... do you know the most frightening thing in the world?"
His expression turned uncertain.
Smiling confidently, I lightly tapped the pen in his hand.
"A pen."
Public opinion was sharper than any weapon.
Sometimes, a few words alone could determine whether someone lived or died.
"We're going to manipulate public opinion, Your Grace."
"..."
"We'll sell information to the Ather Chamber."
I smiled.
"The information that Your Grace was gravely wounded while fighting monsters in the Western territories."
