Enjoy!
As soon as she grasped that, Ymir separated from the boy and went out of the room. It seemed she wasn’t one for self-control or planning; instead, she carried out things as soon as she came up with them.
“Old man! Are you there, old man! I’m looking for you!”
“Nuwaa! You call yourself a princess with such a shameless getup!”
“I keep telling you, it’s the outfit’s fault!”
As they listened to the conversation between Ymir and the chamberlain from the other side of the door, Michel sunk down a bit on the sofa, his nerves more relaxed now.
“This can’t get any worse~”
“You did your best, Sir Michel.”
Airi wiped the sweat from his forehead and applied one hand to it.
“Fwaah... your hand feels so good, Airi~”
“Being a wraith comes in handy sometimes, does it not?”
“So, what do we do now? Should we escape?”
“That will not be necessary. I’m sure Lady Elina will come to help us.”
“ ‘Elina’? Did I hear ‘Elina’ just now?”
Suddenly, they heard a third voice.
“Come here. I’m in the next room.”
The voice came through the wall. It was a woman with a dignified voice.
“I would like to talk to you for a bit.”
“Excuse me, but could I ask who is calling for us?”
The maid straightened her back, curtsying at the woman she hadn’t yet seen.
“My name is Claudette. I’m Elina’s stepsister.”
***
As Michel and Airi changed rooms, Claudette studied them carefully.
[They must be the same boy and evil spirit accompanying Elina the reports kept talking about.]
From their conversation just now, it was pretty obvious her esteemed Elina wouldn’t be around... and yet she couldn’t but feel a small pang of disappointment, as she observed with self-mockery.
After their meeting with Ymir, the fact that those two had come into the room next to her—being in the VIP room as she was—was nothing other than chance at work.
The general had also heard the conversation between Ymir and Michel clearly; it’s not like the dwarf made any effort in regulating her volume in the first place.
Still, she could clearly feel how the dwarf was boldly trying to get her feelings across to that boy.
“I’m Claudette, general of the Earl Vance.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lady Elina’s slave maid, Airi.”
Taking over, the wraith replied with the most exquisite of manners. The impeccable, perfect gestures roused some interest even in the oldest Vance.
“This is Sir Michel, a friend of Lady Elina, and under her protection.”
“I’m Michel. Hello, Lady Claudette.”
Unlike the maid, he only returned a greeting like your typical street youth. Still, Claudette couldn’t hold a grudge; this wasn’t a royal court and they weren’t even in public. Insisting on preaching etiquette at that time would be unbecoming of her.
“I hear you two are travelling with Elina.”
“We are indeed.”
“Could you tell me about her?”
‘I won’t take no for an answer’. That was the kind of atmosphere Michel felt the sister was giving off.
“Lady Elina’s journey is also for my sake.”
He was no longer able to keep it to himself. And so, he talked about his memory loss, his mysterious flute, the Swamp Witch chasing him, Echidna kidnapping him, and Elina’s struggle to rescue him; all he had experienced so far, plus what he’d heard from Melona.
As Claudette listened to his tales, she considered whether she should take Elina back home. After all, this Iron Mountain encounter had provided a golden chance to meet her.
The purpose of Elina’s journey was supposed to be “bring Leina back”. The only solid piece of information she had been able to obtain was “she headed to Maramaks”. Since the blonde couldn’t produce any more results, it was her responsibility as her stepsister to stop her at this point.
[How angry would Father get when he finds out I met Elina and let her go?]
That was precisely why she had to try to convince her to go back, at least for the time being. As far as official excuses went, it wasn’t a bad one.
Her real intentions were, of course, to spend some more time with Elina by her side.
There were some cute people among her subordinates, but none held a candle to the younger sister. It was only the blonde who took on an opposing attitude against her. And that was precisely why she cherished Elina.
She regretted having let her go off on a journey, especially now that being away from that lovely girl had affected her mentally so much.
[How do I bring her back...?]
While the boy was still detailing the events in their journey, the general looked at Airi, who had taken a step back.
[If I tell my sister that she can bring these two if she comes back—this boy who reminds me of a young Elina and this evil spirit with the impeccable manners—my sister might change her mind about the whole ordeal as well.
Or, should I tackle my honest feelings head-on?]
In the love stories that she loved reading—discreetly hidden around her office—, conveying one’s thoughts always invariably resulted in a happy ending, but she found that in real life, that was not something easy to do.
Even in those stories, tragic endings were about as likely as happy endings. Not to mention how they were two women, plus sisters connected only partially by blood; she didn’t think expressing her feelings would lead to a happy ending. If she was reading a story that went that way, she’d surely criticize the author’s sloppiness.
“Stepsister Claudette...”
Suddenly, she heard Elina’s voice.
[A hallucination? I must be pretty far gone in that case.
No, if I think things logically, even if Elina isn’t here, she’s bound to come sooner or later.]
“Stepsister!”
She stood up straight, as the two people in front of her greeted someone behind Claudette; now she had heard her clearly.
When she slowly turned around, she saw Ymir, changed back into her battle dress... and Elina accompanying her.
“A-Aaah, Elina...”
The words failed her.
“Ooh, Miss Claudette, you were here? I did hear rumors about Lady Elina being your little sister.”
Ymir grinned.
“Which means, today’s an auspicious day. The Vance family’s sisters will be able to witness my marriage~”
“Ah yeah, one thing about that, Ymir.”
“What is it, Miss Elina?”
“What does he himself wish?”
The blonde stared at him, eyes half-closed.
“I-I want to continue my journey.”
“That settles it then. Both of you, come with me.”
Claudette was a bit overwhelmed by the people ignoring her and pushing their own agendas, but she stood up then; if she didn’t make herself known, she’d lose her chances to act.
However, what came out of her mouth was...
“E-Elina! There’s something I want to tell you later. I’d like you to make some time for me.”
It was just a downright pathetic request.
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