There Is No Need To Be Obsessed

“The night wind is cold. Did you come out wearing only that?”

As soon as he saw me, he started nagging.

He came over and put the coat he was wearing on my shoulders.

“It’s heavy.”

“Bear with it. You don’t want to fall ill as soon as you join the guild.”

“I’m not that weak.”

I grumbled a little.

Does Leone really think of me as a glass doll?

His overprotection was still there.

However, Leone was not going to back down, so I raised the white flag obediently.

“By the way, I didn’t know this garden was still alive. I thought it would have withered because there was no one to take care of it.”

“I couldn’t be that careless, could I? It’s your favorite place after all.”

“Have you been taking care of it?”

“…”

Leone went silent. That was enough for an answer.

“I didn’t know you had a knack for growing plants.”

I sensed he was embarrassed, so I said it in a teasing manner on purpose.

I was sure he would grumble or change the subject. But what came back was a voice that weighed heavily.

“But I couldn’t keep everything.”

If a stranger had seen it, they would not have noticed the change in his mood.

In the eyes of others, Leone was just a cold and heartless man.

However, in my eyes, he was still a boy who was tender and honest in expressing his emotions. That’s why I was able to immediately notice even a brief and trivial change of emotion in him.

“I tried to keep all the things you loved, but I couldn’t.”

He lowered his gaze.

Oh my.

Seeing Leone blame himself, I clicked my tongue briefly.

“Don’t blame yourself like that just over a garden.”

“But it’s something you cherished, isn’t it? It’s not just a garden.”

Despite my words, Leone’s gloom did not disappear.

But Leone overlooked one thing.

I lightly reproached the sullen Leone.

“You are much more precious than the garden.”

“…”

Leone, who had been looking down at the ground, finally raised his head.

“Even though it’s the most precious thing I own, how would I feel if you were blaming yourself so much for not keeping a single garden?”

“… headmaster.”

As I raised my hand and stroked Leone’s dark green hair, Leone’s same-coloured eyes wavered.

The purple light of the moon dwelled in those dark green eyes, and in the midst of that purple light was me.

“You did well, my utmost cherished person.”

“…”

“So shouldn’t you be proud?”

“….I don’t know if I’m worthy… I couldn’t even protect you…”

“I could protect my own self. And…”

“…”

“You can just protect me in this life, isn’t that right?”

He looked at me as if possessed, then immediately nodded with a determined face.

“Yes, I will definitely keep you safe this time.”

“Then, I count on you.”

I smiled and took a step back.

“Anyway, I can finally feel that I’m back at the Cheshire Merchant now.”

“I got a report from Yuphon. There seemed to be a commotion in the cafeteria. Are you okay?”

Leone asked impatiently.

“I’m fine, it’s just…”

I was about to mention Geren and Coco, but then I halted. If Geren got punished right away, it was certain that the members would associate Leone with me.

I didn’t care much, but Leone’s reputation shouldn’t be affected.

As for Leone, when it came to me, he lost his temper strangely fast, so I think it would be best not to mention it in the first place.

“Nothing.”

I skipped it in the end.

Leone looked at me as if he had been able to guess something, but then just nodded along.

“All right. If anything happens, please let me know.”

“Yes, you too. You know what I want you to do…right?”

As I was convinced that the guild’s people were involved in my death, I told Leone about it. And Leone also had the same thought, but it was not easy to find the one who had stayed hidden among us.

Out of nowhere, Eureia Craycia appeared. The one who drove me to death, or their comrades, must be watching Leone’s every movement. And I joined with his help. Thus, it’s something they would definitely be interested in.

“You have to pay careful attention to see if there’s anyone suspicious.”

“I understand.”

There wasn’t much to talk about today. I didn’t have anything to say, so I just stared at Leone blankly.

All of sudden, a figure came to mind.

The Emperor. Kaishan Euclid Cliff.

He was very interested in my relationship with Leone. What kind of relationship does Leone have with the Emperor?

Since it crossed my mind, I decided to ask what I was curious about.

“By the way, at the last ball, why did the emperor call you?”

The emperor demanded Leone’s presence when Leone and I were together. I wondered what he would have said back then.

“Oh, it’s no big deal. It’s because of the hunting competition in two months.”

“Hunting competition?”

“Yes, hunting competitions usually take place in early fall, but this year it’s a special hunting competition…”

“A special one?”

“It’s called Lavirintus.”

Leone explained further.

“Lavirintus, or in other words, a hunting contest in a maze. It’s completely different from a normal hunting contest that takes place in a forest or thicket.”

“Oh?”

A hunting contest in a maze, it was quite interesting.

“The hunting targets are also demons, not ordinary beasts.”

“Hunting demons?”

The demon was an unknown existence that appeared along with the magic stone.

Their large size, grotesque appearance, and vicious nature quickly became an object of fear.

However, demons often lived in the northern part of the country, and there were not many cases in which they came down to private houses.

But to gather such demons and hold a hunting contest…

Sounds fun.

I was intrigued.

“Yes. For safety reasons, it is designed to only hunt low-level demons. Still, since we are facing demons head-on, it is decided that the magic tools of Cheshire would be used to guarantee safety.”

“So that’s why he called you.”

Again, there was silence.

“But do you have to talk about that in the middle of the ball?”

From what Leone said, it seemed that they had a business conversation, but usually, such important discussions should have been brought up in private.

It was difficult to understand why they had to talk about it while music was playing and people were dancing.

Well, I guess it’s not that important.

It could be that the emperor had a personality that preferred such a setting.

It looks like their relationship is okay too.

After all, this hunting competition, Lavirintus, would be held jointly with the Cheshire Merchant. If the relationship between the Cheshire Merchant and the imperial family, or between the Duchy of Finisis and the imperial family, was unstable, they would not have pursued a joint project.

It was reassuring in many ways.

Then, suddenly, a question arose.

“Do I have to attend the hunting competition as well?”

“Women will also participate in this hunting competition, but the headmaster will not attend. This time, only those influential ones in the middle class will participate.”

Even in the middle class, the power they held…

It was a position that the Viscounty of Craycia could never have.