Chapter 31

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Three-Family Meeting
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“What? A fire?”

It was Pielle who brought the news.

Looking out the window toward the annex, I couldn't see so much as a scorch mark, let alone any flames.

“Yes. Fortunately, it didn't spread to the entire annex,” she reported.

I tilted my head slightly.

That made sense.

It would be ridiculous to hear that the annex of the fire-wielding Argentas had burned to the ground, wouldn't it?

But in the first place, does it even make sense for a fire to break out at the Argenta estate?

“Can a fire accident even happen at the Argenta estate?”

At my words, Pielle gave a faint smile.

“People get bitten by the very dogs they raise.”

It was a chilling answer, laced with a strange atmosphere.

It reminded me of Myrta.

The dogs they raised…

“It was an unexpected accident,” Pielle said lightly.

Right, unexpected things always happen.

Some prepare for them, while others exploit them. Their deaths would be ruled an accidental coincidence.

By the Argenta intelligence department, who “exploits unexpected accidents.”

A sudden chill ran down my spine.

I was standing on thin ice.

On the thin ice of a lake, with no idea when it might break or how deep the water was beneath.

If I lost focus for even a moment, the ice would shatter, and I would plunge into the lake's depths.

“I understand. You may go.”

I gestured to Pielle.

“An unexpected accident…”

The Argentas were truly merciless to those they considered enemies.

What would happen if I were to leave this family?

The thought struck me anew.

Even if I left here, there was no way I could stay on friendly terms with the Allojes or the Cartiels.

Naturally, I would have to stay close with the Argentas.

But it seemed I needed to appeal more to the Argentas, who were always preparing for “unexpected incidents.”

To show that I would remain their ally even after I left.

Steeling my newly frayed nerves.

And with that, I fell asleep.

* * *

And when I opened my eyes.

—*Fwoosh!*

Before me was a fire, devouring everything around it as if it were alive.

“Huh?”

The heat felt so real that I flinched in surprise.

The walls, the furniture—everything was ablaze.

I was trapped in an unfamiliar building, unable to even tell where the door was.

I instinctively tried to draw out water, but it was no use.

There wasn't a single drop of water around.

Even if there had been, it seemed to have evaporated long ago.

The fire was that intense.

—*CRASH!*

Something supporting the ceiling came crashing down right in front of me with a tremendous roar.

“!”

As I stumbled back in shock, I saw someone in a corner of the burning room.

A boy with black hair.

…Ah, it's a dream.

I knew this dream.

Soon, the building would collapse, and the boy would be crushed by the flaming debris.

That boy was likely the one with black hair.

The boy was trembling.

“Hey.”

I approached the boy. A youthful voice came from my lips.

This had to be the nightmare the original Croire was said to have had occasionally.

“…”

The boy, who had been crying with his head buried in his knees, looked up.

The eyes that met mine were a vivid blue.

“…!”

I froze for a moment.

I wondered if this was what Diello would look like if he were twenty years younger.

Of course, it was a foolish thought.

There was no way a fire-wielding Argenta would be trembling in fear in the middle of a burning house, right?

Fire was like an extension of their own limbs.

“Let's get out of here.”

At my words, the boy shook his head, his face filled with despair.

“The fire's too hot and big. We can't get out.”

The boy's voice was steeped in hopelessness.

The moment my dream-self hesitated, I woke up.

* * *

“…Ah.”

I blinked, and Diello was there before me.

His jet-black hair resembled the boy's from the dream. He would have the same blue eyes, too.

But this man was the head of the Argenta family, a master of fire.

I let out a short sigh. My heart, which had been pounding wildly because of the dream, seemed to calm down a little.

I watched the steady rise and fall of his chest, then blinked.

When did he get here?

He definitely wasn't here when I fell asleep.

A glance at the clock told me it was about time to get up.

Diello was sound asleep. It looked like he had come in after working, found me sleeping, and just lay down beside me.

While holding my hand tightly, no less.

“I meant to wait for you, but I fell asleep.”

I scratched my cheek with my free hand.

Still, he must have been tired from using his powers to interrogate the traitors during the day.

“…”

I gazed at the peacefully sleeping Diello.

When those eyes opened, I knew a pair of clear, shining blue eyes would be staring at me.

Watching him, I thought.

I should probably postpone my preparations to leave for a little while.

It seemed like Diello would get anxious.

Of course, there were things I needed to prepare in the Daisy Forest.

I couldn't sleep on the street, so I had to build a house in advance, clear the surrounding area…

But it seemed I'd have to proceed with that after reassuring this business partner of mine.

Otherwise, he would probably look at me with those shimmering, sad blue eyes again.

—Like that.

“…Croire.”

I was startled to hear his voice, realizing he had opened his eyes at some point.

“Good morning.”

He smiled warmly.

His voice, still husky with sleep, sounded strangely sweet.

“Good morning, Diello.”

Diello looked at me and chuckled softly.

“You're up early. Did you have a dream, by any chance?”

He's uncannily perceptive.

I nodded.

“Yes.”

“A good dream? Or…”

Diello studied me.

After a few blinks, a bit of a spark had returned to his eyes.

“It was a nightmare.”

There was no reason to hide it, so I answered lightly.

“A nightmare?”

Diello's eyes widened.

He pressed the back of his hand to my forehead.

He seemed worried I might have a fever.

“It was a dream about being trapped in a burning house… with a young boy.”

Diello blinked at my words.

I continued.

“I have it sometimes, but it's not very scary.”

I'd said I have it sometimes without thinking, even though this was the first time I'd had the dream.

Still, the original Croire Alloje was quite tormented by dreams, so this one would probably keep recurring.

In the original story, Croire Alloje would get so stressed from her dreams that she would even confide in her maids.

Diello tilted his head slightly at my words, then smiled again.

“That's a relief, then.”

As he replied, the vivid lily peeking through his shirt caught my eye again.

Three lilies.

If that disappears, Diello will lose his chance to awaken, even if a real Pero comes along.

It was something we had to protect.

And, as if to prove our plan was going smoothly, the lily was just as vivid as it had been on our wedding day.

“Speaking of which, isn't it almost time for the meeting?”

I asked, suddenly recalling it as I looked at the flower.

Diello gave a slight nod in response to my question.

It seems my memory of the original story's sequence is correct.

…Except for the timing of the Pero's arrival.

Was our wedding so sweet that she couldn't find a moment to intrude?

Why has only the timing of the Pero's arrival changed?

I tilted my head slightly.

“We'll have to prepare.”

Diello sat up, his brow slightly furrowed.

The meeting.

It was a gathering of the three families—Alloje, Argenta, and Cartiel—held every three years.

A meeting to discuss how each family would protect the places they had promised to guard since ancient times.

…That's what it was created for, but in recent times, it had become nothing more than a venue for them to gauge each other's strength and keep one another in check.

“Hmm…”

I looked at Diello's lily.

Duke Alloje knew I was a fake, so that was one thing, but it would be a problem if that lily was still clearly visible in front of the Duke of Cartiel.

He would assume I was the real Pero.

Since there was no way the head of the Argenta family, outwardly the weakest of the three, wouldn't take his Pero, he would surely arouse suspicion if the lily was as vivid as it was now.

How could we make it fade?

As I was pondering this.

“…That tickles, Croire.”

A voice suddenly spoke up.

Startled, I looked up to see Diello, a slight blush on his cheeks, pulling his shirt collar closed.

The lily, visible through the slightly open shirt, was now hidden.

He probably thinks I was touching him!

“Ah, no.”

I flinched and pulled my hand back.

I must have been aiming a fiery gaze at this innocent man.

“I didn't have any other intentions.”

After reassuring this pure herbivore, I quickly said.

“I was just wondering if there was a way to make that lily fade before the meeting.”

“Hmm…”

Diello seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation.

At this meeting, there absolutely had to be a change in that lily to make Duke Alloje lower his guard.

Besides, the Duke of Cartiel would also look down on a Diello who showed no change even after the lily was gone.

“They'll try to see my lily one way or another.”

Diello's face was lost in thought.

Whether by spilling water on him or making him take off his clothes.

If so, it has to at least look like it's faded.

“Makeup will only do so much…”

Diello nodded at my words.

“Makeup can hide its appearance, but it can't hide the lily's magic.”

Even I could feel a strange magic emanating from his lily.

The power of the Pero, and the ancient power that was blocking the strength of Diello Argenta, the family head.

Anyone from the three families would be able to detect it.

Then we have to be able to hide that magic—

“…Ah! There's a way.”

I shot up from my seat.

Someone who knew how to conceal magic. Having read the original novel, I knew of such a person.

The only small problem was that this person was currently at the Alloje estate.