Chapter 39

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Whispers and Schemes
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Even though the banquet was held in Argenta territory, the Argentas weren't the only ones in the spotlight.

It was, after all, a gathering of the three families.

So, as the banquet got into full swing, people began to mingle and chat with those they hadn't seen in a while.

Of course, there was some casual conversation, but most of the talk was aimed at probing the other families.

This was true for everyone, regardless of their status—be they family members or servants.

“In Argenta this time…”

“Did you hear what happened in the desert?”

“You look a bit more troubled than the last time I saw you.”

Amidst the exchange of friendly yet sharp words.

I took the opportunity, when most eyes were off us, to poke Diello.

“That really felt genuine. A moment ago.”

When you got angry.

At my words, Diello looked down at me.

“Of course it was genuine.”

His smiling gaze swept over the people around us as he spoke.

*Ah, is he being careful with his words because we're at a banquet?*

Then again, we never knew where prying eyes and ears might be, so it was probably best to be cautious, even if we were standing close together.

“I understand.”

I nodded.

But even so, I had to ask this.

The jewels on my dress clinked clearly against his clothes.

As we stood pressed so close, I whispered.

“But getting angry like you did earlier might actually make people more wary of you.”

If they know you're capable of such a fiery temper, they might not let their guard down around you.

My voice was a mere whisper.

But Diello clearly heard me, as he turned to look at me.

Looking into his blue eyes, I continued.

“Because you got angry, which is so unlike you.”

To the point where even I was surprised.

It was as if you were genuinely furious.

“…”

Diello, who looked as if he was about to reply, said nothing.

*‘They’re beautiful, your eyes. Like the sea.’*

I remembered what he’d said when I told him his clear blue eyes reminded me of the ocean glittering in the sunlight.

*‘The sea seen from a distance, yes.’*

I didn't know why I was recalling it just then.

Was it because his eyes, perhaps due to the shadows, looked a little darker?

*‘Do you have any idea how long you were unconscious after using the Origin?’*

I remembered his face as he’d said that. The face that had been frozen cold.

…Was he being genuine?

Just as I was starting to get confused, Diello smiled gently.

He handed me a glass he had refilled at some point and said.

“Did you say it was unlike me?”

“…I suppose so.”

As I replied softly and we clinked our glasses, he whispered.

“Then let’s do this.”

Tilting his glass, he whispered in a low, thrilling voice.

“That I’ve fallen for you so completely, I’ve lost my mind.”

A faint smile played in his eyes.

He quietly set down his glass, and his arm wrapped around me, pulling me in.

“So much so that even in a place like this, I can’t see anything else.”

I thought I caught a sweet scent wafting near my lips.

In that moment, he kissed the tip of my nose.

“So much so that I’ve become daring, unlike the usual Diello.”

With that whisper, his lips brushed against my upper lip for a moment before completely capturing my breath.

*Thud.* The glass I was holding slipped from my grasp.

—*Thak.*

Diello skillfully caught the glass and pressed deeper into me.

*It's an act. It has to be an act.*

I felt as if I were becoming intoxicated by something hotter than wine.

* * *

After the banquet ended, Duke Alloje returned to his assigned room.

His eldest son, Pentas Alloje, followed him in.

He was frowning.

—*Thump.*

The door closed, and Duke Alloje turned to his son.

His voice echoed in the room where the two were left alone.

“You felt it too, didn't you?”

“Yes, Father.”

Pentas nodded.

They had certainly felt it.

Of course, they hadn't examined Diello Argenta's body themselves, so they couldn't be certain, but the aura of the lily had definitely diminished.

And what's more, the way Diello Argenta fussed over her, as if handling a delicate sculpture!

Duke Alloje's grave expression gradually relaxed, soon replaced by a look of ecstasy.

“Croire, she succeeded.”

She finally succeeded! In seducing Diello!

“Now that the lily has begun to fade, it’s only a matter of time before Diello Argenta fails to awaken properly.”

Pentas Alloje said with a sneer.

While the relationships between the three ducal families were never good, the one between Alloje and Argenta was particularly sour.

Perhaps because they wielded the opposing elements of water and fire, they had historically always clashed.

This gradually turned into animosity between the families, reaching a point where they were busy slandering and comparing each other.

And the previous Duke Argenta had openly disdained Alloje.

*‘Those fools who claim to use strategy but are only capable of petty tricks.’*

He had said as much at a gathering where fighting was forbidden, so it went without saying how deep the rift between the two families was.

But.

“That bastard is dead, and I am alive.”

Duke Alloje let out a malicious laugh.

The former Duke Argenta who had mocked him had died by his scheme.

The head of one of the three ducal families, said to be beyond human limits, died with the stigma of a mere carriage accident.

Duke Alloje laughed coldly.

“Argenta will end with this generation.”

If all those who carry Argenta blood are killed, one can obtain the ‘Essence of Argenta’s Power.’

If someone from Alloje takes it, the most powerful family head, capable of wielding both water and fire, will be born.

Then, it would be a simple matter to push aside Siete Cartiel, who was hailed as the strongest in history.

“However…”

There was something that bothered him.

It was the reason for his poor expression since earlier.

Pentas Alloje, seemingly sharing the same thought, spoke up.

“Even if she used the power of the Origin, could Croire really have stopped the sea monster?”

The Croire Alloje they knew was a useless girl who couldn't even control the water in a teacup without spilling it.

“It would depend on how much of the Origin she drew out.”

The monster that appeared in Cartiel this time was so strong that they said even Siete would have struggled without Pero.

And Diello defeated a similar monster, just with a different element, all by himself?

That’s absurd.

It's absurd even if Croire helped.

What difference would it make if that piece of trash who can't even handle a saucer of water joined forces with him?

The Cartiels seemed to believe that Diello had somehow managed it with the power he awakened as his lily faded, but Duke Alloje couldn't believe it.

“Just how much of the Origin did she use?”

Pentas Alloje muttered.

The two had clearly seen the bandage wrapped around Croire's hand, but they couldn't know how deep the wound was, so they were bound to have doubts.

In the end, Duke Alloje pulled the bell cord.

“You called?”

He then gave an order to the Alloje assassin who entered the room.

“Go ask Croire directly how much of the Origin she used for that incident.”

“Understood.”

The assassin vanished without a sound.

Meanwhile, Pentas Alloje spoke.

“I must confirm how much of Diello Argenta's lily has faded.”

As expected of Pentas Alloje, who had inherited the suspicious blood of the Allojes.

“Hmm, are you planning to ask Croire?”

Even if Croire Alloje was a puppet moving according to their plan, they couldn't trust all the information she provided.

Especially on a matter as important as checking how much the lily had faded and how uncertain Diello Argenta's future had become.

“No. Considering the things she did back at the estate, I can’t trust her.”

Pentas Alloje frowned.

Croire Alloje.

A foolish woman who, despite her pathetic water-wielding ability, did nothing but brandish her status and run her mouth.

Couldn't she be lying about her progress just to gain our trust?

“Then how do you plan to find out?”

At Duke Alloje's question, Pentas Alloje smiled vilely.

“Why not just strip Diello Argenta of his clothes?”

And a short while later.

Diello's formal attire ended up in the hands of the Alloje family's assassins.