Translator: Sunnyshies
[unedited]
Chapter 66 : On the Morning of Departure
In the morning, the Royal City of Kyros was a bit buzzing.
Perhaps because the princess and her husband finally announced that they were going to take a heavy stance in defeating the demons. The people seemed to be half expecting and half giving up on the idea of sending them off to the battlefield.
Juana secretly told her that the public does not seem to be as interested in Esmeralda and Alphonse being disgraced as they are.
The next king is set to be the crown prince, Esmeralda’s older brother. He and his wife, the crown princess, are quite popular compared to his younger sister; princess and her husband, so he doesn’t care if the princess and her family accomplish or fail at this point.
“In fact, it was even suggested that the newborn prince should be adopted by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Juana…is indeed talking too much.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Lorenza, her superior, rebuked Juana, but she could sense Lorenza’s feelings from the fact that she did not deny the rumor itself.
‘What’s the point of me even accompanying them to kill demons…’
Although she was frustrated, she had no choice but to do it because she was told to do it.
If she offended Esmeralda and the others, she might get her head blown off this time. As usual, she was not at all enthusiastic, but she had no choice but to go on.
Since Amalia would be accompanying them on the trip, Juana and her colleagues arranged for her to travel with them.
Juana secretly altered Amalia’s everyday clothes and made a pocket on the inside of the fabric at the breast area. Juana looked like a goddess when she handed Amalia Leonardo’s brooch, saying, “If you put it in here, no one will notice it.”
When Braulio came to pick her up, Amalia dragged her heavy body out of the room. As she was leaving, Juana and Lorenza cheered her on without saying a word, and she looked up with their encouragement in her heart.
“We’re on my way to the parlor now….oh, I thought you’d be more depressed, but I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.”
Amalia turned away in disgust as Braulio laughed humorlessly as they walked side by side.
“…because being depressed won’t help. I could only do what I can do now.”
“I see…well, I have an idea of what went wrong for you yesterday.”
“What? No way!”
Unintentionally, she grabbed Braulio’s clothes tightly.
Braulio was a big man, so he probably never expected to be knocked off his feet. To be defeated by Amalia’s strength, she was beginning to worry about his lifestyle, even though she was his enemy.
“Hmm…why don’t you learn what it means to be a lady?”
“You are the one who should eat some more meat…so, what causes my tea to go bad?”
Braulio stopped in his tracks when Amalia pressed in on him.
As Amalia also stopped and stared at his unhealthy face, he began to chuckle.
“Kuku…If I say that, it would be boring.”
“Boring…if it’s not good, it might even be harmful to you, you know?”
Amalia raised her eyebrows, not believing he had dodged the issue for that reason. Amalia hurriedly followed him as Braulio walked away with a lingering smile on his face.
“Don’t you think you are the one who should be ashamed to beg for answers from the very person who kidnapped you?”
“I would rather throw that pride to the ground than fail and get killed.”
“Ho…”
He stopped again, and Amalia crossed her arms, annoyed for a good long while.
Suddenly, Braulio’s arm reached out and grabbed Amalia’s chin firmly with one hand.
If the situation, method, and person with whom Amalia was engaged had been a little different, it would have been an exciting scene, but Braulio held Amalia’s cheek with his thumb and forefinger, which caused her lips to pout, and there was no way she would have been thrilled to be touched by Braulio in the first place.
“…what are you doing?”
“You seem to be a nice lady, with a lot more guts than I thought you would have. You don’t look very much like a thirty-something by the looks of it, and your talent for tea is very interesting. If Alphonse orders me to cut you off, I will keep you instead.”
“Absurdly impossible.”
She shook her head, then escaped his restraints with ease, and incidentally gave him a shot to his solar plexus.
Leaving Braulio grumbling and clutching his stomach, Amalia impatiently asked the hesitant guard to show her to the parlor.
‘…I would never want to be taken in by a man like that, no matter how much they say it’s for survival!’
Although she had lunged at him forcefully earlier, there were still goosebumps creeping under her long-sleeved blouse. If it was Leonardo touching her, she would have been happy, but if Braulio was the one touching her, she would only think, “Ugh.”.
‘…Leonardo, I miss you.’
Before stepping into the parlor, Amalia went to check on the brooch, which was hidden in the pocket of her chest.
There, Alphonse and Esmeralda, already armed, were waiting for her. Both of them were clad in sparkling armor and cloaks with super long hems, and they looked very uncomfortable to move. She even wondered if they really intended to defeat the demons in such attire.
“Here you are, Amalia. I hope you’ll prepare something drinkable this time.”
“…I will do my best.”
“I’m counting on you, Amalia…come on, sit over here.”
In contrast to Alphonse, who made no attempt to hide his irritation, Esmeralda approached her with a smile and led her to the sofa. But when Amalia moved away from the guards, she put her lips to her ear and whispered in a threatening voice, “…if you let me drink that sewage again, I will cut you face off.”
She is a white magician, but she also has some aptitude for black magic, so if she really wanted to, she could cut up Amalia’s face with wind magic.
Amalia sat down on the sofa, feeling a pain in her chest. Tea sets and fruits were already prepared on the table in front of her, waiting for her performance.
“I don’t know what it is, but put in all the attributes you can serve. If you make something bad, we won’t like it. Make sure it tastes good enough for both me and Esmeralda.”
…such a terrible customer to place such an order.
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