At dusk… Noie left the waiting area in the suburbs after finishing her work and headed home, taking a route that did not lead to the castle.
Ideally, she wanted to go straight to the castle and return home with him. She wanted him to pat her head firmly.
But the current 『him』 was very scary.
She didn’t want him to apologize. She wanted him to speak.
『Why do you call me by a different name?』
But he still wouldn’t give her the answer.
That was why she was scared. Truly scared.
Noie stopped and sat on a nearby stone.
Hugging her knees… she continued to shed tears that spilled over endlessly.
Crying like this on the way home had become Noie’s recent pattern.
「Watching that is quite painful, isn’t it?」
Lutte, who had released her blessing, recalled the captain’s appearance just now and placed a hand on her chest.
Frea was sitting in a chair, hugging her knees, while Mische was stuffing her face with leftover meat. The three of them were currently trying to figure out, 『How can those two make up?』
「So, Frea. Have you heard anything from above?」
「No explicit orders have come down yet. But they are a couple who usually travel through the city together, right? There are voices of anxiety among the citizens, and some nobles who heard about it are starting to cause a stir.」
「Ahaha. Every household has marital disputes, after all～」
「A person with no lover saying that about a married couple lacks persuasiveness.」
「That’s verbal violence that cuts deep!」
Mische, who had fallen off her chair, fell silent.
The problem wouldn’t be solved just because the idiot became quiet.
「Um… to summarize, the captain is upset because Argusta-sama is 『hiding something, and she doesn’t like it』, correct?」
「Based on what I’ve heard, I think that’s accurate.」
「In that case… I feel like he has no choice but to tell her the truth.」
Lutte’s point was valid.
However, although the person in question denied it, Frea, the de facto manager of Noie’s squad, held a lot of information that ordinary people couldn’t access.
The thing that he, as the Battalion Commander, was desperately keeping silent about, was probably—
「Ah～. I just happened to overhear this～」
「What is it?」
Mische, who had recovered, looked up.
「There’s a rumor that Argusta-sama has a secret child.」
「No way! He is devoted only to the captain!」
Lutte became indignant for no particular reason.
He was always pushing troublesome tasks onto her, but seeing how he cherished her superior made him an ideal partner in her eyes. For such a person to be unfaithful… it was unforgivable.
Chuckling, Mische went back to scavenging for the remaining meat.
「It’s just a rumor, okay? The story is that it’s a child he had before he lost his memory.」
「So, before marriage?」
「Probably.」
「Hmm～」
That made her worry a bit.
Crossing her arms and tilting her head, Lutte thought in her own way.
He married Captain Noie largely for political reasons. In other words, since he was forced to marry by orders from above, it wouldn’t be strange if he had one or two lovers before that.
If that was the case, it wouldn’t be strange if he had children either. It wasn’t infidelity. It was barely safe.
「No shooting to kill.」
「What kind of thinking leads to that conclusion? You useless big-breasted woman!」
「Why all of a sudden!」
「Shut up! Don’t emphasize your chest so much by crossing your arms!」
In fact, Lutte’s breasts were resting on her crossed arms, flaunting their size.
Sighing at the two who started playing with her chest again, Frea switched gears in her mind.
Mische was not wrong. In fact, nobles who had been sniffed out for small change by the Republic were spreading that rumor.
It was only a matter of time before it reached the captain’s ears. But,
(If that were the case, Argusta-sama would not have kept his mouth shut. His secret child has been settled as someone else’s child. Then I should explain that to the captain and rather emphasize their good relationship.)
But in reality, the two were estranged and not even speaking to each other.
(It’s probably something else.)
She reached her own answer.
Standing up, Frea looked at the two idiots who were rolling on the ground, continuing their offense and defense.
「I’m going to go ask Prince Halfren for details.」
「I think that muscle-brained idiot won’t tell even if he knows?」
「Probably.」
Narrowing her eyes slightly, Frea smiled thinly.
「Then I’ll just 『ask』 him to tell me. It hasn’t changed from the past to the present.」
「Yes, yes. I’ll do the final locking up… so take it easy.」
「Yes.」
Watching Frea quietly move away, Lutte couldn’t stop the cold sweat spraying from her whole body.
She sometimes exuded a scary atmosphere… but what she had shown just now was something that couldn’t be dismissed as just 『scary』.
「Mische-senpai?」
「What?」
「Frea-senpai is… really scary sometimes, isn’t she?」
「Ah～. That’s true.」
Putting her hands behind Lutte and untying the leather armor she was wearing, Mische laughed.
「Even so, she has become quite rounded. I heard she was even more like that in the past.」
「Was she that scary?」
Realizing that her armor was about to be taken off, Lutte hurriedly resumed her defense.
「Hmm～. I wonder if it’s just scary? From what I heard, it was simply terrifying.」
Untying the strings of the leather armor completely, Mische inserted her hand into the other’s chest area.
「Wait, senpai!」
「Nyohoho～. Hand over this lump of fat!」
「No. No… nnh.」
After fully enjoying the lump of fat, Mische looked at her junior, who was twitching on the ground, and exhaled.
Yes, she was simply feared. The famous 『Smile in the Shadows』… Univance’ number one torturer.
There was not a single sinner who hadn’t spilled their beans in front of her.
「That idiot prince… I hope he doesn’t die.」
Muttering as if it were none of her business, Mische hurriedly prepared for withdrawal.
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