Chapter 50
Even after the regular report ended, the banquet continued. Abel, who thought the food looked delicious, invited Estelle to eat, but she replied that she planned to rest for the day.
Abel, with a cheerful demeanor, piled up a plate of food, and Estelle found his actions adorable, giggling and laughing.
“Abel.”
Elfride approached Abel, who was with Estelle. Estelle looked at her and thought, ‘Why does this woman keep approaching our hero since last time…?’
Estelle naturally narrowed her eyes and looked at Elfride, wondering what she would say this time.
Abel put down his utensils and asked Elfride, “Elfride, what’s the matter?”
“You’ve been quite active this time.”
“Ah, it’s all thanks to our saint.”
Estelle was inwardly pleased with Abel attributing the credit to her.
‘Oh my~♥ Our hero, taking care of me too… so cute♥’
Elfride thought Abel’s words were a reflection of his kind nature.
In reality, Abel’s words were close to the truth, but Elfride didn’t know that Estelle was the ‘real saint.’
“In that sense, I have something prepared.”
“Huh?”
“As a senior, I can’t help but give a gift to a junior hero who has worked hard.”
Elfride took something out from her pocket. It was something wrapped in luxurious packaging. She handed it to Abel.
“Is this for me?”
“Yes, open it.”
Abel carefully opened the gift Elfride gave him. Inside was a thin and beautiful necklace.
“A necklace?”
“It’s a necklace that grants you a minor blessing. It can protect you from a fatal attack once a day.”
“…Wow.”
Abel thought it was like a game item. Estelle, who saw it, commented.
“…It’s a sacred relic of the goddess Lunaria.”
“Correct, as expected from Saint Estelle.”
The necklace Elfride gave Abel was a sacred relic imbued with the power of the goddess Lunaria. Abel, surprised, asked, “Is it okay to give me something so precious?”
“It’s not that precious. Don’t feel burdened and use it.”
“Ah… thank you, Elfride. I’ll really make good use of it.”
Abel seemed pleased. Seeing his expression, Elfride thought she made the right choice in giving the gift. She quietly asked Abel, “Abel, can you spare some time? I have something to discuss.”
“Ah, yes. Saint, Selin, I’ll be back soon.”
Elfride lightly greeted Estelle and Selin and took Abel to a slightly distant place. Selin, watching this, asked Estelle, “Were you and Elfride close before? She’s giving gifts.”
“…We became quite close after meeting in Habsburg.”
“Are you just going to let her take him like that?”
“…Heroes have their own conversations, it’s not my place to interfere.”
Estelle said this outwardly, but inwardly, she was seething with frustration.
‘Who does she think she is, taking our hero like that!!!’
Seeing Estelle puffing out her cheeks in frustration, Selin shook her head.
“…How frustrating.”
Meanwhile, Abel, who followed Elfride, asked her, “What did you want to talk about?”
“Ah… after the banquet ends.”
“Yes.”
Elfride tried to bring up the idea of drinking together. But for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out.
‘…What’s wrong?’
In the past, when she offered to buy Levius a drink, the words came out naturally. But with Abel, it was difficult.
It was the same words, so why did it feel so different? Elfride was perplexed.
“Elfride?”
“Ah, um… Abel.”
It was a simple phrase. Just say, ‘Let’s have a drink.’ But Elfride couldn’t get the words out.
Finally, she said it in a roundabout way.
“Do you drink well?”
“Alcohol? Yes! I like it!”
Abel’s eyes sparkled at the mention of alcohol. Elfride was a bit taken aback by his enthusiastic response, but Abel had his reasons.
Since the beer he had after defeating the ogre, Abel hadn’t had a single drink. Estelle had advised him to avoid alcohol while he was building up his body, and he hadn’t had the time to drink either.
“Ah, is that so? You like alcohol too. Then Abel, would you like to join me for a drink after the banquet?”
“I’d love to! But you already gave me a gift, so I should…”
“No, I’ll treat you. As a senior, I should treat my junior. It wouldn’t be right for me to get a drink from you.”
Abel nodded at Elfride’s words.
“Then I’ll let the saint know.”
“…Huh?”
Elfride was flustered by Abel’s intention to inform Estelle and tried to stop him.
“Abel, wait…!”
“Saint, is it okay if I go have a drink with Elfride after the banquet?”
Before she knew it, Abel had already approached Estelle and started reporting. Abel was worried that Estelle might get upset if he left without telling her, but this put Elfride in an awkward position.
Estelle, hearing Abel’s story, narrowed her eyes and looked at Elfride. Elfride, a bit flustered by her gaze, explained.
“It’s not what you think. I just wanted to treat him to a drink as a gesture of encouragement and celebration.”
“Hmm….”
But Estelle’s suspicious gaze didn’t waver. However, Abel then said to Estelle.
“Saint, can I go?”
“…Huh?”
“I really want to have some beer…”
Abel had a slightly sulky expression. Seeing this, Estelle’s lips twitched upward.
‘What, what’s this… so cute♥’
Unintentionally, Abel’s appearance and expression became a perfect weapon against Estelle.
“It’s been a while since I had a drink… can’t I?”
“Ugh….”
Estelle felt it was unreasonable. When Abel acted like this, she couldn’t help but give in.
I couldn’t bring myself to refuse. If only I had insisted on going, they might have stopped me…
“…Ah, alright. Go ahead. Just don’t eat too much.”
“Oh, thank you!”
In the end, Estelle, who had a soft spot for Abel, ended up giving her permission. Once Estelle gave her approval, Elfride also felt relieved.
“…So this is where the weakling was.”
Selin briefly assessed Estelle as she watched her.
“…You guys sure know how to have fun.”
Levious, the red-haired man who had been watching Abel and Elfride’s group, was boiling with irritation. He was supposed to be the one talking to Elfride, but some commoner had taken his place. To make matters worse, the saint who was supposed to be by his side was now with that guy, which only fueled his anger.
Levious slammed his wine glass down roughly. The sound of the glass hitting the table startled Natali and Sonia.
“…Levious, what’s wrong?”
“I think I’ll have to deal with him after the banquet.”
“Huh?…Are you talking about Abel, the hero?”
Levious stood up abruptly and said to Natali, “Natali, I’ll be outside. Let me know when that bastard comes out.”
“Uh…okay, got it.”
As Levious left the banquet hall, Estelle glanced at his retreating figure. Noticing that Levious’s companions didn’t follow him, Estelle turned to Abel.
“Hero, I need to step out for a moment. I’ll be back.”
“Huh? Where are you going all of a sudden?”
“There’s someone I need to see. Don’t worry about me and have fun with Hero Elfride. Just don’t drink so much that you end up like an ogre, passed out~♡”
“…I won’t.”
Estelle politely bid farewell to Elfride and then slipped out of the banquet hall.
#
Levious, who had left the banquet hall, didn’t head straight back to his quarters. Instead, he wandered around the palace, killing time. Suddenly, he turned around sharply.
“What’s the matter? Why are you following me?”
“I thought you knew I was here. I was just waiting for you to say something~♡”
The woman who had been following him since he left the banquet hall was none other than Estelle. She hadn’t even tried to hide the fact that she was following him, even making noise with her footsteps.
Levious was curious. Why would she follow him so openly? What did she want?
“Do you have business with me?”
“Yes, I do.”
Levious studied Estelle’s expression carefully, but he couldn’t discern any hidden intentions behind her calm demeanor.
Even though he had deliberately led her to a secluded spot, she continued to follow him. That must mean she had something secretive to discuss, right?
Thinking that, Levious jumped to conclusions.
“Ah, perhaps you want to join me?”
“…?”
Estelle tilted her head in confusion, but in the darkness, Levious couldn’t see her small movements and took her silence as agreement.
“I understand. It must be quite exhausting being by that useless commoner hero’s side. Selin, who went to his side without realizing that, is quite…stupid, don’t you think?”
Levious spoke as if he were some magnanimous figure. Hearing this, Estelle’s voice turned icy.
“…I don’t know what you’re imagining.”
“Huh?”
“I came here because I wanted you to apologize for the insults you hurled at our hero and Saint Selin.”
Estelle was baffled. This man, who couldn’t even come close to Abel’s charm, thought she wanted to join him? He had no sense of his own place.
Realizing his mistake, Levious trembled slightly with shame.
“…Why should I apologize to him?”
“…Is there no reason?”
“Why should I, the eldest son of the prestigious Grosspell family, apologize to some commoner?!”
“…Oh, is that so?”
At that moment, Levious felt a chill run down his spine. Estelle’s gaze had changed in an instant. He felt the same cold aura he had sensed during the regular reporting meeting.
‘…I don’t understand.’
His instincts as a seasoned warrior were screaming at him. This woman was dangerous. Why was he feeling this way about a mere saint? Levious couldn’t comprehend it.
“Do you really have no intention of apologizing, Hero Levious?”
“…As I said before, why should I apologize to a commoner?”
“If you won’t apologize, I’ll make you kneel and apologize.”
Estelle gave her final warning. If he didn’t apologize willingly, things wouldn’t end well. But Levious was a man of immense pride. Despite his instincts screaming danger, he shouted back.
“Ha, try it if you can! What makes you so confident, you fake…!”
《Sacred Arm》
Thud. Levious’s knees hit the ground. It took him a moment to realize what was happening. A tremendous force was pressing down on him. He tried to force himself up, but it was impossible.
Levious, a five-year veteran hero, couldn’t even react to the activation of such a sacred artifact. The realization left him dumbfounded.
Crushed under the immense holy power, unable to rise, Levious heard Estelle whisper softly.
“If you feel like apologizing, come to our room tomorrow morning. If you don’t…I might get a little angry.”
Estelle smiled sweetly as she delivered her final warning.
“Understood?”
