Chapter 96
“Lord Nox!”
Sia mistakenly thought he had returned injured and was riding in a carriage. Cedric failed to stop her as she ran toward the carriage with a pale face, and Marie rushed out after her.
“Madam!”
Marie quickly grabbed Sia’s arm and whispered urgently while glancing at the carriage.
“Madam, that’s not the Master!”
“…What?”
Sia, who had been struggling to pull her arm free, froze. With unsteady eyes, she looked up at the carriage before her. Then, as if on cue, the carriage door opened from the inside.
Dylan stepped down first and helped the Crown Prince descend more easily. Louis came down without taking his eyes off the black-haired woman. He was extremely tense.
He had not expected to come face to face with the black-haired lover Nox had been hiding so carefully. Louis worried about what if she truly was human. A human personally brought by God, and with black hair at that.
Was that why it had been said there would be both gain and loss?
Louis approached Sia very slowly. After staring down at her intently for a moment, he finally opened his mouth.
“Who are you?”
When the startled Sia failed to answer, Cedric stepped forward.
“I greet His Highness the Crown Prince, the Small Sun of the Empire.”
Only then did Sia belatedly follow with a small voice.
“…I greet His Highness the Crown Prince, the Small Sun of the Empire.”
“I greet His Highness, the Small Sun of the Empire.”
Marie bowed her head and greeted him as well. The servants, finally realizing the situation, stopped what they were doing and bent deeply at the waist.
Louis did not take his eyes off Sia. He was examining her traits, in case she truly was human.
Her skin tone was subtly different from that of the catfolk. Fair skin tinged more deeply with apricot than theirs, eyes without the rare double eyelids yet large and clear, a small but high-bridged nose, and red lips. After inspecting her features one by one, he acknowledged that the woman before him was striking in appearance.
As Louis examined Sia so openly, he felt a sense of dissonance. He tried to look more closely to determine what it was, but had to stop when Sia’s black eyes slipped beneath her eyelids at the same moment Cedric spoke up.
“Your Highness, we did not receive word of your visit. Since it is such an early hour, perhaps you passed the messenger?”
It was a roundabout way of asking why he had come so early without notice. Louis felt apologetic toward Cedric, but he could not honestly say that he had deliberately come at this hour.
“In truth, I had business nearby, and while passing through, I found myself in need of assistance, so I stopped by the Blois manor in haste.”
“…Has some trouble arisen?”
“It is not something for you to hear. Is the Duke not up yet?”
Unwilling to offer a clumsy excuse to a subordinate, Louis looked for Nox. He had assumed he would be awake, so it was strange not to see him.
At Louis’s question, Cedric replied without hiding his discomfort.
“The Master is currently away from the estate.”
“For what reason?”
Unable to lie to the Crown Prince, Cedric answered honestly.
“The wolf tribe has invaded the territory, so he personally went out to subjugate them.”
“I see. I have heard they have coveted the Blois territory for a long time, yet they still haven’t stopped, those brutes.”
“Yes. They always invade during the harvest season, especially at times like this. Since the wolf tribe’s land is barren, it is an annual occurrence for them to plunder our territory.”
“Tsk, how dare they, of all places.”
No matter how uncomfortable Nox might be to him, Louis was the Crown Prince of the Pelles Empire. The wolf tribe encroaching so brazenly upon imperial land was displeasing.
“Since the Master went personally, there should be no issues. As Your Highness knows, the Master has never once lost a battle against the wolf tribe.”
At Cedric’s words, Sia felt the anxiety that had weighed on her all this time begin to ease. Louis and Dylan keenly observed the way her expression openly relaxed. Cedric subtly shifted his body to block Sia and spoke politely.
“If we keep Your Highness standing outside like this, the Master will scold us severely later. We will escort you inside.”
Meanwhile, Marie grasped Sia’s wrist, intending to slip away at the first opportunity.
However, Louis addressed Sia directly, preventing Cedric and Marie from making any other moves.
“I have yet to hear your answer. Who are you?”
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