The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 209

It wasn’t really appropriate to say such things with the unicorn glaring right there. This was outdoors too, and if Evelyn heard Nike’s grand plan, she would probably faint, so she had to hold back.

Nike decided to say something more stable for the fragile fellow of her race to hear, while completely hiding her dark ulterior motives.

“Evelyn. Don’t you have any desire to go outside the castle for a leisurely trip? I’ll calculate the proper distance precisely and look after you.”

She thought Evelyn would be delighted to hear this, but Evelyn turned pale and waved both hands.

“I’m fine for now.”

“Hm? Why?”

Snort snort!

Ruba, who had a history of taking Evelyn out without permission, stamped his feet frantically, but that wasn’t her concern. When Nike, who didn’t know the full story, asked, Evelyn couldn’t bring herself to say that, so she brought up a different excuse.

“Well… that is, with the spring festival and going outside the castle for several days with His Majesty the King and… no, how long has it been since I went outside the castle for days at a time? I’m fine.”

Evelyn’s gentle nature remained the same—always favoring herself but thoroughly refusing anything that might cause trouble for others. However, Nike, sensing that the atmosphere was subtly different from before, persistently pressed on.

“Listen to what I’m saying. In a few weeks it’ll be midsummer and the heat will be no joke, so even if you want to go far, you won’t be able to because the sunlight will be too intense. That’s why you have to play intensively while you can, you know?”

“If I were to go far outside, there’s someone who must help me, so how could I make such a request?”

When Evelyn reluctantly said this, Nike felt as if she could fly and grinned.

“Yes, that’s it! To commit a deep and sweet trip with that person… ahem, yes. To examine and review whether there are any necessary matters before the hot summer comes.”

When her words subtly changed midway, Evelyn tilted her head, finding it strange.

“Didn’t you just say to go out and play?”

“Ah? I must have misspoken. Anyway, I understand your feelings well, so Evelyn, see you next time. Wouldn’t public duty naturally take priority over private purposes?”

“Yes…?”

「That guy, he’s suspicious. Suspicious. Don’t get close to him for the time being.」

Ruba grumbled as he pressed his mane close to her, who had become bewildered.

A situation similar to what Nike had said before running away suddenly erupted. It was such a wonderful proposal that made her want to shed tears of joy, and even now as she listened, she couldn’t believe it. Cassis, who had handed her a ceramic vase with a single thin branch stuck in it, stroked her head.

“You’ll go, won’t you?”

“Are… are you sure it’s really okay for me to go?”

“Think back to what happened when you went to the log cabin last time. The schedule for returning to the castle was delayed due to heavy rain, but you were fine and didn’t get sick. Am I wrong?”

“No!”

The branch in the vase he had given her was obtained by pruning her jasmine tree. Although a pale green leaf had finally sprouted, he had hesitated to cut it, but he separated it for the survival of the entire tree, and since it had come to this anyway, he said it would be fine to use it for this outing. The destination they would be going to was none other than her hometown, the rural village where Faye lived.

Cassis wore a satisfied expression.

“Good.”

However, if there was one regrettable thing, it was that since they weren’t officially setting foot in the Kingdom of Devran, they would have to use disguise magic, which he had only heard about, and make a brief visit. Because Cassis was the king of Jupiter, an official state visit would be complicated in various procedural ways.

Evelyn’s eyes reddened as she thought this might be her first and last chance in her lifetime to go to her hometown.

“I never thought such a day would come for me. Even if I keep it secret from the village chief and Faye that I’ve returned… sob, I’m happy.”

Even though she tried to stay calm, her breathing kept getting rapid. When her face turned red with undeniable excitement, Cassis placed his palm on her cheek, meaning for her to calm down.

“You need to breathe slowly.”

“…Yes, yes. Yes……”

As Nike had mentioned, it wasn’t a pleasure trip. Cassis revealed his goal of definitively confirming, for the first and last time, whether anything had happened nearby when she transformed into a nymph, and whether any faint traces remained. Therefore, Evelyn also considered this her one and only chance to visit her hometown.

After she calmed down for a moment, Cassis carefully explained the precautions.

“When you get to the village, no matter how glad you are, you mustn’t suddenly embrace them or anything. You must appear to be travelers who happened to stop by.”

“I won’t forget.”

“Good. What’s my name?”

Cassis had already made up aliases for them to share. Evelyn answered while imagining the scene of his golden hair being dyed black with magic.

“Lord Cayan.”