The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 234

“Oh! Come to think of it, Lord Iel, didn’t you send Polyxene to Macriss?”

“……”

“When the sky stairs are repaired, tell Polyxene to go up there and make a pilgrimage round as well. Since he’s become a boundary keeper anyway, I think it would be better if he paid his respects to the god Helios earlier than others.”

Even at these words offered as if doing a favor, Iel felt no great excitement.

How should he apologize for the rudeness he had committed and the wicked schemes he had foolishly employed? Only that thought filled his head. After Laocon, who had been chattering for a while, left first and Cassis stood up, he also hurriedly followed close behind.

What should he say? How exactly could he seek forgiveness…?

While walking through the empty corridors of the Senate, Cassis neatly cut through that worry.

“All things will turn out according to their natural course.”

“…Your Majesty.”

“If you’ve done all the effort you can, what remains is simply to watch. Lord Iel, even if you or I know the best path for someone, we cannot forcibly carry that person and make them walk that path. Isn’t that so?”

Be silent, and watch.

Understanding Cassis’s meaning, Iel bowed his head in bewilderment. With this, he had taken on the role of waiting for that final moment when the thread of the secret the King had openly revealed would unravel and everyone would come to know.

He didn’t feel frustrated or anxious. He didn’t want to blame the elders who had left earlier for their foolishness in being unable to see even one step ahead. Rather, he was glad to be able to share in the glory of that moment that would someday come, together with Cassis.

Ah, how fortunate it is that this person is His Majesty the King. I will change my loyalty from Jupiter to His Majesty personally, and if he abdicates in the future, I will follow him anywhere.

Iel, who had made this resolution on his own—something Cassis hadn’t even wished for—blurted out words he needn’t have said in his surge of emotion.

“Your Majesty. As a knight who also receives the tree’s power, I speak from memory—won’t the day when Your Majesty’s magic becomes one with the tree come soon?”

This was the first time Iel had officially mentioned Cassis’s elderberry tree. Until now, he had acted as if only the World Tree existed, and looking back on such things later made him feel ashamed. If he had carefully asked about his intentions first, His Majesty would have answered readily.

“That’s right. Since that tree is inside the elven forest, you can consider it as becoming one with the entire forest.”

“Please entrust it to me. On that day, I will go there and stand thoroughly as a guard.”

Cassis was a unique case where his innate magic power was quite small, but the magic power increased with the elderberry tree’s help was supported by the World Tree to become even more powerful. Therefore, for just one day out of the year, on that day alone, Cassis could be considered terribly weakened.

Even so, there wasn’t really a need for Iel to step forward. If he spent the year as usual, it would be a day Cassis could handle on his own and more, as he had done until now.

However, Cassis was at the moment of throwing away the advantageous high ground where he could live quietly for Evelyn’s sake and entering the center of the storm. Cassis knew well that if he couldn’t trust those who stayed by his side at this moment and kept his mouth shut, the firm trust directed toward him would crumble.

“…I understand. I’ll write down the exact date, so receive it and adjust your schedule.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty the King!”

Despite having volunteered to take on a task, Iel was literally overwhelmed with emotion. The pride of serving the greatest king of his life was boiling so intensely that his fingertips tingle and his hair nearly stood on end.

Come to think of it, he had done well to withdraw his unfair hatred toward that nymph on his own. Yes, it was for the best. May she continue to live peacefully so that there would be meaning in receiving His Majesty the King’s careful care.

Whether she knew of Iel’s firm wish or not, Nike, who stood before that very nymph, was busily encouraging her.

“Hurry up and speak. If you miss this opportunity, it might never come again.”

“B-but…”

She was in the middle of Nike’s living room, where all sorts of furnishings, books, and unfamiliar objects had been pulled out as if someone were going to evacuate somewhere. Nike had been acting frantically so that the memory of seeing the opal ring’s brilliance and Laocon’s passionate kiss in this place would fade.

“Really! Evelyn, I’m going to combine households with Laocon soon!”

Evelyn wanted to ask about the ceremony, but worried it might be rude, so she could only fidget helplessly.

According to Nike, she would soon be vacating this house. So she was in the process of disposing of all the useless items, and if there was anything to Evelyn’s liking, she could pick and take as many as she wanted according to her own will.

By Evelyn’s common sense, she absolutely couldn’t do such a thing. If these were items the owner had put out because she really intended to throw them away, that would be one thing, but everything in here belonged to Nike—how could she do that? Especially since she had recently seen the village chief, she couldn’t possibly do such a thing.