Chapter 12

Chapter 12

[That’s something we don’t know.]

[Irina is the one chosen by us.]

‘Maybe Cassis is just someone who easily trusts others.’

The two gods were silent for a moment before responding to my answer.

[Well, we’re not sure about that.]

[Anyway, he has more trust and interest in Irina than in other ordinary people, and that’s inevitable.]

‘Is it because you, System, are interested in me?’

[It’s because you’re a being from another world.]

[Our land tends to embrace outsiders rather than reject them.]

Is that so?

Come to think of it, when I was running around trying to do business, there were as many people who reached out to help as there were those who stabbed me in the back, mocked me, or ignored me.

[Come on, your trust level is already at 11, are you just going to sit there doing nothing? You only need 2 more trust points.]

‘You’re right. I don’t have time to be feeling down like this.’

But where and how am I supposed to gather these points?

I tried to recall how I had accumulated points so far, but it seemed like they had all been gathered haphazardly or increased on their own.

Even the 3 points that were just added – I was merely sitting with Ijin looking at documents.

As I was chatting with the two gods, Ijin spoke to me.

“Oh, right, sis. Cassis and Roen said they’re leaving for their estate tomorrow afternoon.”

“Huh? Really?”

“They said they’ve been away from their estate for too long. They need to head back.”

“Already?”

Why are they leaving so soon? I haven’t even managed to get employed by the Luwin duchy yet.

Ijin shook his head at my reaction.

“Not ‘already’. They’ve been staying at our mansion for over two weeks now.”

I pressed my lips together. 

Only the tactless system kept chattering.

[What did I tell you? I said you should go to him right away.]

[If the male lead leaves now, you’ll have to travel all the way to the North to gain those 2 trust points, and the continent might fall apart in the meantime.]

[Yeah, that seems likely.]

That wasn’t very helpful. 

Travel to the North just to gain 2 trust points?

It’s doubtful to begin with. 

If someone you’ve only known for about two weeks suddenly shows up in the North, wouldn’t you be suspicious?

Wouldn’t the hard-earned trust level of ’11’ start dropping rapidly?

“Anyway, I was thinking of gifting them some good wine for their journey back. What do you think, sis?”

“…Sounds good.”

Wine is good. 

I hope the trust level increases with the wine gift, and that leads to employment.

I’m just trying to repay the male lead’s debt to save the empire, why do I need to secure employment first?

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“…But I do mean it?”

“Go ask Cassis. Ask if there was any wine he particularly liked.”

I raised my upper body that had been half-leaning on the desk.

My eyes met Ijin’s. 

His bright blonde hair sparkled in the light.

“Ijin, is it okay if I go to the North? If I go, you’ll have to become the Count.”

“I don’t want to be the Count. But you have something you want of your own will, don’t you, sis?”

He had been whining about not wanting to be the Count just a few days ago, but now he wore an expression of resignation.

“So go and ask. Ask which wine he liked.”

He must know that if I go to the North, he’ll inevitably have to take over as the head of the family.

“Now?”

“Now.”

And so, I walked a bit quickly through the corridors of the old Seike mansion. 

On my way to Cassis’s room, I didn’t forget to ask the chef Bread, whom I encountered, for some warm mulled wine.

“It’s a bit chilly tonight.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Bread nodded with a knowing smile at my words, which sounded like an excuse.

“…It feels like everyone in the mansion is misunderstanding something.”

[That Irina likes Cassis?]

“…I’m just doing this because I need to repay the debt.”

[But it’s not that you don’t like him, right?]

Of course not. 

Cassis is the male protagonist, he’ll become the hero of the continent, he’s handsome, he’s got a good body.

Above all, he’s that Violet Knight.

‘Wouldn’t it be strange not to like him?’

[That’s true.]

[It doesn’t seem like a bad misunderstanding.]

‘I suppose so.’

It’s nice that they don’t think it’s weird that I’m making a fuss about Cassis hiring me, and instead just think, ‘Our young lady is at it again.’

As I was chatting with the gods, I arrived in front of Cassis’s room.

I was about to knock, but for some reason, I found myself hesitating.

[Come on, just knock and say, “Please hire me!”]

[No, not that. Knock and ask, “I heard you’re leaving tomorrow?”]

[That sounds better! Irina has pretty eyes, so it should be quite effective.]

Hmm. It’s getting noisy.

I closed the system window abruptly and held my head. 

What should I really say? 

How can I increase the trust level?

As I was pondering this, the door opened first. 

I froze with my hands still on my head.

“…”

“…Hello.”

“Yes, hello.”

Cassis raised his eyebrows at the sight of me still clutching my head, then crossed his arms.

I hurriedly straightened up and lifted my head to meet Cassis’s gaze.

Cassis was wearing a thin shirt and black pants. 

Perhaps because it was night, a couple of buttons on his shirt were undone. 

Not only is Cassis’s face handsome, but he has a nice body too. 

As expected of a protagonist.

[Pervert~]

“How did you know?”

My question must have been a bit ridiculous, as Cassis chuckled before saying,

“You don’t have any knights around you.”

“…Of course not. Look at the state of our mansion.”

How could we maintain a knighthood when we can barely maintain the mansion?

Even when my parents were healthy and our family was doing well, we employed knights more as individuals rather than as an order.

There was even a family of knights who had been loyal to our family for generations, but they went off on a ship saying they would earn money and haven’t returned yet.

Cassis furrowed his brow at my answer. 

With his handsome face making such an expression, it looked as if he was worried about the fate of the world.

“But you’re a Count’s daughter. So you’ve had no guards all this time?”

“None!”

Because I have the system!

[Because you have us~]

[You have us~]

But Cassis’s face showed disbelief.

When I didn’t explain further, he suddenly looked at me with a complicated expression.

He opened his mouth to say something, then quickly turned his head to check the stairs. 

I followed his gaze and saw the chef coming up with a tray.

Bread stood before us holding the mulled wine I had requested earlier.

“Mulled wine? Thank you for bringing it so late.”

I tried to take the wine, but Cassis was quicker. 

He lifted two glasses with a slight sigh before I could. He only handed me a glass after Bread had left.

As I held the thick glass cup with both hands, warmth spread from my fingertips.

“A knight would be able to sense this much presence.”

“Ah! So that’s how you knew Bread was coming!”

“You shouldn’t be amazed by this…”

He asked without even taking a sip of the mulled wine.

“What brings you here?”

The reason I came.

After thinking about what the gods were noisily discussing just moments ago, I finally slumped my shoulders and asked,

“I heard you’re leaving tomorrow.”

“Yes, thanks to you, I’ve had a comfortable rest.”

“That’s good. I just came because I felt sad that you’re leaving.”

My deflated appearance must have been amusing, as I heard a low chuckle from above my head.

“You didn’t come to ask me to hire you?”

“That too, but… that’s not why I came.”

Seeing Cassis with a slightly relaxed face, unlike the sharp and irritable one I saw when he first came to Seike, I gave up on making excuses.

So I slightly lifted the thick glass cup, showing him the warm wine full of fruits.

“Would you like to have some mulled wine together?”

Cassis smiled smoothly. 

He glanced into the room with a slightly tired look, then came out completely and closed the door.

“You don’t want to?”

“My room is not appropriate.”

“But this is my house?”

“…I’m currently using it. I can’t be so rude as to invite a lady into a man’s room.”

My goodness. 

To think I’d receive such treatment in my life. 

They say even a fallen noble remains noble for three generations, and it’s certainly true.

“You’re such a noble!”

“You’re a noble too, Irina.”

I led Cassis to the terrace of the reception room.

Cassis and I each sat on single-person couches facing the garden outside. 

This spot was where I usually sat with Ijin, so it felt a bit unfamiliar and strange.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“No, I’m fine. We have the mulled wine, after all.”

The dress I’m wearing now is an indoor dress newly tailored last winter, so it’s quite warm. 

I also have a shawl draped over my shoulders.

Besides, even though the mulled wine doesn’t have alcohol, just a few sips of the bitter wine and fruit aroma, wrapped in warm temperature, seemed to spread warmth throughout my body.

“To return to what I was saying earlier, it’s better to employ at least two knights.”

“But…”

“Especially since you seem to lack a sense of crisis.”

Do I lack a sense of crisis?

[…You do tend to.]

[But Irina, your sense of crisis has diminished a bit because you have us.]

“You’re such a noble.”

“Seike is a Count’s family too.”

The Seike family, a Count’s house that no one acknowledges.

Sometimes my modern self comes out and mocks this thoroughly, but if it weren’t for that, life would have been quite tough.

“You’ve been lucky so far and nothing major has happened, but it’s really dangerous.”

[Irina is lucky.]

[Yeah~ She’s overcome most crises and hardships with luck so far.]

[But actually, she’s not particularly lucky.]

“It’s okay. I tend to be quite lucky.”

“That’s not what I mean. Even now, if you look…”

Cassis scanned me quickly, then closed his mouth as if he was at a loss for words. 

His face, which I thought had relaxed much more than when I first saw him, was overlaid with sensitivity.

“Yes?”

“…Anyway, this is troublesome.”

He answered in a weak voice, as if he had lost the will to speak. 

In this appearance, I strangely saw the past him who had helped me once.

“But you didn’t chase me away.”

“You wouldn’t leave even if I chased you away, would you?”

“I would!”

“Really?”

“…I’m not sure.”

I slumped a little in my chair and tilted my head.

My long hair, which my nanny had cherished and raised, swayed in the wind. 

Like my brother’s, my hair tended to shine brightly even under dim lighting.

Breaking the brief silence that had settled on the terrace, Cassis asked first.

“Irina, you love Seike so much, why are you trying so hard to leave?”