The man swallowed at the large sum compared to the order, but could not hide his look of suspicion as he asked.
—Do you really have the capacity to pay more fees?
Then the woman, without saying a word, took something out of her breast and showed it.
—Will this serve as a sign of trust?
—This is…
The man was surprised to see what the woman was showing him.
A badge that symbolized the gods.
A test that only priests chosen by the gods, endowed with sacred power, received.
If she was a priestess, she belonged to the temple, her identity was secure, and she also received a not inconsiderable monthly salary, which demonstrated her ability to pay.
—Who is the target of surveillance?
The man's tone suddenly became respectful.
The woman's red lips, visible under the hood, hesitated for a moment before uttering a familiar name.
—Keep an eye on the current Lady Duchess of Delmark, Blair Delmark.
Who he meets, where he goes.
The man swallowed again.
The name that left the woman's lips was also important.
—I will come every week; It will be enough if you inform me then.
The woman, after finishing the order, turned around and left the guild.
The rental car waiting for her outside left as soon as she got in.
Only then did the woman remove her hood.
Under the fallen hood, dazzling silver hair slipped.
Miela looked at the outside landscape; The carriage had already arrived at the square.
The sunlight was warm, the breeze cool.
It was as if the gods were watching over her.
I had a feeling everything would work out.
With this I will find a way to save the Duke from his unhappy marriage.>Just as Miela harbored that hopeful expectation, the carriage stopped.
It seemed that another carriage was crossing the street ahead.
And there, he discovered someone unexpected.
<…The Duchess?>
The man, of unusually attractive appearance, was talking to Blair with a smile.
While Miela, faced with the unexpected situation, could not look away, suddenly her eyes met those of the man who was looking at Blair.
At the same time, the man's green eyes turned coldly icy.
Just as Blair, noticing the change in his gaze, was about to turn to Miela, the man approached and drew the carriage curtain.
Immediately, the stopped carriage resumed its march and drove away.
Miela, who had been watching the departing carriage in a daze, only then realized.
This was an opportunity.
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
The place he arrived with Mikhail was a small village located in a forest on the outskirts of the capital.
—I have heard that some nobles rent these types of villas with the excuse of working and enjoy their love affairs here.
Mikhail briefly explained to Blair, who was watching the villa curiously, and then got off the carriage first to escort her.
When Blair came down, a muscular man waiting in front of the villa greeted her with courtesy and respect.
—I was waiting for you, ma'am.
Blair, surprised by the unexpected appearance of her companion, received the greeting in fits and starts and looked at Mikhail; he smiled and explained.
—I thought it was time to increase the number of people for the scandal.
Isn't it more stimulating that there are three of us instead of two?
Blair was horrified to realize what Mikhail was implying, but he was right.
The bigger the scandal, the better.
After the brief introductions, the three entered the villa together.
The interior of the villa was quiet and clean, without anyone.
Although there was no staff, it had the basic items needed for living, so it seemed like a good place for a short stay.
Blair contemplated the landscape of the lush forest that could be seen through the living room window.
It was peaceful: only the sound of the wind rustling the branches and, from time to time, the singing of birds.
Hearing those sounds, his mind also relaxed.
It was an atmosphere opposite to that of the ducal mansion, where just by leaving the room you could hear the bustle of people, and you would be drawn by the constant hustle and bustle to do something.
As Blair hovered near the large window looking out, the burly man who had disappeared for a moment reappeared with cups of tea.
—They must be thirsty.
Serve it to him.
-Thank you.
When they both finished their tea, Mikhail proposed.
—Do you remember that last time I told you that I would show you a good place?
Blair remembered the conversation at the art auction and nodded.
"If you don't mind, would you like to take a little walk?" I'll show you something good.
—Something good?
—We will enter the forest path.
If it makes you uncomfortable, don't hesitate to say so.
Blair followed Mikhail meekly.
He was worried that the path would be a little rough, but luckily it was a nice forest trail to walk on.
In the silent uninhabited forest only the birds and the wind could be heard.
Just walking around listening to those sounds and smelling the grass made his heart feel at peace.
Mikhail walked at Blair's short pace and suddenly said subtly.
—I'm not the one to say it, since I was the one who first brought her to a place like this, but I think she shouldn't trust an unknown man so easily.
Especially if you propose to go to a place as remote as this.
—It's not because I trust you.
It's because I trust the fees I promised you and my position.
Faced with the cold but malicious response from Blair, whom he believed to be naive, Mikhail burst into laughter.
He liked that side of him.
—It seems that I have worried in vain.
Blair looked at him.
As Herdin said, she didn't know much about him, and given his work in the dangerous guilds, maybe he wasn't as good a person as he seemed.
However, at least he could know that he was not someone who would betray the trust placed in him.
The fact that he gave him that advice already demonstrated it.
Blair carefully pulled out the words she had been mulling over since they met again.
—I would like to personally apologize for what my husband said at the museum the other time.
Mikhail, at Blair's sudden apology, looked strange, and a second later he understood what she meant.
—You shouldn't have spoken that way.
Don't hold a grudge, you said it without knowing.
-Don't worry.
Well, it's not like what His Excellency said was entirely false.
Mikhail, then as now, brushed it off with a smile.
At the same time, he stopped.
—Ah, we have arrived.
Blair followed Mikhail's gaze and looked ahead.
In the middle of the forest there was a faint halo of light, but it was still too far away to clearly distinguish what it was.
As they slowly approached, the landscape began to reveal itself.
In the center of the forest there was a small pond, and around it, transparent and brilliant flowers grew in colonies that seemed to be made of concentrated light.
The scenery of a pond in the forest was ordinary, but what made the scene before his eyes special were precisely those peculiarly shaped flowers.
Flowers never seen anywhere moved like waves when the wind blew.
The landscape looked like a myriad of dancing stars fallen to earth.
—Gosh, it's really amazing… and pretty.
Mikhail, watching Blair unable to take her eyes off the landscape, giggled and explained.
—It's a flower called Glasica.
It is delicate by nature, and if it is not in the place where it first took root, it withers and dies quickly.
They say that the nobles who tried to transplant it into private greenhouses failed again and again.
-Thank you.
For allowing me to see such a beautiful landscape.
—I'm glad you like it.
Blair sat on a nearby rock and watched the landscape in silence.
The world outside was more vast and mysterious than he had vaguely dreamed within the imperial palace.
His heart raced at that fact.
But why at that moment, like a habit, like a custom, did Herdin's face come to mind?
—Are we back now?
While Blair was deep in thought, Mikhail, noticing that the forest wind carried a night chill, spoke.
Blair followed him and stood up.
But there was a problem.
—Oh…
The heel of his foot rubbed and hurt when he walked.
Since the shoes were not for walking in the fields, his heel had been skinned.
Blair, so as not to be a burden, tried to hide it as much as possible, but Mikhail soon noticed her limping step and frowned.
-I'm sorry.
I didn't realize the shoes would be uncomfortable for him.
—No, it was my fault.
I can fold the back and walk, don't worry.
—If you leave the wound exposed in a forest like that, it could get infected.
May I take a look?
Blair sat on the stump of a nearby tree.
Mikhail took off her shoe and examined her foot.
The scratch was not deep, but there was blood on the shoe.
Once again, he was amazed at Blair's resilience.
It would be best not to walk anymore, but knowing Blair's character, it didn't seem likely that she would accept being picked up or carried.
Mikhail, who was examining Blair's foot thoughtfully, finally looked up at her decisively.
—Since you have trusted me with this assignment, I will also reveal a secret of mine to you.
—A secret?
Instead of answering, Mikhail carefully touched Blair's wound.
Then, a faint light emanated from his hand.
Blair's eyes flickered in surprise.
The power he had just used was undoubtedly holy power.
But strangely, the wound did not heal immediately.
Mikhail frowned.
doesn't work?>Raising his head to examine Blair's condition, Mikhail found his eyes wide in surprise at his sacred power.
Under his face, near his collarbone, he was able to find the cause of the phenomenon.
A faint black magic circle glowing faintly near his collarbone.
<…Black magic?>
He had heard that black magic had the property of resisting holy power, so sometimes it didn't work well on dark magicians or black magic targets.
Why did this woman have a black magic circle?
Mikhail studied Blair's expression in disbelief, but there was no sign on her face that she was hiding anything.
She seemed unaware of the existence of the black magic circle implanted in her.
The circle disappeared before Mikhail could properly examine it.
Mikhail used a slightly stronger healing magic to heal Blair's wound.
Fortunately, this time the magic worked.
Blair, who was watching the scene, asked carefully.
—Why didn't you become a priest?
Sacred power is a gift that is only granted to a few chosen by the gods.
If the parents possessed it, the probability of inheriting it was somewhat higher, but it was still a very precious ability because the probabilities were not high.
…To be continued