Please Leave The Sickly Villainess Alone

In the carriage heading to the imperial palace, I looked at Lihid and said:

“What’s going on? Did you really use your vacation?”

To think he used his vacation, which was like his life, to go to a nobles’ celebration he detests so much.

Lihid gave me a gentle flick on the forehead and said:

“Why didn’t you tell me? That you wouldn’t come to the Magic Tower today. Do you know how long I waited for you?”

“You were probably waiting to surprise me.”

“That’s true, but…!”

Lihid spoke heatedly but soon muttered:

“I thought you had already left…”

“There’s still a month left. Why would I do that already?”

I smiled slightly and said.

“Anyway, I told you to tell me anytime if there’s something I can help with. Why didn’t you say it was that snake’s birthday celebration today?”

“I told the Tower Master in advance…?”

“You should have told me too.”

I nodded and agreed with his words to some extent.

If it weren’t for Lihid, I would have been quite embarrassed.

For the lover of the Crown Prince who went to the battlefield to appear holding hands with the 2nd Prince, his rival – how much gossip would that cause?

The 2nd Prince extending his hand to me with a kind face earlier was to cause such aftereffects.

Since Lihid and I were like classmates, there would be no such gossip.

“Thank you for coming for me. Brother Lihid.”

I smiled brightly and held Lihid’s hand.

As a fire mage, his hands were always warm.

“Your heart is as warm as your hand, so I can’t hate you even though I tease you all the time.”

Lihid suddenly seemed embarrassed and turned his head away with a huff.

The carriage finally arrived in front of the Greffin Imperial Palace.

Lihid got out of the carriage first and naturally extended his hand to me.

That series of actions was so natural, like flowing water, that I opened my eyes wide.

Taking his hand and getting down, I walked arm in arm with Lihid to the banquet hall and asked:

“How do you know noble etiquette?”

“I’m from a fallen noble family.”

Lihid said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

I flinched and said to him.

I had heard that his parents and older brother had all died, so I could guess the reason.

However, Lihid spoke calmly:

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. It’s all in the past now. I have the master, and I have you too.”

Walking in step with Lihid, I learned about his past.

“Your family was a vassal house of Kablos?”

“Yes, we had been serving as butlers for Kablos for generations. My father was the butler of the current Duke Kablos.”

“Then why…”

“Fifteen years ago, it seems he saw something he shouldn’t have seen in the mansion. He came home with a pale face and tried to run away with all of us… but everyone except me was caught by assassins.”

“…”

“I’m still trying to find out why they had to die, what they saw. Even though it’s all in the past…”

“You’ll be able to find out. I’ll help you so you can.”

I had made two requests to the Troisen Information Guild before.

One was about the Empress’s illness, and the other was about the identity of the forces that kidnapped me when I was three years old.

To find clues about that, we needed to find the runaway nanny, but no matter how much we searched, her whereabouts were unknown, and eventually, Carl informed me of the request’s failure a year ago.

-Instead, if you ever give us another request, we’ll be sure to help. Two requests, that is.

I used one of those chances to catch the former imperial doctor who had prescribed poison to the Empress, and now one remained.

Since I would soon be crossing over to another country anyway, I didn’t need the remaining chance, so I decided to use it for Lihid.

Carl would probably be disgusted that it’s another job related to Kablos, but what could he do?

A promise is a promise.

Lihid mischievously patted my head and said:

“Thank you, you little rascal. You’re small but reliable.”

“Ah, you’re messing up the hair Garnett did for me!”

We entered the banquet hall bickering like that.

“Entering Lady Laveria Jenne Rayes and Lord Lihid Creperion, disciples of the Magic Tower Master!”

What had changed since I became the Tower Master’s disciple was this officially used title.

Lihid was called Creperion, inheriting the Tower Master’s surname.

“Excuse me, how do you manage your throat?”

I finally asked the servant, one of the imperial family’s seven mysteries, who called out names all day with such a loud voice without his throat getting sore at all, for his secret.

The servant, still fixing his gaze forward, said:

“It’s thanks to shrimp wine.”

“…!”

To think the secret was the shrimp wine made by Chef Shrimp.

They said it was better than any tonic, and it was true.

‘Next time I should send some shrimp wine to Luka.’

I immediately understood and entered the banquet hall, leaving words of thanks for telling me.

It was unusual for the Tower Master’s famous disciples to appear at such an official celebration like this.

Therefore, gazes poured from everywhere.

Let’s see, where’s the 2nd Prince…

He must have left the Rayes mansion before us, but has he not arrived yet?

“Entering His Highness Teniel Kenom Greffin!”

Speak of the devil, as soon as I thought that, Teniel entered.

“Entering Duke Kablos!”

Then Duke Kablos appeared together.

I’m not sure if they met in front, but the two entered side by side quite intimately.

‘A pair of black flies.’

I turned my body away from them and led Lihid towards where the cakes were laid out.

“Are you going to rot your teeth again by eating like that?”

Lihid said with his arms folded, watching me stuff cakes into both cheeks.

When I come to work at the Magic Tower, I sometimes have wild dessert parties with the Tower Master.

The Tower Master, who likes sweets as much as I do, ended up getting cavities along with me, and we both suffered for a while.

“Then Jen will treat us again, whatever.”

“Jen, that guy’s the problem. Indulging all your whims…”

It was while I was munching on cake like that.

“Thank you all for coming to my birthday celebration. Please enjoy yourselves comfortably today.”

Teniel said to everyone with a friendly smile.

“How can the prince be so handsome even today?”

“He didn’t bring a partner this time either. He must still be single, right?”

The noble young ladies at the table next to us whispered among themselves.

‘Don’t just look at the outside, look at the inside.’

He had made me uncomfortable many times with his one-sided courtship, but he had never been as forceful as today.

‘Come to think of it, the Empress and Rachel didn’t come as expected.’

Undoubtedly, Teniel didn’t send them invitations.

He was very arrogant, backed by Jeria.

It was obvious how he would treat the woman his mother looked down on and her daughter.

It was when music started playing and people began dancing like butterflies in the middle of the hall one by one.

“My lady, would you like to dance with me?”

“Or with me…”

Young lords who had been timing from afar began to approach me one by one.

It would have been fine to dance one song out of courtesy, but I refused them all.

Looking at their disappointed backs, I thought to myself:

‘If you had danced with me, how would you handle it when Luka returns?’

Not knowing I saved them…

“My lady, how about with me?”

Just then, Lihid held out his hand to me, holding back laughter.

“Don’t joke around, Lihid.”

“How prickly.”

“Forget it, we came here to eat cake. We can get our money’s worth from the cake.”

So saying, I stood up to refill my now empty plate.

“Ah…!”

At that moment, I bumped into a man with a huge build passing by.

Just as the plate falling from my hand was about to touch the floor, fortunately, it floated up and landed gently on the table, perhaps because Lihid used magic.

I rubbed my throbbing forehead and checked who I had bumped into.

‘D-Duke Kablos…?’

It was none other than Duke Kablos.

“My, young lady. Are you alright?”

The Duke spoke to me with an expression that didn’t look worried at all.

“Ah, yes… I’m fine.”

The Duke’s narrow pupils, like those of a reptile, moved quickly to look at Lihid beside me.

‘Come to think of it, from Lihid’s perspective, the Duke is no different from an enemy.’

I turned to look at Lihid with a worried face.

However, contrary to my concerns, he only greeted the Duke with the same cold, expressionless face he usually showed to others, without any special reaction.

“So you’re the Tower Master’s precious disciples. You’re Lihid, right?”

Moreover, Lihid had a record of rejecting a meeting with Duke Kablos two years ago.

He had accepted the meeting provocatively but didn’t show up on the day.

‘Wh-What should I do…?!’