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Occasionally, my mind drifted to thoughts about Ardion. After all, he had given me mana in a way that was different than I had planned. But ultimately, he had saved my life, and my hands stopped trembling.
Uneasy about him going to the frontier, I wrote him letters.
But the replies were always the same.
"You can’t send letters there."
"Why not?"
"Who would deliver letters to the frontier? They might die."
Ardion had gone to a dangerous place, one where even letters couldn’t be delivered.
Three years passed by without being able to send a single letter.
Whenever life got tough, I cursed Rowell. But reality was harsh.
"Master, at this rate, I might starve."
"Yeah, living like this might actually kill us."
During that time, Derol and I barely managed to survive by cleaning nearby mansions. It wasn’t enough, and recently, there hadn’t been much work, making things quite difficult.
Duke Orchid had indeed been ruined more by Rowell than by my evidence.
After Ardion left, Rowell held Duke Orchid responsible for what happened with Ardion. In the end, the duke became a sacrifice and set his mansion on fire. However, Jonok managed to flee, and there was still no news of him.
I wanted them all to pay for all their crimes, but the situation ended up bittersweet.
It was all Rowell’s fault. Thinking back, in the original story, Ardion was supposed to resolve everything here, yet things were deviating slightly from the original. Maybe that was why nothing was going right.
As my curses towards Rowell increased, petals filled the streets of the capital today. I asked a familiar fruit vendor, "What’s the occasion today?"
"Don’t you know? It’s the day the knights from the frontier return."
"The frontier?"
"Do you really not know? The crown prince’s brother made great achievements out there and became quite the hero."
"…"
"And today, there’s an imperial banquet. Thanks to that, I’ll have lots of customers tonight!”
This was news to me. Did that mean Ardion was coming back? It seemed plausible.
So today, according to the original, he would meet his love interest at the imperial banquet.
Why didn’t I realize that until now? I sighed. I had been so preoccupied with my own future that I hadn’t thought about such things.
"Ah, Laila, you’ve come."
"What’s the matter?"
The owner handed me a box of apples. "I need to deliver ten boxes of apples to the palace today, but I missed one."
Then she handed me a wooden token. "Show this, and they’ll let you in."
"You want me to deliver this to the palace?"
"You’ve done it before. Why are you acting surprised?"
"… That’s true.”
But that was before Ardion went to the palace.
"Hurry up. We’re in a bind here, and they probably are too."
I nodded and set off for the palace with the box of apples.
After passing through a long line, I walked towards the kitchen I occasionally visited. It was close to the banquet hall and beautifully decorated with petals, creating a lovely atmosphere.
He really is coming back.
Of course, as the male lead, he had to return. I glanced around for a moment before delivering the wooden box.
"You’re finally here."
They nodded after checking the apples. My job was done.
I stepped out and watched the bustling crowd. People in maid outfits or dressed simply like me were hurrying about.
I couldn’t help but glance around.
"Master?"
"Derol, aren’t you curious?"
"Curious about what?"
"About Ardion."
"With all this decoration, he must have returned with honors."
"But…"
I didn’t even have a chance to say thank you back then. No, I had been too flustered to say anything.
"Master, shouldn’t we head back?”
That was true. After all, my role as an extra ended there. Besides, I had received mana from Ardion, hadn’t I?
Still, I wanted to see how well he had grown…
(TN: It’s always this kind of mindset that FL who ‘doesn’t’ want to get involved with ML always ends up with him somehow.)
A tinge of regret remained, but it was unnecessary greed. I turned to leave.
"Hey, you."
As I walked, someone ran up to me. I stopped and turned around, only to see someone in a well-tailored maid outfit looking at me.
"We don’t have time to dawdle. I’m swamped here. What are you doing?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you. Hurry up."
"But I—"
"You shouldn’t take palace work lightly. There are many who do better than you, and we’re swamped right now, so just hang in there."
She must have thought I was trying to skip out on work. I tried to explain, but her grip was quite forceful. She dragged me off and gave me a change of clothes and some flower decorations.
"Change quickly and decorate the banquet hall."
As I stood there, dumbfounded, she sighed and handed me money. "You know if you run away after taking the money, it’s straight to the dungeon, right?"
It felt like a threat, but her tone didn’t sound casual.
The dungeon…
I could only nod as I accepted the money. With her being so forceful, I couldn’t resist. She seemed satisfied with my reaction and left the room.
Soon, the surroundings quieted down.
"Master, what will you do?"
"They gave me the money, so I can’t run away," I muttered absentmindedly.
Derol fell silent, unsure of what to say. Besides, she had threatened me using the dungeon.
"Anyway, I’ve got the money, so let’s just do what we have to do and leave," I said cheerfully.
Derol nodded and looked around. "Master, is there anything I can help with?"
"No, it’s fine. There’s no need for you to get involved. I’ll just do the work and leave."
Since that was the case, it seemed best to finish quickly.
I hurried into the banquet hall. Everyone there was busily decorating the place, and since it was my first time in such a large area, I momentarily lost focus.
As I stood there, someone tapped my shoulder.
"What are you doing? Finish the decorations quickly."
"Oh, right." I quickly set down the decorations I had brought. Watching how everyone else worked, I managed to get it looking decent.
As I kept fiddling with the same items, Derol seemed bored and said, "Master, may I take a quick look around?"
"Derol, won’t that be dangerous?" I said in concern.
Derol blinked his eyes while clasping his hands, his dark eyes sparkling in a way that made it hard to refuse.
Lately, he had started to make it impossible for me to say no when he wanted something.
Finally, I cautiously placed Derol on the floor. "Just look around here. If you sense any danger, run back quickly."
"Yes, Master. Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon."
I watched Derol for a moment before organizing the remaining decorations. While occupied with the decorations, I overheard the chatter of the people nearby.
"Phew, the new prince’s personality is quite difficult. His tone is cold, and his gaze is even more frightening."
"But he looked very handsome when I caught a glimpse."
"What does that matter? I heard he doesn’t like having a personal maid.”
"Why?"
"He finds it inconvenient. He’s okay with everything else, but he doesn’t like women entering his room."
Were they talking about Ardion? Well, he was the only prince here. The current emperor was bedridden due to illness, and Rowell was still the crown prince.
"Hey, why are you dawdling here? Don’t you see the other places?"
With that urging voice, I hurriedly turned my gaze away from them. I was only doing this because I received money. Otherwise, I would have run away by now.
I rummaged through my pockets. Thankfully, I still had the money I received earlier. Today, I could afford a few treats for Derol and some fruit. I could buy that dried cheese he mentioned before.
Am I lucky to get a chance like this?
I draped the leafy decorations with mixed feelings.
By the time I finished, it was already dark outside. The candles were beautifully lit against the darkness of the night, and the luxurious tables set with food and flickering flames of the candles created an overly extravagant and grand scene.
Ardion was being warmly welcomed.
It was perhaps expected. He had survived in a place no one else would go. Because of that, Rowell had no choice but to host this banquet, even if he disliked Ardion.
If he didn’t properly welcome Ardion, even his followers wouldn’t be silent about his unfair treatment. It was the empire’s law and duty to honor a hero who had accomplished such a feat.
If Rowell didn’t host a welcoming banquet for Ardion, it would have certainly raised eyebrows among the nobles. Moreover, the frontier had long been a battleground where the empire couldn’t properly deal with monsters, resulting in countless deaths.
Some noble families also had loved ones buried there. In fact, it was said that hundreds of thousands had died on the frontier over the years. Now, Ardion was a hero of the empire, having swiftly conquered an area that had been a headache for decades. Although it had troubled the empire for years, the reason they hadn’t given up on it was simple: the frontier was abundant in mana, which was also why it was hard for monsters to die easily.
If they could completely eradicate the monsters there and claim the mana, they would secure a vital resource for the empire and gain significant trading benefits with other empires.
Rowell might have sent Ardion there to kill him, but… as the protagonist he was, he would never die that easily. In a way, Rowell had dug his own grave.
After all, in the original story, Ardion had returned alive. It felt like this was that moment.
I clapped my hands and looked around. Now that I had finished my work, it was time to go. The large table was now filled with food.
The banquet would soon begin.