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nTranslator: Yonnee

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nChapter 43 – Sierra, Sandwiched Between A Battle Of Two Men

nAn hour into the carriage ride, Sierra grew restless. And to contradict this, Abel was somehow still in high spirits…

n“I’m really close with Sister!”

n“Ah, yeah.”

n“We’re really close… because you know how we lived together in the Supe village, right? Sister and I were even mistaken as newlyweds! Haha!”

n‘That’s not it— Abel…!’

nAbel, this good-natured and lovely puppy, unintentionally stirred Cassius’ jealousy. Even Sierra, as dense as she was, noticed the throbbing veins on Cassius’ temples.

n‘I don’t think you should word it that way…’

nIn fact, from the cute puppy Abel’s standpoint, it would be surprising if he knew that he would be hated. Abel liked Sierra, so he wanted to get along with Cassius very much, seeing as they had some past together.

n‘Come to think of it, Abel’s a dog shapeshifter, and he applied to be a guard at the magic tower, but he wasn’t accepted.’

nHe wasn’t even considered for the post because he liked people so much. Sierra the time when he was still a young puppy and when her sister decided to help Abel.

n’Abel, bite him!’

nWhen a sentry of the magic tower said so, Abel in his puppy form shook his head and made a crying face.

n’N-N-No! Even a thief feels pain!’

n‘Aren’t you a guard dog of the magic tower? He’s a spy! You have to bite him!’

n‘But still… People feel pain! I’ll try my best not to hurt him…’

nThe memory ended with the sentry watching exasperatedly at the whining Abel.

nSierra’s sister said that Abel was different, though. She said that’s why she picked up and raised Abel, who the magic tower had thrown away, and added that he should be relieved that he was even being taught and trained well.

n’I tried strengthening his mental fortitude just as you said, but I don’t think it worked well. Maybe it’s because of his nature?’

nSierra shook her head as she recalled this. Abel was good-natured even back then…

n“Ack, why aren’t you saying anything? Haha, is it a funny memory?”

n“Yeah.”

nCassius turned to Sierra, and at this, Abel sighed because Cassius still wouldn’t acknowledge him. With a disappointed face, he looked out the window.

nSierra saw how Abel’s bright and bubbly expression blurred and bounced back.

n“Oh, by the way! Shall we shake hands, Your Grace?”

nAbel reached out to Cassius, who just looked down at the hand with one corner of his lips raised. He was obviously sneering at him…

n“Oh, you’re smiling!”

n…But the bright Abel just smiled and continued.

n‘Abel, good luck…’

nFrom Sierra’s perspective, as she watched the two men’s conversation, Abel looked like the one who was winning…

n“Haha! Seeing Your Grace smile, I can’t help but smile as well. Right, Sister?”

nCassius finally spoke, as though he couldn’t stand it anymore.

n“…Sister?”{ tl

/n: Abel calls Sierra ‘Noona’, which is a term used by men to address older women who’s either their family or their close friends. }

n“What? Huh?”

nAbel shrugged, not having any idea how Cassius was feeling. Then, he clapped once and exclaimed.

n“Is it weird to call Sister this way?”

n“…Seems like you’re close.”

n“Ah, yes! We’re really close! Hehe.”

nSierra could practically see an invisible tail wagging behind Abel.

nMeanwhile, she could see an explosion of fire behind Cassius’ eyes.

nShe was nervous. It felt like there were less than five seconds before a bomb could explode…

nBut Sierra’s guess was wrong. Cassius closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again while sighing.

n“While I wasn’t there…”

nCassius’ shoulders drooped and his voice had a slight tremor. Then, Abel asked back with a face that said he didn’t know what Cassius was talking about.

n“Pardon?”

n“Cassius?”

nSierra cautiously probed Cassius just in case he would explode on Abel.

nCassius stared at Sierra with a pained expression.

n“…It’s nothing, Sierra. I’m grateful that you’ve been taken care of.”

nHis trembling voice and deep sigh expressed his suffering. Abel, who continued to be clueless, blinked slowly as he was confused.

n“Um… That is…”

n“And during the time that Sierra was having a lot of difficulties…”

n“Yes, it’s true that I helped Sister a lot when she was going through a lot of things!”

nAbel nodded good-naturedly. Sierra’s gaze turned complicated as she saw how Abel just continued to bulldoze over the conversation.

n“But, um, wasn’t it hard?”

nAbel looked at Cassius, then whispered carefully towards Sierra.

n“You had a hard time begging Mister Scrooge because we were behind on the monthly rent a lot…”

n“Ah.”

nSierra hurriedly shifted her gaze towards Cassius. He surely heard that since he’s a trained knight.

n“…Yeah, it was.”

nInstead of making up more excuses, Sierra just scratched the side of her face with one finger and decided to give up.

n“Well, yeah. It was kinda difficult…”

nAt these words, Abel smiled and nodded vigorously. On the other hand, Cassius just looked more depressed.

nSeeing Cassius’ sullen face, Abel blinked and carefully spoke again.

n“But still, now that I’m seeing you together, Sister and the Duke look great together, too!”

n“…What?”

nCassius’ eyes became cloudy, but Abel continued speaking brightly.

n“You two look great together!”

nAt that moment, Cassius suddenly turned toward Sierra. Their eyes met. Sierra’s mind went blank, then she hurriedly looked out the window. Her ears were terribly red.

n‘Crazy…’

nSierra and Cassius remained speechless, but Abel continued to chatter on. The carriage slowed down gradually, and as the sound of the horse’s steps subsided, Sierra lifted the curtains of the window.

nOutside, a strange and exotic landscape of the village could be seen, along with the sign saying ‘Sebor village.’

nFinally, they arrived at the village where Sierra’s sister disappeared.

nShe’s going to find that sister of hers now!

nSierra’s eyes were determined.

n* * *

nAbel headed west while Cassius and Sierra headed east. It was decided that they’d search for about an hour.

n‘There are trails and sparsely distanced houses in the East.’

nSierra, who had just entered the avenue, stared down at the map she had brought with her. Sebor was a very small village, even smaller than Supe village where she had stayed.

n‘I heard that magic stones are famously abundant here.’

nThe reason why Sebor village was famous wasn’t because it was the Crown Prince’s direct property, but because it was a special place where there’s a lot of magic stones.

nFrom the Imperial Palace, the Crown Prince designated Sebor as his own private property because he secured the magic stones while keeping the mages of the magic tower in check.

n‘It’s suspicious that my sister disappeared from this village in particular.’

nAmil, Sierra’s sister, was a mage who could manipulate mana on her own, so she didn’t need magic stones.

nSierra took out the Tracking Potion, then turned to Cassius with a serious expression.

n“Ah, Hanael’s mom had gone missing, so I have to find her with this. It’s a potion to find someone’s tracks.

n“…Okay.”

nCassius seemed to have a lot of questions, but he nodded anyway and kept his lips shut.

nAs she leaned down, Sierra dropped a small pool of the potion on the ground.

nIf her sister recently passed by this place, the potion would catch onto her mana and bring up a whirlwind-like fog that would be revealed on the ground.

n‘Seeing as there’s no response, it’s either that she hadn’t passed through here, or that it had been too long ago when she went here.’

nBut there was no need to worry. Sierra clenched her fist and walked along the avenue.

nThus, Sierra and Cassius walked until they reached the forest. Cassius also took a potion bottle of his own and left drops on the ground to help Sierra.

nHowever, no traces of Sierra’s sister came out. This made her increasingly nervous.

n“Take it easy. We still have a lot of time… It breaks my heart to see you suffer.”

nCassius carefully stroked her disorganized hair. And behind his gaze, she saw him feeling sorry for her a little.

n‘I guess you’re being like that because of the conversation in the carriage earlier.’

nSierra’s eyes widened when Cassius reached down to grab her hand, a smile on his lips.

n“I’ve lived a good life so far, so you don’t have to worry now. First, just let me know how I can help you.”

nCassius muttered softly with a smoldering gaze.

n“Alright…”

n“Good.”

nSierra, who had been walking around for a while, stopped for a moment as she realized that the sky had gotten dark.

nCassius helped her spray the potion here and there without any question, then he looked at her.

n“Do you remember?”

nCassius said something unexpected in a low voice.

n“Our kiss.”

nSierra recalled the past that she had almost forgotten. The kiss she had with Cassius began to play in her head, and it was on that night that they decided… to start dating.

nCassius had looked so happy, and Sierra was strangely excited, even if she knew that she had to break up with him eventually.

nSierra recalled the distant memory of them walking along an avenue promenade, holding hands.

n“…The kiss we had while we walked hand-in-hand.”

nFive years ago, Cassius and Sierra had walked along a similar promenade together. After talking for a long time while walking, they reached the side of the road where there weren’t any people.

nPerhaps there was a small festival held in a village nearby, but by chance, as the sky grew dark, fireworks exploded high above.

n‘Can I kiss you?’

n‘…What?’

nBack then, Cassius was recklessly kind to her. She was trying to hide her face, but the way he looked at her was serious.

nSeeming to say ‘I won’t kiss you if you don’t like it’, but he stepped forward, his lips so close to hers.

n‘No—I want to kiss you.’

nAt that time, slowly, Sierra’s eyes fluttered, gradually closing.

nEven when her eyes were closed, she could feel Cassius standing still, looking at her without a word.

nIn that tense atmosphere, Sierra gulped down.

n‘Why did he say that suddenly…’

nWhat’s surprising was that he didn’t succumb to temptation and just kiss her right then. Sierra opened her eyes and looked at him, back in the present.

nCassius’ lips moved closer and closer, and Sierra suddenly thought that she needed to move away.

nUnknowingly, Sierra found herself focusing her gaze on his lips again after he brought up that memory.

nRight now, unexpectedly, with him so close to her.

nSierra held her breath, counting down inside.

n5, 4, 3, 2……

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