My Youngest Keeps Bringing Home Male Leads - Chapter 8
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 8
Kesenor nodded in agreement.
He then swept his hand through empty air, and suddenly a single gold coin appeared from nowhere.
“I’ve been keeping it this way for now.”
“What? Wasn’t what you gave me before the total?”
“It was not.”
He smiled meaningfully. In the same moment, a voice rang out in Agnes’s mind.
「It easily exceeds the Empire’s annual budget.」
It was definitely Kesenor’s voice.
Startled, she looked at him, but his lips remained sealed.
‘Did I mishear that?’
Confused, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly, the voice came again.
「I’m conveying this through Magic since others mustn’t hear this conversation.」
「If it’s difficult to imagine… if we released it all onto the market, gold coin exchange rates would fluctuate significantly. It would be enough to raise an army capable of rivaling an entire nation. Does that help?」
“Good heavens…….”
So the gold he’d obtained from the Dragon Lair was that much?
The quantity was beyond imagining.
So the Marquis is currently storing all those gold coins through Magic?
She found herself marveling at Kesenor’s integrity anew—she would have simply run off with it all if she were in his position—but he must have read something in her expression, because this time he withdrew a document from thin air.
“This is a Contract with Magic binding its terms into forcible execution should they be broken. Amy somehow knew about it and mentioned it to me beforehand.”
Agnes recoiled in shock as she reviewed the contract’s contents.
“If broken, a Magical Seal? Why on earth would you make such a contract?”
“It’s written right there. I said I’d take a bit extra as my share. I had no intention of breaking it anyway, so it didn’t matter.”
“So you’re saying you possess the same amount you just described…….”
He then raised a finger to his lips.
Shh.
Say no more. Agnes fell silent.
Once Agnes seemed to have grasped the situation, Silmare spoke up to finish the matter.
“In any case, it’s enough wealth to solve any problem, so we told her she must return home.”
It didn’t feel real at all.
Even without confirmation, these weren’t the sort of people to lie to deceive her about something like this.
Standing dazed, cool air brushed against her flushed cheeks.
She turned her head—the window stood open. Spring winds rushed in, carrying the faint scent of blossoms, mingled with the rich green smell of grass.
As Silmare’s robes fluttered in the breeze, it seemed as though a verdant meadow spread before her eyes.
Within an impossible illusion, the mysterious and beautiful male elf extended his hand toward Agnes.
“Then let us go at once, my Agnes.”
Unconsciously drawing near, she reached out to take his hand—
When her other hand was suddenly caught.
It was a hand slightly thicker and more calloused than Silmare’s.
She turned her head to see Kesenor watching her with a helpless smile.
“Ah.”
Good God, what was I about to do?
Jump out the window? Enchanted by Silmare’s beauty, no less…….
This had never happened to her before. Suppressing the urge to flee on the spot, Agnes kept her head bowed as she barely managed to force out her voice.
“N-no, we cannot exit through the window.”
Kesenor beside her chimed in.
“Quite right. Humans should use doors.”
“Besides, it will take time to return to the Mansion. I need to inform the Countess, and pack my things too. Let me first ask the Countess for a few days’ leave!”
With that said, Agnes fled the sitting room as though her life depended on it.
Unable to calm the turmoil in her heart, she made her way to her room instead of going to see the Countess.
“I don’t know…….”
Agnes leaned against the door, breathing heavily, then slid down to the floor.
“What must they think of me?”
The thought that those two men had witnessed her acting like such a fool was unbearable.
Agnes remained there with her head buried in her knees, groaning for a long while.
Why does this keep happening to me?
“Amy……!”
When she thought about it, the reason was obvious.
My sweet, innocent little sister keeps sending me people I can barely cope with. A prospective Soul Companion, a potential husband, and now—a soulmate…….
“Amy, when you come back, I won’t let you off easy…….”
What on earth am I supposed to do about this?
“So come back quickly, Amy.”
If only I could pass along a few words to you the way the Marquis did earlier.
Not to exhaust yourself wandering about, but to come home soon.
Because I want to see you safe and sound as soon as possible.
No matter how many times I spoke the words aloud, there came—as expected—no answer.
* * *
Two men remained standing awkwardly in the drawing room.
Silmare turned his gaze toward Kesenor first.
Those eyes, which had been as serene as a still lake, had frozen to ice. The noble, beautiful face had twisted into something ugly.
With an expression as though he were gazing upon some filthy relic crammed into a corner, Silmare let out a scoffing laugh.
“Humans must exit through the door?”
“Indeed. Unfortunately, she is a human—a species you despise.”
“Despise? Who despises whom? You yourself know who she is.”
As though outraged that a human should be spoken of in such terms, Silmare fixed Kesenor with a chilling stare.
“I heard that Amy sought you out first. No doubt you’re hoping she will choose you as well, since you were born as a Seed thanks to her, but that position is not meant for someone as feeble as you. A mere drop of Celesta’s blood.”
Kesenor clicked his tongue sharply.
The truth was, he and Silmare had met exactly once before.
It was in the days before he inherited the Marquis House, when he wandered the world restless and searching.
He had sought out all manner of unknown things, encountering monsters like Dragons, and had even crossed boundaries to satisfy his curiosity about other races separated by the Non-Aggression Treaty.
It was when he entered the Naofa Forest, which was said to be the land of the fairies.
Silmare appeared and blocked his path.
‘What brings you here, sorcerer?’
‘You know me?’
‘Of course. How many times has it been since you were born as Celesta? Last time we met, it was the thirty-fourth incarnation, so this time—the thirty-sixth? Thirty-seventh?’
It was the moment Kesenor truly grasped the tales of the fairy’s long lifespan. To the bewildered sorcerer, Silmare offered a warning laden with contempt.
‘This is not a realm permitted to sorcerers. Do not think to display your petty Magic here. Begone. You have crossed the boundary, and by the treaty, we are at liberty to strike you down.’
‘Do you possess the ability to do so?’
In that instant, an arrow grazed Kesenor’s cheek. The speed was such that he could not discern when the bowstring had been drawn.
Had he not reflexively cast a Barrier, his cheek would have been torn open.
The moment Kesenor’s expression hardened, a smile bloomed across Silmare’s beautiful face.
‘We do not welcome you. So begone.’
‘What is your name?’
‘Silmare. Prince of the Naofa Forest.’
He had not imagined they would meet again like this.
‘You speak as though you despise humans, yet you make an exception for your Soul Companion, it seems.’
Whether it was genuine or not, Kesenor found it curious how blindly Silmare doted on Agnes.
‘Then again, if a being you’ve waited two centuries for finally appears, one can hardly blame you for losing your head.’
But what did any of that matter, really?
She would not choose her partner based on how long she had waited.
Kesenor smiled coldly at the thought.
“After all, if you too fail to receive her choice, Your Highness, you are nothing. The same applies to you as to us.”
“She will choose me.”
“Will she? Can you be certain that only you and I are Seeds? Where did Amy say she was going next?”
As though struck at a tender point, Silmare’s expression grew frigid.
Just as Kesenor had come in haste, Silmare’s situation was no different. Both were forced to wait upon someone’s choice, clinging to naught but an uncertain legend.
All because a mythical mark had appeared upon the back of a hand.
“In any case, seeing how eagerly you came rushing here, it seems the information I uncovered regarding the World Tree’s Companion was indeed truthful. I had wondered if it might be nothing but old wives’ tales, having discovered it in such ancient documents.”
“What did it say?”
“Why should I reveal that to you? In any case, I now understand that she is the World Tree’s Companion and of considerable importance.”
“As she should be. She is incomparable to anything else and utterly unique.”
“Then I have no choice but to make greater efforts.”
After that, only a heavy silence filled the drawing room.
Silmare gazed out the window, while Kesenor sipped the tea placed on the table, both waiting for Agnes to return.
After a considerable time had passed, Agnes returned.
“I’m planning to depart an hour from now. It will take some time for the Carriage to arrive.”
“Did the Countess grant her permission?”
“Yes. It has been quite some time since I returned to the family seat. Since you are both clearly my guests, I told her I would see to your hospitality myself until your departure.”
However, the process had proven more complicated than expected.
Recalling the conversation she’d just had with the Countess, Agnes let out a weary sigh.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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