The Status Effect Count - Chapter 34

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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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The Count’s Condition 034
Before Anne had even stepped down from the carriage, she gasped through the window. If I could just break off one piece of that, how much would it fetch?
Anne’s mind was already running quick calculations. She wanted nothing more than just the tip of that Angel Statue’s foot—or better yet, a single talon.
The Capital was… incomparable to anywhere else.
Tap. Tap.
Soon came a light knock on the carriage window. The door opened, and a cheerful face thrust itself in.
“Was the ride in the carriage comfortable?”
“Hayden.”
“Wow, the commander actually stayed still in a carriage—the world really must be coming to an end!”
“Get out of the way.”
Nadan shoved the chattering Hayden aside with his boot and descended from the carriage.
Anne moved to follow, but suddenly a thick palm stretched deep into the carriage interior.
“Come down.”
How am I supposed to come down when you’re blocking the door?
Anne swallowed her exasperation and looked at Nadan, who was now blocking the carriage entrance.
No matter how much she signaled with her eyes, Nadan seemed oblivious, only extending his palm deeper.
When Anne hesitated and failed to exit, Hayden joined in, blocking the entrance from his side as he watched her.
Why were these already oversized men crowding the doorway instead of standing back?
‘Are they messing with me?’
The Count was one thing, but she hadn’t expected even Hayden, who always wore that easy smile, to participate.
Anne gave Hayden a narrow look, then compressed herself and nimbly slipped through the gap between the Count’s hand and Hayden.
She bounded out of the carriage with a sharp, clean sound as her feet hit the ground.
Suddenly, silence fell among the Count’s knights and the Imperial Palace guides standing around the carriage.
Every eye flickered between the Count’s hand, still suspended in mid-air, and Anne.
“…Why are you doing this?”
The Count stared at her with an oddly dazed expression, his mouth slightly open.
“…”
“…Hehehehe, heh.”
As the knights and guides subtly turned their heads away, clearing their throats, Hayden burst out laughing.
“The commander’s e-escort offer, she—haha, she dodged it!”
“Quiet.”
Nadan flicked Hayden lightly with the end of his sword sheath.
With a final cry, Hayden collapsed where he stood.
‘What?’
To Anne’s eyes, it looked like barely more than a tap.
Nadan let out a soft sigh and turned away.
“Let’s go.”
Since Nadan walked off quickly, Anne hurried after him.
When she glanced back, Hayden was still groaning on the ground.
‘Will he be able to catch up?’
It didn’t seem likely in the immediate moment.
* * *
“Commander! Welcome back!”
“You’ve worked hard in my absence. Has anything happened?”
“No, sir! Nothing at all!”
Every knight Nadan encountered saluted him in perfect unison.
Their eyes shone with welcome and admiration.
‘Wow.’
The knights of the Imperial Palace were all nearly as massive as Nadan.
When the guards in their formal uniforms spotted him, they snapped to attention with military precision, raising their hands in salute with such force that it was overwhelming.
“Welcome, sir!”
‘Oh no!’
The problem was that Anne stood in the middle of this endless parade of greetings.
Thunder-like voices erupted from all directions without pause, leaving her ears ringing.
In the midst of it all, Hayden caught up and fell in step behind Anne.
When the crowd of people thinned slightly, Nadan stopped in front of a door.
As Hayden opened it, a man seated at a desk sprang to his feet as if he’d been waiting.
“Nadan! It’s been too long!”
“Hugo. I apologize for the long absence. You’ve had a difficult time of it.”
“Not at all. Sion has led us well in your stead.”
He wore a formal military uniform, but his build was noticeably smaller than anyone she’d encountered before.
Just as Anne regarded him with unfamiliar eyes, Hugo looked back at her with equal puzzlement.
“You’ve come with a stranger, I see?”
Hayden answered in her stead.
“I’ve come as the Count’s escort. Sir Hugo, you’re not turning me away, are you?”
“How could I turn away anyone in Nadan’s party?”
While Anne and Hayden filled out their entry permits, Nadan broached his business.
“I’d like to file a Return Request.”
“Ah! I’ve already prepared those documents for you. But first, please go see the person waiting for you.”
“I haven’t even submitted an audience request yet?”
“It’s already been approved.”
Hugo waved a sheet of paper with a grin. An imperial seal hung from the fluttering document.
“It came down before you even passed through the main gate. The Crown Prince has been waiting rather eagerly.”
“Hm.”
It seemed like the Count had just sighed, though she couldn’t be certain.
“Anne, you’ll stay here.”
“But Belence told me to remain at your side, sir.”
When Anne objected, Nadan’s brow furrowed. He clearly had no desire to bring her along.
“Taking you would require filing an Official Audience Petition. Sir Hugo, how long would that process take?”
“Well, if this lady is of noble birth, perhaps two weeks to a month, but……”
Hugo trailed off, smiling.
Nadan tilted his head as if to say “see?”
“So you’ll wait here for now. Sir Hugo, could you look after my attendant while I’m gone?”
“Of course.”
Hugo nodded and showed Anne to a seat at a visitor’s table positioned to one side of the office.
‘Well, it should be fine. He’s fully recovered anyway.’
Anne checked the top of Nadan’s head once more before nodding in agreement.
“If you need anything at all, you must call for me, sir.”
……
Nadan’s expression went briefly blank before he abruptly turned and left the room.
“Well then, I’ll just step over to the Knight Order to pay my respects.”
“You’re leaving too, Sir Hayden?”
“I’ll have to file my own Return Request once Nadan does. Ah, I wish I could rest longer—”
In the end, only Anne and Hugo remained in the office.
‘Why didn’t I just follow the Count no matter what? But even nobility takes half a month for one of these audience things, so what could I possibly do?’
As Anne pondered this, a small dish suddenly appeared before her.
“Have a refreshment while you wait.”
“Oh, thank you so much.”
Wow, a Chocolate Tart!
Of course—this was the Imperial Palace. Even the guest refreshments looked expensive and delicious.
Anne didn’t hesitate and took the dish at once.
Though Hugo had noticed she was a servant, he treated her as a guest rather than speaking down to her.
The weather was beautiful, and since Hugo’s office had a balcony, they decided to take tea together there.
“There isn’t much to see, I’m afraid.”
“The garden is quite charming though. So wild.”
Unlike the flower beds she’d seen while walking through the Imperial Palace, this one had a rough, untamed appeal.
Hugo spoke with embarrassment.
“It’s, well… neglected, actually.”
“Oh……”
Now that she looked closer, she could see wild grass growing thick and haphazard, dotted with wildflowers blooming in chaotic abundance.
“This area is managed directly by the Knight Order rather than the Imperial Palace staff, so with only men around, this sort of landscaping is difficult to maintain properly.”
Anne grasped the unspoken meaning behind Hugo’s words.
No money. That’s why they couldn’t hire a gardener.
Now that she thought about it, the garden at Preneta Mansion had become little better than a jungle after the gardener fled.
“Though there is another garden nearby worth seeing. They’ve recently built a small hunting ground there.”
“A hunting ground?”
“Well, ‘hunting ground’ is generous—it’s just a few wild animals kept there. Still, it’s the best thing in this area. Would you like to go have a look?”
“I need to stay here until the Count returns, sir.”
Hugo smiled gently.
“It might take Nadan a while to come back, don’t you think?”
“Pardon?”
* * *
‘This is why I summoned him the moment I set foot in the Imperial Palace.’
Nadan ground his teeth, striding down the corridor at a brisk pace.
The moment he stepped out of Hugo’s chambers, Nadan received infuriating news.
An unexpected, emergency nobles’ assembly was underway right now in the Imperial Palace Conference Hall.
And when he heard the reason the assembly had been convened—Knight Order Budget Reduction—blood surged hot and furious through his veins.
“Captain, calm down. Calm down. The look on your face says you’re about to kill someone.”
“Before I gut you, shut your mouth, Hayden.”
Hayden, who hadn’t even managed to pay his respects to the other knights before being dragged along, let out a long, 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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