“Between you and me, who is the chess piece?”
“…”
“Is it me who is being used, moving as you desire? Or is it you, Alois, who is moving according to my desire?”
“Lady Emilone.”
I tightened my grip on his shoulder. In reality, the one being manipulated was me. Just as he said, I was the one doing what Alois wanted.
Therefore, the answer to this question was fixed.
“You know the answer to that, don’t you?”
Alois glanced at my hand resting on his shoulder before lowering his gaze. His lips parted slightly, and eyes narrowed like he was about to sink his teeth into my wrist.
His crimson eyes held a dangerous glint.
“What now?! Are you two fighting?”
“It looks like it. I thought you were on good terms just now.”
Had it not been for the sharp voice that suddenly cut between us, his lips would have touched my wrist.
As if that dangerous expression from earlier was just my imagination, Alois turned his head away and placed his hand on top of mine.
I straightened up too, no longer bending towards him, and I glanced at the people who just spoke as if nothing had happened.
“Young lady, you feel so much like a noble, so I thought you were but…you’re not from some high-class house, right?”
“Bullshit. You’ve never seen a noble before!”
The two men had been sitting on the other side since we entered the tavern, and their voices were so loud enough that they drew attention.
One of them, a man with a large scar around his eye, slung an arm over Alois’s shoulder.
“Let’s be honest, what business would a precious noble have in this small mountain village?”
Alois was displeased by those words. Of course, his expression remained pleasant.
He had a gentle smile that could win anyone over, but now, I think I could tell the difference.
“It seems we’ve been rude. We didn’t mean to disrupt your meal.”
His voice was warm and friendly. Alois pushed his hair back behind his ear and looked up at them.
“We were just having a simple conversion… I didn’t realize we were disturbing. We’ll be more careful.”
I watched Alois across from his seat and narrowed my eyes slightly.
His eyes, sharp as if drawn with a brush, trembled ever so faintly.
In the end, I had to open my mouth.
Alois didn’t like others placing their hands on him.
“Excuse me, but we were still in the middle of a conversation.”
Alois’s gaze brushed past me like I wasn’t there.
Receiving that look directly, I curled the corners of my lips.
“Would you mind removing your hand from my husband’s shoulder?”
Alois’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, but it was only for a fleeting moment. He quickly returned to his usual self, as if nothing had happened. He even acted as if he was urging me to continue.
“Oh no, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to offend.”
If Reneben had been here to witness this scene, he would have been beyond scandalized.
To act this way toward the prince of Eseah and the Saintess…
Even if they didn’t know our identities, it would be impossible for Reneben to accept this situation.
I felt guilty about not bringing him along, but right now, I was relieved he wasn’t here.
“That aside, you two look quite young. Are you really here because of the great beast?”
“Indeed. My wife and I are enjoying a light trip.”
He stressed the word ‘wife’ just enough for me to notice but if he was trying to provoke me with that, then he was dreaming.
I just had to remember that for now, we were a married couple.
“You two are married?”
“…”
I turned to Alois without saying anything. He read my gaze and knowing that I was wondering how he would respond, Alois opened his mouth.
“Yes, as you can see.”
“Hmm…”
“Why do you ask?”
I recalled seeing fruit on the menu earlier. Thinking about ordering that instead, I withdrew my hand from the food I had barely touched.
“It’s just… judging by your hands, you both seem to come from well-off families. You must have been a good match.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Since no one here recognized us, I wondered why he was bothering to act so kind.
In the end, I called the server again and ordered some fruit.
For some reason, her expression was slightly sour this time, but she simply nodded and stepped away.
I followed her retreating figure with my eyes, then I turned my gaze to Alois, who was dutifully playing his role.
Wasn’t he tired of smiling like that all the time
“That aside, you really came looking for the great beast?”
“Yes. I guess you could say we wanted a bit of adventure.”
Alois feigned disappointment, prompting the two men to take seats beside us. Since he didn’t push them away, I simply observed.
“That’s too bad. Our village has no great beasts.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Rather than great beasts, we have demons. Although, the temple got rid of them a few months ago.”
Demons…
My fingers paused as I traced the rim of my cup.
As if reliving the moment, the men cheerfully went on about the priests who had visited their village.
“They had white hair, and their robes were so white… they smelled good too. Looked so noble and elegant.”
The men started gushing over the priest that came. It didn’t feel bad hearing praises about someone from the temple, but then the conversation shifted.
“Still, you must be disappointed, coming all this way. There aren’t any beasts in a place like this! Plenty of others have come looking before, though.”
But still, I’m sure it sucks to come all this way for nothing. I mean, honestly, there’s no way a village like this has a great beast! There used to be so many people like you coming here after hearing rumors…”
“I bet they were very disappointed.”
“Ah! Forget it. It’s a good thing we don’t have beasts like that here. Besides, in other places, things are already… Oops, almost said the wrong thing.”
The man clicked his tongue and ordered another beer.
My curiosity was piqued. I focused on his words as Alois, still wearing his calm expression, inquired.
“Other places?”
“Ahem. No, it’s nothing.”
“…?”
Alois tilted his head, looking like he really didn’t understand. The act was convincing enough that the man hesitated.
“I mean…I’ve heard rumors of a great beast in other places…”
I stabbed a piece of slightly under-ripe fruit with my fork and popped it into my mouth. Normally, I would have offered one to Alois, but he looked busy right now.
“So, you’re saying there could be one somewhere else?”
A great beast, huh…
I didn’t sound like something that concerned us but something felt off, so I kept listening.
“I mean, I’m superstitious so I don’t believe it but…you know how there’s a forest near the eastern coast? People keep saying they saw something there.”
If it was the eastern forest…then that was the same area we just came from. The place where noble’s gambling den was located.
“…Is that…true?”
“Whether it’s true or not, something is happening. People are being silenced in this country so don’t go around talking about or you’ll get locked up.”
…It was strange indeed. If the royal family was involved then this wasn’t just some trivial matter.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t even think about going there. Knights are guarding that place, and if you get caught—.”
The man made a motion of a throat being slit.
Seeing that, Alois gave him a look that said he would keep that in mind.
But…he said knights were guarding the place?
My red eyes met Alois’s and something flashed through our eyes. This was definitely related to dark magic.
“You don’t even have to tell me. I’m not going there if there’s knights there. That’s terrifying.”
“I know! And right, people are calling them ‘great beasts’ but it’s more likely to be a demon rather than some legendary beast.”
“I see… a demonic beast of all things…”
Alois muttered while I was halfway through my plate of fruit.
“Well, we should be heading out now. We need to find a place to stay for the night.”
“Ah, I see. Will you be here tomorrow?”
“Mmm…I’m afraid we have to leave early in the morning.”
“That’s a shame.”
Like it was the most natural thing in the world, the man reached for the food Alois and I left behind.
I guess it doesn’t matter since we weren’t eating it, but… still, manners…
It was obvious the man assumed this was fine since Alois had been acting pretty nice.
Just as I was staring at the man’s actions, Alois placed a firm hand on my shoulder and tugged at me. Thanks to that, I was effortlessly pulled away.
***
Once we were on a quiet street and away from prying eyes, Alois suddenly spoke.
“You’re wondering why I was being so nice to strangers, weren’t you?”
Alois said like he had read my mind. Just as I could now read his expressions, he could also tell what I was thinking.
“Well, I didn’t think it made sense to be so kind to complete strangers.”
“So? Do you still think it’s useless?”
Because of Alois, we gained some new information. Before meeting up with Reneben or going back to that gambling playground, we could now check out the forest that the man mentioned.
“No.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
“…”
“Of course, it could be useless information or just trivial chatter…”
He looked at me. It had been a long time since I had seen his face without a smile.
“But it could come to your advantage one day.”
“And you’re telling me this because…?”
“Because, Lady Emilone, when you’re not acting as the Saintess, you have quite a scary face.”
A scary face? I’ve never thought I looked scary.
When I unconsciously started touching my face, Alois’ lips into a faint smile.
“Of course, your expressionless face is still beautiful, but to others, you just looks like a naive noble miss who is out on a stroll.”
“…”
“If you look like that, people will not come up to you. And if people don’t come up to you, you won’t be able to get the information you need.”
After all, the stories passed down through the mouths of the common folk were rarely found in official reports.
Alois’s words made my fingers twitch slightly.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
“Alois.”
“I’m listening.”
Seeing the ever-friendly smile on his face, I brought up what he had clearly forgotten.
“You do know that I keep you by my side because I hate having to smile at strangers for no reason, right?”
Alois’s faint smile disappeared.
“I won’t be selling my smile. If smiling is necessary to obtain information, then you should be the one doing it.”
“…”
“That’s why I keep you by my side.”
After a brief silence, Alois clenched his fist and brought it to his lips. Then, unexpectedly, he burst into bright laughter.
“Haha! You are right, Lady Emilone. I was wrong this time.”
“…Hm.”
“You don’t need to do such things.”
I extended my hand toward him and Alois took it in his own. And without hesitation, he pressed his cherry lips against the back of my hand.
“Not as long as I am by your side.”
Advanced chapters available on Patreon.
- Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 100 - May 6, 2025
- Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 99 - May 2, 2025
- Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 98 - April 30, 2025