Chapter 27: Concern from the Blessed Maiden and a Junior
"In summary, regardless of what happened, could you apologize to me, Little Carte?"
"Why should I apologize to you?"
After using his Persona Mask to retrieve the fleeing Cartethyia, Aeron immediately began lecturing her.
"The rumors you spread have damaged my reputation, you know."
"Let's set aside whether you even have something called reputation," Cartethyia drawled meaningfully, casting a suggestive glance toward the bed, "that... doesn't seem entirely like a rumor either..."
At that moment, Phoebe was curled up completely on the bed. Though wearing proper priestess attire, she had wrapped herself entirely in the blankets, with only a top hat left on the mattress.
Hearing Cartethyia's words, the blanket bundle trembled and wrapped itself even tighter.
Though Cartethyia didn't know exactly what Aeron had done to her, she could more or less guess from what she'd witnessed earlier.
'Were they... doing something lewd earlier?'
Though her understanding was somewhat off the mark.
"Why are you looking at me like I'm some kind of pervert?"
"...Because I am looking at a pervert."
And so, Aeron found himself branded with yet another strange label without quite knowing how.
Regardless, it was time to return to the main subject.
With this thought, Aeron stood up and pulled over a chair for Little Carte to sit on, finally asking them the question:
"So, what brings you here to find me?"
"It's because we didn't see you at all yesterday evening, with no idea where you went," Cartethyia answered while giving Aeron an annoyed look. "We clearly agreed not to hide anything from each other."
"A-and besides, your condition this morning... was really worrying..."
Not just Cartethyia, but even the blanket bundle on the bed wriggled slightly, emitting a worried voice.
Hearing the two girls express concern for him, Aeron could only sigh. After all, they meant well, especially considering what Phoebe had done. Keeping them in the dark any longer would indeed be impolite.
"Don't worry, I just followed the Second Young Lady's arrangements to help her handle some Montelli family matters last night. As for danger... there was some, but I'm fine."
Aeron kept it vague, avoiding any mention of his meeting with Phrolova or the internal purge.
"Oh? Really?"
Cartethyia narrowed her eyes suspiciously, standing up from the chair to scrutinize Aeron closely, spotting the faint red mark on the side of his neck.
"Then what's this on your shoulder..."
"...I fell."
"You don't even bother preparing excuses when you—"
"I fell."
"...If you say so."
Seeing Aeron's stubborn refusal to admit anything, Cartethyia knew she wouldn't get any answers and gradually softened her tone.
"Looking at you like this, even if you were handling family affairs, did you have to push yourself so hard? Didn't Carlotta give you any rest time?"
He actually didn't get rest, but it was Zani who hadn't given him any.
The blanket bundle shifted again as Phoebe cautiously peeked out halfway, the blush on her cheeks not yet fully faded, her eyes filled with genuine concern: "Mr. Aeron... Are you really alright? Your complexion looks truly terrible..."
'Sigh, who told that certain Averado Bank employee to be so unrestrained last night...'
But this was definitely something he couldn't tell the two of them.
"Don't worry, I won't run off later, nor will I do anything dangerous."
Only after hearing Aeron's words did Phoebe slowly pull the blanket down, revealing her round little face.
"...Really?"
Of course it was fake.
"Really."
Watching Aeron coax Phoebe out from under the blankets, Cartethyia couldn't help but sigh and massage her temples: "Phoebe... never mind."
After muttering this quietly, she turned her gaze back to Aeron, her tone softening.
"Well, for Phoebe's sake, don't go off on your own from now on."
Though she was still curious about that strange "echo" Aeron had used earlier, she decided to let it slide given how exhausted he looked today.
After what happened last time, she'd already realized that no matter how much Aeron usually showed off, he was just a muggle without Resonance Power—getting him to talk would be easy.
Besides, the fact that this man was willing to reveal this much already counted as significant progress.
Phoebe also nodded vigorously, sitting up straight on Aeron's bed: "Yes, Mr. Aeron, I know I might not be much help, but this is still better than... better than you bearing everything alone...!"
Faced with the sincere gazes of the two girls, Aeron felt somewhat troubled—he never knew how to handle such direct kindness.
"...Alright, alright, you've got me." He sighed, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender, "I'll try to be more careful from now on, at least... I'll try not to look so pathetic in front of you."
Anyway, at this point, it didn't matter if he revealed a bit more about future plans to them.
"I'll probably need to go out frequently for a while."
Cartethyia immediately became alert, her Crown of Thorns seeming to raise invisible antennas: "What are you going to do this time?"
"This time it's completely legitimate business." Aeron waved his hand, his face showing an expression somewhere between sincerity and calculation.
"After all, we came to Montelli with a purpose from the beginning."
Moreover, last night, Aeron had taken a leap forward toward that goal.
"Anyway, I've found someone who can help you deal with the Dark Tide. Next, I just need to make more contact with her."
"Really?"
Hearing Aeron's words, Cartethyia felt a small thrill of excitement, though for some reason a thread of sadness also emerged in her heart.
"You're not planning something strange again, are you?"
"Not this time." Aeron raised his hands in surrender, "Just a normal visit, making friends."
Of course, also to check out that major leak.
"So, to prepare, I need to get proper rest now. You two should stay put in Montelli, and if anything happens, let me know... though probably no one would dare bother you anyway."
"Alright, alright," Cartethyia waved her hand, though she still looked skeptical, she finally stopped pressing further. She walked to the bedside and gently tugged at Phoebe, who was still sitting on the bed with flushed cheeks, "Let's go, Phoebe."
Phoebe obediently replied "Mm" and got out of bed, putting on her boots before carefully smoothing out the wrinkles in her priestess's robe. As she reached the door, she couldn't help turning back to softly remind him: "Mr. Aeron, you must get proper rest!"
"Don't worry, my most important task right now is sleeping."
Watching the door gently close and the two girls' footsteps fading into the distance, the relaxed expression on Aeron's face gradually faded. He lay down on the bed that still carried a faint trace of Phoebe's fresh scent.
Now that he stood on Montelli's side, he finally had some leverage to act against Fenrico.
But this amount of leverage was definitely still insufficient for Aeron. Moreover, Montelli's strength lay more in intelligence and funding, while Carlotta had just stabilized her family and couldn't be asked to take risks again.
Therefore, Aeron needed to further consolidate his position, ensuring that his subsequent actions wouldn't bring any negative consequences to the entire Rinascita.
After all this time, the moment had finally come.
"Drifter, oh Drifter, I've covered for you so many times. Now it's your turn to help your buddy out."
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