Chapter 22
I had just forgotten my earlier resolve not to ruffle his feathers, and with a sullen expression, I uttered words I wouldn’t normally say.
“Well, who knows! Maybe I’ll go with a friend I’ve secretly hidden away somewhere.”
“……Secretly, hidden away?”
Without noticing Axel’s face growing darker by the moment, I nodded confidently and replied.
“Yes! You might not know because you’re not interested in me, but I do have friends.”
“Which friend.”
As soon as my words ended, the question came swiftly.
I thought he’d back off by now, pretending disinterest, but instead, Axel persisted stubbornly.
Showing a brief moment of flustered hesitation, I continued, trying to brush it off.
“F-friends. Well, I have several. And even if I told you, you wouldn’t know them all anyway.”
“……Could it be that magician from back then?”
Magician? Ah.
It seemed Axel still remembered Noxi, who had been captured in the photo at that time.
Come to think of it, there were still a few items I needed to retrieve from Noxi.
I had to meet him anyway to get those things, so maybe I could ask if he wanted to go to the festival while picking them up—killing two birds with one stone?
Retrieving the items and enjoying the festival would be efficient, handling everything at once. Suddenly brightening at the thought, I exclaimed.
“Jackpot, that could work!”
Axel looked down at my eyes, which sparkled with realization, his expression ominous.
“W-wait a minute, my lady. What could work? You haven’t answered my question yet……”
“Anyway, let’s end this conversation here. Your Highness. I’ll head out for today. See you tomorrow!”
“Wait, hold on-!”
But I flashed a bright smile in farewell and vanished quickly before Axel could grab me.
Axel stared at his hand, now dangling awkwardly in the empty air across from him, lost without direction.
The small figure that had been chattering in front of him moments ago had disappeared without a trace.
Belatedly, Axel traced with his eyes the spot where Judith had left, slowly piecing together the absurd situation that had unfolded.
‘This right now……’
What on earth is going on?
Unable to hear anything from her about the festival even as time passed, he had eventually brought it up himself.
……But.
But, what did she say?
……That she had no intention of asking him to go to the festival together?
……Why on earth? Didn’t she say she liked him? Was it all a lie after all?
Axel couldn’t forget the clear smile she had directed at him, her eyes crinkling prettily.
Shocked by those words for a brief moment, he barely managed to ask why, and in response, she tilted her head and answered like this.
It turned out Judith had completely misunderstood his actions. How could that one sentence bring him such relief? Unable to deny it outright, Axel had foolishly nodded in agreement. Then, with an expression as if she’d expected as much, Judith continued chattering on.
‘And of all things, why did Shuian have to say that……’
When he heard those words, Axel had unconsciously resented his loyal aide, Lord Shuian.
But, boundaries?
Axel furrowed his brow.
She usually didn’t seem to care about such things, yet suddenly acting like a normal person—her attitude was highly suspicious.
It was as if Judith had some other hidden intention.
At that moment, a certain thought flashed through Axel’s mind.
‘……It couldn’t be that she’s already made plans with someone else besides me…… could it?’
Judith had been straightforwardly pursuing him all this time. Yet now, not only did she not suggest going together, she claimed she never intended to. From Axel’s perspective, it was a situation ripe for suspicion.
As his expression grew increasingly dark, Judith—who had no way of knowing—smiled brightly and drove the final nail in.
In that instant, Axel experienced serious difficulty managing his expression for the first time.
Logically speaking, he should have been purely glad about the words Judith had uttered.
He wouldn’t have to squeeze time out of his busy schedule to accommodate her—no such hassle.
But why……
‘Why does it feel this bad?’
It was as if he’d been doused from head to toe in muddy water.
However, what made him even more displeased was Judith’s behavior that followed.
Turning his gaze to her slow, wriggling movements, he saw Judith glancing at him warily, preparing to leave the place.
The fact that she was avoiding him didn’t sit well.
From deep within, an inexplicable anxiety bubbled up, and Axel ended up grabbing her.
And he dragged out the question that had been tormenting him the most.
He felt like he could only let her go once he heard the answer.
However, no immediate response came from Judith. The longer the answer was delayed, the harder it was for him to hide his impatience.
In response, Judith, who had been humming in thought all this time, lifted her eyes and glared at him coyly. Her lips pursed like a duck’s, and just as his stiffened mouth was about to relax unwittingly, she exclaimed in a grumpy voice.
Axel’s lips hardened rigidly once more.
As Axel persistently probed, Judith’s once-confident face suddenly colored with confusion.
……Why is she flustered? Was there really someone else?
Axel’s suspicions only grew larger.
At those words, a figure suddenly flashed through Axel’s memory.
However, to his question filled with near certainty, Judith instead blinked her eyes wide, looking at him as if she hadn’t expected it.
Then, she soon wore a deeply contemplative expression before suddenly clapping her hands as if realizing something, exclaiming. It seemed like Axel’s presence was no longer even in her mind.
Feeling an instinctive unease, Axel hurriedly tried to stop her.
By the time he came to his senses, he had already lost her.
