Chapter 120
‘Edwin just wants to protect Pierre, it seems.’
Fortunately, it was clear that he hadn’t joined hands with the Empress yet.
‘What should I do? Pierre is going to die soon.’
And at Cesare’s hands, no less.
For now, I climbed back into the carriage and briefly recalled the original story.
Edwin becoming the Empress’s shadow assassin must have happened after Pierre’s death.
But does it make sense for him to go under the person who killed his adoptive father?
For someone like Edwin, who lives and dies by loyalty, it wouldn’t be strange if he sought revenge instead…
Realizing the hidden reason a bit late, I let out a soft sigh.
“He approached her on purpose.”
Given the circumstances, there was only one reason he’d end up under the Empress as in the original.
“He must be biding his time to take revenge on the Empress.”
But what good does that do? In the end, he gets used, rejected by his first love, and dies a lonely death.
Thinking that he’d avoid turning dark if only Summer remembered him was far too naive.
The real trigger for his descent into darkness and starting to commit murders must be Pierre’s death.
‘He might even be involved in poisoning Alferen.’
Leaving Edwin like this would be problematic.
Once the Empress’s deeds come to light, Cesare would become even more desperate.
Having finished my thoughts, I stepped out of the carriage.
Edwin was still slumped on the ground, muttering to himself.
I approached him and held out my parasol to shade him from the sun.
“What are you doing, moping around here like this?”
Feeling the shadow, he lifted his head to look at me.
“Ah.”
He’d been crying, of all things, and let out an unguarded exclamation.
“Ah!”
I was just as flustered, not expecting him to be crying.
The image of him fleeing while insisting that men don’t cry was still vivid in my mind.
As I awkwardly backed away, Edwin frowned.
“Tch. The sun’s too bright.”
There was no sunlight thanks to the parasol, but I pretended not to notice.
“Yeah, right. You’re already dark-skinned—planning to turn into a full crow? Why are you sitting here moping?”
“Even men have their circumstances.”
“Words from a crying man’s mouth don’t sound very credible… eek.”
I slapped my mouth shut after sarcastically teasing him without thinking.
Edwin’s face was already flushed red with shame.
“I-I’m not crying… sniff.”
I didn’t know which part of my words had triggered his tears.
“Waaah!”
Suddenly, Edwin started sobbing wretchedly.
Because of that, passersby glanced at us.
“Hey! You said men don’t cry!”
“Waaaaaah!”
Despite my attempts to stop him, Edwin cried even louder.
‘Tch!’
I’d intended to persuade him about Pierre.
But he wasn’t in any state to talk.
“Don’t cry. Stop. Be good? Men don’t cry.”
As I roughly wiped his face with a handkerchief, Edwin sobbed even more wretchedly.
Ah, maybe I should just leave him.
Drained, I at least shielded the crying Edwin from the passersby.
“Fine. Cry your heart out. When else are you going to cry if not now?”
The embarrassment is all yours.
Of course, I was a bit embarrassed too, being with him, but not as much as Edwin.
After bawling his eyes out for a while, Edwin blew his nose into my handkerchief.
“Phoo!”
I looked at the soggy handkerchief with bleary eyes.
“Yeah, you keep that.”
Fortunately, it wasn’t one I cherished, so I had no regrets.
* * *
A little later, Edwin, having stopped crying, returned to his usual chuunibyou-like way of speaking.
“I’ve shown you an unsightly side.”
He stood up, brushing off his seat as if nothing had happened, and said,
“If it’s alright, I’ll escort you to the mansion. I’ve cried so much I’m dizzy.”
“Yeah, sure.”
I’d been planning to anyway.
His legs were trembling badly.
I signaled to the coachman waiting in the distance.
Once in the carriage, a long silence stretched out.
I stared at his face, which looked like a screw was loose somewhere, and gently broached the subject.
“Actually, I saw you with Pierre earlier.”
At the mention of Pierre, Edwin’s demeanor sharpened.
“How much did you hear?”
“Just that Pierre is sick, that’s all I caught. The atmosphere was so tense I was going to pass by, but you kept acting like that, so I spoke up.”
I pretended I hadn’t heard anything about the Empress.
Only then did Edwin’s intensity subside a little.
“It’s nothing.”
“Is he really bad?”
“I said it’s nothing.”
“You cried like that, and it’s really nothing? Aren’t we friends?”
Edwin flinched at the word “friends.”
So did I.
‘I never thought the day would come when I’d say this first.’
I continued to shake the wavering Edwin.
“Sierra’s been worried about you too. Says you haven’t been yourself lately.”
“…You’re close with Ainluk.”
Edwin frowned.
“If you knew everything, you probably wouldn’t call me a friend anymore.”
His scoffing voice was thick with self-mockery.
He probably thought I’d hate him if I knew the inside story.
‘As if he didn’t know himself.’
Of course, in the original, he was a bad person.
He’d commit murder if the Empress ordered it.
Hadn’t I deliberately avoided approaching the Magia Club to be wary of him?
But now, the Magia Club was no longer just a means for spying.
The connections I’d made there had become too precious to me.
“If a friend is getting involved in something dangerous, I’d help, not turn away.”
At my repeated encouragement, Edwin stared at me intently.
His strawberry-red nose and touched gaze were a bit burdensome.
“Jelly. You’re a really cool guy.”
“…So what’s going on? Stop beating around the bush and tell me.”
At my urging, Edwin let out a groan and confessed honestly.
“It seems Pierre tried to kill Davin Ainluk. And now, it looks like he’s targeting your lover.”
He looked overwhelmed, as if the dilemma was too much to handle alone.
From the fleeting apologetic expression, it seemed he was ready to apologize on Pierre’s behalf.
But unlike his worry, it was something I already roughly knew, so I could accept it calmly.
“Hmm, that’s a really tricky situation, huh? So how are you planning to stop it?”
Edwin blinked at my composed reaction.
“What? That’s it?”
“Then? What reaction were you expecting?”
“You should be furious that he tried to kill your future father-in-law and is now after your lover, and lump me in with the blame.”
“It’s not like you did it, and it’s Pierre who did it. If I’m going to get mad, it should be at him—why take it out on you?”
“Well, because I’m close to Pierre…”
“By that logic, I’m close to you too. So I have no intention of judging a friend’s situation based on one side.”
At my firm stance, Edwin looked touched again.
“Jelly…”
“It’s not Jelly, it’s Delly. Humanely speaking, isn’t it time you called me by my proper name?”
Reacting coolly to the unwanted nickname, Edwin rubbed his nose.
“Calling you by name is embarrassing.”
What is he saying, really.
Having a perfectly good name and calling me something else is weirder, you know?
Even in the midst of this, he’s sticking to his concept—he’s not normal either.
“So what exactly is Pierre planning to do to Alferen?”
First, it was important to know what trap the opponent had set and how to counter it.
The original story had already changed a lot, so he wouldn’t use something obvious like poisoning to kill him.
Perhaps relieved to confess the problem he’d been agonizing over alone, Edwin spoke without holding back.
“It seems he’s planning to cause a mana rampage in Duke Ainluk during the founding festival event at the harvest festival.”
“What?!”
That damn bastard…!
My demeanor turned fiercely savage at the scheme worse than expected.
Originally, that trap was aimed at the Crown Prince, not Alferen, in the story.
‘Cesare must have ordered it.’
No one else would use such a despicable method.
It seemed Cesare harbored a grudge from the last incident.
He might even be targeting the Crown Prince and framing Alferen for it.
As my intensity grew more ferocious, even Edwin was flustered and at a loss.
“C-Calm down.”
I grabbed him by the collar and muttered ominously,
“Hey, friend. Now that we’re in the same boat, let’s cooperate properly.”
