This might be sudden, but among the three best friends Lilia, Sieglinde and Lunamaria, Lunamaria was usually the one acting as the brain of the group.
She isn’t only smart, but also insightful. Feeling a vague sense of unease, Lunamaria’s gaze shifted around, and as a result, she observed the people in the venue and their movements to some extent…… and arrived at an answer.
[Well then, let’s have a quick hello to the people we know and have a meal……]
[No, I’m afraid we’re unable to do that, Milady.]
[……Eh?]In response to Lilia’s somewhat relaxed suggestion, Lunamaria answered, a hint of pity held within her eyes. Upon hearing those words, Lilia momentarily looked anxious, but quickly regained her composure…… or rather, seemingly deceiving herself, she put on a smile.
[What are you saying, Luna? This time’s party has nothing to do……]
[No, I’ve always had this vague feeling of unease, but I now know why…… I see, Miyama-sama had truly been triggering stomachaches to destroy Milady’s stomach on a daily basis.]
[……No, it’s not like Kaito-san is doing it intentionally……]
Sieglinde lightly interjected, but not reacting to it, Lunamaria continued with a solemn expression on her face.
[But at the same time he gives Milady stomachaches, Miyama-sama was also a powerful bulwark that protects Milady.]
[……W- What do you mean?][Let’s put things into perspective first. Milady is arguably the most famous noble within the Symphonia Kingdom, and even without that, you’re a rare genius among Humans who gained combat prowess equal to that of a Count-rank in a short period of time. Even without considering the Goddess of Time’s Blessing, there should be many who have taken an interest in Milady, especially those who observed the previous battle in the God Realm. In particular, the Six Kings’ Executives might want to have a conversation with Milady, given your connection with the Six Kings.]
[……………….]
Lilia would sometimes be optimistic, but she’s still intelligent. Just as Lunamaria started explaining, Lilia turned pale, seemingly having some idea what Lunamaria was trying to say.
[Rather, many probably had the desire to meet and talk with you way before this. However, when visiting Milady’s mansion in the Human Realm, the presence of Miyama-sama’s mansion adjacent to your mansion inevitably weighs heavily in their minds. They can’t just come near Miyama-sama’s residence without giving their greetings to Miyama-sama, who has deep connections with the Six Kings, and perhaps thinking that they would be bothering Miyama-sama, they were showing restraint…… or perhaps, it’s possible that someone like Alice-sama had directly imposed some sort of restriction on them.]
[Come to think of it, there were no actual visits to Lili’s mansion by any of the Six Kings’ Executives other than those brought by Kaito-san.]
Thinking about it again, they thought of that as unnatural. Lilia’s name is quite well-known even in the Demon Realm, and many High-ranking Demons are paying attention to her talent, which allowed her to reach the level of a Count-rank in just under 20 years. Especially for people like Epsilon and Kong, who are part of the War King’s Five Generals, given her strength, it’s not surprising that they would hold a strong interest in Lilia.
However, there have been no instances of such Six Kings’ Executives visiting Lilia’s mansion and asking to meet her. The only exception to this was Fafnir, who visits her due to their mutual connection with the Flying Dragon Flight, so as Lunamaria had predicted, there was a high possibility that Alice or someone else had intervened in some way.
[That’s not all. Indeed, Milady had met many distinguished people in the past, but Miyama-sama was generally present on such occasions, wasn’t he? In that case, since Miyama-sama generally handled such matters, doesn’t that mean there weren’t many opportunities for them to directly interact with Milady?]
[T- That’s true, I did feel pain in my stomach at those times…… but most of the time, they were just light greetings.]
[Yes, but Miyama-sama isn’t present now. As Milady has also hosted a few parties, you should already know this, but given the scale of this party, Miyama-sama would mostly just be going around greeting the guests, and the chances of him coming here are extremely low.]
[U- Umm, Luna…… I understand what you’re trying to say…… b- but Luna, couldn’t it be possible…… t- that you’re just overthinking things?]
Perhaps realizing the situation awaiting her, Lilia, sweat trickling down her pale face, cast a pleading gaze towards Lunamaria. However, reality is cruel…… Even if she looked at Lunamaria with such eyes, it wouldn’t change the future that awaited her.
[Since a moment ago, several of the Six Kings’ Executives had been exchanging glances and turning our way…… Perhaps, they were already deciding the order in which to meet up with Milady so that they wouldn’t all visit at the same time?]
[T- That sounds rough. In such situations, Lili has to maintain her position as Duchess Albert of the Symphonia Kingdom’s nobility, so she can’t afford any mishandling.]
Sieglinde also understood the situation and turned a sympathetic gaze towards Lilia. Wondering if the unpleasant premonition that Lunamaria and Lilia both sensed together……
[……In the first place, Miyama-sama has extremely powerful people behind his back, so putting aside how he’s polite with others, he’s actually in a position where he would be forgiven even if he makes some sort of blunder around the Six Kings’ Executives. I mean, to begin with, Miyama-sama is good at handling people, it’s like he’s loved by fate and the world…… No, I guess he really is loved by them huh. Anyhow, Miyama-sama is a communication monster who naturally gets along with others, leaving a good impression on them, whether intentionally or not. So, when Miyama-sama is around, leaving the situation to him would generally ensure a good atmosphere…… but since he’s not here today, Milady will have to manage on your own.]
[……………….]
[Well then, I’m worried how Mom’s doing at the moment, so if you’ll excuse me……]
[You must be kidding, right!? After stirring up so much anxiety in me, you’re planning to leave me behind!? S- Sieg……]
[……Ahh~~ I’m also concerned about how my parents are doing…… Also, with my position, even if I were to stay here, it would be difficult for me to join in the conversation…… so umm…… Good luck with that, Lili.]
[……My stomach…… It hurts……]
Having said all she had to say, Lunamaria departed with very quick and smooth movements, and Sieglinde, even though she looked hesitant, also decided that it would be difficult to interject into the conversation between the Six Kings’ Executives and a Duchess due to her position, and thus left the scene as well.
And now, left alone with a despairing expression on her face, Lilia was approached by the first person.
[Lilia Albert-dono, I would like to talk with you for a bit, but would that be alright?]
[……Y- Yes. With pleasure…… Epsilon-sama.]
With the result of the eye contact seemingly indicating that Epsilon would be the first to visit her, though her eyes resemble those of a dead fish, Lilia desperately put on a smile and responded.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [The sudden sweetness from the last chapter gave me a body blow, this time, Lilia received a body blow right to her stomach…… A single arc making use of two different types of body blows, how frightening.]
