Chapter 81
Remnant (2)
“So, you little punk. Mind telling what you’re trying to do to a girl who’s like a little sister to ? Why you’re even reaching out to , the dead, with your beastly hand?”
With soone like that, it’d be better to speak plainly rather than beat around the bush.
To unlock Noel’s personal quest, I needed to dig a little deeper into her heart. I had to take our relationship a step further.
But thinking about it…
‘Unlike Katya, Da Noel is kind of…’
There was still a bit of distance between us.
While Katya had thrown her heart wide open the mont she had the chance, Noel still seed hesitant, lingering timidly from afar.
Wasn’t there even a tip saying to ask Teresa for help if I wanted to close that distance?
And the answer ca much more simply than I expected.
“Just talk about yourself a little. That’s all.”
“…Sorry?”
“She’s scared, that’s all. You don’t know how timid Noel is, do you? She’s constantly worrying she might get rejected, or that she’d be a nuisance if she made the first move. That’s the kind of girl she is.”
Chuckling softly, Teresa rested her chin on her hand as she said that.
“Just open up to her a little. Just treating her like another human being should be enough. She’s really clueless when it cos to stuff she doesn’t understand. She probably doesn’t even know how to begin. That much should be enough to close the gap.”
“…How can you give advice like that after just one glance?”
“I told you. I’ve got a good sense for things.”
More than just good—this felt like a near supernatural ability.
When Aiden stared at her blankly in disbelief, Teresa smiled gently again and said,
“I’ll keep giving you advice like this, so don’t hesitate to call again whenever.”
“Thank you.”
“In exchange, can I ask one favor?”
“Yes?”
“Soday, let et Noel. Just once.”
“…”
“There’s sothing I didn’t get to say. I just want to pass that on.”
Hearing that, Aiden quietly nodded.
“…Of course, that much is a given.”
From the mont he brought her here, that had already beco sothing he had to do.
He’d need to figure out a way to make it happen.
“Then I’ll try talking to Da Noel tomorrow.”
“Sure. The mont you bring it up, I bet the mood between you two will start to warm up real quick.”
…Hmm.
Aiden listened silently and then gave a small, careful nod.
“Alright. I’ll try it right away.”
▣
Noel Astrea Simus’s days lately had been, in truth, utterly depressing.
Her daily life and duties hadn’t changed much. She was still in charge of overseeing national defense and internal military affairs at the Capital Governnt Office.
There were a few things giving her a headache though.
‘…What the heck is that man doing again?’
She scanned the docunts piled on her desk, frowning as she skimd them up and down.
It was a summarized report detailing the recent movents of the prince—soone who should’ve been keeping a low profile after provoking her the other day.
‘Too quiet.’
That was the only way she could put it.
To be honest, it wasn’t that he was inactive—he seed to be doing all sorts of things. But they were all happening under the radar, making it impossible to trace his actions or investigate and uproot them.
It felt like trying to strike sothing you couldn’t see.
Still, it left an unpleasant feeling.
Like the calm before the storm. As if he was holding his breath, waiting to unleash sothing huge.
Every ti she saw his na, it gnawed at her nerves, and she ended up frowning without even realizing it…
“……”
No, that wasn’t it.
As unpleasant as it was, it wasn’t the sole reason for her lancholy.
She’d already seen too much from this man to let sothing like that drag her mood down. If he ever tried to rise up again, she’d just knock him back down so hard he wouldn’t even be able to stand.
What truly weighed on her heart was the man chosen as her betrothed.
—What’s the deal between you two, really?
…She rembered.
Katya had asked her that not long ago.
And the fact that she couldn’t give a proper answer still sat like a stone in Noel’s chest.
‘…What is the deal between us?’
Officially, they were engaged by contract.
Even sumd up simply, it was still painfully vague. On a personal level, Noel had no clue what Aiden really thought of her.
She was known for never letting herself get distracted during work, but her hand trembled as she gripped the communication stone.
[…So that’s why you contacted ?]
On the other side of the visual call, the woman gave a dry laugh and spoke.
As a veteran of the Allied War, Noel had co to know quite a few people. Elena Ba`Del, one of the chieftains of the Tribal Alliance on the Great Plains, was one of the few she could speak candidly with.
The so-called ‘sane one’ of the Great Plains.
“……”
As for why she had that nickna—
The world of superhumans was, by nature, one filled with constant conflict, and those who made it to the top were, without exception, people who seed to be missing more than a few screws. Regardless of gender, they were all absurdly far removed from ordinary human sensibilities—lightyears away, even.
…Unfortunately, Noel couldn’t exactly say she was an exception either.
How many won in the world had killed more n than they had dated?
If soone asked her what she knew about n, the only answer she could give was sothing like, “Kicking the groin in ergencies during combat is surprisingly effective.”
That’s how bad it was.
So—
She couldn’t understand why she was reacting like this when she already had a successful track record. That was the thought behind her words.
“…Maybe he just went with you because of the ti you’ve spent together?”
[…]
“There’s no guarantee the second ti would work out, you know?”
[…We’re talking about your fiancé, right? What the hell happened between you two to get to that point?]
…No response.
Elena covered her face with her hand, her gesture full of disbelief.
She had suspected that Noel might be a bit of a rookie when it ca to relationships, but not to this extent.
[I’m honestly curious what kind of guy he is. If he’s got you worrying like this. I kind of want to see—]
“You can’t.”
[…]
The sheer bluntness of her response was almost absurd considering the situation.
The timid, trembling girl from monts ago was gone. Now she answered coldly, with an expression that said she’d start a fight if the subject was brought up again.
“You’re not allowed to et Aiden. Absolutely not.”
[…Why?]
“He might like soone like you. It’s not like you’re unattractive or anything.”
[…]
Elena wasn’t sure whether to feel happy at being complinted or depressed at being treated like the kind of person who’d steal her friend’s fiancé.
[…Well, suit yourself. I can’t really give any advice besides telling you to make the first move.]
“…That’s… kind of hard, but… I’ll try.”
Seeing Noel shrinking back again, Elena gave a wry smile and tilted her head slightly.
[Still, you might want to be careful about one thing.]
“Hm?”
[I don’t know him that well, but just seeing how you’re acting now makes think he’s way more skilled and manipulative than you are.]
“…Yeah.”
She couldn’t deny that.
Both Noel and Katya… it was painfully obvious their hearts were firmly tied to that man.
If he wasn’t skilled, then who in the world was?
[Be careful if he’s the one who cos to you first.]
“He cos to first?”
[Yeah. Especially if he suddenly calls you out saying he has sothing important to tell you, or if he wants to get to know you better out of nowhere.]
“Why would I need to be careful about that…?”
[If he had bad intentions, wrapping you around his finger would be easier than pie. He could lie about sothing big and get you hurt—]
“Aiden isn’t like that, Elena.”
Noel answered coldly, and Elena let out a sigh.
[I’m talking about if. If. What if he’s just trying to sweet-talk you into spending the night with him?]
“…Uh.”
[Even if he likes you, things could still go that way. Guys can be pretty simple like that. Are you ntally prepared for sothing like that?]
“……”
Noel’s face flushed all the way to the ears.
[Or maybe you should be prepared. He might be getting tired of all this awkward back-and-forth. He could even say sothing like he’s disappointed in you—]
“……”
Noel’s eyes turned red with emotion.
[Okay, okay, don’t start crying! Nothing like that has happened yet—]
“J-just a sec! I’ll call you back later!”
And before that increasingly chaotic voice could reach the end of her sentence, Noel hurriedly ended the call.
Because Aiden was knocking on the door from outside.
“Y-yes, Mr. Aiden! Please, co in!”
She quickly wiped the emotion off her face and answered.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long before her usual blank expression returned.
…The problem was, what Aiden had co to say would make it impossible to keep it.
“…You want to go out with you?”
“Yes. There’s sothing important I’d like to discuss with you. And I also want us to get to know each other bett—”
Noel looked at Aiden with wide eyes, like she had nearly forgotten how to breathe.
“……”
…What was with this reaction?
Wasn’t it supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy?
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