Chapter 7 – Special Mission! Don’t Be Surprised by My Husband’s Surprise Attack.

I went straight back to the hotel after a brief conversation with Dylan at the office. I got on the carriage as fast as I could, fearing that if I took my time, I would get an invitation to dinner from the royal couple. This was because Lily had subtly hoped that I would stay with her until dinner.

If His Majesty the Emperor hadn’t called them in the meantime, I would have had to follow them while being a thirdwheel. I should keep my eyes wide open and watch them being lovey-dovey all the time?

Oh, come on.

I went through the hotel lounge and headed to the top floor.

As soon as I got up there, I saw that the hallway was deserted. Since I ended up staying longer than planned, I was practically using the hotel as my home.

Originally, I would have finished my work in the capital by now, tested Kairos, returned to Ferrarium, and put an end to the escape plan. As my stay in the capital got longer, that plan was also completely revised. It’s fortunate that things with Annie are going smoothly.

The test didn’t go well, though.

Should I just disappear while I’m here? Or should I go back to Ferrarium, see him one last time, and say goodbye?

‘It doesn’t matter if I see him.’

Was there anything more to see than his handsome face? Before I could even enter my room, I ran into Nigella as I walked in, exhausted. She was hovering in front of the room I was staying in.

“Nigella? Why are you here?”

“I was on my way back from the Association when I heard a loud noise near the Imperial Palace. Boss, your eyes…”

She was startled when she saw that my eyes had turned purple because I had used so much power. I had come out after checking it once, but I couldn’t hide it from Nigella unless I closed my eyes.

Her face was like Noah’s when he was about to nag me.

“Ah… Did the rumor spread this far? Yes, I heard that a monster suddenly attacked the Imperial Palace today, so I went to help.”

“What? You didn’t stay in a safe place? How much power did you use to change the color of your eyes? I shouldn’t have let you go alone again!”

As expected, Nigella started fussing.

“You would have nagged me if you came with me. It’s okay. I solved it well and came back safely, so let’s talk about it after I wash up. I know you did well, but…”

“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“Oh, yes. Not really?”

Nigella’s eyes narrowed in suspicion when I gave an unclear answer. In fact, my waist felt a little sore when I was leaning against the carriage seat earlier. My elbow was also a little sore.

Anyway, her protection was too much since she only received an order.

After I barely managed to appease Nigella and went inside, I had a maid help me bathe, but my underwear chafed my skin the moment I took off my clothes.

“Ugh.”

“M- Madam! There’s a wound here…! I’ll call for a doctor right away!”

The maid freaked out, making a bigger fuss than Nigella. I grabbed the maid’s clothes with both hands as she tried to run out to call Nigella.

“Shh, shh! No, no! What are you going to do, call a doctor for this? Can you just hold up a mirror so I can see it?”

I looked in the long mirror that the maid gave me, and there was a red mark about an inch wide between my waist and pelvis. It seemed that my waist had gotten scratched a little on the dirt floor when I curled up on the ground, and my elbow was also slightly scraped.

“That’s why it was stinging.”

If I had gotten hurt like this in Ferrarium, Noah would have nagged me for two days. Oh, thank goodness.

“This should heal if I just apply some medicine. Can you bring me some ointment after my bath?”

“Without calling a doctor?”

I put my index finger to my lips and lowered my voice.

“Nigella will make a fuss again. Let’s wash up first. Do you think it will scar?”

“I don’t think it will scar if you apply ointment. Still…”

“Then, that’s fine. Just mix a little cold water.”

“Yes, yes! Madam.”

Even so, it wasn’t that deep of a wound, so it only stung a little when I got in the water, and it didn’t hurt much. After bathing, I had another battle with Nigella and then sat in front of the communication device, rubbing my ears, which hurt due to the nagging.

“I should call the doctor.”

“It’ll get better with just some ointment.”

“You two, how long are you going to argue about this?”

I won in the end, though.

“Let’s call it a day early today and get some rest.”

“Hmm?”

But why wasn’t he picking up? Was he busy?

* * *

Flicker.

“….”

The light of the communication device flickered and then went out as if it had been extinguished.

Flicker.

The light of the communication device, which had failed to connect, flickered a few more times like that.

Kairos swallowed dryly and leaned back against the back of his chair. His sunken Adam’s apple bobbed up roughly once and then settled down. The device, which had been shining diligently as if to show him, fell silent with its light turned off after a while.

His eyes, which seemed to be pretending to be ignorant until the end, opened shallowly before his heated gaze turned towards the device.

D*mn it.

If he had to put his feelings into words, that was the word that summed it up.

Thirst.

Anyone who wasn’t a demigod would feel this impatience.

His mind had been the busiest lately.

It had been days since he had been home, and Hazel’s absence had played a part in that.

He picked up the letter he had been trying to ignore in order to clear his mind. It was a letter that had arrived from the Imperial Palace a few days ago, and although he already knew what it was about, he had left it alone because he didn’t feel like it.

The Imperial Family and the Hadid Duchy had never been close.

In the first place, the Hadid Duchy was a neutral party that did not support the Imperial Family. Moreover, after Kairos became the head of the family, the business expansion, which had become even more solid, had been thwarted at every turn, and the distance between them had only grown further.

The Hadid Duchy, which held the north in its grip and wielded fearsome power, could get its hands on anything it wanted.

The world of the aristocracy, which had been divided into the Imperial faction, the aristocratic faction, and the neutral faction, seemed to be divided into the Imperial Family, the aristocracy, and the Hadid Duchy. The Imperial Family’s tug-of-war to control the Hadid Duchy, like other aristocratic families, never seemed to end.

Nevertheless, they couldn’t attack the Duchy on a large scale either because there was no justification.

No, to be exact, because there was no evidence to support the justification.

They didn’t wield their swords at the Imperial Family, even though they wielded their power. The only thing that happened was that when the Imperial Family tried to suppress the power of the Duchy first, they didn’t stay silent. They would commit illegal acts for the sake of the profits they wanted, but on the surface, they would only operate within the framework of the law and leave no trace behind.

There were quite a few businesses that the Imperial Family didn’t know belonged to Kairos.

Ever since he learned that the new purification stone had fallen into the hands of the Crown Prince’s lover, it had been a bit annoying…

In any case, that had also come to nothing because of Sid’s intervention, even though recently, the Imperial Family had changed direction and had been sending letters to the Hadid Duchy asking for support.

A letter with the contents that they would turn a blind eye to some illegal circumstances if they were to take charge of the overall subjugation of the monsters in Sergal for various reasons while blocking business expansion and entering surveillance.

‘Since they can’t suppress us, they want to make peace. How ridiculous.’

At the very least, the power structure of the throne and the empire would change within five to ten years, and it seemed that they were trying to secure a line of conciliation, no matter how small, in accordance with that.

To be honest, Kairos found this letter distasteful, especially after Hazel had decided to stay in the Imperial Palace for a few more days due to work. Sid occasionally advised him to keep a moderate distance from the Imperial Family, but he didn’t care.

‘What for?’

What for, indeed.

He wasn’t born to bow his head and fawn over someone.

Kairos tossed the letter aside like it was trash before he glanced at the letter. He wondered if Hazel would stop being bothered if he helped them with that. He wanted to bring her back right away because she wasn’t very healthy, and he was worried she would get sick, but…

“D*mn it.”

A look of displeasure crossed Kairos’ face. Once again, the flow of his thoughts was turning towards Hazel.

As he got up from his seat to clear his head, he absentmindedly put one hand in his pants pocket and walked out. In the meanwhile, Sid was hanging around the office. Then, he made eye contact with Kairos, who was coming out, and bowed his head deeply.

“What are you doing here?”

“That’s… no, it’s not that.”

The next moment, he glanced around furtively. When Kairos’s expression twisted, Sid pursed his thin lips and uttered.

“M-madam Hazel… in the Imperial Palace, no… never mind.”

Sid bowed his head again and turned around abruptly. He was about to disappear in a hurry when he was grabbed by the back of the neck.

“…What happened?”

—