clasped hands.

Seeing them walking side by side.

And even Delphina’s smile, which is sure enough to be recognized even from afar.

As soon as I saw the two of them, no different from a couple to anyone’s eyes, I realized that I had misunderstood Prince Antonio’s remarks until now.

“If your eyes aren’t knotholes, you can trust them a bit now.”

“Yeah… . It certainly looks like a couple to me.”

I couldn’t have imagined that they were so open-minded, so it was quite a shock to me to see my sister and Weep walking hand in hand side by side.

I’m not used to being called brother, so it seems like just yesterday that he followed me as an older brother.

It took so many years to be able to make that kind of expression in front of a man before I knew it.

I never thought it would be possible for that child to show a real, unpretentious smile in front of a man other than his family.

“… Prince Conrad?”

“Ah yes.”

“Why are you looking at that elf and Lady Delphina with such uneasy eyes? As if it doesn’t matter at all now.”

“… Are you that obvious?”

“Hey, are you really like that?”

Prince Antonio, who suddenly pointed out that I couldn’t control my expression, asked with a puzzled expression.

“Didn’t you offer to help me, Prince Conrad?”

“Yes, it was.”

“Isn’t it ‘yes’? Are you already unwilling to resolve this situation?”

To be honest, as long as Delphina could be happy, I didn’t care if the other person was Prince Antonio or Wif Lee.

Because the standard of happiness is subjective to the end. There must have been a person somewhere in the world who felt happier living as a country farmer’s wife than the wife of a great lord who earned tens of thousands of gold coins every year. I don’t know if it’s Delphina or not.

The smile that Delphina showed right now next to Wip was also a special expression that she only shows to close friends who really agree with her.

The fact that she was showing it for the first time to a friend of the opposite sex, not a friend of the same sex, meant that her sister was already giving Wipe a lot of heart.

In the meantime, I couldn’t help but feel anxious that I might be sorry for my sister if I intervened wrongly.

… Of course, if the younger sister develops into a lover with Wip, a big problem arises.

It was a debt of 10,000 gold coins that Delfina borrowed from the imperial family through Prince Antonio for the estate development project.

Until now, it had been borrowed through Prince Antonio, so it was possible to build infrastructure for the territory one after another without worrying about interest and payment deadlines, but if Delfina and Prince Antonio were to become distant here, it would be a headache in many ways.

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Just because Prince Antonio was withdrawn from the guarantor of the loan, the gold coin loan borrowed from the imperial family would increase every month due to the murderous interest.

It was an amount not enough to ruin Delphina and the entire Perdalos territory.

As I said earlier, Perdalos’ annual budget is 150 gold coins.

10,000 gold coins was an unmanageable budget in the first place. Delfina borrowed it through Prince Antonio, so it’s just that the family believes in it and waits for Delfina.

Of course, judging from her younger sister’s personality, it didn’t seem like she would let go of all the responsibilities behind her back because of her love feelings.

I don’t know. People who are in love tend to have poor judgment.

There was a possibility that Delfina would fall in love with Wif Riether and dump him without recognizing Prince Antonio’s feelings for her.

The possibility that Prince Antonio, who suffered the pain of a broken heart, would step down from his guarantor position and take nasty revenge again was not 0%.

So, for now, there was a need to somehow resolve the situation as smoothly as possible by courting Prince Antonio, even on the outside.

The best thing would be to find out that Wip and Delphina’s relationship was a misunderstanding.

“Wipp, I heard that the dessert shop we went to last time has a new menu. How about going there the day after tomorrow?”

“I’m fine wherever I am, Delphina-senpai.”

“I see. If so, you should contact me in advance before next week… .”

Seeing the two people talking with such unpretentious expressions of joy, it would be safe to assume that Wip and Delphina were already lovers or that they were on the verge of becoming lovers.

Perhaps a more dangerous situation than dealing with the Dark Church was taking place. At least if it were limited to the disaster that would befall the Perdalos domain.

“Prince Conrad, I was actually quite excited until the last ball. I really felt like I had the world when your sister allowed me to do my first dance.”

“I see.”

“But now I feel empty, as if I have nothing in my hands. I sincerely hope that all of this is my own illusion, but somehow I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.”

“… I think so too.”

“I, too, if possible, want your sister to have genuine feelings for me. Isn’t that what I’ve been putting a lot of effort into?

But seeing the situation so far out of line now, I wonder if I may have behaved too politely up until now.”

“… … .”

“A horse is an animal raised to ride on its back and run through the meadow. It’s not the only purpose, but usually that’s the biggest reason. Isn’t that why many nobles put a lot of effort into buying and training good horses?

However, if I had the thought that someone might take away one fine horse that I had painstakingly raised overnight, my honest feelings would be to lock the door of the stable and make sure that no one can enter. Even if I can’t walk across the wide meadow with that great horse even once.”

To sum it up, it meant that I should take care of it somehow before taking Delphina by force with the authority of the imperial family.

It was almost like a threat, but the answer I could give to it was already decided.

“I will do my best not to disappoint Prince Antonio.”

Because I had a guilty feeling that my wrong judgment had ruined the relationship between Prince Antonio and Delfina.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The trail of Delfina accompanying Prince Antonio continued a little longer.

For now, all of this is just a circumstance, and there is still a slight possibility that the two may not be in a relationship between a man and a woman.

There were often people who spit out nonsense about friendship between men and women, but that was only the narrow insights of people who couldn’t make such friends.

Right now, even if it’s only me, I’m not maintaining a normal friendship with Lulu, no matter who sees it.

In addition, although they are in different grades, they have a close relationship with senior Xian and Stella that do not lead to a romantic relationship.

They weren’t that close to Saint Clare because of the difference in social status, but they were the same in that they didn’t feel romantic feelings for each other.

I preached such a convincing argument to Prince Antonio, but he spat as if in agony after hearing examples of people I considered friends.

“Hey, are you really doing that on purpose? I have to turn my insides upside down like that to clear my stomach… ?”

“What are you talking about, Prince Antonio? I am serious.”

“If what you say really isn’t false, I feel sorry for your party members.”

With Prince Antonio muttering incomprehensible words, I continued to follow Delphina and Wipe.

The two entered a cafe building with a terrace on the second floor.

“I don’t know if this really means anything. Why do I have to keep observing how Lady Delphina and another man are getting along… .”

“First, let’s follow it a little longer.”

Having said that, each of us put on a perception-damping spell and entered the cafe.

Even if I didn’t know, Prince Antonio was a person who drew a lot of attention because of his appearance and status.

Thanks to the magic of not being able to recognize faces until they enter a certain distance, it seems that other guests have not been able to detect Antonio Hwang’s entrance.

I had no choice but to show up to the cafe owner, but fortunately the self-employed people working at the academy were quite sensible, so it didn’t lead to an uproar.

Each of them took a suitable drink and went up to the second floor where Delphina and Wip were seated, where they could see the two of them sitting face to face at an outdoor table.

However, contrary to our expectations as we thought of two people talking like lovers, both Delphina and Wip were concentrating their eyes on the table as if they were immersed in something.

It was hard to see from a distance, but it was clear that he was writing something like paperwork.

“What the hell are Delphina and Wipe doing? I can’t believe I’m writing the marriage papers to be submitted to the church… .”

“The leap is severe, Prince Antonio.”

At this rate, it really seemed like Prince Antonio would go crazy, so he was trying to contact Delphina to talk.

Wipe suddenly got up and started walking down the first floor of the cafe.

“This is your chance, Prince Antonio.”

“… … uh?”

“Let’s contact Delphina now, ask her what kind of relationship she has with Wip, and get a clear answer. Don’t be here fighting an invisible enemy.”

“Now, wait a minute, Prince Conrad! If those words really come out of Delphina’s mouth, I don’t think I’ll be able to calm down!”

“Then how long are you going to just watch? Shouldn’t we clear things up first?”

Hesitating a little, he forcibly dragged Prince Antonio by the wrist and approached the terrace seat where Delfina was sitting.

“I’m back already, Wip… Go, no, brother?”

“It’s a coincidence to see it from here, Delphina.”

“Besides, Prince Antonio is also with you?”

“Hmm, I happened to run into Prince Conrad. I went into the cafe to talk for a while, and I saw Delphina.”

Looking at Prince Antonio, who was making good excuses for his indecisiveness until just now, it seemed that he was still doing his own thing in front of Delfina.

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Just a moment ago, I couldn’t believe he was the kind of man who threatened to lock up Delphina if she was going to fall for another man.

“It’s fate that we met like this, so why don’t we talk for a while? There is no time to talk privately in the student council room.”

“I’m fine, but would you mind having one more person besides me?”

“Who-I don’t know who, but I don’t care.”

“This is Wif Lee, who is now the new assistant secretary in the student council. He’s been walking in the woods for a while now, so he’s gone.”

It meant that I was going to the bathroom right now.

“It doesn’t matter because Wip is an acquaintance that both I and Prince Antonio know. I’m not sure what Wipe will think.”

“Perhaps if you’re Wip, your personality won’t oppose your brother’s participation, right?”

“Perhaps.”

Wipe, Eldrika, and Ruis still follow me well.

“Come to think of it, about that Wipe.”

“Yes, brother.”

“How does Delphina look to you?”

As if she didn’t understand my question at once, Delphina almost tilted her head for a moment.

“Ah, are you asking how well Wip is adjusting to the academy right now? I think I’m doing pretty well.

I was very worried at first because of her blunt personality, but most of the students in the spear club wanted to get to know Wipe first, so there was no problem. Wip also became more talkative than the first time.”

“Other than that?”

“Yeah?”

“No what. There are things like good-looking, attractive, and wanting to be lovers, right?”

“Yeah… ?”

Delphina replied with an absurd expression on her face, wondering why my words didn’t touch her.

“What are you talking about, brother? Of course, it is true that Wip is a handsome and charming person, but wanting to be a lover is a completely different matter.”

As soon as he heard Delfina’s words, Prince Antonio’s expression brightened noticeably.

As soon as he was conscious of Delphina’s gaze, he immediately returned to normal.

“So you’re not dating Wip right now?”

“I-I don’t know where such a misunderstanding came from, brother. The fundamental reason why Miss Wip and I couldn’t be lovers in the first place… .”

The one who interrupted Delphina, who was explaining to me in bewilderment, was Wif Leeadder, who returned from an absence.

“I’m back, Delphina senior… ? Also, senior Conrad?”

“It’s been a while, Wip.”

“And Mr. Antonio was there too.”

“… yes,”

As if the elven ideology of racial supremacy was not completely absent, it seemed that Prince Antonio, who was not Delfina and I, even omitted the title of senior, let alone prince.

Where did you just not call me a human?

“I was late because the line at the women’s bathroom was long. In the meantime, I didn’t know that senior Conrad would join us.”

“… Wipe, instead of saying that she went to the bathroom in front of a man, she says that she went to the forest.”

“sorry. I’m not used to it yet… .”

I spit out the words that had just come out of Delphina’s mouth as I watched Wipe sit down with a shy expression on her neck.

“… … A lady?”