NOVEL NEXT Vol. 3 Chapter 9.2
“Whaaaaaaaaaaat?”
Sharia’s voice, laced with disbelief, echoed through the room. The other mages were just as stunned. One of them even cast a confirmation spell to make sure that the Lulu standing before them wasn’t an illusion.
“B-But, why, how…”
Sharia struggled to speak, completely thrown by the words that should never have come from Lulu’s mouth. Lulu, seeing the shocked expressions on the mages’ faces, realized what was wrong with what she had said.
“No, no. It’s not that I dislike Er. It’s just that…”
“…It’s just that?”
“…It’s just that?”
The mages parroted her words, and Lulu lowered her head. After a long moment of hesitation, Lulu squeezed her eyes shut as if preparing for a difficult confession. The mages, their hands clenched nervously, waited for her to speak. What on earth could be the problem?!
‘It must be Lord Ervandas’s fault!’
Not a single one of them entertained the possibility that Lulu might be wrong. They were her devoted servants, her ardent admirers. Who cared about Ervandas? If their beloved Lulu was upset, it was his fault, end of story.
The mages passed their judgment in their hearts and listened intently to what Lulu had to say.
Lulu blushed, embarrassed by their intense gazes. She kept her head down, unable to meet their eyes, and murmured in a small voice, like someone confessing a sin,
“I don’t want to see the people who are with Er.”
“What?”
The mages were even more confused. Lulu liked people. Of course, she excluded those who caused harm or trouble, but generally speaking, she liked other people. And Ervandas, knowing Lulu’s nature better than anyone, never allowed anyone who might harm her to get close. Even if it weren’t for Lulu, he was rather rigid and solitary, rarely keeping people close.
“Who do you mean by ‘people who are with him’?”
The mages’ hands twitched, wondering if one of Ervandas’s aides had upset Lulu. Several lethal spells, ready to be unleashed, materialized in the air.
Lulu, noticing what they were about to do, waved her hands frantically.
“No! It’s not their fault! It’s me, I’m the bad one!”
“What do you mean, ‘bad’?”
“It’s just… they haven’t done anything wrong. It’s me… I don’t like them…”
Lulu’s voice trembled, her eyes welling up as if she had committed a terrible crime. Sharia signaled to others. ‘Mages, this is serious. Let’s calm down and get to the bottom of this.’
An hour later, Sharia pressed her hand to her forehead.
“So, Master…”
Another mage beside her did the same.
“You seem to be… jealous?”
* * *
The reason Lulu didn’t want to go to the banquet was simple. She disliked the women who flocked around Ervandas. To be more precise, she disliked the women who, flaunting their charms, clearly had their sights set on her husband.
Of course, Ervandas never entertained their advances. He was, after all, Ervandas. He wouldn’t even spare them a glance. In fact, he would subtly step back when they came near, without them noticing. And then, he would conspicuously shower Lulu with even more attention.
Everyone in the kingdom knew Ervandas was a lovestruck fool, blind to any woman other than Lulu. So the women of the kingdom, unless they were seeing Ervandas for the very first time, never considered him a “viable romantic prospect.” His forehead was already stamped with the words “Lulu’s Property.”
Lulu had turned the once aloof and austere Ervandas into a blindly devoted madman. And since Lulu herself was such a powerful mage, it was common sense to avoid doing anything that might incur the couple’s wrath.
The problem was… people from other kingdoms.
Lulu, as Tower Master, had brought an end to the sporadic wars that had plagued the continent. With peace restored, interactions between kingdoms increased, and Ervandas’s kingdom saw an influx of foreign visitors. It was inevitable that some would become smitten upon seeing Ervandas for the first time. Especially those of high social standing.
To them, the woman by Ervandas’s side, with her red hair and commoner’s clothing, was nothing but an obstacle. An obstacle they believed would benefit them greatly if separated from Ervandas.
“He must have been so starved for intimacy after living such an ascetic life as a Temple Knight that he became infatuated with the first girl he slept with. By now, the initial thrill must have faded. It’s time for Prince Ervandas to find a more suitable partner.”They uttered nonsense that would have prompted Ervandas to draw his sword without a word if he had heard them. Even seeing Lulu and Ervandas together, some still clung to their delusions.
The person Lulu had seen was one such person.
A princess from another kingdom, confident in her intelligence and beauty. Lulu had spotted her on her way to meet Ervandas. Lulu happened to be on the second-floor balcony, and the princess and her entourage hadn’t noticed her, allowing Lulu to overhear their conversation.
“So, that’s Princess Sierra.”“She’s as beautiful as rumored. And it seems she came prepared. She’s dressed far too elaborately for a simple welcoming banquet for the envoy. Anyone would think it’s a royal wedding today.”As the others had said, the woman was indeed beautiful, even in Lulu’s eyes. And…
‘She has blonde hair.’
Lulu remembered what the Duchess, who was teaching her, had said.
“Blonde hair… it’s considered a mark of beauty in many cultures.”When Lulu had asked about red hair, the Duchess had quickly changed the subject. Clearly, it wasn’t a desirable trait.
Sierra, captivating everyone’s attention the moment she entered the banquet hall, immediately approached Ervandas and greeted him. Ervandas greeted Sierra politely. After all, she was the representative of the envoy from another kingdom and a princess, so he had to show her basic courtesy.
People murmured as they watched Ervandas and Princess Sierra standing together, conversing.
“They look quite well-matched.”
“Indeed. I heard there was talk of a marriage proposal between them a long time ago, though it was all but forgotten when Lord Ervandas joined the Temple Knights.”
A marriage proposal? Lulu’s heart sank at those words. Of course, she was Ervandas’s wife now, and they even had a child together. But if Ervandas hadn’t become a knight and had continued to live as a prince…
‘Er would have married that woman and lived with her.’
Lulu peeked at Ervandas and the princess, her head poking out from the balcony railing. Like they said, they did look well-suited. Like a prince and princess from a fairytale, the kind she had seen in the books she had discovered in the capital.
Lulu tugged at her red hair. Even when she lived in the forest, she knew her hair color wasn’t welcome. The villagers had pointed fingers at her and thrown stones. But outside the forest, it was even worse. In every fairytale she had read, the villains, the evil witches… they all had red hair.
Lulu continued to observe the two. Then, her gaze fell on Princess Sierra’s dress. It was quite revealing, unlike the clothes Lulu usually wore.
She remembered the first time she had encountered a woman dressed like that. Thinking she must be cold, Lulu had offered her shawl, only to be met with a bewildered stare. She understood now, of course.
Had Sierra said something funny? She saw the princess laugh. Er wouldn’t laugh, right?! She thought, but… Ervandas, holding a champagne glass, was also smiling at Princess Sierra.
Unbeknownst to him, Lulu’s lips pouted as she watched. What amusing story had they shared?
‘I don’t like her.’
The princess’s dress was too revealing in Lulu’s eyes. In other words, it seemed inappropriate to wear in front of her husband. Then, Lulu looked down at her own clothes. The dress she was wearing was also beautiful. Naturally. It was a dress Ervandas had chosen for her, as always.
But…
Lulu stared at Princess Sierra’s deeply plunging neckline for a long moment. And at Ervandas, smiling before her.
‘…I really don’t like her.’
Lulu glared at the two people talking for a long time.
* * *
“So, you don’t want to go to this banquet because there will be women like Princess Sierra there?”
“Yes…”
Sharia asked, summarizing Lulu’s long, rambling explanation. Lulu glanced at Sharia, trying to gauge her reaction.
Princess Sierra hadn’t done anything particularly wrong. Her dress might have been revealing, but she wasn’t the only one who dressed like that.
Moreover, she was a princess from another kingdom, and Ervandas was a prince. And since Ervandas’s army had passed through her kingdom before, they had simply exchanged greetings and gratitude for the assistance they had provided each other at that time. In other words, their conversation was official business.
And yet, she felt this way just from watching them.
But every time she thought about it, her lips would pout, her heart would ache, and she would end up moping. She couldn’t help it.
“Er is just doing his job… If I say I dislike it, it’ll put him in a difficult position…”
“But you’re the Master of the Mage Tower and Lord Ervandas’s wife. You can’t just keep skipping the banquets.”
“…”
Lulu couldn’t argue with Sharia’s words. She was right.
Sharia fell into thought. The people of the kingdom knew Ervandas well enough to not make advances, but those from other kingdoms, even after being rebuffed once, wouldn’t get the message and would continue to target him.
In that case, they needed to settle it once and for all.
A sly smile spread across Sharia’s lips.
‘Come to think of it, the clothes Lord Ervandas has been sending Master have been rather… modest.’
She had a feeling she knew why.
As Lulu pressed her lips together and her eyes darted around, Sharia leaned closer and whispered,
“I have a good idea to solve this problem…”
“What is it?”
“But you have to promise me one thing.”
“What is it?!”
Lulu clung to Sharia, desperate to know. Sharia looked at Lulu and grinned.
“I’ll tell you later. For now, would you come this way?”
* * *
Ervandas stood at the entrance to the banquet hall, arms crossed.
A head taller than most, his body, still honed from his position as commander of the kingdom’s knights, was large and imposing, like that of a giant’s descendant. A body like a god of war, sculpted from rock and steel. But his face, in stark contrast to his physique, was strikingly handsome and refined.
Such a combination should have been jarring, yet Ervandas possessed the kind of beauty that made the impossible seem possible.
People entering the banquet hall stopped in their tracks, their jaws dropping as they caught sight of him. Even the nobles of the kingdom, who were somewhat accustomed to his appearance, were momentarily stunned. And for good reason. Ervandas looked exceptionally handsome today.
His formal attire was impeccably tailored, without a single wrinkle. His slightly longer hair was neatly combed back, giving him the air of a leisurely nobleman rather than a knight. And his skin, which should have been tanned and rough from his time spent under the sun, was practically glowing as if he had just received a luxurious skincare treatment.