Eventually, Scarlett was sitting in the parlor with Evelyne and Leon once again.

Cleaning up after Leon’s barging through the mansion hadn’t taken too much time, but it had been annoying to do nonetheless. Not only did she have to go find Molly and give the servant woman a vague summary of what happened so she could go check up on the Countess, but she also had to figure out what to do about the destroyed bed and the fact that a lot of people saw Leon running around like a madman with a mission.

For the time being, she’d had Molly bring the Countess to an empty room in the east wing and instructed Marlon to have a couple of servants go up to the woman’s room to tidy things up. She would also need to come up with a decent excuse for everything, though that could be left for a later occasion.

One thing she was thankful for was that Fynn hadn’t caused more of a mess after everything had been resolved. Contrary to what she might have expected of the young man, he hadn’t immediately rushed off to fight Leon again after escaping the man’s barrier. Instead, it seemed that when Scarlett had been appeasing the Countess, Fynn had noticed that the situation had calmed down somewhat and chosen to stay back, which was what allowed her to then talk things out with Leon.

It showed that Fynn was learning how to read situations, after all. Just…slowly. And perhaps a bit arbitrarily.

Scarlett turned her head, glancing at Evelyne, who was sitting on her right, before shifting her focus to Leon on the sofa to her left. She had already chewed him out enough about what had happened, but that didn’t mean her irritation had completely faded. Originally, she had invited him to come with her and meet Evelyne because she wanted to say a proper goodbye. It didn’t hurt to be a little polite to a powerful imperial knight, after all. Now, though, she didn’t feel quite as up to it.

“So, Sir Leon,” she said, some of the steeliness lingering in her voice. “Before you leave, is there anything more you wish to say?”

The man at least had the dignity to look embarrassed at her words. “No, there isn’t.”

She eyed him for a few seconds.

If she was going to be honest with herself… Rationally, she couldn’t blame him for his earlier behavior. At least not too much. She knew he had apprehensions about her even before they started working together, and she was also aware that the knight techniques he practiced directly opposed those of the Countess. They were directly tied to the empire’s patron deity of the sun, Ittar, after all. It was like mixing oil and water, and she imagined it must have come as a very sudden surprise to encounter something like that here.

It also seemed like the reaction itself was a lot more instinctual than Scarlett thought it would have been. If anyone could sympathise with the difficulties of fighting against your instincts, it was her.

That did not mean she would just forgive and forget. Like hell she was that generous. She would only go as far as to ensure he didn’t spread the information around.

“Then,” she began, “I will offer you one last expression of appreciation for the assistance you lent me in Autumnwell, as well as for the advice that you deigned to provide my retainers. That was outside of what was demanded of you by our agreement. As promised, I will take all of your actions into consideration when I inquire into how to handle the subject of our betrothal in the near future.”

He held an unreadable expression as he looked at her, then gave a slow nod. “Thank you.”

To the side, Evelyne was giving both of them probing looks and had been doing so since Scarlett returned. Still, she ignored it for now.

Leon stood from his seat and rearranged his clothes. “I’ll be taking my leave, then. Evelyne, it was a pleasure meeting you again, even though only briefly. And Scarlett…” He seemed to hesitate before shaking his head. “I regret my showing earlier, but I hope I won’t regret giving you my word. Contact me when you’ve reached a decision regarding the betrothal. I’d appreciate if you informed me before my family, as well.”

She gave him a nod. “I will.”

He made to leave, but Scarlett stopped him as he passed her by.

“There is one more thing. It had almost slipped my mind.” She reached for her [Pouch of Holding] and pulled out a leather-bound tome that gave off a dark aura.

[Tome of Hopelessness (Rare)]

{An ancient tome carrying secrets that should remain unspoken}

She held it out towards the man.

Leon gave her a surprised look, staring down at it.

She raised an eyebrow at him. He was the one that said he’d take care of it to begin with. Seems like both of them had forgotten. Maybe she should have kept it after all.

The man reached out to receive the tome. “I’ll make sure it’s dealt with properly. Thank you, Scarlett.”

“It was my pleasure.”

With that, he sent the two of them one last nod before leaving the room. As the door closed behind him, Scarlett turned back to Evelyne.

The younger woman was looking at her intensely. “I have a lot of things to ask.”

“I would imagine so.”

“First of all, what was that book?”

“A tome on matters of necromancy.”

For a moment, Evelyne was quiet. Then, as if doing a double take, she turned to stare at the door with wide eyes.

“Do not forget that Sir Leon is a Solar Knight,” Scarlett said. “I gave the tome to him so that he could ensure its removal.”

The younger woman blinked. “That…makes sense.” She shook her head. “I feel like I’m starting to assume the craziest scenarios because of all the strange things you do all the time. But nevermind that. What was that whole mess earlier? Why did Leon rush through the whole mansion, and why did you just let him go after something like that?”

“I did not simply ‘let him go’.” Scarlett clicked her tongue as she tapped her finger against the armrest of her seat. “I made sure he will not repeat such behaviour ever again, but there is a limit to how much I can do. Surely you do not think I can actually do anything to punish an imperial knight?”

“Honestly, I’m never sure what to think with you nowadays.”

Scarlett studied her.

Actually, what did Evelyne think of her at the moment? Most of their recent interactions had been relatively peaceful—even though Scarlett often had to push down the disgust and irritation that threatened to rise up around the younger Hartford sister—but she didn’t know what kind of image Evelyne had of her inside her mind. Was it still that of an overbearing and scheming villainess? Just one that also happened to be very knowledgeable about certain things, and cooperative for now? Or had that changed?

“…So, what was the reason?” Evelyne asked.

Scarlett left those ponderings behind for now as she turned her attention back to the woman. “The reason?”

“The reason Sir Leon acted like he did.” Evelyne gave her a pointed look. “I stayed quiet and tried not to pry, just like you asked me before, but not only did your fiancé barge through the whole mansion because of whatever you’re hiding here, but a Solar Knight. I can’t just ignore this anymore, Scarlett. Especially not if you’re doing something that you really shouldn’t be doing.”

The ever-familiar annoyance and anger bubbled to the surface at Evelyne’s words, but Scarlett kept it down as best she could. The woman’s reaction was completely reasonable, considering things.

But what should she say in response?

She let out a soft sigh, turning her gaze to the short table in front of her, before eventually speaking. “It is not anything illicit in nature, if that is what worries you.”

Simply housing the Countess technically wasn’t illegal, and nothing Scarlett had sent her to do specifically was against the law.

“If it had been, do you truly believe Leon would have left without taking further action?” she asked. “The simple truth of the matter is that the guest that I am currently housing in the east wing practices a rare type of magic, one that had an averse reaction when faced with Leon’s aura. That was the cause for his outburst earlier, as well as his…excessive response.”

“Exactly what kind of magic are we talking?”

“I cannot tell you. Partly because I myself am not too familiar with it, and partly because it is best if you remain unaware. I can, however, inform you that it is related to a deity separate from Ittar. One that the Followers of Ittar might not look too favorably upon, despite no wrongdoings having been performed by its adherents. This is also why I endeavour to ensure complete secrecy surrounding my guest, so as to spare them from any undue harassment from overly zealous members of the Followers.”

That was technically true, though far from the main reason behind keeping the Countess hidden. The Followers probably weren’t aware of her existence specifically.

Evelyne furrowed her brows, appearing to mull over Scarlett’s words. “Is this guest from outside the empire, then? The Luciean Isles, Voneia, or some other place where they worship the other gods?”

“No. They hail from the empire, just as we do. One could say that their ‘worship’ of this deity is more because of happenstance rather than true worship. It is exactly due to this that it is best to maintain their anonymity.”

The younger woman went silent for a short while, holding a serious expression. Finally, she nodded her head as if to accept what Scarlett said. “Alright. I can at least understand what you’re doing then. But I hope you’re being careful and aren’t about to get us into a mess with the Followers because of this, so soon after you got us into their good graces.”

Scarlett wanted to laugh at that. If Evelyne knew what she was planning, the woman might literally faint from shock. That, or simply try to strangle her to death and call her insane.

That’s why it was imperative that no one ever found out.

“By the way,” Evelyne began. Her countenance had relaxed a bit now. “While you were gone, we received another letter from Livvi. She asked whether we wanted to come over for a dinner gathering.”

“Dinner?”

“Yes. Count Knottley and his son will be there as well.”

Scarlett frowned. Didn’t that mean it was basically a meeting with the ruling noble family of Freybrook? She had only met Count Knottley once, but from that time, and from what Livvi had told her, it didn’t seem like the man was particularly fond of her.

“I think we should go,” Evelyne said. “The Count is the most powerful person in the region, and it would be a good idea to improve your relationship with him now that you have the opportunity. Especially after what happened in Elystead. I know he doesn’t like you much, but he doesn’t mind me, and showing that we have a working relationship could be good for both of us.”

Scarlett eyed her. It wasn’t as if she was wrong. If they did go, it could also be a good chance to get some more experience in mingling with other nobles. This was probably the closest she would come to an informal noble gathering.

That didn’t mean she was looking forward to it, though.

“When is this dinner?” she asked.

“The day after tomorrow.”

That would mean she had time to visit Freymeadow tomorrow and to start tallying up the artifacts they had gathered in Autumnwell to get a grasp of what to keep. She was also planning on looking over the [Obedience’s Solitude Loci] when she had the time to figure out how it actually worked. That might be possible when she was in Freymeadow, in-between practice sessions.

“If that day works for you as well, then you may inform Livvi that we will be there.”

“I have a few things to take care of during the afternoon, but I should be able to free up enough time in the evening,” Evelyne said. “I’ll send her a letter when I get back home later.”

“You are leaving the mansion today, then?”

“I’m meeting with a few prospective business partners and most of the necessary documents and papers are there. I’m also more used to hosting guests there.” Evelyne paused, observing her for a few seconds. “Are you saying it would be okay for me to handle things like that here in the future?”

“I see no reason not to.”

“…Alright.” The woman’s words almost came out as a whisper. “I’ll have to arrange rooms and offices for Kinsley and the rest first, though, so it will have to wait until then.”

“I am sure that you can speak with Garside regarding that.”

The old butler was still recovering, but now he had at least reached a state where he could perform some minor work without issue. Scarlett had tried telling him to wait until he had recovered completely, but the man had refused to budge now that he could finally leave his bed. Their training sessions would still have to wait before they were resumed, however.

“There was one more thing,” Evelyne said.

“And what is that?” Scarlett asked.

“That wizard from the Elystead Tower that you had been in contact with, Adalicia Mendenhall? She sent a letter saying she had returned from the Rising Isle and was finishing things up over in Elystead. Things had proceeded faster than she had expected, and apparently she was planning on visiting Freybrook in a few days, wondering if it was possible to move forward with your plans. If you were available.”

“In a few days, you say?” Scarlett raised a hand to her chin, massaging it as she peered out of one of the parlor windows.

The idea hadn’t been for Adalicia to arrive for another week or two. She hadn’t booked passage through the Kilnstone either, so pushing things up like this could prove slightly troublesome, even if it would be nice to deal with all of this as early as possible.

“Adalicia and I were supposed to investigate the remains of another set of Zuverian ruins the next time we met, when she had the time to do so. Unfortunately, I have not prepared any Kilnstone passage that would be suitable for leaving this soon.” She turned back to Evelyne. “Would it be possible for you to arrange anything for us in time?”

A crease formed on the younger woman’s forehead. “It might be difficult if you’re planning on leaving within the week. Depends on where you’re going.”

“It is to Faybarrow.”

“Faybarrow?” Evelyne seemed to consider it for a moment. “I know a merchant who often travels there. He operates from here in Freybrook, so I might be able to negotiate a spot off of him if he has one. You’d have to go through the normal Kilnstone line, however, and convincing him will probably cost a decent amount. Although I suppose money isn’t looking to be a problem for us at the moment.”

“Good.” Scarlett nodded her head. “Inquire with him if it is possible to arrange that, then.”

With that resolved, they moved on to discuss exactly what they would be doing for this upcoming dinner with the Knottley family.