The Reincarnator's Inauspicious Route to Finding Love-Chapter 49: Avowal (1)

"Your Highness, Dor-Shey Da’at has left a present at the front gate," stated the attendant who had run all the way to Nathaniel’s palace.

Nathaniel and Lianna were both in the study. Nathaniel had been going through the paperwork that was piled up on his desk while Lianna was sitting on the couch with an amused expression. She had just returned from having an early lunch with the Queen Regent, and Nathaniel assumed something good must have happened for her to be wearing that expression.

Nathaniel put down the pen he had been holding and stood up. "Thank you. I’ll head over there now."

Lianna stood up to follow him. "I wonder if it’s a person or a folder that they’ve delivered?"

"I guess we’re about to find out."

When they arrived at the front gate, they found Marquis Arden magically strung to the gate while tied up in a cornflower blue ribbon.

"Blue and brown? That’s a much better combination than the last one," Lianna commented.

Dor-Shey Da’at had the peculiar taste of tying up the guild party in a ribbon that matched the perpetrator’s hair color. The last one they received who had been a redhead which had been tied up with a pink ribbon had been a strange color choice even for Nathaniel’s standards.

Nathaniel chose not to comment though he agreed with his fiancée.

"Too bad Kyle isn’t here. He would have found this sight very amusing," Lianna chuckled.

Nathaniel found himself laughing along with her. "Yes, yes he would." His second brother enjoyed playing pranks and would find the oddest things amusing.

They found Lior already at the gate. His youngest brother offered him a smile that seemed both friendly and stiff. Nathaniel could understand why Lior would act that way around him since there have been quite a few nobles pestering him to take the throne.

Most nobles supported Nathaniel as the Crown Prince, but there were some who were opposed simply because Nathaniel could not use Mana. Though he had won a few of them back over to his side after it was revealed that he was an Aura User.

"It seems that Marquis Arden here was behind the attack on brother Kyle and sister-in-law." He then held up a dark green folder with Dor-Shey Da’at’s emblem engraved on it. "They’ve delivered the main perpetrator and a file detailing all of his misdeeds and a list of everyone who worked with him during the attack."

Nathaniel took the folder from Lior. He casually opened the folder and glanced at what was inside. A groan slipped past his pursed lips. Its seems as if he, his father, and the council were going to be quite busy in the future.

Lior placed a gloved hand on Nathaniel’s shoulder. "Good luck, your highness," Lior kept with the formalities since they were surrounded by onlookers.

"I have half a mind to make you join in on the conferences that will be taking place thanks to Marquis Arden," Nathaniel grumbled.

"Sorry, your highness, but I will be unable to attend even if I wanted to. I’ve been putting off visiting my fiancée, but now that everything is over, and Kyle and sister-in-law are safe for the time being, I think now will be a good time as any to visit my fiancée and future in-laws."

Three months ago, Lior had accepted a marriage proposal from the Tarragona Empire located on the Castellon Continent. The marriage was for the only child of Duke Rosset, Emma Rosset.

The marriage was a form of alliance that allowed for a trade agreement on luxury products between the two nations. Nathaniel knew that his youngest brother had accepted the marriage as a way to remove himself as an obstacle from the line of succession. It was something that didn’t sit well with Nathaniel but he knew that his brother would not be talked out of it.

"I still can’t believe you accepted a marriage without knowing what your future bride looks like," Nathaniel sighed.

It was apparently a custom of the Tarragona Empire to not provide portraits of women who have yet come of age. If Nathaniel remembered correctly, her highness, Emma Rosset, was the same age as Kyle, making her one year older than Lior.

"I think it’s kind of sweet," Lianna chimed. "And doesn’t it just make you excited, the not knowing?"

"I think you spend too much time with mother," Lior joked, a rare smile lighting up his handsome features.

"Yes," Nathaniel agreed.

"Well, I better get going. I have a lot to prepare before my departure. And I still need to send them a letter to inform them of my arrival." The letter, which will be delivered by using a falcon, would reach the Duchy well before Lior even if he were to set off the very next day. The Tarragona Empire was situated on the coast of the Castellon Continent and was a two week journey by ship.

Lianna lost her good-natured smile once Lior had left. "Do you think he’ll be alright?"

"He should be. And from what I’ve heard, Princess Rosset seems like a lovely girl with a mischievous side. She might be just the person Lior needs."

. . . .

Mikyle stood up while helping Adrien to a stand at the same. It honestly amazed Adrien with how physically strong Mikyle was which made him wonder if all the strength came from practicing the sword every day.

Mikyle slipped his hand into his as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Hand in hand, the two of them slowly walked out of the forest.

Adrien was honestly feeling a lot better after discussing his fears about being an illegitimate child with Mikyle. But how much is it going to cost to pay Dor-Shey Da’at to look into Adrien’s birth and the Ceciles family? I made quite a bit from selling my paintings, but will it be enough? Too bad I can’t get a friends and family discount. Adrien was still firm in his beliefs that Mikyle was the secret boss behind the famous organization.

Mikyle’s golden locks and ruby gaze appeared in Adrien’s line of sight. "You seem as if you’re deep in thought," Mikyle commented.

They had just stepped out of the woods and were on the grassy part of the entrance of the pathway. The lake and walkways were now in view and there was no one in sight except for a few guards patrolling the area.

Adrien watched as Mikyle straightened his posture so that he was no longer titling his head down. "I was just trying to figure out how much it will cost to hire Dor-Shey Da’at. I may have to use another information guild." It wasn’t something that Adrien wanted to do since Dor-Shey Da’at was the best of the best in that line of work.

"Hmm. You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll commission Dor-Shey Da’at in your place."

Adrien stopped in his tracks, causing Mikyle to come to a stop as well since their hands were still intertwined. "I can’t allow you to do that!" He wanted a discount, not a free handout!

Mikyle gave a light shake of his head. "If I do it, then it’ll just look like I’m prying into the private life of the person who’s caught my attention," he explained.

"That does make a lot of sense, especially since you said someone’s watching the Ceciles Dukedom. But I still can’t let you do this for free."

"Oh? I’m not doing it for free."

"It’ll take me a while to pay you back." I know I didn’t want a free handout, but still!

They had just left the main walkway that wrapped around the lake and were now heading in the direction of their dormitory.

"I don’t want money."

Adrien narrowed a suspicious gaze onto Mikyle. "What do you want?"

Mikyle leaned down and brushed his lips against Adrien’s ear. "I want you to keep your earlier promise."

"My promise?" Adrien wracked his brain as he went over the conversation they had just a few minutes ago.

"But it’s now the weekend and there’s no class tomorrow," was the sentence that popped into his mind. It was what he had spoken after finding out that Mikyle was fighting back his urges to sleep with him.

"Ah! That. I don’t recall it being a promise," he spoke in a teasing voice.

Mikyle leaned his face down, moving it closer to Adrien’s once again. "You don’t?" He raised one eyebrow as if daring him.

Adrien realized that Mikyle didn’t believe him. "Okay, fine. It sorta was a promise."

"Hmm."

The boys’ dormitory was now in front of them. Without letting go of his hand, Mikyle opened the door for him.

With each step they took closer to Adrien’s room, the louder his heart beat against his ribcage. It sounded so loudly that Adrien was sure that Mikyle could hear it.

I can’t believe how nervous I am when this isn’t even my first time. Though it is my first time going bottom. And Adrien had no delusions that he would be topping Mikyle, not that he wanted to. He could already tell that Mikyle was prime top material even without having seen him without clothes on.