Chapter: 241
[Second Queen]
As Serane Soladin stepped into the carriage, she tossed aside her complicated headdress and swept her long hair off her forehead, furrowing her brow.
For a queen of a nation, she looked somewhat fierce, but Serane didn’t care much about that.
After all, putting on a forced smile and sweet-talking was something to save for outside. Doing that in this place, which was entirely cut off from the outside world through various magical procedures, would just make her head explode.
“Everyone’s supposed to be dying, but they look just fine! What is going on?”
Her voice, sharper than a blade, caused the man sitting across from her to press his lips into a thin line.
As one of the Second Queen’s loyal subjects and a vassal of the Bedfer family, he had anticipated this complaint. Spending years by her side made one naturally accustomed to her temper.
“I’m sorry. I should have assessed the situation better.”
“Yeah, you should have! This is such a waste of time!”
As Serane threw the precious potion she held into her lap, her loyal subject rushed to catch it.
The vial contained a valuable elixir known for its effectiveness against numerous diseases. Certainly too precious to just throw onto the carriage floor.
“To be treated as a bothersome guest instead of being graciously welcomed…”
She was doing everything she could to make her foolish son the king and seize power.
She came here, wasting her precious time, just to gain some favor with the Burrow Duke family, but ended up leaving empty-handed.
Instead, she was treated like an inconvenience and had to sneak out like a thief.
“From that brat Lucy Alrn to everything else, nothing is going my way.”
Before visiting the Burrow Duke, Serane tried to charm a girl named Lucy Alrn to win her over.
Her worth wasn’t just her own; bringing her in meant possibly winning over Benedict Alrn behind her.
But today’s conversation was a complete flop.
Not only did the Burrow family abruptly request her visit after she was hesitant to go, but Lucy Alrn’s unwelcoming attitude during their meeting was also a problem.
“She didn’t utter a single word!”
From the start of the conversation, Lucy Alrn didn’t even offer a simple greeting, let alone a bow.
She just sat there, silently judging Serane.
Clearly, that brat wasn’t just a spoiled child.
How bothersome.
“Thanks to that, I wasted an entire day. Ugh, how annoying!”
As she messily ruffled her hair, her flustered attendant, already scrambling, spoke up defensively.
“It’s not a total loss. The atmosphere in the Burrow family seemed unusually quiet, didn’t it?”
“What nonsense are you spouting? It’s been like this since they lost their firstborn.”
“Yes, but today felt particularly…”
“Shut it! This annoyance might get directed at you!”
Seeing her loyal subject hastily shut his mouth, Serane nodded with satisfaction when someone knocked at the carriage door.
“Your Majesty, it’s Nabil.”
“Come in.”
Nabil stepped inside without reacting to the chaotic scene in the carriage and promptly closed the door.
“Did you have a good talk with that brat?”
“No.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“She was a bit rude.”
*
“Lady Alrn?”
Having decided to use the Partran Duke for my plans, I headed straight to Joy’s dormitory to meet her.
Being the Duke’s daughter, she would likely have ways to contact him.
I tossed aside any thoughts of propriety or formalities. We needed to tackle the dungeon as soon as possible; why should such trifles concern me?
I could always work it out as I faced obstacles.
“I’d like to contact my father?”
‘Yes. Is it possible?’
“Sure, I can ask the careless duke for a favor. Is that possible?”
“It is, of course, but I’m not sure if my father will answer. Just a moment… Wait, please.”
Joy cut the conversation short and hurried to close the door. Moments later, loud noises echoed from within.
[Guess that room is a disaster.]
Well, if it’s just a mess, I can work with that.
As expected, the incompetent lady looked perfect on the outside, but inside, she was a total wreck.
This feature of hers definitely extended to her room. Hardly having any reason to show it to anyone, Joy’s room consistently shattered expectations, claiming ‘this place is a complete mess’ every day.
Knowing it would take ages to clean up, rather than waiting there, I decided to head back to my own dorm to tidy up.
Even after taking my time, when I returned, the sounds of chaos continued to ring from Joy’s room.
About five minutes later, panting and red-faced, Joy finally stepped outside.
“Sorry to keep you waiting… Come in…”
Her room looked quite similar to what I’d seen in the game—a generally elegant space with a reddish hue.
If anyone heard that Joy stayed here, they’d nod in agreement that it suited her well.
But upon closer inspection, you could feel the sloppiness everywhere.
Trash barely peeking out from beneath the bed. Clothes sticking out from the wardrobe cracks. A bookshelf with a haphazard collection of books, as if hurriedly shoved in so the top and bottom were all mixed up.
The moment any of it was touched, the elegance would come crashing down, making me feel a rather mischievous urge to mess it all up further, though I stifled it.
I couldn’t let a day slip by before even speaking with Duke Partran.
“I found it! Here’s this crystal.”
Appearing nonchalant, Joy handed me a glimmering crystal she’d dug up during her clutter cleanup.
“Instead of letting me in, couldn’t you just have given me the crystal?” But I decided not to voice that thought.
Taking the crystal from Joy, I skillfully infused it with mana, causing it to start blinking a bright blue.
Now, once this blinking stops, I should be able to connect with my target.
Hmmm.
No response yet…
After about a minute of waiting, the blinking continued without stopping.
Benedict usually grabbed the communication before even a second had passed, without the crystal even blinking.
“They must be really busy today.”
‘Yeah, I guess so.’
“How could they ignore a call from a cute girl like me? That’s just harsh.”
No response was out of my control, but I had informed Joy about it, so I was sure I’d hear back eventually.
If not, I could always find an alternative route through Alsetin or Newman. No need to stress; being rushed isn’t helpful when tackling a dungeon.
“Lady Alrn, you’ve waited long enough. Why don’t we enjoy some tea while you relax a bit…?”
And then it happened. Just as the crystal was blinking away, it suddenly stopped, and a face appeared above it.
A fierce grin would not seem out of place on someone with such a savage expression.
“I apologize, Joy. I have urgent matters to attend to.”
It was Duke Partran.
He was about to deliver an apology, exuding the kind of laugh that seemed to go perfectly with a pipe, but when he met my gaze, one eyebrow shot up.
“Lady Alrn? How unusual. This must be Joy’s doing, right?”
‘That’s right…’
“Joy to my side? I must say, this clean room doesn’t seem like something she would have.”
“Father?”
“Oh. You were there? Well, you should have told me earlier. Didn’t mean to give you a fright.”
With his usual crazy laugh, he clasped his hands, propping his chin, and asked me, “What brings you here?”
Instead of the idle chit-chat typical nobles engage in, Duke Partran got straight to the point. “Father.”
Was he implying something awkward? Joy attempted to interject, but the Duke remained firm.
“Lady Alrn didn’t reach out for pleasantries. It’s better for her to skip formalities, so no need to say anything.”
Just as he surmised, I preferred getting to the core of matters rather than wasting time with trivial pleasantries—especially since chitchat around me was like a minefield.
Admiring how accurately he assessed me without us having talked much, I recognized his capability. His mistakes were simply due to his relaxed nature.
‘Then let’s get straight to the point. So…’
“Since it seems like you’re bad with time management, let’s get to the point. To get straight to the matter, I want to visit the Burrow House.”
“Since the normal route seems difficult, you want to use me to your advantage?”
Despite not having to elaborate, Duke Partran figured out my intentions almost instantly and continued.
“That’s easy. No matter how much the Burrow Duke shuns visitors, there’s a limit. With my backing, it should be easy to press the issue.”
Just as I had guessed: since our territories were close and his standing was equal, I suspected he could push through fairly easily.
“Could I count on you? It might seem wasteful to utilize Duke Partran’s influence for this.”
And he had every right to say that. The personal power the Duke possessed was enormous, no matter the direction. It did feel a bit wasteful to use it for such matters.
Yet, from my experience with various RPGs, I learned that if you hold onto items thinking they’re too precious to use, chances are you’d end up never using them until the very end.
So as long as I was confident I could use it effectively, it made sense to just go for it. Unless it was something unique, of course.
‘Please. I’m counting on you.’
“I’ll assess the importance, so just fulfill the request.”
“Ha-ha, understood. Your wish is granted.”
With a laugh, Duke Partran accepted my request, stating he’d arrange for the visit within three weeks. He didn’t ask why I wanted to go, or what I intended to do once I got there.
Did he deem such details unnecessary since he agreed to help me?
After the light from the crystal faded, I stood up, stretching and organizing my thoughts.
That was one issue solved.
Now my task would be to compile a list of potential anomalies at the Burrow House and gather methods to detect them.
With midterms approaching, I had no choice but to juggle both responsibilities.
Guess I’ll be pretty swamped for a while.
“Lady Alrn.”
As I thought this over, I turned to Joy, who was looking at me with a somewhat startled expression.
What’s up? Why are you looking at me like that? Like a little kid who just lost their doll…
“Are you interested in Prince Burrow?”
‘…Huh?’
“…What?”
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