[Wow. Looks like he has no intention of letting you go at all tonight.] Right on cue, Madam Rosalie chimed in with a cackle.
[…This should be fun!]
Elysia was worried sick, yet Madam Rosalie seemed to be enjoying the situation instead.
Suddenly, Elysia remembered the System window she had seen earlier.
[System]
[‘Valentin de Arcane’s’ Suspicion]
→ What kind of relationship does Elysia Gray have with Tristan Loch that she feels the need to keep it secret?
Now that she thought about it, Valentin had appointed her as his aide and even made her eat her meals inside the room. On top of that, he had saddled her with a huge amount of work regardless of the hour. In the end, this was practically the same as saying he intended to keep her by his side and personally watch her.
She was completely trapped here.
What do I do?
She absolutely had to meet Tristan at midnight if she wanted to regain his trust. But at this rate, meeting him seemed hopeless.
“I asked you a question. Do you have somewhere to go?”
When she failed to answer, the sharp interrogation immediately continued.
“Ah, could I stop by the infirmary for a moment? There’s something I forgot to take care of.”
“You’re quite responsible, aren’t you? My new aide.”
Valentin added sarcastically.
“You don’t have to worry about every little thing like that. I already told the Mother Superior to make sure your absence wouldn’t cause any problems.”
“Well… it’s something only I know about, so I have to take care of it personally.”
“If there’s something, just tell me. I’ll have Sir Berg pass it along to the infirmary.”
There was no getting through to him. Every time she tried to open a door to escape, it felt as though she was merely confirming that it was locked.
She was practically imprisoned.
“…Never mind.”
Elysia vaguely brushed it off and sat down at the table. She stared at the thick stack of documents, but none of the words registered. Valentin’s gaze remained fixed on her.
Unable to concentrate, Elysia kept rereading the same passages over and over before biting down hard on her lower lip.
What do I do now?
She remembered what Tristan had said in the bathhouse earlier.
“If you don’t want to do it, forget it. If I just ignore it and live with it, it’ll probably heal eventually.”
She had barely managed to coax him into agreeing to meet her. If she broke her promise, Tristan would refuse treatment again.
If she wanted to avoid the forced ending, she had to get out of here by any means necessary and keep her promise to Tristan.
[System]
Wash the Strategy Target ‘Tristan Loch’ and treat his wound.
[Time Remaining Until the Appointment - 00:22:17]
There wasn’t much time left.
Right. All I have to do is somehow get out of here.
Amid her suffocating anxiety, the first thing Elysia came up with was a relatively simple excuse.
“Um… I need to use the bathroom for a moment.”
Surely he wouldn’t stop someone from going to the bathroom. As long as she could get out of this room, she could figure something out.
Her heart pounding, she waited for permission, only to receive a rather unexpected answer.
“Over there.”
“Pardon?”
“Go ahead. It’s right over there.”
Valentin readily gestured with his chin toward one corner of the room. Damn it. She had intended to use the bathroom as an excuse to leave. Of course, because this was a VIP room, there was a bathroom inside.
This was the worst.
“Aren’t you going?”
“Ah, yes. I am.”
She pretended nothing was wrong, but cold sweat trickled down her back.
At Valentin’s prompting, Elysia reluctantly entered the bathroom inside the room and locked the door.
Haa….
The breath she had been holding burst out, and the strength left her legs. Through her hazy vision, she spotted a window.
Could I get out through there?
Desperate, she checked, only to feel dizzy when she saw that they were on the fourth floor.
“…I’m going insane.”
Elysia clutched her head with both hands. She was literally a rat trapped in a jar.
This was exactly the kind of moment when she desperately needed her teacher’s help.
“Teacher. What am I supposed to do now? Please help me.”
[What do you mean, what are you supposed to do? Just the two of you, all night long. Looks like a great situation to me!]
Madam Rosalie, who had no way of knowing what was going on inside Elysia’s head, sounded utterly delighted.
Elysia lowered her voice as much as possible and whispered.
“No, I think he’s acting like this because he suspects there’s something going on between Tristan and me. Shouldn’t I clear up the misunderstanding a little?”
[Why bother?]
“What?”
[Let him misunderstand all he wants. It’s fun. Let his imagination run wild.]
“…….”
[Since things have already turned out like this, let’s make that bastard squirm a little. Where’s the fun in explaining everything to him? You’ll only spoil him.]
Madam Rosalie, a woman obsessed with entertainment, clearly had no intention whatsoever of helping her.
But Elysia couldn’t exactly tell her this was a game and there was a mission involved. It was enough to drive her insane.
“But I want to keep my promise to Tristan.”
[Something came up, so it can’t be helped if you can’t go. This is work. That’s a private appointment. Work should come first. Don’t you think?]
“But he’s in the bathhouse. He’s naked. You’ll get to see him naked again too, Teacher.”
[I’ve already seen the Holy Knight’s goods. I think this side might actually be more interesting.]
She had thrown a fit earlier just because Tristan had covered his lower body with a towel, and now she was saying this. Madam Rosalie changed her mind at the drop of a hat.
[Sorry, but I’m curious about what’s underneath those priestly robes. So let’s strip this one today.]
Her reasoning was even somewhat trashy.
Elysia couldn’t give up like this.
If she broke her promise this time, earning Tristan’s trust at all would become difficult. And with her now having to stay with Valentin throughout her working hours, that was far too dangerous a risk to take.
‘Right. Madam Rosalie is someone who follows whatever seems most entertaining. If I want to persuade her to help me, I have no choice but to promise her something even more entertaining.’
Elysia clenched her fist as if steeling herself.
“Teacher. If you help me just this once, I’ll definitely kiss Tristan tonight. I promise.”
[Hmm. You’re not children. A little peck sounds pretty boring.]
Growing anxious at her lukewarm reaction, Elysia decided to raise the stakes.
“Not a peck. A real one.”
[With tongue?]
“Yes. I’ll put it in as far as I can.”
[Deep. And you’re absolutely not allowed to stop until he does.]
“Haa…….”
[Hey. If you’re not confident, forget it. You’re the one who needs my help. What do I have to lose?]
“No. I’ll do it. I absolutely won’t stop.”
She had no idea whether this was really the right thing to do.
Still, it had to be better than completely ruining the situation until there was no way out and ending up dead.
She couldn’t think of any other viable solution, so she had no choice.
[Fine. What do you need me to do? You want me to get you out of there?]
Madam Rosalie had finally agreed to help.
Right. She had already made up that excuse about having something to do at the infirmary.
“Teacher.”
After thinking for a moment, Elysia spoke.
“Starting now, I need you to give me an alibi.”
***
After coming out of the bathroom, Elysia sat back down and resumed reviewing the documents. She didn’t even have to look directly at Valentin to know that he was watching her.
[System]
Wash the Strategy Target ‘Tristan Loch’ and treat his wound.
[Time Remaining Until the Appointment - 00:15:08]
Her heart pounded violently. Teacher had better pull this off properly.
Perhaps because she was so nervous, her fingertips kept unconsciously tensing as she moved the documents.
She had no idea how much time had passed.
Footsteps gradually drew closer, and then the door flew open with a bang. Whoever it was hadn’t even bothered to knock.
“You can’t do this here! Madam Rosalie.”
Madam Rosalie forcefully shook off Sir Berg, who was trying to stop her, and stormed into the room.
“Give me my nun!”
Madam Rosalie shouted the demand furiously. Valentin rose from the sofa and tilted his head slightly.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Are you deaf? My nun. Give her back to me right now!”
Madam Rosalie brazenly laid claim to Elysia as though she owned her. Valentin, however, responded without the slightest change in expression.
“I don’t know what your reason may be, but that will be difficult at the moment. Sister Elysia is currently performing important official duties for the Church, Madam.”
“Official duties, my ass! Why the hell should I care? I’m in so much pain right now I won’t be able to sleep!”
Madam Rosalie erupted at Valentin’s calm refusal. She looked like madness incarnate.
“I can’t sleep without her, so give her to me. Now!”
“No.”
“For fuck’s sake! Do you even know how much money I’ve donated to the Church? Want me to go to headquarters and raise hell?”
Madam Rosalie screamed like a woman possessed.
“You are currently putting your personal desires first and interfering with the Goddess’s work.”
“If what I’m doing is interference, then what you’re doing is robbery. Did the Goddess teach you that interference is forbidden but robbery is perfectly fine? The convent is crawling with nuns. So why! Why the hell did you have to steal my sleeping pill?! Without even warning me beforehand-!”
“A nun is not medicine, Madam.”
“She is to meee!!”
As sparks began flying between them, Elysia hurriedly stepped in.
“Just one hour. I think she’s angry because I didn’t tell her I wouldn’t be coming.”
“I don’t care anymore. If you won’t give her to me, I’m sleeping right here!”
Seeing no reaction from Valentin, Madam Rosalie simply threw herself down on the sofa.
“Two hours at most. I’ll put her to sleep quickly and come right back. Please?”
Elysia clasped her hands together and pleaded. Valentin remained silent for a moment.
If even this didn’t work, there really was nothing else she could do.
So please work.
Please. Please. Please.
His eyes were as still as a lake without a single ripple, making it impossible to read what he was thinking.
The longer his silence stretched on, the more her insides burned with anxiety.
Just as Elysia bit her lip while struggling to maintain her smile, Valentin’s lips slowly parted.
Like a man who had continued weighing his options until the very last moment.
“Exactly one hour, Madam.”