If They Get Obsessed, I’m Doomed - Chapter 56
RP: Haebaragi_syk
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Chapter 29.1
Ariel ascended the spiral staircase, stepping on it round and round. After passing through the door on the second floor, she reached the third floor and opened the white wooden door. Fortunately, it wasn’t locked.
She cautiously trod down the hallway.
The third floor was eerily quiet like a dead mouse*.
[ T/N: It’s an idiom that is often used to describe a state of extreme silence or quietness—in this context, it’s trying to say that the third floor was very quiet, as if there were no signs of life, just like a dead mouse. ]
Racine’s location was still the reception room on the third floor.
If she went straight ahead and passed through three halls connecting rooms, the reception room where he was would be the second room from the end on the right. As Ariel walked softly across the marble floor, scanning her surroundings, somehow, there wasn’t a single servant in sight. She felt suspicious about the silent and desolate atmosphere of the third floor despite the fact that the high-ranking people were staying there.
‘Racine must hold a position corresponding to the highest rank in the empire, right?’
At the very least, shouldn’t there be at least a few escorts?
The closer she approached the room where he was, the more nervous she grew, and an unsettling current seemed to grip her ankles.
Ariel kept a close eye on the map on her phone, just in case.
Racine was still there. Although Devoncia and Lexius had moved from the conference room to the nearby foyer, there didn’t seem to be any major issues.
The problem was Skylar.
Before she knew it, his portrait had left the south building and was now outside. As if there was no clear destination, he wandered aimlessly, moving in erratic directions and speeds. It seemed as if he was searching for something…
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Ariel’s body moved reflexively.
She hurriedly hid behind the curtains. Her eyes cautiously observed the view outside the window through the gap in the curtains. The servants filled the gardens below the south building. It seemed like all the people who had disappeared from the third floor had gathered there. They all moved with a single purpose as if they had received a command.
‘Are they searching for me?’
A chill ran down her spine with an eerie sense of danger. She slipped away from the window, worried that someone might be looking up at her.
It would have been a disaster if she was caught.
‘What should I do…’
Since there were many windows in the south, it wasn’t easy to move around discreetly.
Ariel decided to speed up and get past him instead. She quickly passed through the hallway without bothering to muffle the sound of her footsteps. It would be difficult for them to spot her on the third floor from the garden below anyway.
While Skylar, as well as many other servants, were likely in the garden, she needed to meet Racine quickly.
‘I don’t know if it will work, but I have a suitable excuse and a gift.’
She had to do something now that she had come this far.
As she passed through the last hallway with a solemn expression on her face, she could see the reception room where he was staying just a few steps ahead. She then clutched the ring case tucked inside her coat as she approached the door.
Just as she raised her hand to knock, there was a soft click.
The door opened on its own.
Ariel stiffened and stared at the ivory door, which was open. Through the doorway, the figure she had been searching for appeared.
Racine di Solem.
His chest was in full view. The braided hair hanging between the collars of his blouse stole her attention, and as she slowly raised her head to meet his eyes, she soon found herself gazing into his brilliant golden eyes.
“What, you?”
He didn’t seem surprised.
Ariel, the only one startled, stuttered with wide eyes before finally speaking.
“…Young Lord Solem, I have come here to tell you something. It’s a message from the Countess of Huckley.”
“Speak.”
“You mean… here?”
“If you can’t do it, then leave.”
It seemed Racine had no intention of letting her into the room. He stood between the door frames and looked down at her. His golden eyes were quite intimidating. To be honest, she didn’t think he would welcome her. No matter how private the matter between noble families might be, he drew boundaries.
Ariel didn’t falter and brought up the matter right where she stood.
“County Huckley hopes to join forces with the noble cause of the Duke of Solem, which protects the neutrality of the empire.”
“How?”
“Countess Huckley, in accordance with the wishes of the Duke of Solem, to unconditionally exercise neutrality with a white vote on the agenda that the Duke doesn’t wish to pass.”
Ariel covered her nervous, trembling voice with a firm tone.
What Countess Huckley offered for Solem was a voting right in the imperial council. The imperial council conducted major imperial affairs by majority vote, so a single vote cast there was the most powerful exercise of authority a noble could have. It was a crucial right that prevented even the highest nobility from being completely ignored by each family.
It was the Countess’s intention, as Ariel told him, that they would transfer more than half of her council votes to the Duke of Solem. It was essentially the strongest bargaining chip the Countess could offer against the Duke.
Upon presenting this offer, even Racine, who had been indifferent, showed a serious reaction.
“So. Instead of doing that, what did the Countess want from Solem?”
“An invitation from the Duke of Solem.”
“It’s a price that could be settled on my end.”
Racine’s response indicated that he could see through the Countess’s intentions. It wasn’t wrong to say that since it was something the Countess had devised in order for Ariel to meet him.
However, the Countess’s position was that even if she showed such a strong hand and received nothing but an invitation, it wouldn’t be a loss. Solem’s invitation was precious enough, and it was almost the only means to connect with them, who were maintaining neutrality and closed-mindedness. It could also be seen as an investment in a relationship that would unfold by opening the door to a future relationship.
For Solem, it was naturally a deal without any loss, so Racine showed no sign of refusal.
“How do you intend to prove it? Solem doesn’t accept abstract evidence.”
It was a statement that he didn’t believe in words of loyalty or life-threatening oaths. What they wanted was tangible evidence of a solid contract.
At the question, Ariel offered him the ring case she had prepared. It was a hexagonal silver box engraved with an apple blossom.
“I present the seal of the County of Huckley as a token.”
It was a unique seal engraved with the family magic that couldn’t be duplicated—akin to an identification card within the empire, a proof of status among nobles. Among the nobility, it was the maximum amount of tangible trust that could be shown materially.
Racine readily accepted the silver box.
“If the agreement isn’t upheld, I’ll kill the Countess.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Ariel bowed her head in compliance. With this, she had an excuse to go in and out of the Duke of Solem’s residence.
‘Now that the business is overdone, is he going to tell me to leave quickly…’
She stole a glance at his face briefly at the thought. Seeing that he was also looking at her, she flinched slightly.
“Since you’ve gone through the trouble to come all this way, I’ll offer you a special reward.”
Instead of a congratulatory response, Racine said something unexpected.
“Just once. I will grant you convenience.”
Ariel was taken aback. There was no need for him to promise her even one instance of protection. What was his intention when he was someone who had been drawing clear boundaries?
‘It’s hard to understand, but since he’s deliberately offering it, there’s no reason to refuse.’
She decided to accept it with pleasure.
“Thank you…”
At that moment, a noise could be heard from nearby stairs.
Thud, thud.
The sound of the footsteps was steady and fast.
Ariel’s head snapped in the direction of the sound. Her heightened hearing sharpened and picked up the sounds. The voice in the distance was unmistakably familiar.
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