Chapter 339: Sofia’s Perspective

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Sophia’s Perspective

“…There’s no need to worry about Zeros coming back. Let’s talk already.”

It had been nearly 30 minutes since Onii-chan left the inn. It’s highly unlikely that he’ll return at this point.

“What are you talking about?”

“If you didn’t have any business, there’s no way you would’ve stayed behind without Zeros.”

As Shana said, since I didn’t have any business, I definitely followed my brother. I debated whether to accompany him until the moment he left this room, but I prioritized this matter.

“If you can read minds, there’s no need for me to explain, right?”

“I told you before that it’s hard to read your mind, Sophia.”

Shana became a little annoyed when I teased her. Indeed, she had once told me that my thoughts were chaotic and that it was difficult to read them, especially since my thoughts were always focused on my brother.

To prevent it from ending with Shana getting upset, I decided to discuss the main topic.

“Shana your fiancé turned out to be my brother. Please explain this to me.”

“…So it’s about that after all.”

Even Elira, who seemed uninterested until now, reacted to this. By the way, it seemed that Shana had correctly guessed what I was going to talk about.

“I apologize for that. But since I don’t call him by the nickname ‘Zeros,’ it hasn’t gone beyond the stage of rumors, right?”

“That’s true.”

Indeed, none of the rumors had gone beyond that stage. It was evident from the fact that the nobles never explicitly referred to him as Shana’s fiancé. It remained as mere gossip, and that’s why they couldn’t freely call him the royal fiancé.

“Let me say it in advance, to some extent, I had intended for this situation. Although the rumors have become bigger than I expected due to Zeros standing out.”

It seemed that Shana had indeed planned this situation to some extent.

“The reason was to avoid raising the topic of my marriage. My eyes will be useful when I get married and go to another country.”

With Shana’s eyes, she could discern confidential internal affairs of countries that couldn’t be spoken aloud. Therefore, it was natural to think that they would want to marry her off to another country since she had good looks.

“But isn’t that impossible? If you’re going to marry into another country, wouldn’t they want to appraise you? And once you’re appraised, your eyes would be exposed.”

Elira spoke up for the first time here. Indeed, publicly it might not be possible, but they would surely conduct a secret appraisal as a means to confirm her identity.

However, even then, there was no problem.

“In the first treasure vault, there is an accessory that can conceal one skill. I’m sure they would give that to me as a dowry item.”

The Lingaria Kingdom wasn’t a poor country. I believed they would have such a magic item in their treasure vault.

Furthermore, if it was given as a dowry item, it wouldn’t be strange for her to always have it on her.

“Originally, I had planned to make Zeros appear more valuable than going to another country while there were still some rumors. But Zeros is already being evaluated as someone who would rather keep me in the Lingaria Kingdom, even if it means marrying me off.”

I had also anticipated that. I don’t think my brother’s power alone would earn him such high evaluations. Even if he said it himself, it was just his individual strength.

However, my brother has high evaluations from the Elves, Beastmen, and Dwarves. Especially with the Elves, he has a good relationship with the Queen herself. Just having close ties with the leaders of those three races brings considerable benefits to the kingdom.

“Did the King say that?”

“Indirectly.”

It seems that the King wants to unite Shana and Zeros.

“What about your intentions, Shana?”

“It’s wrong to tell you before telling Zeros. So, it’s a secret.”

“I see.”

The conversation ended here. If Shana said so, there was nothing more to ask. Besides, Shana deliberately didn’t ask about my feelings. At that point, it was as if she already knew. She probably understood that much.

“Now, let’s see how the Elves will respond…”

One of the reasons I had this conversation, even though Elira wasn’t involved, was to see how the Elves and Elira would react. To be honest, more than half of the purpose of this conversation with Shana was to confirm that. I had a fair idea of Shana’s situation. I reluctantly gave up on following my brother, judging that there wouldn’t be another opportunity like this where it would be just the three of us.

Depending on the future actions of the Elves and Elira, I may have to become their real enemy. I still don’t like the Queen, but lately, Elira seems to be leaning towards the positive side. So, I don’t want her to become an enemy.

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