"NOONIM, we'll leave the duchy tonight."
Gypsy, who was in the middle of her break time, was about to sip her newly brewed tea when Yvo dropped the bomb.
[Leave the duchy tonight? Why, though?]
"Did we make some plans for tonight, Young Master Yvo?" Gypsy asked carefully. She addressed Yvo formally because only the two of them were in her office. Not even Killian (Yvo's knight that seemed to hate her) was there, so she was a little comfortable. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything like that in my schedule…"
"We didn't make plans, Noonim," Yvo, who was sitting on the sofa across from her, said. Then he sipped his tea before he continued. "I'm just asking you to go with me if you have time tonight."
"What's the occasion, then?"
"We already found your brother, Noonim."
She gasped softly, then she gently placed the teacup down on the table. "Where is he?"
Gio wasn't her real brother.
In fact, she hadn't even met him personally yet. But the times that she had spent talking to Gio via the magical communication device in this world were precious. The boy reminded her of Si-woo– her biological brother that she left behind on earth, and it lessened her loneliness.
Thus, she easily got attached to Gio.
"Father confined your brother on one of his private islands called 'Blue Stars.'"
Ah.
She remembered that place from the game.
It was the island where the late Grand Duke and Grand Duchess were supposed to go to before man-eating wolves attacked them. If she remembered it correctly, the island was called 'Blue Stars' because the Azure Sea sparkled like little blue stars at night.
The game described the sea as something magical.
[But it just reminds me of a certain sea on earth filled with plankton…]
Well, it didn't matter.
[I'm sure I'll still enjoy the view, especially if I watch the pretty sea with Gio.]
The thought made her smile.
"Thank you, Young Master Yvo," she said sincerely. If she wasn't so scared for her life, she would have hugged Yvo. That was how happy she was at the moment. "I mean it."
"If Noonim is really grateful, then please keep your end of the bargain."
"I will," she said while nodding enthusiastically. "As soon as Gio comes home with us, we will rewrite the contract."
He just nodded, then he sipped his tea. "Please pack lightly, Noonim. We need to get out of duchy as quietly as possible."
"I understand," she said. "The representatives of the vassal families have already left, but they might have planted a mole to keep an eye on us."
"You're not wrong, but there's another reason why we need to be discreet, Noonim."
"Oh, what is it then?"
"To be honest, His Royal Highness Prince Cyrus sent me a message--- an unofficial letter, to be precise."
"What did the Crown Prince say?"
To be honest, she was a little nervous.
The game described Prince Cyrus Helion as an amicable character. But the game didn't say if the Crown Prince was a foe or an ally.
[In fantasy stories like this, the Royal Family is usually the enemy. The fact that the Crown Prince is super friendly with Yvo is suspicious. Sometimes, in fiction, the friendlier a character is, the more suspicious they are.]
"His Royal Highness wants to visit the duchy, Noonim."
Ah, that was it?
"His Royal Highness has the right to visit the duchy, Young Master Yvo," she said, confused as to why Yvo looked distressed. "We need to report to the Royal Family that I'm the temporary head of the family, anyway."
In fact, they were scheduled to do a courtesy call to the Royal Palace next month.
"The Crown Prince isn't interested in our family affair," Yvo said firmly. "His Royal Highness just wants to meet you, Noonim."
"And that wouldn't be so strange," she said. "After all, it's rare for a woman to become the Head of House Woolsey, albeit the position being temporary."
The young master frowned. "I don't like it."
She tilted her head to one side. "What exactly do you not like, Young Master Yvo? The Crown Prince is the next Sun of the empire. It wouldn't hurt to build a good relationship with His Royal Highness."
Yvo's frown deepened. "But I don't want to share Noonim with anyone else."
She almost spat the tea that she just sipped. [Excuse me?]
"The Crown Prince is known as a ladies' man," he insisted as he handed her a white handkerchief. "I don't want to introduce Noonim to a guy like that."
He really said "a guy like that."
[Yvo, we're talking about the Crown Prince here– not some random guy.]
"Even if you don't want to, it's inevitable for us to meet since the duchy is still required to report to the Royal Family," she said, then she gracefully accepted Yvo's handkerchief and used it to gently wipe her mouth. "But don't worry, Young Master Yvo. Even if the Crown Prince makes advances on me, I'll politely turn him down."
"It's easier said than done, Noonim," he insisted. "I heard the Crown Prince is irresistible to ladies he's determined to woo."
She chuckled. "This may be impudent of me to say, but the Crown Prince isn't my style."
"Why is he not your type when I often hear my schoolmates, especially the ladies, say that the Crown Prince is the perfect man?"
"I'm not interested in younger men."
Yvo seemed shocked by her revelation. "Noonim doesn't like younger men?"
She smiled shyly while scratching her cheek. "I see people younger than me as children."
After all, she was already an adult before she was transported to that world.
"Noonim."
"Yes?"
Yvo uncharacteristically smiled sweetly at her. "Noonim, it's not nice to decide you don't like something when you haven't properly given it a proper thought yet," he said. And even though he was speaking gently, his words still sounded like a threat. "Let's not be small-minded, Noonim."
How was she "small-minded" for having a type?
But she didn't want to start a useless fight with Yvo since her life was practically in his hands, so she just smiled and nodded.
[He can really be strange sometimes.]
"Alright," Gypsy said even though she didn't understand what set Yvo off this time. "I'll… try to reconsider my taste for men."
"I'm looking forward to you changing your mind, Noonim," Yvo said, that suspicious smile still on his face. "Just because I'm younger than Noonim doesn't mean I'm a child."
Okay, but so what?
[I really don't understand Yvo, so let's just smile for him.]
***
<"YOUNG MASTER, we have a problem.">
Yvo, who was on the ship's deck, knitted his eyebrows while listening to Killian whose voice was coming from the stud earring in his right ear. It was a communication device. "What happened?"
He sent Killian to the Blue Dream Island first to ensure that Gio, his Noonim's younger brother, would be safe by the time they arrived at the island.
Just this morning, Killian said that they had found Gio safe and sound.
So, what could possibly happen in the span of a few hours?
<"Gio is gone.">
Yvo's face immediately turned as dark as the night sky. "Killian, are you begging me to kill you by acting so useless, huh?"
***
NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'Butter Up the Crown Wolf' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3