When we got back to the estate in Zyon City, Diarmaid greeted the three of us with a bow. There was no one with him, which I found odd. Diarmaid had an uneasy expression on his face.
"Welcome back Your Grace," Diarmaid greeted with another slight bow, pursing his lips before continuing, "My deepest apologies for sending a letter to you like that, but this matter is truly concerning."
"Well? Out with it then?" I ordered, remembering the contents of his letter, "You didn't explicitly say what the matter was in your letter and I am quite tired, I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible."
"Right then, I've prepared clothes for you to change in, I'll explain on the way to your chambers," Diarmaid exclaimed, turning around and opening the door for Arwan, Victor, and me.
"So, what is this important problem that has taken away from my two vacation days?" I asked impatiently, side-eyeing him with visible annoyance.
"Ahem, you see…" Diarmaid paused for a second, then walked in front of me to guide me to my chambers, "Duke Casilda has been absent from his territory as of late, and recently his location and goal has been made clear."
"Ho? And why should this concern me?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows and glaring at Diarmaid's back. Not afraid to show my discomfort and displeasure at the mention of him.
"...He is here actually, waiting in the drawing room…he insisted on seeing you, i tried to tell him to return in two days but he wouldn't listen," Diarmaid finally admitted, causing me to stop dead in my tracks.
I was shocked at the sudden news, especially after what our last encounter consisted of. Victor put his hand on my shoulder in a reassuring manner and I just shook my head at him.
"Haaaa, alright," I sighed, walking in front of Diarmaid, "Go tell him that I will be there soon, but make sure he doesn't leave that room. Do you understand?" I said, glaring at the old demon butler.
"Of course my lord, I will see that he doesn't go anywhere unless you will it."
***
I finished changing my clothes into a more simple attire, a dark blue light-trench coat white button-up with a puffed ruffled-up tie, and black pants that had a longer torso area with six buttons, three on each side. The outfit was paired with black loafers that had no heel, and my hair was pulled into a ponytail draped over my shoulder, tied with a blue ribbon that matched my coat.
"M'Lord, are you sure it's alright to meet the Duke? Especially after he was the one who barged into your estate," Victor commented, one hand on the door handle, the other on the hilt of his sword.
"Ugh, it's fine, I can deal with it," I grimaced and motioned for him to open the doors, "And take your damn hand off of your hilt, I don't intend to use violence on him."
"Here," Arwan passed me some gloves and I raised my eyebrows at them, however, he just smiled and said, "We wouldn't want any perverted vermin like Oryn Casilda to touch you and infect you,"
"Pfft- Watch your mouth, the vermin might hear you," I joked with him, putting on the tight smooth gloves and walking downstairs. I didn't like Oryn very much, especially after that one-night stand and his constant clingy and possessiveness.
After the night at the ball where I gained my titles, Oryn started sending me letters and gifts daily. Each one contained how much he missed me, and the gifts mostly were clothes and jewelry, making me think about what was going on in his head.
'Now that I think about it, his visit before I left must've been his possessiveness taking hold, and a way to try and see me before I left.'
Once it acceded about ten different letters of his, I ordered and gave an order to Diarmaid and the rest of the servants, telling them to burn the next letters and to throw out any gifts sent after those letters, fearing they would start to get more creepy and bothersome.
"Ah, good day Your Grace! Duke Casilda is right in here, I have already served him a cup of tea, would you like me to bring some more along with snacks?" Eun Sim offered with a smile, she had her hair up in a bun today and it was covered with a bandana.
"Heh, there is no need, I'll try to make this as swift as possible," I replied, almost forgetting something, I bent down and whispered in her ear, "Oh! And you remembered to have all of the gifts and letters he sent me burned, right?"
"Yes, no need to worry. They were all disposed of swiftly and quietly," She replied, turning her head towards me slightly.
"Great, well then," I exclaimed, standing up straight and putting my hands on the handlebars of the doors, "Arwan and Victor, go ahead and get some of your own work done, and if one hears any struggling noise do not come in, understand?"
"Understood," The three said in unison before going in different directions. Then I opened the doors and went in, the doors slamming shut behind me.
The duke was sitting on one of the couches, facing the length of the coffee table and his head towards the windows. When he heard me enter he practically snapped his head in my direction, a bright smile spreading on his face.
"Ah, Viscount, it's been too long!" Oryn exclaimed with joy, immediately standing up and walking over to greet me, then as he towered over me he offered a handshake.
"Oh hardly," I groaned, accepting his handshake out of the last bit of respect I have for him, then immediately walking over to the couches.
Oryn had his hair slicked back messily, he was also wearing a suit that was the same color as my eyes, and a green tie the same color as my hair, which I found increasingly concerning and creepy. Mostly for my own safety and any amount of the sanity that he had left.
"So, since you barged into my estate and refused to leave, I had to come back early, unable to help our kingdom's newfound allies clean up after their war…So you better make this bullshit worth my time," I said, sitting down on the couch and glaring at Oryn.
"...I just needed to see you," He said, walking over and sitting beside me, taking my hands in his, "I've missed you so much and couldn't stand not seeing you any longer, so I thought I'd try and come here to get you to return sooner."
I cringed at him and pulled my hands away, then scooted away from him, but he just frowned and gave me puppy dog eyes.
"Well, now that you've seen me you can leave, the doors are right over there!" I expressed with a smile, pointing with my thumb and over at shoulders right at the doors.
"Ugh, but I can't stand not being in your presence! Not anymore at least!" He said, grabbing onto my waist and hugging me, burying his face in my neck.
"Urg! Get off me!" I grunted, trying to push him off of me with no success, not even noticing the approaching noise of footsteps.
Distracted by Oryn hanging onto me as tight as he could without hurting me, I was caught off guard when the doors to the drawing room suddenly flew open, and in came a disturbingly familiar figure.
"Oh Dearie!" Llyr announced his arrival, then suddenly paused and looked down at Oryn and me with a dark face, "Who the hell is that?"
"L-Llyr!? What are you doing here?" I shouted with an angry tone and my mouth still hanging open, but I was more shocked than anything. With a sudden burst of strength, I pushed Oryn off me, which caused him to hit his head on the chair's armrest.
'Oops, sorry Oryn…but you also kinda deserve it,' I thought, side-eyeing him for a moment.
Llyr was wearing a simple black and blue suit but it had cuts in it to show his scales, he was also wearing a hat that was the same blue as his suit but had a lining to it the color of my hair.
"Y-you're not cheating on me are you!?" Llyr exclaimed, rushing over to me and pulling me up, grabbing my waist and putting his arms around it.
"Hah!? How the hell could he be cheating on you when you and him aren't even together!?" Oryn got up immediately and shot back, yanking me away from him, I landed in his chest, "Besides, he's not yours anyway, he's mine."
"Um, excuse me, but I'm not any of yours!" I exclaimed, pushing Oryn off me and pointing at the both of them, "And going back to my question…What on earth are you doing here Llyr!?"
"Huh? Well, I'm here for our-" Llyr started to say but was soon interrupted by a loud voice who also entered the room and glared at Llyr.
"YOUR MAJESTY! What on earth do you think you're doing!? Coming here without warning anybody, what is going on in your head!?" A man's tired voice sounded out through the room, and I noticed Llyr flinch.
Looking over Llyr I saw a tall man with long dark blue hair in a ponytail, coupled by tired gray eyes with bags and dark circles under them, just barely hidden by thin-rimmed glasses. His skin was pale but pinkish in color, but also quite toned due to his muscles, making him look quite handsome under his tired exterior. He wore a green suit with a tailcoat and "saddle" shoes. He was only about an inch shorter than Llyr and had quite a serious aura.
"K-Koren!? Why are you here!?" Llyr asked, stepping back at the sight of the man. I also noticed that his eyes were flicking around the room, perhaps looking for a way to get away from this "Koren."
'Pfft! Is he scared of him?!... I could use this as an opportunity!'
"Why am I here? To bring you back to the Alkmene Kingdom of course! You have run away and neglected your duties, forcing me as not only your butler but also your secretary to pick up after you! And I've grown tired of it, so now I'm here to drag your ass back with me!" Koren exclaimed, raising his voice and stomping towards Llyr.
"Ugh! No, not yet!" Llyr shouted in defiance, like a little kid almost, "Not until I get what Lev promised to me!"
"Ho? And what did this respectable Viscount promise to you, hm?" Koren asked, raising his eyebrows and tilting his head with a frown.
"Heh, well he promised me a date! I said that I'd treat him to the best of times as way a to thank him for saving my life!" he said, blushing like a teenage girl. I looked over at Oryn, who had his mouth open like a gaping fish.
"HA! There's no way he'd go on a date like a fish with you! Even if you are a king!" Oryn claimed, hugging me from behind. I tried to get out of his grasp, but couldn't
"Hm? That's rather rude to say, even if you are a Duke and relative of the King of this country!" Llyr snaps back, taking one of my arms and trying to tug me away from Oryn.
The two bicker back and forth for a while, Koren just standing there hopeless and a hand messaging his temples. I feel like a stuffed toy being fought over by two little girls.
"AGH! THATS ENOUGH!" I yell, pulling my arms together with much force and causing the bickering duo to bonk into each other, "What the fuck is wrong with you two!? And you, why the hell did you just stand there?!" I said, glaring at Koren. Who just pointed a finger at himself and tilted a head.
"A-apologies Lord Andrste, it's just that when his majesty gets like this its best for us servants not to intervene," Koren explained, spreading his arms and shrugging.
"Mmmm, haaa whatever you say, you know him better than I do," I said, sighing and crossing my arms, "Now then, I think the both of you owe me an apology."
"...I'm sorry Lev, I didn't mean to hurt you like that or make you stressed…and miss out on work," Oryn admitted, kneeling on the floor, his head hanging.
"Me too, i'm sorry for barging in here unannounced," Llyr added, following Oryns actions but then lifting his head with a sorry expression, "but you promised me a date, and now that the whole fiasco with the Peril Kingdom is over, I thought It'd be a perfect time!"
"Are you for real?" I commented, looking at him with a "Seriously?" expression. But he just sat there and nodded his head, "...Fine, I'll go on a stupid date with you. But ONLY if you promise not to come and barge through my doors again without getting my approval."
"Deal!" Llyr said as he shot up and took both of my hands, looking down at me with stars in his eyes.
"Wait wait wait! What about me!?" Oryn expressed, standing up and looking at me with pleading eyes, then complained, "Why does he get a date but not me?"
Once Oryn finished his piece I just stood there staring at him, while also taking my hands back from Llyr. Oryn then looked down, I could see his lip quivering, a signal that he was gonna cry or perhaps burst out in hysterical anger, but I didn't act since I knew that if I did it'd only get worse.
"Haaaaaaa," I sighed heavily then looked at him with a straight face, "If I go on a date with you as well, will you stop this 'I miss you!' nonsense?"
Oryn nodded.
"Well then so be it, after my date with Llyr then I'll go on one with you," I said, brushing my hand in his direction.
***
Llyr and Koren had finally left in a carriage, leaving Lev at the manor, heading to prepare for their date.
"You know Your Majesty, I'm quite surprised that you let the Viscount agree to that date with that sorcerer," Koren commented, looking over in Llyr's direction, who was looking at the shrinking manor behind him.
"Heh," Llyr chuckled then looked at Koren with a knowing smile, "Well it's not like he'll actually get the chance to go on that date."
'Haaa, sometimes I forgot that he is also a Finman.' Koren thought, looking at his King with a frown.