"H-how have you been, my lady?"
Zane gulped down his saliva and asked nervously. The much too-wide corners of his mouth lifted up in an awkward smile as he did.
"Reasonably fine, I'd say."
Melinda responded casually, taking a slow glance at Zane's torso before tapping her feet together.
"For once, I figured out quite a lot of things. I will wait for you to figure things out on your end, too. But let me offer you a clue - you should ask me to apologize."
She added, leaning back before poking towards Zane's chest with her toes.
"My lady, I'm very so…"
Zane immediately lowered his head and… froze…
"Wait. Huh?! I should tell… you…? To apologize to… to who? To me…?!"
His head perked right back up, and he asked, having a hard time trying to understand Melinda's words…
…and failing to do it…
"Zane. No matter the reason, I did throw you through the wall outside of combat. One of the many odd rules that crossed over is that no instant healing spells or abilities can be used outside combat, and potions only add to natural regeneration. Which, coupled with a big dose of reality, got you bedridden for weeks... and could even end up much, much worse..."
The gold-haired girl tilted her head to the side and pointed out, upset at herself to the point of getting teary-eyed.
"...then… you… you aren't angry at me for what I said… and what I haven't said…?"
The monstrous servant cowered, looking up at the noble girl with an innocent shine in his distorted eyes.
"Well, I do hope that you just keep things secret for my own good. And that maybe you want to be possessive and be the only one who understands me most. That would be really, really lovely... Anyway. Although I want to know everything about you, I will not pressure you to stop being Mister Secretive."
Melinda shrugged her shoulders and declared with a soft smile that made Zane's face turn slightly pink.
"D-don't you want to learn the actual truth…?"
He asked timidly.
"What for? If you aren't the one responsible or actively involved, then I don't need to know your exact reasoning. And even if you are… it would only make me waste time on coming up with some outlandish excuse that I could convince myself with of your good intentions. I'd much rather have you sort out your feelings since those are unrestrained now, aren't they?"
Melinda's smile became spicier and cheekier as she moved her feet and nuzzled them against Zane's knees, sneakily displaying that she understood how her strength worked already.
"My lady, we are almost there."
"!!!"
The touching moment ended up interrupted by Adrianna, as the maid sat up straight and put her shoes back on, warning the noble and - not on purpose, of course - causing Zane to flinch.
"Thanks, Adi~"
Melinda sat up properly and also put on her shoes, fixing her clothes even though they didn't get nearly as disheveled as Adrianna's uniform.
"That fast? We aren't even out of the city yet…"
Zane cleared out his throat and tried to act composed, although he couldn't stop himself from rubbing his thighs nervously while sneaking glances at Melinda's legs…
"We're at the teleport. We had an appointment after all."
The noble girl revealed, and only a few moments later, their carriage was stopped by the guards keeping watch on the teleport array.
After their identities were confirmed, they were allowed to pass.
As the horses and the carriage were positioned in the middle of a marble structure that bore similarities to the ancient civilization buildings of Melinda's old world, the magic formation on the marble floor lighted up, and within seconds, the vehicle and all of its passengers were teleported
The coachman encouraged the horses and moved the carriage out of the structure, looking exactly the same as the one in their previous location, and then stopped again as the guards on that side did the exact same check-up.
"Lady Melinda Fenrioette and two servants from Diademus… everything is in order. Thank you for your cooperation, young lady. Welcome to the port city Braceletion."
The guard confirmed that there was nothing suspicious in the luggage with his colleagues doing the search and nodded his head to the girl, sending her the smile of a professional.
"P-port city Braceletion?! What are we going to do here?!"
After the guard closed the carriage's door and the vehicle moved, Zane's eyes couldn't get any bigger, and he gasped in confusion.
"That's right. Diamondium's hands. The most prosperous of all ports, Braceletion. I kind of want to look around to confirm how everything looks in person."
Melinda nodded, leaning in towards the window and peeking outside, reminiscent of the time she spent there in the game.
"...you… make it sound as if this isn't our destination…"
Zane leaned abc and pointed out with a concerned expression.
"Of course, it isn't. A noble without financial troubles comes to a port city for only two reasons - to trade, or to travel. And we're traveling."
Melinda laughed playfully, counting the reasons on her fingers.
"Where do you intend to… Jade Academy?! We're going to Emeraldios Empire?!"
Zane was lost for a moment but then his brain shake off the sluggishness and made him realize the answer that was always there.
"But…! That doesn't make sense! You missed the window to apply! You didn't fill out or send the application! Duke visited me and said himself that you were so busy with training that you forgot about it! He very clearly instructed me to act and speak in a way that would not remind you!"
The monstrous servant got heated and stood up from his seat, being more than tall enough to hit the top of the carriage with not only his head but his shoulders too which made his slouch qute a bit… and literally hang over the two girls.
"..."
"..."
The two girls who echanged surprised looks before looking back up at the black-haired man with very visible white roots.
"Yes, I was busy, that's why I had Adi handle all the formalities."
Melinda nodded before poitning at her personal maid.
"Quite the natural thing to do. After filling the form I merely required our lady's signature and the family seal."
"And duke breaks around five of those in one week so there was no reason to even sneak in to his office. I just grabbed one of the broken ones before they got incinerated."
Adrianna nodded her head with the confidence of a professional in the field and Melinda filled in the most jarring blank.