"Not at all, Young Lady Fenrioette! We have been instructed to prioritize your request in case you ever want to travel to Azgart!"
The mage at the teleportation array shook his head at Melinda's inquiry and declared with a flushed expression.
"Please, wait for a bit, we need to make some amends as well as send a message to lord Hugin who put in the request! Micheal! Take the young lady to the office and serve her tea while we deal with the procedures!"
"A-at once, boss!"
The mage in charge of the array leaned away from Melinda and called out to one of his subordinates, who let out a shocked gasp before hurriedly trotting over.
"G-greetings! Please, allow with me, Young Lady!"
The younger mage bowed his hooded head and stuttered before leading the gold-haired girl to a small building behind the teleportation array.
"I'm terribly sorry, this is the best tea we have… A-actually, I'll just make a quick run and get something more appropriate…!"
Once inside, the mage rummaged through the cupboards before grimacing at the only box with tea leaves he found and bowing his head apologetically to the noble guest.
"Don't worry about it. As long as you know how to prepare the one you have, it will be fine."
"I-is that so…?"
Melinda assured the mage, who gulped down his saliva and opened the box to look at the leaves one more time and received an encouraging smile instead of another verbal confirmation.
"Thank you. By any chance could you give me an estimation on how long I will have to wait?"
As she was served the tea by the nervous mage, Melinda smiled at him and asked, picking up the teacup.
"Since the request was put in by lord Hugin, I can't imagine the preparation taking more than an hour, Young Lady. Most likely even less than that."
The mage trembled at being addressed so casually but answered appropriately while placing a tiny cup of honey he managed to find in the cupboard next to the teacup.
"That's encouraging… also…"
Melinda nodded, enjoying the aroma of the tea and taking a little sip of it before scooping some honey with the teaspoon and adding it into the teacup, stirring it thoroughly before taking another sip.
"...oh…? This is pleasant~. You seem to know a lot about your tea, sir."
Raising her brows at the harmony of taste, Melinda took another elegant sip and praised the mage, although she was aware that it could have been a lucky guess on his part."
"The woman I loved was very particular about her tea, so I foolishly believed that if I learned about it, it would make her happy. In the end, we weren't meant to be, but at least I gained an additional skill. Not that I put it to use all that often…"
As it turned out, it wasn't a lucky guess on the mage's part, but it did turn out to be a rather touchy subject - even if he was doing his best to keep up a smile.
Melinda took a long sip without taking her eyes off the awkwardly smiling mage even for a second, making it clear that she was intrigued about the subject while still being considerate enough not to ask directly…
…even though, admittedly, the gaze of her sharp eyes was putting the young mage under a lot of pressure…
"...I am well aware of my shortcomings. Amongst them are my pride and possessiveness. And those shortcomings did not allow me to stay with her after catching her in bed with another person. At first she tried to play it off, she even laughed, then she got angry, then she pleaded to stay together, and once she realized i will not budge about the divorce, she kept berating me. In the end, we really were incompatible."
The mage breathed out, leaning against the cupboard.
"She tried to claim that it didn't count since the person she cheated on me was a woman, as if that made any difference. I was upfront with her from the start, so it really hurt when she seemed so baffled about my reaction. Still, the most insulting part was back when I walked in on the two of them, and that other woman asked me if I wanted to join in."
"...the audacity…"
He added, forcing himself to laugh only to freeze up when he heard Melinda's low growl.
"!!!"
The mage's eyes widened in shock when he looked at the gold-haired girl and noticed her hateful, frigid-cold glare as she stared into the distance.
"...you are the first person who didn't mock me after hearing that story, Young Lady…"
The mage lowered his gaze and muttered, his awkward smile changing into one that was much gentler and more genuine.
"..."
Melinda looked at the mage and her expression darkened before she herself lowered her head, staring at her knees.
"Sir, could I ask you to leave for a bit? I need to use a message scroll."
"Oh… of course. Do you need me to get you one?"
The gold-haired girl asked, and the young mage perked up and offered.
"It's alright. My maid has plenty on hand."
The girl shook her head and reassured the mage, who nodded in acknowledgment and left the room.
"...maid…?"
Only after he walked out did he furrow his brows in confusion, but he decided it would be rude to barge in for clarification in case the girl used the message scroll immediately.
"Yes, Adi, I know that even with the requirements for the message spell to work, the magic going over to another country will be intercepted by the mages at the border. I don't mind them eavesdropping."
Alone in the room, Melinda reached out her hand expectantly before frowning and declaring proudly before a message scroll eventually materialized on her palm out of thin air.
"Two more."
She added, waving her fingers, and additional scrolls were stacked next to the first one.
"Targets, Ester Diamondess, Herbert Diamondess, and Brynhild Fenrioette."
Melinda declared, ripping the scrolls in half.
"It's Melinda Fenrioette. I'm ending the farce of my engagement to Crown Prince Ester Diamondess. Since a year ago, I stopped acting as if I was ever engaged in the first place anyway. I do not expect to be forgiven, but I do apologize for not making things official sooner, as it certainly was unbecoming of me. Once again, I apologize. That said and done, I advise you against trying to take me back. I came to like the Emeraldios Empire quite a lot and consider becoming their resident Fenrioette if they take me in. Their chosen champion of the goddess Perseverance is really cute. Oh, and if you wonder why attempting to force me back to Diamondium Kingdom against my will is a bad idea, Duke Fenrioette will surely give you a fitting explanation… Especially since I'm level 49 right now, Duke~ That's all. Bye-bye~ End connection."
Once a particular static rang out in her ear, and she felt a slight pressure on her brain, Melinda straightened her back and announced sternly.
'W-wait…!"
One of the three people she contacted shook off the shock and began to speak up, but Melinda cut off the spell without bothering to hear anyone out.
"Don't make that face, Adi. There is a limit to how shameless I am, and you can't tell me that you haven't figured out my relationship with Zane already."
The gold-haired girl flinched and bit her lips before taking a deep breath as if letting someone invisible barrage her with some shocked words, only to raise her head proudly and scoff back with a stern expression.
"...I will not force you to continue serving me, but I ask you to stay in the range of the party link until I find a way to weaken your ability so that others will be able to remember yo…"
As if losing all of her resolve, Melinda lowered her head, clenching her fists, and muttered, but she stopped the moment her clothes crumpled in a way that looked like she was being desperately hugged.
"Adi, don't say that! It's all my fault in the first place! Don't you even dare to try taking any responsibility!"
Melinda went through the motion of returning the hug and cried out apologetically.
"...I made a mess… I made such a mess… Recently, I've been acting in such ridiculous ways that I can't even recognize myself… I was always emotional but not to that degree and…"
The gold-haired moved in a way as if she was leaning into someone taller than her and muttered pitifully.
"....eh…? Wait… Adi…?"
She suddenly flinched and did a very convincing pantomime of slightly pulling away from someone taller than her so she could look at their face with eyes widened from a sudden realization.
"My period is really late… and I act more emotional… I wasn't nauseous, but I was feeling worse those past couple of mornings… Zane and I weren't careful at all ever since we got together like that almost two months ago… eh…? Adi…? Could it be that I am…"
Melinda swallowed loudly, lowering her head to look at her stomach, and then touched it delicately.
"…pregnant…?"
She whispered hushedly with the most fragile expression anyone had ever seen her make.