“Ah, that’s right. The leader is not such a troublemaker in front of his wife.”

“Ugh, you’re being deceived.” 

“Our leader is pretentious.”

The mercenaries who had been gossiping about Noel amongst themselves turned their eyes to Irene and spoke gaily.

“You don’t have to worry too much, Madame.”

“You might not know this, but our Leader, that person… is a great fighter.”

“That’s right. I think we’re worrying about the wrong person. We should be concerned about his opponent.”

“…are you really talking about Noel?”

She couldn’t imagine him as a fighter, but Irene trusted the mercenaries’ words.

‘After all, he is the founder of the Ram mercenaries.’

Setting up a mercenary corps was not something only a businessman could do. 

Being the leader of a mercenary group required having superior strength than anyone else. This was because the strength of the leader determined the power of the entire group. Therefore, he had to be the strongest, so she had no doubts about his skills.

And he used to live on the street when he was young.

In short, Noel’s life could be said to be a series of surviving. Who would be able to defeat someone that survived so many crises? -Knowing that even the mercenaries wouldn’t be concerned about him.

But still.

‘I’m still worried.’

No matter how strong he was, he was not immortal. An arrow could hit him, or he could get injured by a surprise attack. Besides, how can someone not worry about their loved one in a dangerous place?

As Irene silently looked in that direction, the noisy mercenary corps took notice of her mood and tried to cheer her up.

“Madame, why don’t you freshen up before the Duke shows up?” 

“Huh? Ah sure.”

At Louiselle’s words, Irene checked herself. The hair that had been braided together was loose and all over the place, and her clean dress was soiled with dirt and sand. Not only would it be embarrassing to meet Noel in this state, but it would also be inconvenient to infiltrate the Imperial Palace in that state.

“Yes, sure.” 

“I will help. Let’s go inside.”

Irene, who decided to change to flexible clothes and brush her hair, followed Louiselle inside. The members of the mercenary corps looked at Louiselle, leading Irene, with admiration. With such a delicate appearance, no one would think that she’s capable of murdering someone with her eyes closed.

♔♔♔

“Sorry, I’m such a mess.”

Irene said apologetically to Louiselle. She sat down on a chair and started working on her hair. Without stopping the detangling process, Louiselle spoke.

.

“Your hair is always as smooth as silk.”

“Ah… thank you.”

Louiselle has always been like this. She always praised Irene like a Goddess. At first, Irene felt that it was burdensome, but as she gradually got to know her, she felt less burdened now.

Irene stopped fiddling with her fingers and took out her pocket watch that read 8:50; they were ten minutes away from 9 o’clock, the time when the Crown Prince said he’d open the door of the secret passage. If Noel didn’t come before that, she had to leave him behind.

“Will he make it on time…?” 

“He will surely come.”

Louiselle finally arranged all the hairs into place and said as she pulled Irene’s hair into a new braid.

“Your husband is strong, so he will definitely come back.”

“That’s right. Noel is strong.”

Although she had never seen Noel’s skills in person, Irene was sure. That he will never fail because he was skilled.

“It’s done.”

Louiselle took a step back after she finished working on Irene’s hair. Irene watched her reflection on the glass wall. It was neatly arranged. She looked the same as when she first stepped into the banquet.

“Would you like to go out and wait?”

Nodding to Louiselle’s question, Irene stood up and rechecked the time, 8:55 p.m. Now it was time to depart.

The moment Irene came out of the greenhouse.

“Leader! Why are you here so late?” 

“Do you know how long we’ve waited? Anyway, we’re running out of time!”

“…So noisy.”

Among the complaining voices, a low voice retorted in annoyance. Irene’s eyes widened at the familiar voice. Her Noel made it just in time and approached her in wide strides.

“Irene, are you hurt anywhere? Did you come across anyone on the way, or, ah, did you hurt yourself?”

Noel groaned as he looked at Irene’s collarbone. It had a wound she had received from hastily running through the dark forest without a care.

It was just a tiny cut, but Noel acted as if she was stabbed and needed surgery and was hanging between life and death.

Looking at her pitiful Noel, Irene shook her head.

“It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt at all.” 

“… I’m sorry I couldn’t be by your side.”