The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 179
Among the royal family, the only person who would send me an official letter like this is Shaelock.
‘But I’ll be seeing Shaelock soon.’
Is there really a need to prepare a letter like this?
I couldn’t understand it. Since I had never communicated through letters except when I was confined to the mansion because of Robert, my suspicion grew even more.
“Lady Karina?”
Elaine spoke to me from the side.
“Oh, I’ll just check the letter and then come out. Can you wait outside?”
“Yes, of course.”
Elaine nodded readily and left the room.
I sat at the desk and opened the envelope. Inside was a piece of paper with a smooth texture that looked expensive at a glance.
However, the sender was unexpected.
“…The Emperor?”
He was someone I had never met and never expected to meet.
‘He barely had a presence in the novel.’
The royal family was indeed favorable towards espers. I don’t know how the previous royal family was, but from the moment Shaelock was born as an S-rank esper, it was already decided.
If Shaelock were an esper, the position of espers had to be solid.
If Shaelock were a guide, it would have been a different story. In fact, guides might have been more famous than espers.
‘He didn’t seem particularly interested in guides.’
Why suddenly…?
Is it because I’ve helped Shaelock a lot? Maybe he wants to meet me without telling Shaelock.
The invitation to the palace seemed highly suspicious.
‘I should definitely ask Shaelock about this.’
Anyway, today was the day I was meeting Shaelock. The Emperor had asked me not to say anything, but that didn’t apply to me.
‘My life is important.’
I knew Shaelock wouldn’t casually repeat what I said.
I also needed to find out about the current relationship between Hedonia and the Emperor.
I decided to send a reply later.
‘I need to figure out what’s going on.’
I gently placed the letter back on the desk. Next to the desk was a small box.
It contained the necklace with fairy’s tears that Shaelock had gifted me.
Thinking about how Shaelock used to focus solely on her own guiding needs, I realized how much she had changed.
All the espers I had met had changed so much that it was hard to believe they were the same characters from the novel.
Thus, it was natural that the future I knew would also change.
Perhaps worrying about the potential darkening of the espers was a pointless exercise.
Since I was meeting Shaelock today, I decided to wear the necklace.
I fastened the necklace around my neck, making sure the chain was visible at the front. Its radiant glow was beautiful in itself.
‘It’s time to go.’
As I stepped out of my room, I saw Hedonia leaning against the wall beside my door. His expressionless face lit up with a smile when he saw me.
“There you are.”
He looked quite different in his uniform, which he usually wore while working.
“Shall we go?”
Hedonia extended his hand to me. As soon as I took his hand, his gaze landed on my necklace.
“I haven’t seen that before.”
“Lady Shaelock gave it to me as a gift recently.”
“Do you like necklaces?”
“Necklaces…?”
“Accessories like earrings or necklaces, I mean.”
Hedonia’s questioning was more persistent than I expected.
Accessories are nice to have.
“You don’t need to get me any. I prefer the ones I already have at home and don’t wear them much.”
Sensing that Hedonia might be planning to gift me something, I politely declined.
In truth, I wasn’t very interested in jewelry.
My days had been focused on ensuring my basic needs were met, and later, I put more effort into decorating the mansion or enjoying good food.
My interests were different. This necklace was special because it was a gift from Shaelock.
“Alright, I understand.”
Hedonia replied readily, but I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.
“Do you want to go ahead? I’ll join you shortly.”
Hedonia said he had some urgent paperwork to sign and sent me ahead.
‘…What’s going on?’
It seems like Hedonia wants to give me a gift. He didn’t seem to be hiding it much.
It’s nice that he’s thinking of me and preparing a gift. But I don’t like one-sided gestures.
‘Maybe I should prepare a gift for him too.’
I thought about giving him an accessory that would suit him.
‘A watch might be nice.’
I decided to ask Pheon or Shaelock about it. With this in mind, I headed towards the parlor.
