Chapter 89

The area around the Squire's manor was a residential district filled with the townhouses of wealthy nobles.

Naturally, among them were students from Valhalla.

The students were whispering to each other about the astonishing scene they had witnessed that morning.

Murmur, murmur.

Though I couldn't hear their words, I could guess what they were discussing from their gazes fixed on me.

It was probably about the emperor's gift and the possibility of Thérèse becoming empress.

‘Oh, my head.’

Where should I run to today?

The library? The abandoned annex? Or...

“Thérèse-sama!”

Before I could decide on a destination, the Cleye Club members rushed over with serious faces.

They swallowed hard and asked me in trembling voices.

“Is it true that His Majesty the Emperor proposed to Thérèse-sama?”

It seems the rumor has already reached the point of a proposal.

I opened my eyes wide and firmly denied it.

“Absolutely not. The gift sent to my family today is merely a reward for finding a way to purify the eroded land.”

The young nobles' expressions visibly brightened.

“Oh! So that's what it was! Then, um, the rumor that you might leave school and enter the imperial court...”

“That's also absolutely not true.”

At that moment, Lumio, who had been quietly hidden among the young nobles, muttered darkly with a shadowed face.

“But... I heard that His Majesty the Emperor has never given flowers to any woman before... *cough*.”

She clutched her small notebook and pen so tightly that they creaked.

“Thérèse-sama is so beautiful and enchanting... His Majesty the Emperor must have noticed it... definitely!”

Her eyes glinted strangely, and her dark circles were more pronounced than ever.

Her expression was that of a madman, completely lost in something and half-insane.

Dangerous.

If Lumio breaks her pen with her grip, a demon will be summoned!

I shouted desperately.

“There's no way! Even if that were true, I only have Clyde!”

If I run to Paradise, I'll be saying goodbye to this world and all its problems forever.

So I issued empty promises without hesitation to avoid the crisis at hand.

“I will never marry anyone but Clyde!”

“That's right.”

“Squeak!”

At that moment, a voice that absolutely should not have been heard came from right behind me.

I literally jumped in fright, screaming and stepping back.

“W-When did you get here?”

Clyde looked at me with a sidelong glance and mocked.

“Well? I heard your pathetic proposal from the beginning.”

He had heard everything from the start, and he was saying it in the most annoying way possible.