The White Moonlight and the Broken Diamond

“Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Mosolen.”

The atmosphere had shifted subtly, and Loya, caught in the middle, seized the opportunity to cut off the Second Young Master’s gaze.

“However, the center of the street, with people coming and going, is not the place to talk.

If you have other matters, please allow us to move elsewhere.”

Although he said that, Loya understood at a glance.

Mosolen’s expression couldn’t have been easier to read.

The Holy Sword Family’s Second Young Master was looking at his elf student the way a lovestruck young boy would look at his unattainable goddess, unilaterally deeming the other party to be his life’s direction, someone he must marry in this lifetime.

But the problem was—

Wasn’t he already engaged?

Following the classic style of a libertine noble, marriage was marriage and love was love, right?

Suddenly, he felt that this guy who was going to marry Kalandria wasn’t so worthy of sympathy after all.

In a way, it was a case of the wicked having their own tormentors.

“Ah, yes. I was being a bit inappropriate. I’m honored to meet such a beautiful elf lady, and I really wanted to sit down and share a cup of tea. However—”

Mosolen came back to his senses and slapped his forehead as if he had just remembered what he had hurried here on horseback to do.

He then offered a polite, noble young master’s smile.

“I regret to say that I have important matters to attend to and cannot stay any longer.”

“Well, since we are destined to meet, there may be opportunities to meet again in the future.”

“Ah, you’re right!”

Mosolen clapped his palm as if he had been reminded by Loya.

“Yes, there will be opportunities in the future. How about this? Let’s set a time—how about the day after tomorrow, in the evening, at the ‘Gift of Westay’? With the Ignivel family crest, you can freely enter and exit one of Florence’s top noble banquets.”

As he spoke, he handed over a small silver sword-shaped badge.

Timothée had no intention of accepting it at all.

‘Please, Teacher was just making polite small talk! And you actually took it seriously?’

But to her surprise, Loya accepted the invitation and took the badge.

“I am honored to accept the Second Young Master of the Holy Sword Family’s gracious invitation.”

Although she was a little annoyed that it wasn’t her receiving it, at least Teacher had agreed, so the student should come as well, right?

Mosolen nodded with a smile.

After turning and mounting his horse, he had already pulled on the reins, but he turned back again.

“At that time, both of you, please be sure to come together.”

He emphasized the word “both” heavily.

Only after seeing the teacher nod did he finally drive his horse away with peace of mind.

The young man left behind didn’t stay in place for long. Amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, he left with the elf girl.

Although the near-disaster didn’t cause any trouble, it was contrary to her wishes, and Timothée was very unhappy.

The look that guy gave her made her feel uncomfortable all over. She wanted to take a shower right now.

But Teacher readily accepted the invitation from that guy who wanted to curry favor…

She rushed to catch up with Loya.

“Teacher, are you really planning to go?”

Loya nodded.

“Well… later you’ll be working at the Holy Sword Family’s library. Getting along with the upper echelons of the family wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

“That’s… that’s right!”

Seeing his smile, Timothée suddenly felt enlightened.

Of course, she didn’t believe the surface explanation.

It was about Teacher’s true intention.

She almost forgot that Teacher wanted her to infiltrate the Holy Sword Family’s library to spy on the mysteries of the power within.

Now that they had the opportunity to get in touch with the upper echelons of the Holy Sword Family, of course he would gladly accept…

“Timothée.”

Loya suddenly turned his face, looking at her face-to-face with a serious expression.

Timothée shuddered, her cheeks flushed. She even lost the acting skills she was most proud of. For a moment, the little deer in her heart truly went wild.

“Wh-what is it, Teacher Loya?”

“—I need your help.”

Galloping on horseback, his mood was so good that he felt like there was wind supporting his hooves.

Although the speed hadn’t changed much, Mosolen felt very comfortable.

The playboy, who had roamed the love arena and trampled on wild flowers, had almost forgotten what it felt like to have a crush.

Now, his mind was filled with the image of the golden-haired, twin-tailed elf girl with black-rimmed glasses.

So wonderful, subarashii! How could such a beautiful existence exist in this world?

However, he forgot to ask her name.

But it didn’t matter; he would see her again the day after tomorrow.

Ah, no. He couldn’t wait! He wished he could fast-forward to the day after tomorrow!

As much as he wanted to, the troublesome matters couldn’t be omitted.

Thinking of his mother’s instructions, he felt like his head was splitting in two.

He had come non-stop from Schneidinger, the Holy Sword Family’s base, to Florence specifically to meet that damned marriage partner.

The Levincite Family’s eldest daughter, Kalandria.

He had seen this woman before at a noble annual ball.

She loved to show off, was full of superiority, and wasn’t gentle at all.

Just standing there, she would sparkle obnoxiously like a diamond, making everyone around her seem like dull, insignificant accessories.

In a word, she was completely treading all over Mosolen’s landmines.

What was even more unacceptable was that this woman was the leader of Florence’s famous top-tier adventurer team, Swan Lake.

Her adventures were so numerous that even children could make up songs about them, and she could be called a hero.

That’s how it looked to others.

But Mosolen knew that a woman who could lead a team to this position was synonymous with violence.

There was already a King of Knights at home who couldn’t even compare to her little finger.

This wasn’t a matter of comparison or not; it had already come to the point where when people mentioned Mosolen, their first reaction was, “Ah? The Holy Sword Family has a Second Young Master?”

He couldn’t accept marrying a woman who was stronger than him.

Especially in terms of identity, Kalandria was the eldest daughter, the heir to the next Levincite Family head.

He was just a doomed legitimate son destined to be rejected.

If they really got married, from the outside, he would just be a political gift from a noble family, a weakling being given away to be a live-in son-in-law.

He knew his mother’s thoughts all too well.

It wasn’t to find a backer for her son, but to use the marriage of the legitimate son to gather political capital for his older sister, the King of Knights.

Perhaps it was to prepare for his older sister to challenge the throne of the Pope!

Sometimes, he really wondered if she was his biological mother.

She obviously treated his illegitimate older sister like her own daughter. By now, perhaps no one even cared about this matter anymore.

Thinking of this, the good mood he had finally managed to accumulate from meeting the cute elf instantly vanished.

Before long, the Second Young Master of the Holy Sword Family, accompanied by his attendants, arrived at the bank of a wide river.

Riverside Manor, this was the place.

But there wasn’t a single servant in sight. As a guest, he even had to tie up his own horse.

It was Kalandria who had said she wanted to get married in a hurry.

But now that her own people had arrived, she was putting on the airs of a young mistress and didn’t even know to prepare the most basic welcome.

“She really looks down on people!”

Mosolen’s already low impression score fell past the bottom line again.