Chapter 68} Atala Plans to Leave Temporarily
"...And hello to you, Miss Anna Garland."
When facing Anna, he remained neither humble nor pushy, maintaining the demeanor befitting a noble.
Anna nodded but said nothing.
"And this beautiful elf, Miss Atala."
After greeting everyone, he stood there, looking at Louise.
"Please have a seat, Lord Theodore," Louise, as the host, invited him to sit on the sofa.
"Might I ask the purpose of your visit, Lord Theodore?" Although everyone knew why he was here, it was necessary to play dumb at this moment.
"...Of course, it concerns the matter of Philsey Bill developing a private force with the intent to rebel."
His attitude then became quite humble.
"Regardless, all of you are direct participants in this incident. I need to hear as much as possible from each of you to provide His Majesty with a comprehensive account of the details of this event..."
"I believe we already discussed this yesterday," Louise's expression remained unchanged as she stared at Theodore.
"Of course, both Lady Louise and Countess Helga have provided relatively rigorous and objective accounts of the incident. However, you are not the only ones involved, are you?"
His gaze shifted to Anna. "I also need to hear Miss Garland's account, as according to reports, she was the one who discovered Philsey's issues."
"Me..." Anna ignored the glances from Louise and Helga, calmly looking at Theodore.
"What do you want to know?"
"Can you tell me why you suspected Philsey?"
The question was quite direct.
Anna's lips curled slightly:
"Intuition."
"...Intuition?" Hearing this, Theodore's polite smile nearly faltered.
"Miss Garland, are you serious?"
"Of course, I am being very serious right now."
As Anna spoke, she gently clasped her hands on her lap.
"Just like now, my intuition is telling me that Lord Theodore, your malice towards me is not ordinary."
"..."
This statement instantly caused an awkward silence.
Theodore's smile almost broke, but he quickly regained his composure.
"I think... Miss Anna, you are mistaken. I hold no malice towards you..."
"The moment you said that, your malice became even more apparent."
"..."
His lips twitched slightly, and Theodore let out a soft breath.
"I apologize. Since Miss Anna distrusts me so, this inquiry must end here."
"Actually, I never intended for Anna to undergo your questioning," seeing Anna's direct confrontation, Louise also abandoned any pretense of noble etiquette, her attitude towards Theodore turning noticeably cold.
"If there's nothing else, Lord Theodore, you may leave."
"Very well."
Theodore stood up, bowed slightly to the four present, and left without showing a trace of hostility on the surface.
After watching the old butler escort Theodore out, Louise's expression immediately fell:
"Senpai! You could have refused his inquiry! As my partner, you have that right."
"Even if you say that, I would feel uncomfortable saying nothing at all..."
"Never mind, Anna didn't reveal anything important anyway. In fact, there really wasn't much to tell him," Helga waved her hand dismissively.
"That Theodore... did he really have ill intentions towards you, Anna?" Atala, sitting to the side, was curious.
"Yeah, weren't you just bluffing him?" Helga also looked at Anna.
"...How could I be? I really did sense his hostility."
The moment Anna locked eyes with Theodore, her keen intuition kicked in.
Her intuition was telling her that the person before her was very dangerous, and his hostility towards her was profound.
...It wasn't so much hostility as it was a kind of "loathing," not towards Anna as a person, but towards some kind of "anomaly" within her.
"Anna's intuition is really something..." Hearing Anna's affirmation, Atala sighed in admiration, then paused in thought.
"By the way! I forgot to tell you something."
"Huh? What is it?"
Seeing Atala suddenly become serious, Anna was puzzled.
"It's like this... I actually plan to continue my journey."
"...You're leaving?" Helga beside her was taken aback.
"Yes," Atala nodded. "In fact... I plan to leave this place the day after tomorrow."
"I see..." Anna blinked a few times, feeling an inexplicable sadness.
"Then it will be hard for us to meet again..."
"Well... I don't think it's that bad," Atala shook her head.
"Aren't you planning to go to the royal capital?"
"Yes, I need to take over my family's old house... and also find out which ancestor of mine offended the pureblood faction," Anna nodded, then suddenly realized, "Wait... Atala, are you planning to go to the royal capital?"
"Yes, I want to see what the royal capital of the human kingdom is like."
"The royal capital..."
Upon learning that Atala was heading to the royal capital, Anna inexplicably felt relieved.
"Since we're both going to the royal capital... why not come with us..."
"No, that's alright," Atala declined Anna's invitation.
"Actually... I have some matters to attend to as well."
"I see."
Anna wasn't the type to pry into others' private affairs.
Since Atala had given such a vague response, Anna didn't press further.
"Then... I wish you a safe journey?"
"I haven't left yet, why the farewell wishes?" Atala found it both funny and frustrating.
"I'm still in town tomorrow."
"How about a farewell dinner at my place tonight?" Louise suddenly suggested.
"Even though we'll meet again, a brief separation is still worth commemorating."
"No, no, a farewell dinner is completely unnecessary..."
Seeing Atala shake her head like a rattle-drum, Louise shrugged and said no more.
"I appreciate your kindness, but it's really not necessary..."
"How is it not necessary?" Helga raised an eyebrow.
"How can we see off a friend without some gesture?"
"Regardless, no farewell dinner! I'm not very fond of human food anyway.”