Chapter 228


    This all boiled down to Ise thinking that Carynne was the reason Raymond didn’t love her. Therefore, Raymond thought it would be okay if he broke up with Ise in a way that smeared his own reputation.


    “Sir Zion, are you doing well with the task I assigned to you? Of spreading rumors about me?”


    “I spend at least an hour criticizing you every time I meet Miss Ise, Sir Raymond.”


    Zion answered promptly.


    “Do you want to hear the details?”


    “…No.”


    Zion Electra’s words must be true. Rather, it might turn out to be an eventual problem because he was trying too hard. Recently, even Marquis Penceir sent a letter. It was a letter advising that Zion’s behavior was too dissolute.


    “…Just continue what you’re doing.”


    “Understood. I’ll keep working hard.”“…Alright.”


    The worse his reputation, the more it would help Carynne, in various ways. But Raymond was so displeased and worried about how Ise treated Carynne that he was nearly falling into depression.


    Even if he had broken up with Ise and even if Ise didn’t know about his rtionship with Carynne, and even though Zion yed along to his whims, the rtionship between Ise and Carynne was another problem. Removing himself wouldn’t necessarily make Carynne and Ise close friends.


    Fundamentally, Ise didn’t like women her age very much, and Carynne also had almost no friends around her. Moreover, possibly because of her long experience amodating Ise’s whims as a maid, Carynne continued to show such steadfast deference to Ise.


    But to Raymond, that looked more like she was entering a lower hierarchy, not bing friends. It seemed even more tantly hierarchical than his and Zion’s rtionship. When Ise left Carynne with her luggage and went out with Zion, Raymond was so angry he wanted to challenge Zion to a duel.


    “What’s wrong with Carynne…”


    “That’s one thing, and this is another. Do you know what being overly self-conscious is? Sir Raymond, she might dislike you regardless.”


    “Shut up, Zion.”


    “Yes, shall I leave then?”


    “No, don’t go, Sir Zion.”


    “Ugh, seriously, what do you want me to do? Miss Ise and Lady Carynne Hare have to figure it out themselves.”


    “Why does Ise Evans speak to Carynne like she’smanding a toon?”


    At the repeated line, Zion looked at Raymond, who seemed about to melt into the floor in his depression.


    Love may change people, but Raymond had changed <i>too</i> much in a short time. Was it because it was his first rtionship? He seemed to have be strange too quickly.


    Until just a few months ago, he was a very rational superior, but how had he ended up like this?


    Zion clicked his tongue.


    “You’re drunk, Sir Raymond.”


    “I’ve said before, I’m not drunk, Sir Zion.”


    “You look no different from being drunk. Can you let me go now? I also need to meet Miss Ise.”


    “Why does Ise—”


    “Stop it. And right now, Miss Ise is dating <i>me</i>. If you continue to speak ill of her, I won’t stay quiet.”


    “If you won’t stay quiet then… <i>Haa.”</i>


    Raymond straightened up. In the dimly lit store, his only eye shone.


    “Sir Zion, are you really together with Ise now…?”


    “Please consider my feelings too, seeing her ex-fiancé right in front of me. Miss Ise isn’t necessarily a good person, but she <i>is</i> charming. There must be some reason for her actions.”


    “That’s unexpected. Honestly, I’ve never understood your rtionships with women.”


    Raymond straightened his posture and looked at Zion with an unfamiliar gaze. Zion, with a displeased expression, handed him a bottle of alcohol.


    “As I’ve mentioned before, my love is always genuine.”


    However, Zion’s wordscked credibility considering his history with women. Zion and Raymond got along well in some aspects, particrly inbat, but they did not see eye to eye when it came to interpersonal rtionships.


    “…Well, I’m not one to talk.”


    “I’m d you realize that.”


    “Then, as the person who saved your life, I have one request. Please help improve the rtionship between those two.”


    “No. I refuse.”


    Zion was rmed by Raymond’s request.


    Ise and Zion had just started their rtionship. And he was supposed to talk to Ise about Carynne? Mentioning another woman in front of the one he’s dating waspletely out of the question.


    Zion, who was desperate to keep women happy and was good at it, firmly declined walking into that pit of fire. The problem was that the one making the request was none other than Raymond.


    “Do I need to remind you of everything I remember?”


    “Ahh, Sir Raymond! Why bring up that issue again? Issues between women should be resolved by women themselves. Why are you interfering… I just don’t understand.”


    Towards the end, Zion’s voice trailed off. He owed his life to Raymond, and not just once. Raymond had not emphasized it, so Zion had forgotten. Zion acknowledged that he had to listen.


    But even so, Zion couldn’t understand why Raymond was going to such lengths. Not even married men concern themselves with their wives’ friendships to this extent.


    “I just wish Ise would be kinder to Carynne.”


    A sigh escaped Zion at Raymond’s earnest expression.


    “…That’s between the two of them. Just let it be. Rtionships aren’t something others can meddle in. And they haven’t even known each other that long.”


    “You and Miss Ise have had enough time to grow close, why haven’t Ise and Carynne by now?”


    “People are different, you know. With time, you’ll see whether they get along or not. From what I see, they don’t seem to mesh well.”


    “Then that’s a problem.”


    Raymond responded with a despondent voice.


    “There’s not much time.”


    “What are you talking about?”


    “……”


    He did not speak any further.


    * * *


    “Isn’t arriving on time the least bit of courtesy?”


    Fortunately, Ise hadn’t left and was still at the fountain in the promised square, though her expression was icy. Zion inwardly clicked his tongue at his own blunder.


    Zion absolutely detested meddling in other people’s trivial rtionships. Knowing when to step out ofplex affairs with women was his creed. If you don’t know when to extract yourself, you could end up stabbed.


    Instinct screamed not to bother with unnecessary matters. What’s the point? It’s neither a love affair, a blood rtion, nor a friendship. Why should he get involved in other people’s business?


    There was hardly enough time to focus on Ise right in front of him. Zion bowed to kiss Ise’s hand. The courteous gesture seemed to please her, as her voice softened overhead.


    “I won’t wait again in the future.”


    “It won’t happen again.”


    “Never again.”


    “Yes.”


    Ise seemed about to say more but then stopped. Her cheeks were puffed in anger, but the sight of Zion’s smooth face seemed to soften her anger. Zion Electra’s straight nose brushed over the back of Ise’s hand, and his round eyes gazed at her.