Chapter 376 Volume VI – 9: One Last Visit

*(A/N: Sorry… I was hospitalized for two days because of an illness and discharged only yesterday morning. That was why the chapter was delayed this much. I will try to make up for it. Also, this chapter was the last chapter of visiting others. The next chapter starts with the second year of the academy. I hope I didn’t bore you too much with these chapters.)*

Nobility… was something that brought a lot of changes to my life.

I was of course aware that some things would change. There were many differences between the common people and a noble, not just differences in status.

But before, I think I underestimated these changes… even if a little bit. And that was because of what I would gain as a noble. The fact that I was paying half the tax that I would normally pay, for example. Or priority and discounts at hotels, restaurants, teleportation centers, etc. Information, things, places that the common people cannot access no matter what they do…

There were indeed many advantages to being a noble.

But… not just ‘advantages’.

For example, there were meetings that I had to attend no matter what, now that I was the leader of a royal count family. On top of that, because I was a noble, I had to pay extra attention to my behavior, my appearance… everything. I was going to step into the political scene even if I didn’t want to. With social responsibilities and so on… things were getting difficult.

Well… especially for Clara.

She was affected, whether she wanted to be or not, more directly by the Tenebra Family gaining a social status than me. I mean… she was a noble now, even though she didn’t ‘yet’ have the same responsibilities as me. So her life changed too.

The first of these changes was the house. She could no longer live in an apartment… so she had to move to a detached house in a particularly noble neighborhood of Wiathen.

But she never pretended that these changes bothered her. She took everything calmly, she didn’t object… in fact, she accepted it and made it easy for herself. So the first week, the very beginning of the adjustment phase, was quite… easy.

For me… things were different.

In that one week, I had to deal with a lot of things… really a lot of things… so much so that my sleeping hours were reduced to two or three. I had to take some special pills so I wouldn’t die from lack of sleep.

But it was all worth it. It was worth every bit of it.

And why is that?

Because… I laid the foundation for most of what I had aimed for. Under my own name, or rather under the Tenebra Family, I created a company… or rather a group of companies. I didn’t think much about the name to be honest… I just put the family name. The full name was ‘Tenebra Group’.

I have already transferred the employees who were waiting for news from Ulka under the company, attracted funding from the Holar Republic as promised, and taken care of other matters.

Just a few minutes ago, I had also given approval to start construction on a building, the Tenebra Research Laboratories, which would start in a few days after the kingdom’s approval.

In short, I was extremely busy during this week! But… now, I had taken care of most things and I couldn’t find anything else to do.

I took a deep breath, leaned back on my couch, and stared at the ceiling.

Ulka and Alex are taking care of company matters, the dwarves are taking care of the fund and what I asked them to do, the kingdom is… quiet for now. There’s nothing for me to do anymore!

Although…

I paused for a moment, my eyes narrowing slightly.

Really… why is the kingdom so quiet? From what I heard from Ronald, the Order is on the move, they have already made contact with Cevilian. And not only with Cevilian, but with all of Lunerra. In short… they are aware of my existence as a wiera. I even confirmed it with my own mouth on the day of the nobility ceremony, so they have no doubts.

Then why are they silent? Why don’t they try to reach me?

I continued to think as I narrowed my eyes even more, and after a short while, I sighed slightly.

They want to watch me, most probably. They want to see what I’m up to… what my intentions are, whether I’m really ‘Aiden Tenebra’ or a spy using that identity.

So… I can’t do more than give them what they want, can I?

I will let them watch me… evaluate my actions. They will decide if I can be trusted. All the while giving me as much time as they can.

I have no complaints.

“Brother.”

All my thoughts were gone from my mind in an instant. My eyes slowly drifted away from the ceiling to the figure standing in the doorway of the hall. Then to the tray she was holding and the steaming glasses on top of it.

A smile appeared on my face.

“You can come, I’m not busy.”

Clara came to me with her lips curled upward. She placed the tray on the table in front of the sofa and then sat down next to me.

I lifted one of the glasses and took a slow sip.

As usual, the tea was just right.

“You seem… free today. What happened?”

“Like you said, I’m literally free. All I can do right now is… wait, that’s all.”

“Oh…”

She took a sip of her own tea, and then an awkward silence fell between us.

“Since you’re free… can we continue our unfinished conversation?”

I looked at her, raising my eyebrows slightly. It was only when she opened her mouth again that I realized what she was talking about.

“I’m talking about Paul.”

That’s right… that maniac was Clara’s boyfriend. For quite a while.

“It’s hard for me to say anything right now… it really is. But here’s what you need to know, Clara. That boy… he didn’t approach you because he loved you.”

Maybe I’ll break her heart a little… but it’s better that she knows the truth, isn’t it?

“He wanted to use you so he could approach me naturally. You probably know Saligia, that terrorist organization that came out recently. Paul is a member of that organization.”

Clara didn’t react, she just looked at me for a while.

“Why… was he trying to approach you?”

“I have no idea. But that’s my guess.”

“Are you… Are you sure about that? That he was a member of that organization, that he only approached me… for you?”

“I’m sorry, Clara… but yes. What Clairvoyance showed you, the fact that you couldn’t use my Memory Travel on him… everything supports what I’m saying.”

Clara first took a deep breath, closed her eyes. After a short time, she exhaled it back. When she opened her eyes again, she stared at the ceiling for a while.

I stood up slowly, picked up my cane, and quietly made my way out of the hall. I thought it would be better if she was a little… alone.

But just before I left the hall…

“Thank you, brother.”

My hand remained on the door handle.

“I… will be more careful from now on.”

I opened the door with my lips curving upward slightly. I said only one thing before I left.

“You’re welcome. And… I’m sorry.”

*******

The place I finally decided to go to when I had nothing to do… was a place I had visited before but then left.

As I was looking at the apartment building, which looked quite old, I relived the same feeling, the nostalgia, that I had when I came here a few weeks ago.

‘If you were going to come back here eventually, why did you wait so long?

As I entered the apartment building and went up the stairs, I answered the question in my mind.

‘I waited for things to… settle down a bit. To give her some time, for example. And now… I’ll check on her, did I do it wrong?’

Sith shrugged his shoulders.

‘I don’t know. It looks to me like you just ran away back then.’

I paused for a brief moment before pressing the buzzer for apartment number eight.

‘Who knows, maybe I really did run away…’

Sith didn’t answer. So, I quickly pressed the buzzer and stepped back, the first seconds passing in silence, waiting in the cool corridor of the building.

After a short while, the door in front of me creaked open.

I waited for the navy-blue eyes and black hair I recognized with a little… excitement that I tried to keep inside me.

And I found them.

However… the excitement in me vanished in an instant and I found myself staring blankly at the figure in front of me.

“H- huh? Aiden?”

Her voice entered my ears with a slight stutter. Just as I remembered, but much more… delicate and beautiful.

“Sue…?”

‘Huh?’

She wasn’t the only one surprised, and neither was I. Even Sith seemed surprised.

‘That’s… very interesting. How strange…’

But I didn’t take him seriously. Or rather… I couldn’t.

“Why are you… like this?”

She was beautiful. Too beautiful, even. Almost enough to make me question my memories of her. She had a charm that rivaled Lucia’s… maybe even surpassed her.

Sue ignored my question and studied my body for a while, as if to confirm that I was me. But then, as if remembering my question, she paused, her lips curling slightly upward. She gave a slightly evasive answer to my question.

“A lot has happened… since you left. Would you come in? I can… explain what had happened. We can talk, if you want.”

She stepped aside slightly, making way for me. And I… still in a daze… not understanding what was happening… went inside.

“Sure… that was what I wanted to do, actually…”

*******

I repeated everything I had heard several times in my mind, trying to digest it.

I knew, of course, that Adrian, Lucia, and Sue had been trapped in a dungeon and had gotten out a few weeks ago. It was news almost as big as my awakening. It was also the reason I woke up in the first place.

It was impossible for me not to know.

But I didn’t know that Sue had undergone such a change… I hadn’t seen any news about her anywhere.

A charm that suddenly shot up to S grade, a skill called Absolute Voice, which I didn’t come across in the game, and so much more…

All because she didn’t want to be ordinary? With such a simple wish, she experienced such a change…?

“I… understand. Well, I mean, I don’t quite understand, but… I do, I guess.”

It’s a bit… strange. Really strange. Sue looking like this, not being ‘ordinary’ anymore…

What the hell happened in Lunerra when I went into a coma?

“I mean, it’s just… like this now. There’s not much to tell.”

Sue sighed slightly, then smiled.

“Still… forget about me, but I’m glad you’re back. I really am… and thank you for visiting me in person.”

She looked as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders. As if… relieved.

“You’re welcome, I just… came to see how you were.”

It wasn’t wrong, I really came only because of this.

Still… there was also an another thing I wondered.

“But… I have a question.”

I asked my question quickly as I studied how she smiled, how relaxed she looked.

“Paul… your brother, I mean.”

Sue’s eyebrows raised slightly, but then she paused, as if realizing something.

“Oh, you mean why isn’t he home? He said he was going out of town a few days ago. That’s why he’s not here. He also said I probably wouldn’t be able to reach him. He hasn’t been answering his phone for a while… but I’m waiting for the day his trip ends.”

Oh…

Really?

I fixed my eyes on the floor, waiting for a brief moment. I thought about what I should say, what I should do.

And finally…

“I understand…”

My lips curled slightly upward. I lifted my eyes from the floor.

“By the way… I was really hungry, is there food?”

I could already smell it, whatever was in the kitchen was fresh and it wafted into the living room.

Sue stood up quickly and made her way to the kitchen.

“Sure! I’ll bring it right away, I’m hungry too!”

She just walked out of the living room. And I just… stared after her.

I really hope that I didn’t make the wrong decision… here.

I just… couldn’t.

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