Chapter 343 : ???? Years Old (2)

Alexion’s opinion of Marquis Palatio had changed many times over, and to be honest, his first impression hadn’t been very good.

That was only natural.

Alexion hadn’t met the Marquis casually—it had been a forced encounter.

He had even been kidnapped for it.

And even after that, he had never really thought well of the Marquis.

After all, it was because of Marquis Palatio that Radan had dragged him away from his comfortable life in Raksas and forced him into the Marquis’ household.

Likewise, while it was true that Alexion had been able to work sincerely without any underhanded dealings thanks to Radan, if one traced it back to the source, it all led to the Marquis.

Looking back, there wasn’t any real reason for him to like the man.

And yet, Alexion did not dislike the Marquis either.

For one thing, the Marquis was far more normal than Radan, who had brought him here in the first place.

No, in a sense, Alon was closer to a virtuous man than a typical noble.

He always treated Alexion with courtesy, even though technically Alexion was someone he could have ordered around however he pleased.

The first proposal Alon had made to him regarding the auction house had been such a favorable contract that no one would believe it came from a noble.

Even when Alexion had caved to Radan’s threats and accepted unfavorable terms, the Marquis had recognized his effort and revised the conditions to be more generous.

And that wasn’t all.

When more tasks piled up, the Marquis compensated him with payments that were not only fair but perhaps overly generous.

In other words, Alexion had absolutely no reason to dislike Alon.

If anything, he sometimes worried about the man.

He couldn’t understand how someone so close to a saint could possibly have someone like that scoundrel Radan attached to him.

But right now.

Alexion wondered if perhaps he had been deceived all along.

Because—

“It’s Deus Macallian.”

“...Yes.”

If Marquis Palatio really were sane, there was no way he would have people like this gathered around him.

“Is the interview starting now?”

With arms crossed, Deus Macallian asked boldly.

Looking up at him, Alexion forced himself to steady his swaying body.

It had been dizzying enough when Rine Groff showed up earlier, but this was even worse.

“Um, Lord Deus Macallian?”

“What is it?”

“This round is to select a partner for the banquet...”

“I know.”

“...?”

He knows?

So if he knows, does he not understand why that’s a problem?

That absurd thought flashed through Alexion’s mind, but of course, no one would dare say such a thing in front of Caliban’s greatest swordsman.

“Lord Deus, the person being chosen this time is a young lady, not a man.”

He simply explained it politely.

“...A young lady, you say?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Caliban’s greatest swordsman frowned as though something had gone wrong.

The sight made Alexion’s head ache.

Still, he forced himself to continue.

“In any case, that’s why I think you may not quite fit the purpose.”

“Too bad. I even abandoned work to come here.”

Alexion wanted to retort, ‘We never even sent you a letter in the first place,’ but barely held it back.

“Then perhaps there’s a position for a guard?”

To that, Alexion answered with a lifeless expression.

“I’ll...look into it.”

“Much obliged.”

Deus nodded casually and left.

The door creaked shut, and his figure disappeared.

Seeing this, Alexion let out a small sigh and shook his head.

The interviews were already proving exhausting.

But only for a moment.

He quickly pulled himself together.

Deus was only the beginning.

There were still many more candidates to come.

Resolving himself anew, Alexion steadied his heart.

‘Come on, there can’t be another guy like that.’

He forced an artificial smile that didn’t match the heaviness in his heart and nodded to himself.

Sure, the Marquis was always surrounded by strange, dangerous, and eccentric people.

But what were the odds of another man stealing an invitation to an interview meant for a banquet partner?

“My name is Nangwon.”

“....”

There was one.

The dangerously intimidating man fixed Alexion with a threatening glare.

Naturally, Alexion had never sent such a letter to him.

And yet—

“By chance, the letter—”

“Here it is.”

With perfect confidence, Nangwon produced the letter.

Alexion stared at him and, on a wild hunch, asked,

“Forgive me, but...are you perhaps a woman?”

“Do I look like a woman to you?”

Nangwon’s blunt reply.

At that, Alexion closed his eyes.

And felt a sinking premonition that today was going to be an incredibly difficult day.

***

Fortunately, after Nangwon left, no more men entered the interviews.

But just as Alexion had predicted, the interviews were not easy.

“Seolrang!”

“Ah, yes—the letter—”

“Here it is!”

Seolrang thrust forward a half-crumpled letter.

Alexion silently accepted it.

The letter hadn’t even been opened.

It was strange.

Without even tearing it open or reading it, how had she come all this way claiming she wanted to be the Marquis’ partner?

Of course, Alexion knew well enough that asking such a question wouldn’t yield any real answer.

So he gave up on asking long ago and simply proceeded with the interview.

Thankfully, nothing particularly serious happened during her interview.

That alone was a relief.

And just when her interview was wrapping up more quietly than expected—

“Ah, there’s something I should tell you!”

“What is it?”

Seolrang put on an unusually solemn expression.

She looked as if she were about to utter something extremely dangerous.

Though confused, Alexion leaned in closer.

“Except for me, they’re all over six hundred years old.”

“...”

“Yutia is several times older than that.”

“???”

“I’m the only one anywhere near Master’s age. That’s what I’m saying.”

After revealing this secret truth, Seolrang smirked triumphantly.

“This is my win, right?”

And with that, she turned and left.

“???”

Only Alexion was left behind, bewildered at the incomprehensible situation.

Still, he remained professional.

Though still not fully clear-headed, he immediately called in the next candidate.

“Historia.”

“Yes.”

Unlike Seolrang, the next candidate was a woman with silver ears and tail, her vacant look making it hard to tell what she was thinking.

Or perhaps she only looked calm.

“The letter—”

“Here.”

...?

She handed Alexion more than five letters.

“Um, excuse me.”

“Yes.”

“There’s no letter from me among these.”

“...?”

None of the partner invitations Alexion had personally written were there.

“They’re all… other letters.”

“Ah.”

A quiet sigh.

“Does there have to be a letter?”

“Well… since we’re only interviewing those who received them, yes.”

“And if I don’t have one?”

“Then, of course, the interview—”

Alexion trailed off nervously.

After a moment of silence, Historia stood.

“I see.”

She left without another word.

“Stole the wrong one...”

Though expressionless, her twitching ears and drooping tail betrayed her muttered words.

She wasn’t even trying to hide that she had stolen it.

Alexion collected himself and called in the next candidate.

And when he saw who it was, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

An elf.

“Uh...?”

“Hello? My name’s Magrina.”

“The letter—”

“Here it is.”

She handed it over with a smile.

By now, Alexion accepted it as if it were normal.

‘At least this one actually opened the letter.’

Even if it was stolen, unlike the others she had bothered to pay attention to the details.

Instinctively, he thought he should score her higher for that effort—before sinking into self-loathing.

‘What does it matter how carefully they steal a letter when this is supposed to be an interview to find the Marquis’ partner?’

“We’ll begin the interview.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

And this time, to his surprise—

Everything went smoothly.

So smoothly, in fact, that it was exactly the kind of interview Alexion had been hoping for.

Feeling more relaxed than he had all day, Alexion proceeded—

“Hm?”

Near the end, he noticed something odd in her written application.

“Twenty-two...”

At once, he recalled Seolrang’s earlier words.

“Except for me, they’re all over six hundred years old.”

Those ominous whispers echoed in his head.

And so—

“May I ask one more question?”

“Of course.”

“You wrote your age as twenty-two... is that true?”

He asked calmly.

And Magrina nodded as if it were obvious.

“Yes, in human years.”

“...Human years?”

“Yes. As you know, elves live long lives. Surely you’re aware of that.”

“Yes, I’ve heard.”

“So, I’m twenty-two.”

...?

What kind of logic was that?

Momentarily dazed, Alexion cleared his throat and tried again.

But—

“Actually, you real age is over six hundred—”

“Twenty-two.”

“No, that’s not—”

“Twenty-two is correct.”

Her tone carried no intention of continuing the discussion.

No—

“...”

A dangerous magical energy began to gather in her palm.

Alexion had no choice but to nod in agreement and end her interview.

Finally, at last, came the final candidate.

“Ryanga.”

“Yes.”

He was greeted by a white-haired girl with violet eyes.

She radiated a faintly dangerous aura.

“May I have your letter?”

“Here.”

Yet despite her harsh appearance, she shyly handed it over and participated in the interview with the quietest demeanor of all.

By the end—

“Um...”

“Yes.”

“I’d like to be that man’s partner... please take care of me...”

Her cheeks flushed as she spoke, and the moment she finished, she bolted outside as if fleeing.

Alexion’s heart softened without him realizing it.

For a girl who looked so dangerous, her behavior had been disarmingly modest.

And in that, his worn, crumbling heart felt oddly healed.

Every other candidate had threatened or complained in some way.

But now, with a satisfied expression, Alexion nodded.

Finally, he could confirm his long day was at an end, and he let out a deep sigh.

Though the last interview had been easier, the exhaustion already built up was beyond fixing.

Alexion silently looked over the interview results.

All the evaluations were marked with incredibly high scores.

Of course, aside from one sheet, those scores weren’t truly his will.

Too often his life had been at stake to decide freely.

Some even contained details that weren’t true.

Especially the ages.

“Hm...”

Alexion pondered what to do about that.

After all, age was an important factor when considering a partner.

Tapping the score sheet with his finger, he finally decided to at least adjust the age scores roughly.

As he went through, raising ages across the board, he paused when he reached Yutia’s sheet.

According to what Seolrang had said, Yutia was over six hundred years old.

Naturally, that was hard to believe.

But it didn’t sit right to leave it unaddressed either.

“???? years old.”

That was how Alexion corrected Yutia’s age before leaving his office.

The next day—

“...?”

He felt something strange.

The interview sheets he had painstakingly corrected yesterday—

Why were they all back to the way they were?

No, it wasn’t just that they had reverted.

“...What?”

The scores were different from what he remembered.

The sheets that had reflected even a little of his intent now showed almost universally high marks.

Unable to hide his confusion—

BOOM!

A sudden explosion echoed, and Alexion instinctively turned to the window.

There he saw it.

Seolrang, trembling violently as she lay collapsed on the ground.

And Yutia, standing before him.

...

She looked up at Alexion with a smile.

And then, dragging Seolrang by the scruff of her neck into an alley—

Creak.

Alexion’s hands shook as he picked up his pen.

And that day—

Name: Yutia Bloodia

Age: ???? years old — 18

Yutia Bloodia became eighteen years old.