Chapter 49: A Conversation With Carlisle

Achoo. Achoo. I sneeze in rapid succession. Someone must be gossiping about me. I hope it's not a bad word. I look to the side and see Carlisle looking disgusted. I'm not going to spit on you, so you don't have to make such an obvious face, okay?

He said in a whisper when he noticed my gaze.

"This is what happens when you're not properly educated."

"Unfortunately, I didn't have a handkerchief handy. Well, I may have a bad educated, but it's nothing compared to those who tell lies that are easily discovered."

His face changes color in response to my words.

"You're not going to tell my sister about 'that', aren't you?"

"What do you mean by 'that' thing?"

I show him a quick look.

Carlisle looks back and confirms that he is a distance away from Eilia. The road is in the mountains, so Carlisle and I are walking a short distance apart on patrol, with Eilia and Carrie about 20 paces behind us, and Comba equally far away, serving as our shinigami. Eilia and Carrie are chatting amicably.

"Are you going to play dumb?"

"Oh no, no, no. I don't know, what's 'that' thing you're talking about?"

He makes a thoughtful face.

"I'm talking about the suspicion that you were carrying counterfeit money."

"Huh?　I thought I was cleared of suspicion on that one."

Carlisle clicks his tongue.

"I'm talking about me who's trying to plant fake gold money in your house."

"Oh. That story. I didn't expect that Eilia's brother, who is like a saint, would try to take such a step. I'm sure your sister would be saddened if she knew about it."

"Are you trying to threaten me?　You thief!"

"I don't like it. You've suddenly become quarrelsome. If you speak too loudly, they will notice. I don't want to lie to them when they ask me what we're talking about."

Carlisle unclenches his fist.

"Besides, even if I keep quite, Carrie might tell her. Someone else is making her quit as a knight. She's the one who's really on the short end of the stick here. She could sue her and say, "Actually, I had to quit my knighthood because of your brother.""

"I don't really care about that. She's a stranger to my sister. But not you. I don't know why, but she thinks you are a respectable person. If you tell her, she will probably take your side. And I bet she will rub her forehead at your feet and apologize. I can't stand the thought of my sister bowing down to a sneak like you!"

"That's exactly what you deserve, rust from your own body. That's what you get for trying to set me up. Why did you try to pin the blame on me in the first place?"

Carlisle clammed up. Well, I could guess. He must have thought it was a good opportunity, fearing that Eilia's fondness for me, which she harbors from a misunderstanding, would turn into affection.

"Well, you know. I'm not going to talk about it. I haven't done any real damage. I'm not going to talk about it because it won't do you and your sister any good for a single copper coin. To be honest, I don't like the idea of making Eilia feel sorry for me and taking advantage of that. I'm afraid that my plating is going to come off in no time. That would be faster than a counterfeit money rubbing off and exposing its contents."

Carlisle looks surprised, but his cheeks are loose.

"But it can't be for free, can it?"

"After all, it's all about money. Well, you're a thief, so that's make sense."

"Don't get me wrong. It wasn't for me. Pay Carrie some money, otherwise, I feel sorry for her."

This time Carlisle looks astonished.

"You're okay with that?"

"Well, I have a lot on my mind, but I don't think I'm going to take money from you on this one."

Twisting his head in thought, Carlisle gives me a skeptical look.

"You're not trying to trick me, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I'd rather you stop making eye contact with me from now on."

"If you're going to leave my sister alone, I don't have time to deal with you either."

"I can't do anything about Eilia's misunderstanding."

"I know that too......"

Carlisle's tone was bitter.

"She's got a personality like that. I've had my hand in it and I've been careful with the people around her, but I never thought she'd be so easily fooled by a bandit-like person who was hired as a temporary scout."

"Well, I'm not going to let this one drag on if you can convince Carrie. If not, we've got a lot of trouble on our hands."

"It's still not right. You're hiding something, aren't you?　The uncle who had the counterfeit money said he received them from you. Sure, you're a good substitute for a redeemed sheep, but there's more to you than that. They were telling the truth, weren't they?"

"I don't know. No one would benefit from a rehash now, including you."0

Carlisle shuts his mouth, perhaps sensing the warning in my line.

"But still, it's quite troublesome to have good-natured sister. Why don't you just have her get married to someone who is worthy of your attention? How about Zeigt?　He's a holy knight, no complaints, right?"

Carlisle snickered. Suddenly his demeanor became more serious.

"What, you don't know?"

"I don't know what?"

"The Holy Knights don't care about my sister."

"Heh, you really said that about your sister that you're proud of?"

"Well, I don't blame him. You know, when the year is up, Zeigt-sama is going to get married."

"Eh? What?! He's so watery that he doesn't even tell me!"

"Well, he can't talk about it in public, you know."

When I see Carlisle's face, he looks proud, his nostrils flaring.

"Well, it's going to be made public soon anyway. I'll tell you something special. Zeigt-sama's bride is Eleora-sama, the fourth daughter of His Majesty the King. As expected, in the position of His Majesty's daughter-in-law, even my sister is no match for her."

Huh?　What?