Chapter 6

She felt a chill. With her finger pointed at her, she had the sensation of being seen through from the other side of the mirror. The magic brooch was secretly developed by the court magician, but in the play of condemnation, it was camouflaged as a crystal ball used as a medium, so Chloe should not know about it.

"Is that brooch, Momoko... Momoko-sama's, right? I thought as much, but was I wrong?"

"I don't know what misconception you have, but this is just a cheap trinket you can buy at a market stall in the town below. I'm sure she just bought the same one."

It seems she had keenly noticed Momoko wearing it at school. Of course, Red Lion had given it to her, but it was careless to be suspected here.

"A cheap trinket from a market stall... Do you have such a taste?"

"If you want, I can give it to you. It might be a bit plain for a young lady like you."

The brooch was meant to monitor Chloe, so it would still be useful if she had it, but it would be troublesome if she noticed the mechanism and tampered with it. However, she stared at the brooch for a moment and then turned her face away.

"It's fine. Whether Momoko-sama gives it to anyone else is none of my business. But if Shin likes her, it would be better for him to return to the capital immediately rather than spending so much time with me."

"That's why I'm not going back. Do you really want me to leave so badly, Miss?"

Shin's words trailed off. Chloe immediately pulled her leather bag and stood up.

"At least for now... I want you to stay by my side."

"As you wish."

The tension in the scene was palpable.

"What's happening!?"

Dai shouted at Shin, who had drawn his sword to protect Chloe on the screen.

"It seems to be bandits."

"Bandits!?"

"The Nansonia Mountains have a dungeon, so there are many monsters, and exiles often band together and hide in the mountains, becoming bandits."

Indeed, that area had poor security, and requests for troop dispatches were frequent. Most of these were for hunting monsters, but bandit activity had also worsened in the shadows.

A scream rose from the screen. As the two tried to return to the carriage, the driver was killed. There were several bandits, and Shin was overwhelmed. In this situation, should Shin protect Chloe? Even if he let her be killed or taken away and violated, Red Lion and the others would not blame Shin.

Chloe was in a situation where she had no allies.