Chapter 22: Excuses

Irene paused at the sound of the rustling in the hedges. Her eyes narrowed, and she turned to the Crown Prince.

"Just in case, let's continue this conversation later. Before any...rodents can make an appearance. I've already made it clear what my terms are. Send a letter if you're interested. It's your call," she said.

The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow and nodded. They weren't exactly in the best place to be discussing potentially sensitive matters like this.

"Alright. Chances are people would get suspicious if we stayed out any longer anyway. I'll be in contact, but know that I also have some conditions. Every good cooperation needs some compromise..." Nikolai said, turning around.

"Yes... But I believe that our goals may be more aligned than you may think," Irene said.

Nikolai looked back with a thoughtful expression but turned back around with a shrug, heading back to the Irene celebration party that currently had no Irene.

Irene was left alone, or at least it seemed like she was. The girl looked back at the bushes that had rustled a bit ago. She took a step closer but then turned around. There were still animals on these grounds, and she might just waste time checking where that sound came from. It was time to rejoin the festivities and act like nothing happened.

And, even if it was a person back there...they couldn't do anything to stop her.

---

After both the Crown Prince and Irene left, the youth hiding behind the hedge took a deep breath. Their conversation was cut before Irene could air Iris out, but somehow that managed to make Yunho more nervous when he thought about it some more. Nothing was actually stopped from occurring; he just made it so it would happen in private, which was arguably not to his benefit.

Yunho had never had to make such important choices in his original life. Suffering from a terminal illness wasn't easy at all, but he didn't have to scheme his way out of imminent exile. Plus, it was already hard for him to accept that he had managed to defy what he believed to be the bounds of reason and science after death.

Maybe the rock plan wasn't the best...but also, if you think about it, he never even got to follow through with that idea! A certain man who was currently staring him down had made sure of that...which, after managing to not be caught by Irene or the crown prince, brought him to the issue currently at hand.

The Northern Grand Duke looked down at him and crossed his arms.

"So...you mentioned an explanation? Why did you follow the next high priestess and the Crown Prince?" The Duke said, raising a defined brow.

Yunho nodded, but truthfully, his mind was blank. He cursed the forces of this world for the nth time in only a few hours. He had to make an excuse ASAP. "I'm actually a transmigrator from another universe in which this universe is a book" wasn't going to fly. Yunho was racking his mind, but he finally thought of something. He softened his facial expression and fiddled with his hands, lowering his eyes. This wasn't out of sincerity but because he was too nervous to look Dorian in the eye.

"Oh, your grace, it's just that I happened to see my dear sister leaving her party with a man... I only wanted to confirm her safety," Yunho said. Heh, how could the Grand Duke deny such a considerate brother...?

Dorian narrowed his eyes. If Iris really saw Irene leaving, he would've seen that the person she dragged out on her own wasn't just a random man but the Crown Prince of the kingdom. But it wasn't unbelievable that a brother would still be concerned. However, what still didn't make sense...

"That's touching, but it doesn't explain why you were about to throw a rock? Even if you unintentionally hit them, it could still be considered treason," the Duke replied.

Treason?! Yunho gulped. He was forced to deploy a random excuse.

"Oh, that was not my intention at all... I was just stretching my arm..." Yunho said, losing some confidence.

Dorian blinked twice.

"By throwing rocks at night?"

Yunho just ran with it. There was no easy way to back out now.

"Yeah, it's good for the bones..."

"..."

The Duke immediately rubbed his brow. He didn't believe that, but then again, he had heard of Iris's change of personality lately. So, maybe it was insanity...

He still remembered a certain person tackling him in a village alleyway while he was, in disguise, observing the conditions of the land and people under his jurisdiction. Then, Dorian had been so befuddled at the audacity demonstrated and amused at how simple it was to get away from them when they seemed so determined. But the amusement hadn't lasted long after he remembered the plight of the blight and subsequent famine.

On that topic, Dorian grew less tense. The one in front of him now had done a lot in combative efforts against the famine before even him, introducing Frostwreath, an edible plant that was resistant to blight. Iris didn't erase the entire issue of famine, but Dorian knew that his northern territory would be far worse for wear without Iris de Evastine's help. He did owe him for that.

The Duke was about to bring this up when footsteps approached where the two men were standing.

"Young Master, are you there? Young master?" A voice called out. It grew closer as someone's shadow could be seen approaching.

Dorian watched the shadow approaching with suspicion, but Yunho's eyes twinkled in recognition of the voice.

His thoughts screamed:

"Yes, please do come to my rescue!"

---

After Nym was forced to fess up to his and Aris's 'whoopsie-daisy' at the festival, Rizer couldn't even get mad, which would just be a waste of time. He sighed and massaged his brow before making eye contact with the two servants."

"We'll split up. Aris and I will search the left side of the hall and the front of the estate. Nym, you take the right side and the surrounding grounds. If you truly have no luck or do find the young master, circle back to the refreshments table," he said.

Nym knew it made sense for Aris and Rizer to team up; the butler wasn't in his prime, and Aris was a solo girl. But Nym still felt a bit aggrieved. Can't he have a partner, too? But with only three of them, who would be his partner? A ghost?

So, Nym walked around the event hall aimlessly, trying to get a glimpse of any sign of his young master. Silver hair, a pearl mask, anything... He became more and more anxious as time passed. There was also whispering in the hall as some wondered about the whereabouts of Irene, who a few guests realized hadn't been seen recently.

Nym caught these whiffs of conversation and became thoughtful.

Is it possible that Irene and Iris were in the same place?

But soon enough, Irene did make a reappearance, and Nym noticed that she had come from the direction of the court gardens. With all of his other options exhausted, he decided to try outside. Nym would just have to hope that Rizer and Aris were having an easier time tracking the young master down.

Nym exited the event hall and entered the court gardens. There was the sweet smell of roses, grass, and fresh air hanging around the grounds. Nym could immediately trace where the rose scent was coming from: the multitude of green and red rose hedges that adorned the garden. Taking minimal time to appreciate his surroundings, Nym navigated through the rose hedges. He stopped to rest for a bit when his ears suddenly picked up on the sound of...people talking coming from behind a nearby hedge?

Nym decided to take his chances and walked towards the sound, calling out, "Young Master, are you there? Young Master?"

He finally reached the hedge and peeked behind it. His eyes twinkled as he saw who it was. Standing there was an Iris who was completely unharmed and regular except for the fact that he was looking in the opposite direction with a bewildered expression. Nym didn't acknowledge this and rushed towards his young master, his anxiety relieved.

Yunho, who just saw the Grand Duke nonchalantly jump a hedge in record speed and keep on going without being noticed: "..."

Come to my world, ah? The Olympics clearly need you...

Dorian just didn't want to be seen by another person before rumors would begin to spread about "secret trysts." That could kill him from madness before even a trained assassin could. He had already been planning to visit Iris to thank him, so he had no issue with making a sudden departure like that.

He forgot that the average person wasn't like Nikolai or his troops and wasn't accustomed to people truly leaving no matter what

---

Yunho, now with his mask fastened back to his side, walked with Nym back to the refreshments table, where the butler and Aris already were standing with grim expressions. They were obviously nervous because they hadn't found the young master on their side.

Aris looked up, and her eyes brightened as she saw who was with Nym.

"You found the young master!" She said, letting go of the breath she didn't know she was holding.

Rizer also let out a deep breath. He deeply bowed, "Young Master, these servants apologize for losing you. And I apologize on behalf of Aris and Nym for them having lost track of you previously."

Yunho shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. It had been his fault both times...

"Raise your head, Rizer. It had been my own will to break off from you three. There isn't a need to apologize. In fact, I'm sorry for causing so much worry."

Rizer rose from his bow and smiled. The butler nodded, "Still, I take responsibility."

Yunho looked around the event hall before facing the three servants again, "But, I do think I'm ready to leave." He would feel too awkward staying. He could always social network at another event, particularly one that wasn't held to celebrate the person destined to order his exile. (Though she had valid reasons, it was just that in every sense but physical, Iris was a changed man.)

The three servants nodded. They had reached their "excitement" quotas for the week...

---

End of Chapter 22