âNo, I meant, I was just going to be nicer to him. Adrian has a soft spot for me.â Noah quickly clarified.
âWhat if something really bad happens?â
âUmâ¦â
ââTrust me, I know what Iâm doingâ⦠If you give me an answer like that, Iâll never see you again.â Kyle was so relentless that Noah had to nod her head in silence. âOkay, I wonât.â
âThe fact that you thought of doing it itself shows that Miss Noahâs thinking is problematicâ¦â
âI will not touch a strand of Adrianâs hairs, I swear.â
In the meantime, Noah felt a subtle satisfaction. Perhaps it was because there was a chance that she wasnât stuck in an unrequited crush. For a moment, she thought of poking Kyle a little more, but realized shortly after that it was enough, and snickered inwardly.
âSo, where are you going on a business trip?â
ââ¦Noviscosha.â
âIf itâs Noviscosha⦠The Northeast?â
Kyle replied stiffly with a disgruntled look. âYes, when I dismantled these fragments and identified their origin, it was a magical ore from one of the mines in Western Noviscosha. Among the minerals that come from the mine, the Mane Ore is especially precious and is directly reviewed by the Ministry of Magic.â
âOh. Then, the content of the collection and usage would be certain, but the records of the Magic Department did not say that it was used to make this kind of machine man?â
âYes, Iâm going to go to Noviscosha first and search for illegal routes through which the Mane Ore is distributed. There are cases that need to be solved there anyway.â
To make at least five such sophisticated machines, there must be a manufacturing plant somewhere that processed and assembled gemstones.
If Kyle followed the route where Mane Ore was secretly extracted from Noviscosha, he would find a factory or a lab that created them. He could also rob them and discover where the finished products were delivered, Noah thought.
If he traces their tails, Kyle would eventually find out who designed the machines. Was it really Adrian who did all this? If so, what was he planning to achieve?
âMiss Noah, if youâre thinking about something weird againâ¦â
âNo, Iâm not. I just chose the wrong word before. Seriously, why would I do such a nuisance?â
With Noahâs persuasive words, Kyle gradually stopped his nagging, although he was reluctant. As they stepped out of the glass door, Noahâs thoughts still lingered on Adrian. But soon she inadvertently stopped when she glimpsed a video that was flashed on one side of the room.
ââ¦.?â
The bottom of the video was covered with blood. It seemed Kyleâs hand was wiping the recorder to remove the blood off the lens.
I donât think itâs edited yet. Butâ¦
âWait a minute.â
Noah didnât want to leave just yet, feeling strange. She passed by Kyle, who was trying to lead her out of the room, and went straight to the tape recorder. Without hesitation, Noah turned up the volume of the video.
ââ¦Just tore off your waist just as much as you broke my shoulder. Even if you say that, you canât be fine. Am I right?â
âItâs not hard to move my limbs, unlike you with your right arm blown away.â
Before the conversation could continue, Kyle, who came in a hurry, turned off the tape recorder. Noah blinked for a moment, and then her gaze landed on Kyleâs waist. She wasnât able to notice because he had been wearing a black shirt for daysâ¦
âSir, youâre hurtâ¦â
âIt wasnât a big deal.â Kyle hastily interrupted.
At his feeble excuse, Noah didnât spare a response. Instead, she grabbed Kyle by the collar of his shirt.
*
After a long scuffle, it was already late at night that they had returned to Eleonoraâs mansion.
Kyle had looked around Noahâs bedroom for the fifth time. She had insisted that her room was in shambles, but it was exactly what he had left the day before yesterday. If anything differed, it was only a loose quilt and a rug with a folded corner.
â¦Iâm not in my right mind.
Kyle kicked the folded rug to straighten it out.
In fact, he had sworn to himself several times not to enter a ladyâs bedroom as much as he could. As he had realized on the ferry to Tezeba, it was not polite to intrude freely into the most private space of unmarried women.
No matter how courteous he was, and no matter how⦠Even if Noah didnât have any s*xual meaning in bringing a man into the bedroom.
However, he was in Noahâs bedroom today as well. Kyle frowned and thought, âWhy am I here?â