His home was a three-story detached house located on the outskirts of Aijet. Not only was it secluded and quiet, but it also matched Kyle Leonard’s personality, the way the interior was so neat and clean.

But according to what Paul had said, the owner of the house often went on business trips and pretty much lived at the headquarters of the Protection Bureau, so it was only three or four times a month that he came here. Kyle had told Noah that she should never live in a research laboratory, but he didn’t have the right to say that.

Noah, however, was also worried. So she laid out the conditions.

“If you promise to come home with me.”

“That’s right.”

“If you promise to cook for me.”

“You say that like I’ve never done that for you before.”

Of course, Noah wouldn’t deny that she fell for it when he said he’d cook for her.

But primarily it worried her that he was a workaholic. This was a fact that she had learned while talking to investigators who belonged to the Protection Bureau, but Kyle Leonard was quite the generous type to her, contrary to forcing her to have the right living rules.

In other words, it meant that his lifestyle was quite irregular. However, still, people have to rest at home as much as they work. If not, one may die of work overload.

Thankfully, her expectation that he would go home regularly if she begged him was right. Over the past ten days, Kyle has been coming home without missing one day, though he was late a few times.

The butler who was just going out wouldn’t know a thing of this deep meaning intended by his master. No matter how much Noah thought about it, it was not her who was arrogant, it was him.

As she was rolling the pie dough with a sulky look, a question came up.

“So. How is Baroness Asil’s condition?”

Helping him prepare dinner after work and reporting to him the events of the day had become her new habits over the past ten days.

“Not bad. Uhh, it takes some time for a soul which has been away for a long time to adapt, so she is sleeping in a subspace right now.”

“Will she be sent to the Protection Bureau right after she wakes up?”

That was a given. Though, of course, he wasn’t exactly sure when and how she would be sent there. Instead of confessing, Kyle stopped the ladle that was stirring the pot and looked back at her. Then, after lowering his head and kissing her left cheek, he calmly held out the ladle.

“Steamed egg.”

“…here. This is all planned out, right? Trying to make me get used to you so that I don’t rebel.”

“You caught me.”

Soft steamed eggs permeated the pot, where the meat, vegetables, and tomato sauce were cut and ready to eat. Both of Muell’s cheeks were dotted with powder as he tossed thin pie dough in the air.

“So, is the trial going well?” asked Noah.

“Should I say that it is? For now, we will push ahead with the maximum sentence that the Protection Bureau can do. Well… the image he built is so good that I don’t know how the Ministry of Justice will judge it. I have to demand the heaviest sentence,” said Kyle.

“Hmm. I see. I knew it; I guess aristocrats are a problem.”

“The Ministry of Magic’s business is the most funded in all of Laurent’s ministries. There are many areas of interest involved in this trial. We may have a chance to win if the emperor doesn’t interfere.”

The Emperor of Laurent… Noah remembered that some of the letters that had been sent to her had been stamped with imperial seals.

Softly scrambled eggs mixed evenly with the stew gave off a savory smell. Her thoughts about the emperor were gone in an instant.

“Can I try it before I put it in the oven?”

He soon put the spoon up to his lips. When he tasted it and nodded satisfactorily, the pie was lightly placed on a tray and into the preheated oven.

Kyle set the time and straightened his back again. Noah focused all her attention on the pie that was starting to swell little by little then continued the conversation from a little while ago.

“Can I ask why you’re willing to do that?”

“Eleonora?”

“Well… Baroness Asil and Adrian Rossinell.”

It slightly deviated from the previous topic. The way she said Adrian’s name without attaching ‘Minister’ was a bit sharp.

“You seem to be showing some enthusiasm, unlike your usual self,” Kyle pointed out.

Was that so? It was certainly a bother for her. Had Adrian been sent to the Protection Bureau and Eleonora naturally disappeared, it would have been a clean end to the investigation without any hassle.

Noah fell into thought with a spoon in her mouth. After a short silence, some of the emotions she had been feeling since Harrell flowed out of her lips.

“Something… Somehow, it seems that there is a very different but similar aspect to me.”

“Who?”

“Adrian.” She stopped there before quickly adding out of concern, “I’m saying this just in case, but I’m definitely not defending criminals!”

Kyle’s face was slightly stiff, but his body was facing toward her as if saying “Please, continue!”

Noah slowly tapped her memory as she gathered what she had to say. She recalled Adrian in the middle of the hotel’s gambling room on the first floor and Adrian on the railing on the fourth floor; his expressions; choices of words; his green eyes raging with countless emotions.

Those eyes had contained emotions unknown to Noah, but she felt that some of Adrian’s emotional storms could be understandable.