Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 327
TL: Elphie / PR: Mikan
After that day, Irene didnât appear for quite some time.
Even on the days they were scheduled to enter the dungeon together, she didnât show up.
Just as Michael was about to go look for her, wondering if something had happened, a staff member from the Fortress approached him.
âMiss Irene Rhodiam asked us to inform you that she wonât be able to participate in todayâs hunt either, as sheâs not feeling well.â
â…I see. Understood.â
Responding calmly, Michael turned to join the others heading into the dungeon, but only moments later, he turned back.
âIâll be withdrawing from todayâs expedition.â
âPardon? What do you mean… Sir Michael!â
The staff and other knights called after him in surprise, but Michael didnât turn back. He simply kept walking.
Todayâs dungeon was an intermediate one, but according to assessments, the monsters within were of the kind the knights were already well-accustomed to facing.
So his absence shouldnât cause too much trouble.
Hurrying back to the Fortress, he looked around.
With most of the pairs out on expeditions, the Fortress was unusually quiet.
The first place he headed was the records archive. It was also where he had most frequently seen Irene whenever he was inside the Fortress.
As he entered the archive, the staff inside turned to him in surprise.
âSir Michael? Is something the matter? I thought youâd already left for the intermediate dungeon expedition todayâŚâ
Michael didnât answer. He simply turned his gaze toward a desk tucked into the corner of the roomâa spot Irene always occupied. It was a place untouched by light, mostly unnoticed by others.
She wasnât there.
Michael stepped back out and made his way to the rear garden next.
It was the second place after the records archive where he most often saw Irene.
The staff and pairs within the Fortress rarely visited the garden. After all, once outside the Fortress, there were far more beautiful gardens to be found everywhere.
To be honest, the Fortress garden was rather poorly maintained, especially compared to the prestige and wealth of the place.
It wasnât a place many people bothered with.
But Michael had occasionally seen Irene quietly walking there alone, at the far end of the garden.
As he stepped into the garden, he looked around. But just as the Fortress had been quiet, there wasnât a single person in sight here either.
As he wandered through the garden, he suddenly came to a halt.
What was he doing?
Dungeon subjugation was his duty.
Saving people from the disasters that had begun to appear in this worldâ that was the sacred mission of a knight of the temple.
And yet here he was, shirking that responsibility just to look for Irene Rhodiam.
But from the moment he heard that she was unwell, Michael found himself unable to think rationally.
Whatâs more, while he had seen her around the Fortress many times before, she had been strangely absent, claiming to be sick, especially on the days they were meant to enter the dungeon together.
Of course, it wasnât as if he withheld her share just because she didnât show up.
So for Irene, there would have been no need to bother attending in the first place.
But the thought that she might be deliberately avoiding him weighed heavily on him somehow…
Just as he was about to leave the garden with weary steps, his eyes caught a glimpse of a bench nestled between rose bushes.
And on it, curled up and fast asleep was Irene.
ââŚâ
She had drawn her knees up to her chest, arms resting atop them as she slept.
She was always in the shadows in the archives, and yet here she was, sitting where sunlight poured down through the leaves.
Michael carefully approached her.
Stopping about ten paces away, he stood and quietly looked at the sleeping Irene.
She couldnât possibly have failed to hear the approaching footsteps, and yet Irene remained completely still, her breathing unchanged as she was lost in slumber.
Realizing she wasnât likely to wake any time soon, Michael allowed himself to look at her more closely.
She was wearing the same worn clothes she always did whenever he saw her.
People would whisper that Irene dressed that way on purpose, hoping to seem pitiful to him.
But if that were true, surely she wouldnât still be wearing those same clothes even now, in a moment like this.
Not that Michael ever believed what others said about her anyway. Still, he couldn’t help but wonderâwhere did she spend all the money he gave her, if not on something as simple as proper clothing?
He slowly lowered himself to meet her at eye level, crouching in front of her curled-up form.
And suddenly, he realized that he couldn’t remember the last time they had made proper eye contact.
