Wriothesley's POV
The way Neuvillette's face changed as he looked at the tablet on his desk...
Someone is going to regret getting up this morning.
"My apologies. It appears I will have to leave you on your own for a moment." Neuvillette smiled.
It was a very forced smile.
Forced as in, trying not to look like he wants to murder someone.
"Need some help? I could-"
"It would be best if you two just stayed here. I would rather you never meet one of the individuals in the lobby."
Hmm?
Well, now I'm curious.
I was going to ask a question I didn't expect an answer to but Neuvillette was a step ahead.
"It's Dottore." He spat out.
...
"The same Dottore that I'm thinking of?"
"Yes."
Well...
That is certainly an interesting development.
I also see why Neuvillette wouldn't want us, probably mostly Sigewinne, anywhere near the guy.
Even after years of investigation into him, all we could find is that even some of the other harbingers think that the guy is absolutely insane.
Definitely wouldn't want Sigewinne getting into his line of sight.
But...
"Are you sure it's okay for you to..."
Deal with him.
Can he deal with him?
Does he need to?
Why is Dottore here anyway?
"I just need to prevent the two from fighting." Neuvillette sighed.
Huh?
"Two?"
Not just Dottore?
"If he were alone, Dottore would know better than to stir up trouble here. Unfortunately, both the Tsaritsa and my brother decided to send their subordinates over at the same time. Xiao, my brother's subordinate, finds Dottore incredibly disagreeable."
Xiao...
That kid who works as Morax's bodyguard and or assistant, right?
"Why on earth did that annoying... Tsk! Who's bright idea was it to send Dottore?" Neuvillette grumbled.
As he went toward the door, he grabbed his cane.
"Does your leg hurt again?"
If it does, I might just go with him.
"OH, no, no, no. This is not to aid me in walking this time." He smiled.
A very ominous smile.
As soon as the door fell shut behind him, I turned to look at Sigewinne who-
Huh?
"Winne?"
Where did she go?
She wouldn't have run off to-
"Dad! Come here!" Her excited voice sounded.
Moments later her head popped up from behind Neuvillette's desk.
Phew!
"You shouldn't touch other people's things, princess."
"I'm not touching anything!" She protested.
With a sigh, I got up and walked over to see what she was having so much fun with.
It was a tablet showing the live footage from the lobby.
"Are these two going to fight?" Sigewinne asked.
It certainly looked like Xiao and Dottore would drop all politeness and go at it any moment.
"Neuvillette went down to stop them from doing exactly that. It should be fine."
Contrary to my word though, both of them put down what they were holding and appeared to be ready to start a fight.
Oh oh.
Just as I was contemplating going downstairs, an object flew at the two, getting caught by Dottore just seconds before it hit him in the face.
Neuvillette's cane.
Following the cane's appearance the man himself came into the picture as well.
"Oh. Mister looks angry." Sigewinne commented.
That he did.
He looked pissed off.
He glared at the two and said something we couldn't hear because of the lack of sound before pointing at the reception.
Xiao lowered his head while Dottore scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Neuvillette then patted Xiao on the head before looking at Dottore and pointing at the door.
Dottore was obviously getting kicked out.
He said something to Neuvillette who in turn replied with something that had the harbinger rolling his eyes so hard that it was visible through the camera.
Dottore then handed a suitcase to Neuvillette before leaving.
Just when I thought Xiao had gotten away without a folding or something along those lines, Neuvillette turned to say something to him too. Something that had him lowering his head even more.
After a while he too gave a suitcase to Neuvillette before borderline running away, leaving Neuvillette behind sighing in clear frustration.
But...
What's with the suitcases?
What could be so important that the higher-ups of such large organizations would need to deliver them themselves?
I didn't need to wait too long to at least catch a glimpse of them at least as Neuvillette swiftly returned after dealing with the mess downstairs.
"Does this happen often?" I chuckled.
He was way too good at dealing with the situation for it not to.
"Not too often. Once a year or so. Dottore doesn't really like showing his face. You should know that better than most."
Oh, I do.
That guy is one troublesome bastard.
Speaking of Dottore.
"As far as I know, he wasn't supposed to be in the country at the moment." I pointed out.
The last we saw of him, he was at the airport boarding a plane.
"On the contrary, Dottore is forbidden from leaving the country for another week. I don't want him bothering Baizhu when he's already in a bad mood because of the conference." Neuvillette mumbled.
So you just asked the Tsaritsa to ground him or something?
I'm starting to realize that Neuvillette may hold more authority than I thought.
And...
My eyes couldn't help but wander to the suitcases he was holding.
"Wriothesley." Neuvillette called out.
Caught staring, I awkwardly looked up to meet his eyes.
"To appease your curiosity somewhat, I will tell you that these contain the financial situation of the two groups the two from before belong to. Now, should you want to see them, you would have to pry them from my grasp and that won't end well for you, I can assure you of that. And yes, I do have permission to share this much." He said calmly.
He then turned around and set the suitcases down on his desk before gently moving Sigewinne, who at some point had sat down on his desk, to the ground.
"Mister, I noticed you play chess!" Sigewinne said excitedly.
"That I do. Only sometimes though. With my brother." Neuvillette smiled at her.
"Do you want to play with me as well, mister? Otherwise, the only thing I can do today is sit around sighing from boredom in Dad's office." She complained.
...
Sigewinne dear...
We both know that when I bring you to work with me, the last thing you do is sit around sighing from boredom.
Hell, I would appreciate it if you would sit down for 10 minutes.
Neuvillette, unaware of the deception in Sigewinne's pitiful words, chuckled and leaned down to whisper something to her.
Something that at first had Sigewinne almost jumping in excitement before she started to frown.
"Not fair." She muttered.
"That is my offer. It is on you whether or not you will take it."
"You are very scheming, mister."
"Or so I've been told." Neuvillette chuckled.
...
"What are you two up to again? If someone saw this scene, they would assume Neuvillette was your Dad, not me, princess." I laughed.
"Mister said he would only play with me once I finished my homework!" Sigewinne complained.
"Wouldn't you need to do that later anyway?"
"But still-"
"Why not just finish it earlier and play chess with Neuvillette? It isn't like you have anything better to do." I pointed out.
She fell silent for a moment, looking like she wanted to throw out another retort, but eventually just muttered:
"Fair point."
After that, she grabbed her bag, followed by my hand.
"Can we go now?"
...
You're saying that as if it wasn't you who insisted on coming here. My plan was just to call.
"Oh and Dad, I would not mind if mister was to become my dad as well." Sigewinne grinned.
My mind short-circuited for a moment and before I could say something, she turned back to Neuvillette.
"Mister, if you want to date my Dad, you have my permission." She said seriously.
Sigewinne!
Not this again!
We've gone through this once with Clorinde already. Just like her, Neuvillette too will probably just laugh-
Huh?
Huh?!
Hey!
You!
Neuvillette!
Why are you blushing!?