Why would Brellita's scent be here?
This needed to be explained carefully.
Because when Iris left the ball back then, she had met Brellita and once suspected that the wager Leon proposed when they first met had been pushed from behind the scenes by Brellita.
Even though Leon and Iris had grown closer afterward, that doubt hadn't been completely resolved—and Iris had never asked Leon directly to his face.
And of course, there was probably another layer here too: jealousy.
After all, her affection was already as high as 83%.
"Iris, you really are sharp. I was just about to tell you about this."
Leon grabbed Brellita's letters and handed them to Iris, his expression calm and utterly unruffled.
"She wants to recruit me as her adviser. She's been sending letters every day to pressure me—look. The way she recruits subordinates like this, she's probably run into some kind of trouble."
Iris took the letters and read them carefully, one by one, word by word.
"So she heard you were back and came to visit… and that's why I can smell her?"
"Yes."
Iris made a soft "oh," then said with a subtly complicated expression:
"Didn't expect your charm to be this strong, Leon—so strong that even the Third Holy Maiden would personally lower herself to come see you. And she came before me, too. Funny that I didn't run into her when I arrived."
Her tone was a little… pointed.
Judging by her face, the suspicion was still there.
Leon still couldn't tell exactly which part she was suspicious about.
But one thing was now clear:
Iris—despite her usual proud, tsundere, childish vibe—absolutely had a black-bellied streak in certain situations.
Her personality was already very different from the "absolute ice queen" she would become later.
If Hamla's matter could be resolved smoothly, this personality might actually lock in.
"So then what, my dear Captain?" Iris asked. "Did you accept, or refuse?"
"Iris—do you want me to accept, or refuse?" Leon countered.
No joke—if Leon casually admitted he'd already accepted, with Iris looking like this, it would definitely blow up.
"She's the one recruiting you. Why are you asking me?"
"You're my number-one member and my most important teammate," Leon said. "Do you think I'd make a decision without asking you?"
He gripped Iris's shoulders and met her gaze directly, his eyes deep and earnest.
The look was so direct that Iris couldn't help averting her eyes.
Off to the side, Bisce—still invisible—felt a chill run through her. This is exactly how you fooled me back then!
"You really value me that much?" Iris asked softly.
"Of course," Leon said. "Otherwise, why would I have rushed my familiar to leave you a message? Think about it—we fought in the dungeon for over ten days. Shouldn't we rest properly for a day or two? If I didn't care about your opinion, why would I call you over the moment Brellita visited?"
"Then why didn't you tell me about this from the start?" Iris blurted out—despite knowing she had no real standing to ask. She couldn't control herself.
"Because I believed that in your heart, your father and mother mattered far more than a Holy Maiden's affairs," Leon said. "So I told you about the file first."
Iris had nothing to say. Her tone carried a trace of shame.
"You're right. Thank you, Leon. I shouldn't have asked something that unnecessary. Honestly, I'm grateful you showed me those important documents right away."
She also realized her reaction had been a bit too big—too strange.
Why am I acting like this?
Could it be that I really…
Iris didn't dare continue the thought.
Leon quietly let out a breath of relief. For now, he'd sidestepped the explosion.
But the real problem hadn't gone away:
Iris was still clearly resistant to Brellita's existence.
For most people, if they managed to muddle through a landmine like this, they'd change topics and end the conversation.
But Leon knew these were all buried explosives. Sooner or later, they'd blow.
Better to defuse them early.
"Iris—back to the point. What do you think?"
"What do I think?"
"Yes. A Holy Maiden who can represent the church, even partially, personally recruiting us— we can't just reject that casually, can we? For our future, it might actually be good for our party to join her faction. What do you think—really?"
For our future.
That phrase made Iris's heart sway. Her heartbeat jumped hard.
Why does hearing him say that make me so happy?
"Fine," Iris said, forcing a nonchalant tone as she patted her small chest. "Since you're sincerely asking, I'll analyze it for you properly."
Leon nodded inwardly. Her reaction was interesting.
Iris continued:
"There's no denying it. As the Third Holy Maiden—already with enough merit and enormous prestige among the people—Brellita's future is bright. Her words and actions can represent the church's will to a degree. And as the only Holy Supplicant in the church, it wouldn't even be wrong to call her the direct proxy of Astalia."
Leon frowned slightly. So far, it was all praise.
By the rhythm, a "but" should be coming next.
"But!"
Sure enough, Iris turned:
"You're a member of the Court Mage Corps. I'm an elven diplomat sent from the Holy Land. We both already have public affiliations. Even if we join the Holy Maiden's faction, we wouldn't be able to serve as her 'face' anyway."
Leon said, "Worthy of brilliant Iris. Keep going—I'm listening."
Iris got more and more into it, as if she'd never been this articulate before. Maybe she was just desperately trying to shove down her own weird emotions.
She rambled on:
"That's the small issue. The biggest issue is that Brellita is famous for being ruthless. She's a Holy Maiden and has a good reputation, but when she conducts purges, she's decisive and cold-blooded. Leon—do you approve of that style? And if one day she decides to purge us, what then?"
Now Leon was genuinely surprised.
Iris was thinking this deeply?
You never see her talk and think like this normally.
"Iris," Leon said, "my view of you just improved again."
"Huh? Why?"
Iris blinked.
"I just think… the way you seriously analyze things for our party is beautiful."
Leon seized the gap to praise her.
"Y-you… what nonsense are you saying! I won't deny I'm beautiful, but don't think praising me twice will make me happy!"
Leon smiled—wasn't her tone obviously happy?
That delight and pride all over her face—she couldn't hide it.
But Leon of course wasn't going to tell her to "go look in a mirror." If her embarrassment detonated, the conversation would die.
"I'm not saying it just to flatter you," Leon added. "It's like when someone sees the clean sky after rain and sincerely thinks nature is beautiful. That's how you look to me."
Iris's cheeks turned blazing red. She wanted to run, but she obviously couldn't, so she hurriedly dragged the topic back:
"Stop changing the subject! You still haven't answered my question! About Brellita's iron-blooded purges—what do you think?"
She threw the question back to Leon.
And this time, it wasn't something he could gloss over.