"Hey, shorty."
"What is it?"
"Don't you think—" Barghest's gaze shifted towards where Baobhan Sith and Ian were in the distance.
"Those two have been getting really close lately."
Just as Barghest said.
During this time, Baobhan Sith, who had originally just been secretly pulling various "little tricks" in the background, had begun to approach Ian directly.
And...
It wasn't just casual contact, either.
Anyone with eyes could see she was deliberately seeking him out, as if she were afraid he wouldn't notice her there.
"Well..."
Mélusine had, of course, noticed what Barghest had pointed out.
But in response to her words, she could only adopt a noncommittal attitude.
"Maybe you're overthinking it, Barghest."
"Isn't Baobhan Sith in charge of the matter of how to make everyone 'Ascend' into dragons?"
"In that case, if Ian is the true standard for such a dragon, then there's nothing wrong with Baobhan Sith interacting with him, right?"
"Don't you think so?"
"..."
Although she felt that something wasn't quite right with Mélusine's words, Barghest couldn't put her finger on it.
And after seeing Mash walking towards her with a happy expression, that thought vanished into thin air.
"Forget it, never mind!"
"Mash, are we continuing today?!"
"Mhm!"
"Alright, let's continue!"
Barghest clearly loved Mash's enthusiasm.
So she didn't press the issue with Mélusine, instead taking Mash to continue their defensive shield drills.
However, what Barghest didn't know was—
After she left, Mélusine, who had just seemed so calm, suddenly became like a different person.
She frantically looked towards the spot Barghest had just been looking at.
Sure enough.
Baobhan Sith and Ian were walking down that street, one after the other.
"Just what is she trying to do, that girl!"
Mélusine's territorial instincts flared up instantly.
Even though Artoria wasn't around, Ian wasn't just any man you could trifle with!
Whoosh.
A gust of wind swept through the streets of Camelot, and a petite figure was gone.
...
A few minutes later.
On a street in Camelot.
Mélusine cautiously followed behind Baobhan Sith and Ian.
She watched them enter a tavern—Camelot didn't have a lot of many things, but because of its extremely rich produce, there was no shortage of ingredients for brewing wine.
In a sense, this had already become a part of Camelot's culture.
However...
Mélusine frowned slightly.
Although Baobhan Sith had indeed succeeded in "luring" Ian to her side.
The problem was!
The fact that "Ian is Artoria's one and only husband" was common knowledge in every street and alley of Camelot.
Even if Baobhan Sith wanted to do something out of line, she had to consider this point.
How would this cunning vixen handle it?
As Mélusine thought this, she didn't realize that her perception of Baobhan Sith had gradually shifted from "a girl who's a lot like Morgan" to "a vixen even more wicked than Morgan."
That being said, Mélusine's assessment wasn't entirely "wrong."
Because Baobhan Sith had indeed thought of a countermeasure for this situation.
Mélusine had just hidden herself in a small corner of the tavern when she saw Baobhan Sith lean on Ian's shoulder without a care in the world.
And the reason she could do so was very simple:
"Father, have a drink with me~"
That's right!
In order to be by Ian's side without any restrictions, Baobhan Sith directly used a relationship that Mélusine could never possibly achieve!
"That girl..."
Mélusine bit her lip, looking very displeased.
That's something even I have never tried!
"How despicable!"
But this didn't seem to be Baobhan Sith's limit; it was just a simple beginning.
After using the word "daughter" to break the shackles on her behavior, Baobhan Sith's actions became even bolder.
Of course.
She wasn't completely oblivious to where she was.
So, her actions were daring, but could still be cleverly interpreted as just "a daughter's affection for her father."
For example—
Having him, her father, feed her a drink.
Or, for another example, she would in turn feed him a drink.
On the surface, it really didn't look like there was anything wrong. But every time Mélusine saw their arms cross, she could feel the beast within her stirring restlessly.
However, she soon noticed something else that was off.
That's right.
Baobhan Sith was indeed doing things that an outsider would never misunderstand, but that anyone who knew her would instantly realize were way over the line.
The problem was—
She herself didn't seem happy about it.
On the contrary...
Her eyes held a considerable degree of dissatisfaction, as if she strongly disapproved of Ian's current reaction.
Huh?
Mélusine sensed something was wrong.
Speaking of which, actions like Baobhan Sith's are already very abnormal, aren't they?
Could it be... there's another hidden reason?
Once this thought took root, Mélusine found she couldn't ignore it.
She adjusted her position little by little, getting closer and closer to Baobhan Sith and Ian.
Soon, Mélusine discovered that her guess was correct.
On the surface, Baobhan Sith appeared nonchalant and even seemed quite happy.
But if one got just a little closer, they would instantly realize that wasn't the case at all.
She was definitely not happy, but looked rather helpless, and her entire body was radiating a strange kind of resentment.
It was like...
...a child throwing a tantrum because they didn't get the toy they wanted.
But just saying that didn't seem to fully describe Baobhan Sith's attitude at this moment.
It felt like something was still missing.
The final piece of this incomplete puzzle soon appeared before Mélusine.
After feeding Ian another cup of wine, Mélusine finally heard the demonic Baobhan Sith—who usually toyed with others with an air of utter confidence—start to complain.
"Just what will it take for you to tell me how to become 'scented'?"
"Huh?!"
Mélusine felt like she had just heard something incredible.