What the hell is this?

The investigator alternately looked at Gibnen, who had suddenly appeared, and the woman suspected to be involved in this case. He was utterly bewildered; it was an unexpected combination, especially since he’d never heard that Gibnen was getting married.

She’s not even his girlfriend, she’s his future wife?

So this woman here is going to marry Gibnen?

“She’s innocent. She was with me at that time.”

“She testified that she was sitting alone in the park, reading a book.”

“She was alone. I was just lingering around her. I kept my distance so I wouldn’t disturb her.”

What utter nonsense!

The investigator was convinced that Gibnen was spouting absurdities. Yet, he couldn’t voice this recklessly.

“I’m here as a witness, so let her go. If she’s a victim in this case, she can only be a victim, not the perpetrator, right?”

“Uh, well, her name was mentioned by the victims.”

“They weren’t attacked by Riley. My wife was with me at that time.”

“…”

“How strange. I’ve heard that my wife was harassed by them. Have you finished investigating that case? If you had, you wouldn’t be pinning all this on my wife.”

“Ha, harassment? We’ve never heard such a thing. This is news to us.”

At the investigator’s words, Gibnen gave a sardonic smile. It was blatant mockery.

“Interesting. You’re quick to silence matters of their misconduct against my wife but eagerly indict her when an unknown assailant attacks them. Isn’t the student council, which should be impartial to all, too biased?”

“It’s not like that. We really haven’t heard about the harassment. If a report had been filed, we would have started investigating immediately.”

“Which is why you think she’s the only one with motive for a retaliatory crime.”

“…”

“Isn’t that what you said earlier?”

“W, well.”

“On what basis do you think my wife would commit a retaliatory crime? You didn’t even know that she had been harassed by them.”

The investigator’s face turned pale. He shook his trembling fingers and frantically shifted his eyes.

Gibnen leaned back, crossed his arms, and spoke coldly.

“Drop it.”

“…”

“If you continue the investigation, make sure my wife isn’t involved. Why should we waste our time here for nothing?”

“Alright.”

The investigator thought that since a higher authority had told him to drop it, what could he do? Moreover, this was Horizon. No one had more authority here than Gibnen. Anyone who wasn’t an idiot would know whose words to heed and what the priorities were.

“May I leave now?”

“Of course, please be careful on your way.”

Gibnen finally stood up, satisfied, and took Riley’s hand.

“Let’s go, sister.”

“Ok.”

Si, sister?

As the investigator watched them leave the interrogation room in bewilderment, Saki, who had been waiting, quietly approached.

“The fact of Gibnen’s marriage is confidential. Make sure there are no leaks.”

After leaving with Riley, Gibnen used a teleportation spell to find a secluded, quiet area.

They arrived at a library, specifically a restricted room storing ancient books. As the musty scent of old paper brushed against his nostrils, a refreshing aroma quickly covered it.

Gibnen hugged Riley. She flinched at first but tightly wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

“You’ll be alright now.”

“You knew all along?”

“Yes.”

“How did you find out?”
“If I’m the innkeeper, how could I not know the situation at Horizon?”

Riley thought silently in his arms about how the situation had gotten to this point, but she couldn’t figure out the reason.

“I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I know, Sis. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then why is it happening only to me?”

“Exactly.”

“When I was living with my uncle, I was always scolded even when I did nothing wrong. So for some reason, whenever someone is angry at me, I can’t help but think that it must be my fault. It happened this time too.”

“It’s not your fault, Sis.”

“Yeah, I know. But when the situation turned weird, for a moment I thought maybe I was the weird one. No matter what I say, nobody believes me… It felt like I was the one being stubborn and strange.”

It felt like she was being unfair. Even though she didn’t want to be. The comforting touch on her shoulder felt like her father’s, and maybe that was why.

“At this point, I might as well be born with a talent for being hated.”

“That’s not it.”

Gibnen pulled Riley from his embrace, touched his forehead to hers, and met her eyes.

“Don’t belittle yourself. It’s not your fault, Sis. It’s just bad luck. Just like stepping on poop while walking.”

“Or maybe I just have bad luck more often than others?”

Riley looked defeated.

She had tried not to care, but ever since she enrolled in the academy and still had to rely on Gibnen’s help, she felt down. Because she couldn’t even properly live her life at the academy without causing trouble for him.

Even if she didn’t want to feel down or think negatively, she couldn’t handle it when she faced such situations.