I’m Just a Counselor Chapter 38

Just as I was thinking about which excuse would be more natural, Estella spoke up, somewhat awkwardly.

 

“It’s… I mean, I’m just comfortable with it, don’t mind me!”

 

“That’s unusual, if that’s what you mean, young lady.”

 

Shane meekly nodded in agreement, but Estella continued to sulk. Soon, instead of laughter, the room was filled with awkward silence.

 

Luckily, it didn’t last long.

 

“Lady Estella, you must now go downstairs to dinner!”

 

“Yes, of course!”

 

Estella replied to the maid and left the room to change her clothes.

 

I shook my head slightly at the maid, who seemed to catch my meaning and quietly left, closing the door behind her.

 

As soon as I was alone with Shane in the room, I snapped at him.

 

“You make it sound like you never lied to me about Sherry.”

 

“You’re so weak for the princess. You’ve been holding back your anger at me because of her, haven’t you?”

 

Shane, who had immediately dropped the honorific as soon as Estella was gone, relaxed his posture.

 

He’d succeeded in changing the subject, but I didn’t like the look of it, so I gave him a warning look.

 

“Don’t even think about using Estella as a shield.”

 

“I’m not going to, because you wouldn’t like it.”

 

Shane shrugged.

 

I still frowned, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, I had to give him a chance to explain himself.

 

“Of course, I’ll kick you out right away if you try to sneak around.”

 

As if sensing my resolve, Shane spoke with a serious expression on his face, no hint of mischief.

 

“The reason I cross-dressed in the first place… was because I thought it would be easier for me to approach you as a woman than a man.”

 

Shane was right. If he had approached me as a man from the beginning, I would have been wary of him.

 

I nodded, realizing now why he’d stuck with Sherry.

 

Shane seemed relieved to see me like that.

 

“I was just going to talk to you for a bit and then leave. I thought it would be fun, since you don’t see many therapists, and I didn’t plan on staying this long.”

 

“…….”

 

“But I ended up liking you a lot more than I thought I would. I liked how you greeted me every time I went to the Secret Garden, so I kept going back there, and I wanted to win your favor and…”

 

“…….”

 

“And then we became friends, didn’t we?”

 

Shane said, smiling.

 

I felt a little relieved. I realized I wasn’t the only one who was genuine with him.

 

He really did consider me a friend, too. That alone made me feel a little better.

 

“So you feel sorry for me?”

 

“Of course. Do you know how much I wish I hadn’t deceived you in the first place?”

 

“…….”

 

“But that just made it harder for me to tell you that I’m actually a guy and not a girl, and I’m sure you’d feel betrayed…”

 

In the end, Shane was trying to figure out the best way to tell me so I wouldn’t be hurt, and he was trying to figure out the right time to tell me. But that’s when I went to the duke’s castle, got kidnapped, and ran into him as a child.

 

“I just thought it was a good thing, because I could tell you that I was a wizard and that I was a man.”

 

“You didn’t… expect me to lose my mind in that situation?”

 

“Mmm, a little?”

 

Shane grinned again, that mischievous look on his face. I sighed, feeling all my anger drain away. Finally, I reluctantly opened my mouth.

 

“Okay.”

 

Surprisingly, the moment I said it, I felt myself relax.

 

With that, I finally realized that I’d wanted to forgive Shane all along, that my pride had kept me from doing so, that I’d been hoping he’d be the first to admit he was wrong.

 

I realized, “I liked Sherry more than I thought I did.”

 

That he wanted things to go back to the way they were before, as friends who could talk easily.

 

Even if he was a man instead of a woman, I didn’t feel rejected anymore, and in that sense, Shane was exactly right.

 

I smirked, realizing that my mind had already been tilted.

 

Shane seemed to quickly realize that my anger had subsided. He opened his arms.

 

“Do you want a hug as a peace offering?”

 

“No.”

 

I decided to bite my tongue and ask him something I’d been wondering.

 

“Are you a wizard?”

 

“I am, but… not formally, just a little bit I learned by eye, and I don’t mean to be flattering, but did I make that self-defense tool I gave you?”

 

“I was making a point, but maybe I didn’t realize it.”

 

“You were a bit clueless.”

 

Shane narrowed his eyes. I shrugged, not denying the statement.

 

I’d led a relatively carefree life, and there was nothing left to pick up on his signals. Work aside, I’d been busy adjusting to life up north.

 

‘Not that I don’t have plenty of time now.’

 

Right now, Estella alone feels like a full head of steam. And now she’s starting to get involved in Jeremiah’s problems.

 

Which means we need this conversation now more than ever. A straightforward conversation with no hidden meanings.

 

Shane seemed to recognize this in me.

 

He spilled the beans about himself before I could ask, as if he wasn’t going to hide anything anymore.

 

“I work for the Information Guild, buying and selling information. I don’t know what you’d call that.”

 

“…You don’t do anything illegal, do you?”

 

“Nope. You see, cracking down on human trafficking. Rather, catching bad guys… kind of vigilante, if I do say so myself?”

 

“Never mind.”

 

The Information Guild. I’ve heard of them before. An organization that sells information about something or someone for money. It’s kind of like a sex shop, if you know what I mean.

 

However, they tend to operate a bit more covertly, and are usually classified as organizations that work in the shadows.

 

Hmm. So Shane is an underworld guy.

 

“At least he doesn’t do anything illegal.”

 

Maybe he’s lying, but… I’m inclined to believe him this time.

 

After all, Shane is an informant and I’ve been using his information for free.

 

“You’ve been helping me.”

 

Shane had never asked me for anything in return.

 

I felt a newfound gratitude for him, but I suddenly remembered that he was an underworlder.

 

I asked him gravely.

 

“In the meantime, what about Sherry… I mean, the girls who broke up with Shane?”

 

“What about them?”

 

“Are you sure you broke up with that… guy with the baby on good terms? Did he go after you and retaliate against you…?”

 

“Vanessa… you want to trash me like that?”

 

Shane glanced at me, and I giggled softly, not wanting to add to his suspicions.

 

It was kind of funny, now that I thought about it. For someone who specializes in prying into other people’s lives, Shane was unusually weak when it came to romantic matters.

 

It shouldn’t have been hard to figure out her secret tastes or anything like that, should it?

 

It means that there’s something about Shane that he’s not good enough at to be dumped.

 

I giggled as I tried to think of what it could be, but finally couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

 

“Haha, ahahahaha!”

 

“Is that funny?”

 

“Hahaha. Sorry…, I’m sorry, it’s just funny.”

 

“Ha, never mind. I’m glad my scars make you laugh.”

 

Shane grunted. I barely stopped laughing before I asked him another question.

 

“You know the Duke, right?”

 

“Well… yes.”

 

“I think he mentioned the Duke’s Winter Crown the other day. Can you explain it to me?”

 

“I could, but it’s the Oppenheim family’s… hmm, secret or something, so I’d better not go telling anyone.”

 

Muttering something along the lines of a warning, Shane straightened his posture and opened his mouth.

 

“The Winter Crown is a sort of vassal intelligence organization to the House of Oppenheim, and it goes back a long way.”

 

“You’re saying you’re part of it?”

 

“I’m the Winter Crown’s… um, chief.”

 

I looked at Shane in surprise.

 

“You’re not just a regular member, you’re the leader?”

 

Then I remembered that Jeremiah had told me about the masked people and how Shane was a moving intelligence group. This must be what he was talking about.