《Flowers of Worship》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 My father passed away. I hurried back after hearing about him being in a critical condition, but the night before I even arrived at the castle, my father died. Iter saw him when I entered the army, he was already wrapped in an amapo. [T/N: Amapo is a type of linen, more specifically called cambric, which means fine thin white linen fabric] ¡°Hick, what are you even doing¡ª!¡± When I began to rip the amapo, people were in great disarray and tried to stop me, but I shook them off and checked my father¡¯s face till the end. It is necessary to make sure. Since my father is capable of faking his death and disappearing, I had to see whether my father was truly dead with my own eyes. So when I saw him face to face, I noticed a knife that was tearing the amapo. He doesn¡¯t look anything like the father I know. The bluish and dark circles on his face indicate that he was poisoned. ¡°Was he poisoned?¡± Lucien, the Imperial Doctor, managed toe back to his senses when I asked. His thoughts wander about the reason why he is damaging the body. While leaning against the wall, he shook his head and could barely stand up. ¡°We examined, but couldn¡¯t find any sign of it.¡± ¡°Then it must be a curse, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Lucien turned his eyes to Rostov, the priest of the castle, who coughed in vain. ¡°There is a possibility.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± The castle¡¯s chandeliers light up only half of Rostov¡¯s face. I stared at him. No one would have told me about the poison and the curse if I didn¡¯t happen to see the torn amapo, and checked his face myself. The sudden wrapping of the body of the deceasedst night with amapo made it seem intentional. Why is everyone here trying to hide that my father¡¯s death is not due to natural circumstances? ¡°It¡¯s just a possibility. I¡¯m not sure about that predicament.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t say something this important if it¡¯s just a possibility, right?¡± Even after hearing it, my voice remained cold and aggressive. Rostov lowered his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Rostov bowed his head and turned his attention to Lucien. When I looked, Lucien nced at Rostov and shook his head. That action stabbed right me right in the heart. I nced at the castle¡¯s prominent figures, along with my father¡¯s body that is right in front of me. The doctor, the priest, and others, along with the butler or the officials, hurriedly bowed down when my eyes were on them. Everyone probably noticed that my father¡¯s death is questionable. I turned my eyes back to my father. My father, Irridugi Sarian, was cold-blooded and had an entric personality. He always did what he wanted, and didn¡¯t bat an eye for such things asmon sense. The way he raised me and the way he lived was the same. At times, I was a little annoyed and dissatisfied with my father¡¯s presence, regardless I am still proud of him. Did hee to understand the reason for his death? This death is neither a curse nor a natural circumstance. ¡°We¡¯ll have the funeral by midnight. Rostov, let me know if you need any help finding out who the hell cursed him.¡± With my order, Rostov replied, ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± and bowed his head. I started to look around at the people who are present. Most of them are expressionless, some were staring down to hide their unexined feelings. Everyone seemed reluctant to look at me. ¡°Gianton, prepare the funeral.¡± The butler bowed deeply after my instruction. Although I have been in the castle since I was born, he still looks at me as if I am some kind of gue. ¡°Just look at this atmosphere. Some people might think the Lord killed him.¡± Chris, the top knight, was leaning against the wall beside the stairs. Coming up from the basement was Sophia, my assistant, who has the same rank of knighthood as me, growled at him with a low fierce voice. ¡°Shut up, Chris. Don¡¯t bother the Lord with your nonsense.¡± ¡°But you saw the atmosphere earlier, Sophie. Nobody made eye contact with her. Wow, her father died, but they are looking at the poor child like that.¡± Chris raised his voice, as he didn¡¯t like how wallowed the atmosphere was a while ago. When I saw Sophia pulling out the dagger right to his face, Iughed a little. She put the dagger back in and asked curtly, ¡°What¡¯s funny?¡± ¡°It¡¯s justughable how you all are still the same. You are all being too wary.¡± Sophia followed closely behind me when I began to climb the stairs, passing Chris. ¡°Why are you looking around? Do you think the Lord will overthrow all of the officials from the castle?¡± He giggled. Sophia is amoner. However, she was able to receive the knighthood due to her skills and is now a decent Lord. Though she sometimes says such immature things, I don¡¯t hate her for it. Because her naivety oftenes off refreshing. Just like this kind of situation. ¡°Lord?¡± Sophia called me as if she was uncertain about it. There was a hint of anxiety and pure curiosity in me when the need for an answer was put in urgency. It is something I couldn¡¯t answer in an instant, but I still replied. ¡°If it is proven that my father is cursed, I will instill my revenge. A baby flower can get angry too, and that baby flower can be a person themselves. That¡¯s the first thing I will be worrying about.¡± ¡°So you are scared to open the amapo, but is willing to seek revenge? Oh, that¡¯s the sign of loyalty.¡± Chris followed Sophia at ease and was grinning. ¡°What about the second?¡± Sophia asked, pretending she didn¡¯t hear Chris. ¡°I¡¯m a woman.¡± Sophia was speechless for a moment. But unlike Sophia, who disintegrates her own business, Chris asked iprehensibly. ¡°Is being a woman a problem? You¡¯re an only child, and there are no illegitimate children. So isn¡¯t there any issue of inheritance?¡± ¡°My rtives wouldn¡¯t think so.¡± I didn¡¯t want to discuss inheritance with my subordinates any more, so I moved quickly. The hall was quite far, and there is a trace of someone tailing behind. Chris and Sophia didn¡¯t try to start a conversation with me anymore, as if they noticed how I felt. I do have quite a few rtives. It was apparent how significant my father¡¯s death, who only had one daughter, would make them feel, with the title, property, honor, and power. They think it¡¯s a chance to roll in all at once. Everyone must be busy calcting the benefits in their heads. I¡¯m 26 years old. As my father¡¯s only sessor, there were no inheritance issues. My child is around seven years old. However, I was not able to get married for the sake of inheritance, as I am the only legitimate child. My rtives vehemently opposed my marriage. They argued that even if I married and had a son, they would not allow a boy, who had half the blood of a lowly born man, to have the right to inherit the throne. ¡°If you take someone with dirty blood into the Sarian family, you will not be able to see your ancestors!¡± ¡°He has my blood, too.¡± Only ¡°I¡¯m afraid women¡¯s blood is inferior to men¡¯s. God created it that way, so we can¡¯t help it.¡± I try my best not to sh with them. Though, my father used to sarcastically ask, ¡®Why don¡¯t you check your blood in terms of superiority?¡¯ That sent my uncle into a fit of rage and made his face turn red, while my father disguised his remarks innocently with a smile and a curious look. In the end, my uncle couldn¡¯t say anything back, since being father¡¯s only child means that my blood is not inferior to anyone else. He couldn¡¯t even say a word to my father, yet still barking at me. I¡¯m d it¡¯s all just barking, instead of biting a piece of my flesh. Later, in the early winter, my father returned from the battlefield. I questioned him about his second marriage while drinking with him in his study. At that time, my father looked at me in silence. I still remember the expression he made as vivid as it was yesterday. ¡°Atst¡­ you sound like you¡¯re not my child.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my child, Silli. You¡¯re my only child.¡± I had to defend my point as much as I could. ¡°You have to remarry, father. Everyone¡¯s bothered because you don¡¯t have a son.¡± I had no interest in my father¡¯s title and fortune. Living as my father¡¯s heiress, I was already involved in tiring matters. I had a lot of skills and achievements on my sleeve. But if my father got remarried and my stepmother gave birth to a boy, that would sew up the mouths of my rtives. Knowing them, they would indefinitely say, ¡°The person who will inherit is now qualified.¡± Nevertheless, my father¡¯s answer always remains the same. I¡¯m the only one in the world who is able to inherit. Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Why didn¡¯t she want her father¡¯s money, honor, and title? Perhaps she had given up on wanting them because she is a woman. From the age of twenty-two to twenty-six, she has been pondering on the thought of why she didn¡¯t want to be her father¡¯s heir. Was it because she had no desire, or was it because people had been secretly pressuring her, a woman, would not be capable enough to be her father¡¯s rightful heir? ¡°I never once felt ashamed or regretted the fact that you were my child. Silli, you must make sure to seize everything when I die. I didn¡¯t be a duke to pass it on to those field mice. Do you understand?¡± Father grabbed me and asked determinedly. Since my father said all those things, I could not give up norpromise on inheritance. I need to take everything. As that is what my father wanted. ¡°Your Highness.¡± Turning her head to the voice, Gianton stood at the door of her father¡¯s study. My father was a top collector in the country. Hence, the countless expensive books, people even said that he would have made more money than the king if he had chosen to give up on the books. In essence, my father¡¯s study room was an enormous and excellent repository. I felt ufortable standing here alone, a ce even the highly trusted servants couldn¡¯t even enter. She sighed, the thought of them stealing a book crossed her mind, but they would be held responsible by the next owner anyway. ¡°Gianton?¡± ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s something you must know¡­¡± He hesitated. ¡°Gianton. I¡¯m the next Duchess.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the rightful heiress. The title of Duchess is mine, the Knights are mine, and I¡¯m the owner of this castle. And of course, the ashes are also mine, as well as all the books here belong to me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re afraid, but collect yourself. I¡¯m starting to get irritated.¡± I swear to God, Gianton¡­ ¡°I apologize.¡± He replied, while quivered out of shame. Originally, she was always wellposed, but the death of her father seemed to have a significant effect on her, along with the issue of inheritance rights that was likely going to arise. From the start, Gianton was a soft-hearted person, and he worked adequately well. The castle¡¯s deacons were where many people revealed their affairs, and Gianton often reports them to my father. For him, the situation right now must send them into chaos. As for how the situation is now, she was sure everyone would be questioning him how she¡¯s doing. Though she sympathized, however, more than ever, she felt emotionally distressed and under pressure. ¡°Your Highness.¡± Gianton called me again, hesitantly. Just looking at him, who was at a loss for words, she could see that he hade to me with something quite urgent. ¡°We shall have a funeral at midnight, Gianton. I don¡¯t have time to spare.¡± Though it wasn¡¯t tasteful to say this in her father¡¯s study, she was trying to urge Gianton to finish his thoughts this way. This wouldst all night by the look of it, as he was having a difficult time saying it. ¡°Your Highness, Last year His Excellency¡­¡± Ah, he is keeping me on my toes. Gianton¡¯s face was visibly said, ¡°what should I do?¡± and that was the only thing he can think about. He used to rattle on and on before, but couldn¡¯t even finish a sentence now. I yelled. Sigh, I give up. ¡°Gianton!¡± Surprised by my scream, Gianton replied unwittingly. ¡°He brought a boyst year!¡± First Chapter. The Missing Child A boy? I was dumbfounded when I followed Gianton to confirm the boy¡¯s presence. Wasn¡¯t he the one who told me to take everything? And I even have a son. ¡°How old is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s 11 years old.¡± Eleven years old?! Even before he was making those promations, the child was already here. Sigh, what the hell was her father thinking saying all that? Her father has a son. Despite the fact that he was born out of wedlock, the inheritance rights would be handed over to him. Even if they aren¡¯t rted, because he wasn¡¯t from the bloodline, if her uncle had decided to adopt him, it¡¯s the end. If he asks for the right of session to a political party, she would definitely lose. No. That¡¯s not the point right now. Why didn¡¯t father tell me about this before? She¡¯s been diverting herself for four years because of the inheritance. Although, it¡¯s uncertain to her, whether the torment stems from her doubt of not having the desire to be the Duchess herself or because she suppressed her urge after being told countless times that she¡¯s not suitable to be the next Duchess. She swung her feet while thinking about it. If her father brought him in, his position is no different than her, even though he hasn¡¯t been officially proimed. Now this child is going to be a part of her life. She had never given a thought about having a brother, but if he is, should she help him be the heir? After all, there are still battles with her greedy rtives. If she were the heir, then all this would have been easier. It wouldn¡¯t matter if she were called inferior for being a woman, because she would still be the one in charge. She would do things her own way. There is no reason to have a cooperative rtionship with him anyway. Regardless, there will be a lot of disapproval and alienation between her brother and her, and no matter how nice my rtives are, they would still choose his sides. They¡¯re all unrivaled when ites to scheming. Frankly speaking, this situation could also benefit me. If my brother goes against me, it would be even more tiresome. The kid can take the official works, but I will not hand over the Hastred Knights. The Knights won¡¯t choose him either. One of the most influential properties in our family is the Knights. Several people think that being the Knight¡¯s leader is the true sessor. Supposedly, if my brother starts to get greedy, he will need to go through me first because there¡¯s no way I would give up the Knights. The Hastred Knights are the mercenary Knights. The owner of this historic two-hundred-year-old knighthood fought his family and his rapacious rtives on several asions. Historically, the family¡¯s ownership of this two-hundred-year-old chivalry has been switched numerous times, but is now owned by the Sarian family, my family. Hastred¡¯sws are quite different from those of the public. It was created to protect the people and their freedom, so they must follow their oath as they are Knight. To the Sarian, Hastred¡¯s identity, protection, freedom, and contracts are considered more important than life. My father, Illyde Sarian, had long-term contracts with King Grosnn, who granted him the title of a Duke, with the purpose of making others assumed Hastred Knights are servants of Grosnn. However, between Hastred and Grosnn are strictly contractual. Hastred is still independent. This is why it is difficult for the rtives to im the ownership, with the King¡¯s offerings of position and territory. Therefore, no one dares to im the position of leader of Hastred. If she truly has a younger brother, she needs to make sure nothing would happen to the Knights. Oh, let¡¯s not be pessimistic when that has yet to happen. Eleven years old, huh¡­ Since he¡¯s still a child who can say sweet things, it would be best to appease him and treat him well. All while making sure he doesn¡¯ty hands on the Knights, and giving him the rest of the inheritance. Then, go on separate ways. ¡°Here you are.¡± Gianton sighed nervously, I replied, ¡°What?¡±, while frowning. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be rude, Your Highness.¡± ¡°I know you wouldn¡¯t have let this go easily.¡± No matter how illegitimate my son is, he is still mine, the only rightful heir of the Duke. Now that the boy is here, it is impossible for my only son to be the throne¡¯s heir, given that it means he is going to receive the inheritance instead. Father, what the hell are you thinking? No, there¡¯s still marriage. If he is going to be the Duke, then he must get married immediately. If the lowly, illegitimate child and a woman like me got married and inherited the throne, then there would be a bloody fight, considering all the given hostility. All the while, digging into the illegitimacy of the marriage. Thetter is more likely to happen, as they will oppose it immensely. She would not let that happen. While contemting the dreadful future, Gianton suddenly stopped walking. I paused as well, looking at his back. After questioning where my bother is, I was surprised and curious as to why he brought him to the corner of the castle. Isn¡¯t this old room we don¡¯t even use anymore? Why would father bring him here, instead of dressing him up, feeding him, and ordering him to study? Why would he be stuck in a dump like this? He is indeed unusual, but would he be ruthless and cold-blooded to anyone other than her? This is outrageous. If she were in her father¡¯s position, the boy would not just be brought to put here. Though she would rather stay outside, she entered the room slowly. A fusty smell, cobwebs, and all kinds of filth greeted her when she stepped foot inside. Ah, I feel something stuck to my shoes. Gianton started calling out someone¡¯s name. Only ¡°Den? Eden!¡± Is she speaking informally? When she red at him, he jerked his head up. ¡°Yes, Your Highness!¡± ¡°Starting today, You must not speak informally towards him.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, Your Highness. T-then Master?¡± Eden. Why is he named Eden? Chapter 3 Chapter 3 I got the name Cecilia after my grandmother. Though father called me Silli so much that sometimes others thought that was actually my name. My father was also named after my grandfather. Grandfather and great-grandfather had the same name, Illyde. It was the name reserved for the heir of the Sarian family and the Hastred Knights¡¯ leader. When my father named me Cecilia, he probably thought I would have a brother because mother was still alive at the time. If he had known I would be his sessor, I would have been named Illyde. Now he had this child who had the right to be his sessor called Eden, instead of Illyed? Still, why Eden? Our family doesn¡¯t have anyone significant that is named that. However, the name Eden was familiar to me. Eden. Eden¡­ The name was used here and there, but the most influential ¡°den¡± would probably be¡­. ¡°Uh, uh-um¡­¡± A child appeared behind a pile of straw, stammering. He looked very shabby and dirty, but beautiful. He was indeed a beautiful kid, with the blond-hair, blue-eyes, and pale-skin. He had long eyes and spots around them. For a child, his limbs were as thin as dead branches. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t feed him. The Grand Duke gave me orders. It¡¯s not my fault he¡¯s so thin, Your Highness.¡± Gianton looked at me worryingly, assuming I was in a bad mood. I sighed while looking at the boy¡¯s face. The child is so beautiful. The blonde hair stood out even though it¡¯s dirty. He is a very sweet-looking, handsome boy, with lips that resemble the color of cherries, and skin that¡¯s as white as milk. I know this face. ¡°Gianton.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± ¡°You¡¯re in real trouble now.¡± Jesus, he isn¡¯t my father¡¯s bastard. That face, with this name? Ah, now I recognize who he is¡­ Father, what the hell were you thinking? I want to tear up the ampao that wraps my father again, and this time I had the urge to grab my father¡¯s shoulders and shake them. I¡¯m in big trouble. Suddenly arge meteor fell in my life when I am just trying to live quietly for the past twenty-six years. ¡°He¡¯s a boy. Wouldn¡¯t he be a threat to your inheritance?¡± Sophia ran to my room and whispered, ¡°How did you know?¡± while wearing a concerned look on her face. I was silent for a moment since I wasn¡¯t sure what to say. If Sophia came to me, I¡¯m confident that the servants would also know the child¡¯s existence. With everything that happened, my mood is awful today. I sent all my servants away, leaving only Sophia and Chris standing in front of the window. I looked out the window and saw a star in the sky. It¡¯s about midnight soon. I didn¡¯t think it would be this difficult to let my father go. ¡°My right of inheritance remains.¡± My voice was so heavy, even I could feel it. Trying to lighten the mood, Iughed. ¡°You don¡¯t need to pretend to be indifferent. I know you have that kind of personality.¡± Sophia didn¡¯tugh. Chris looked at me and questioned why I was smiling. Then, he pulled out the dagger and said, ¡°idents always happen, my Lord.¡± The tip of Chris¡¯s fingers stroked the end of his dagger. He appeared cruel and cold-blooded. I sighed and looked at them. Sophia had three children and is popr enough not to get killed. As for Chris, he would run away without my permission if ever looked away for a moment. I opened the door and called for the servant who was waiting outside. ¡°Bring Eden,¡± I said, and then shut the door again. ¡°Eden?¡± Chris was the second son of the Count family, so he had no right to inherit and gave up on the knighthood early on, he was fully aware of society¡¯s rules. He looked at me curiously after hearing the name Eden, ¡®isn¡¯t there no one with the name Eden in your family?¡¯ I just smiled bitterly as a reply. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Eden?¡± Sophia, who recently became a baron, asked Chris what was wrong with the name Eden, apparently not understanding the problem. Sophia¡¯s face crumpled when Chris exined how the noble families would name their sessor. ¡°So, I have to name my first child Sophia?¡± ¡°In your case, of course, it is the paternal name.¡± ¡°Not my husband¡¯s name?¡± ¡°My Lord, since you are a Baron, he must follow your family name.¡± Sophia curved her lips in a smile and startedughing when Chris bowed in an exaggerated gesture and started acting like a fool. ¡°You want to die, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No matter how good of a knight you are, you should already know that I¡¯m better than you.¡± Chris pointed his finger at Sophia and drew a scissor, indicating that he and Sophia were no match for each other, and he¡¯s one step ahead of her. Sophia burst intoughter. ¡°You¡¯re above me? Come on. Today I will destroy that illusion of yours.¡± ¡°Shall we do it this instant then? Anytime whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± Sophia was about tough at Chris¡¯s threatening joke. Then the door opened, and Eden, who was now washed and fed, entered cautiously. Eden hesitated and was frightened. Gianton was now concerned that Eden could be someone of a higher position since I was treating him politely. ¡°Close the door.¡± The servant who brought Eden quickly examined the situation in the room before he promptly left. The room was securely closed and soundproofed, my ce especially. My father made sure the walls and doors in my room were extra secure for my safety when I was younger since it is likely to be one of the ces prone to kidnapping. I think this would be quite helpful today. ¡°Eden.¡± Chris¡¯s eyes fixated after hearing my words. Sophia was enchanted by the rare beautiful child¡¯s appearance. Inparison, Chris seemed to be lost in his thoughts. He looked at Eden, blinking like a toad. He examined his face, hair color, eye colors, and finally¡­ ¡°Eden¡­?¡± He looked at me, confirming the name. ¡®Please tell me you¡¯re lying,¡¯ he thought. The wishful face he had was also my wish. I hope this whole situation was just some nightmare, from the death of my father to Eden¡¯s existence. ¡°My father brought him inst year¡­ and locked him in a filthy room.¡± ¡°¡­Locked him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on either. I assume the servants thought he was my father¡¯s son. Even so, when they see his face and hear his name, they would instantly realize whose son he is.¡± ¡°Way to get into trouble, really.¡± Chris started murmuring, ¡°God, please take me with you right now.¡± When Sophia noticed that the situation was serious, she stabbed Chris in the side with her elbow. ¡°Whose son is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the son of the most well known ¡®Eden.¡¯¡± Chris answered and sat down while groaning, ¡®Ahhh.¡¯ ¡°The most well known?¡± Sophia was deep in thought for a moment before realizing the infamous Eden. She suddenly turned her head toward the sudden burst. Though she has never actually seen him, the Eden portraits were disyed everywhere. As Sophia finally realized, she swallowed her scream by covering her mouth with her hands. Oh, I know how you feel. When I sighed, Sophia ran to me and whispered, ¡°Wow, is that His Royal Highness?¡± Do I even have to answer? His appearance takes from the former queen, who was well known for her God-given beauty. Just like our family, he was also named Eden, just like the King. Now he¡¯s not the King¡¯s son, but my brother. But his name is Eden. ¡°B-but isn¡¯t he dead?¡± ¡°I thought so too.¡± ¡°So, how is this going to work?¡± Sophia quivered and asked. The King ascended to the thronest year. Ten years before his ession to the throne, he was still the Grand Duke. The King entrusted his only son to his younger brother to train him. It would be a lie to say the King wasn¡¯t worried, leaving the Crown Prince¡¯s education to others, though it¡¯s not unusual for nobles and royals. The Grand Duke was in charge of the Crown Prince¡¯s education since he was the highest rank and most prestigious person in the castle. Only Over the years, everything was normal for the Crown Prince, who went with the Great Duke at the age of one. He returned to the capital with the Grand Duke at a social party, where everyone was eagerly waiting. The problem came after, five years ago, the Prince snuck out to theke and drowned while swimming at night. His body was never found, but his bracelet was found inside the ship that he rode out. The King and the Queen were grieved. Eventually, the Queen fell ill, suffering from sadness until she died because of Pneumonia the following year, which was four years ago. Last year, when the King passed away, doubts about the legitimacy of the inheritance arose. The presence of the crown prince was holding father back. But when he found the Princest year ago, he locked him in the basement of our castle. Why didn¡¯t he send the Crown Prince back to the pcest year, when thete King was still alive? This is a situation where there¡¯s nothing that could be said even if he¡¯s used of treason. Maybe¡­ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Chapter 4 Chapter 4 I heard a rumbling sound as I was trying to organize my thoughts. As I turned my head, Eden had his head bowed down with his face bright red. ¡°Didn¡¯t you eat?¡± When I hugged Eden and forced his eyes to me for a reply, he answered with a soft voice. ¡°I-I was called here while I was eating.¡± If I called him over, he would just get dragged over whether he was eating or doing something. Eden treats me with respect. He probably doesn¡¯t realize that he¡¯s a Prince. Well, it¡¯s been five years since he disappeared. If he¡¯s eleven now, then he must¡¯ve been six then. He wasn¡¯t old enough to remember. Eleven? I nced at the boy who was right in front of me. Eden lowered his eyes ufortably, as he felt my gaze. He had delicate long shaded eyshes. His eyes were simr to Queen Anne, who had passed away. They were so beautiful and glimmering. Though he looks like he¡¯s only nine or eight years old, not eleven. ¡°Lord?¡± Sophia called me carefully, anxious when she saw me looking at the Prince, who seemed to be a bomb, without saying a word. ¡°Oh.¡± I gave Sophia a short reply and nced over at Eden once again. He had an anxious look in his eyes. His small body showed me that he had been having a hard time. What stood out above all are the old scars on his arms. The wounds look like they are from whipping. Of course, we are all given punishments and taught about whips. I was also beaten by my father, my teacher, and I had a whip too when I was young. There were only a few harsh cuts that left scars on my body, and I was treated immediately, even if I rarely had a wound. I also had bruises and scars on my skin. Judging from his exposed arms, he probably had scars and bruises all over his body. It must have been worse on his back. I can¡¯t believe he was whipped at this level and didn¡¯t receive any treatment. Maybe, he was treated as a ve. But from whom? Did my father do this? Why? The rumbling resounded again. It is probably Eden¡¯s stomach, and he was trying to prevent it from making a sound. His red face is now turning blue. I¡¯m not sure why, but he seemed to think I was going to be angry, and would I hit him. To me, he is a scourge of heaven, but this young Prince is, in fact, innocent. He deserves to be angry, but not towards me. Not only did father lock him up, knowing full well who he was, and treating him like livestock. However, he couldn¡¯t be putting his anger out on me, his daughter. ¡°I¡¯m hungry, too. Shall we eat together?¡± Eden¡¯s eyes grew bigger when I spoke to him affectionately. His face soon brightened up, unexpected that someone would ask to dine with him. Without knowing who I am, he already had such a happy expression on his face, after learning that we would eat together. He was lonely. My arms tightened around Eden for no reason. It was a pity that the Prince¡¯s life turned out to be this way. Even though I don¡¯t truly understand how he feels. My father¡¯s funeral was conducted in grand. ¡°Irryde G. Sarian XIV, who was the one who learned the true meaning of the book the most. A philosopher with the power of sentences capable of enlightening the devil, and a knight stronger and more righteous than anyone else, had gone to sleep today, and Creator we are begging you to wee Your follower back to your arms at the point of the moonlight.¡± ¡°We beg you,¡± said the gentleman, ¡°and all the people who attended the funeral, including me. May the moon be opened, O Creator, and greet the dead.¡± Fortunately, today is a good day. It¡¯s the 15th day of the month, so it¡¯s bright and the moon is big as if it would be caught by our hands. The way my father goes, like the moon blesses me. I hope he gets to go to the ce where the sun¡¯s asleep. I watched the ship carrying my father¡¯s body toward the moon, beyond the horizon of the night sea. I will never see you again. You can¡¯t see my face anymore. Now, I can never hear or see your face or voice ever again. I would never get to hear the nickname you used to call me, Silli, anymore. Those memories will only remain in my heart. There are a few portraits left, but the father in my heart is different from the father I know, and the father inside me will eventually disappear. I closed my eyes before the tears could fall. I am weak. It is the time when no one should hear me cry. I had to be strong. If I couldn¡¯t be strong, I had to look strong. I have to be as solid as the castle I¡¯m standing in, and I had to send a message for myself that no one would take the title of Duke or the Knights of Hastred from me. In the orphaned night. While the night is cold and dark, the moon seems to be warm and shining bright. My heart could never stay warm either. ¡°Lord.¡± Leon, deputy chief of the Knights of the Hearth Red, approached. He arrived at the castle a little while ago and managed to attend the funeral by a hair¡¯s breadth. He arrivedter than I did because he had to bring all my knights, unlike me, who ran straight to see my father. ¡°I heard there was an illegitimate child.¡± I suddenly thought about his words. What if Eden could be my brother? ¡°It might have been better.¡± Then everything would have been simple, but now this is tooplicated. With the Prince¡¯s disappearance and his uncle being Crowned King the question of legitimacy will ignite debates. The Crown Prince would also have to find out why he disappeared and who got him into this mess. He additionally has to learn about his father¡¯s death. In order to find out why my father kept the Prince in the stable, I will need to start with Gianton. He¡¯s not a light-mouthed person, but he¡¯ll end up speaking because he¡¯s open-minded. Before questioning Gianton, I need to know how much Eden remembered and how aware he is of his current situation. So in the middle of the night, I slipped out of the room carefully and headed to Eden without the servants¡¯ knowledge. The servants would hear what Eden and I were saying, and the story would have been transferred/told to Gianton. Gianton is a man who treated servants like his limbs. Therefore, I needed to hear the whole story from Eden before the servants did. What should I offer Eden, so he would tell me the whole story? Eleven years old¡­ what was I like back then? I thought about it as I headed to Eden¡¯s room. One of my pitiful ideas is to give him a Balcony, but the problem was that the eleven-year-old me would be easier to persuade Eden. When I was eleven years old, I was a sword-mad girl, who used to forget her meal and only wield a sword. Before my father would grab my hair, drag me to a restaurant, and tie me up with a rope. He threatened never to return the sword training until I had finished eating. He was the only one crazy enough to force me to eat this way. At the age of six, the Prince, who lost everything and was treated like a ve, and I, werepletely different people. Even if I go back to be eleven now, perhaps Eden and I would never get to know each other. I was born as a woman but never treated as one since I am my father¡¯s only child. If the heir¡¯s position were ever shaken, my father would drain all the water from theke if I drowned, if no bodies were found. Now that I thought about it, why didn¡¯t thete King do so? Eden, the only child, and the Crown Prince died suspiciously. If no bodies were found, why did he only believe his brother¡¯s words and admitted he was dead? Is it because he trusted him that much? ¡°Silli, you need to know about politics.¡± ¡°In my opinion, I think I know quite a bit.¡± I was hesitating in front of Eden¡¯s window. It¡¯s simple to open a window, but what happens next? What should I say to that poor Crown Prince and ask him to tell me everything about him? Can I even bring up the subject in the first ce? It was my father who locked him up here, after all. What should I do? I can¡¯t even promise him the legitimate right to the crown. If his uncle has already given up, then I¡¯ll help him. It¡¯s not fair to say that, what if the King asks me to kill him? I must be on the King¡¯s side. What should I ask him as coteral when I have nothing I can promise? ¡°Fuck it.¡± Thest time I saw my father was two years ago. At that time, he advised me to learn about politics. Only I remember my father¡¯s expression when I said I knew enough. The snorting face he had looked ridiculous. Though, I think my father was still a little hesitant about me stepping into politics. If he truly thought I should know about it at all costs, he would have harnessed my political sense no matter what. At that moment, I heard a sound. When I raised my head, the window was opened. The first back page. Heiress. When she saw me for the first time, sheughed vainly. She was talking to Gianton before, the deaconess of God, and said, ¡°You¡¯re in real trouble now,¡± she shuffled toward me. Her hair color was illuminated by the light that wasing behind her back. It was fiery red. She had golden eyes that looked to have been made from smattering sunlight. Though she was not tall, she was very slim and more beautiful than anything else. She held me lightly while I was busy enchanted by her visuals. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± Her tone was hard, but her expression was soft. She was smiling. She had a bright face while she looked down at me. After I lost my position, people treated me as if I was a gue. Those who knew who I was, were impatient to kill or exploit me, or did not show up before me, and those who did not know who I was insulted, punished, and hurt me. The years that passed were so long and felt eternal. The existence of a person who readily lifts me and smiles pleasantly after living half of my life is like a miracle for me. Chapter 5 Chapter 5 I thought she knew who I was. While thinking about that, I thought I would be able to ask her, ¡®Where am I, who are you, and why am I being treated this way. I know who I am. Can you send me back, I¡¯m a Prince, I¡¯m¡­¡¯ But there was nothing I could say, instead I just burst into tears. Though, I should hold back my tears because the only thing I have is my pride. I¡¯m Eden, Eden Grosnd. The sessor to the Grosnd kingdom and the Master of a kingdom, so I must survive. There is no way I will lose my pride. Every day I looked at the woman, repeating the words in my head to the point of vomiting. ¡°I am Cecilia di Sarian.¡± She introduced herself as if she had heard my voice. I haven¡¯t seen such a person in a long time. Someone who introduces themselves to a person like me. She was weing, and fearful to those who spoke about themselves without self-deprecation. This person knows who I am. So what is going to happen to me? ¡°This is Hastred Castle.¡± Shamefully, I couldn¡¯t remember where I am or who this person was. It was a time when I had already forgotten everything I had learned a long time ago. I was just trying not to forget who I was. I¡¯m Eden Grosnd, and I¡¯m the Crown Prince. I¡¯m not in a position to face this kind of situation, and it is very difficult just trying to hold on. ¡°You¡¯d better wash up and eat. It¡¯s already lunchtime.¡± She spoke in a tone as if I had overslept. While covering the smelly, dirty, and shabby me, my stomach kept grumbling. She provided me with a warm bath, an adequate guest room, and food that I expected not to be able to eat again. She left me in the guest room and disappeared, but the manner of the servants who had beaten and despised me waspletely different. Of course, those who used to treat me as a ve and whip me did not suddenlye to respect me. She told them to treat me as a guest, but I didn¡¯t want to be treated that way. So I was willing to do jobs. While they treated me like a job, they chatted to their heart¡¯s content. ¡°You really came back.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful. I can¡¯t believe you are a knight with a face like that.¡± ¡°Are you sure you really want to assume that from just the title?¡± ¡°So, we are going to have the first female Duke in our country?¡± I listened quietly, leaving myself in their hands. Duke, There were only four Duchess families when I was a Prince. I can¡¯t remember all of the names, but the Sarian family sounds so unfamiliar. Hastred Castle¡­ I think I¡¯ve heard of the name somewhere, but it was a long time ago. Still, I desperately collect information in my head in order to find out something useful. She is Cecilia di Sarian. The sole heir of the Sarian family. She is 26 years old, and a knight. I was a little surprised to know the difference in our age. I thought it would only be seven or eight years at a minimum. I never thought that we only have a five-year age difference. However, when I found out my age, I thought that more things might have been better suited to me than her. A woman who looks like a girl, but smiles like a wise man. She held me up. She didn¡¯t show any grimace when I was dirty. And she¡¯s going to be a Duchess as well. ¡°It¡¯s already lunchtime.¡± I peeped at her face while she said that. Whatever she might have thought, I stared at her face very hard at that moment. When I found a tiny little negative emotion in her face, the look on her face was disappointment, no, it was actually relief. They¡¯re all the same. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re trying to find a way to use me. No matter how many times I get hit, no matter how many times I die, I will not allow myself to be taken advantage of. I would just grit my teeth and act like I don¡¯t remember anything. She didn¡¯t say who I was, but she still treated me as the Prince. Instead, she was a little indifferent about me being a Prince and treated me like a child of any noble family. So my heart throbbed. I thought she¡¯d do something. ¡°Your Highness is calling.¡± At the end of the day, I had to be dragged out when I was about to fill my own stomach. I was hungry, but all I wanted to do was to go see her. I didn¡¯t care about the meal since I might be able to regain my fate. She might be able to do that. I thought it¡¯s all right to starve to death if I could live as the Prince again. Phew¡­ What are they all doing? Why are they looking for me? His fearful heartbeat was rising, and he was dragged halfway into the air by the hand of the servant. There were a man and woman standing by her side. Soon, they were aware of my identity and distressed. Meanwhile, she just looked at me, and examined me, as if she was sorting her thoughts. When my stomach growled, I felt truly humiliated. While I couldn¡¯t say anything, she kindly hugged me and asked me to dine with her. We really ate together. Not only me, but also her men proposed to have a meal together. The Duchess, no matter how many knights she has, sits with her men and eats with them. I thought it was strange because we are not in the middle of a war. She ate slowly. As if she doesn¡¯t like the meal. The man under hermand also didn¡¯t seem very interested in eating. Though the woman liked it very much. ¡°As expected, the meals in Hastred Castle are delicious.¡± She looked at it in admiration. And had an expression of envy. It doesn¡¯t matter if they remember my past as the Prince. When I first came here, I tried to identify who I was, and regain my rightful rights. However, the only thing I got in return was beatings and torture. So when I pretended to have forgotten who I was, everything stopped. Even if it was a long time ago, I could never forget it. Before I knew it, new food was on my te. Only then did I realize that whenever I gobbled up the te, the woman, who would be the Duchess, called the servant with her eyes and filled my te with more food. Suddenly I felt ashamed. Eating quickly and rudely was not part of my effort to hide my identity. I was just starving. And actually, I forgot almost all the manners I learned. ¡°I wish our castle¡¯s meal was delicious, too.¡± ¡°A good cook costs money.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The woman sitting next to me talked about the cook without any hesitation with her subordinate. I could see that the female subordinate had a title. Baron? A woman? I didn¡¯t know how this was possible. The man dined gracefully than the woman. He looked like someone who had learned table manners. I tried to eat moderately without showing off my table manners. The sry is higher than any cook, but Mrs. Wells came to our castle, in fact, and even had a higher sry as a cook. ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°My father offered to take charge of Tom Wells¡¯ education himself.¡± ¡°Tom Wells, isn¡¯t he Mrs. Wells¡¯ eldest son?¡± It is themon aspiration of all parents to leave their children¡¯s education to a higher family figure. The Duke offered to educate themoner? Why do all these impossible things happen here? My head can¡¯t absorb all the information I am hearing. ¡°Mrs. Wells is the pride of Hastred.¡± This woman is strange. Sheforts me as if I¡¯ve seen through my feelings. She epted her not because she is amoner, but because she was a great cook. I was lowering my head without saying anything because I thought I was going to cry but the man suddenly talked. This woman is peculiar. Sheforts me as if she has seen through my feelings. She epted Mrs. Wells not because she was amoner, but because she was a great cook. I lowered my head without saying anything because I thought I was going to cry but the man suddenly talked. ¡°I heard Mrs. Wells¡¯ sry is more than any chef¡¯s. Is that true?¡± ¡°It is hard to say that she is better than any male chef, but¡­¡± She then held me up and looked at the Duchess curiously, her female subordinate shook her head with a tired look on her face. ¡°She¡¯s a real gourmet.¡± ¡°You have enjoyed life at its finest. You¡¯ve tasted everything, not just gourmet.¡± ¡°Drinking, Food, Women, War, Power, Knowledge, Gambling, Politics¡­You really have the luck of the century.¡± The man mumbled something dimly. He seemed envious of the Duchess¡¯s father. The Duchess¡¯s father was the Lord of the castle, the dead man, and the one who kept me here. He hadn¡¯te to see me since he¡¯d been herest year, never introduced himself to me, and never revealed what he was up to. He didn¡¯t try to conciliate me, nor spy on me. He just kept me in an abandoned stable and provided me with enough food and environment to not die. Why did he do that? If he¡¯s not going to do anything to me, why did he bring me here in the first ce? In the meantime, I was forced from ce to ce. There is not a single ce that I went to with my own will. Everyone bought and sold me like an object. They all forced me around for their own interests, but why did they do that? Why didn¡¯t anyone take me, the Crown Prince, to the Grand Duke? Only Aren¡¯t I supposed to be the best prize of all? I couldn¡¯t understand it. That is the biggest question that I couldn¡¯t understand for years, I ponder as I am gobbling my meal. I wondered why no one would help me, but I wouldn¡¯t know the answer either. It was in the middle of the night that the Duchess came to see me, I was beaten, so I vented my anger and slept. It¡¯s brightening up. It¡¯s natural that I woke up because I usually wake up just from a little rustling. I was quite wary. This clean bed and delicious meal, and their friendly attitude. I thought all of these things they provided as if they were asking something in return. So I wasn¡¯t surprised when she visited me. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Chapter 6 Chapter 6 What did surprise me was that the duchess kneeled on the floor beforeing in and fell into her thoughts. She had braided her hair at the back of her head so it wouldn¡¯t bother her; however, there were many strands that hade loose as if she wasn¡¯t yet good at doing her own hair, despite that there was a strange charm to it that made her even more beautiful. The moonlight, her crimson red hair, and her troubled face, that had serious expression a while ago, now had lips slightly raised as if smiling, the curve of her lips seemed genuine. I didn¡¯t think she woulde just to kneel there forever, leaving me hanging without any sort of contact. I approached carefully and opened the door, I thought she¡¯d justugh and disappear like a fairy. Even though it was her who visited other people¡¯s bedrooms in the middle of the night, I still moved with my feet as if it was I who didn¡¯t want to scare her. I didn¡¯t want to surprise her as she looked like a butterfly that I felt would fly away at any moment. When our eyes met, her golden sword gently glimmered under the sudden rays of moonlight. ¡°You weren¡¯t sleeping.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Your Grace, how far back do you remember?¡± I didn¡¯t answer. I was startled by her direct question and felt it was rude. It was a matter of life and death to me. You want me to give you a truthful answer in exchange for you providing me a bed and meal for only a day, while I¡¯ve been beaten and swung around like a ve for years? My face must have been full of vignce since she sighed and jumped into my room. I stepped back a little while she closed the window. It was a little saddening that the only way I could defend myself, even when my guard is at its peak, is to retreat, I then stepped back once more. ¡°Your Highness the Crown Prince.¡± She looked back at me searching my eyes for the truth. I tried to y the role of a fool again, which I¡¯ve acted as one in the past, but I became embarrassed, so I suddenly couldn¡¯t think of how to do it. How did I act in such a role before? I think it was good enough just to stutter andugh like a fool. ¡°I beg your pardon. Your mother died of a serious illness the year after His Majesty¡¯s death,¡± She uttered as soon as I blinked giving my best effort to convince her of my innocent child fa?ade. At that moment, I couldn¡¯t say anything. My heart seemed to have stopped. Of course, I thought my mother would still be in the pce. I thought I¡¯d be able to meet my mother and hug her as long as I returned to the pce. I was on the verge of rage when I reflected, why isn¡¯t she looking for me or going to any lengths at all to make herself forgiven. She¡¯s dead? ¡°Your father also diedst year.¡± Why didn¡¯t my father find me? I always wondered about my father¡¯s affection. I was worried that he might have forgotten me. Did he hate me, his very own son? Maybe he didn¡¯t like me at all. Maybe I wasn¡¯t good enough? Not a moment passed where my mind wasn¡¯t clogged with such thoughts, but I never imagined that my father would have died or that I would be an orphan. Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn¡¯t cry. Then I would admit everything, and even though I knew it, I couldn¡¯t piece the shards of my heart back together with my two little hands. I¡¯m an orphan. I¡¯m an orphan, no one¡¯s looking for me. My knees buckled, and I crumpled on the ground. The thought that I should not cry made a warning sound in my head, but I couldn¡¯t help it, the tears continued to spill out. ¡°Ahhhhhhhh!¡± When I screamed, the woman quickly embraced me and covered my mouth. Her meaning, that I shouldn¡¯t alert others to the noise. I can¡¯t even cry. The world doesn¡¯t even allow me to cry. Until now I didn¡¯t know of my father¡¯s death nor my mother¡¯s. Millions of questions crowded my mind: why my father wasn¡¯t worried about me, was my mother sick because of me, why I had to go through this, and who made me look like this. The truth is, I didn¡¯t want to ask anything. It was so painful that I didn¡¯t want to think about anything. I just wanted to keep crying. I felt suffocated. My body trembled. I just wanted to die. I thought everything would have worked out properly if I simply endured it. I wish I had died in the first ce if this was how it¡¯s going to end. I wish I had died back then. The woman sat on the floor with me. She held me in her arms. She took her hand off my mouth and put it on my back when I cried. I don¡¯t know how much I cried until I felt palms patting on my back. I gasped and cried until my racing heart finally calmed. My nose was stuffed and my face hurt. The woman¡¯s clothes, an expensive Hararan, werepletely ruined by my tears. Nevertheless, the woman just patted me as if nothing had happened, is she being so nice to me because I¡¯m a prince? But am I even still a prince? ¡°Who sits on the throne now¡­¡± When I asked her in a nasally voice, the woman just patted me. She looked a little worried about how to say it, then answered as if she couldn¡¯t keep it hidden any longer. ¡°Grand Duke Rufold has now ascended the throne.¡± At that moment I remembered my uncle who took care of me when I was young. He was a tall, and handsome man, he was kind to me so I thought he was a good man. He gave me everything I wanted, allowing me to do whatever I wished. When I went to the pce I had toplete many difficult tasks, but when I was in his territory, I was free. I didn¡¯t need to study and I could eat whatever I wanted. I was free to oversleep and didn¡¯t care how I treated my servants. When I went out at night and told him, only the servants were scolded for telling him about what happened that night. I thought he really cared about me. And that night. The night I went swimming in the middle of the night. The night when all the nightmares began. I still question if that night really was a coincidence? ¡®The Grand Duke fooled me¡­¡¯ As soon as I tried to open my mouth, the woman repeated her gesture to block my mouth and called me warningly. ¡°Your Highness.¡± My eyes opened wide. She knew what I was going to say, but still covered my mouth, then I suddenly realized. The world knew. She knows but pretends she doesn¡¯t, my pain, my misfortune. Someone grabbed me while I was swimming and shoved me inside a carriage. No one heard me scream. The people I met since then beat me whenever I revealed my identity. Even using a whip! I was even beaten on my pharynx as they scolded me to be quiet! (pharynx = part of the throat) The moment he finally knew of his parents¡¯ death, after a year not knowing, the woman whispered, ¡°Earlier Your Highness hid his identity from me, with all due respect, it was for survival purposes, wasn¡¯t it? However, just because your parents died doesn¡¯t mean you have lost the reason to live. You have to struggle harder to survive. If you die now what was it worth to endure it all till now.¡± What if I die now? When I conveyed this to her with my eyes, she finallyid bare the harsh reality with apologetic eyes. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a dog¡¯s death.¡± Father, I wanted to live, but more humanly, I wanted to live as a prince. I ran so far for just one reason, and now I¡¯m no longer a prince, but nothing. But, Dad, this woman wants me to live¡­If I die here, I¡¯ll look like a dog. ¡°That¡¯s harsh¡­¡± It was the first time I¡¯ve said that in a long time. Until now, I had been criticized, considered crazy when I mentioned simr things. The woman loosened her arms that she had held around me, and I immediately stiffened. I thought she might use them to hit me, yet she didn¡¯t, she instead knelt on one knee in front of me, just as a knight would to its king. ¡°Hastred¡¯s Sarian greets you. Please take care of me.¡± My first knight is beautiful and friendly, ¡°Are you on my side?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± She¡¯s a liar. I was still watching the very first lie of my first knight. She is not my knight. She will be my uncle¡¯s knight. The whole world has fallen to my uncle. Everything is over while I pant like a dog for the freedom my uncle once gave me. My father shouldn¡¯t have given birth to someone like me, he should have had a child who is wiser and more talented than me. This woman is a person who doesn¡¯t deserve to see such a child. I held back my tears. If I had done well I wouldn¡¯t have given him an excuse to rise to the throne. If I had been strong, if I hadn¡¯t gone swimming that night, if I had studied hard, there would have been no way for my uncle to do whatever he wanted to do. However, I ruined everything by providing him the cause of this fiasco. So I shouldn¡¯t cry. I don¡¯t deserve to cry. ¡°Then you are my knight.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You move with mymand.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then help me with my ascension.¡± [T/n: he used the word ?? which also mean ascension or chance but it also literally means lottery ticket or simply lottery] Her golden eyes moved faintly. Lottery? She seemed to be thinking about the word lottery. I barely held back my irritation and opened my mouth, swallowing my dry saliva. ¡°I know, I can¡¯t be a prince, and I¡¯m separated from the throne, yes, I can¡¯t help it now. My uncle already threw away my chance, but even so, I am a person who inherited the legitimacy of the royal family. I should at least be treated as the Grand Duke.¡± Only ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°In return¡­. ¡± This woman doesn¡¯t trust me, neither do I. She¡¯s my uncle¡¯s knight, and she¡¯s the one who¡¯s moving for my uncle. No, to be exact, she is the Mistress of Hastred and will move with her and Hastred¡¯s interests alone. She is moving for herself. So I just have to stick out my only chance. It¡¯s fortunate that I still have a hand in this situation. Uncle, you should have killed me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll never let go of this feeling of revenge lightly. ¡°I¡¯ll support your right to inheritance. In exchange for my legitimacy.¡± Chapter 7 Chapter 7 My uncle is not Eden. I have legitimacy, the divine blood, noble name, and God¡¯s blessing, it¡¯s all mine. I¡¯ve forgotten most of those things, but I¡¯ve never forgotten my legitimacy. My father taught me over and over again why I¡¯m special, the authentic one, and it has be the core of my very existence. Originally I had to have a glittering crown along with my throne, but I fell apart from my throne, and it was my fault, so now I¡¯m the crown prince that has been sealed away. Nheless, I am the crown prince, I¡¯ll never sell myself for something cheap. I firmly clenched my fist. Father, please give me strength. Mother, please protect me. ¡°It may be too redundant, but still thank you,¡± the woman said. This woman is my stepping stone, and I will step on her. I didn¡¯t want to smile at all, but I still had to smile. I forced myself to smile. Once again, little by little I could feel myughter bing more natural. When she looked up at me, I revealed my beautiful natural smile. ¡°Thank you, Lord Hastread, for being in the same boat as me.¡± She¡¯s the only straw I can hold on to, as of now anyway. I won¡¯t miss my chance. *** The second chance for an 11-year-old who had lost everything. ¡°Wow, I¡¯ve never seen such an ambitious 11-year-old with such eyes.¡± Ugh, gross, Chris shuddered as if he was horrified. They casually called him Eden since he had little chance of reinstating himself as crown prince. However, by the time Eden had been in her castle for a few days, people¡¯s evaluations were divided. In general, good reviews such as thoughtful, quiet, and hard-working were the mainstream, but there were quite a few people whomented like Chris. ¡°Home-based teachers are very popr. He¡¯s going to learn fast, especially since, he¡¯s very passionate about studying.¡± Sophia followed up on my words, ¡°He¡¯s a good person; he¡¯s calm, passionate, and kind to everyone.¡± ¡°If his ambition is so strong, he should study hard. He looks pretty, but only because now he doesn¡¯t look like a dirty old bird, and it¡¯s natural to be kind. You were a ve until a few days ago, and now you¡¯re a guest of the lord, so you get arrogant then you¡¯re back to your old self, what are you going to do if that happens?¡± Chris grumbled, Chris, the second son of a count, seems to dislike the prince. I was lost in thought for a moment before realizing. Oh, the count is now a close associate of the current king. He was recently appointed as the minister of the pce. The fact that the king appointed the count as the head of the main pce means that he is close to the king, and isfortable with him. As for the count¡¯s second son, Chris, the beloved son, he had no choice but to react sensitively. Of course, the County will go to his eldest brother, but if the Count gets another title, the share belongs to Chris. If he gets it, thend will be handed over to the descendants of Chris for the rest of his life, which is a sensitive issue for him. ¡°You¡¯re originally a bad guy,¡± Sofia muttered with an ufortable look. Chris only snorted at her words, which were said to be more unlucky today. ¡°Fortunately, the Baron, who was given and and a title, knows the agony of this humble knight or a bum,¡± retorted Chris. ¡°You must want to get married because you¡¯re having another seizure. Just get married, please.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t imagine how miserable a child is born as the second son of a noble without any title to pride themselves in.¡± ¡°You can be a knight.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t have talent? And who¡¯s going to give me knighthood? Even without I would still be a son of a Count. My son is a knight, but by no means should my father be knighted.¡± Because he didn¡¯t want to pass down his misery, Chris said he wouldn¡¯t get married. Even though he is handsome, he refused all proposals. Chris¡¯s will power is so strong that even his father, the Count, could not order him to marry anyone, this is because it looked like Chris would abandon his father if he forced him to marry. ¡°Whoa. Chris, you are the noblest of all of us.¡± Sophia is free-spirited because she was raised as amoner. She¡¯s overwhelmed by the aristocracy¡¯s etiquette, and absolutely can¡¯t stand dresses. While I am good at etiquette and not ufortable with dresses, in the end, I am an emerging aristocrat. Before my father was knighted, bing a lord, my family was also amoner. Although he is a little famous for being treated as amoner and actively engaged in high society, he is not a blue blood at all. Chris is an elegant and perfect aristocrat,ing from a long family of meritorious retainers of the royal family. In fact, I think Chris is more aristocratic than his brother, in a good and a bad way. Chris smiled faintly when he heard is the most aristocratic out of us and crossed his legs while maintaining wless posture as we sat. He had a bitter smile. He smiled for a moment, bowed his head, then looked up again to make eye contact with me. ¡°Lord.¡± He used a low serious tone, which is rare considering his nature. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be angryter.¡± That kid. Chris deliberately yed Eden down knowing that he is the crown prince, he seems to deny his legitimacy for the throne. Considering the situation and Chris¡¯ position, it is something to be fully understood. Most of all, he doesn¡¯t know the promise between me and Eden. It is a secret between him and me that he would support my inheritance in exchange for helping Eden win the lottery. ¡°Let¡¯s say you don¡¯t remember who he really is, but one day, he might remember it. Then it¡¯ll be infinitely moreplicated. Even if he tries to stay still, he¡¯ll never let it go.¡± Even Chris, whomented that he had ambitious eyes, did not seem to think Eden remembered who he was. Of course, Edencked table manners and was not graceful in his actions. If he was a child of nobility, he didn¡¯t show it, even nobles don¡¯t have etiquette from the moment they¡¯re born. Etiquette needs training. It should be repeated sufficiently to be an ingrained habit. Eden¡¯s life is enough to destroy that kind of habit, but Eden is a prince, he was born with a sense of politics thus seeded in persuading me. ¡°Lord, make up your decision.¡± Sophia frowned at Chris¡¯ment. ¡°Are you going to kill a poor kid? He¡¯s the rightful sessor. Even if we can¡¯t get the throne back, we should let him return to where he rightfully belongs.¡± Once Sofia said poor kid Chrisunched into his argument, ¡°Poor child?¡± Sophie, wake up! The really poor thing is that if such a child suddenly appears publicly our lives will be shaken, lost, and destroyed. You think he¡¯s not gonna kill a couple of people?¡± ¡°Just because there¡¯s a possibility, does that make it the right decision to kill a child who¡¯s been taken away from his home? Is that even moral?¡± ¡°Who says it¡¯s moral? That it¡¯s right?! It¡¯s simply because that way is the most reasonable and fewer people will get hurt. You don¡¯t have to ask for a troublesome job!¡± Sophia and Chris began yelling at each other and would continue until I tried to stop them. ¡°Stop.¡± Leon, the deputy chief of the Knights, properly stopped them. Sophia and Chris stared at each other coldly and bit each other with discontent. ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve known the Lord that you¡¯re capable of ying Gatabuta.¡± When Leon, who was just entering the room, poured out criticism, Sophia and Chris both lowered their eyes. Recognizing that they crossed the line, I didn¡¯t know whether I should be angry or forgive them. I wasn¡¯t angry, but I am also not pleased. Because I was born with a low temper, I was forced to raise my anger when I had to be angry. That¡¯s why it¡¯s always been a little difficult to know if I should be angry or not. When I nced at Leon, he looked angry at Sophia and Chris. If I nowcked the feeling of anger that I was born with, Leon is cold and doesn¡¯t often get angry. However, in the past, once I got angry I would be angry like fire, Leon is much the same. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to get up now? Leon will definitely be mad at me if he gets angry. ¡®Don¡¯t let him climb!¡¯ The nagging discipline, warning me against letting him get his way, will start immediately, and it¡¯s unlikely that I will ever get used to it. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s time to go see him.¡± I have to run. I quickly got up from my seat before Leon¡¯s anger turned on me. Sophia and Chris looked at me with their eyes wide open. They seemed to say, ¡®Are you going to leave us?!¡¯ Of course, I am, if it¡¯s an enemy I can fight and kill, but if it¡¯s Leon, there¡¯s no other way but to run away. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Leon asked before I left the room. He seemed to be curious about where I was headed, it looked like he knew that I was running away. Either way, it didn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m done with my business once I leave this ce. ¡°I have an appointment.¡± I didn¡¯t mention where I was going. Eden¡¯s favorite ce was theke. He is known to have drowned in theke, but he was apparently kidnapped during a night swim. Anyway, he still liked theke and swimming. In recent years, he has not been able to swim leisurely, so nowadays he has been floating in theke whenever he has time. ¡°It¡¯s weird¡­.¡± I caught a glimpse of Eden taking the towel I gave him and drying himself off. Although he is petite and short for an 11-year-old, his speech is no different from that of an adult. However, the w remains that his body is too small. Those who were named Eden, or the kings, were all knights of great caliber. Will he get better when he grows up? While I was thinking, he continued, ¡°I went through so much, all caused by one night swimming in ake, but I still love swimming.¡± Chapter 8 Chapter 8 **** The bitter tone did not seem to belong to an 11 years old child. I don¡¯t know whether he wants to beforted or not, but I¡¯m either way I¡¯m not good atforting someone. So I told him the truth instead offorting him. ¡°Initially, mana holders usually like water. It¡¯s one of the easiest forms of energy to handle, so as we swim we start learning how to control our mana.¡± ¡°Magic?¡± Eden peered up at me with his eyes wide open. What magic? His eyes seemed to ask, his face buried in his towel. ¡°Your Highness, I have mana, so I can identify another mana holder right away.¡± Eden probably had wanted to pretend not to have mana. His eyes grew when I said such implying that he didn¡¯t need to hide. ¡°I-I have mana?!¡± ¡°¡­didn¡¯t you know?¡± ¡°Me?¡± He lookedpletely awestruck, he surprised me too. Why doesn¡¯t he know? Mana is innate, from the moment we are born we already have magic. If you are amoner like Sofia, you often find outter whether or not you have magic, because there is no one around you able to sense mana, but the story is different for aristocrats. When a child is born in a noble family, the first thing done is calling in the priest to check if the child has magical powers. The birth of a child with mana is tantamount to securing a great source for the family. They are more likely to receive a title independently and will contribute much to the family, but even though he¡¯s a prince, he didn¡¯t know he had mana? It¡¯s a gift from heaven, is what most say but in reality it¡¯s more twisted¡­. Mana is expressed from the moment of birth; however, in rare cases it is expressedterally, those few are called the chosen. They are also expressed as being loved by creators, which is inevitable since they have a huge amount of mana, different from ordinary mana holders. Magicians¡­ How many are there now? Great Masters of Magic have acquired fortunes, one diedst year and one is now secluded, so it is impossible to know where he is or if he is alive. It¡¯s so rare that the prince who disappeared is even the person who expressed the fortune. How much will the anti-imperial family faction covet this child, whose authenticity and magic are now added? My head was pounding. ¡°So I can use mana too?¡± Eden asked me. His eyes are dawdling in anticipation. ¡°Magic is just a force, and you need technology to use it. To answer the question, you can write it. You have to learn.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll learn!¡± Eden hung on me. The towel that was covering his body fell off, but he didn¡¯t mind. His face is asking me for an answer. When asked if he could learn, his face was so desperate as if he was trying to save his life. ¡°Operating mana is not as big as you think.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± ¡°Learning is pretty painful.¡± I looked back at my growth period, saying it was painful. Was it painful? Rather than saying so, I think I was tired. There was too much to learn and too little time. ¡°It¡¯s all right!¡± Eden shouted. Eden hugged me and murmured, ¡°Please. I have much pride in myself. Since I have revealed that he is a prince, I have never shown me that he is not a prince. In fact, I never thought this child believed in me. He did not know what he was thinking, but his blue eyes often showed vignce. He just has no choice but to catch me. Because I¡¯m his only tool. When he offered me the right of inheritance, I epted his deal not to have the right of inheritance. It was because I suddenly remembered my father. Didn¡¯t my father save him and put him in a stable to defend my inheritance? Maybe my father prepared him as a gift for me and as a legacy. I think this is thest will of my father. I couldn¡¯t resist it because I thought so. ¡°Sarian¡­please.¡± So this is something I can¡¯t refuse. It¡¯s not my job to teach him in the first ce. ¡°I¡¯ll look for a magician. Hastread castle is filled with them, so there are quite a few wizards. Perhaps you can find someone who can be your home teacher.¡± I need to speed up my inheritance, but since I said I would provide Eden a home teacher, I didn¡¯t say it because it¡¯s a matter for me to solve, it¡¯s not a matter for me to worry about. Eden breathed quietly in what I said. I imagined the recent feelings of the child, who is about to cry, to the Prince, and now will be a great prince. His parents who thought they could meet one day have already died, and he has nowhere to go, and the only thing he can do is lean on the daughter of a man who has locked him up. How hard and painful it is. I dare not imagine. I¡¯ve never put myself in that position. *** Autumn is the season of harvest, but it is also the season to prepare for the winter. ¡°In the past few winters, there have been no starvation or death in Hastread.¡± Rostov said. He nced at me and my knights, then shrugged his shoulders and added, ¡°We are blessed. We haven¡¯t had many colds in years.¡± In other words, when his father was the lord, there was no starvation or famine. Rostov acted as if he wereparing me to my father, but is forced to recite an excuse after receiving the fierce gaze of my knights. ¡°What about this winter?¡± But Leon, who was already offended, asked with his arms crossed. ¡°So what do you want to say?¡± Rostov muttered, ¡°Maybe it will be cold though¡­¡± on his face, without hiding his embarrassing expression. Chris frowned. ¡°It¡¯s winter, of course, so it¡¯s cold, Your Holiness. How cold do you think the temple will be?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Rostov hesitated. Chris¡¯s remark was a subtle sarcasm in which the temple expected winter to be so cold, or how much he expected my ability to bepared to my father. ¡°My Lord.¡± Sophia¡¯s eyes were furiously raised. Oh, I don¡¯t see any signs¡­ ¡°You must have a short tongue. Do you want me to make it long?¡± ¡°Sophie!¡± Sophia shrugged her shoulders when I yelled. Sophia follows me. Her loyalty is very high. It¡¯s a grateful thing, but sometimes her sky-high loyalty causes problems. Rostov¡¯s eyes grew because of the threat to his tongue. Rostov, who is born into an aristocratic family and became a priest after being confirmed of his divine power, is probably the kind of bully-like threat he has never heard of before. ¡°What?¡± Rostov opened his eyes wide. His brown eyes trembled like a leaf from insult to severe his tongue. But he turned his eyes away when Sophia got up. He looked at me as if he felt that it is impossible to fight against Sophia, who is a rune de user. Looking at the protesting gaze made meugh. ¡°Lady!¡± Rostov flew into a rage when Iughed. I know I shouldn¡¯tugh, but I couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°Rothy.¡± His face turned redder when I called Rostov¡¯s nickname after a long time. He seemed to think I was trying to cate him. I put my chin on and asked what I really wanted to know. ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m the only and best person here?¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± Rostov¡¯s eyes were as dark as a toad as if he didn¡¯t understand what she meant. ¡°Are other people scared and I¡¯m less scared?¡± ¡°Lady.¡± ¡°I¡¯m your master. Shouldn¡¯t I be the scariest?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°And I have to be the scariest person here. Because I killed the most people.¡± When I grinned, Rostov¡¯s eyes were filled with fear. Rostov was my magic teacher when I was young. As a priest, I learned how to handle water. Many people who saw me when I was young think this way. They still call me a six-year-old girl, girl, and misunderstand that they can do what they want in front of me. I knew Rostov was secretly thinking about it, but he didn¡¯t have to fix him because he didn¡¯t really need it. I didn¡¯t stay in Hastred most of the time. I am the sword of the king, and I went wherever the king wanted and killed his enemies. It didn¡¯t matter who the king was. For me, whether it is the current king or the previous king, it is just the fulfillment of the order, or, to be exact, the fulfillment of the contract. The Knights of the Hastread were, to be exact, on a long-term contract with the Kingdom of Grosnd. After all, what is important to me is the Knights of the Hastread. But if necessary, I didn¡¯t mind cutting the head of the magic teacher who taught me when I was young. ¡°Do you understand, Rothy?¡± ¡°¡­¡­I understand, I did, miss.¡± ¡°Your Grace. Call me Your Excellency, Rothy. I¡¯ll be the duke.¡± Rostov¡¯s eyes shook wildly as she smiled and said that. He shook his head and nodded. ¡°Yes, yes, Your Excellency.¡± I leave one of my childhood memories like this again. I still vividly remember the first time I killed a person. At that time I was surprised to have killed a person. I was rather surprised that I didn¡¯t care about killing people. The moment of killing seemed to pass very slowly, but it was just actually a split of seconds. Her life was fleeting. It felt very dirty to see the light of life fading away, but what is even more unpleasant is a world where she should never show that dirty feeling. Chapter 9 We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please note that the content of this chapter will soon be revised and updated. Chapter 10 Chapter 10 *** ¡°Ms. Hastred will do her best to keep her father alive.¡± I meant she isn¡¯t too young to get hit on, but she sighed unexpectedly. Like someone who knows the truth. ¡°Ms. Hastred?¡± She smiled when he called her again because he doesn¡¯t see her responding at all. ¡°It¡¯s Silli. Just call me Silli. I¡¯m just Cecilia Sarian because I haven¡¯t been recognized by the Hastreds yet.¡± Cecilia Sarian. The noble¡¯s honorific ¡°G¡± is excluded from my presence because I am a superior person. This natural consideration warmed my heart. I thought she was really thinking of me as a prince. ¡°And of course, I will also do my best to honor my father¡¯s will as his child. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know how.¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Where is your father¡¯s will?¡± She asked the biggest question. She could see him inhaling deeply as if he is frustrated. Where is my father¡¯s will? What did that king want me to do? As soon as I was born, I was almost always with my uncle, Grand Duke Raphnell. It should be for the sake of educating me, but my uncle gave me a lot of freedom and did not let me study even if I wanted to. I have been doing what I wanted to do rather than studying, but my uncle did not let my father and mother know that. My father and mother, and people around me thought I am well educated. My uncle only made me study so that I could do well on my father¡¯s test twice a year. It is a way to teach basic things and figure out problems in advance and memorize answers. Now I know it¡¯s very wrong. I feel keenly that it is not helpful to me. No matter how young the country is, when I heard other people¡¯s thoughts about the king who is my uncle, Grand Duke Raphnell I knew what my uncle had decided what to do with my education, and who kidnapped me while I was swimming in the middle of the night. ¡°The will of the deceased is often done at the discretion of the living.¡± I shouldn¡¯t have. Silli murmured. She looked genuinely curious about what my father meant and what he wanted me to do. As I looked at her, the moonlight highlighted her nose. Her nose formed an elegant and dramatic line. Her profile further highlighted her age beyond measure. A good person. I suddenly remembered the word. Silli is a woman who is good enough to use the word good. A person who thinks about the true meaning of his dead father is and cares everything about me. Being a knight of both magic and faith, and a knight of the continent at a young age, she didn¡¯t try to show off and even tried to take care of everyone. She is doing all that work as if she is only breathing. She always had a unique smile. What kind of person do I really want to be? I wanted to be a holy knight to protect myself. I wanted to protect myself even if I faced the threat of kidnapping again. I thought I could protect myself if I am as strong as her. ¡°You have to go back now. It¡¯s cold when you are dressed like that.¡± I looked at the ashes from the pipe on the ground and she held out her empty hand towards me as if she wanted to hold hands. ¡°I can walk.¡± I said with my chin up straight. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Silli smiled and raised her hand. Heuk Ack, as soon as I jumped up, barely swallowing my breath, what I saw was the faint morning sunlight between the skyring curtains. ¡®Oh, it¡¯s my room.¡¯ I thought so andughed. This is my room? No, not my room, my mind thought, is this a prison, or a barn, or an abandoned stable? I¡¯m afraid this moment is a dream. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m finally going crazy and dreaming things. What if I am just scratching the walls of that stable, while drooling and dreaming? What should I do? ¡°What should I do to protect myself!¡± I shouted like thatst night, but Silli didn¡¯t answer. She just told me not to walk on the bloody road. A bloody road That means he¡¯s on that path again. And she probably doesn¡¯t like that kind of road very much. Why? Why did she describe the path of the knight as a bloody road? That road would be an honor. When the magic ss begins, the magic teacher asks the conditions for bing a holy knight. ¡°A holy knight should have both the divine and magical powers in its body. Mana is present upon the birth of an individual, but divine power is given through birth from the family, or from their blood. If you don¡¯t receive any divine power in your house, you have a very small chance of being a holy knight.¡± ¡°Is there a magician in Silli¡¯s family?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot. She¡¯s one of the high personnel in the family after all.¡± The wizard answered meekly, but he looked a little surprised when I called her Silli. He seemed to think it is very rude of me to call her Silli because he didn¡¯t know who I am. He probably thought of me as a guest of Silli. So I asked on purpose. ¡°Cecilia told me to call her Silli, but it¡¯s a little weird. Why isn¡¯t she called Cecil, but Silli?¡± Then the magic teacher¡¯s face brightened. When she found out the name I called her for is allowed by Silli, he answered in a manner that seemed to have dropped a burden on his thoughts. ¡°Her grandmother¡¯s pet name is Cecil.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Her grandmother¡¯s name is Cecilia.¡± Oh, so that¡¯s the reason why. When I nodded, the magician lowered his voice, saying, ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯re thinking of ¡°Illyde.¡± Illyde is the name of the heir. And Ilyde¡¯s pet name is ¡®Ily¡¯. I barely endured the fact that my face almost got distorted when I am told that I am simr to Silli, so I thought it might have been in her mind. That¡¯s nonsense. Why can¡¯t he just name her ¡°Illyde¡± then? It¡¯s a little ufortable to give your daughter a nickname from your mother, so he just gave her another nickname. I tried to concentrate throughout the magic ss, but as soon as the ss was over, I had no choice but to memorize all the memorable family members in my head. As expected, there is no new heir. There¡¯s no faith in the bloodline of my family. That meant, I couldn¡¯t be a holy knight. But I can be the head after all. *** Silli didn¡¯t look great when he said he wanted to learn swordsmanship, but as usual, she did as he wanted. He is able to learn the sword from a dame called Sophia as a teacher. She didn¡¯t say a word when he said he wanted to be a holy knight, but Silli looked to have noticed his train of thoughts and deliberately assigned Sophia, her deputy and a holy knight, as his sword trainer. Sophia is a knight with a slim figure, dark skin, eyes, and aggressive swordsmanship. After learning swordsmanship from her for a few weeks, he finally learned the basics of swordsmanship. Her words were rather harsh, but she looked like amoner with the way she acted and then became a knight and barely became a baron. She told him that a teacher who knows who he is but is still struggling with her student is useless. He had a sword art ss every single day and grinded his teeth. Sometimes, Silli would participate in the swordsmanship ss. What is surprising to him is that she implemented it in a very sincere manner, carrying very basic things. I am dumbfounded when she does the basic thing of wielding a sword with him. But Sophia grabbed him by the shoulder and made me look at Silli. ¡°Look exactly at Your Grace.¡± Sophia said. ¡°That¡¯s the correct posture. It¡¯s different from your staggering posture. That¡¯s how you should do it.¡± Let¡¯s talk like this. I frowned at the tip of my nose and couldn¡¯t take my eyes off Silli¡¯s appearance. Her white shirt, ck leather pants, and a wooden sword a little bigger than I had were as beautiful and neat as a picture. Sophia is my teacher, but I learned swordsmanship by looking at Silli. I thought I wanted to swing a sword like Silli. I liked Silli¡¯s beautiful sword rather than Sophia¡¯s aggressive sword style. Silli¡¯s style is calm and elegant. Whenever I looked at her swordsmanship, I thought. The bloody road I don¡¯t think her sword had a scent like that at all. Silli did not say a word about my sword style. Sometimes she would only participate in swordsmanship ss together, but I heard that her sword style is like that, and she never said a word of intervention. I am very troubled by the fact that she didn¡¯t say good job or fix yourself like this. Why wouldn¡¯t she say anything about my sword style? Is it too bad for her eyes? Of course it is, but for a child who only started, she must say something like you are doing great, try harder, or something like that. From some point on, I was confused whether I was trying to be good at the sword or trying to get a word from Silli. Nevertheless, Silli did not say anything until the end. *** By the time I started learning swordsmanship for nine weeks, a maid pushed a note, slightly visible under my soup bowl while I was eating. She did it without anyone noticing, so I naturally put the note in my sleeve. Chapter 11 My heart was pounding. What¡¯s going on? Who was sending me this note? My mind wasplicated. I wanted to stop eating right away, get up, go to my room, and check the contents of the note, but I was afraid that it would look unnatural. So I ate slowly, walked slowly back to my room, said I wanted to be alone, and hurriedly took out the note. Dear Crown Prince. The handwriting was very strong and intense. I hurriedly read the line below. It seems that this old man¡¯s heart is going to be crushed by how many hardships must be faced in a lonely castle. Your Highness the Crown Prince, you are safe, and this is the blessing of this kingdom. Please return to the capital as soon as possible and ascend to the throne granted by your legitimacy. In order to achieve the providence that God has ordained, Shin Woosen and the other eight are working closely together. Once you have made up your mind, please tell the maid who gave you this note. If you choose a date and time, we will pick you up at the pavilion located southeast of Hastred Castle. Woosen, Larsfield, Rosen, Leward, Iron, Swire, Soiana,te. 8-member association. The eight nobles, the eight-member association, each had signed their own signatures. They looked serious. It felt like my heart would explode. Can I take the throne back? Can I make my uncle pay for it? All sorts of cruel thoughts shed through my mind. An uncle who is hanged, an uncle who is burned at the stake, an uncle who is decapitated, and then again and again¡­ . I also remembered that naughty aunt. When I thought of my aunt who had lost everything and howled as a ve, a joy erupted within me. They said that I had nothing to think about, and stopped as I grabbed the pen. But I don¡¯t know who these eight people are. Is there any way to know who they are and their sincerity? Is there such a way? Do they exist? I¡¯ve been thinking about it for a few days, but I can¡¯t think sharply. At first, I was overjoyed that I was going crazy but after a few days of calming my excitement, I thought about it, and it was full of strange things. The strangest thing was this. How was my existence known to other nobles? It was known to eight people? Does it make sense that my uncle, the king, does not know of my existence? What would he do if he knew of my existence? It is obvious how he woulde out when he found out about my existence, he who ruined me under the guise of education, kidnapped me, and eventually took the throne even when my father was alive. Would I have been able to make a wiser decision if I had been an adult like Cili? Would something goode up? There¡¯s no solution. I can¡¯t refuse this outstretched hand, but I can¡¯t hold it. What should I do in this situation where I can neither go forward nor step back? It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t even think about discussing it with Cili. ¡°It is a bloody road. Do not walk through it.¡± Even if those eight had pure intentions as I wished for them, Cili seemed to dissuade me. So I didn¡¯t ask Cili. If she tries to stop me, I have no power to shake her off. My current situation is that if she tries to stop me, I can¡¯t do anything. Wait, I can¡¯t do anything if she tries to stop me? For a moment, I felt a light shing in my head. I had a feeling I might be able to take advantage of this situation, hopefully. With the n in my mind, I closed my eyes for a moment. Can I do it? My head was pounding. I was afraid that I wouldn¡¯t be able to do well. I was afraid that Cili would notice the oddity, and I was afraid that other variables might arise. But I cannot ignore this outstretched hand. Because I know that beyond that, the bodies of my father and mother are staring at me without even closing their eyes. Even for the sake of the two people who died because of my mistake, I cannot back down. Therefore, I looked out the window. Below it, I could see the ce where I was taking swordsmanship lessons. Beneath the tree of patronage, I saw Cili swinging her wooden sword. She wielded a wooden sword with me, but in fact, if it wasn¡¯t for me, she wouldn¡¯t be able to hold a wooden sword in her hand. And it¡¯s because she¡¯s a holy knight. I¡¯m sorry, Cili. I can¡¯t say it out loud and apologize. Because if I apologize like this, I will regret what I¡¯m about to do. However, I know she¡¯s been really nice to me regardless of what her father did to me. I know she¡¯s a good person. There¡¯s also a sense that I¡¯m leaning on her and doing something awful. So, I¡¯m really sorry. I shut my eyes tightly. ??? I don¡¯t know what happened. ¡°What the fuck!¡± It seems like there was a group of shameless people who were 3 or 4 persons, that infiltrated into my castle and split into lines. Who the hell are you toe into someone¡¯s castle? Isn¡¯t this crazy? ¡°It¡¯s the casten.¡± The masked people¡¯s eyes widened when I answered unevenly. tl/n: Casten is a lord of the castle. I could have chosen ¡°lord¡± but it sounds fancier mehehe.. ¡°Casten? Th-then¡­?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pdin! Get your act together!¡± Everyone screamed loudly. Normally, they would have waited and watched leisurely, whether they were rearranging their lines or doing anything. There may be clues to find out who they are, such as the sword technique or the way they form their ranks. But I was in a bit of a hurry. I came to the garden pavilion in the middle of the night because of Eden¡¯s request. Eden seemed to be furious at Sophia¡¯s teaching and teasing, and he asked me to take a look at the sword art. In fact, Sophia is much better at teaching someone than me, but it is difficult to refuse when asked, so I was going to meet him secretly in the middle of the night. If he gets involved with them, he will be in trouble. It is also a problem when they be rich when they have a hostage, but the bigger problem is when these unidentified people know the value of the hostage. What if it¡¯s for him? It¡¯s not a strange time for his presence to be known to the pce. No matter how thoroughly tight the security is, the dead prince has returned alive. This information will be worth a fortune and someone who knows is willing to make it their own. You can¡¯t me them. ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy killing people when it¡¯s not a war.¡± The words came out as an excuse without me realizing it. There are 8 masked people. At this point, it won¡¯t be a problem if Eden doesn¡¯t show up and be held hostage by them. ¡°You are out of luck.¡± Someone shouted and rushed at me, ¡°You underestimate us!¡± There was no need to put mercy in my hands as long as I decided to kill. It¡¯s important to find out who they are and who sent them, but it¡¯s not as important as Eden¡¯s safety. ¡°Kill her!¡± ¡°Move that way!¡± Weren¡¯t they infiltrating Hastred? They¡¯re trying to kill me loudly. I kept them immobile one by one, moving without difficulties. A small shadow was seen from the lower part of the pavilion as the men were seen with their throats out, arms cut, and their sides cut off and rolled around the floor when a familiar smell of blood reverberated. At first I thought some of them were hiding there to catch me. But the shadows were too small for them. When a foot slipped out, I could tell who he was. I knew the shoes. It¡¯s my shoes, to be exact. The shoes I wore when I was young. The shoes that had been worn a few times were now owned by Eden. Eden. Why is Eden hiding under the pavilion? How long has he been hiding? As I swung my sword, I tried to organize my thoughts. I arrived at the pavilion first and there was no one. A littleter those masked men came, and there was a little time in between. It¡¯s like Eden¡¯s been over there all this time. That means he was hiding there from the beginning, even before I came. You crawled under that filthy gazebo as if you¡¯d expected me and the masked men to bump into each other? My mood was rolling like I was stuck in the mud. I could see that I was now used as a means. Ah, yes, I¡¯ve been used like this many times. A lot of people used me this way. Yeah, I¡¯m used to it. It¡¯s not that big of a deal. But it was offensive that the little kid was using me like this. I wielded my sword and thought as I moved. That child is alone and in a position to think about many things. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I¡¯m sure he¡¯s done enough to think about it. I know, but I can¡¯t help being offended. ¡°Die like your father¡­.¡± Thest one died leaving a word to see if he had the strength to leave a curse. You want me to die like my father? I thought it was a strange word. Like father? Of course, the story of his death was widespread. My father¡¯s official cause of death was cardiac arrest, but no one believed it. It¡¯s supposed to be a curse, but even if it was really a heart attack, people would have still believed my father would have died of a curse. My father had so many enemies. But ¡®like my father¡¯? Isn¡¯t it like you know how my father died? I killed a guy who I needed to hear something from. Tsk, I clicked my tongue. I tried kicking the body, but I couldn¡¯t hear anything because he was already dead. I knew it. I began to search through the bodies. I was wondering if there was a clue. However, as they infiltrated Hastred Castle, they had nothing to prove their identity, apparently they¡¯re mindful of this case. Chapter 12: Only a few things were known. Only a few things were known. Judging from the way they use their swords, they are knights who have received formal training. It was high-level mana with ck magic in it. In other words, they were knights who received considerable treatment. It means they belonged to either a powerful knightly order, a high noble, a high priest, or a member of the royal pce. They may belong to the royal pce. That¡¯s natural, but if it¡¯s not, the case gets bigger. How much do they know about Eden¡¯s existence? In such a case, I also need to be more thorough on my side. Since Hastred is a knight¡¯s castle, the bond is strong, and the security is good, so maybe the problem was that I wascent. Should I pick out each person who knows Eden¡¯s existence and trace them back? My mind gotplicated. Few people knew of Eden¡¯s existence, and most of them were people I trusted. Something like this is making my heart feel heavy again. I looked up at the sky and saw the cloudy moon. Still, it didn¡¯t seem too difficult for Eden to return to his room. In the beginning, there were quite a few lights in the garden. What should I say? Should I tell him toe out? But I¡¯m not in the mood to say anything. I thought that I had put a lot of heart into that little prince. Come to think of it; I¡¯ve done a lot of things that aren¡¯t like me. It was pitiful for him to be anxious about not protecting his body, yet his will to do something was extraordinary. Especially. I looked down at the children¡¯s sword I had brought. This sword that I used as a child was a good gift my father gave me, and it was also something that I regarded as life when I was young. It¡¯s a useless item now, but it¡¯s still a memorable item for me, so do I need to give it to Eden? ¡­ Anyway, let¡¯s not forget that it¡¯s something I brought with me, it¡¯s not something I¡¯m going to use, and no matter how he used me, his pain is real. I put my sword in front of the pavilion where Eden was hiding and walked towards my room. I had a bitter heart and a sour taste. ??? ¡°You don¡¯t stay with His Highness these days.¡± A few dayster, Chris said. He had a tone of humility. Once again, I thought it was obvious that I cared a lot about Eden. As soon as he spoke, Sophia said as if she had been waiting. ¡°His Highness was sullen.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± ¡°Yes. Where did you get that awesome sword for children¡­ Wasn¡¯t it a gift from your Grace?¡± Can I say I gave it as a present? I remember how it felt when I left it. And I thought about how he got it. After I left, I did not want to think too much about what he must have thought when he saw the sword that had beenid aftering out of the filthy pavilion alone or how he had brought it with him. It seems that such a thing cannot be expressed in terms of a gift. ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t a gift.¡± ¡°¡­ What happened?¡± Sophia asked cautiously. I turned my head and looked at her, scratching her cheeks with her finger. ¡°I asked if he had received a present from Her Grace, and he said he did not know. Both of you are quite weird¡­ .¡± ¡°It¡¯s the sword I used. It¡¯s nothing new to be called a gift.¡± Iughed and added, ¡°Ah, that¡¯s what it meant. It¡¯s such a good sword, but it¡¯s not new, so it can¡¯t be a gift!¡± ¡°It evenes with a path, so it¡¯s a great gift!¡± she eximed. I like this about Sophia, simple and clear. Chris, on the other hand, was staring at me. He wasn¡¯t the kind of a person to fool so easily. ¡°Well, from the Crown Prince¡¯s point of view, it seems vague to call it a gift.¡± He said so and bit his mouth. He didn¡¯t seem to want to ask me what was going on in front of Sophia. Maybe he thought he wouldn¡¯t get an answer. ¡°More than that, the ones you dealt with at night, there is one strange thing.¡± ¡°Something strange?¡± ¡°One of them had a Yen Son pass.¡± I thought they were from the capital, so it was not strange to have the capital city Yen Son pass. What is the problem? Chris lowered his voice as I looked at him. ¡°The seal belonged to Baron Hostino, and this baron is actually very friendly with the captain of the guard. He¡¯s been my best friend all the days of Royal School.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°My brother went with me to the Royal School together at the time.¡± That is, he gave the pass for the Captain of the Guard? If he gives out the pass in the captain¡¯s name, he will be conspicuous, so he asked for the seal of a close friend and elusive baron? It was a usible story. The problem is that if all of these stories are true, the person who sent the masked person is the king, and if so. ¡°I must move quickly.¡± If the king finds out about Eden¡¯s existence, there is no room for educating Eden here and what to do. Before the king could use various means, I had to take Eden to Yen Son. Only when everyone is visible, will Eden¡¯s life prolong. ¡°Tonight.¡± Chris and Sophia looked at me at my words. I looked at them and thought. Which of the two would have revealed Eden¡¯s existence? The possibility is probably¡­ I nced into Chris¡¯s dark eyes. The Chris family is famous for its spy corps. Chris can never break away from his family roots. ¡°We leave by boat.¡± There¡¯s nothing like a boat to go fast. And there is less chance of being attacked than bynd. If I don¡¯t n to move the navy, I¡¯ll have to pretend to be a pirate to conduct a surprise attack. It¡¯s not difficult to pretend to be a bandit, but pretending to be a pirate is a lot of work. Above all, it¡¯s knights, not the sailors, that the king uses as his hands and feet. Contrary to me, who cane aboard my father¡¯s ship, the king has no private ships avable. I could see a look of dismay in Chris¡¯s dark eyes. For a brief moment, I saw it clearly. Yes, it was him. We¡¯ll announce Eden¡¯s presence on the king on the other side and to the king. He seems to be struggling to increase his power over there. It is heartbreaking that I can¡¯t say anything. If I leave this alone, it will be a habit. Together¡­ ¡°Should we drink some alcohol?¡± Let¡¯s have a drink and share our feelings. Should we do the same thing again? Ha, I sighed. I¡¯m a smoker, but I don¡¯t like alcohol. It is one of the characteristics of those with divine powers as the body does not take it very well. I talk frankly and roll around when I get drunk. The body rejects everything that is addictive, except at the beginning of a year. It¡¯s probably because of magic. People with magical powers are powerful against addictive things like alcohol and tobo and enjoy them initially. ¡°Alcohol?¡± Chris looked at me with puzzled eyes. What are you drinking? I just smiled as he asked that question. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°This happens sometimes.¡± ¡°You mean the lord?¡± ¡°What.¡± Chris¡¯s eyes gleamed with suspicion. It is ufortable to receive such a gaze from my subordinates, whether it hurts my heart or not. And so. ¡°Sophie,¡± I called her, and she looked at me with loyal eyes. I smiled at her. ¡°Prepare the ship. I leave everything to you.¡± Chris¡¯s gaze pierced my back. I know that excluding Chris has hurt him. However, if he continues to leak the situation, the work I can entrust to him is bound to be limited. Sophia smiled broadly. ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± Sophia¡¯s work is perfect and neat. If I leave it to her, it will be definite. As for the moment, I¡¯m not asfortable with Chris. As Sophiaughed and added, ¡°I¡¯ll also prepare delicious, easy-to-drink alcohol.¡± Sophia went out first to get ready, and only Chris and I were left in the room. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he eventually couldn¡¯t open his mouth. I also didn¡¯t say anything. I haven¡¯t found any evidence, so what can I say? Chris also knows that I excluded him, but he¡¯ll be in trouble if he digs into why I did it. ¡°My lord, do you want to drink with Sophia?¡± Chris asked sullenly. ¡°Are you jealous?¡± ¡°It makes me confused.¡± ¡°You have to be nice to me. That¡¯ll get you in, Chris.¡± Heughed bitterly at my thorny words. He licked his mouth andughed. Then he put his palm on his chest and said, ¡°Forgive me for not understanding your heart, my lord. I am the master¡¯s ve.¡± He made an exaggerated gesture. And we didn¡¯t say anything. I don¡¯t know why Chris didn¡¯t say anything. Because I was in vain, those lies were so worthless. That was it. The night hase. Thedy-in-waiting hugged me and asked, ¡°Are youing back?¡± several times. The maids seemed to want me back. Changing owners is a huge burden for them. No matter how bad one¡¯s personality is, a person is less afraid of the acquainted. Even if my personality is on the blunt side for an aristocrat, and even if it¡¯s not, I¡¯m not that bad of a master for them since I often abandon my professionalism. Therefore, it seemed that the maids wanted me to be the master, that is, to win the title. Inparison, the servants, the men, seemed skeptical. They want me to be the owner, but if that doesn¡¯t happen, they still seem to think that supporting me now might upset the new master. Chapter 13 We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please note that the content of this chapter will soon be revised and updated. Chapter 14 Chris turned to me. He probably doesn¡¯t know what kind of eyes he has that look at me. Those eyes are gazing right through me. How do I know if I can believe those words? I wouldn¡¯t say I liked seeing my subordinates being cowardly, so I opened my mouth at Sophia¡¯s outburst. ¡°I have heard Countess Orsso said in the salon. You may not be able to hunt in the royal pce this year, His Majesty the King will do something disconcerting, so I do not know if you will be able to afford to hunt¡­Oh. Your parents must be smart, Chris.¡± ¡°Tha, that¡¯s,¡± ¡°It seems too cruel to hunt and kill the returning Crown Prince. You can¡¯t hunt, in that case. Count Orsso seems to think the Crown Prince is going to die.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°I also have friends in the social world.¡± In fact, it is underlying. The position is also special. Being both a knight and a woman, I had to be proficient in both societies. I had to get along well with men as well as with women. I have to dance gracefully in a corset, dress, and high heels while winning against the dancer. As a result, my personal rtionships, although not deep, are thin and broad. I had quite a few friends and acquaintances in both men and women, and everyone treated me especially as the heir to the duke. When Countess Orsso uttered those words, only seven letters came to the castle of Hastred. Because everyone thought I was the king¡¯s trouble. It is not unreasonable to think since my rtives have already stirred up in the capital Yen Son. So some people criticized me, while others worried about me and tried to warn me. I sent the letter for different reasons, but as soon as I saw it, I knew immediately what Countess Orsso was talking about about the king¡¯s troubles. He was not a king who would refuse his favorite hunting to the extent of my inheritance problem. There is a saying that the king¡¯s Buddha has no descendants because they liked it too much. ying cards, horse racing, theater, parties, hunting, diators, etc. What they look forward to is the hunting season. It was very rare for a king not to be unable to attend the huntingpetition season, which has started in the pce and goes around the pce¡¯s entire hunting grounds. However, killing a nephew who overwhelms the king in legitimacy is bound to be included in that rare event. Therefore, my right of inheritance dispute is not too difficult. My inheritance dispute is probably a greeting that can be heard while shooting a bow. ¡°My lord, I just¡­ .¡± ¡°You must be loyal to your house. I know.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°This time, it¡¯s a matter of conflict, Chris. You can betray Hastred if your family and Hastred¡¯s interests collide. This is a big problem.¡± Chris bit his lip. He has his eyes closed tightly as if he is a criminal waiting to be sentenced to death. Seeing his blood draining from his face, Sophia took turns looking at him as if she had regained her consciousness. She licked her mouth. Although she is pouring in anger, she has no intention of expelling Chris from his knighthood. It is Sophia¡¯s fault that she didn¡¯t look back when she was emotionally upset even if she did the job perfectly. Sophia often suffered from that shoring, and she is still caught in that predicament. ¡°M, my lord. Hey, you know Chris¡¯s loyalty. I just made a mistake for a moment because I had great feelings for the Hastred family being betrayed. It won¡¯t be like that, my lord, no.¡± Sophia hurriedly tried to dispel the word of his betrayal somehow, but Chris stopped her. ¡°Yes, I betrayed Hastred.¡± ¡°Do you have any excuses?¡± When asked, he blinked heavily and rested his head on the window. ¡°There is not. I thought it was also for Hastred. So I decided that he is not a person to be approached from our current position¡­ .¡± ¡°Is it you or me who judges that?¡± ¡°¡­ You are the lord.¡± ¡°Then what did you do?¡± ¡°I¡­ I have overstepped.¡± ¡°Yes. Take responsibility for the actions.¡± I concluded and didn¡¯t say any more. When our carriage arrived at Hastred¡¯s townhouse, Istrum, Chris bowed deeply to me and left. Perhaps he went to Count Orsso. He might be angry with his mother. Although, originally, the Countess of Orsso is known for her light mouth. The problem is that Count Orsso has an amicable rtionship with his wife, who is a friendly person and is not very good at keeping secrets. This is a fatal weakness. On the contrary, the Count of Orsso is a mean man, whereas the Countess of Orsso is a kind and virtuous person. Above all, unlike the sensitive nature of the Count, the Countess has a round and finite personality; thus, the two always get along well. It is precisely known that the count depended heavily on his wife. Chris will be angry with his mother, but if he is angry with the Countess, the Count will be angry with his young son. The Count is a great lover known to cover up and watch over his wife, no matter what wrongs she has done. ¡°Sophie,¡± I called her as we went upstairs, and she answered with a sullen face. ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell Leon. I am tired.¡± Sophia¡¯s face brightened at my words. ¡°Are you going to forgive Chris?¡± ¡°I think Chris really cared about us and brought his family into it. But, of course, he also has a great desire to relieve his own inferiorityplex. So, I have to take that kind of heart into ount.¡± ¡°Then¡­ !¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be gloomy for a few days, then I¡¯ll call him back, so leave it. Leon doesn¡¯t know. He must have a different opinion than me.¡± Leon, the deputymander of the Knights of Hastred, will probably go on a rampage when he finds out about this and will insist on Chris to be expelled. Because he cautioned that we should cut off the seed rather than forgive. Of course, if I said I wouldn¡¯t do that, Leon would also break my will, but it was clear that what would be given to Chris is very subtle and persistent bullying. ¡°Yes, of course, my lord.¡± ¡°Alright, take a good rest today. I have to do an audience tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, my lord.¡± I patted Sophia¡¯s arm a couple of times, then entered my room. When I saw that there was hot water, I took off my clothes and went straight into the water. It felt like my whole body was loosening up after thinking of Leon, Sophia, and Chris for a moment while in the water. I thought of Eden. ¡°Take the sword.¡± The only will has left. tl/n: the will she meant is Eden. ¡°It¡¯s too good of a sword to rot with me.¡± He can¡¯t wait for the memories, he can¡¯t ask for burial, and he can¡¯t ask for the remains. ¡°It was a very precious sword for me.¡± A child who can¡¯t even say he¡¯s sorry, who has been deprived of everything. Ah, I don¡¯t know what to do¡­ . Why did my father do this? What the hell did he want me to do with this? And why did he die so suddenly? I slowly dipped my body into the hot water. From the back of my head to my face was submerged in water. I stayed in the water until the heat filled my head and I couldn¡¯t even think. ? Third part. Salvation ? It isn¡¯t surprising that I got locked up in the tower as soon as I arrived at the royal pce. I was lucky not to have my neck cut off. I just sighed as soon as I got stuck in the tower. I don¡¯t know how to live now. I¡¯ve lived like this for a very long time, buttely, I¡¯ve been living like a human. Above all, I slept in a good bed and studied. When Iy down on the straw bed and closed my eyes, I thought of Cili in a white shirt. She has unbuttoned the top of her shirt, so I could always see the ne hanging from Cili¡¯s neck. It was a ne in honor of the divine, but it was a neat and pretty ne. It was for women, but it looked a little bit fancy as Cili¡¯s possession. Whose is it? Had it been a gift? I wanted to ask, but in the end, I couldn¡¯t. Farewell. Thank you. You¡¯re the only one. Those words did nothing. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I just cried. Now I don¡¯t have to hold back my tears. I¡¯m going to die anyway, so what can I do? I only have her now, even though we¡¯re not rted. But I only have her. She saved me and offered me things to live as a man. My parents only tested me, but she taught me. She is the only one next to me. My parents are good people and had loved me, but I couldn¡¯t reach or see them because they were outside of this realm. You are the only good person in my life. I¡¯m sorry I betrayed you. Thanks for the sword, though. I don¡¯t know if you forgave me or just sympathized with me. Either way, thank you very much. I¡¯m sorry I died without repaying anything for your favor. I¡­can¡¯t pay you back if I live. When I die, I will definitely repay this favor. Tears flowed. I was so sorry, and my life was so pitiful that there was no time for me to breathe. I cried in a muffled sound. I didn¡¯t want the guards which would be listening to my presence to hear my cries. When I die, I will repay this favor by telling my parents and all my ancestors. I will see to punish all who interfere with your rights of inheritance. I¡¯m really sorry. Thank you so much. Chapter 15 We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please note that the content of this chapter will soon be revised and updated. Chapter 16 We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please note that the content of this chapter will soon be revised and updated. Chapter 17 ??? Grand Duke of Irsias. My title has such a name. Irsias is an ancient word for ¡®on,¡¯ which means ¡®one who walks under the sun.¡¯ It was the name of a famous hero, but it was also a warning that the sun literally obeyed the king and never thought harshly. I understood the warning right away, so everyoneughed bitterly as soon as they heard the name. ¡°How have you been?¡± I had to study for a week about my rights and duties as a Grand Duke. The men sent by the king directly educated me, and the servants of Cilli who were with me hardly understood, but her servants studied with great zeal and even took notes. We were seated in a hall set up as a conference room, and I was sitting at the center with people from the royal pce on the right, while Cilli¡¯s servants were on the left. While the men from the royal court were educating, her servants listened, and when they began to ask questions, those from the pce answered. As soon as an argument broke out, people often asked me what to do. They asked easy questions to answer, such as ¡®when is a good time to sleep¡¯ and ¡®what do you like for dessert.¡¯ My answer was simple, but somehow the strife between the servants and the king¡¯s messengers became more intense. While they were doing it, I lost my understanding and passed the time by looking at the tapestry or something behind them. Istrum had a lot of books. ording to Cilli, her father, Ilyde G. Sarian, was a book lover and book collector. So he bought a great book, to the point where Sophie gasped and said, ¡®If I sell all those books, I¡¯ll be able to afford three or four castles.¡¯ Among those many books, there are many beautiful picture books, so from the second day of education, I brought many picture books from Ilyde Sarian¡¯s library and spent time looking at them, answering questions only. Her servants were all strict in nature, and the king¡¯s messengers showed their dislike for them. In addition, they were very loyal to Cilli, and even a slight misunderstanding about her had the momentum to fight the king¡¯s messengers, so the hallways had always barely escaped the sea of ??fire. I don¡¯t know, but the king¡¯s messengers wanted to keep the customs, and her employees wanted to reflect my convenience or Cilli¡¯s opinions, so it seemed that the problem mainly urred in this gap. It was always a fight. The two groups quarreled to the point of throwing away their meals. Half of my fortune went to the king. Because it was the property of the royal family. But half came back to me and my mother¡¯s dowry as well. My mother left a lot for me as her only child. Gold mines, mithril mines, huge farnd, four castles, huge jewels, bonds, and real estate were my properties; I couldn¡¯t understand half of these things. Cilli was very embarrassed that I didn¡¯t appreciate my fortune. ¡°Rizal is an excellent ountant, but you better not trust people too much when ites to money.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Money has the magic to change people. But, unfortunately, money makes people do that, not change people. It¡¯s like putting a sleeping spell on a person.¡± Cilli tried to keep me from losing trust in people, saying people who fall asleep are weak. But I¡¯ve already seen people change. My uncle did change. To me, he was like a parent who had raised me much more than my parents. I had abandoned my faith in people when I found out that he raised me for political purposes then abandoned me. Nevertheless, I felt sorry and grateful for her efforts. So I nodded as I was a good and trusting child. ¡°I¡¯ll be careful.¡± ¡°Yes, your highness. ¡± Cilliughed habitually, and so did I. It was a few days ago before my 12th birthday. And as soon as she went to the 7th battle of monster subjugation, we had separated for a long time. Fourth part. Engagement The subjugation against monsters went for two years. In general, the monsters on the battlefield came out from the outskirts, and if they couldn¡¯t be cleared out at once, they would take over the forest again. ordingly, the locals will fall prey to the monsters. The monsters will eventually upy the viges around them, so the knights always had to do their best to subdue the demons. Particrly in the Knights of Hastred, they are the elite elites, so they would call them once they felt overwhelmed in all ces; Hastred was divided into three to four, and as many as seven, fighting as the vanguard each location and won. [Come.] The sky roared from afar as Imanded. As I stretched out my right hand, lightning fell from the sky and struck the ground, turning it into an earthquake. When the earth cracked, lightning rushed to me, and a sword appeared in my hand. The allies screamed in cheers and admiration, and the monsters screamed in fear, creating chaos around them. I ran without missing a moment when the atmosphere had changed. I didn¡¯t count how many I slew. The only thing that stands out was a one-eyed giant. I took a huge jump. I leaped with the power of mana and barely reached the eyes of the one-eyed. It was a higher position than any castle tower. [Get out of my sight!] The monster screamed in all his words and waved his arms. With one blow, I¡¯ll die, but there was enough room to escape. So instead, I stepped on his arm and leaped, thrusting my sword from the center of his skull and shouted. [Expansion!] In response to my words, the sword stuck in the top of the monster¡¯s head grew bigger in an instant. As the sword grew bigger, it pierced the giant¡¯s body from the head to the ground straight. Aaaaaaaah.The giant¡¯s body exploded with a scream of death, and the demons started to flee in confusion. ¡°Don¡¯t miss a single one!¡± Each of the senior knights shouted at the general knights to chase after the demons with mymand. Everyone started chasing. If one has missed, the monster will multiply again. It¡¯s hard toe back once they¡¯ve passed here. Even if they return, it will take too long, and the damage to the people will increase in the meantime. So it is imperative to strike a clear line. The purple and green blood of the monster was sticky onto the armor, giving off a strange smell. I frowned and climbed on my horse. The horse, Sandra, soared upwards with a neighing sound. It meant it was ready to go anywhere. I patted her mane and pulled the reins. I ran to the hill. It was necessary to check how much I was chasing and where I was heading. While running to the mountain, I killed two monsters; both hid in the ground using a stealth technique. I used to be fooled by this technique. I killed all the monsters that fled but did not find the hidden monsters who left the ce using stealth methods between the monsters¡¯ bodies, causing them to rise again. But it was a mistake when I was young and inexperienced. Now the first thing is to kill those who used stealth techniques. Not only me but also the knights and wizards who can use magic are now allocating magic to their eyes to find, inform, and kill monsters who have used stealth skills. As soon as I climb the hill, I see a group of monsters running in four directions. Demons with different appearances were running away with all their might, and the knights were chasing them on horseback. No matter how fast the monsters are, trained horses tend to be a little quicker, and knights with magical powers obstruct their path by shooting fireworks orying fog, while the knights who cannot use magic are hitting them with crossbows. [Bow.] When I gave the word, my holy sword changed shape into a bow. I grabbed the bow and pulled the bowstring. Then five arrows of light hung on the bowstring. Historically, a very noble and great holy knight swordsman used seven arrows of light, but I am limited to dealing with five. As soon as the bowstring has released, the arrow flew away. The arrows went to the monsters I designated and got struck. They were mainly flying monsters. The flying monsters are the most difficult to chase, and the fastest way to catch them is on the hill. But, of course, even if I don¡¯t notice them, everyone will catch them. After pulling the bow a few more times, most of the monsters are limping or fell on the floor; they lost the ability to move, whether from my arrows, someone¡¯s attack, or a magic spell. Finally, when I¡¯m convinced that I could get rid of them all, I rid of the holy sword. Because the Holy Sword uses both magical and divine powers simultaneously, it requires a considerate concentration. Unsurprisingly, as soon as I rid of it, I desperately wanted to fall to the ground. ¡°Lord!¡± Chris ran over and supported me hurriedly. As soon as he stretched out his hand, I left my body in his hand. I wanted to stand upright, but honestly, it was my limit. ¡°You¡¯ve been using your power too long. Are you alright?¡± ¡°Lord!¡± I can hear Sophie¡¯s voice. Oh, I guess Sophie is morefortable. I waited for Sophie to get closer and then moved my body to her gauntlet over Chris¡¯. Both of them squinted when they saw me move my body. ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too hard.¡± Chrys opened the door and nagged. ¡°If you fall like this, you¡¯ll have to worry about the burly men of Hastred Knights.¡± Sophie¡¯s continuous nagging decorated my ear with splendor. Chapter 18 We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please note that the content of this chapter will soon be revised and updated. Chapter 19 ??? Sophie looked puzzled when Leon tried to drag her out, but she moved on. Maybe it was because of my face. But, on the other hand, it seemed that my head was already half-locked in the past, so I would rather have time to think about it. I closed my eyes as I heard the two of them leaving. *** Two years ago. I have done something that would make my father jump in the grave if he knew. The night I sent Eden to the pce, I went to the temple and confessed that I brought a royalty named ¡®Eden¡¯ and that he is now with the king. I revealed two things and left the confession room. I havemitted many sins, but I didn¡¯te to confess. I was well aware for whom this temple was working. The temple was in the hands of the antiking faction, Rasnatif. Naturally, my confession reached her ears. Due to the nature of the confession, she could not pretend to know or ask me, and then the following day, she began a search around me. She did everything she could. From spies, magic, divine powers, and even force, but I was gracious on her. And so she got most of the information she wants. But, of course, that was only as far as I allowed. She found out that the Crown Prince, who was said to be dead, is now locked in the tower with his life due tomorrow. A prince who possesses legitimacy with even magical powers. As an anti-monarch, there was nothing she could miss. She shared this unique piece of information on the anti-faction, and there was an uproar under the water. Finally, after three days, the king called me. ¡°I can¡¯t help but ask why.¡± When Iughed at the king¡¯s remark, he waved his hand, saying, ¡®Don¡¯tugh, listen to me.¡¯ He already knew what I was doing, and I gave up ying dumb. There was no need to hurt the king¡¯s high self-esteem. ¡°Do you n to antagonize the king?¡± ¡°No, your majesty.¡± ¡°Even if Hastred is a duke, it¡¯s only one title. Do you think it would be difficult for the King to forfeit the title?¡± The king growled. Then I answered, trying to be as obedient as possible. ¡°No, your majesty.¡± ¡°Well? Why did you dare stab the king in the back?¡± Neither growling nor saying he was hit in the head that I feel offended. On the contrary, it seemed a little refreshing. I thought that it was surprising. He thought I could be very offended. It was a bridge I crossed, thinking that I might end up hating myself. I knew it was a dangerous bridge. But what Eden said lingered in my mind. ¡°It¡¯s a sword too precious to rot with me.¡± I did it because I thought it would be easier to do the right thing than live my whole life in a turbulent mood. ¡°I beg your pardon, Your Majesty. However, I have nothing to do with your Majesty.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I am the master of Hastred. Hastred has changed masters; forgive me for saying this, but you have not made a contract with the new master. The Hastred is free, and so am I.¡± ¡°¡­ Ha, are you ying with words now?¡± ¡°Your majesty.¡± I can¡¯t remember what kind of expression I made. Did Iugh or talked seriously? I probablyughed habitually. ¡°Your Majesty may change who owns the title of Duke of Hastred because the title¡¯s master is your majesty¡¯s servant. However, I am the owner of the Knights of Hastred. Therefore, you cannot change Hastred¡¯s master.¡± I didn¡¯t know that my rtives were rattling by the king¡¯s side. And I also knew that the king was weighing the best deals between my rtives and me. Hasted is a powerful knightly order, in other words, costly. The king was calcting how he could take possession of this Knights Temr or whether he might make it through this inheritance dispute. I know that much. No matter how uninterested I am in politics and the life I wield as the sword, I¡¯m still the heir of the duke. ¡°Cilli, King respects Hastred. But, of course, if Hastred regards you as their master, then King will allow it.¡± Although he made it clear that it was not a matter of what is permissible or revocable, he wanted to say it was his matter to allow. Iughed silently. He seemed genuinely offended when I disagreed. His cheeks moved begrudgingly, but he didn¡¯t want to argue about the way of Hastred¡¯s choosing a master. ¡°But Hastred seems to have a different opinion on the seat of the housemaster.¡± ¡°There is none.¡± ¡°It¡¯s different from what King knows.¡± ¡°There can be no difference of opinion in the first ce since I¡¯m a Hastred. But, your Majesty, if you think there is a difference of opinion, I can show you the difference between my Hastred and the group they im to be Hastred. If you wish¡­ .¡± I don¡¯t mind splitting Hastred. After all, the main power belongs to me. The king red with an unpleasant expression at my words. I really didn¡¯t mind dividing Hastred. However, the moment the king tells me to, Hastred will be divided and will be left only the elite forces behind. It won¡¯t damage Hastred¡¯s power much, but it will tarnish Hastred¡¯s name and affects the morale of the king¡¯s army. The one who suffers is none other than the king. Moreover, the king did not raise his hand at that moment. We are not in a good rtionship, and if we be nothing, then I have a reason to sign a contract with another country. Without the title of duke, I won¡¯t be bounded in this country. We are essentially a group of mercenaries. Since we have already established our base in this country, many things would be regrettable, and it will affect the lives of the members and the lives of many people involved. But nothing is worth more than Hastred. If the king wants to take Hastred, we must resist. That is our duty. Hastred¡¯s divide is in the same line with the story that a long-term contract with Hastred may not continue. The king could not hide his displeasure and struck the handle of the throne. ¡°Insolence! You dare to be cocky in front of King?!¡± The man who tried to eat up the entire Knights Temr by meddling in other people¡¯s family fights from behind is very proud of his pride. I¡¯m really sorry but I can¡¯t say that. ¡°I apologize.¡± ¡°Do you dare say ¡®I can make a contract with another country¡¯ in front of the burden I have been watching since you were born?¡± You¡¯ve been watching from the moment I was born until now, and you¡¯ll see me lose everything? Right, that is your specialty. ¡®Watching from the moment of birth and taking everything away.¡¯ There was noughter at that moment. It was a moment where it is difficult for me tough. ¡°I thought it was just a story of possibilities, Your Majesty. Or could someone else have taken the ce of Hastred¡¯s master?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Suddenly the kingughed. ¡°No, it was about possibility. King can¡¯t think of anyone other than you as the owner of Hastred. The friendship between Ilyde and King is not so green.¡± Ah, is it now that friendship recognizes me? It was clear in his eyes that he was going to try to erase the debt somehow. ¡°But you are a woman and you are young, so it is true that there are different opinions about giving the title of duke. Even if it¡¯s me, I cannot be a good king by ignoring everyone¡¯s opinions. So, I would like to propose an arbitration n that takes ount into a number of considerations.¡± It was an arbitration proposal, an offer that could not be refused. I proudly shouted that Hastred could leave Grosn, but it was not an easy task. The Knights of the Hastred have their own family. And there are a lot of people who are not knights in the Knights Temr. Which country should I go to with all of them? In addition, how should I take responsibility for the livelihoods of the many families of the Knights Temr? In fact, it was never an easy story. Hasted is important. Frankly, they¡¯re used to Grosn that everyone doesn¡¯t want to leave. These are people who have been living in Grosn for three generations. Like me, most of my generation have learned Grosn as their nativenguage and have Grosn¡¯s culture as their native culture, so wherever we go, Grosn will always be good. The king knew it too, that¡¯s why I¡¯m angry. This is the story of ¡®I know how absurd it is to make a decision, but I dare spit it out.¡¯ But I was sincere. We can leave and will take a lot of damage, but we will go if it¡¯s to protect Hastred. Only one reason. Only to protect Hastred, then it is possible. There is honor and wealth because I¡¯m a knight of Hastred. There is stability. There are things I have because I¡¯m a member of Hastred Knights. We are free people. Even the king can¡¯t wholly brush us off. The aristocrats can y withmoners like ythings, but not for Hastred because the people of Hastred Knights are free. We do not have the honor or wealth of aristocrats, but we have freedom. That is why everyone is willing to risk anything for the sake of Hastred. For the reason that freedom is rare and precious. Chapter 20 ??? ¡°There are three things. First, I will grant you the title of duke, and correspondingly, Hastred and Grosn agree to a life contract with Cecilia G. Sarian. In other words, Hastred is in contract with Grosn until death. In addition, the increased rate of sry will be the same as Ilyde signed.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Second, Cecilia G. Sarian, Duke of Hastred, is engaged to Eden Grosn.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°They are engaged and will also get married. I don¡¯t care what kind of marriage you have. They can have different mistresses or can fool around. However, the two cannot divorce.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not just for you to say¡­.¡± ¡°Third, Cecilia G. Sarian, Duke of Hastred, bes Eden Grosn¡¯s guarantor. She bears joint responsibility as guarantor of all his legal activities.¡± I knew that the third of the arbitration proposals was the key. If Eden does something, he will use it as an excuse to confiscate Hastred. This is a trap. I must refuse at any cost. Even though I knew everything and could somehow deny it, I couldn¡¯t say no when I thought about what would happen to Eden afterward. Instead, if Eden had been in the stables of someone else¡¯s house, I would have tly refused. But he was found in our stables in a miserable state. He was skinny because he couldn¡¯t eat and was dirty because he couldn¡¯t wash. Our servants may have left the numerous whip marks on his body. I have a sin owed to him. So I couldn¡¯t refuse. When I said I would do it, the king told me to bring Eden. ¡°Ily raised his daughter intelligently, but he didn¡¯t raise her wisely.¡± I was angry at the beginning of the year. As if one was crazy. When I thought about it, I pulled out the tobo, put it in my mouth, and then grabbed Eden¡¯s letter. Eden¡¯s life was written in detail in the letter. And thest greeting is always the same. I¡¯ll wait for your reply. I love you. Your fiance, Eden. What love¡­.. My head hurts. Fourth part. Return Cilli returned one day after two and a half years of separation. I made sure to write a letter once a week. The truth is, I wanted to send every day, but I thought Cilli would be bothered. So her reply woulde once a month or once every two months. Unlike me, who writes down various things in detail, her response was very straightforward. The weather was good, I was in good health, and the knights talked about where they had moved. No one was injured, and the beast struck at once. The content that hase with only words changed little by little. asionally, there were replies to my letters. It¡¯s good to study hard, but take care of your body as well. Every time I received such a letter, I realized, All my teachers are spies. If I copsed while studying, there is always a nagging written in Cilli¡¯s letter telling me to take care of myself. Although written indifferently, the source of information was apparent when a word came out whenever I copsed. After all, they were all spies. I stayed at her Istrum and Hastred; her servants were also looking after me. It was reassuring rather than unpleasant. I felt like I was in Cili¡¯s cradle because she is always on the lookout for my news. She pretends not to be, but she is, in fact, observed me and is keen on my safety. Even if I coughed for nothing, the following letter immediately came with a reply with a word telling me to pay attention to what I was wearing because the day seemed terrible. She never left me alone. ¡°His highness, Grand Duke Irsias.¡± I became the grand duke¡ªthe Grand Duke Irsias. Irsias is the name of a person who was very loyal to the country in ancient times. He was neither a great man nor an outstanding person, but his loyalty was so great that it is often used to symbolize fidelity. So the Irsias became another name for me. ¡°Your highness is showing unprecedented academic achievement. Hence, even if you enter the Royal School now, you will do well enough, or even better than anyone else.¡± My teachers began to persuade me to go to the Royal School. I know it¡¯s normal. I¡¯m thirteen, and it¡¯s already toote. The Royal School was a gateway that anyone with a will for the upper society should go through. It was an unavoidable procedure for me, who had to live as grand duke, but I was reluctant. I¡¯ve never been to the Royal School, but I know it¡¯s a boarding school. I had a feeling that if I went to a boarding school, I would be farther away from Cilli. So now I¡¯m waiting for her here, and at least I care about her, but will she care about me if I go to the royal school? As winter arrives, it was frosty every morning. Hastred is not a warm region, but Cili is farther north than Hastred. Last winter, she wrote in her correspondence as if everything was going well, but the real news wasn¡¯t. Several supply routes were blocked with snow; due to that, soldiers and knights fighting monsters on the outskirts died from cold and starvation instead of monsters ughter. It is said that there is no such thing in the Knights of Hastred, but they said that it is because of her ability and not God¡¯s protection nor the supply. ¡°Are you alright?¡± When I asked Istrum¡¯s butler, Rizen, he looked at me without hiding his tired face from me. Orphaned by the loss of his parents during the war, he was an oddly positive and negative person. ¡°Deathes in an instant. No one can guarantee that it will be alright. The same goes for any holy knight.¡± It was a night when Rizen said so. The inside of the mansion have filled with orange lights, and I somehow talked to Rizen and looked at the window behind him, not him. The windows of Istrum were all in different shapes, and they were said to be beautiful-shaped windows that have been procured directly from the north. It was somehow ominous to see the shadows of trees waving while the intricate decorative frames beautifully adorned the ss. That can¡¯t be true. While trying to get rid of the feeling, I tried to avoid his gaze, but for some reason, I couldn¡¯t. If something happens to Cilli, there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. I know, but I still have status and wealth. Wouldn¡¯t that be better than nothing? She is an orphan, and I am her fiance, who will be her only family. I thought we should be close. Families should be close. If she¡¯s far away, I don¡¯t even know if she died. Like I didn¡¯t know when my parents died. ¡°Your highness?¡± As I frowned, the maid who was putting flowers in a vase quickly approached me. ¡°Are you having a headache again?¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°Sir Butler!¡± I didn¡¯t want to answer. My fianc¨¦e, Cilli, is a famous knight and also a holy knight; but I get sick from time to time. No matter how hard I tried to be healthy, it was to no avail. Watching the maid run away, I stopped thinking whether to stop her or not. I had a headache, and my body was drooping too. I sat down on a soft chair and waited for Rizen. Unsurprisingly, Rizen ran at a faster speed than usual. The maid hasn¡¯t caught up to him yet, so how fast was the run. ¡°Pardon me, Grand Duke.¡± With notice, hisrge hand covered my forehead. ¡°Bring me a towel!¡± The maid, running at Ryzen¡¯s words, changed her direction and ran back to somewhere else. ¡°Summon, Dr. Orssen!¡± When Ryzen shouted, his attendant rushed out. Soon the sound of a wagoning out of the distance was heard. Along with the coachman, the servant rode a carriage bearing the Hastred coat of arms to pick up Orssen, one of Yenson¡¯s most famous doctors. Orssen was a reputable doctor, but he was amoner, and when he was taken in a carriage bearing the coat of arms of Hastred, his mouth would be ripped to the ground and flew away. There were times when he felt like he was more pleased with the carriage than he was getting paid. ¡°Since when did you have a fever?¡± Rizen asked, and I thought for a moment. Since when did I feel bad? It¡¯s probably been a while. A month or two after being kidnapped? My body started to worsen from then on, and after about a year, it was out of control. I was in a much better state now than before because I was being cared for. However, my body was somehow broken, and I can feel it. But if I say it like that, it will look crooked. No, aside from that, these men will pass it on to Cilli. Then, how will the truth be epted? ¡°I must have slept a little coldst night. Perhaps I need more nkets.¡± I had only been with Cili for a short time, but I read the guilt in her eyes the whole time. She always treated me with responsibility. Her guilt for having her father imprisoned me left her in a state of helplessness, and even after saving me, she couldn¡¯t get herself out of her empathy and guilt. But for me, her guilt was a little embarrassingly naive because her father was neither the kidnapper nor the one who beat me. Was her father, the former Duke of Hastred, the one who treated me well? Of course not. But he was just the one who kept me the way I was, not the one who made me worse. So I have no grudges against him. Although, strictly speaking, some people will have grievances before him that I don¡¯t want to share with him. Chapter 21 We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please note that the content of this chapter will soon be revised and updated. Chapter 22 ??? Unlike me, Cili took a much longer time to change clothes. Of course, if you add up the time, I spent more time than her; but she had changed dresses five to six times. Why does it take too long to get dressed? Sophie looked at my face and said, ¡°Women have to wear makeup. The hair isplicated too.¡± I smiled with mischief as if I didn¡¯t know anything. Indeed. The women who tutored me in Hastred were quite a few, but most of them wore in clothes with little to no make-up, so I had to recall a distant memory. How was my aunt doing? After I barely remembered my aunt¡¯s attire, I frowned. I had a gorgeous aunt, and she was like a mboyant beggar to me. I didn¡¯t like it very much when I thought about whether I was locked up in a room for so long to be such an idiot. Cili looked best with her red hair hanging down and her white shirt and leather pants on. The delicate neckline formed her lines, and her sword and the figure of a person named Cecilia Sarian harmonizes. I liked it. You can like, trust and rely on her because she is unique like no other woman¡­so I thought. Until the curtains in the small room open. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you grow, and you¡¯re still beautiful.¡± Sophie¡¯sugh could be heard in the distance. I thought I had to take my eyes off Cili¡¯s figure. It¡¯s not rude to look at her beauty, but I¡¯m staring at her so intently, or maybe I¡¯m ring at her, and that¡¯s definitely against manners. I had been thinking clearly while in Larture that it wouldn¡¯t be hard if I won¡¯t show up in front of Cili, who had already been carrying the burden of being my fianc¨¦e. Her neck was exposed by her gracefully braided hair. While it was decorated with fresh flowers, her clothes, hair, shoes, and even her handbag were abination of white and soft pink. Cili¡¯s zing red hair had always made her look like a war goddess, but now she feels like a symbol of innocence. With her pear string handbag hanging around her wrist and the bouquet, neither small norrge, was in her hands. She was a goddess..no; she was more like a bride. At that moment I realized that she was my fiancee, that is, she was going to marry me. This beautiful woman willter be my spouse. ¡°His highness, the Grand Duke is mesmerized!¡± I could hear Sophieughing and teasing me. But it was distant. Strong Cili. Generous Cili. Cili was a good person. Yes, I knew such a thing but I had never thought of Cili being a beautiful bride, so I just blinked. I could feel people struggling to stifle theirughter with Sophie¡¯s teasing. Unlike Sophie, no one else could make fun of me in the presence of the Grand Duke. But if they hadughed, I wouldn¡¯t be angry, nor would I haveughed with them because my head ispletely empty at the moment. A few days before she went out, I sent her aplete letter after she went to war. She seemed to be burdened and replied in a short response as if she was waiting for me on the road of exhaustion, but I never gave up. Various scenes of the story passed through my mind while writing a letter; Cili was looking like a shy bride. Cili was like the incarnation of a whole body that wielded a sword. And Cili came to save me. But thest thing that alwayses to mind is ageless Cili, smiling like she¡¯s resigned from all the world¡¯s affairs. That strange smile that looked like a grandmother yet younger than me. Cili, I¡¯m always curious. Why are you smiling like you¡¯ve given up on everything? Unlike me, I wish I had everything. *** ¡°¡­since, ¡­have you felt bad?¡± The illusion of hearing Cili¡¯s voice was easy. I hadn¡¯t seen Cili in over two years. I¡¯m tall, but I wouldn¡¯t even know what she looked like. Could she be a little older? Then maybe a little less beautiful? Or would it be more beautiful? ¡°¡­and, are you alright¡­ .¡± ¡°Orssen!¡± ¡°Your highness, sorry¡­ .¡± Her voice keeps getting farther away. There was a slightly cool hand on my forehead that was careful and thoughtful. It would be nice if this hand belonged to Cili. Before falling asleep, as always, I thought of Cili. Fifth page. Return I know there was a problem with his behavior. The king punished my provocations with authority. As soon as I became his contractor, he ordered me to subdue the 7th monster. The subjugation of demons was necessary, but the king did not have the means to allocate arge amount of military power to subjugating monsters. The war was taking ce in several border areas, and the domestic sentiment was not good. He ascended the throne without legitimacy, and people whispered that he had removed his nephew and ascended the throne. The children ran down the alley and sang about him. ¡°My nephew, my nephew. The full moon in the night sky is big and bright, but your dream is far away. Get up now and go to theke. The fairy is waiting for you.¡± The operation meeting was halted as the children¡¯s singing could be heard from afar. The face of the lord, who had lent us the castle, became yellow. He asked, looking intently at us, who could be called the king¡¯s sword, especially me. ¡°Tongue, would you like to cut off the tongue too?¡± Before I could say anything, Leon smiled broadly. ¡°Thank you for your deep consideration.¡± ¡°Well then¡­ .¡± The lord¡¯s face was brimming with tears. Should I really cut it, Chris said with a bitter smile when he was thinking about it. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I have no use for that tongue. We have some picky eaters, so we are not cannibals.¡± ¡®Are we cannibals? With the meaning of ¡®What are you going to do with the tongues of the kids?¡¯, Chris red at him very elegantly, and the lord who recognized the insult, had turned his face into yellow again. Sophie nced at Chris from the side with a nk expression. When their eyes met, Chris was asking with his eyes with: ¡®What, did I say something wrong?¡¯ ¡®No, you did well.¡¯ Chris¡¯s face brightened as Sophie raised her thumb. He seemed to feel good about being praised. Meanwhile, the lord looked at me without knowing what to do. ¡°Thank you, but I have to decline. Let¡¯s resume with the meeting.¡± At my words, the lord hesitated and continued. ¡°My lord, I am loyal¡­ .¡± ¡°I understand your loyalty, but what did the children do to cut off their tongues?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± the lord opened his eyes and asked me with a calm face. ¡°What did the children do wrong?¡± ¡°That, that, the dignified song¡­ .¡± ¡°Song? I didn¡¯t hear anything. What, did anyone hear?¡± When I asked, they all looked at each other with faces like, ¡®What happened?¡¯ I also shrugged at Leon¡¯s gaze. The lord was embarrassed by our gesture that we didn¡¯t hear anything, but with a relieved face, he said, ¡°Oh, right? I have dark ears these days! I keep hearing nonsense, oops. I¡¯ll have to drink some cold water!¡± and left the hall hurriedly. He¡¯s probably going out to keep the kids at bay. After the lord had left, Leon swung the door open and saw that the lord had disappeared through the crack in the door and then continued to check when he woulde back and spoke to us. ¡°It¡¯s a big deal.¡± ¡°What.¡± ¡°If the existence of the Grand Duke bes known, there will be more trouble.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Why are you on the side of the Grand Duke?¡± I opened my mouth, but Leon warned me. ¡°Well, don¡¯t say that.¡± When I looked at the hall, all my subordinates were looking at me. The one was sitting right on the chair, the one was sitting on the table, the one was sitting with one leg on the windowsill and shaving a talisman for their lover, and the one who was bored spinning nes, all of them staring at me and waiting for an answer. This is what they were most curious about. It was natural. It was because they were catching more monsters while running around the frontier until their tongue fell out. I didn¡¯t like the Temrs to overwork, but these days, the Temrs were divided into seven, so everyone must have been feeling anxious. ¡°As everyone knows, I have a problem with inheritance rights. My rtives are challenging my inheritance rights, and three of them are representative. The three of them met the king before me and asked to reconsider the inheritance right.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°As if we were his people.¡± The faces of my men contorted at my words. Hastred was a group that came together for freedom. They regard me as the owner, but they are free to decide whether to stay or leave. This was an insult because Hastred¡¯s knights and their families are people who choose not to belong to anyone. ¡°I will kill you.¡± someone muttered ¡°Tsk.¡± Leon clicked his tongue in a warning tone, the voice soon faded, but the feeling was still waving in the air inside the hall. I shouldn¡¯t have said that. I thought about it for a moment, but it was inevitable because I had to exin why I sided with the grand duke. ¡°I was in a situation where I needed the support of his highness the Grand Duke because of the right of inheritance; let¡¯s just leave it at that. I can¡¯t tell you the details, and I hope everyone will understand.¡± When I finished my words, there were primarily understandable faces. But Leon had an ambiguous expression on his face, and Chris had a frown on his face. I know that the Chrisler family was pro-king, but it was a little difficult to understand why Leon was like that. Chapter 23 ??? Leon¡¯s family was close to the middle ss, to say the least, and although he was a powerful family, he did not make any effort to get close to the king. Some people ridiculed Leon¡¯s family as ¡®one tightrope masters¡¯, but he was showing such excellent behavior. They didn¡¯t get too close to the king, didn¡¯t interact with the king¡¯s enemies, looked like an entertainment-only family, but everyone was faithfully upying their ce. He chose a different way from others to live in the times. Everyone has a different way of surviving. After the meeting was over, Leon smiled while biting the cigar. He didn¡¯t leave the hall, so he just had something to say. On the other hand, Chris had something to say so he remained, but at Leon¡¯s words, ¡°Get lost,¡± he squeaked and disappeared. When Leon¡¯s words be harsh, it means that he doesn¡¯t feel very well. He¡¯s a cold-hearted type, so he¡¯s scary when he gets angry and nagged a lot, and so he fell back. Oh, I don¡¯t want to hear that. Leon mmed the door where Chris came out and looked back at me as if something was written on my face. ¡°My lord.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Really, why did you save the Grand Duke?¡± I also didn¡¯t understand. ¡°To some extent, there was a genuine inheritance problem.¡± ¡°It was a problem that could be solved in another way. It wasn¡¯t a big deal enough to risk Hastred.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°In the first ce, without Hastred they don¡¯t have the title or property they want, so how will they keep it? Hastred belonged to the lord and this is immutable. Don¡¯t look at me like I¡¯m an idiot.¡± ¡°Hastred is mine, but my uncles are not easy people. Of course, the knights follow me but, some of the family members have been conciliated.¡± ¡°¡­ Who? Whose family is it?¡± ¡°If I tell you, they¡¯ll run and catch a mouse with a mouse, so how can I tell you?¡± Leon clicked his tongue vehemently at my words. He seemed frustrated because he didn¡¯t know the other person, even though he wanted to argue and run away. But I couldn¡¯t tell him. The knights know me. They have seen closely what kind of person and capabilities I had. But what about the knights¡¯ families? To them, I was just a twenty-six-year-old, well-bred girl. Oh, the beginning of the year is delicious. Tobo is known to be good for the body, but in the case of holy knights, there were many people who stopped smoking. They would define thisnguid sensation as pleasure and as an obstacle to an ascetic life. Also, as a sex holy knight, they advised me to lead a celibate life in order to maintain my credibility and to quit smoking. I can¡¯t cut this off. It¡¯s too delicious. ¡°My lord.¡± ¡°No. And it¡¯s not their fault. Do I have to cut off their throat just because I¡¯ve been trying in living my life in different ways?¡± ¡°When did I say I to cut their throat?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like that.¡± ¡°Ah, you misunderstood. These deer-like eyes.¡± ¡°I think I saw it right.¡± ¡°No. Look at my eyes, these innocent, clear eyes.¡± Leon pushed his face on me. I looked into his gray eyes and smiled bitterly. It¡¯s far from being clear, it¡¯s quite insidious. I probably don¡¯t agree with what you say, so please stop. Seeing the words written on my face, Leon clicked his tongue. ¡°The traitor must be caught immediately.¡± Who betrayed whom? I don¡¯t even know every time I heard this. Did they betray me? From my point of view, that might be the case. But strangely enough, I¡¯m on the side of a fence. I don¡¯t. Was it because I was living on the verge of death? I always feel like I¡¯m standing in a gray area. People organize their positions more clearly than ever and move forward with their will, while ying enemies and embracing their allies, but I always stand in a ce where neither the earth nor the water is half-submerged, and watched everything. Twenty-eight. Duke of Hastred. I know I have to decide and take responsibility for everything. Why am I doing this? The reason Eden suddenly came to mind was probably that he was thirteen. The age at which I killed a person. At that age, I thought that life would all be clear by the time I reached my present age, or when I was approaching 30. There are times when I find it difficult to bear the feeling of floating alone. As always, I inhaled the smoke of the beginning of the year deep into my lungs. I drank the drowsy smoke to the end of my stomach and sighed. Leon was about to say something but finally bit his mouth. I know his loyalty. I¡¯m the lord who only knows money so that¡¯s why he¡¯s loyal only to me. But I often think. What makes you loyal because I¡¯m Ilyd Sarian¡¯s daughter? Because I¡¯m a holy knight? What makes you risk your life? Is it worth it to me? Am I worthy of that? I know I have to pretend I don¡¯t know. I have to understand everything with a chin raised up, pretending to be worthy. ¡°My lord?¡± Leon called me as if he felt something strange. I breathed in thest smoke of the beginning of the year andughed as I dusted off the ashes of the cigar. Perhaps the beginning of the year tonight was needed a little more than usual. After holding onto thest act, I felt like I was getting better as usual. ¡°Why?¡± When I asked, Leon looked at me intently and shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing¡± ¡°Leon.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Bring me a map.¡± Leon is here anyway, so let¡¯s finish the story. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°For the next month. This war will be over.¡± Iughednguidly as thest ashes fell from the cigarette. Now that we¡¯ve cleared up some in the battlefield, it¡¯s time to rush. It was a n to remove the nests of the monsters. This time, I will cut off the monsters¡¯ buds in the north. A cruel smile lingered on Leon¡¯s face when he saw my expression. ¡°Everything will be done ording to the will of the lord.¡± As always. Leon did not make a sound and added only the shape of his mouth. I smiled at that face. I felt most at ease when talking about the war when we could smile with the same face as usual. *** It took less than a month to finish the 7th monster subjugation. The n was expecting up to a month, but I was lucky. Everything happened one after the other as promised, and in three weeks we arrived at the nest of the northern monster king, Lichtatline. Lichtatline. The monster did not be a dragon but pretended to be a dragon and gathered the surrounding monsters. From a human¡¯s perspective, the gathering ce of the monsters should be described as a ¡®nest¡¯, but in fact, it was not insufficient to say that it was a small town. Everything was there. From the cksmith to the farm, he had all the minimal things that make up a vige. ¡°If it had been a little longer, we almost would have faced a city,¡± said Leon, who came closer to me and was covered in demons¡¯ blood. He looked very tired. ¡°We have dismantled the ruins that have been abandoned nearby. You can see stone walls here and there.¡± ¡°Damn, are they now living in a house made of stone walls by demons? People live in a wooden house too?!¡± Chris pulled out his sword that stabbed the monster¡¯s heart and came to our side whileining. It seemed that he was more dissatisfied with the monsters living in a stone-walled house than fighting them. ¡­ In fact, it was more like a castle than a house. It is because the fortress was notpletely built with stone walls and was covered with grass in some ces. ¡°The Griffin ising!¡± Someone shouted. Sophie pulled out a crossbow from her back and fired at the rushing griffins. Then a few shots flew away in an instant. While the griffins dodge arrows, some pull out the crossbows, while major forces such as Leon and Chris focus their minds on fixing their swords and dealing with the falling griffins. Then suddenly the sky began to darken. Whooosh! A strange and bizarre cry, it was difficult to call a monster or a human scream, but it seemed to fill the whole world. I quickly looked around. Not only me, but everyone else did. Everyone looked around to find the source of the sound, but it was so loud that they couldn¡¯t tell where it wasing from. Flutter, flutter. The wind blew with the sound of wings pping. ¡°This is Lichtatline!¡± It is rare to find a monster with a name. The Lichtatline was one of the few monsters with a name. Lichtatline ¡°Prophet of the damned¡± in cursednguage. ¡°I was going to get angry.¡± It wasrge enough to say that it filled the sky. Lichtatline. The monster that didn¡¯t be a dragon seemed to be bigger than a dragon. A huge ck monster was floating in the sky had yellow eyes that were looking down on us, and it¡¯s every move gave us a chill in our spines. The eyes were too big and too bright that it was like two, thin moons were floating. ¡°An unexpected person has arrived. It¡¯s a holy knight, isn¡¯t it?¡± The way he spoke was slightly different from that of humans. It wasn¡¯t a sound, it was a feeling that was transmitted directly into my head. I could understand him, but I couldn¡¯t hear his voice. It was a strange feeling. Some of the knights stepped back. It was an instinctive fear. ¡°I didn¡¯t think my name would be so great that even monsters would know it.¡± I crossed my arms on the horse and smiled. It would be difficult to say what a terrifying monster the Lichtatline was until I met him, but I know how powerful his magical powers are. However, on the day that I show even the slightest sign of a decline here, everyone¡¯s morale will be shattered. And, oddly enough, I wasn¡¯t afraid of this. In fact, I seem to have forgotten that I am scared from some time ago. I can¡¯t remember since when. If you die, you die. Just that. ©¥©¤©¥©¤©¤©¤©¤??©¤©¤©¤©¤©¥ Chapter 24 ??? ¡°You are notorious for ughtering so many races.¡± ¡°Is it different from my point of view? A massacre, I don¡¯t even know if they were alive in the first ce.¡± People would think that when a human and a monster meet, they will strike a sword immediately, but that was only when they are low-level monsters. When encountering a higher-level monster, it usually starts with this kind of argument. ¡°You¡¯re ruthless in front of a dragon, Cili,¡± Lichtatline said in a dignified manner. There was a lot of debate among wizards about what kind of monster the Lichtatline was, but in reality, it looks like it was mixed with dragon blood. Maybe a harp? What about the other half? I¡¯m not a wizard, so I don¡¯t know. But when I looked at him like this, I thought that he must be a giant monster. I looked at the figure of Lichtatline in detail and responded bluntly. ¡°It¡¯s ruder to pretend to be friendly. What¡¯s the rtionship between you and me, Cilli?¡± ¡°¡­ What shall I call you?¡± ¡°Duke of Hastred.¡± While answering casually, I checked and reconfirmed the appearance of Lichtatline in my head. Obviously, when I returned to Yenson, the wizards would have been chasing me with parchment for days and days, asking me to describe him. ¡°Human beings. After all, everyone clings to such vain honor.¡± ¡°Better than you pretending to be a dragon. At least I¡¯m a real duke.¡± A fire zed in Lichtatline¡¯s eyes. Oh my, it must have been a mine I shouldn¡¯t have stepped on. ¡°Draw your sword, you despicable holy knight.¡± ¡°You can not tell me to put out my sword or not; therefore I can only decide whether to go at it or not¡­Ugh!¡± A great wind blew. Covering my face with my hand, I looked up at Lichtatline. He was pping his wings in anger. He stretched out his right-wing as if it was about to spitfire. Although the energy of the earth that was floating on his fingertips was the strongest in terms of magical power,, I summoned the holy sword in the form of water which Lichtatline strongly felt. ¡°Even if it¡¯s a holy sword or anything else, it¡¯s just a magic sword in the end!¡± ¡°You are just a monster. We ought to know each other well.¡± As soon as I smirked, he rushed at me. Even if it fell to the side, it was too bulky, and the wind it drove was so strong that it rolled sideways. Many times our confrontation was repeated. The bastard pped his wings and swung his ws. His teeth were menacing, and a direct hit from him would probably send me to the underworld. However. ¡°Why would a monster doesn¡¯t have any magic?¡± You canmunicate with humans, but why can¡¯t you use a magic attack? At my ridicule, he got angry and threw his body from side to side. Then the wind blew. Although he couldn¡¯t use magic, his body itself can produce mana. ¡°My lord! Do not provoke it!¡± Leon felt threatened, so he rolled over next to me and spoke softly. Everyone looked at me as if they were feeling the same way. But I also couldn¡¯t stand it because it was funny. The king of northern monsters, who imed to be a dragon and gathered demons, couldn¡¯t actually use his magic. If you can¡¯t use magic, what kind of dragon is that? ¡°Dragon seems to have gotten so ridiculous these days¡­ .¡± ¡°I will kill you!¡± Lichtatline shouted and burst intoughter. I also sometimes think that I have a weird personality, but I genuinelyughed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you trying to do that from a while ago?¡± It¡¯s not that you left me on the hook; you just couldn¡¯t kill me. At my words, the bastard rushed at me with all his might. It was as fast as a cannonball flying. Dodging with a short dy, I kicked the ground and jumped high into the sky. It was sorge that even with a substantial jump, I could barely jump over its head. I used all his magical power to jump up to the top of the man the size of a fortress, then grabbed the holy sword with all my might and fell vertically. The de of the Holy Sword split the Lichtatline horizontally from head to toe. ¡°Aaaaaaarggh¡­ !¡± A bizarre sound, but more like a roar than a scream, shook the whole world. ¡°My lord!¡± Familiar voices called out to me because my body waspletely absorbed into the body of Lichtatline. Lichtatline¡¯s body was cut in half, quaking on both sides, and fell while I was the only one standing there. The knights rushed to me as they saw me standing with the purple blood of Lichtatline, there were strange bodily fluids and internal organs covered me. Some of them were shocked by my appearance, and others sat down in terror, but none of the senior knights came. The first person to arrive was Chris. ¡°My lord, are you alright?! Wasn¡¯t there any poison in the blood?!¡± ¡°Cloth! Bring the cloth!¡± Leon eximed. Some of the giant monster¡¯s blood had melted everything like hydrochloric acid, so everyone was contemting. I raised my hand and checked the status of the gauntlet. Fortunately, it did not seem to have such an effect on the blood of Lichtatline. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s okay.¡± Chris rolled his eyes at my words. ¡°It may not corrode, but it may be toxic!¡± ¡°Then wiping with a cloth isn¡¯t going to solve the problem. Be careful when taking off your armor. It¡¯s not going to happen when you guys are all drenched in blood, so back away.¡± Everyone flinched at my cold tone. I pulled out a dagger from my waist and began to cut off Lichtatline¡¯s neck. Anyway, I need this loot for the king. What else could be more suitable as a loot than the neck of the northern monster king? I cut both of his necks in half and threw them in front of him. Leon looked back at the lower knights. ¡°Sew it well.¡± The king will surely use Lichtatline¡¯s neck for propaganda, so we had to sew it up and take it with us. Although the wizards would cast spells to prevent them from rotting, some of them seemed to need them and return to the capital quickly. Although he could not use magic at all, the body of Lichtatline itself had strong mana. Even if he died, the magic of the wizards would not be perfect. ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep today and start running tomorrow.¡± At my words, Chris and Sophia nodded at the same time. Leon will have enough left to bring back the Knights, Sophia and Chris will be with the leading members and me to move. While returning to the castle, Sophia, Chris, and the lower ranks knights under them were busy because we will be leaving early tomorrow morning. I soaked in the bathtub while the junior knights and their servants, the knight cadets, were packing up while Chris was busy checking everyone out. Then, Sophia came to me. ¡°My lord.¡± As soon as Sophia saw me, she bowed down nobly. s. I moaned exaggeratedly. The fact that Sophie, who came from amoner and built up a wall with aristocratic manners, had to greet me with noble ways meant that I had something to do as a nobleman; in general, it was not a very good thing. ¡°You haven¡¯t spoken yet, my lord.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is, but I think it¡¯s a story I hate.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m still talking¡­ .¡± ¡°Do it now. What is it?¡± At mymand, Sophia pouted. It was a deliberate act of cutesy. That meant that the request I had to make now was so big and heavy that I had to show her cutesy. ¡°Oh my God, Sophie. What do you want me to ask you?¡± I looked up at her with my wet legs in the bathtub, and my shoulders dipped in the water. It wasn¡¯t that serious. ¡°Now we are going to Yenson, lord.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Hey, remember Paul?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s your eldest son, Paul, of course, I know.¡± ¡°Paul just happened to be there! He¡¯s in Yenson.¡± Sophia pped her hands. It was a n. I was dumbfounded and looked at her, then sheughed. ¡°Did you tell Paul toe to Yenson? The road from your estate to Yenson is not good, so why?¡± In my head, I drew a map of the road from Sophie¡¯s estate to Yenson. The road was very rough. Grosn was a ce where there was a lot of regional difference among countries, and the capital, Yenson, was beautiful enough to be called ¡®the city of flowers and fairies¡¯; but unlike the bustling big cities, the condition of the small towns was terrible, and the further away from the capital, the more beautiful it was. The condition also worsened. State order was not adequately involved, so the vigers held trials in viges. As a result, each vige had differentws. Different religions, customs, and slightly different words led to wars between viges from time to time. Consequently, it wasmon to see the bodies of people who had been hanged, scenes of execution, or scenes of being burned at the mouth of the vige. It was not a good view for children to watch. Sophie was one of those parents who tried not to show that, especially to their children, so she didn¡¯t want to bring Paul to Yenson. ¡°Paul, what do you mean? Master, he is my child, but he is good.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a good boy¡­he is really nice. But, it¡¯s kind of like he has no talent for swords.¡± Uhm. I smiled subtly and narrowed my brow. Few children have had as many teachers as Sophia¡¯s eldest son, Paul Hiyen. All the knights of Hastred were eager to teach Paul a sword. Unfortunately, even I and Paul have talked about swords for about two days. Sophia has three sons, but in fact, Paul was the most precious and familiar to us. So, the knights had a lot of interest and affection for Paul. Many children from noble families in the knights were fed up and tried teaching Paul because his mother, Sophia, had difficulty carrying on with the baron title Chris, Leon, and many other knights stuck together and meddled in Paul¡¯s education, and in the end, Sophia got tired of it; thus, it allowed Paul to his maximum freedom and grew up quitefortably. Now he is a thirteen-year-old boy who can¡¯t even handle a sword and doesn¡¯t know how to read. Chapter 25 ??? Leon once criticized Paul as ¡®cute but useless¡¯, but perhaps the high society¡¯s view of Paul is roughly correct. ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem to be good at studying. But the kid is really nice.¡± Sophia emphasized. I looked at her wondering what she¡¯s trying to imply. Sophie said as the water dripped from my hair. ¡°His highness the Grand Duke¡­doesn¡¯t he need a servant?¡± ¡°Sophia,¡± I called Sophie with a disgusted look, but she didn¡¯t back down. ¡°I thought about it, and I think Paul is a really good kid from start to finish. He¡¯s nice and sassy¡­he¡¯s not learning a lot or being smart, but his highness is also in the process of learning, so if they learn together¡­ .¡± ¡°Sophie, his highness has already gone through the basic process of being thirteen. Paul can¡¯t evene.¡± It is questionable whether he can read and write the Grosn standardnguage well, let alone the ancientnguage. He¡¯s a nice and attractive kid, but other than that¡­he was not a talented person to keep by his highness the Grand Duke. Then I remembered the servants and maids I had attached. Eden and his younger attendant not only achieved achievements beyond their age but also had an unusually strong will to learn. He was a servant who had an unobtrusive personality, a quiet and calm nature, and even prudence that was not like a child. The maid, Rosemary, is ten years old. Three years younger than Eden. Although a little hot-tempered, she was a thoughtful and intelligent child. There was no problem with her status, and she had the dignity of being the count¡¯s step-daughter. In fact, Rosemary¡¯s troubles began when the Count thought of her cutely that his daughter became jealous. Rosemary was a beautiful and intelligent child, and the count had raised her well and wanted to make use of her. He also had a desire to marry her off to a good ce, but when their father seemed to regard the cousin smarter than her, the Count¡¯s daughter became enraged and took all her anger to Rosemary. The helpless orphan, Rosemary, had to put up with it silently; but she was not of such a character and she soon became a troublemaker in the count¡¯s mansion. This was her background when she came to me. Compared to these two, Paul was clearly below the level. Even at the age of ten, Rosemary knew how to embroider, arrange flowers, sing, and simply write and read her books. And above all else. Eden was weak due to hardships when he was young but other than that, he was achieving the highest achievement among the three. Putting Paul between these three was really absurd. ¡°My lord.¡± Sophia rarely called me with a gloomy face. s. I looked at her face and swallowed her sobbing moans. When Sophie asks with a face like this, it bes difficult for me not to listen. ¡°I won¡¯t be fine if I die like this.¡± Sophie¡¯s words didn¡¯t sound so pure, but they had a very realistic resonance. ¡°My husband, Joyce, is a good person. But he gets a little lonely. He said that if I die, he won¡¯t be able to bear the pain and he¡¯ll find a new woman. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad thing, though.¡± In fact, everyone in the Knights, myself included, knew that Sophie had always felt sorry for her husband Joyce. Joyce was very lonely, but Sophie was a knight. Reluctantly, she wandered a lot, and Joyce had to remain in the castle. It would have been nice if Sophie had her knighthood title andcent personality, but she didn¡¯t have it either. She wanted to see more and to reach higher achievements as a knight. It was her dream, and Joyce couldn¡¯t stop it. ¡°She must be a good woman for Joyce. I can be sure of that. But is she a good person for my children too? No one will know.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°There are only one or two myths about a good stepmother, but there are thousands of stories about a bad stepmother and I need a little insurance.¡± That sounds right. I understand the sentiment. However. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who needs insurance.¡± I¡¯ve already heard too many things to take a drowsy bath. I felt refreshed and wanted to get out of the hot water. As I got up from the bathtub, Sophie handed me therge towel next to her. I said while taking it and wiping my body. ¡°I can¡¯t take care of everyone who needs insurance.¡± It must have been a cold word for Sophie to hear. She was looking at me with a serious face different from usual. Her face looked sad and unpleasant, but she wasn¡¯t angry. She cannot be treated as special. As I drew the line, she simply lowered her eyes and muttered, ¡°Please excuse me.¡± Throughout my return to Yenson, I thought about Sophie¡¯s son, Paul. I can¡¯t give you special treatment. I said that, but if the human heart had been cut like that, I wouldn¡¯t have saved Eden in the first ce. Not saving Eden was actually an easier way for me. I thought of the early winter wind. Why did I save Eden? Was he pitiful? Perhaps it¡¯s of my father¡¯s sins? Maybe it is. But when I think of Eden, I always think of his face. Two eyes embedded in a beautiful face. I remembered those desperate eyes that wanted to establish their existence. So maybe I¡¯ve been nice to him. And he finally tried to return the sword to me. That was the final blow, and then I risked Hastred and me to save him. Actually, it¡¯s a bit silly to say that I saved him. I wasn¡¯t the only one who saved him. What saved him was thebination of his ancestry, his quick reflexes, his self-bending wisdom, the wealth he left behind, the strong expression of his blood in him, and above all the political situation. It was just that someone had toe alive and work to save him, and that was me. Maybe it was his fate rather than me saving him. Then it is also Paul¡¯s fate that I care about him. After countless attempts to justify my special treatment in this way, I returned to Yenson. ¡°What?¡± My young fiance, whom I saw for the first time in two years, was wandering through death. ¡°Since when?!¡± When I asked while taking off my armor roughly, the answer came back, saying, ¡°It was four days ago.¡± Four days ago. I guess I didn¡¯t get a report because I was on the move. After taking off the armor and changing clothes, I immediately checked Eden¡¯s condition. He was gasping for breath while saying nonsense that the proper expression of wandering through the death was really appropriate. ¡°Cili, Cili.¡± He was calling me and I could feel everyone in the room looking at me. Calling me with his heated skin, he was still beautiful, but he looked as if he was nearing his death. ¡°Orssen?¡± A sharp voice erupted from my mouth. Orssen, who is counted as one of the hands in Yenson¡¯s name, shrugged his shoulders. ¡°He¡¯s a very weak boy.¡± ¡°What do you mean? Wasn¡¯t he the one who had no problems with his health until I left for Yenson?¡± ¡°People who are ill in nature get sick so suddenly. Moreover, it is unfortunate to inform you that he is tortured with poison¡­ .¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°Ha, haha he will get better soon. If you give me a little time¡­ .¡± Seeing Orssen smile awkwardly, I replied, ¡°Yes,¡± hesitantly. Then Rosemary quickly came to my side and asked, ¡°My lord, would you like a cup of tea?¡± She had a face that seemed to have something to say. Rosemary saw Thane behind her and he blinked his eyes quickly too. ¡°You must have been running day and night, but have a cup of tea.¡± Rosemary folded her arms cutely. She could be an average maid, but she was a 10-year-old Rosemary, so it was possible. After doing so, Rosemary pulled me out of Eden¡¯s bedroom. She really poured me her rose tea. In my study, Thane stood in front of me and rolled his eyes while she poured her rose tea. I looked at him silently, and then he looked straight at me. ¡°It¡¯s strange.¡± I took a sip of rose tea while Thane spoke. It smelled good. An elegant and fragrant scent that makes you feel like you have returned from the battlefield. ¡°What is strange?¡± ¡°Mr. Orssen.¡± I nodded faintly and urged Thane to continue speaking. In fact, I was also thinking that Orssen, whom I had not seen in a long time, was a bit strange. ¡°The Grand Duke has been sick for four days, and he has been bleeding all the time.¡± He¡¯s been dying for four days? Of course, many doctors know and respect that blood poisoning is used to treat disease. But blood poisoning for four days? ¡°Why is he sick?¡± ¡°I do not know. Because Mr. Orssen just said that he was weak.¡± I don¡¯t know much about medicine, but is it okay to give blood poisoning to a weak person for four days? I don¡¯t think it would be good for a healthy person to bleed for four days. Is it okay because it¡¯s bad blood? An unpleasant feeling swept through my ears. ¡°Thane, bring Sophie.¡± At my words, Thane went out of the study cautiously with quick steps. Rosemary opened her mouth with her worried eyes as she filled my empty cup with her tea. ¡°My lord, Mr. Orssen is very strange. He keeps talking about blood poison.¡± I thought it was strange too. The story of poison was not so easy. This is because it is a weakness for Grand Duke Eden. The fact that Eden, who was also a Crown Prince, has blood poison, means that he¡¯s been through a lot of bad things; that is to say, he didn¡¯t have such a featpared to his noble birth. Orssen, who deals with nobles, is a person who knows this all too well, but I was puzzled by him casually talking about blood poison in front of everyone. ©¥©¤©¥©¤©¤©¤©¤??©¤©¤©¤©¤©¥©¤©¥ Chapter 26 ??? ¡°Was it very strange?¡± ¡°Yes. Giving gifts to Thane and me, he said he would get well soon, and it¡¯s not a big deal, so he told me not to tell you¡­ .¡± My brows frowned. I can¡¯t be angry at all of this. I am the person above, and the people below me n and execute many things without my knowledge. If I want them always to be honest with me, that¡¯s an unreasonable request. My father taught me that way, so I tend to put my expectations aside from them. But it smells a bit malicious. Giving gifts to appease them is a bit of a childish thing, so it¡¯s funny to see it, and above all, there¡¯s no way he can do this unless I¡¯m aware that he¡¯s doing something he¡¯s reluctant to do. Orssen would go bankrupt if he gave gifts to every mansion he attended. Thane¡¯s expression of being strange was just right. Weird, but not expected. How were things going while I was away for two years? As I rubbed my finger across the side of the teacup while my forehead narrowed, Sophie appeared in the study. She frowned as soon as she appeared. ¡°My lord, did you know that Orssen was gambling?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Chris says he is a gambling addict. Have you known of it, my lord? Gambling addict¡­ .¡± Sophie stopped and looked at me. I shrugged at her words instead. ¡°There is nothing to hide when ites to gambling. Find out, right this instant.¡± Sophie bit her lip. She was always worried about Eden. He was a disciple who had not taught much, but he seemed very valuable. Perhaps it is because of Paul¡¯s severe hardship that she may be gravitating to Eden at a young age. Whatever Orssen did, I¡¯ll have to think about Paul¡¯s future. Fifth page. Request When I opened my eyes, I saw the moonlight. Then I saw Cili sitting on a chair with her eyes closed in the pale moonlight. Seeing her after two years was unrealistic, like a fairy and a demon. I didn¡¯t call her because she didn¡¯t look like a living person. When I called, she seemed to disappear, leaving only her trailing light. Or it felt like waking up because this was my dream. I hated both. I wanted to see her a little more. I¡¯ve written a letter that I missed her. But I¡¯ve never really said I missed her. I didn¡¯t want to write off my yearning so that she won¡¯t feel burdened. She can¡¯te back until Lachtatline, the king of northern monsters, won¡¯t be killed. Her subjugating the demons was a big goal, and in this case, it was to eliminate Lichtatline. People said that Lichtatline was a dragon. Some said it was a griffin that looked like a dragon. Everyone was talking about the Lichtatline being a giant monster and possessing unstoppable power. They also whispered that he had the size of a citadel that could blow up a house with a p of his wings. While saying that a holy knight wasn¡¯t the problem if Cili couldn¡¯t win as long as she was a human: Yenson¡¯s gamblers were betting on her defeat or death. ¡°You¡¯re betting a lot with such a big deal?¡± I didn¡¯t say anything to Cili, but I bet a considerable sum of money on her total victory. Rizal, the ountant, hated it, but I threatened him. I¡¯ll change ountants one day if I can¡¯t even say a word to Cili about this. But instead, I repented and promised Rizal an emerald ne from among the many jewels I had inherited if he kept the secret. Rizal wanted to make a lovely gift for his pregnant wife, so he did my favor. But he did not forget this. ¡°I am cooperating in this work because I am confident your highness will get it safely. If I thought there was a possibility of defeat, it would have been an emerald mine instead of an emerald ne, your highness¡­ .¡± ¡°Even if it was a mine?¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t know if it was a mine. I wouldn¡¯t have cooperated if you had offered me three emerald nes.¡± He might have cooperated with the mine, but three emeralds would never have cooperated; Rizal wrinkled his nose. ¡°Then why did you stop me when I win a lot of money?¡± ¡°It is better not to do things that make a fortune through gambling. First of all, it¡¯s disrespectful.¡± ¡°Dignity.¡± What was I thinking then? Did I remember the many scars on my body? Or do I remember living in stables and barns? Remembering being whipped and crawling on the ground? I can¡¯t remember what I thought, but I don¡¯t think it was a good memory anyway. ¡°Secondly, gambling has a bad taste of fortune. I can¡¯t rmend it because it buys a grudge. That¡¯s why decent people don¡¯t gamble more than just for fun.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± ¡°Yes. The higher you are, the more resentment you get. You should do your best to reduce resentment. The former Duke of Hastred¡­ .¡± Rizal shut his mouth with a face. But I had already heard the story and was staring at him. He was troubled, but he couldn¡¯t pick up what he had said, so he eventually lowered his voice. ¡°He¡¯s been cursed.¡± I didn¡¯t know. I knew he was dead, but I didn¡¯t know that a curse killed him. Did Cili lose her only family to a curse? ¡°Did you find the culprit?¡± ¡°Finding the curse of the original culprit is difficult. Well, the Hastred Knights are a bit better looking than others, but¡­ Still, it is tough to find the man behind the curse. As far as I know, we haven¡¯t figured out what the curse is.¡± ¡°Was he in pain¡­when he died?¡± I actually wondered how my parents died. But I couldn¡¯t ask anyone. I thought I might recognize it if I tried to, but I was scared. What if they said they¡¯re in pain? What if they said they¡¯re sick and struggling while I was away? I, the crown prince, was dead, but they didn¡¯t find a body. Theke I was known to fall into wasrge but not sorge that it could not be searched. Now I could see how weak the king was, my father, who had to admit that he had died without even finding the body of his child. For two years I had lived as grand duke, I naturally learned such things. I would be so sad if my father were lonely and in pain when he passed away. I couldn¡¯t ask about it, so I was more curious about how Cili¡¯s father died. Cili is an orphan like me. She had enemies like me. The difference between us was she knows her enemies. Cili must have been very distressed by his father¡¯s suffering. As I waited for an answer, Rizal shook his head. ¡°I heard he wasfortable as if he¡¯s sleeping.¡± ¡°The Curse¡­ Isn¡¯t it mostly meant to inflict pain?¡± ¡°They must have been afraid of the duke because he¡¯s a holy knight. The head position of the Knights of Hastred passed not long after bing a holy knight, but he¡¯s still the one. He must follow Hastred¡¯s footsteps even if it means handling the pain while dying of a grudge.¡± ¡°They already killed him.¡± ¡°But your highness the Grand Duke also thought about it. He is merciful for a cursed man.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°The other party is showing mercy. Of course, your highness will take the debt if you find out your enemy. But the other party expects to pay for this mercy.¡± ¡°For example?¡± ¡°Ruthlessness. Hastred is a group that can be cruel.¡± It¡¯s a group that can be cruel, Rizal said adamantly. But the Cili I see was just a beautiful, neat, and noble-looking woman, so it was hard to imagine her bing a cruel person instead of a nice person. It¡¯s been two years since Ist saw you. Cili didn¡¯t show up well even in my dreams, so it¡¯s only been two years since I¡¯ve seen such a vivid picture. I put my chin on the back of my hand and looked at her. She looked a little tired, and herplexion was pale. She originally had a white face, but it¡¯s a little whiter than usual. Her eyshes were long and gracefully raised to the tips, and her lips were a dried rose color. And on the back of her neck, was that a wound? I¡¯ve never seen such a wound. At that moment, I unknowingly reached out my hand. Suddenly, she caught my hand in the air. My handly, which was gripped roughly, was instantly released. ¡°Your highness, are you awake?¡± Cili asked while opening her eyes a little wider than usual. Her eyes were also more golden, probably because I saw them from a dark ce. ¡°Cili?¡± ¡°Yes, your highness. It¡¯s been a long time.¡± She was in front of me, and my wrist tingled a little as she grabbed me. Everything felt real. It was then that I realized that my room had an awful smell of herbs. When I asked, ¡°What does this smell like?¡± with a slight frown on my brow, then sheughed. ¡°Oh, Ingrid is a wizard that I know, and he is very famous, but he is one of the best herbalists in the country. He made you¡­ .¡± Me? When I saw Cili, she lowered her eyes for a moment and then changed her words. ¡°He woke you up.¡± Chapter 27 ??? What was it originally meant to be? I was a little curious but didn¡¯t ask. More than that, I was d that she¡¯s here. This wasn¡¯t a dream; it¡¯s real. Because my wrists itch and the smell of herbs was horrible. After thinking for a long time about why I was lying down, I remembered falling andughed. ¡°Did you save me again?¡± Cili shook her head at my words. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me; it was Ingrid. She only heard about my father¡¯s death a few months ago while on pilgrimage. She came to Yenson and was waiting for me, so I was able to meet her, and then she saved your highness¡¯s life.¡± I squinted my eyes slowly. ¡®I saved you,¡¯ Cili said. Did you save me again? I noted that half-jokingly, but Cili wasn¡¯t joking right now. That¡¯s right. ¡°Am I dying?¡± It was surprising. I fell sometimes, and Orssen attributed it to my weakness due to a lot of hardships as a child. I just thought it was. ¡°What about Orssen?¡± If a wizard named Ingrid or a herbalist took care of me, what about Orssen? What was Orssen doing? He was Istrum¡¯s doctor, and he was also mine. What was the doctor doing who caused so much every month to the point that Cili was mourning for my life? What would I be like without that mourner? Out of absurdity, I tried to question the situation to get angry at Orssen, but Cili sighed. She looked a little perplexed. ¡°Orssen¡­. First of all, he was taken away by the Water Guard. I¡¯m thinking of going to jail tomorrow.¡± ¡°By the Water Guard? Why?¡± Orssen was a rather arrogant doctor, but he was still a good man. He was a good man. What¡¯s going on? When I asked without understanding, Cili rubbed one cheek with a troubled face. Why are you in trouble? Thinking it was an impossible feat, I got up and moved my hips little by little to get closer to her. I wanted to be a little closer to her. As I approached, she looked ufortable but soon gave me a weak smile and gently shook her shoulder. Shaking your shoulders without dust seems to make you think before you say anything¡­ ¡°Orssen was addicted to gambling.¡± The word gambling crept inside me. I also bet my fortune on gambling, so she won¡¯t probably like it if she knew. ¡°O, okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But?¡± I stuttered once. It was natural to ask soon; however, Cili didn¡¯t respond to my behavior and spoke slowly about her mind. ¡°He lost a lot through gambling, and he lost his home which he rented. Moreover, his wife and children left him, and in fact, he couldn¡¯t afford to buy a single herb. All the money he received is used to pay off debts or¡­gambling. So he.¡± Every time I was sick, I remembered him giving me blood. And the memory of a servant, Thane, asked all the time to buy herbs. I also remembered that Rosemary swore Mr. Orssen for beingzy and shameless when most doctors carried herbs. Was it because he didn¡¯t have money? That¡¯s why I thought blood transfusion was too much. ¡°He sold the blood of his highness the Grand Duke.¡± A¡­what? It was iprehensible. My blood? ¡°Never did anyone before having magic under the name of Eden. In particr, your highness possesses powerful magical powers. Besides, you came back alive. Those are the so-called¡­ .¡± ¡°¡­enchantment?¡± ¡°It seems to be popr as a talisman against evil.¡± At that moment, something came up. I thought I was okay. I returned to the capital, became the Grand Duke; next, everyone was anxious to see me, then invitations poured in, and the teachers said that I was the best student they had ever taught. So I thought I was freed from a life dominated by others. Ugh. With nausea, I immediately soiled the bedding and continued to vomit. I couldn¡¯t stand it. It felt like my heart and everything in my stomach was about to pop out of my mouth. It was disgusting; everything was terrifying. My fingertips trembled, and my spine shivered. There were physiological tears. It was the first time I realized that I cried when I vomited. Cili didn¡¯t know what to do, as she was perplexed. I bent my head and vomited, but I was paying attention to her presence. I thought she would hurt me. Even if she went left and right, even if she was watching me, and even if she called someone to me, it all seemed like it would hurt me. I didn¡¯t even know what she wanted me to do. So I hurled. Then she hugged me. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± I tried to push her away, but she didn¡¯t budge. She hugged me tightly and took my vomit on her shirt. Her skin was also dirty, but she didn¡¯t mind at all. She hugged me and patted my head, muttering, ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± After I waspletely empty, she lifted me andid me on the long chair I used to nap in and changed my sheets by hand. I asked the duke¡¯s daughter nkly if she had done something like this before. ¡°Are you as good as someone who has done it?¡± ¡°When you enter the Royal School, you have to do everything yourself. It¡¯s a rule.¡± ¡°Does everyone really do it themselves?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the case of the military academy.¡± It was an ambiguous answer. It¡¯s a different story for the non-military academy. If I go to the Royal School, which faculty will I enter? The academy obviously wouldn¡¯t. And there must be humans who buy my blood as a talisman and treat my life as an amulet. Them and I will have to stay together. ¡°Come this way.¡± Cili took off my clothes and wiped me off with a wet towel. I didn¡¯t like being a weak child in front of her, but I had no energy when I was so sick and even vomited on her. I just let her wipe me, changed my clothes, thenid on the bed with new sheets. ¡°Now go to sleep. Ingrid said that you need to sleep to get better.¡± ¡°Are youpletely back?¡± ¡°For now, yes.¡± ¡°¡­ Lee,¡± I called her. I just wanted to call her. Why are you always a good person to me? She was wearing a wet shirt, which would mean that she took care of me while wearing my vomit. She probably washed her shirt when she went off with a towel. Why are you such a good person? ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± ¡°Just¡­ .¡± I just called you; the words swallowed in my mouth. My mind also fell to a distant ce. Cili seemed to be smiling a little, but I¡¯m not sure. *** By the time I got smarter, Yenson was making a lot of noise. ¡°I am most grateful.¡± After receiving the emerald ne and handing it over to his wife, Rizal, who had withered, congratted me heartily even when he saw the oue of my gambling. I made a fortune from gambling, but Rizal was like, if I bought the country with money, I wouldn¡¯t know it unless it was his own. ¡°Did anyone bet gold?¡± When I was surprised by the gold mine after seeing the results of my gambling, Rizal replied, ¡°He¡¯s crazy.¡± He nced at his opponent¡¯s title and saw that he had none. That meant Rizal had already checked this list. ¡°Do you know him?¡± ¡°As a trader, he is a very good person. He¡¯s crazy as a gambler.¡± ¡°¡­ okay?¡± ¡°He¡¯s famous for hating women running around. Perhaps that¡¯s why he is certain that the duke won¡¯t be able to kill the king of the northern monsters.¡± No matter how you feel, you have to gamble with a cool head, Rizal said while looking at me suddenly. He looked at me for a moment and then shook his head. ¡°His highness also doesn¡¯t have a level head, so it would be better not to gamble.¡± ¡°I? Aren¡¯t I a rational person?¡± ¡°Are you rational? You gambled that big fortune when your fiancee was being attacked.¡± ¡°But I knew Cili would make it. You know that, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No matter how much you know,rgely betting is another matter, your highness.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no different for me.¡± I thought, ¡®It¡¯s strange that he gambles on gold mines because he doesn¡¯t like women ying around.¡¯ ¡°Until his wife cheated on him, he didn¡¯t even know the ¡®do¡¯ of gambling.¡± ¡°Did his wife cheat on him?¡± ¡°It is a famous story. Not only was she having an affair, but she¡¯s also divorced and remarried. But it was the trial of the century again.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I don¡¯t know how a divorce trial could be the trial of the century. Divorce of nobles could be the case, but isn¡¯t this case different? Well, divorce itself isn¡¯t easy. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can say this to your highness, who is still young¡­. As a former owner of the gold mine, Fjord often left Yenson to buy and sell things. And Fjord¡¯s wife, Mnie, was in charge of consulting with Yenson¡¯s regrs, that is, mainly the aristocrats¡­ .¡± ¡°Did you take over?¡± ¡°Your highness, you know the Marquis of Lodkaine¡­ We became friends.¡± I¡¯m not so young that I don¡¯t know what it means to be close. My face turned cold, then Rizal sighed. ©¥©¤©¥©¤©¤©¤©¤??©¤©¤©¤©¤©¥©¤©¥ Chapter 28 ??? ¡°I know Lodkaine is a man of character. After giving birth to twins, the Marquis¡¯ wife died after a difficult childbirth. And now, it was Mnie Fjord who took care of the twins. After about ten years, the two young girls and the Marquis thought they should bring Mnie into their house. He wanted Mnie to do the same. So there was a little trial.¡± ¡°A little?¡± ¡°No matter how much money Fjord has, he is filing a divorce suit against a person who has lost a heart, and the opponent is the Marquis of Lodkaine. Besides, the Marquis and Mnie were all prepared for a divorce, but Fjord was suddenly struck in the back one day¡­ In the end, he lost miserably. After Mnie divorced and received the alimony, she became Marquis Lodkaine the following year. So Fjord became a man who grinds his teeth and opposes thedy¡¯s extravagance. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that a nice man who had character seduced another man¡¯s wife had made him his wife and mother of his children? I guess I misunderstood the word personality.¡± I groaned and got angry. I know I¡¯m getting angrily crazy, but I can¡¯t stand it. Why? You don¡¯t have to be together to love. You can love even if you are far away. On the contrary, wasn¡¯t there a more affectionate and precious love?! In my anger, Rizal only looked at my mood. Then he blinked his eyes, scratched his head, rubbed his hands together, then scratched his head again, hit the floor with his foot, next scratched his head again ¨C repeating the process over and over. ¡°Your highness.¡± Whether to say this or not, I¡¯m apprehensive, but it was a two-way conversation. ¡°Why.¡± ¡°That is your highness. Her grace, the Duke of Hastred, and your highness are engaged.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°It is an arranged engagement, and it remains to be seen whether you will get married or not, and even if you do get married, your marriage is arranged. Do you know what I mean by these words?¡± I know. But I remembered Cili of the night a few days ago. She hugged me and looked after me as I vomited. No one has ever done that in my life. No one. And that alone deserved my allegiance and love. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t have any interest in me as a child. But still. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t think of marriage asmon people do. In an aristocratic society, marriage is a contract.¡± ¡°Mnie Fjord is breaking the contract.¡± ¡°She was amoner back then.¡± ¡°I think the marriage ofmoners is not a contract.¡± ¡°Compared to the marriage of aristocrats, it is a little more fluid. There are also quite a few love marriages. But in an aristocratic society, it is quite different, your highness.¡± ¡°She¡¯s still my wife.¡± You better shut your mouth. I thought so. I continued to think that there was no need to show more of my feelings for Cili. But a particr impulse arose strongly that it made me unbearable. I couldn¡¯t stand it. Why? Why can¡¯t I like Cili? She¡¯s my fiancee. She will be my wife. I¡¯m her fiance, and we¡¯ll be a couple, then we¡¯ll be together forever¡­ ¡°Your highness, your highness is Grand Duke Irsias, and her grace is Duke Hastred. You have a lot with each other. That being said, there maye a time when the interests are conflicting. As a couple, you might think that you are in the same boat, but surprisingly, as a married couple, I have seen more cases where they be enemy ships aiming artillery at each other.¡± It was all in Grosn, but I couldn¡¯t understand it. I have no idea what you mean. Why did the couple have to be more enemies because they were in a different boat? Rizal looked at my face with a hmm andughed. ¡°I have told you a very unrted story, your highness. I apologize.¡± He said so, but we both knew what he was talking about. You won¡¯t understand, so let¡¯s just stop here. That¡¯s what it meant. I wanted to say more, but I kept my mouth shut. It was because I had a strong feeling that no matter how much he listened, he would not be able to understand even if we stayed up all night listening to exnations. ¡°I¡­ .¡± I tried to say, ¡®I want to buy a mansion, so check it out,¡¯ but I shut my mouth. Rizal looked at me as if to say something, but I waved my hand and sat in a wrong position on the chair, watching the sunlighting through the high window. Thete afternoon sunlight was as red as Cili¡¯s hair. Buying a mansion shouldn¡¯t be difficult. However, if I buy an estate and be self-reliant, I will be further separated from the real world. I didn¡¯t want it. It was challenging to spend time with Cili. Moreover, she was beyond exhausted. These days, she¡¯s been told that even ten of her bodies aren¡¯t enough to show her face in the social world, to be summoned by the king., Nevertheless, she and I always had breakfast together. In the morning, it was just that happy. But in the afternoon, that was not enough. I wish I were an adult. Then I would have been able to be the Crown Prince without being teased by my uncle. If my father died, I would be king. If I were the king, I would have be a nicer, more handsome, and above all, a more dignified man to Cili. Also, my body won¡¯t be weak either. There would have been no need to have a body like this¡­ Buying a mansion won¡¯t make me a dignified, adult man to Cili. Then, it is better to enjoy being with her every day. Perchance the reason why I felt heartbroken thinking about it because I was young. So after five years of bing an adult, it will be fine. It¡¯s a long way off, but one day it wille. *** ¡°I have something to tell you.¡± Breakfast usually starts quietly and ends peacefully, often without saying a word, but today was different. From the start, she was talking. Curiously, I stared at her lips. Hearing her voice and looking at her face made me smile because I was so happy. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°As a matter of fact¡­ No, it is a request, your highness.¡± I was even more pleased with her words of a direct request. A woman begging me for something, it was something I¡¯d never seen in Cili. I put down my spoon and pressed my chin. I wanted to take a closer look at this truth and savor it in my heart. ¡°Yes, go ahead.¡± ¡°I would like you to bring in one more servant.¡± ¡°Is that a request?¡± Both Rosemary and Thane were maids and servants chosen by her. Cili determined everyone around me, but I couldn¡¯t figure out why it¡¯s bing a favor to bring in an attendant now. What does that mean? Seeing my face, Cili rubbed her face with her palm as if embarrassed. ¡°Paul Hiyen, son of Sophia.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the eldest son. He is a very kind and charming child who is the same age as his highness.¡± Why does it feel like the whole story hasn¡¯te out yet? I couldn¡¯t figure out why Paul Hiyen, who is the same age as me will be my servant. She sighed deeply as I waited for more words from Silly toe out. ¡°That child isn¡¯t learning.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ?¡± ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know if he can speak the Grosn standardnguage correctly. It¡¯s not that he can¡¯t speak or anything like that, but it¡¯s because he¡¯s not a kid with a lot of interest in studying. But I want this child to be a servant of his highness for a while.¡± You don¡¯t know if he can speak the Grosn standardnguage correctly, but you want him to be my servant? It was then that I understood why this was a request. Still, I smiled again at the fairness of Cili. Even though she¡¯s the one who made all the people I need, she even uses the word request and asks me when putting a person I don¡¯t need. That would mean that all the people on me were qualified. ¡°It¡¯s not difficult; why?¡± For whom does she hate doing this kind of thing? It was an easy guess. It would be Sophia; being a servant of a superior was considered to be a privilege. I could understand that it would be usible if the sessor of the barony had been a servant with me since childhood, but was it something for her to deal with? Seeing my puzzled face, Cili smiled softly. ¡°I want to do something for Sophie.¡± ¡°I like doing things for Sophie, too. Sophie is my first sword teacher.¡± I¡¯m still learning swordsmanship, but actually, the person who suited me the best was Sophie. Sophie¡¯s bizarre and casual attitude made me feel at ease. Being such a son of Sophie, I wondered what kind of person he would be. ¡°Thank you.¡± Seeing her smile made me even happier, and that made me feel good enough. The next day, Sophie showed up. Sophie, whom I haven¡¯t seen in a long time, is very rare in a dress. Sophia, with her ck hair up, was alluring and beautiful. She seemed more suited to a dancer from a southern country than a mother with three children. Even though it was a formal dress, Sophia¡¯s passionate feeling did not disappear at all. She appeared blushing on both cheeks. Then, with a face that I so moved, she said, ¡°How¡­ I don¡¯t know how to say it, your highness.¡± She said with tears in her eyes. At that moment, I thought something was wrong. If Cili wanted to do something for her, Sophie was right to thank her. If it weren¡¯t for Cili in the first ce, I wouldn¡¯t have even thought about Sophie¡¯s son¡¯s existence. But why did I move Sophie? Something was wrong. ¡°I heard that you said you would make Paul your attendant. I don¡¯t know what to say with your consideration.¡± Sophie looked very happy, but I felt strange. It didn¡¯t seem like the Sophie I knew. She always treated me casually and I liked Sophie like that. But now Sophie only treated me as the Grand Duke. I, the disciple who had been taught swords, the fiance of Cili, the one Sophie had been¡­ I felt like I was nowhere in the world, only the Grand Duke, who had her son as his servant. ©¥©¤©¥©¤©¤©¤©¤??©¤©¤©¤©¤©¥©¤©¥ Chapter 29 ??? I didn¡¯t say anything, so Sophie looked me in the eye and asked. ¡°Your highness? Is there something wrong?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little bit under the weather; I don¡¯t feel well. Not yet.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I made a very rude visit.¡± Seeing Sophie at a loss for what to do, I was perplexed. All I could do was hide my embarrassment. Sophie spoke politely and untypically about my health here and there, and then I left to wash my face. No matter how dry I washed it, I couldn¡¯t understand it. The person I just saw wasn¡¯t like Sophie. I started to hate Sophie¡¯s son Paul or Del that I had never seen before. Sixth page. Poison of Malice ¡°Hello, sweetheart.¡± A beautiful face with blonde hair and blue eyes was smiling in front of me. I blinked quietly, frowned, and gently pushed the person away. As if the person had no intention of holding on, she was pushed aside. ¡°Ingrid, what have you been up to since morning?¡± It was an early winter morning, so the condition of my throat was not very good. As I spoke while pressing my neck, Ingrid, who wore the splendid attire of wizards, smiled broadly. ¡°Are you going to wake up early in the morning, have dinner with your little fianc¨¦, and then go back to sleep?¡± ¡°I came in early in the morning.¡± Ingrid has been the type to enter her best friend¡¯s room since her days at the Royal School. As I frowned at her and vomitedints, sheughed loudly. ¡°Still, it¡¯s heartfelt to get up and have a meal together, my lord. You will be a supreme wife.¡± ¡°Inga, don¡¯t say that. He¡¯s just a little¡­ .¡± ¡°Pitiful? Sorry? A lonely child without me? What are you going to say?¡± Ingrid asked sarcastically, sitting cross-legged in my chair while resting her chin. How could you say such a demeaning thing to the Grand Duke? I looked at the mean Ingrid with my arms crossed and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going out?¡± I¡¯m in my pajamas, so I need to change clothes, but Ingrid didn¡¯t seem to want to go out. ¡°Can you just change clothes? I saw it a lot at school.¡± Oh, do whatever you want. Ingrid was a good person, but it was always tiring to quarrel with words. I realized that it was most convenient just to do what I wanted, so I took off my clothes in front of Ingrid. As I made the gesture of taking off my clothes, the maids, who were standing afar and watching what we were doing, quickly approached and started serving my clothes. Ingrid burst outughing. ¡°You are a real duke! Can¡¯t you even wear clothes by yourself?¡± The maids red at Ingrid as if they were a little offended because of her harassment. Although she was a respected wizard, Ingrid was amoner. My maids were good people in their way. Even though they could not receive the title, they were born through a branch of a nobleman, so it was natural to feel sorry for Ingrid, apletemoner. Although they didn¡¯t show it openly, the atmosphere became chaotic. She was the best herbalist among the Archmage, and even though she was my friend, there was no way I can help but feel hurt. A sharp edge appeared in Ingrid¡¯s eyes. ¡°Why? Are you annoyed with your maids?¡± Ingrid held out her hand. A bright red me was burning in that white palm. Gasp. The maids swallowed their screams, sat down in front of me, covered their heads, and trembled. They seemed to think that lightning would fall on them at any moment. Gosh. I sighed and looked at Ingrid. It was unavoidable to remember my school days. Because of her inevitable personality, Ingrid was suspended several times during our school days. It was a miracle that she graduated. Although the miracle didn¡¯t happen naturally but instead, it was my effort and my ssmates¡¯ hard work for Ingrid¡¯s graduation. Since she was a person who kept loyalties, we were taken care of by her as friends to an extent. ¡°Inga, if you burn my house, we will charge you for everything.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just say that a money-wise wizard like you won¡¯t be able to afford it.¡± Ingrid was a wizard and a herbalist, so it cost a lot of money. Since magic research costs money, most wizards recruit sponsors for magic research, but Ingrid had no sponsors because of her personality. She was earning her money from her abilities, and that money was used to pay for her magical research. In contrary to her morous appearance, she was always squeamish about money. Chit. She extinguished the mes above her palms, and Ingrid rubbed her mouth as if she had been stabbed. I patted the maids who were trembling and burying their face in their legs and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay; it¡¯s okay. My friend is a little¡­ .¡± ¡°Me being stupid? No luck?¡± Ingrid followed me. She must have been distraught, and her small facial features were distorted to the fullest. I listened to Ingrid. ¡°She¡¯s naughty. You must have been surprised, but I¡¯ll take care of my clothes, so go and get some rest, both of you.¡± At my words, the maids hesitated and left my room. There were signs of wanting to get out quickly while putting the clothes neatly that I was supposed to wear on the bench next to me. She looked pretty scary. As my door mmed shut, Ingrid shook her head. ¡°Cili, I always think that you would have been better off not being a noble. It really doesn¡¯t suit you.¡± ¡°Are you saying that again?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t your parents give birth to me? If it were me, I would use this enormous fortune, even a penny, for good things¡­ .¡± A good ce, she says, literally means a good ce when she thinks it is. ¡°Those naughty maids would have been beaten right away!¡± Ingrid was angry. She nced at me as I put on my clothes and listened to her. She had a habit that a beating would fix something right away. She was holding ab when I was just getting dressed. ¡°Come on.¡± Maybe she was sorry, so she¡¯s going tob my hair. I didn¡¯t refuse because I¡¯m not good at grooming my hair. In fact, like some of thedies here, I want to cut my hair short, but I couldn¡¯t because of the strong opposition of the maids. It was because the dress didn¡¯t look elegant. Ingridbed my hair well and braided it beautifully. It was the so-called female elf hunter¡¯s hairstyle, in which the hair was ited from the root of the hair, and then all the hair was braided back into oneplicated braid at the end. ¡°I thought this hair would suit me.¡± Ingridughed proudly, so I justughed. Looking in the mirror, I was the normal me that I usually see, but it looked different to Ingrid¡¯s eyes. I think it¡¯s just me with my hair braided. Ingrid spoke softly as I looked at myself in the mirror and tried to figure out what was different. ¡°Rostello.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I confirmed it. Someone gave the rostello to the Grand Duke. He¡¯s been eating small amounts for a long time, and toxins have umted in his body.¡± Ingrid in the mirror was looking at me. As we looked at each other through the mirror, both of us had faces without a single smile, unlike before¡ªthe two people with expressionless faces. I saw two men, one a sorcerer and the other a knight, carrying their share of burdens on their shoulders as adults. ¡°What kind of drug is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a medicinal herb. If used well, it bes a medicinal herb. But rostello is very tricky to handle because it¡¯s a powerful poison. Besides, if it is used alone, it can only be used as a poisonous herb. Since it¡¯s a special herb used to neutralize powerful herbs, it is something that only those who have dealt with medicinal herbs know well.¡± ¡°Does the doctor know?¡± ¡°¡­ A verypetent doctor, maybe.¡± Verypetent. The word catches my ears because Orssen was one of the most famous doctors. Although he was short-lived, his reputation was high. ¡°How long has he been taking it?¡± ¡°Estimated around four months.¡± However, the strange thing was that Thane and Rosemary were very dissatisfied with Orssen¡¯s use of no herbs and blood transfusion. Orssen said he never used any drugs, and they were very wary of Orssen in that respect. Both of them were sharp enough to store the items Orssen gave them without opening the package, but Orssen actually gave his highness medicine? How, and in what way? He was in a position where he could provide his highness any amount of treatment, but I felt a little ufortable that he had toe up with a different method to feed him what he should just eat. ¡°I need to see a doctor.¡± I stood up and muttered, and Ingrid nced at me and said: ¡°Oh, one more. The doctor who transfused is probably not the doctor who gave him rostello.¡± ¡°What?¡± Of course, I thought it was Orssen, but what is she talking about again? She shrugged her shoulders as I gave Ingrid her nce for further exnation. ¡°Rostello remains in the blood. So, if you want to kill a person with it, you can¡¯t use blood transfusion. The doctor was right to bleed. If it weren¡¯t for me, he would have been the same as rostello or a sapling that eventually killed a person; but in this case, he lost blood and lost the toxicity of rostello; after the first aid, I was able to put, and his highness is indeed a lucky case.¡± It wouldn¡¯t be more surprising if a cow could catch an ant with its hind paws. I looked out the window where the bright sunlight was shining. It was a dazzlingly beautiful morning, but it must be because of my mood that I felt something eerie. Chapter 30 ??? That afternoon, I called Leon, who had arrived in the capital the day before, and headed to the Capital Guard. Leon murmured, ¡°I wanted to rest for a day,¡± but he stopped by in much morefortable clothes than usual and headed to the south gate of the castle with me. That¡¯s where the head office of the Water Guard was located. ¡°Do you have to apany me every time youe to the Capital Guard?¡± Leon shook his head. Of course. I nodded vigorously. The Captain of the Metropolitan Guard, Grieg, was Leon¡¯s eldest brother. I am a duke andmander of the Knights of Hastred, so that I can do a lot of chores, but depending on whether Leon apanies or not, the speed and atmosphere of the work are really different. ¡°Leon! You¡¯re here!¡± I heard Grieg, who was rather heavy, rushing down from the wall and screaming. s, if we could use this word even between brothers, unrequited love would be excruciating. ¡°Ah, brother. Long time no see.¡± Leon was blunt. He must be the older brother that he hadn¡¯t seen in two years¡­ . Thinking so, I changed my mind when he said, ¡°I am not.¡± It may be the older brother who hadn¡¯t seen him in a long time. Due to Leon¡¯s personality, there was no guarantee that he would see his family every time he came to Yenson. ¡°My brother is still in good health. You¡¯re handsome, and your sister-inw is as kind and beautiful as always?¡± That was a book-reading-ttery that came out when money was at stake and had no motivation. It¡¯s a skill of ttery. As I shook my head inwardly, his older brother jumped down and hugged Leon as if thrilled. He said, ¡°My brother! You are still sweet!¡± and hugged him tightly. There was a desperate affection in that hug, but Leon said, ¡°Ah, yes, yes,¡± and patted his brother¡¯s back a couple of times without sincerity and pushed him away. It wasn¡¯t just pushing him away, it was driving him with great force, so if it weren¡¯t for a big guy like Grieg, he would have been thrown on the ground. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, brother. I¡¯m out of breath.¡± Wow, every time I look at him, it¡¯s dishonest to lie. ¡°No, I am sorry. Why are you so thin? Did you eat? Does the meal at Hastred doesn¡¯t taste good? Who is bothering you?¡± Who will torment Leon? Leon bullied many people. I was looking up at the sky, wondering when the hell this brother¡¯s reunion would end when suddenly Leon pointed at me. ¡°Brother, she¡¯s my master whom you are pretending not to see.¡± Hahahahaha, Grieg burst outughing. He looked at me and smiled wildly, and bowed down to me. ¡°Wee, your grace.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Captain Nossen.¡± Grieg Nossen. He was the eldest son and sessor of Count Nossen and was a man in charge of the Capital Guard. He gained control over the city¡¯s police and was more famously nicknamed ¡®The Cunning Bear.¡¯ As one of the strong pirs of Count Nossen¡¯s iron tightrope, he was also a man of bright demeanor, to the point that he held important posts in both the previous and current kings. ¡°I think this child has lost some weight, my lord.¡± Except for his desperate love for his youngest brother, Leon, he was a bright and clever person. But when Leon was involved, he bes a beggar. This was characteristic of the entire family of Count Nossen. It was said that Leon was a little handsome now, but when he was younger, he was cuter than a fairy and more beautiful than an angel, he had aegyo, and he was so lovely that the whole family lived and died because of Leon. Because of the memories of that time, Count Nossen has be a family that does anything for his youngest son. tl/n: aegyo is a cute disy of affection expressed in all cutesy manners. The youngest son was tired and troubled by the count¡¯s overprotectiveness and lived a life where money was the best, so Count Nossen was known as a pitiful family in the Order of Hastred. ¡°Did Leon lose weight?¡± It looks like he¡¯s not losing or gaining¡­ In other words, there is no significant change. When he asked, Grieg was furious. ¡°Can¡¯t you see this half-faced face, lord!¡± ¡°Brother, my career is in jeopardy.¡± Leon, with an annoyed face, waved his hand like a handkerchief, roughly drying his brother. ¡°But but!¡± So he tried to tell Leon more, but Leon shook his head to keep his brother shut. ¡°Brother, there¡¯s a doctor named Orssen.¡± ¡°Doctor?¡± ¡°Huh. There is a big bastard who has blood drawn from the grand duke and sold it.¡± Grieg seemed to be thinking, ¡°Ah.¡± and shook his head. But I believe Grieg must have noticed the business from when he heard that his brother wasing. Perhaps Leon is also thinking of this. Cunning bear. That nickname came for nothing. ¡°I want to talk to him.¡± ¡°If our Leon wants to talk, of course, we have to. But what should I write the reason for in the meeting room?¡± Grieg asked. ¡°Interrogation. I want to ask him something about selling blood.¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s a crime, the guards will do it, so I don¡¯t think it can be used in the meeting room. Is there anything else I can use?¡± The words were said to Leon, but the meaning behind it was meant for me. The Guard handles the Crime. Strictly speaking, the mercenary knights had the warning to step back. Well, I wasn¡¯t curious about who sold the blood to. Instead, I would like to know more about the threat approaching the Grand Duke. Of course, if I say this, Grieg Nossen will tell me to trust the guards, but how can I trust the guards and Grieg Nossen? There are too many people on guard. Among the factions, Grieg Nossen and Count Nossen are notorious neutrals who did not take a stand. One day he can be my ally, the next day, he can be my enemy. ¡°Brother.¡± Leon also frowned, knowing why Grieg was doing this. ¡°Uh, huh?¡± ¡°Should I care about such a little thing? You can do that on your own.¡± Leon threw a sudden tantrum because we don¡¯t have a day or two. In the end, Grieg lost. ¡°¡­Well, that. Of course! Your brother will take care of it. Alright, Orssen, the doctor? Does it mean you want to talk to the doctor?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay, wait for a moment.¡± The moment Grieg stepped back with a face that said, ¡°That¡¯s enough warning,¡± Leon said with a hateful remark. ¡°Brother, I have to go to sleep. Bring him quickly.¡± ¡°Alright. I will bring him like the wind as my youngest brother want.¡± Grieg was cold to me, but he was a real pushover to his younger brother. I can¡¯t help but bring Leon into this state; that¡¯s why I burst intoughter. The road leading inside the dungeon wall was dark even during the day. There were also cracks in the wall. Even though it was daytime, the torch was hung, and that¡¯s why the smell of oil was pungent. And the scent of various filth, which even the smell of oil could not be erased, floated in the air. As we went underground, the smell of dirt was worse than the smell of oil. Things like feces or blood and the smell from people who haven¡¯t washed. Squeak. Somewhere a mouse cried and ran back and forth. I was not immune to ces like this. Most of this work has been handled by subordinates. And since my knights were in a position to go on an expedition, I didn¡¯t like prisoners because they were just a food source. We mainly kill monsters and people, but it was rare to manage criminals. The loot was often managed separately by the king¡¯s troops, who moved with us. Even if we usually act as if we were all knights, we were treated as mercenaries in important areas, and we werefortable with that. We were mercenaries who could leave at any time. Of course, it was good for us not to go, but it¡¯s a huge difference whether we can leave or not. ¡°Leon, when are youing home?¡± He wanted to stick to Leon, but Grieg asked as he walked a little further away since Leon hated it. He acted as if he had no interest in anything but Leon. But I also knew that Leon was interested in everything. ¡°I will go when I go.¡± ¡°Your mother misses you and weeps every night, baby.¡± Baby. I almostughed at the word, but I barely held it in. Leon¡¯s existence in the Nossen family is like a sanctuary because they know that a wrong step will cause a crusade. ¡°No way,¡± Leon responded bitterly. So he rolled his big eyes and waited for the youngest brother to speak. Leon shrugged his shoulders as he entered the giant stone gate leading to the dungeon. ¡°You wrote in the letter that you were doing well. You said you had back pain, so I sent some medicinal herbs, and you seem to be listening well.¡± ¡°Did that herbe from you?!¡± ¡°Uh. No, to be precise, it was the lord.¡± Leon pointed at me and followed me quietly as if he was air, and I was startled. Me, me? I asked with my eyes, but Leon pretended not to see me, turned his back, and walked forward. ¡°It is the core of the tinum basilisk that our lord captured.¡± ¡°That is¡­ that is so precious.¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s a little bit left on us. The lord had swept away all the magical sea monsters (creatures that harm humans among god¡¯s creations).¡± ¡°¡­ Wow. Is it that bad?¡± ¡°Uh, a little.¡± Grieg gave me a ttering look for the first time since he saw me today, but Leon¡¯s side face, standing slightly in front of Grieg, showed signs of trouble and boredom. I used to catch sea monsters when I was on the road, but this habit started to disrupt the knights¡¯ schedule. In the past, the knights would see them as well, but I go on my way with a straight face when they catch it these days. And the only people who caught sea monsters with me were Chris and Sophia. These were all Leon¡¯s achievements. They started cracking down on Leon to stop anyone from helping me except Chris and Leon. Thanks to this, I was a little tired, but the movement of the knights kept pace. Chapter 31 ??? ¡°Hey, I¡¯m a feeling a little weak too¡­¡± Grieg said to me with a sullen face. He was nicknamed the Cunning Bear. It was a time when I vaguely replied, ¡®Ah, you¡¯re a bear¡¯ while looking at his heavy and threatening giant body when he said that. ¡°Brother, where did you put your conscience? Come quickly and bring Orssen while finding your conscience.¡± Just as we arrived at the interrogation room at the dungeon entrance, Leon, who had entered the room, gave Grieg a call with a cold voice and went inside. No, you just can¡¯t go in saying what you want. As I looked at Grieg, he held his hands together; rubbing it and said: ¡°I only have a few griffin eyes¡­ Can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°If I get anything, I¡¯ll send it to you through Leon.¡± Grieg was startled by my words. ¡°Oh, can¡¯t you send it through someone else? I¡¯ll give you a handmaiden!¡± ¡°The handmaiden is a bit difficult. Hastred is a fast-moving group, and it is hard to keep up with the untrained.¡± ¡°That, then, then¡­ .¡± Grieg¡¯s face contorted. He eventually said, ¡®He will eventually find someone in Hastred, so please don¡¯t send it through Leon. Our youngest is having a hard time.¡¯ He seemed to know Leon was a person who could have gotten the griffin eyeballs from me, make them rot, and threw them away. Griffin¡¯s eyes are one of the rare nutritional supplements, but they were leftovers from Hastred. When you first enter Hastred, you eat them because it is a waste to throw them away, but soon the realityes that you won¡¯t even look at anything other than the best because it rolls too much. In general, if you are lucky enough to meet a vige, you either have to share it with money or if it bes a burden, it ismon to throw it away because it¡¯s tasteless. ¡°Do whatever you feel like.¡± To my words, Grieg said, ¡°Is that so?¡± and disappeared with a happy face. It seemed that he would bring Orssen. It made meugh. He¡¯s a funny guy. As we entered the interrogation room, Leon warned me. ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled because he¡¯s not nicknamed the Cunning Bear for nothing.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It means nothing to me, but to other people, he is someone who puts his intentions in every word he says. Did you just think he was a funny person?¡± Leon¡¯s eyes were full of vignce. I meekly said, ¡°Yeah, I thought so,¡± and sat down next to Leon. There were sticky things near the table that were getting my boots dirty. Upon closer inspection, it looked like blood. He did some very intense interrogations. Leon said while rubbing the blood and pus from the tip of his boots against the cleanest part of the table. ¡°Be careful, my lord. He is a cunning person who will change his attitude whenever necessary.¡± I wonder what the hell was going on in Leon¡¯s head at this time. How can you be so cold to your older brother, who loves you so much? Leon smiled bitterly as if my thoughts were written on my face. ¡°Love is not everything.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± ¡°What kind of love who loves to call your thirty-six-year-old brother baby without even looking at him face-to-face?¡± That was a bit harsh. I was Leon¡¯s boss, and his brother treated him like a baby in front of me. Leon was a knight, a very famous and capable knight, so that was no different from an official insult. But I thought it was something we couldugh at because we know each other. ¡°Is that so.¡± I do not know. My father was very proud of me for bing a holy knight, and as soon as I became a holy knight, he gradually prepared to hand over the knights to me, and then I became the leader of the knights at a very young age. When I became Hastred¡¯s master, the bacsh from my uncles was so tremendous that one of my uncles even told me to draw a sword. As it turns out, he had applied for a duel with his niece on the street. Rather than being displeased by the touch of the glove on my cheek, the ridiculous memory was still vivid. My father always treated me like an adult, so I don¡¯t know what it feels like. But since Grieg Nossen¡¯s love for his younger brother is ginger, I think I can give it a little credit for that, isn¡¯t it? As I was thinking bitterly, Orssen rolled into the interrogation room. I think it¡¯s urate to describe it that way. Because he really rolls in. ¡°Long time no see, Orssen.¡± Orssen, who was lying on the floor, was distracted, and when he looked up at my greeting, he sighed and swallowed his breath. I smiled at him. ¡°You have something to tell us. Right?¡± ¡°Tha, that, that¡­ .¡± Orssen trembled and stuttered when Leon squatted next to him, cing his chin on Orssen¡¯s shoulder. From a distance, he seemed like a close friend. ¡°I tell you, sir. I don¡¯t feel very well.¡± ¡°No, Vice-Captain Nossen.¡± ¡°If you think your tongue is useless, can you cut it off and start over? There is no problem withmunicating with just your fingers. ¡­ Do you know what I mean?¡± Orssen nodded enthusiastically at Leon¡¯s words. Orssen was silent as if he had forgotten that he was threatened of having his tongue cut off as soon as he talked about his gambling. His face turned white, ashamed that we knew of his gambling history, but I thought Orssen¡¯s body smelling like urine should be more shameful. He was afraid of Leon¡¯s threats, so he seemed to have spilled some things he shouldn¡¯t have spilled. Well, everyone¡¯s standards are different. I sip the tea that the guard had brought me and listened to Orssen¡¯s conversation. ¡°Why did you gamble, whether you yed or not, how much was it based on gamblers¡¯ standards, and whether it belongs to gambling or not, it doesn¡¯t matter to us. What I am curious about is the list of men who dared to treat noble blood as an amulet and ordered it.¡± Leon turned his dagger from his left then to his right, showing off his brilliant hand technique. Orssen¡¯s white hair seemed to be getting whiter, and his eyes moved with the movement of Leon¡¯s dagger incessantly. Even the cornered mouse thought that it could afford more than that. But there was no sympathy considering Eden¡¯s vomit, even breaking his head was no good. ¡°Because I am not a doctor, I can only give my opinion as a herbalist on the condition of the Grand Duke. Take that into consideration, Cili. It¡¯s up to the doctor to make a proper diagnosis, not me.¡± Ingrid, who had examined Eden, sighed, and the words echoed behind my ears. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too deep.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°The blood poison is also a problem, and he can¡¯t eat properly and sleep during the process of growing up. Everyone has at least one or two limitations in this era, but the strong magic power has made them stronger; however, it has also put a strain on the body. The Grand Duke¡¯s original magical power probably wasn¡¯t up to this level. I don¡¯t know what other people have said, but honestly, this magic right now¡­ .¡± Ingrid said sorry, giving mefort with her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s strong enough at the level five. But you know what? Magic power gets stronger over time. Yet again, it¡¯s unusual for a 13-year-old child to have such strong magical powers. No matter how natural you are, when you turn 13, you still have to have condensed magical powers. But this boy¡¯s magic is already expanding. That said, the depth of this person is great. He was enchanted by the desire to protect himself.¡± ¡°Is his magic that strong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s strong. Fortunately, no raw energy was used. Many people have such a deep heart and die while converting their vital energy into magical power.¡± Ingrid said, burning herbs and filling the Grand Duke¡¯s room with a strange scent. ¡°It would be nice to resolve it before I die since it¡¯s not something other people can do. It¡¯s just like fate or something like that.¡± As she said that, Ingrid¡¯s back felt huge. Like fate itself. I¡¯ve never felt fate. But it must have been fate that I became a holy knight. It is not something that can be achieved no matter how much I want and try. I was born as an individual with magical powers in a family with divine power, gained both powers, and even liked swords. I really liked it so much. There was a time when I was crazy about swords, and even that period was quite long. As fate guides me, I became a holy knight. When I became a holy knight at 15, people praised me for being the youngest holy knight and praised me for having excellent skills. But was that my talent? Was my talent the result of my hard work? Everything was going as if it was meant to be. I didn¡¯t try anything. I just did as much as I liked and stood here. If my father¡¯s death was fate and I was destined to be a holy knight, and if all the significant events in my life were fated, then I can¡¯t seem to resist the fact that its destiny because it¡¯s so absolute and powerful. It was miserable that Eden¡¯s growth could only be resolved if there was a good reason. The young Grand Duke has already suffered a lot, but his pain still burns like hell in his heart. Chapter 32 ??? ¡°Fjord? ¡®That¡¯ Fjord?¡± The unexpected name that came out startled me from my thoughts. Who? As I looked at Orssen, Orssen shrugged his shoulders in surprise. But he pushed his mouth open and continued talking. ¡°Yes. There was only one person who bought blood. It was Hessint Fjord.¡± ¡°You drew so much blood, and Fjord bought all that blood? Why? Did he buy it as a product?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Leon asked. I couldn¡¯t understand it either. Hessint Fjord. Why did the giant buy the blood of Grand Duke? Of course, there must have been many nobles who wanted the blood of the Grand Duke as an amulet, wishing for something unusual. However, he was a merchant targeting the nobility, and the Grand Duke was royalty. There is no reason to cross such a dangerous bridge just for one product. Next, if the Grand Duke finds out that he was selling his blood, what will he do to cover it up? ¡°I don¡¯t know, did you?¡± Orssen came out with a puzzled face and looked at Leon in turn. As if it were strange for us to ask why. ¡°His highness the Grand Duke took the gold mines from Fjord.¡± Seeing Orssen saying, ¡°Fiorge is avenging,¡± we doubted our ears for a moment. What? It was really absurd. Leon and I were silent the whole time we left the Water Guard building. It was already night when we left; the moon and stars were bright in the night sky, and the streets were full of all kinds of lights. Yenson is the capital, and the South Gate is where the most luxurious shops are concentrated, so the shops were dazzling with all sorts of luminous stones. ¡°Really, I¡¯m surprised.¡± After arriving at Istrum and dismounting from my horse, Leon spoke a word. I was silent, and I replied with just one word, ¡°Yes.¡± There was nothing else to say but that. What should I say? My young fiance gambled with my work. He bet an unprecedented fortune, and he won, and he became incredibly wealthy. He used to be rich, but now he is the richest man in Yenson. It wasn¡¯t funny. ¡°If I had known it would be like this, I would have risked it too.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Whether it¡¯s the king or the emperor of the northern monsters, we should have put an end to him anyway, and we should take a lot of money. Wow, do you ever make money in one sitting like this?¡± Leon eximed with admiration for Eden¡¯s resourcefulness, but I was dumbfounded. I was silent for a moment and then asked Leon. ¡°Can you really bet?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Can you bet and stake half your fortune of Litchtatline¡¯s defeat?¡± ¡°Of course, I trust you and Hastred¡­ .¡± Leon smiled and immediately cut what he was saying and asked. ¡°What are the variables? There may be variables.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°I ask if could you bet half your fortune that we¡¯ll kill Lichtatline before we set off?¡± Leon hesitated and said, ¡°Half is a little off, a third, no, a fifth, no, a tenth, no¡­ .¡± and then it kept changing. Yes, even Leon, the person who knows our power best, could not bet money. We were confident that we would kill Lichtatline. We thought so and ran to the north. But there is a difference between what we can kill or what we kill. There¡¯s also a massive difference in being able to do it. That¡¯s why Leon, who neither loves people or women, in particr, can¡¯t put his money on the line. We have abilities, but there are also variables in the world. For example, what if we have captured all the northern monsters, but there is no Litchtatline? What if Litchtatline runs away? If we yed hide and seek, it was Litchtatline that had an advantage, not us. After all, we were human beings who had to move forward, and the Lichtatline was a gigantic monster that could go far in one night. Eden, however, devoted half of his fortune to gambling. Assuming that I make it is a bit¡­ ¡°Still, it must be encouraging that your fiance trusts you so much.¡± Leon was trying to change the atmosphere with his ttery. ¡°That¡¯s horrifying.¡± Leon said he was a trusting fiance, but I was horrified. Knowing how I was feeling, he silently agreed with me. What the hell did Eden see at that moment? He has his wealth. What about his title? If the king confiscates it, he will be just a name only without his title. However, it is not easy to seize property. Since the king gives the title, it can be rtively easy when he confiscates it, yet the property is not provided. Eden¡¯s fortune came from his maternal family, and thus the kingmits unjustified extortion. On the other hand, that would not be possible because it turned all nobles into enemies. So, what Eden had to believe were wealth, not titles. Only property was his own. And he was in a position to increase his unique things based on it, so he bets half on gambling? What would have happened if he had a variable? ¡°Is he addicted to gambling?¡± When he¡¯s thirteen, he thought he¡¯s rational in his way, although his impulses were out of control. ¡°Well.¡± If that¡¯s the case, it hurts my head. Fjord can somehow solve it, but what can I do when a noble person is gambling with his fortune? I am his legal guarantor, not his agent. In other words, I had no particr authority other than to assume joint responsibility. ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± At Leon¡¯s words, I just nodded. It was a luxury in this situation to say that I knew anyone and that it would be difficult. I had to find out if Eden was into gambling or not. And if he¡¯s into gambling. Oh, let¡¯s not think about such a dark situation when it hits. I don¡¯t want to think about it now. When I heard that Paul Hiyen had arrived, I was a little dizzy. Sophie¡¯s subservient appearance and Cili¡¯s restlessness of using a request didn¡¯t look good to me because of this idiot. I didn¡¯t think I would like anything about him at all. ¡°Good morning, your highness. This is Paul, who will be serving your highness from today!¡± He was a lively person. The first thing I liked was his brown-reddish hair. At first nce, the color seemed to be authentic. I also appreciated his brown eyes. The color was so light that it would glitter closely like Cili¡¯s golden ones when it caught the sunlight. His skin was white, but I didn¡¯t like that he had freckles on his cheek. Seely is twenty-eight years old, but she has no blemishes on her face. There were minor parts of his face that remind me of Cili. I didn¡¯t care if I said anything. Even though Thane and Rosemary looked like they liked each other, they didn¡¯t mind at all. He looked at Thane, Rosemary, and me and smiled broadly. ¡°Wow, it looks like this ce picks for the face. Can Ie in here?¡± ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Shilly and your mother¡¯s request, you wouldn¡¯t have been here.¡± Even at my thorny words, Paul smiled ¡®haha¡¯ with a face and said, ¡°Yes,¡± and showed his bby arms. ¡°I am not confident in my face, but I am confident in my strength. Leave the hard work to me!¡± ¡­Puhahaha. In the end, Iughed. He was friendly and charming, and he was just that. It was clear that he was a hard-to-hate person. I asked with my chin on the table. ¡°When you see an injured rabbit, you just want to heal him, so you¡¯re that type, aren¡¯t you?¡± At my words, Paul tilted his head. ¡°What if there is no treatment? It¡¯s pitiful to ignore it.¡± You can eat it. ¡°Isn¡¯t it food?¡± I swallowed in my mouth. Even I, the Archduke, think this way, but Paul naturally thought that injured rabbits should be treated. Suddenly I realized how much Sophie had cared for this son. Under the protection of a strong mother, Paul seemed to have grown innocently. It shouldn¡¯t be like that by the world¡¯s standards, but I became very envious of Paul at this moment. If he had been a little jealous, I might have hated him, but I was so envious that I didn¡¯t hate him. His ignorance felt refreshing rather than being stupid. ¡°No, there is no need for his highness servant¡¯s to do anything,¡± Rosemary spoke astonished, but I gently raised the teacup and stopped her. There may be nothing to work on. But I liked this kid. ¡°I¡¯ll decide if there¡¯s anything to use or not.¡± It didn¡¯t mean to put effort; rather, I will decide if I¡¯ll use Paul or not. He didn¡¯t seem to read the hidden meaning of my words, but Thane and Rosemary understood it right away. The two bowed their heads faintly, expressing their obedience in closing their mouths. ¡°Poli.¡± ¡°Ah¡­? Did you call me?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll call you Poli.¡± ¡°It sounds like a dog¡¯s name.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± He said it was like a dog¡¯s name, but he didn¡¯t have a sour look on his face; instead, he was just happy to hear it. We thought we could be good friends. It was the first time to meet someone so pure without thinking about it. ¡°Oh, are you going to go hunting?¡± ¡°Hunting? Well? I haven¡¯t made my mind yet; why?¡± ¡°I quickly be friends with the hunting dogs.¡± Now and then, Paul smiled brightly. Between his folded eyes, pale eyes that I did not know whether they were golden or brown, gleamed. ¡°Yeah, that would be fun. I¡¯ll apany you next time you go hunting.¡± As I said that, I thought of Silly again. Chapter 33 ??? I wasn¡¯t innocent when I met Cili. I was full of different thoughts. When we first met, it would be more urate to say that I was engulfed in resignation and despair rather than happy ones. It was at a point where I had lost all hope and forgot how to breathe. Then when Cili suddenly picked me up andpletely changed my life. She gave back my lost seasons and breath. So I came thinking of Cili. They said that Cili¡¯s father died of a curse. I don¡¯t know what curse it was, but there were times I felt like I was under a curse. I was constantly thinking about the truth of what Cili did for me. Things like what I wanted to do for Cili and about me being helpless who can¡¯t reach that person. I even thought about the thirteen-year-old Cili and an eleven-year-old her. What was she like back then? She must have been lonely. The sword she gave me was still with me. I learned swordsmanship with that sword, and whenever I had time, I would stare at the de. I couldn¡¯t be happier if I found a small scratch that I had never seen before. It felt like I had touched something inside of her. She has no family. I don¡¯t have a family either. And we are the people who promised to marry each other. We will be each other¡¯s only family, and we will be destined. It felt so perfect that I got scared at times. It felt like someone was going to take her away. When I was nervous, I went out for a swim at night, and it always feels daunting. It¡¯s an act of feeling the peak when something is going wrong. I swim in fear of someone hitting me in the back of my neck and take everything away from me. And when I returned to my room, my anxiety subsided a little. It¡¯s like I overcame my fear. When we went to breakfast, Cili was seated first at the table. As usual, she was dressed in a simple white shirt, ck pants, and boots. Then she wore a pretty ne around her neck. ¡°Cili.¡± Within the silence, I raised my head as I spoke to Cili. ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± ¡°Who gave you the ne?¡± No matter how I look at it, it wasn¡¯t the design that Cili would buy. She was even bothered to wear dresses. Most of all, Cili was the kind of person who insisted on wearing what was avable before putting it on for a party thenes back as if nothing. However, many people, including thedies, cried and begged the Duke of Hastred, which eventually led her to buy new dresses, shoes, essories, and makeup before going to the party. I didn¡¯t think she would spend her time buying a ne like that. Sure enough, she said and smiled at me, ¡°You can tell that I didn¡¯t choose it?¡± She had a yful voice. ¡°Yes.¡± I felt better because the conversation seemed lighter. ¡°It belongs to my mother.¡± At that moment, I was speechless and shut my mouth. It was¡­.a keepsake. That¡¯s why she keeps wearing it without taking it off from her body. ¡°So it was passed down from your mother. It suits you. As expected, your mother knows what suits you.¡± I hoped that the atmosphere would not darken. I hurriedly praised her mother, hoping that Cili would feel less pain of her past. But, as if I had touched something wrong, Cili¡¯s face darkened. I soon found out why. ¡°They said she had difficulty in birthing me, and she didn¡¯t live for a few years as a result of that. Very little is left of my memory,¡± she said. ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°This is also just a matter of doing what I want and choosing the ones with a modest design out of the many things I inherited.¡± ¡°I can hardly remember my mother¡¯s face either. It¡¯s not a big deal with my mother and father.¡± I talked about how unhappy I am. I guess I was confused, and perhaps I was. My head was paralyzed, and my mouth continued to recite my misfortune at will. After talking for a long time about how unhappy I am, Cili took my hand. The warmth of her hand felt as if I had been burned, and she whispered with a soft smile. ¡°You have been through a lot. You endured it well.¡± My face turned bright red at that moment. I felt that I emphasized my misery in front of a person who also spoke her difficulties and had taken them away. No, I opened my mouth. I didn¡¯t want to hear that, and I didn¡¯t mean to say that. I was just perplexed. I wanted to say that to her. Was it hard¡­ That is what I want to tell you. ¡°I will leave first, your highness. Enjoy yourself.¡± Cili patted the back of my hand and got up from the table. She had more than half of her meal left, and I knew I had done her wrong. And perchance, I can¡¯t even apologize because she doesn¡¯t want it. I could tell her from her stubborn back that what she wanted me to do was to pretend that something didn¡¯t happen. However, Cili, I¡­. I stared at her nkly until her figure disappeared. I want to hear more from you. I know I made a mistake, but I apologize for wanting to hear more. But Cili¡¯s back disappeared and didn¡¯t show up in front of me for several days from that day. *** On the fourth day after Cili disappeared before me, the snow fell in the capital. Even it was snowing, it wasn¡¯t dry snow, but it was almost frosty. The brief snowfall at dawn was enough to bring the temperature down, so the firece in my room kept burning. As the air in the room became stuffy, the maids had added a few more vases inside. The floor was covered with white fur, and all the chairs were also covered with it. My sheets were reced with a light and warm duvet, and my bed topper was also warm and fluffy. It wasn¡¯t enough, so people put a few magical thermal instion stones in my bed. It was used to sleep warmly. Small things were also used for carrying around in pockets. ¡°Her grace handcrafts these furs.¡± Rizen introduced each item one by one, then introduced the fur and spoke in a very proud tone. I looked at the furs anew. Even to my unfamiliar eyes, the furs looked pretty high-ss. ¡°Looks like good stuff.¡± ¡°Yes, this white fur belongs to the Snow Tiger. Everyone was wondering if it was still there before we took it. Especially that the snow tigers are famous for their small stature and fierce temper, they would have to grow enormously to produce suchrge fur. Selling it is the right price to call.¡± ¡°s.¡± ¡°That¡¯s from a leopard deer, and you know, that deer is also very ferocious.¡± My room was full of wild, rare, and highly prized fur. Seeing all the skins that Cili handcrafted made me bitter. This is my part. I was supposed to decorate her room like this. ¡°By the way, where is Cili? Can¡¯t I see her? I read a note saying that we won¡¯t be able to eat together for a while, but haven¡¯t you seen her for a long time?¡± I put on a brave face, but I felt terrible inside. She didn¡¯t show her face to me, whether she was angry, disappointed, or worse than that. Rizen smiled at me, saying, ¡°She¡¯ll be here soon.¡± His smile was the same as usual, so I didn¡¯t feel any problem at all. On the contrary, it was Rosemary, not Rizen, who felt problematic. With a slight anxiousness on her face, she poured tea for me and touched my outfit. I was going to ask what was going on, but I was upset that I didn¡¯t pretend to know, yet Paul, who had been outside, chirped, ¡°Your highness, your highness. Have you heard? It is said that Fjord dared to gamble with your title, went to your ears, and suffered humiliation.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°There is a famous merchant named Hessint Fjord¡­.¡± ¡°I know, I know. Fjord. But, what happened to that Fjord?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t her grace go to the northern part to subdue monsters by the king¡¯s order? He says he gambled on whether she could do it or not!¡± I was silent. I bet thergest bet on that gamble, and the person who got the most profit was me¡­Cili is angry. It was upsetting. Just as I vomited when she said they used my blood as an amulet, I would have been offended enough to find out that Cili would gamble, or be entertained, when my life was at stake. The problem was that it wasn¡¯t for that reason. I remembered thest time I saw her. She was smiling andughing. I¡¯ve been thinking about her smile ever since. How many things did she turn intoughter? I have to exin. I have to tell her why I did it, that I didn¡¯t make fun of her life. Right now, as soon as possible. I was in a hurry. As I got up and started walking, Paul¡¯s eyes widened as he was about to tell me the fun things that had happened outside. He was embarrassed by me for leaving him and suddenly disappearing. Paul was not alone in embarrassment. Thane and Rosemary rushed after me. Instead of Thane, who is usually silent, Rosemary, who is savvy, clings to my side and asks in a charming voice. ¡°Where are you going? Shall we put the carriage on standby?¡± ¡°I will ride a horse. I need to see Cili.¡± Chapter 34 ??? The carriage is not enough. I was so desperate to run away that I couldn¡¯t get by a carriage. The carriage would only slow down my desperate heart. ¡°On a horse, now?¡± Rosemary asked in a voice as if she would stamp her feet and cry but couldn¡¯t. ¡°Yes.¡± I started going down the stairs at a fast pace, followed by Rosemary and Thane. Paul was also running behind them. Although he was surprised and a little behind, he was not a person who forgot his duty as a servant of mine. He ran right after and followed me. ¡°It¡¯s a little cold outside right now. If you¡¯re going to ride a horse, you¡¯ll have to wear something thicker.¡± At Paul¡¯s words, Rosemary¡¯s face brightened. ¡°Ah, ah! Right! That¡¯s right, your highness. As Paul said, the days are very cold. This girl will bring your overcoat,¡± ¡°I do not need it.¡± ¡°Your highness.¡± Rosemary tried to cate me charmingly. I used to listen to her, but now I don¡¯t want to. I have to exin. Only that thought filled my mind. Even when I went to the stable and got on my horse, that thought was still in my head. I have to talk to her. I must tell her that I didn¡¯tugh at her. I was in a warm room, so my clothes were thin. The early winter wind was strong, but it was still a cold and heavy wind. Besides, the wind grew stronger when I started running on a horse. It was so cold that my body was shivering. It was a breeze that would one¡¯s fingers and skin ache. But I didn¡¯t want to go back. There was no time for that. ¡°The Hastred Yenson branch is in the outer pce!¡± As I started to run my horse, Thane yelled out to me where I was going. ¡°Why is Hastred in the pce?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the King¡¯s Knights Temr!¡± To be precise, it would mean that the knights made a contract with the king. The Royal Pce was the tallest, most splendid, and massive structure in Yenson. The pce was visible everywhere, so I ran towards the ce I could see. People screamed as we sprinted through the city. Some people almost got hit, and some threw things. Rather than feeling sorry, I just had to go to Cili. ¡°Stop your horse!¡± When the capital guards pointed at us with their crossbows and shouted, Thane, screamed. ¡°It¡¯s the Grand Duke Irsias!¡± The guards were startled by Thane¡¯s shout and pulled out the crossbow. Meanwhile, we were already out of their sight. Yenson, called the city of fairies, was beautiful even in early winter. But as I drove straight to the pce, I passed shabby houses. ¡°Be careful; it¡¯s a slum.¡± Thane cautioned me. He started running in front of me, telling me not to stop the horse no matter what and get out at full speed. And as I ran, I was forced to look around. Come to think of it, I¡¯ve never seen poor people. I lived in a barn, where I was treated worse than the poor, but in the end, the only ces I stayed were mansions because the people who secured me were all-powerful. Except for me, even the servants wore decent clothes and lived well. It was the first time in my life that I had ever seen a ce where hungry people were living together. It was shocking. Is that a home? There was no door, and I could see people sleeping inside. There were more ces without straw than those with straw on the roof. The wooden frame was exposed, and even the straw on it looked rotten. The house was made of wood, and the trees were rotting. There was also a pungent stench on the street. And on that stinky narrow street, people lined up the clothesline to hang theundry. The first floor, the second floor, and the third floor were all hung on the clothesline to hang theundry, and it was almost impossible to see the sky. If you are poor, do you not have time to look at the sky in front of your house? There is no right..to see the sky. There is none. You will have to need a lot of money to see the wide sky and the vast garden. It was shocking. ¡°Your highness, are you alright?!¡± As I was moving forward, Thane looked back at the slum, wondering if I had a strange feeling behind me. ¡°It¡¯s¡­alright.¡± As I mumbled, Thane, who didn¡¯t understand what I was saying, yelled and asked again. ¡°Your highness?!¡± We couldn¡¯t stop talking. I could feel the eyes looking at us from all corners of the alley. Children and adults alike looked at us well dressed, and their eyes were shining. It looked nothing like that of a beast whose eyes glowed in the dark. Who makes them like that? ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s get out of here quickly!¡± How can such a disparity exist within the same city? What is it? Is it because of the difference in status between aristocrats andmoners? But Hessint Fjord was also amoner. How should the gap betweenmoners be exined? Someone threw a stone sling at us. It looked like they were trying to tie the horse¡¯s paws, but we managed to avoid it and left the slum. As soon as we left, we stopped talking and looked at each other, sighing heavily. To be honest, I was petrified. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ve never seen a ce like that.¡± At my honest words, Thane reached out. He thought it was disrespectful to touch my body, so he felt my horse¡¯s mane a couple of times and then withdrew his hand and replied. ¡°I heard only words.¡± ¡°What did you hear?¡± Surprisingly, my mind calmed down a bit. I was finally able to drive my horse at the following speed to the city. Maybe it¡¯s because my mind has calmed down; as the royal pce approaches, I had difficulty figuring out what to say to Cili. Previously, I had only thought of exining, but as the royal pce got closer, I didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°It is said that a royal family tried to pass through a slum before, and even though they knew he was a royal, the poor came running in and killed him and took everything he had. Of course, the royal pce tried to catch the criminal, but from the poor¡¯s point of view, it¡¯s just that they don¡¯t have to be caught, or because there¡¯s no tomorrow to live like this anyway, if they die, they¡¯ll just die¡­ .¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°Everyone was very uncooperative and didn¡¯t blink even if the person next to me died, so I heard that it was an abandoned ce.¡± Thane¡¯s face was expressionless, saying that it was best not to go. I wondered how it could be. If I had only lived as a crown prince, I probably wouldn¡¯t have had any interest in the slums. But I have never lived such a life. I couldn¡¯t think like anyone else even though I know that I ampletely different now and another species. There¡¯s no such thing as tomorrow, so if you die, just die. I just can¡¯t get caught. Does everyone live in such a slum-like that in the middle of the capital? Pretending to be invisible? Uncle, what is the king doing? I was troubled by the reaction in my heart. It¡¯s as if I¡¯m not a noble person, but a person like those dirty and lowly people. But I don¡¯t understand. After all, I almost didn¡¯t live like that. If it weren¡¯t for Cili, I would have died in a barn or barn-like in some mansion. In the end, my life would have been no different from theirs. Cili saved me. That said, maybe they also need someone to save them. My heart darkened. When I met Cili, I didn¡¯t say anything and just looked at her. She was surprised that I hade to her and even more surprised that my clothes were thin. She took off the robe she was wearing, draped it over my shoulder, sat me down by her firece, and asked what was going on; then, she handed me warm wine. I looked at her but didn¡¯t say anything. I know it¡¯s time for me to make an excuse. But as I walked through the slums, I was utterly exhausted. Therefore, nothing came out. ¡°What happened?¡± I¡¯m supposed tofort you, but I have to say that I didn¡¯t mean it and that I did you wrong. It was up to her to soothe and appease me, but I became distant when I saw her maturity. When will I be able to embrace her? Can I be such an adult? Is that possible? ¡°Your highness?¡± Cilli, who sat next to me, filled my empty ss with hot wine, pushing a te of nuts and dried fruit in front of me, then she urged in a friendly voice. ¡°¡­ I have passed the Aypur.¡± ¡°You did something dangerous.¡± Cili frowned at me once, and I nodded my head gently. ¡°Yes, I apologize.¡± In the end, it was a dangerous thing to do, considering that I was almost stoned. When I apologized to her, she patted the back of my hand with her two fingers and asked, ¡°What happened in Aypur?¡± ¡°There¡¯s something that happened in Aypur, but it¡¯s too¡­ .¡± ¡°Too much?¡± What should I say? It was dirty. The people couldn¡¯t see the sky. What can I say to describe the atmosphere? After choosing a word, I was able to pull out the word that looked the most simr. ¡°They looked desperate.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°Is that what happened there when my father ruled?¡± Cili, who seemed to ponder my question for a moment, answered gradually. ¡°A little less, but not much difference.¡± ¡°Is it less?¡± ¡°In fact, Queen Anne was a little better when she was alive. The queen was a merciful person, and she worked hard in welfare matters. Back then, she knew that hospitals and shelters for the poor were better to run for the country.¡± ¡°And now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but now the facilities have been transferred to the Temple, the Wizards¡¯ Association, or other charities. However, everyone had their reasons and took over the facilities, sopared to the queen, who was purely engaged in welfare projects, the benefits returned to her are small.¡± ¡°Why isn¡¯t the state doing welfare projects now?¡± Chapter 35 ??? ¡°There are many reasons¡­,¡± said Cili, blurring her words. What should she say, she thought for a moment. Meanwhile, Chris, who had brought my clothes from Istrum, answered with a frown on his face as if he was listening to us. ¡°Your highness. Wouldn¡¯t it be unfair if the rich people pay the taxes and the benefits are received by the poor people who don¡¯t pay a single penny?¡± Trash. I stared at Chris with his words. His culture of expressing people as disposable was questionable. If Cili hadn¡¯t said anything, I might have been disappointed with her for the first time. ¡°Chris!¡± But she called his name with a warning tone. Chris put down my sable coat and looked directly at Cili. ¡°No matter how much you give to poor people and when you pour water into the poison that has fallen. Nothing will be left. Perhaps even with all your fortune, they¡¯ll act like they haven¡¯t eaten a piece of cheese and run like a maw.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°And ungrateful things that don¡¯t even know how to thank you. I find the world¡¯s funniest literature depicting the real poor as ¡®good people.¡¯ It¡¯s rare to find people so greedy and ungrateful as those humans.¡± Greedy and ungrateful. Those words pierced my heart. It was as if he was referring to me, who made a lot of money by gambling with Cili¡¯s work. Yes, I¡¯m here to tell her. I have something to exin to her. I didn¡¯te here to soothe her or take care of her. Then I looked straight at her. ¡°Everyone leave.¡± In fact, Chris was the only person to be chased out because the only people in Cili¡¯s office were me, her, and Chris. ¡°I have something to say.¡± I had to apologize because that¡¯s what I came here for. Seventh page. Support You ¡°I¡­ That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Eden looked very desperate. ¡°They said you couldn¡¯t bring Lichtatline¡¯s head that I giggled that you were going to die. I said no man would bet on you, and I wanted to support you. That¡¯s it. I never made your work or your life as entertainment. Above all¡­ .¡± As time went on, he became more and more talkative as his emotions grew. I was still looking at his face while thinking, ¡®Oh, he should stop talking.¡¯ He¡¯s beautiful. That blonde hair and blue eyes. There are many blondes in the world, but I have never seen such shiny blondes, and there are many blue eyes also, but I have never seen such jewel-like blue eyes like a purple sky. When I first saw him, I thought it was beautiful to see his lemon-colored hair and cherry-colored lips that looked so sweet, but when he turned 13, he seemed to have a more charming beauty like ripening fruit. ¡°Thank you.¡± I was able to say thank you with a sincere smile. At my gratitude, he looked at me embarrassingly. He was looking at my face as if trying to determine if I was serious or not. I wore my face happily. I was sincerely grateful. Many people supported me in my life, but it was the first time I had been publicly endorsed, risking so much of what he had. Even though it was somethingpletely different, I was thinking of myself when I was thirteen at that moment. When I first killed a person, my father was also there. I sincerely hoped that my father would save me. I didn¡¯t want to kill anyone. No, to be precise, I knew I would kill someone one day, but at least I hoped it was in self-defense. No, of course, I thought it would. When I was thirteen, it was a beautiful day. The sky was high, and there was not a single cloud. People seemed to be enjoying their blessed day. And as the head of the Royal Academy, I had to hold the sword. My opponent wielding my sword was a ve diator. He was an amphitheater hero, wielding a rusty sword against the beast and other ve diators all year long; he defeated them all. And the match with me was a prize for him. If he won the match against me, he would be a free man. How excited he was. I can¡¯t even imagine. He must have been in a situation where he had to beat the thirteen-year-old girl, but how inted was he with sweet expectations and high hopes. I went to see my father for the first time that morning. All I had to do was go straight to the stadium from school, but that morning I left the school and headed to Istrum. I couldn¡¯t stand it. That I kill people, that everyone sees it as entertainment. My friends at school were whispering that I would be a murderer, and I had lost my self-esteem. I hoped my father would help me, and I thought it might help me just by looking at his face. I¡¯ve never asked for that kind of help, but then I did. I thought my father would tell me to stop when he saw my face and that he would take responsibility. My father, who greeted me during breakfast, seemed to recognize my condition as soon as he saw my face. And while looking at my father¡¯s troubled face, I knew the answer. It was to fight. That there was no way, he can save me. My father and I stared still at each other until the birds chirped at me. Both of us didn¡¯t say anything. I couldn¡¯t speak while saying that you can save me or saying that you can¡¯t keep me. In the end, I turned my back on him, and my father did not hold me back. So I went back to school as if I had never been there and headed to the arena that afternoon. If my father had been on my side at that time, what would have changed in my life? I do not know. Even if he sided with me, it might not have changed that I had beheaded that poor ve diator in the end. However, the fact that my father looked at me quietly at that time, and that he did not say anything, and that I had to stand in front of such a father was a difficult and painful memory for me. If Eden was my fiance back then, even though he wasn¡¯t born, and if he was born earlier and was a few years older than me, would he tell me to quit? Maybe he would. Even if the result was the same, if at that moment someone would tell me to quit and stood by me once, I might¡­ ¡°Really?¡± When I woke up to Eden¡¯s voice, I saw him standing next to me. He grabbed my hem a little and looked at me cautiously. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ .¡± ¡°Really?¡± Eden was worried about me. His eyes were filled with only concern for me. Has anyone ever cared so much for me? I don¡¯t think even my father ever cared that much for me. Worrying was not valid. I am strong, and I have no reason to worry about anyone. Even more so if it¡¯s Eden Grosn, a thirteen-year-old ¨C always on the edge of politics and to whom I had to endorse. Any person would have thought of such things. I must have passed it on thinking, ¡®I¡¯m not the one to worry about.¡¯ In fact, I must have thought that I was right. But he wasn¡¯t. ¡°Cili? Are you alright? Cili?¡± Eden was startled and was shaking the hem of my clothes a little bit stronger. I looked at my young fianc¨¦, who couldn¡¯t even shake my body and was holding onto the hem of my robe. ¡°You¡¯re tall.¡± The first time we met was two years ago. I held him back then out of the stable. But now I see that he is about the same height as me. I had to look down for a long time back then. ¡°Huh?¡­ Yes, I grew up.¡± Eden, who was bewildered by my absurd remarks, dyed his reply by a beat. He looked worried that I might have had a head injury. I smiled and grabbed his hand that was holding my robe; then, I let it go. With my hand¡¯s strength, he also let go of my robe¡¯s hem. ¡°These days, Rosemary is making me some flower tea. At first, I thought it was weird, but it tasted a bit like it. Would you like to drink it together?¡± He grinned brightly when I asked. ¡°It¡¯s good, the flower tea.¡± The sudden tea time, however, was perfect. As usual, there was no conversation, but it was peaceful, and weughed a little. When Eden had to go back, the tea time went by peacefully. ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± Eden, who got on the horse, had a rxed face as if he had finished his homework. A sable coat was well suited to his slender body, and his white face was already blushing. I want to present him flowers. I thought so for a moment. Eden was so beautiful, like a girl with a flower. When I returned to the office after seeing him off, Chris shook his head and said, ¡°Ouch.¡± He seemed to have entered my office just in time for Eden to go. ¡°Surprised, how surprising, really.¡± ¡°Oh, I was astonished.¡± Beside him, Leon stroked his neck and shook his body. His face was filled with a smile of surprise. I guess it was fun. The people of the Knights Temr, male and female, tend to take things in the world for fun. ¡°Uh, ugh¡­ .¡± It may be for us, but it might not be the case for the person who had been brought to us. Hessint Fjord wept and nearly vomited. But now that he was vomiting, he was enduring it for being criticized for his actions. In fact, he vomited once when he was brought in and was humiliated by Chris, shuddering, and since then, he had been crying like a child. ©¥©¤©¥©¤©¤©¤©¤??©¤©¤©¤©¤©¥©¤©¥ The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!