By the time Derek was holding his eyeballs and squeezing out tears and snot, Eve and Michael were quite far from the windbreak.
I walked toward my home.
The path between the beech tree hedges was so quiet that only the sound of footsteps could be heard, which gave me peace of mind.
I, who was walking ahead on a straight path, suddenly stopped without saying a word.
When Michael, who was walking two steps behind, also stopped walking, I opened her mouth without even looking back.
“Michael.”
“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”
Even though it was just the two of them, Michael unconsciously treated me with respect.
A lingering feeling of being impressed by Eve's Princess-like appearance a moment ago came to mind.
It seems that it remained longer than each.
Michael belatedly sighed, feeling like he had somehow broken the rule between them.
Eve slowly turned her back and looked at Michael.
The amber eyes he met were inexplicably cold.
“When I came, why did you let go of the sword in your hand?”
Although the tone was gentle, it was clearly an inquiry into a mistake.
Come to think of it, Eve didn't seem to be in a very good mood even though she had scolded the two royal family members to their heart's content.
'Could it be because of me?'
Michael, who had never imagined a situation like this, was inwardly embarrassed.
While he couldn't find the words to reply, Eve asked more specifically.
“It’s Michael. If you use a sword, you can easily escape danger on your own. You could have done it. But when I just arrived, you were practically defenseless. Why did you do that?”
“That’s it... Isn’t it obvious? That was the best.”
“I want to hear from you why it was the best.”
Eve seemed to be asking Michael, even though she clearly knew what answer he would give.
Michael had good instincts.
Even though he's not sure what he did wrong, he's behaving obediently now.
He felt that if he answered, it would be a confession of something rather than an explanation, which would be detrimental to him.
The problem was that even though he had clearly predicted it, he couldn't think of a clever way to get out of the situation.
And above all, the person who asked the question was Eve, the subject of Michael's imprint.
Michael's sincerity and honesty as a knight were activated and his mouth was already moving.
“As you know, it was obvious that if I were found guilty of the attempted assassination of the royal family, joint responsibility would fall on you.”
"Huh..."
“Besides, you are a person with a great cause, and there are already many enemies within the imperial palace who are trying to break your will.”
"Huh. Yes."
I nodded positively twice.
This makes Michael more self-indulgent. This allowed the field to be firmly spread out.
“I didn’t want to give those political enemies an excuse and get in the way of your future. So at that time, under the circumstances, I decided it was best to give up resistance. I think it was a decision that was faithful to my duty as a direct knight.”
It was a statement that contained a passive protest, saying that if you were praised, you should receive it, not be questioned.
But this time I did not nod.
On the contrary, I took a deep sigh and spoke as if admonishing him.
“Michael, I told you before. As the Princess, I will do my best to protect you.”
“I remember.”
“When I said I would protect you back then, it even included cases where you had an accident and needed help. You can actively counterattack in moments of danger. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“However, the Princess is still in the imperial palace. Didn’t you have no strength?”
“Ugh..."
Michael's innocent question immediately became a harsh assessment of my political power.
“It’s too much. You can't do it. Still, you're a Princess in the name. This... I think I unintentionally insulted your honor. I apologize.”
“You just need to know.”
I said it was done with my mouth, but a look of hurt remained on my face as I turned the line.
Michael was inwardly embarrassed by the unintended situation.
As it was, my misunderstanding and hurt would deepen, so Michael felt the need to quickly prove his sincerity.
Dump.
“Michael! What are you doing?"
In a rare occurrence, I raised my voice.
Michael suddenly took on the formal posture of a knight.
I was shocked to see his injured right hand and left knee pressed to the floor again.
“Wake up, hurry!”
“Her Royal Highness.”
"Yes. If you see me as the Princess, get up quickly.”
For some reason, Michael did not listen to my command. He doesn't feel any pain. He lowered his eyes and spoke with a solemn face.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. Never."
"Huh. Yes. Yes."
“I’m serious. However, I admit that there was a problem with my attitude. You are a person with a high cause, but it was presumptuous and foolish for me to arbitrarily assume your capabilities and worry about you.”
“... You were worried?”
My point was a little off.
My nerves were focused.
It seems that crisis situations make people honest.
Michael, who had been wondering if he should worry about the royal family, was completely positive.
“The intention was to be concerned, but I think it ended up being an insult. I sincerely ask for your forgiveness.”
“Oh, well. Yes. I will forgive you, so let’s get up."
Michael lifted his head, which had been bowed like a criminal.
Highly saturated purple eyes looked up at me.
“Thank you for saving me.”
It was something I didn't expect to hear, so I forgot to react.
Michael spoke again.
“I survived thanks to your protection.”
“I just promised to protect, so I kept my promise.”
"Your Highness."
“Even though it was a difficult promise, I kept it. So I will continue to trust you.”
The purple eyes I met were amazing.
Michael's beautiful eyes showed how much he had told me about what happened in the windbreak.
This is because it seemed to purely reveal that he was moved.
I was a little dazed and thought.
'Was Michael this honest person?'
It was as if the pupils were windows.
This was the first time I had seen Michael like this and I felt like I could see his whole heart.
Moreover, what Michael had now seemed to be a separate emotion from the imprint.
While I stood and looked down in confusion, Michael opened his mouth to give me further assurance.
“I realized today that I am extremely lucky to be your direct knight. Until the day I ascend to the throne, I want to serve you with my whole heart and my whole body as your sword. Will you allow it?”
“That’s it, of course.”
It was the moment when Michael declared with sincerity that he would become my knight.
I couldn't help but feel emotional.
Michael, who was a rebel in my last life, chose himself in this life.
It seemed like an indicator that I was doing well, so I felt a little sad.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in Eve’s head.
"I know. You shouldn't have chosen me."
On the last day of my life, I heard it in prison
It occurred to me that Michael's words might not have been sarcastic but were pure sincerity.
"Hand."
"Yes?"
At that time, Michael, in front of me, carefully took my left hand and brought it to his mouth.
Only after lightly kissing the tip of my neat, tea-scented hand did Michael stand up.
It was a feather-like hand kiss, but I felt the tips of my ears turning slightly red from an inexplicable tickle.
Then, I suddenly came to my senses when I remembered something later.
“Ah, knees! It's bleeding again. Let’s go quickly and get treatment.”
" I get it."
We hurried our steps.
The destination was my residence, where the talented Cedela had already prepared a medical doctor.
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