“Please wait a moment.”
The person who suddenly interrupted my conversation was one of the palace knights.
How dare a mere palace knight cut me off.
As I stared at the knight with a look of bewilderment, the man I was talking to pressed the knight.
“What kind of rudeness is this, Usher?”
Then the knight hesitated and lowered his head.
The man looked at the knight with pitiful eyes and apologized to me.
“I’m sorry, Young Lady. Usher is a rookie who has only been a knight of the palace for half a year, so he is very enthusiastic and sometimes acts excessively.”
Is he a rookie knight?
I looked back at the knight, Usher.
It certainly looked difficult.
If you hit it a lot, you can say that it makes you look like you're in your early 20s.
“I will educate you well, so please be generous and give me a break just this once.”
“Since you asked me so much, I will just let this matter go.”
"Thank you."
“But I guess Sir Usher is a very talented person?”
"Yes?"
When I asked with sparkling eyes, the man blinked in confusion, with a different meaning than before.
“Why are you suddenly asking that...”
“There’s no particular reason, I was just curious.”
I kept my eyes fixed on Usher, covered my mouth with my hand, and smiled faintly.
“For a rookie knight who hasn’t even been in the military for half a year to come to the important task of guiding the murderer of the royal family, doesn’t that mean he’s a very capable person?”
“Oh, yes. That’s right. That’s right. Usher is a great knight.”
The man nodded, somewhat hesitantly.
I see that the man didn't decide how many people he would lead.
I thought he was a knight commander or a similar rank, but I guess not.
Well, if you have that level of rank, there's no way I haven't seen you before.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t heard your name yet because I came right here.”
“Excuse me, my name is Dominic Zakharov.”
Ah, you are Count Zakharov's second son.
Count Zakharov was a famous central noble family, so I knew the names of their direct descendants.
“Then we will collect this man’s body, so Young Lady and Your Highness, please go up and rest.”
“Is that okay?”
“Of course. That’s why we came here in the first place. So you two can go now.”
“No, Sir.”
The atmosphere became cold again as Usher intervened.
Dominic looked at Usher with a very annoyed look on his face.
“What doesn’t work?”
“There is something strange about this... incident.”
Usher rolled his eyes as if he was afraid of Dominic, but he said everything he wanted to say.
“Your Highness the Fourth Prince, why are you here alone? And why are you alone after defeating all the knights?”
Dominic's gaze, which had been looking at Usher with annoyance, was fixed on Perdes.
After listening to him, I seemed to realize that something was strange.
“I don’t understand why you went to prison and why you unleashed the prisoner’s chains.”
“Hmm.”
“There must be another purpose. We need to find out what it is, Captain.”
I don't know how good Usher is at swordsmanship, but he certainly has good observation and reasoning skills.
This is annoying.
I looked at Perdes, clicking my tongue inwardly.
Perdes, whose eyes met mine, winked at me as if to tell me not to worry.
I didn't have any worries from the beginning.
Because I expected someone to come in and tackle me, I prepared a response accordingly.
It was just annoying that things could have been resolved easily, but were complicated by some weird guy getting involved.
And that guy...
“To avoid any misunderstandings, I think it would be best to be clear about this, Your Highness.”
Usher bowed his head politely to Perdes and asked him a favor.
At this, Perdes let out a small sigh and looked down at the dead man with a slightly sad expression as he spoke.
“I wanted to know where my brother was sleeping.”
“If you’re talking about your older brother... are you talking about His Highness the Second Prince?”
"Yes."
Perdes nodded, his expression becoming more gloomy.
“We caught the culprit, but we still haven’t found my brother.”
Her deep golden eyes were wet as if they had been hit by rain.
“It’s so cold outside, and it breaks my heart to think that my brother is buried in the cold ground...”
Finally, a single teardrop fell down his beautiful cheek.
I held out a handkerchief to Perdes as if I had been waiting.
“I asked this man if he would be willing to tell me where my brother was buried because I wanted to find him as soon as possible.”
“...”
“The man nodded as if he would answer. So I trusted him and released the gag...”
Perdes lowered his head, unable to forget what he had said.
His shoulders trembled faintly, incongruous with his large stature.
It was a well-known fact to most people working in the palace that Chernosser and Perdes were not on good terms.
But it was absurd to think that Perdes would take risks just to find Chernosser's body.
But the reason no one thought that was because Perdes' acting was so perfect.
Even I, who knows it's all an act, have moments of doubt as to whether it's real, so how much more so must other people feel.
“I understand that His Highness the Second Prince and His Highness the Fourth Prince are not on good terms.”
Of course, no matter how perfect the acting was, there was always at least one person who hung on.
“But the fact that Your Highness took risks to find out the location of the Second Prince...”
“Did you say your name was Usher?”
I asked Usher, cutting off his words.
Usher paused, looking embarrassed, then lowered his head and answered.
“My name is Usher Andrea, Lady Leopold.”
“That’s a good name.”
"Thanks..."
“But I wonder why you think like that.”
“...!”
When I openly criticized him, Usher's expression hardened.
“As Sir Usher said, His Highness the Second Prince and Sir Perdes are not on good terms, but they are still blood brothers.”
I said, glaring at Usher.
“He's worried that something is wrong with his bloodline and I’m looking for it, but he doesn’t know what’s wrong. Does anyone else know?”
I looked around to ask other people's opinions, but everyone avoided my gaze.
“Oh. Since no one seems to know, I guess I’ll have to ask Sir Usher himself to answer.”
“...”
“Now, tell me. Why do you find Mr. Perdes’s behavior strange?”
Even though I personally laid out the mat, Usher did not say anything.
There's no way it can be done.
The reason he is thinking about it now is probably because it could easily lead to him being accused of insulting the royal family.
“Why are you quiet even though I gave you a chance to speak?”
"Stop."
So I pressed on, wanting to hear more, but unexpectedly, Perdes stopped me.
“I’m okay, so you can stop.”
"You're right."
Dominic, who had been watching, intervened as if he had been waiting.
“I’ll beat up that rude kid, so calm down and go up, Young Lady.”
"...Is it so."
I felt bad about backing out like this, but the two people were trying to stop me, so I decided not to keep asking questions, so I backed out for now.
As I left the dungeon with Perdes and returned to the mansion, the servants looked at me in surprise.
To be exact, they were surprised to see blood on my body.
“Are you hurt, miss?
“No. It’s someone else’s blood.”
After I handed the bloody sword over to the servant, I wiped the blood off my hands and clothes with a towel.
However, because so much blood had splattered out, there was a limit to wiping it off with a towel.
“I need to wash up.”
“I will prepare the bath water.”
“Please.”
After the maid left, I turned to Perdes, as I had something to say to him.
He was also looking at me, so our eyes met right away.
“See you later.”
“See you later.”
Everyone laughed at the words that came out simultaneously, without anyone knowing who said it first.
Perdes also smiled faintly as if he found it funny and suddenly touched my face.
What...?
As I opened my eyes wide and looked up, Perdes showed me his bloody fingertips.
“Because there’s blood on it.”
Oh, is that blood splashing all over my face?
I felt like an idiot for being so surprised without even knowing it, but I scratched my face because I couldn't understand why I was surprised.
Adele left first, and Perdes stared blankly at her back as she walked away, then returned to his bedroom.
Although not as much as Adele's, there was a little blood splattered on Perdes' body as well.
Only he was wearing dark clothes, so you couldn't see the blood splatter unless you looked closely.
Still, the distinctive, pungent smell of blood was strong.
He felt like he could smell blood even when he took off his clothes as if it had become a habit.
Thinking it would be a good idea to wash up before meeting Adele, Perdes called Jack and asked him to prepare some bath water.
“They say you came back covered in blood. Is that true?”
Jack asked as he prepared the bath water.
"Yes "
Since the rumor had already spread and many people had witnessed it, there was no need to hide it, so Perdes answered obediently.
Then Jack opened his eyes wide in surprise.
“Oh, my goodness. It was true. The young lady was really covered in blood...”
“Is that such a surprise?”
“Of course it’s surprising. And a little scary too.”
“You’re scared? Why?”
When Perdes asked with a puzzled look, Jack looked at Perdes strangely and asked back.
“Mr. Perdes, you saw the young lady covered in blood, but aren’t you scared at all?”
"Yes."
Perdes never once thought it was scary.
Rather...
“It was so cool.”
The person who suddenly interrupted my conversation was one of the palace knights.
How dare a mere palace knight cut me off.
As I stared at the knight with a look of bewilderment, the man I was talking to pressed the knight.
“What kind of rudeness is this, Usher?”
Then the knight hesitated and lowered his head.
The man looked at the knight with pitiful eyes and apologized to me.
“I’m sorry, Young Lady. Usher is a rookie who has only been a knight of the palace for half a year, so he is very enthusiastic and sometimes acts excessively.”
Is he a rookie knight?
I looked back at the knight, Usher.
It certainly looked difficult.
If you hit it a lot, you can say that it makes you look like you're in your early 20s.
“I will educate you well, so please be generous and give me a break just this once.”
“Since you asked me so much, I will just let this matter go.”
"Thank you."
“But I guess Sir Usher is a very talented person?”
"Yes?"
When I asked with sparkling eyes, the man blinked in confusion, with a different meaning than before.
“Why are you suddenly asking that...”
“There’s no particular reason, I was just curious.”
I kept my eyes fixed on Usher, covered my mouth with my hand, and smiled faintly.
“For a rookie knight who hasn’t even been in the military for half a year to come to the important task of guiding the murderer of the royal family, doesn’t that mean he’s a very capable person?”
“Oh, yes. That’s right. That’s right. Usher is a great knight.”
The man nodded, somewhat hesitantly.
I see that the man didn't decide how many people he would lead.
I thought he was a knight commander or a similar rank, but I guess not.
Well, if you have that level of rank, there's no way I haven't seen you before.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t heard your name yet because I came right here.”
“Excuse me, my name is Dominic Zakharov.”
Ah, you are Count Zakharov's second son.
Count Zakharov was a famous central noble family, so I knew the names of their direct descendants.
“Then we will collect this man’s body, so Young Lady and Your Highness, please go up and rest.”
“Is that okay?”
“Of course. That’s why we came here in the first place. So you two can go now.”
“No, Sir.”
The atmosphere became cold again as Usher intervened.
Dominic looked at Usher with a very annoyed look on his face.
“What doesn’t work?”
“There is something strange about this... incident.”
Usher rolled his eyes as if he was afraid of Dominic, but he said everything he wanted to say.
“Your Highness the Fourth Prince, why are you here alone? And why are you alone after defeating all the knights?”
Dominic's gaze, which had been looking at Usher with annoyance, was fixed on Perdes.
After listening to him, I seemed to realize that something was strange.
“I don’t understand why you went to prison and why you unleashed the prisoner’s chains.”
“Hmm.”
“There must be another purpose. We need to find out what it is, Captain.”
I don't know how good Usher is at swordsmanship, but he certainly has good observation and reasoning skills.
This is annoying.
I looked at Perdes, clicking my tongue inwardly.
Perdes, whose eyes met mine, winked at me as if to tell me not to worry.
I didn't have any worries from the beginning.
Because I expected someone to come in and tackle me, I prepared a response accordingly.
It was just annoying that things could have been resolved easily, but were complicated by some weird guy getting involved.
And that guy...
“To avoid any misunderstandings, I think it would be best to be clear about this, Your Highness.”
Usher bowed his head politely to Perdes and asked him a favor.
At this, Perdes let out a small sigh and looked down at the dead man with a slightly sad expression as he spoke.
“I wanted to know where my brother was sleeping.”
“If you’re talking about your older brother... are you talking about His Highness the Second Prince?”
"Yes."
Perdes nodded, his expression becoming more gloomy.
“We caught the culprit, but we still haven’t found my brother.”
Her deep golden eyes were wet as if they had been hit by rain.
“It’s so cold outside, and it breaks my heart to think that my brother is buried in the cold ground...”
Finally, a single teardrop fell down his beautiful cheek.
I held out a handkerchief to Perdes as if I had been waiting.
“I asked this man if he would be willing to tell me where my brother was buried because I wanted to find him as soon as possible.”
“...”
“The man nodded as if he would answer. So I trusted him and released the gag...”
Perdes lowered his head, unable to forget what he had said.
His shoulders trembled faintly, incongruous with his large stature.
It was a well-known fact to most people working in the palace that Chernosser and Perdes were not on good terms.
But it was absurd to think that Perdes would take risks just to find Chernosser's body.
But the reason no one thought that was because Perdes' acting was so perfect.
Even I, who knows it's all an act, have moments of doubt as to whether it's real, so how much more so must other people feel.
“I understand that His Highness the Second Prince and His Highness the Fourth Prince are not on good terms.”
Of course, no matter how perfect the acting was, there was always at least one person who hung on.
“But the fact that Your Highness took risks to find out the location of the Second Prince...”
“Did you say your name was Usher?”
I asked Usher, cutting off his words.
Usher paused, looking embarrassed, then lowered his head and answered.
“My name is Usher Andrea, Lady Leopold.”
“That’s a good name.”
"Thanks..."
“But I wonder why you think like that.”
“...!”
When I openly criticized him, Usher's expression hardened.
“As Sir Usher said, His Highness the Second Prince and Sir Perdes are not on good terms, but they are still blood brothers.”
I said, glaring at Usher.
“He's worried that something is wrong with his bloodline and I’m looking for it, but he doesn’t know what’s wrong. Does anyone else know?”
I looked around to ask other people's opinions, but everyone avoided my gaze.
“Oh. Since no one seems to know, I guess I’ll have to ask Sir Usher himself to answer.”
“...”
“Now, tell me. Why do you find Mr. Perdes’s behavior strange?”
Even though I personally laid out the mat, Usher did not say anything.
There's no way it can be done.
The reason he is thinking about it now is probably because it could easily lead to him being accused of insulting the royal family.
“Why are you quiet even though I gave you a chance to speak?”
"Stop."
So I pressed on, wanting to hear more, but unexpectedly, Perdes stopped me.
“I’m okay, so you can stop.”
"You're right."
Dominic, who had been watching, intervened as if he had been waiting.
“I’ll beat up that rude kid, so calm down and go up, Young Lady.”
"...Is it so."
I felt bad about backing out like this, but the two people were trying to stop me, so I decided not to keep asking questions, so I backed out for now.
As I left the dungeon with Perdes and returned to the mansion, the servants looked at me in surprise.
To be exact, they were surprised to see blood on my body.
“Are you hurt, miss?
“No. It’s someone else’s blood.”
After I handed the bloody sword over to the servant, I wiped the blood off my hands and clothes with a towel.
However, because so much blood had splattered out, there was a limit to wiping it off with a towel.
“I need to wash up.”
“I will prepare the bath water.”
“Please.”
After the maid left, I turned to Perdes, as I had something to say to him.
He was also looking at me, so our eyes met right away.
“See you later.”
“See you later.”
Everyone laughed at the words that came out simultaneously, without anyone knowing who said it first.
Perdes also smiled faintly as if he found it funny and suddenly touched my face.
What...?
As I opened my eyes wide and looked up, Perdes showed me his bloody fingertips.
“Because there’s blood on it.”
Oh, is that blood splashing all over my face?
I felt like an idiot for being so surprised without even knowing it, but I scratched my face because I couldn't understand why I was surprised.
***
Adele left first, and Perdes stared blankly at her back as she walked away, then returned to his bedroom.
Although not as much as Adele's, there was a little blood splattered on Perdes' body as well.
Only he was wearing dark clothes, so you couldn't see the blood splatter unless you looked closely.
Still, the distinctive, pungent smell of blood was strong.
He felt like he could smell blood even when he took off his clothes as if it had become a habit.
Thinking it would be a good idea to wash up before meeting Adele, Perdes called Jack and asked him to prepare some bath water.
“They say you came back covered in blood. Is that true?”
Jack asked as he prepared the bath water.
"Yes "
Since the rumor had already spread and many people had witnessed it, there was no need to hide it, so Perdes answered obediently.
Then Jack opened his eyes wide in surprise.
“Oh, my goodness. It was true. The young lady was really covered in blood...”
“Is that such a surprise?”
“Of course it’s surprising. And a little scary too.”
“You’re scared? Why?”
When Perdes asked with a puzzled look, Jack looked at Perdes strangely and asked back.
“Mr. Perdes, you saw the young lady covered in blood, but aren’t you scared at all?”
"Yes."
Perdes never once thought it was scary.
Rather...
“It was so cool.”
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