Revals was overwhelmed by the momentum of Jeremiah that he had never seen before. He had heard that Jeremiah was like the Grim Reaper when he cut down enemies and fought against monsters, but he had never actually seen it. Even when he heard it, he thought that half of it was exaggerated. However, when he saw the angry Jeremiah in person, such thoughts disappeared without a trace. Just seeing Jeremiah in front of him made him feel like his breath was being ripped out and his eyes were going white.
Revals' body trembled.
"Wait a minute...! Just a minute."
Revals barely opened his mouth and squeezed out a trembling voice.
"It's all...not true! It's all a misunderstanding... the Archduke's bodyguard plotted it out..."
Jeremiah's face twisted into a grim expression at Revals' words.
"It doesn't matter."
"... Yes?"
"I don't care what you've done or what you're up to."
Jeremiah's eyes lit up.
"It is true that you tried to kill my wife."
"That... that is."
"That alone is reason enough to kill you."
Jeremiah drew his sword like a grim reaper and was about to cut down Revals on the spot, but Ron stopped him.
"Your Highness! You must deal with him after you have uncovered all the things he is planning! If you kill him now, those things might come back to harm the Grand Duchess later!"
"..."
When Karina's story came up, Jeremiah paused for a moment. Of course, there had been many things that had happened to Karina, so he couldn't be completely sure that it wasn't true. However, he had no intention of leaving Revals alive.
Crunch.
In the blink of an eye, Jeremiah cut off one of Revals's arms.
Crunch.
Reval's severed arm fell to the ground. Revals, who had been blankly watching, let out a scream of pain as it surged through him.
"Ugh!!"
But the scream didn't last long. Jeremiah grabbed Reval's lower body with a preemptive aura. He squeezed Reval's jawbone as if he was going to crush it at any moment so that Revals wouldn't even make a sound.
"You'd better keep your mouth shut. If I rip out your tongue, it'll be a hassle when I interrogate you."
And this time he pierced Reval's thigh with his sword.
"Ugh!"
Revals' face turned red and distorted with a different meaning than before. However, Jeremiah paid no attention and twisted the sword he had thrust in.
"Ugh!!"
Then Revals writhed violently in pain. Jeremiah pinned Revals to the floor. And then he spoke in a voice that could not have been colder.
"I'll make it so horrible to be alive. that you'll beg me to kill you."
Jeremiah's eyes sparkled with life. He looked like the incarnation of a merciless devil without blood or tears.
***
"Karina. Are you okay?"
Mikhail asked while holding Karina in his arms. When Karina came to her senses and looked around, she saw the Elia Orphanage in the distance.
"Did we get out safely?"
"Yes. Are you feeling dizzy?"
"I'm okay."
Karina said, slowly pulling away from Mikhail. Mikhail made a regretful expression and obediently let go of Karina.
"I'm glad we got out safely."
Karina recalled the image of Revals jumping around with a devil-like face before she escaped with his teleportation magic. It seemed unlikely that Revals would give up easily. Karina had told Revalsto to intentionally Invade the Grand Duke's residence. She was going to the capital soon anyway and wouldn't be returning. She thought Jeremiah would take care of the rest.
'It looks like he's going to chase after me without looking back.'
Karina really hoped that Revals would lead his private army and invade the Grand Duke's residence.
'Then we can use that as an excuse to put him in jail.'
Whatever the situation, she thought it would be a good idea to let Jeremiah know in advance.
'Revals's a social evil, so it's right for Jeremiah to deal with him. It's for the North. It's not like I'm putting off dealing with the aftermath.'
Karina rationalized it like that. Honestly, she thought, what if she just started a business and then left the aftermath to be dealt with?
'I'm sure you'll figure it out.'
Meanwhile, Mikhail grabbed Karina's hand and said, perhaps thinking that she was worried that Revals would chase after her.
"Don't worry if that guy comes chasing you. I'll protect you then too."
Karina laughed silently. She felt reassured when she heard Mikhail's words.
"But Karina."
"Yes?"
"Why were you staring at me like that right before we used teleportation magic?"
Mikhail asked with a curious look on his face. Karina answered the question lightly.
"Just. Because the way your eyes shine is so pretty."
Mikhail's eyes widened at Karina's words.
"Are my eyes pretty?"
"You didn't know?"
Karina laughed playfully, saying, "Didn't you know that?"
'Well, your eyes are probably the only thing that's pretty. You're so handsome, I'm sure you've heard a lot of people say you're pretty!'
Karina's prediction was wrong. Mikhail didn't hear that he was pretty often. To be exact, he didn't like being told that he was pretty, so he didn't say it to anyone around him. But at this moment, Mikhail was so happy to hear Karina tell him that he was pretty. He wanted to hear more.
"Really? Does It really look pretty?"
Mikhail reacted as if he had never heard the word "pretty" before. Karina looked puzzled. She asked again, wondering if he had really never heard the word "pretty."
"It's not just that your eyes look pretty, you're really pretty."
Mikhail smiled meekly, the corners of his eyes curling.
'I guess you've never heard someone say you're pretty.'
Since he liked it so much, she thought she should tell him that he was pretty more often. However, Mikhail's subsequent actions left Karina speechless.
"In my eyes, Karina is much prettier."
Mikhail ran his long, straight fingers along the lines of Karina's face, then tucked her messy hair behind her ears.
"I think it's the most beautiful thing in the world."
Mikhail muttered softly.
"Ah..."
Karina took a slight step back with a puzzled expression. She didn't know how to react.
An awkward silence flowed. Karina, who had been observing the subtle atmosphere, suddenly opened her mouth.
"Michael. I'm just saying this just in case, did you have some kind of strange misunderstanding just now?"
"Is this a strange misunderstanding?"
"I said your eyes were pretty because it was really pretty. I didn't say it with any other intention."
"..."
Mikhail furrowed his eyebrows and made a sad expression.
"I know."
Karina felt guilty because of how pitiful that sight was. But it was worse to let him have a misunderstanding and have hopes for something that might not be true. It was better to make sure of something like that... However, Mikhail seemed to have different thoughts from Karina.
"But this heart is mine. I want to do whatever I want with it."
"Uh?"
Karina was taken aback. It was something she had not expected at all.
"I won't force my feelings on you, so please don't push me away and just stay by my side. I think you can do that much."
"..."
Mikhail lowered his head and met Karina's eyes. Karina stared at Mikhail without saying a word.
Unrequited feelings eat away at people. They drag you into a deep swamp that you can't get out of on your own, and you flounder. And in the end, you ruin yourself.
She knew all too well because she had experienced it herself. Karina didn't want Mikhail to end up like that. Karina hesitated but then said with a firm expression.
"Michael. I don't want you to get hurt. So if... if you ever want to quit your job as an escort..."
"Lady Karina."
Mikhail cut Karina off with a hardened expression. He let out a long sigh and spoke in a low, yet soft voice.
"My heart is my own. Whether it hurts, comforts, or makes me happy, it's entirely my responsibility."
Mikhail's stiff expression softened and he smiled affectionately as he continued speaking.
"So, Karina, just stay as you are now."
As she listened to him, Karina felt herself growing more depressed.
"Please let me stay by your side. It's my wish. You said you would grant my wish."
"..."
Her heart was heavy.
'I can't give anything back.'
Karina swallowed the words she couldn't say out loud.
"Will you listen?"
"..."
She promised to grant him any wish. Karina reluctantly nodded her head weakly. Then Mikhail smiled softly as if he was okay with that. The inside of her mouth was bitter with regret and pity for Mikhail. However, there was nothing Karina could do more than that.
"Shall we go back now?"
Mikhail said, looking at the sky. It was already much brighter than the red sunrise. She had sneaked out of the Grand Duke's residence at night, so she had to get back quickly. If Jeremiah caught her, it would be a headache.
"Okay. Let's go back."
So Karina and Mikhail returned to the Grand Duchy.
***
'Sigh. I'm tired.'
After going through so much all night, Karina felt relaxed. As she relaxed, all the strength left her body and she felt tired all at once. The only good thing was that Jeremiah didn't seem to have come to her room yet.
'If he knew I wasn't in the room, it wouldn't be this quiet.'
Karina let out a short sigh of relief. Mikhail, who had taken her to her room, left for a moment to check on the children who had escaped. He left a message asking her to treat him as usual when he returned. She felt that he had deliberately left her because he sensed that she was uncomfortable being with him.
"Phew."
Karina's sigh deepened as she thought of Mikhail.
'Let's not think about it. Maybe it's just a passing interest. It might be an illusion because you've been by my side all this time.'
It wasn't like she had confessed her deep feelings to Mikhail. She might have just guessed at his feelings and mistakenly compared his mild level of interest to her past experiences.
'Yeah. When Mikhail comes back, it's just like usual.'
Karina shook her head and forced herself to shake off the thought. Karina changed her clothes and went to bed. She wanted to make it look like she had just woken up when Jeremiah came. However, Jeremiah did not come for a long time.
'What? Why aren't you coming? It's already past your time to come?'
Karina checked the time and narrowed her eyebrows slightly. If she had known that he wouldn't come today, she wouldn't have had to rush back to the Grand Duke's residence. Karina unconsciously dozed off.
***
Mikhail came back out of the Grand Duke's residence. Mikhail recalled the situation he had seen just before he teleported from the mine.
'It was definitely the Archduke. How was he there at that time?'
Mikhail saw Jeremiah standing with a stiff expression and the knights of the Grand Duke's house behind Revals. And he saw his obsession with Karina in his expression.
'I don't think I've seen Karina though.'
As Karina moved, she seemed to be so focused on Mikhail's own eyes that she didn't even notice Jeremiah appearing there. Mikhail thought it was fortunate that his eyes looked pretty to Karina.
'I'm glad she looked at me.'
A sense of fulfillment surged through Mikhail's chest. Then, after the move, he remembered what Karina had said to him and became depressed again. He had no intention of forcing his feelings on Karina, though.
'I hope you don't close your heart too tightly though.'
Mikhail intended to knock on Karina's heart and open it little by little. Very slowly. So that she would melt into him so naturally that she wouldn't even realize it, and she would accept him.
Mikhail's eyes sparkled softly.
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