The moment when Adele was looking at the painting in question with Gnosis.
"Check."
Perdes was playing chess with the Duke of Lucien in the drawing room.
Not long into the game, Perdes has already been checked for the third time.
It meant that he was unable to defend himself, and it was also evidence that he was unable to concentrate on the game.
It was all because of Adele.
Perdes couldn't concentrate on the game because all sorts of thoughts were going through his head, such as whether she had arrived at her destination safely, whether she had found the painting she was looking for, and whether the person Gnosis had seen was really the late Duke Leopold.
If he continues to show that he can't concentrate, the Duke of Lucien will think it's strange.
So he tried to somehow concentrate on the game, but it didn't work out as he wanted.
“Checkmate.”
In the end, Perdes, who had been checkmated helplessly without being able to make a single proper attack, raised one hand to shoulder height.
“I lost.”
“You seem to be having a hard time concentrating on the game today.”
As expected, the Duke noticed. Perdes clicked his tongue inwardly.
Actually, it was even stranger that he didn't notice while playing the game so listlessly.
“Your complexion seems to have gotten worse. Are you worried about something, Your Highness?”
“Actually... I’m a little worried about something.”
Rather than just pretending that he has nothing to worry about, confessing any worries he has is less suspicious.
The Duke of Lucien's eyes turned strange as he looked at Perdes.
The eyes looked like they found this situation quite interesting.
“If you don’t mind, may I ask what’s worrying you?”
You said you were worried, but you're looking at me with those eyes.
Perdes laughed awkwardly, thinking that the Duke of Lucien's personality was truly twisted, just as rumored.
“It’s such a personal concern that I feel a little embarrassed to talk about it.”
“There is an old saying that joy is doubled when shared, and sorrow or worry is doubled when shared. I may be of some help, so please feel free to talk to me, Your Highness.”
You don't want to help me, you want to tease me.
Perdes laughed inwardly and confessed the false worries he had been thinking about while talking to him.
“I’m going to marry Duke Leopold soon, but I want to make a proper proposal before then. I’ve been wondering what kind of proposal to make.”
"Ah."
The interest in the eyes of Duke Lucien, who let out a short exclamation, seemed to be quickly cooling down.
Judging from the reaction, it didn't seem to be the category of concerns he had expected.
Perdes wondered what kind of troubles he had anticipated that would make him act like that.
He was quickly racking his brain to figure out how to get to the Duke of Lucien's heart, but unexpectedly, he was the one who spoke first.
“Do you know that Duke Leopold is quite friendly with Prophetes IV?”
“Yes. I understand that they became friends at the Academy. The Duke said that they were good friends.”
“They are good friends.”
The words he spat out with a smile or the corners of his lips turning up slightly were meaningful.
Perdes' was already a little uneasy when Adele said that the Duke seemed to have noticed something, but that kind of reaction made him even more uneasy.
As Perdes looked on silently, the Duke of Lucien leaned slightly in his direction and asked.
“Do you really think that the two of them are just friends?”
“You don’t think it’s the Duke of Lucien?”
“Of course. If we were just friends, I wouldn’t be sending you a gold statue as a birthday present.”
The Duke of Lucien's voice became even lower.
“In addition, I heard that the magic music box, which is popular among lovers these days, was sent as a birthday present to Duke Leopold.”
“...”
“First of all, Prophetes IV is still single. Ever since he was chosen as the Crown Prince, he has received love calls from many families, but he has refused them all, saying that it is not the right time yet.”
Perdes, who had been listening to his story with a nervous heart, perhaps sensing Adele's plan to take revenge on the Emperor, frowned when the story turned out to be of a different category than what he had been worried about.
“What on earth are you trying to say, Duke Lucien?”
Although he had a rough idea, Perdes wanted to know for sure so he asked directly.
Then the Duke of Lucien answered with the corners of his lips tilted slanted.
“Prophetess IV seems to be very interested in Duke Leopold.”
“...!”
“Not for political or anything like that, but as a man. According to the information I have, he is planning to make her his Queen.”
“Did you just... say you were Queen?”
When Perdes asked back, doubting his ears, the Duke of Lucien clicked his tongue as if he felt very sorry.
“You didn’t know. Well, it’s information I just received, so Your Highness wouldn’t know.”
When you see Duke Lucien speaking so confidently, it means that it is all true.
'Queen.'
Her fiancé is still breathing and has his eyes wide open, and you're planning to make her your queen.
It was so absurd that Perdes couldn't even laugh.
If she didn't care about her, she wouldn't have cared, but since that wasn't the case, she cared terribly.
It was also very annoying.
Even so, when exchanging letters with Adele at the Academy, that man's name was often mentioned, which made him very uncomfortable.
But he held back because he heard that the man was making a huge contribution to Adele's revenge.
Even though the birthday gift he sent was somewhat meaningful and unpleasant, he ignored it, thinking it was all for revenge.
However, Perdes was quite shocked by the fact that there was another hidden plot and stared blankly at the chessboard.
Does Adele know all these facts?
By any chance... you didn’t promise to marry him in exchange for Prophetes IV’s help, did you?
“...”
Perdes' expression became increasingly stiff as a hypothesis suddenly occurred to him.
He became anxious and nervous because it was a very possible story.
He wanted to run to Adele right away and ask her if everything he had heard and thought was true, but he was afraid to do so.
If she answers that it's all true, then I, I...
Knock knock.
A knock cut off the branches of Perdes delusion that were constantly extending.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Soon after, when he heard a familiar voice, Perdes opened the door with half-unfocused eyes and looked at the person who came in.
Aldor bowed his head slightly and told me why he had come.
“I am sorry to interrupt you, but Your Highness the Prince must leave now due to his next schedule.”
It was a sort of signal that Adele had safely finished her business and returned to the carriage.
Then it would be right to leave quickly, but heì can't do that because it's a little awkward to meet Adele right now.
At the same time, he was going crazy because he wanted to meet her and ask her all sorts of questions.
“You must go now, Your Highness.”
As Perdes sat there in a daze, Aldor urged him on.
Only then did Perdes come to his senses and stand up awkwardly.
And then he gave a polite greeting to the Duke of Lucien, who stood up.
“I really enjoyed today. Let’s play chess again next time.”
“Of course. Please be careful on your way back, Your Highness.”
Perdes boarded the carriage waiting in front of the mansion, escorted by the Duke of Lucien and his servants.
Aldor's gaze, which was escorting him, glanced at the carriage's cargo area.
Now that he knew Adele was there, he felt nervous.
"Be careful."
As it was still the Duke of Lucien's residence, Perdes gave Aldor a heartfelt warning and closed the carriage door.
Whether he understood the meaning of his warning or not, Aldor did not even glance at the cargo hold until he left the Duke's residence.
The carriage, which had safely left the Lucien duchy, ran without stopping all the way to Leopold's duchy.
After a while, when the carriage arrived at Duke Leopold's residence, Aldor was the first to open the luggage compartment door.
"Miss."
Adele, who was sitting uncomfortably curled up in the luggage compartment, smiled awkwardly when her eyes met his.
“Please come down.”
“Thank you, Sir Aldor.”
As Adele got out of the carriage, Aldor checked her body here and there.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
Since he just came back after seeing the picture, there was no way he could have been hurt.
Aldor, who confirmed that she was safe, asked with relief but also a sense of wonder.
“Why did this happen...”
“This is all a matter of deep consideration, so please do not ask any questions, Sir Aldor.”
“...Yes, Miss.”
Aldor had many questions for Adel, but like a loyal knight, he followed her words.
Gnosis, who had followed behind, patted his sore shoulder and muttered.
“Even if it is a carriage belonging to a noble family, the luggage compartment is very uncomfortable.”
“Because this isn’t a space made for people to ride. You’ve worked hard, Gnosis. Go and get some rest.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Gnosis entered the mansion first, and Perdes took his place.
“...”
Perdes also looked at Adele with eyes that had a lot to say.
Adele nodded with a smile, obviously thinking it was about the painting.
“I found it.”
“...!”
Then Perdes opened his eyes wide in surprise.
He was kind of expecting it, so why is he so surprised?
Adele, not knowing what conversation was going on between Perdes and the Duke of Lucien, grabbed his arm in puzzlement.
“Let’s go inside first. I’ll tell you everything once we get inside.”
Perdes followed Adel's lead without saying a word.
Aldor followed the two men, but then his feet fell back to the ground.
Even if he follows, he won't be able to hear anything anyway.
A bitter smile spread across Aldor's face as he slightly bowed his head.
"Check."
Perdes was playing chess with the Duke of Lucien in the drawing room.
Not long into the game, Perdes has already been checked for the third time.
It meant that he was unable to defend himself, and it was also evidence that he was unable to concentrate on the game.
It was all because of Adele.
Perdes couldn't concentrate on the game because all sorts of thoughts were going through his head, such as whether she had arrived at her destination safely, whether she had found the painting she was looking for, and whether the person Gnosis had seen was really the late Duke Leopold.
If he continues to show that he can't concentrate, the Duke of Lucien will think it's strange.
So he tried to somehow concentrate on the game, but it didn't work out as he wanted.
“Checkmate.”
In the end, Perdes, who had been checkmated helplessly without being able to make a single proper attack, raised one hand to shoulder height.
“I lost.”
“You seem to be having a hard time concentrating on the game today.”
As expected, the Duke noticed. Perdes clicked his tongue inwardly.
Actually, it was even stranger that he didn't notice while playing the game so listlessly.
“Your complexion seems to have gotten worse. Are you worried about something, Your Highness?”
“Actually... I’m a little worried about something.”
Rather than just pretending that he has nothing to worry about, confessing any worries he has is less suspicious.
The Duke of Lucien's eyes turned strange as he looked at Perdes.
The eyes looked like they found this situation quite interesting.
“If you don’t mind, may I ask what’s worrying you?”
You said you were worried, but you're looking at me with those eyes.
Perdes laughed awkwardly, thinking that the Duke of Lucien's personality was truly twisted, just as rumored.
“It’s such a personal concern that I feel a little embarrassed to talk about it.”
“There is an old saying that joy is doubled when shared, and sorrow or worry is doubled when shared. I may be of some help, so please feel free to talk to me, Your Highness.”
You don't want to help me, you want to tease me.
Perdes laughed inwardly and confessed the false worries he had been thinking about while talking to him.
“I’m going to marry Duke Leopold soon, but I want to make a proper proposal before then. I’ve been wondering what kind of proposal to make.”
"Ah."
The interest in the eyes of Duke Lucien, who let out a short exclamation, seemed to be quickly cooling down.
Judging from the reaction, it didn't seem to be the category of concerns he had expected.
Perdes wondered what kind of troubles he had anticipated that would make him act like that.
He was quickly racking his brain to figure out how to get to the Duke of Lucien's heart, but unexpectedly, he was the one who spoke first.
“Do you know that Duke Leopold is quite friendly with Prophetes IV?”
“Yes. I understand that they became friends at the Academy. The Duke said that they were good friends.”
“They are good friends.”
The words he spat out with a smile or the corners of his lips turning up slightly were meaningful.
Perdes' was already a little uneasy when Adele said that the Duke seemed to have noticed something, but that kind of reaction made him even more uneasy.
As Perdes looked on silently, the Duke of Lucien leaned slightly in his direction and asked.
“Do you really think that the two of them are just friends?”
“You don’t think it’s the Duke of Lucien?”
“Of course. If we were just friends, I wouldn’t be sending you a gold statue as a birthday present.”
The Duke of Lucien's voice became even lower.
“In addition, I heard that the magic music box, which is popular among lovers these days, was sent as a birthday present to Duke Leopold.”
“...”
“First of all, Prophetes IV is still single. Ever since he was chosen as the Crown Prince, he has received love calls from many families, but he has refused them all, saying that it is not the right time yet.”
Perdes, who had been listening to his story with a nervous heart, perhaps sensing Adele's plan to take revenge on the Emperor, frowned when the story turned out to be of a different category than what he had been worried about.
“What on earth are you trying to say, Duke Lucien?”
Although he had a rough idea, Perdes wanted to know for sure so he asked directly.
Then the Duke of Lucien answered with the corners of his lips tilted slanted.
“Prophetess IV seems to be very interested in Duke Leopold.”
“...!”
“Not for political or anything like that, but as a man. According to the information I have, he is planning to make her his Queen.”
“Did you just... say you were Queen?”
When Perdes asked back, doubting his ears, the Duke of Lucien clicked his tongue as if he felt very sorry.
“You didn’t know. Well, it’s information I just received, so Your Highness wouldn’t know.”
When you see Duke Lucien speaking so confidently, it means that it is all true.
'Queen.'
Her fiancé is still breathing and has his eyes wide open, and you're planning to make her your queen.
It was so absurd that Perdes couldn't even laugh.
If she didn't care about her, she wouldn't have cared, but since that wasn't the case, she cared terribly.
It was also very annoying.
Even so, when exchanging letters with Adele at the Academy, that man's name was often mentioned, which made him very uncomfortable.
But he held back because he heard that the man was making a huge contribution to Adele's revenge.
Even though the birthday gift he sent was somewhat meaningful and unpleasant, he ignored it, thinking it was all for revenge.
However, Perdes was quite shocked by the fact that there was another hidden plot and stared blankly at the chessboard.
Does Adele know all these facts?
By any chance... you didn’t promise to marry him in exchange for Prophetes IV’s help, did you?
“...”
Perdes' expression became increasingly stiff as a hypothesis suddenly occurred to him.
He became anxious and nervous because it was a very possible story.
He wanted to run to Adele right away and ask her if everything he had heard and thought was true, but he was afraid to do so.
If she answers that it's all true, then I, I...
Knock knock.
A knock cut off the branches of Perdes delusion that were constantly extending.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Soon after, when he heard a familiar voice, Perdes opened the door with half-unfocused eyes and looked at the person who came in.
Aldor bowed his head slightly and told me why he had come.
“I am sorry to interrupt you, but Your Highness the Prince must leave now due to his next schedule.”
It was a sort of signal that Adele had safely finished her business and returned to the carriage.
Then it would be right to leave quickly, but heì can't do that because it's a little awkward to meet Adele right now.
At the same time, he was going crazy because he wanted to meet her and ask her all sorts of questions.
“You must go now, Your Highness.”
As Perdes sat there in a daze, Aldor urged him on.
Only then did Perdes come to his senses and stand up awkwardly.
And then he gave a polite greeting to the Duke of Lucien, who stood up.
“I really enjoyed today. Let’s play chess again next time.”
“Of course. Please be careful on your way back, Your Highness.”
Perdes boarded the carriage waiting in front of the mansion, escorted by the Duke of Lucien and his servants.
Aldor's gaze, which was escorting him, glanced at the carriage's cargo area.
Now that he knew Adele was there, he felt nervous.
"Be careful."
As it was still the Duke of Lucien's residence, Perdes gave Aldor a heartfelt warning and closed the carriage door.
Whether he understood the meaning of his warning or not, Aldor did not even glance at the cargo hold until he left the Duke's residence.
The carriage, which had safely left the Lucien duchy, ran without stopping all the way to Leopold's duchy.
After a while, when the carriage arrived at Duke Leopold's residence, Aldor was the first to open the luggage compartment door.
"Miss."
Adele, who was sitting uncomfortably curled up in the luggage compartment, smiled awkwardly when her eyes met his.
“Please come down.”
“Thank you, Sir Aldor.”
As Adele got out of the carriage, Aldor checked her body here and there.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
Since he just came back after seeing the picture, there was no way he could have been hurt.
Aldor, who confirmed that she was safe, asked with relief but also a sense of wonder.
“Why did this happen...”
“This is all a matter of deep consideration, so please do not ask any questions, Sir Aldor.”
“...Yes, Miss.”
Aldor had many questions for Adel, but like a loyal knight, he followed her words.
Gnosis, who had followed behind, patted his sore shoulder and muttered.
“Even if it is a carriage belonging to a noble family, the luggage compartment is very uncomfortable.”
“Because this isn’t a space made for people to ride. You’ve worked hard, Gnosis. Go and get some rest.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Gnosis entered the mansion first, and Perdes took his place.
“...”
Perdes also looked at Adele with eyes that had a lot to say.
Adele nodded with a smile, obviously thinking it was about the painting.
“I found it.”
“...!”
Then Perdes opened his eyes wide in surprise.
He was kind of expecting it, so why is he so surprised?
Adele, not knowing what conversation was going on between Perdes and the Duke of Lucien, grabbed his arm in puzzlement.
“Let’s go inside first. I’ll tell you everything once we get inside.”
Perdes followed Adel's lead without saying a word.
Aldor followed the two men, but then his feet fell back to the ground.
Even if he follows, he won't be able to hear anything anyway.
A bitter smile spread across Aldor's face as he slightly bowed his head.
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