David and Karina left the Grand Duke's residence together. After passing through the main gate and walking a little distance away from the Grand Duke's residence.
"But how did you know that I was at the Grand Duke's house?"
Karina suddenly became curious. It seemed that Marquis Millainer had been coming and going to the Archduke's house several times before finally settling down. If that was the case, then it seemed impossible that Crown Prince David had not heard of Jeremiah and her absence. Nevertheless, David came to the Archduke's house just as the two of them were returning from the tower. The timing was too coincidental to be dismissed as a mere coincidence.
However, the words that came out of David's mouth were completely different from what she had expected.
"Even if I don't answer now, you will naturally understand in a little while."
"Yes...?"
It was a completely unexpected answer.
But David just smiled leisurely. In fact, he had ordered his informants to be around the Grand Duke's residence and to keep an eye on the Grand Duke's residence. And as soon as Karina and Jeremiah returned to the Grand Duke's residence, he received a report. Thanks to that, he was able to come to the Grand Duke's residence right away. Of course, he already knew that Marquis Millainer was set up and staying at the Grand Duke's residence. However, he expected that Jeremiah would be kicked out as soon as he returned. As expected, when he reached the Grand Duke's residence, he saw Marquis Millainer coming out of the Grand Duke's residence with a red face and a grin. He knew that if he ran into him for no reason, he would waste time. David did not forget to hide in an alley and wait for a while so that the Marquis would not find him. David successfully came to the Grand Duke's residence to see Karina. And he quickly noticed the awkwardness between Jeremiah and Karina in the reception room.
'He must have just been facing the Marquis, so it's only natural that the Grand Duke of Colesburg's mood would not be good.'
Up until this point, it was all as he had expected. Naturally, he thought Karina would easily accept his offer to go out together. His prediction was a little off in some parts, but it was right in the end. Jeremiah's resistance and rejection were strong, but it didn't matter. In any case, he ended up taking her out like this.
'I'm satisfied.'
The smile on his lips grew deeper. And after a while, curiosity about how Karina would react grew, and anticipation rose. Karina, who still didn't know anything, tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
"..."
She brushed it off as if it wasn't something she was particularly curious about. Instead, she was asked another question.
"But where are we going now?"
David and Karina were walking down the main street leading to the capital's downtown, commercial district, then turned around and entered a narrow alley. Karina's body seemed a little tense as she entered the deserted alley.
"You'll know once you go there."
"Yes...?"
Karina looked very embarrassed for a moment at his subtle answer.
'Where on earth are you going to do that?'
There was no time to find an answer to that question.
"I've encountered the Archduchess around here before."
Because David started the conversation.
Karina remembered the time she had accidentally run into David on the street before.
"Ah. You're talking about the day we were captured by the monster."
Karina, who recalled the memory, answered with a bitter smile. It was not a very good memory for her, so she did not want to recall it.
"Hahaha. It seems the Arch Duchess really doesn't have a good memory of that time. Judging from the expression on your face."
David smiled with an amused expression and gestured to Karina's face.
'Was it really that scary?'
Karina, who was embarrassed, quickly changed her expression and made an excuse.
"Right after that, I was captured by a monster and fell into the Cursed forest. I went through a lot and almost died, so to be honest, it's not that pleasant to think about it."
Karina confessed her feelings.
"Hmm. There were some dangerous moments, but I don't remember them as being all bad."
David smiled faintly.
'A little? Did you just say a little?
Karina couldn't sympathize at all. However, the Crown Prince protected her and stayed to help her even when she was isolated in the Cursed forest. It was true that she owed him a favor. As the recipient of help, there was no point in refuting the benefactor, so she decided to just give him a rough answer and move on.
"Oh, I see."
"Yes. Thanks to that, I was able to have a deep and sincere conversation with the Archduchess there."
"Ah..."
"I think it would be nice to have another opportunity like that in the future."
"Yes?"
'Why are you suddenly saying such crazy things...!?'
Karina almost lost her words for a moment, forgetting that she was standing in front of the Crown Prince.
'If we just have two honest conversations, I might really die.'
Karina seriousened inwardly.
"What do you think, Grand Duchess?"
David asked her brightly as if he had no idea what she was thinking.
Karina never wanted to experience something like that again, whether it was her thoughts or anything else. She absolutely refused.
"Hmm."
She quickly straightened her expression and said.
"If it's a conversation like that, you can have it without having to put yourself in danger of death. I don't think there's any need to put yourself in a similarly dangerous situation because of it."
Karina's face was very serious as if she didn't like it even though it was a joke.
"But isn't it true that honest, heartfelt conversations aren't something that can come easily in everyday life?"
David offered a subtle rebuttal to her claim.
"I cannot say that Your Highness's words are wrong."
Karina got the feeling he was attaching a lot of meaning to this thing called 'honest conversation'.
"I think we can have that conversation whenever we need to, even if it's not a life-or-death situation."
Karina's tone as she spoke was quite firm.
"I see. So, if I just ask you to have a frank conversation, will you do so?"
"Yes, of course."
Karina nodded and answered bravely.
"That's fortunate."
David's eyes were slanted. The corners of his mouth rose gently, forming a pleasant curve. It was a bright smile that seemed to clearly express his joy. His gorgeous blond hair, reflecting the sunlight, fluttered. His porcelain-white, smooth skin and his sharp, thick facial features gave off a masculine charm. His deep-set eyes, visible beneath his long, voluminous eyelashes, were as colorful as sapphires. Inside them were...
'Hmm?'
Just now, Karina saw a mysterious color flash in his eyes for a moment. For a moment, she had a strange feeling that he had deliberately led the conversation in this direction to get an answer from her.
'I guess I'm mistaken?'
They walked along the secluded alley. After a while.
"We will be arriving soon."
Karina, who had been following him without thinking, came to her senses and looked around.
'Huh? This alley... It looks familiar...'
And at some point, she became convinced that she was following the path she knew.
'This road... I'm sure it's the road I pass by every time I go to the Dark World.'
Karina looked at David with slightly surprised eyes.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince."
She eventually called him.
"Why are you doing that?"
"Oh, so... maybe..."
She was stuttering, not knowing what to say, when she looked down and saw the black ring on his finger.
“Ah!”
At that moment, a realization struck Karina as if a bolt of lightning had struck her mind.
'Why didn't I notice it sooner?'
The dark merchant, Perso, also wore a black ring on his finger. It was exactly the same ring that David was wearing now. She stood there in shock.
"Archduchess?"
"..."
She couldn't even respond properly to the words he called. David stared at Karina frozen for a while and then smiled.
"Now you know who I am."
"...!"
Karina's shoulders jumped. That one word was enough of an answer.
'You brought me here on purpose so that I would notice.'
Karina was sure of that. He didn't seem at all flustered when he found out that she had noticed his identity. No, he seemed glad that she had noticed. However, she couldn't figure out what he meant by revealing the secret. David approached Karina, who was so confused, and slowly lifted her chin. Meeting her gaze, David asked again.
"Archangel. You said earlier that if I asked you to speak frankly with me, you would
do so."
"..."
"Is that still valid?"
David asked in a relaxed voice. Karina's eyes trembled slightly. Instead of answering, she swallowed dry saliva.
Meanwhile, Mikhail, who had received Karina's order, entered the inn she had rented out as usual. When he entered the room on the second floor, Hasten and Selena, who were inside, greeted him.
"Huh? You're a wizard? I thought you were done with guarding."
"I heard the Archduchess went to the Magic Tower, so I guess you came back with her."
Their reaction to seeing Mikhail after such a long time was lukewarm. They knew that Mikhail had disappeared without a word and Karina had been looking for him for a while. And just as he was away, Karina had been kidnapped by a monster and taken to the Cursed Forest. And they had also gone into the Cursed Forest and were quite injured, but had just recovered. Neither of them seemed to be very happy to see Mikhail.
"I came under Lady Karina's orders."
But Mikhail didn't really care what the two of them said, so he got straight to the point. Karina's orders were his top priority right now.
"She asked for 'that' thing she told you about last time."
"Ah..."
Selena looked embarrassed at those words.
"That is..."
"Karina asked me to come back as soon as possible. Give it to me quickly."
Selena hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly got up at Mikhail's urging. Then she opened the cabinet attached to the wall and took out a white vial that was stored inside.
"You can just pass this on to her."
But Selena's expression as she handed it over wasn't very good. She even stopped Mikhail, who was about to turn back right after receiving it and added an explanation.
"First of all, I tried to make it so that it has as few side effects as possible, but it doesn't mean that there are none at all. So when taking it, you have to strictly follow the dosage and cycle..."
Mikhail, who had already reacted to the word side effect, asked in a low voice.
"Side effects? What are they?"
"It's a fertility drug."
"Fertility drug?"
One of Mikhail's eyebrows rose diagonally.
"Why is Karina suddenly looking for fertility drugs?"
"...?"
Selena answered with a puzzled look, asking if she really didn't know.
"I think she probably thinks that being infertile is necessary for her divorce from His Highness the Grand Duke. That's why she's trying to take fertility drugs."
"..."
"But fertility drugs aren't something you can just take once. They have to be taken for a long time, and they're really hard on your body. To be honest, if it were up to me, I'd just stop her from taking them. Phew. Even if I try to stop her, Lady Karina is so stubborn..."
"..."
Mikhail's expression hardened as he listened to the explanation.
'You're still not feeling well, so why did you say you'd eat something like this?'
His eyes became as cold as ice.
'I can't let Karina eat something like this.'
Mikhail decided that he had to get rid of this medicine completely.
"Is this all the medicine you have?"
"Yes. That's all for now."
Selena answered obediently.
"Yes, I understand."
Mikhail nodded. Then as if a sudden thought had occurred to Hasten, he added.
"Oh, besides that, I have something else to report to the Grand Duchess."
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment