Karina, who had accidentally given her lips, was so flustered that she couldn't come to her senses. The place where his lips had touched her felt hot. Not just her lips, but also the delicate flesh on the inside of her palm and wrist. The stimulation was excessive as if an indelible brand had been imprinted on her. The body temperature and hot warmth she felt made her realize that this wasn't a dream or an illusion.
When she felt so clearly that Jeremiah wanted her, her mind felt like it had gone blank. Her breathing became ragged and irregular. Her face felt hot and her heart beat as fast as if it would burst. When she looked down, she saw the red, swollen instep of her foot. It was more swollen than before, but she didn't have the presence of mind to feel the pain.
"Karina."
She could hear his longing voice from above my head. But...
'Not now.'
Instead of raising her head, Karina bowed deeper. The strong wall of her heart finally collapsed. She felt like if she stayed with him any longer, she would be swept away by the heightened atmosphere without realizing it. Her emotions were running wild and she couldn't control them. She pushed him away once more. However, unlike a moment ago when she had been easily pushed away, his strong chest did not give way easily.
"Karina, please look at me."
He tried to lift Karina's chin. His touch was delicate, like touching a fragile piece of glass. It was a gentle and careful touch, but it was hard to resist as if she were trapped. She couldn't move. If she met his gaze like this, she would definitely be caught. Her confusion, her agitation, and her trembling heart that she couldn't hide would be revealed to him.
Karina turned away from his gaze and shouted urgently.
"Time... time!"
"Time?"
Karina nodded, catching her breath.
"Give me time! It's too sudden right now... I need time to think."
She barely managed to find an excuse to get out of the situation.
"..."
Jeremiah, who had been silent for a moment with a serious expression, soon let out a sigh-like laugh.
"Of course."
There was a sense of relief in the soft voice.
"I can wait as long as it takes for you."
He pulled Karina's body into his arms.
"I will wait as long as you answer."
"..."
Karina was very nervous that he might hear her heart pounding. She tried to calm down and pretend to be expressionless, but it didn't work very well. If she couldn't control her expression, she thought it would be better to avoid his eyes, so she buried her face in his broad chest. So that he couldn't see her expression. However, her actions gave Jeremiah a completely different impression.
'Thank goodness. I was just surprised.'
Jeremiah was feeling reassured as he keenly observed each of her small reactions. Even the tips of her fingers that tightly held the hem of his clothes gave him great satisfaction. He thought it was cute that Karina was digging into his arms because it was strange and embarrassing, but she had no idea at all. At that time.
"Ah."
As she moved and her feet gained strength, a groan escaped Karina's teeth without her knowing. After calming down a bit, the pain that had been building up came rushing in. all at once, stinging and aching. Jeremiah, startled, quickly turned his eyes to the top of her feet.
"I think you'd better go back quickly and get treatment."
When he saw her swollen instep, he didn't hesitate and just hugged her.
"...!"
Karina shrank back at the feeling of floating.
'Is it going to continue like this?'
The memory of being rescued from the Cursed Forest came back to her and the embarrassment reared its head again.
"Please give it to me."
It hurt, but it wasn't so bad that she couldn't walk. But Jeremiah stubbornly refused.
"How are you going to get there if I give you the lift? Weren't you limping earlier?"
"..."
"Just stay comfortable. I'll be there for you soon."
He adjusted his arms to make her more comfortable. It was the same after they got into the carriage. He didn't let Karina out of his arms even though there was a comfortable chair opposite her. Karina decided that it was a good thing. The heat from her face didn't go down the whole time the carriage was running. If she had to face him until they reached the Grand Duke's house.
'So if the same thing happens again...'
Just thinking about it made her heart tremble. At that time, she didn't know if her heart would be able to handle it. So she returned to the Grand Duke's private residence, quietly held in Jeremiah's arms.
***
A dark, windowless basement. The damp, musty smell of the place made her hear the sound of footsteps. As she walked along the connected hallway, she turned a corner and came to a relatively spacious space with a series of bars on the walls. On the other side of the bars was a table with bloodstains here and there and a chair in the center of the space. On the table were ominous-looking whips and torture devices lined up in a row, and the chair was covered in the blood of the person sitting on it, dyed so red that its original color was impossible to tell.
Crack.
The footsteps stopped in front of it.
"Are you here?"
"Is the interrogation going well?"
David appeared with a magic stone of soft light floating next to his head.
"We are making steady progress."
Pie, wearing a white mask, bowed his head and answered politely. Unlike the gloomy surroundings, his appearance was clean, without a single drop of blood. David scanned the people who were crying beyond the bars and the person who was currently being interrogated. He had caught the guys who were disguised as audience members at the circus performance that Karina had gone to.
"Were these all there were at the scene?"
"Yes. We have tracked down and captured all those who were after Your Highness and the Grand Duchess."
"I see."
David was lost in thought, rubbing his chin as if he were weighing something. There was another reason he took Karina to the circus. It was inevitable that there would be noise in the process of threatening and tightening the reins of the key nobles related to the drug supply in the underworld. However, it was quite difficult to find and root out each and every one of those who harbored resentment. Then a good plan came to mind.
He was sure that if Karina and him appeared without escort in a place where they could easily target them as bait, they would definitely take advantage of this opportunity. And his guess was right. They were burning with resentment and tried to harm David and Karina. More precisely, they targeted Karina, who was the cause of the exposure to the herb field, which they considered to be the starting point of this situation. It was absurd logic that because of her, a monster appeared in the capital and got involved with the Cursed Forest which led to this situation.
'It seemed like that on the outside, but...'
In reality, they had closer interests intertwined. It was relatively less risky to target the Grand Duchess than the Crown Prince, a member of the royal family, and it was easy to use as a warning.
Furthermore, since the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess were in the middle of divorce talks, the thought that it would be easier to deal with the aftermath than the Crown Prince fueled their actions. David had tried to persuade them by putting his strength into the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess's divorce, and he had also foreseen this situation and deliberately stirred it up. As a result, the radicals were properly caught this time. Those who did not step forward this time would be careful once more. It was a successful plan.
'It's really useful, you know.'
She played the role of bait very well.
'You did better than I expected.'
David thought about using Karina a few more times.
'I want to play together some more!'
Her unusual reaction was amusing. When he met her, he found out that she was someone who easily gave off affection and trusted people after just a few meetings and conversations. Even after realizing that he was the leader of the underworld, shr couldn't refuse his hand when he offered to be her friend.
'You said you were treated quite unfairly and wrongfully in the North. It's not surprising that you distrust people.'
Even in that situation, seeing that she couldn't be harsh and ended up accepting it, it seemed like she had a kind nature.
'She's the type of person who's perfect for being used and then discarded.'
David slowly raised the corners of his mouth and smirked. Still, he had no intention of letting her go. She was helpful to him, and he didn't get bored when he saw her. He planned to keep her around for a while.
I hope the Grand Duke doesn't interfere.
David pictured Jeremiah wrapping Karina around, not hiding his wariness and hostility towards her.
He almost messed things up again this time!
The appearance of the Grand Duke almost ruined the plan. If his aides, who were weeding out the radicals during the circus performance, had not informed him of Jeremiah's appearance in advance, it probably would have been aborted.
'It's a little annoying...'
A cool gleam appeared in David's eyes.
"We are trying to find out as much useful information as possible."
Then Pie's voice broke through his thoughts.
"If it's useful information?"
"One of the men who was caught seems to be a guy who mainly works as a drug deliveryman, and he recently delivered drugs to Marquis Milliner."
"Hmm?"
David raised one eyebrow diagonally and narrowed his eyes. The Vestianne family, which distributed drugs, was a family that supported and assisted the Marquis of Milliner. It wouldn't have been strange if the Marquis of Milliner had received a few drugs from there. But it wasn't common either.
"You delivered that directly to Marquis Millainer?"
"Yes."
"..."
The more he thought about it, the stranger it was. became. In the case of Marquis Milliner, if necessary, he could have hired a specialist and ordered him to use the drug. It would have been unnecessary for him to have received the drug himself, increasing the risk and decreasing the efficiency.
Nevertheless, if he had received the drug, there were two possible scenarios.
'The Marquis must write directly to the target, or present it to the Emperor.'
David weighed the latter over the former.
'When the Emperor needs medicine, there's no way the Marquis would ask someone else to bring it to him.'
It was understandable since he was so intent on looking good in the eyes of the Emperor.
'I should instruct my mother and be thorough in preparing for the poison.'
He thought it would be a good idea to prepare countermeasures in advance just in case.
"Let's find out more about what drug was given to the Marquis."
"All right."
Pie answered loyally, seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then spoke.
"I heard that the imperial family will soon be holding a grand banquet."
"That's right."
David answered casually as if it was nothing.
"It's not just for a day or two that His Majesty the Emperor wants to show off the royal family's health."
The appearance of a monster in the capital was something he had expected after escaping the Cursed Forest. It wasn't a big surprise.
"How about increasing the escort and defense during the banquet?"
"Why?"
There was no need for him to show that he was more alert than usual. It would go without saying that the Emperor was plotting something behind the scenes during these banquets.
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