Lucia left. Jeremiah, left alone, sat on the bed and looked closely at the faintly shining pendant. The pure white pendant with delicate inlays was emitting a soft light as it received divine power. He closed his eyes and concentrated, grabbing the pendant. He drew a mental image of the black space he had seen earlier in order to meet the dragon again.
As Jeremiah had expected, the pendant responded to his will. A pitch-black curtain fell, engulfing the surroundings.
'Ah.'
His hunch turned out to be correct.
'Was the power needed to strengthen the connection the dragon spoke of divine power?"
Since ancient times, divine power has been an effective force for purifying pollution, healing, and regeneration. And it can be said to be unrivaled in nobility and sanctity. Although it is different from the Gods worshipped in temples, dragons were also sacred beings who bestowed blessings and protection on the empire.
'It wouldn't be strange if divine powers strengthened the dragon's power.'
After thinking like that, he pushed himself into the deep darkness without hesitation. Jeremiah entered the space of consciousness and looked for the dragon. However, this time, the dragon was nowhere to be seen. Instead, only small lights were floating in the air like dust. This sight was not so unfamiliar.
'It's the same as before."
When he entered Karina's dream and searched for her in her consciousness, it was similar to the situation he had seen just before he first looked into her memories. As Jeremiah reached out through the lights, the surrounding scenery changed as a halo of light entangled his fingertips. Jeremiah looked around. It was the Northern Grand Duchy, a familiar place to him. However, somewhat unusually, the location was not his office or Karina's bedroom, but the Grand Duchy's kitchen. In the warm place where the fire in the stove was burning, there was Karina with her hair tied up and wearing an apron.
"Karina!"
As soon as he saw her, he approached her. At the same time, he was curious.
'Why is she in the Grand Duke's kitchen?'
It was safe to say that Grand Duchess Karina had no business going to the kitchen.
'What are you doing?'
When he looked closely, he saw that she was busily spreading a large piece of dough into a round-tart mold. Then she began to top it with jam she had made in advance and a lot of thinly sliced apples. It seemed like she was probably making an apple pie.
'I guess you could just ask the chef to make this for me?'
Jeremiah didn't understand why she was making this herself. He thought about that for a moment, but Karina's expression as she made the apple pie was very serious.
'Did she like cooking?'
But her cooking skills were too poor to be considered that way. Her face was covered in white flour, and the cut ingredients were crooked. Several apple pies, burnt black from several failed attempts, were sitting on a table near the oven. The way she pushed the finished apple pie dough into the burning oven was so clumsy that it made anyone watching feel uneasy.
"Whew, all I have to do is bake the apple pie."
Karina, who succeeded in placing the mold filled with dough into the oven, sighed and turned her head. She took the ladle in front of her and stirred the large pot boiling next to the oven. Looking at the contents, it seemed like beef stew was being cooked.
"Hmm."
Karina's expression brightened as she tasted the stew on a small piece of paper to see if it was well made.
"It looks a bit odd, but luckily it tastes good."
Jeremiah soon learned why Karina cooked for him.
"Karina, are you doing well?"
Caroline entered the kitchen, dressed in a dress.
"You said you wanted to prepare a birthday party for Jeremiah yourself because it was his birthday?"
"...!"
Jeremiah was shocked when he heard Caroline's words.
'My birthday?'
Karina personally prepared his birthday meal. He never thought that. Caroline glanced at the nearly finished dish and made a surprised expression.
"Oh my, did you really make this yourself?"
"Yes. It's almost done. I think I can make it in time for His Highness the Grand Duke to return."
Jeremiah could hear her voice, both awkward and full of anticipation.
"Hmm, I see. Jeremiah will be very happy when he comes back."
"I hope so. I didn't know His Highness liked beef stew, thank you for letting me know."
"Thank you."
Jeremiah's eyes turned cold as he looked at the smiling Caroline.
'I like beef stew?'
He had eaten beef stew when he was young and had a bad taste in it. Of course, it wasn't that he didn't eat it, since he was always short on food in the North. At least Caroline knew that he didn't like beef stew.
'But did you lie to Karina that I liked it?'
His brow furrowed in discomfort. After Caroline left, a moment later, the food was ready. Karina carefully set the table with the food she had prepared herself.
"I hope it suits his taste."
Her bashful smile as if satisfied, blew away his bad mood in an instant. No matter what food she prepared, anything she made was good. He could feel her excitement. She looked so affectionate and so lovely.
However, his excitement did not last long. Karina waited outside in the bone-chilling cold wind. She waited for hours, even after the scheduled arrival time had passed. The maids behind her even started muttering and murmuring. She waited silently, ignoring their complaints. Jeremiah had to watch Karina tremble and wait anxiously, worried that the food she had prepared with so much effort might get cold.
'It's late'
His teeth were grinding and his stomach was about to burst. He desperately wanted to force her into a warm room. But he couldn't reach her. Even when he tried to touch her, she just passed right through. All he could do was watch, suppressing his frustration. The sun set and it got dark. And after a long time, Jeremiah, whom she had been waiting for, finally showed up.
'It's too late.'
What had you been doing that had made you come only now?
He really didn't like the person in his memories.
'Still, it's fortunate that you're here now!'
But what happened after he returned was even more spectacular.
"Why are you here?"
"I wanted to come out to greet you."
"You did something unnecessary."
Unlike last time when he was conscious with Karina, Jeremiah was observing the situation from a third-person perspective. He saw himself getting off the horse and passing Karina.
"I prepared dinner..."
"No need."
"But today is your birthday."
"You won't understand if I say it once? I said I had no thoughts."
Jeremiah almost threw a punch at himself for treating her with such a cold attitude. He wanted to rip that mouth that was talking nonsense to Karina. He felt so sorry and pitiful for her, who was turned away in front of the slammed door.
The next day. Of course, she caught a terrible cold because she was shivering outside on a cold day. His heart broke when he saw her suffering alone, even though she was so sick that she couldn't come to her senses.
'She's so sick, and you're just leaving her like this instead of calling a doctor?'
His fist clenched with excessive force. If only he could, he would have grabbed himself by the collar and dragged her here. He wanted to yell at him to see for himself what Karina was like. His fist, which had turned white, trembled slightly. But that wasn't the end.
"By any chance, the food I made yesterday..."
Karina asked the maid who had come to tell her that the doctor could not come.
"His Highness the Grand Duke told me to throw it away. He said it wasn't edible..."
"Ah..."
The moment he looked into her eyes, filled with disappointment and sadness, Jeremiah felt a terrible sense of guilt toward himself.
'You threw away the food she made for you?'
Suddenly, he remembered what she said about how she hated apple pie.
'Didn't you like apple pie?'
'I don't like it.'
'Why?'
'I just don't like it."
'No way. Is it because of this memory?'
His mood became even more miserable. In reality, he had a hard time even receiving a single glance from her. However, in his memory, he only cruelly kicked Karina out despite her blind appearance. Seeing her hurt and in pain due to his coldness with his own eyes made him feel like he was going crazy.
'Fuck!'
It felt like lava was burning his heart inside. He didn't know that being unable to do anything and just watching would be this painful.
***
Meanwhile. While Jeremiah was looking at Karina's memories in his dark consciousness, Karina also returned to her room and collapsed on the bed.
'I'm tired.'
She was tired mentally, not physically.
'I've been so busy all day.'
Because of that, her head started to throb and she started getting a headache.
'If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have refused Mikhail's offer to use healing magic on me earlier this evening.'
Karina closed her eyes, swallowing her regret.
'Let's stay like this for a moment.'
She had intended to lie down for a little while and then go wash up. But perhaps it was because of the rough schedule, or because it was the first day after a long journey, she fell into a deep sleep. Her consciousness sank into the darkness. She opened her eyes in a familiar yet unfamiliar space, feeling as if she was floating in water.
"Uh?"
A voice filled with doubt leaked out from Karina's teeth as she looked around. When she opened her eyes, she was also in the northern Grand Duke's residence.
'I was just lying on the bed in the guest room of the Castle?'
Somehow, when she opened her eyes, she found herself in Jeremiah's office in the Grand Duke's residence.
"..."
Karina quickly rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and opened them again. But, as expected, she was in Jeremiah's office in the north.
'Why am I here?'
There was no time to find an answer to the question. Jeremiah was sitting at his desk with a serious expression on his face. And in front of the door, a line of Northern Knights in their uniforms stood.
"What's going on?"
Jeremiah asked.
"...!"
Karina, embarrassed, quickly opened her mouth and spoke.
"No, I don't know how this happened either..."
"This is ridiculous!"
Ron, the leader of the Northern Knights and Jeremiah's confidant, raised his voice in a determined tone as if it were unfair.
"...!?"
Karina, who was flustered, felt the heavy atmosphere and had to quickly check her mood.
"Why should Your Highness marry that woman?"
'Huh? Marriage?'
When he said marriage, Karina thought he was talking about remarriage with Lucia. The other knights agreed with Ron's words.
"That will never happen."
"Please refuse!"
'What?'
She couldn't understand why the knights were so opposed to his marriage to the Saintess. However, Karina's confusion grew even more as the knights continued to sigh.
"Of all people, you are the daughter of the Marquis of Millainer!"
"..."
'If it's the daughter of the Marquis of Milliner?'
Karina was dumbfounded when her story came up out of nowhere.
'Why is my story suddenly coming out?'
Karina stared at the knight who had brought up the subject with a bewildered expression. However, they didn't seem to care at all about Karina being here.
'Now that I think about it, it's been like I don't exist...'
No one paid any attention to her.
'Huh? Could this be a dream?'
While she was still unconscious, the Northern Knights' opposition grew stronger.
"Aren't they saying that she will now openly spy on the North and His Majesty!"
"That daughter of a vile human. I can tell without even looking at her."
"I cannot sacrifice Your Highness's life!"
The knights of the North trembled in disgust at the Marquis of Millainer. This disgust affected not only the Marquis but also Karina.
"Lady Millainer must also be a vulgar and cunning woman like her father!"
Then, Jeremiah, who had been silently listening to their words, suddenly had a fierce light flash in his eyes. He warned them in a low voice.
"Stop it. Don't talk nonsense about her."
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