...I’m nervous.
“I wonder if you’re really hurt.”
She wasn't hurt. That was true.
“Yes. I wasn’t hurt.”
“I can’t believe it.”
The last words were so quick and soft that Liene had no time to respond. Black grabbed Liene’s face with both hands and pulled her closer. Before she could be surprised, his tongue touched her lips.
"Why..."
“Open your mouth.”
“...”
He searched the inside of her mouth.
It wasn't a kiss. Black checked every corner of her mouth to see if there were any real wounds. It wasn't a kiss. That was why it was even stranger. Even though someone else was thoroughly probing and touching the inside of her mouth, she couldn't say anything because it wasn't a kiss. When he finally pulled away, Liene was holding onto his sleeve tightly and gasping for breath.
“There are no wounds.”
...That's what I said.
“That’s fortunate.”
Is it really a good thing? Liene is already worried about how she can forget this feeling. It felt like he was still in her mouth. Her body kept shaking slightly and she even felt dizzy. Even the sight of Black wiping the moisture left on her lips with his tongue was dizzying, just like dizziness.
“Why were you alone in that house?”
Black started the horse again. Her body was still turned toward him, but as the horse moved, she had to dig herself in closer to him to maintain her balance... This is what’s strange. Wouldn’t it be better to fall off the horse than to be held like this? These questions tormented Liene. Why does this man make her like this? She should hate him and be afraid of him. But the truth is...
“Is that difficult to answer?”
“...No. Sir Werose accompanied me, but for some reason, he disappeared in the middle of the trip... Ah, Sir Werose!”
Liene came to her senses belatedly. And then she realized that she had forgotten about Werose.
“Sir Werose might be trapped.”
“In that house?”
“Yes. He’s not the type of person to just disappear without saying anything, but if he suddenly did that, it means something has changed...”
Suddenly, Liene felt anxious. She had to hurry back to the palace and send the guards. If something happened to Werose, she wouldn't be able to bear it. Werose was the only person Liene could trust at any time.
“Please come back quickly. We need to send the guards quickly.”
“There is no need for that.”
Black pulled on the reins to slow the pace and then gestured behind them. The men who had been following them from a distance came galloping after them.
“Yes, my lord.”
“One must go back the way we came. Tell Fermos to find the captain of Nauk’s guard.”
"All right."
The order was swift. Without further ado, one of the three immediately turned his horse and rode towards the Kleinfelter mansion. Judging by the speed, it must have been several times faster than it took for the low-level mansion to return to the castle and call for the guards.
"...Thank you."
Liene spoke in a small voice. The reason she felt comfortable wasn't just because he was big and strong. It was because of these things. Listening to her even though he knew she had something to hide. Checking her wounds. Doing what she needed. Easing het worries. As if they were a couple bound by true love.
“It is something I should do.”
Because their bodies were touching, when he spoke, her skin trembled. Liene didn't hate this at all. Various things...
“So, the total cost of the funeral will probably be 170 million won. Fortunately, the price of the casket has been set.”
Masilou held out a piece of paper covered in numbers in front of Liene. Liene quickly scanned the list and numbers, nodded, and put the paper down.
“That’s a reasonable price. I have something to thank Tiwakan for.”
“It’s not something to be thankful for. If it weren’t for them, there wouldn’t have been a funeral.”
Masiloustroked his beard with a look of displeasure. He looked like a child throwing a tantrum.
“I’m not taking sides, but I’d like to inform you that the one who carried out the surprise attack was Nauk. As I said, it’s not something to discuss, so let’s move on. Do you know how much of a wedding gift is possible?”
“Do you plan to give a gift?”
Instead, Masilou's eyes widened.
“Didn’t they tell me to just let it go and let them handle it? That’s why I didn’t even consider it.”
“I decided to cover the cost of the wedding and the wedding dress. The gift is a different story.”
“I’ll tell you that you don’t need to be so polite about everything.”
“I received something, so I can’t do that.”
As an engagement gift, she received a large chest full of gold coins. She couldn't ignore the wedding gift. She thought that this wasn't marriage, but robbery... Me too.
"Yes?"
It was ridiculous.
“What are you talking about, Sir? How long has it been since you received the money?”
“That is... by the loan certificate renewed three years ago, the royal income other than taxes becomes the property of the largest creditor, Sir Lyndon Kleinfelter.”
“What did you say?”
Liene suddenly stood up from her seat.
“Is that what’s on the loan certificate?”
“Yes, Princess.”
Masilou clicked his tongue internally and said.
“Don’t you remember? There was a great drought three years ago. There wasn’t a single drop of rain throughout the entire summer. This place was already short on water, but at that time, there was too much.. and a major endemic disease broke out among the crops. So the Princess...”
Masilou closed his mouth at that point. Looking at Liene’s expression which was distorted to a pale white, it seemed like she remembered.
“I borrowed money from the Klinefelter family with such an outrageous IOU... Yes, that’s right. I did it.”
Her memories of that time were filled with despair. People she saw every day were starving to death. Liene knew that the loan certificate the Kleinfelters were offering was nonsense, but she had no choice but to sign it. It was humiliating, and she was afraid of the future, but she couldn't bear the death she was seeing every day.
“Then you don’t have any of that money left?”
“I confirmed the amount yesterday according to the law and sent it to the Klinefelter family. I received a certificate stating that the principal and interest for that amount will be deducted.”
“You didn’t even tell me about that?”
“I thought you knew, Your Highness.”
“...”
Liene glared at Masilou, speechless. It was clearly intentional. If he had told Liene, she would have paid other expenses first, so she would have sent the money to the Kleinfelters as soon as it came in... And she would have received a lot of pocket money. It wasn’t that Masilou was a particularly evil person, so he fought with Kleinfelter. The same was true for Archpriest Milod. Everyone else was simply relying on the Kleinfelters, who were rich, rather than the poor royal family.
“If you wish, I will borrow the money to purchase the gift from Lord Kleinfelter. Lord Kleinfelter may not be in a position to welcome the Princess’s marriage, but he is a generous man, and will gladly lend you the necessary money.”
“...Yes.”
Liene let out a tired voice. How generous. How good of a man. The enormous debt the royal family had incurred was also the reason why the Kleinfelter family could act so arrogantly regardless of social status. But after seeing what Linden Kleinfelter had done today, it was obvious that he would never lend a single penny for a wedding.
“I can’t afford any more debt.”
And now she wanted to stop being dragged around in debt. She still couldn't believe what she had experienced that day. No matter how much they despised the royal family, she never thought they would do something like that. Calling the high priest in advance and forcing a marriage. That was an act that did not consider Liene as the ruler of Nauk or as an equal human being. If Black hadn't shown up at that time and place, she would have been locked in that house, forcibly married, and spent the night there.
“With all due respect, Princess, that won’t be possible with determination alone.”
Masilou added, not knowing whether he knew or not that something like that had happened.
“Nauk has been living off the Kleinfelter family’s money for years. If that money were to stop, everyone would starve.”
“...”
“I have to borrow money again just to pay off the interest, let alone reduce the principal. We were able to make up for some of it with the money Tiwakan gave us, so we can breathe a little easier.”
The undeniable reality made Liene shut her mouth. The frustration and helplessness she had experienced three years ago came back to her mind. Just thinking about it was so horrible that it made her feel sick. Liene made a gesture with her pale face.
“Yes, then just go ahead and leave. I’ll forget about the gift.”
“Yes, please rest, Princess. You don’t look so good.”
After muttering a few words that sounded nothing like worry, Masilou left the King's office.
“...I’m sick of it.”
Liene knocked over the poor ink bottle. The ink did not leak out because the cap was closed. In fact, she wanted to throw everything, but even venting her anger on her own was a luxury for Liene. When an ink bottle breaks, Liene is the one who has to figure out how to buy a new one.
Black carried Liene on his horse. The warmth and sensation from behind her made Liene feel uncomfortable. Those who followed Black were fewer than the number of people left in the Kleinfelter family mansion. Three mercenaries were following behind her, so Liene felt like she was going somewhere alone with Black.
“Your injured shoulder... is it uncomfortable?”
Liene swallowed her discomfort and asked.
“If you find it difficult to hold the reins, I will hold them.”
Black was holding the reins with one hand and supporting Liene's body with the other.
“Not to that extent.”
"Yes."
“Anything else is more uncomfortable than that.”
"Which..."
“I wonder why there is blood on the Princess’s lips.”
"Yes?"
Liene unconsciously raised her hand and rubbed her lips. There was blood on them. Could it be that when she bit that person...?
“Did you get bitten?”
“No...That’s not it.”
She didn't bite, she bit. But to say that, Liene had to explain why Lafitte had covered her mouth.
“Then why is there blood?”
“This is... so...”
No plausible answer came to mind.
“It’s not that I’m hurt...”
“It’s not that the Princess is hurt.”
“That’s... I happened to ask that question...”
“Why on the lips?”
“..."
There weren't many situations where blood would stain the lips. Black, who had been watching Liene who couldn't answer, suddenly stopped his horse. Instead of asking why, Liene turned her head back and looked at Black. He could see the line of her lips twisting. Black let go of the reins, turned Liene's body towards him with his hand, and asked.
“Can I check?”
“What... do you mean?”
“Your injured shoulder... is it uncomfortable?”
Liene swallowed her discomfort and asked.
“If you find it difficult to hold the reins, I will hold them.”
Black was holding the reins with one hand and supporting Liene's body with the other.
“Not to that extent.”
"Yes."
“Anything else is more uncomfortable than that.”
"Which..."
“I wonder why there is blood on the Princess’s lips.”
"Yes?"
Liene unconsciously raised her hand and rubbed her lips. There was blood on them. Could it be that when she bit that person...?
“Did you get bitten?”
“No...That’s not it.”
She didn't bite, she bit. But to say that, Liene had to explain why Lafitte had covered her mouth.
“Then why is there blood?”
“This is... so...”
No plausible answer came to mind.
“It’s not that I’m hurt...”
“It’s not that the Princess is hurt.”
“That’s... I happened to ask that question...”
“Why on the lips?”
“..."
There weren't many situations where blood would stain the lips. Black, who had been watching Liene who couldn't answer, suddenly stopped his horse. Instead of asking why, Liene turned her head back and looked at Black. He could see the line of her lips twisting. Black let go of the reins, turned Liene's body towards him with his hand, and asked.
“Can I check?”
“What... do you mean?”
“I wonder if you’re really hurt.”
She wasn't hurt. That was true.
“Yes. I wasn’t hurt.”
“I can’t believe it.”
The last words were so quick and soft that Liene had no time to respond. Black grabbed Liene’s face with both hands and pulled her closer. Before she could be surprised, his tongue touched her lips.
"Why..."
“Open your mouth.”
“...”
He searched the inside of her mouth.
It wasn't a kiss. Black checked every corner of her mouth to see if there were any real wounds. It wasn't a kiss. That was why it was even stranger. Even though someone else was thoroughly probing and touching the inside of her mouth, she couldn't say anything because it wasn't a kiss. When he finally pulled away, Liene was holding onto his sleeve tightly and gasping for breath.
“There are no wounds.”
...That's what I said.
“That’s fortunate.”
Is it really a good thing? Liene is already worried about how she can forget this feeling. It felt like he was still in her mouth. Her body kept shaking slightly and she even felt dizzy. Even the sight of Black wiping the moisture left on her lips with his tongue was dizzying, just like dizziness.
“Why were you alone in that house?”
Black started the horse again. Her body was still turned toward him, but as the horse moved, she had to dig herself in closer to him to maintain her balance... This is what’s strange. Wouldn’t it be better to fall off the horse than to be held like this? These questions tormented Liene. Why does this man make her like this? She should hate him and be afraid of him. But the truth is...
“Is that difficult to answer?”
“...No. Sir Werose accompanied me, but for some reason, he disappeared in the middle of the trip... Ah, Sir Werose!”
Liene came to her senses belatedly. And then she realized that she had forgotten about Werose.
“Sir Werose might be trapped.”
“In that house?”
“Yes. He’s not the type of person to just disappear without saying anything, but if he suddenly did that, it means something has changed...”
Suddenly, Liene felt anxious. She had to hurry back to the palace and send the guards. If something happened to Werose, she wouldn't be able to bear it. Werose was the only person Liene could trust at any time.
“Please come back quickly. We need to send the guards quickly.”
“There is no need for that.”
Black pulled on the reins to slow the pace and then gestured behind them. The men who had been following them from a distance came galloping after them.
“Yes, my lord.”
“One must go back the way we came. Tell Fermos to find the captain of Nauk’s guard.”
"All right."
The order was swift. Without further ado, one of the three immediately turned his horse and rode towards the Kleinfelter mansion. Judging by the speed, it must have been several times faster than it took for the low-level mansion to return to the castle and call for the guards.
"...Thank you."
Liene spoke in a small voice. The reason she felt comfortable wasn't just because he was big and strong. It was because of these things. Listening to her even though he knew she had something to hide. Checking her wounds. Doing what she needed. Easing het worries. As if they were a couple bound by true love.
“It is something I should do.”
Because their bodies were touching, when he spoke, her skin trembled. Liene didn't hate this at all. Various things...
The horse walked slowly, at the speed it had slowed down once, toward the castle. She didn't hate this slow time. Not even for a moment.
***
“So, the total cost of the funeral will probably be 170 million won. Fortunately, the price of the casket has been set.”
Masilou held out a piece of paper covered in numbers in front of Liene. Liene quickly scanned the list and numbers, nodded, and put the paper down.
“That’s a reasonable price. I have something to thank Tiwakan for.”
“It’s not something to be thankful for. If it weren’t for them, there wouldn’t have been a funeral.”
Masiloustroked his beard with a look of displeasure. He looked like a child throwing a tantrum.
“I’m not taking sides, but I’d like to inform you that the one who carried out the surprise attack was Nauk. As I said, it’s not something to discuss, so let’s move on. Do you know how much of a wedding gift is possible?”
“Do you plan to give a gift?”
Instead, Masilou's eyes widened.
“Didn’t they tell me to just let it go and let them handle it? That’s why I didn’t even consider it.”
“I decided to cover the cost of the wedding and the wedding dress. The gift is a different story.”
“I’ll tell you that you don’t need to be so polite about everything.”
“I received something, so I can’t do that.”
As an engagement gift, she received a large chest full of gold coins. She couldn't ignore the wedding gift. She thought that this wasn't marriage, but robbery... Me too.
Robbery? Who, by whom. Liene smiled bitterly at her own thought. Why does she keep forgetting that it was the man who proposed to her?
“It’s embarrassing to say, but I received gold as an engagement gift. It’s not that I’m short on money, so please prepare a gift similar to the ones used for Nauk’s weddings in the past. It must be delivered to Tiwakan before the wedding.”
“That’s... Ahem, ahem.”
When the topic of money came up, Masilou gave an awkward cough.
“Sir Masilou?”
It sounded like something was wrong.
“That money...that...there’s not much left, Princess.”
“It’s embarrassing to say, but I received gold as an engagement gift. It’s not that I’m short on money, so please prepare a gift similar to the ones used for Nauk’s weddings in the past. It must be delivered to Tiwakan before the wedding.”
“That’s... Ahem, ahem.”
When the topic of money came up, Masilou gave an awkward cough.
“Sir Masilou?”
It sounded like something was wrong.
“That money...that...there’s not much left, Princess.”
"Yes?"
It was ridiculous.
“What are you talking about, Sir? How long has it been since you received the money?”
“That is... by the loan certificate renewed three years ago, the royal income other than taxes becomes the property of the largest creditor, Sir Lyndon Kleinfelter.”
“What did you say?”
Liene suddenly stood up from her seat.
“Is that what’s on the loan certificate?”
“Yes, Princess.”
Masilou clicked his tongue internally and said.
“Don’t you remember? There was a great drought three years ago. There wasn’t a single drop of rain throughout the entire summer. This place was already short on water, but at that time, there was too much.. and a major endemic disease broke out among the crops. So the Princess...”
Masilou closed his mouth at that point. Looking at Liene’s expression which was distorted to a pale white, it seemed like she remembered.
“I borrowed money from the Klinefelter family with such an outrageous IOU... Yes, that’s right. I did it.”
Her memories of that time were filled with despair. People she saw every day were starving to death. Liene knew that the loan certificate the Kleinfelters were offering was nonsense, but she had no choice but to sign it. It was humiliating, and she was afraid of the future, but she couldn't bear the death she was seeing every day.
“Then you don’t have any of that money left?”
“I confirmed the amount yesterday according to the law and sent it to the Klinefelter family. I received a certificate stating that the principal and interest for that amount will be deducted.”
“You didn’t even tell me about that?”
“I thought you knew, Your Highness.”
“...”
Liene glared at Masilou, speechless. It was clearly intentional. If he had told Liene, she would have paid other expenses first, so she would have sent the money to the Kleinfelters as soon as it came in... And she would have received a lot of pocket money. It wasn’t that Masilou was a particularly evil person, so he fought with Kleinfelter. The same was true for Archpriest Milod. Everyone else was simply relying on the Kleinfelters, who were rich, rather than the poor royal family.
“If you wish, I will borrow the money to purchase the gift from Lord Kleinfelter. Lord Kleinfelter may not be in a position to welcome the Princess’s marriage, but he is a generous man, and will gladly lend you the necessary money.”
“...Yes.”
Liene let out a tired voice. How generous. How good of a man. The enormous debt the royal family had incurred was also the reason why the Kleinfelter family could act so arrogantly regardless of social status. But after seeing what Linden Kleinfelter had done today, it was obvious that he would never lend a single penny for a wedding.
“I can’t afford any more debt.”
And now she wanted to stop being dragged around in debt. She still couldn't believe what she had experienced that day. No matter how much they despised the royal family, she never thought they would do something like that. Calling the high priest in advance and forcing a marriage. That was an act that did not consider Liene as the ruler of Nauk or as an equal human being. If Black hadn't shown up at that time and place, she would have been locked in that house, forcibly married, and spent the night there.
“With all due respect, Princess, that won’t be possible with determination alone.”
Masilou added, not knowing whether he knew or not that something like that had happened.
“Nauk has been living off the Kleinfelter family’s money for years. If that money were to stop, everyone would starve.”
“...”
“I have to borrow money again just to pay off the interest, let alone reduce the principal. We were able to make up for some of it with the money Tiwakan gave us, so we can breathe a little easier.”
The undeniable reality made Liene shut her mouth. The frustration and helplessness she had experienced three years ago came back to her mind. Just thinking about it was so horrible that it made her feel sick. Liene made a gesture with her pale face.
“Yes, then just go ahead and leave. I’ll forget about the gift.”
“Yes, please rest, Princess. You don’t look so good.”
After muttering a few words that sounded nothing like worry, Masilou left the King's office.
“...I’m sick of it.”
Liene knocked over the poor ink bottle. The ink did not leak out because the cap was closed. In fact, she wanted to throw everything, but even venting her anger on her own was a luxury for Liene. When an ink bottle breaks, Liene is the one who has to figure out how to buy a new one.
“How shameless of a person do you think I am?”
If she spent all that money and didn't give them even one gift, Liene buried her face in her palms, feeling ridiculous and miserable. New painful self-mockery leaked out through her fingers.
“...No, at a time like this, I have to do something.”
Liene stood up. Even though she couldn't give a fancy gift, there was one thing she could give.
If she spent all that money and didn't give them even one gift, Liene buried her face in her palms, feeling ridiculous and miserable. New painful self-mockery leaked out through her fingers.
“...No, at a time like this, I have to do something.”
Liene stood up. Even though she couldn't give a fancy gift, there was one thing she could give.
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