Although it seemed quiet, the inn was filled with tension the whole time.
The deadline for handing over Princess Bliny was today.
They could have sent someone directly or sent a reply, but they could also have sent an army.
Either way, they had to be prepared.
And tension was also blooming in Liene’s bedroom.
It was a tension with a slightly different context.
“It’s hot. We need to cool it down.”
“...”
Black was holding a steaming bowl of porridge. He filled his spoon with porridge and stopped moving after hearing Liene’s words.
“And take out a little less. It’s too much. It won’t cool down properly.”
“Understood.”
He took out a little bit of porridge and held the spoon in the air.
“What are you doing?”
Liene asked after watching for a while.
“It’s cooling down.”
“So when will it cool down? We need to blow on it to cool it down.”
“...”
Black, who had been looking back and forth between the spoon containing the porridge and Liene’s face, nodded and blew air.
Hoo...
His movements were neat and careful, but he had no expression.
“I think that’s enough.”
“Yes.”
Black turned his body to the side and looked at Klima, who was lying listlessly on the bed.
Klima was staring blankly at Black, his face reddened pitifully.
“Open your mouth.”
“Uh, yes... Yes, yes...”
Klima opened his mouth as best he could.
Black blew air into the spoon and poured some cooled porridge into it.
“Isn’t the porridge hot? Are you okay, Lord Renfell?”
“Uh, yes... Yes yes...”
Klima nodded with an embarrassed face.
Black scooped up the porridge again and cooled it down without saying anything.
“Open your mouth.”
“Yes...”
Klima, who was originally overly gentle, couldn’t say whether he had to keep eating like this. It was the same with the feeling of eating food through his nostrils instead of his mouth.
Black didn’t look too happy either. But he was really glad that Liene didn’t do this intimate act of cooling the patient’s warm porridge and feeding them bite by bite.
It was a good thing he did. If he had been watching, he would have felt uncomfortable.
“You’re doing well.”
Liene quietly watched the two men feeding and eating the porridge, her face filled with satisfaction. She had naturally thought that taking care of Klima was her job, but Black’s intervention was strange, but not so bad.
“Thank goodness.”
“Oh, the bowl is already empty. Should I get more?”
Klima shook her head vigorously at those words.
“Oh, no... I, I’m fine.”
“If you don’t like porridge, what else?”
“Oh, no... I’m really fine...”
“I wish you could eat more. But forcing you to eat would be worse, so let’s have more later.”
“Yes, yes...”
The deadline for handing over Princess Bliny was today.
They could have sent someone directly or sent a reply, but they could also have sent an army.
Either way, they had to be prepared.
And tension was also blooming in Liene’s bedroom.
It was a tension with a slightly different context.
“It’s hot. We need to cool it down.”
“...”
Black was holding a steaming bowl of porridge. He filled his spoon with porridge and stopped moving after hearing Liene’s words.
“And take out a little less. It’s too much. It won’t cool down properly.”
“Understood.”
He took out a little bit of porridge and held the spoon in the air.
“What are you doing?”
Liene asked after watching for a while.
“It’s cooling down.”
“So when will it cool down? We need to blow on it to cool it down.”
“...”
Black, who had been looking back and forth between the spoon containing the porridge and Liene’s face, nodded and blew air.
Hoo...
His movements were neat and careful, but he had no expression.
“I think that’s enough.”
“Yes.”
Black turned his body to the side and looked at Klima, who was lying listlessly on the bed.
Klima was staring blankly at Black, his face reddened pitifully.
“Open your mouth.”
“Uh, yes... Yes, yes...”
Klima opened his mouth as best he could.
Black blew air into the spoon and poured some cooled porridge into it.
“Isn’t the porridge hot? Are you okay, Lord Renfell?”
“Uh, yes... Yes yes...”
Klima nodded with an embarrassed face.
Black scooped up the porridge again and cooled it down without saying anything.
“Open your mouth.”
“Yes...”
Klima, who was originally overly gentle, couldn’t say whether he had to keep eating like this. It was the same with the feeling of eating food through his nostrils instead of his mouth.
Black didn’t look too happy either. But he was really glad that Liene didn’t do this intimate act of cooling the patient’s warm porridge and feeding them bite by bite.
It was a good thing he did. If he had been watching, he would have felt uncomfortable.
“You’re doing well.”
Liene quietly watched the two men feeding and eating the porridge, her face filled with satisfaction. She had naturally thought that taking care of Klima was her job, but Black’s intervention was strange, but not so bad.
“Thank goodness.”
“Oh, the bowl is already empty. Should I get more?”
Klima shook her head vigorously at those words.
“Oh, no... I, I’m fine.”
“If you don’t like porridge, what else?”
“Oh, no... I’m really fine...”
“I wish you could eat more. But forcing you to eat would be worse, so let’s have more later.”
“Yes, yes...”
Klima shut his eyes tightly, looking strangely more lethargic than before he had eaten.
The porridge-eating time that was short for Liene and very long for Klima was just about to end.
Thump thump thump!
The sound of someone running up the stairs could be heard all the way to the bedroom.
“My lord! It’s urgent!”
It was Randall.
Since he shouted before even knocking on the door, it was impossible not to know that it was urgent.
“I’ll open the door.”
Liene quickly turned around and opened the door.
“Sir Randall? Are you okay?”
“Oh, Princess... my lady. Phew, of course, I’m fine. Is my lord inside too?”
“Yes. Come in.”
Liene handed Randall a glass of water, whose chest was heaving and out of breath.
Randall glanced at Black and politely declined.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You look out of breath.”
“No way. I just climbed the stairs. By the way, I’ve met with the information dealer.”
The expensive but capable information dealer had been eavesdropping on the inside of the palace somewhere. And he quickly brought it here.
“They say the King and the Princess have split up.”
Everyone’s expressions changed at the news they had been waiting for.
Klima, who had been panting as if he was going to die after eating a bowl of porridge, also opened his eyes wide.
“What does that mean?”
“It seems that there has been a rift. I don’t know the details yet, but the King was very upset because the Princess tried to run away yesterday.”
There was also a story that several people, including the captain of the guard and the secretary, were beheaded on the spot.
“And there was one more thing that he said, saying that it was not certain and that he did not know what happened.”
This was true.
“I think there was a ring that the King gave to the Princess. The King tried to get the ring back, but the Princess resisted and swallowed it. This story is so strange that everyone pretends not to have seen it.”
The King never gave the Princess a ring instead of another gem. It was literally strange. Even if the Prince was dead, it was an anecdote that made people suspect that the two had an affair.
“If it was a ring that the King gave her, she would not have swallowed it.”
Black, who knew Bliny’s personality, could guess the situation.
“It must be a ring that she should give me.”
“I thought it was the ring you were looking for, but isn’t that a bit strange? What on earth does the King of Sharka know about your ring? Isn’t that something that only a few people don’t know?”
If the secret of the ring were to be discovered in the kingdom of Sharka, things would get complicated.
There would definitely be someone who covets the ring. It was clear that getting the ring back would be difficult.
“There’s no way I knew. We only found out about it recently.”
Liene thought for a moment before speaking.
“I think so too. Even if the Grand Princess knew something about the ring, she wouldn’t have told the King.”
“Then was it another ring the King gave her?”
“As I said, she wouldn’t have swallowed it if it was that kind of ring.”
Liene let out a light sigh.
“She really didn’t want it to be taken away.”
There was a small worry in that sigh that the Grand Princess still cared about him that much.
“That’s probably because it’s the only weapon she has right now. If it’s taken away, there’s nothing left to negotiate with me.”
Randall expressed his concern.
“But it doesn’t seem like the King of Sharka has made any moves yet. They should prepare to hand the Princess over to this side. The intelligence hasn’t said anything about the army moving. Should we wait a little longer?”
The King of Sharka was said to be capricious.
Even though he had fallen out with Princess Bliny, he could change his mind at any moment.
“There’s still time.”
The deadline Black had given was today.
There was still plenty of time left today.
“What happens if he refuses to hand over the Princess? Is it really war?”
“If the King of Sharka is that stupid. There’s no other way.”
Black had already come to a conclusion yesterday.
“Even so, would he be that stupid as a King? Going to war for a Princess who killed the Prince? Doesn’t it make sense?”
“There are plenty of Kings who are stupid enough not to understand the concept of self-interest.”
“Um... Well, that’s true. In that case, I guess I should think about it. Yes.”
Black and Randall talked as if it was a simple matter, but the content was anything but.
For Liene, who had never experienced war, it was a conclusion she wanted to avoid if possible.
“I wish I could get the ring back and end this.”
Liene continued, stroking Black’s hair as she sat on the chair.
“War is such a big deal.”
“Even so, it won’t last long.”
“Still.”
When it came to war, his time would be very different from hers.
Even if the war ended in a day or two, it would be a long time enough for Liene to feel her heart burn.
“I’ll have to pray that the King of Sharka isn’t an idiot.”
Black smiled with a calm expression that was unusual for someone who was thinking about war.
“I hope for the same thing.”
However, hope and belief were different things.
“Huh... Huh... Th, that... As far as I know...”
The maids quickly opened their mouths.
In fact, they didn’t know much, so they couldn’t keep quiet for long.
“Th, that ring... There’s a rumor that it was something the head of Tiwakan had... I, I did.”
No maid didn’t know that the Grand Duke’s family had proposed to Tiwakan first.
No one knew the story behind the ring from the beginning, but everyone had heard that Bliny had liked Black enough to propose.
So the ring, which she cherished so much that it didn’t seem like a good match, became associated with rumors.
“What?”
The King’s eyes widened at the unexpected name.
The guard who had been grabbing the hem of the maid’s dress and harassing her stopped.
“You said it was the leader of Tiwakan?”
“Yes, yes...”
The maid who had been nodding her head met Bliny’s eyes looking from the other side, and her face turned pale.
“It was, it was a rumor. I don’t know exactly.”
“Rumor or whatever!”
The King shouted, unable to hold back.
The maid shrank her neck as if she was going to cry, and Bliny closed her eyes as if she had given up.
The porridge-eating time that was short for Liene and very long for Klima was just about to end.
Thump thump thump!
The sound of someone running up the stairs could be heard all the way to the bedroom.
“My lord! It’s urgent!”
It was Randall.
Since he shouted before even knocking on the door, it was impossible not to know that it was urgent.
“I’ll open the door.”
Liene quickly turned around and opened the door.
“Sir Randall? Are you okay?”
“Oh, Princess... my lady. Phew, of course, I’m fine. Is my lord inside too?”
“Yes. Come in.”
Liene handed Randall a glass of water, whose chest was heaving and out of breath.
Randall glanced at Black and politely declined.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You look out of breath.”
“No way. I just climbed the stairs. By the way, I’ve met with the information dealer.”
The expensive but capable information dealer had been eavesdropping on the inside of the palace somewhere. And he quickly brought it here.
“They say the King and the Princess have split up.”
Everyone’s expressions changed at the news they had been waiting for.
Klima, who had been panting as if he was going to die after eating a bowl of porridge, also opened his eyes wide.
“What does that mean?”
“It seems that there has been a rift. I don’t know the details yet, but the King was very upset because the Princess tried to run away yesterday.”
There was also a story that several people, including the captain of the guard and the secretary, were beheaded on the spot.
“And there was one more thing that he said, saying that it was not certain and that he did not know what happened.”
This was true.
“I think there was a ring that the King gave to the Princess. The King tried to get the ring back, but the Princess resisted and swallowed it. This story is so strange that everyone pretends not to have seen it.”
The King never gave the Princess a ring instead of another gem. It was literally strange. Even if the Prince was dead, it was an anecdote that made people suspect that the two had an affair.
“If it was a ring that the King gave her, she would not have swallowed it.”
Black, who knew Bliny’s personality, could guess the situation.
“It must be a ring that she should give me.”
“I thought it was the ring you were looking for, but isn’t that a bit strange? What on earth does the King of Sharka know about your ring? Isn’t that something that only a few people don’t know?”
If the secret of the ring were to be discovered in the kingdom of Sharka, things would get complicated.
There would definitely be someone who covets the ring. It was clear that getting the ring back would be difficult.
“There’s no way I knew. We only found out about it recently.”
Liene thought for a moment before speaking.
“I think so too. Even if the Grand Princess knew something about the ring, she wouldn’t have told the King.”
“Then was it another ring the King gave her?”
“As I said, she wouldn’t have swallowed it if it was that kind of ring.”
Liene let out a light sigh.
“She really didn’t want it to be taken away.”
There was a small worry in that sigh that the Grand Princess still cared about him that much.
“That’s probably because it’s the only weapon she has right now. If it’s taken away, there’s nothing left to negotiate with me.”
Randall expressed his concern.
“But it doesn’t seem like the King of Sharka has made any moves yet. They should prepare to hand the Princess over to this side. The intelligence hasn’t said anything about the army moving. Should we wait a little longer?”
The King of Sharka was said to be capricious.
Even though he had fallen out with Princess Bliny, he could change his mind at any moment.
“There’s still time.”
The deadline Black had given was today.
There was still plenty of time left today.
“What happens if he refuses to hand over the Princess? Is it really war?”
“If the King of Sharka is that stupid. There’s no other way.”
Black had already come to a conclusion yesterday.
“Even so, would he be that stupid as a King? Going to war for a Princess who killed the Prince? Doesn’t it make sense?”
“There are plenty of Kings who are stupid enough not to understand the concept of self-interest.”
“Um... Well, that’s true. In that case, I guess I should think about it. Yes.”
Black and Randall talked as if it was a simple matter, but the content was anything but.
For Liene, who had never experienced war, it was a conclusion she wanted to avoid if possible.
“I wish I could get the ring back and end this.”
Liene continued, stroking Black’s hair as she sat on the chair.
“War is such a big deal.”
“Even so, it won’t last long.”
“Still.”
When it came to war, his time would be very different from hers.
Even if the war ended in a day or two, it would be a long time enough for Liene to feel her heart burn.
“I’ll have to pray that the King of Sharka isn’t an idiot.”
Black smiled with a calm expression that was unusual for someone who was thinking about war.
“I hope for the same thing.”
However, hope and belief were different things.
***
“Huh... Huh... Th, that... As far as I know...”
The maids quickly opened their mouths.
In fact, they didn’t know much, so they couldn’t keep quiet for long.
“Th, that ring... There’s a rumor that it was something the head of Tiwakan had... I, I did.”
No maid didn’t know that the Grand Duke’s family had proposed to Tiwakan first.
No one knew the story behind the ring from the beginning, but everyone had heard that Bliny had liked Black enough to propose.
So the ring, which she cherished so much that it didn’t seem like a good match, became associated with rumors.
“What?”
The King’s eyes widened at the unexpected name.
The guard who had been grabbing the hem of the maid’s dress and harassing her stopped.
“You said it was the leader of Tiwakan?”
“Yes, yes...”
The maid who had been nodding her head met Bliny’s eyes looking from the other side, and her face turned pale.
“It was, it was a rumor. I don’t know exactly.”
“Rumor or whatever!”
The King shouted, unable to hold back.
The maid shrank her neck as if she was going to cry, and Bliny closed her eyes as if she had given up.
“So you tried to kill the Princess of Nauk?”
“...”
“Answer me! Open your mouth!”
No matter how angry the King was, Bliny did not answer.
What had just been broken was not a secret, but the last of her pride.
“Huh! Why aren’t you looking at me! Why aren’t you saying anything!”
“...”
“Quick! Answer me! Quick!”
“...”
Thud!
The King, unable to control his anger, shoved Bliny away. Bliny fell to the floor.
Bliny, lying on the floor in a manner completely different from her usual self, weakly snapped her neck.
“How dare you! How dare you to me!”
The King stomped his foot on the floor.
However, no matter how much he vented his anger, Bliny did not move at all. She looked like a statue whose life had left her.
It was strange that she had been alive and moving until then.
The King pointed his finger at Bliny.
“Right now! Grab that thing and cut off its head...!”
“...Your Majesty?”
The guard drew his sword half in doubt.
However, the moment the sharp sword tried to move, the King changed his mind.
“...No, no!”
The King pushed the guard away and held out his hand.
“I will cut it myself! Give me the sword. I will send a headless corpse to Tiwakan.”
“Your Majesty...”
The guards looked surprised, but they could not refuse the King’s order. The King held the sword in his hand.
The King turned to Bliny, holding the sword awkwardly.
“The crimes you have committed against the royal family are endless. I will personally punish you for them.”
“...”
Bliny must have noticed that the King was holding a sword, but she didn’t move.
“...Uh!”
Clank!
When that didn’t work, the King threw down his sword, approached Bliny, and grabbed her arm fiercely. Then he dragged her to the next room.
“Don’t let anyone open this door!”
The room where Bliny was staying with her maids was actually a bedroom.
Bam!
The door closed.
Bliny, who had been frozen like a statue, frowned slightly.
The air suddenly felt sick when they were alone in the room.
“You... you dare...”
The King ground his teeth at the frowning face.
“You dare me...”
“...”
What the King was revealing was a sense of betrayal.
Bliny raised her still body, like a stone statue.
Bliny quickly realized where the King’s sense of betrayal had originated.
The King didn’t even consider his son’s death a betrayal. The reason he got angry was because of the ring.
The King wanted to have her. He felt betrayed and angry because he couldn’t have her.
“Your Majesty.”
Bliny knew how he felt.
That was what she was feeling right now.
The feeling of wanting to kill him with her own hands because she couldn’t have him was something she had had for a long time.
Bliny grabbed the King’s collar with surprising strength.
“Kill him.”
“...What?”
“Kill him. Then my heart will be free.”
It meant that she could leave him and go to anyone.
“Kill him.”
“...”
The King’s eyes shook violently as if caught in a storm.
“...”
“Answer me! Open your mouth!”
No matter how angry the King was, Bliny did not answer.
What had just been broken was not a secret, but the last of her pride.
“Huh! Why aren’t you looking at me! Why aren’t you saying anything!”
“...”
“Quick! Answer me! Quick!”
“...”
Thud!
The King, unable to control his anger, shoved Bliny away. Bliny fell to the floor.
Bliny, lying on the floor in a manner completely different from her usual self, weakly snapped her neck.
“How dare you! How dare you to me!”
The King stomped his foot on the floor.
However, no matter how much he vented his anger, Bliny did not move at all. She looked like a statue whose life had left her.
It was strange that she had been alive and moving until then.
The King pointed his finger at Bliny.
“Right now! Grab that thing and cut off its head...!”
“...Your Majesty?”
The guard drew his sword half in doubt.
However, the moment the sharp sword tried to move, the King changed his mind.
“...No, no!”
The King pushed the guard away and held out his hand.
“I will cut it myself! Give me the sword. I will send a headless corpse to Tiwakan.”
“Your Majesty...”
The guards looked surprised, but they could not refuse the King’s order. The King held the sword in his hand.
The King turned to Bliny, holding the sword awkwardly.
“The crimes you have committed against the royal family are endless. I will personally punish you for them.”
“...”
Bliny must have noticed that the King was holding a sword, but she didn’t move.
“...Uh!”
Clank!
When that didn’t work, the King threw down his sword, approached Bliny, and grabbed her arm fiercely. Then he dragged her to the next room.
“Don’t let anyone open this door!”
The room where Bliny was staying with her maids was actually a bedroom.
Bam!
The door closed.
Bliny, who had been frozen like a statue, frowned slightly.
The air suddenly felt sick when they were alone in the room.
“You... you dare...”
The King ground his teeth at the frowning face.
“You dare me...”
“...”
What the King was revealing was a sense of betrayal.
Bliny raised her still body, like a stone statue.
Bliny quickly realized where the King’s sense of betrayal had originated.
The King didn’t even consider his son’s death a betrayal. The reason he got angry was because of the ring.
The King wanted to have her. He felt betrayed and angry because he couldn’t have her.
“Your Majesty.”
Bliny knew how he felt.
That was what she was feeling right now.
The feeling of wanting to kill him with her own hands because she couldn’t have him was something she had had for a long time.
Bliny grabbed the King’s collar with surprising strength.
“Kill him.”
“...What?”
“Kill him. Then my heart will be free.”
It meant that she could leave him and go to anyone.
“Kill him.”
“...”
The King’s eyes shook violently as if caught in a storm.
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