Now that we were in the dark together, I could see his face and expression very clearly.
No, he looked so good that my heart started beating fast. The high nose, the beautiful eyebrows and jawline, the deep eyes, and the strange gaze.
This situation felt somehow unsettling. Something like this happened in my room last time.
I narrowed my eyes and made a 'hmm' sound, but he reached out with great brazenness and composure and gently stroked my left cheek and hair.
“Rudd?"
"Yvonne, are you bored? You're going out to catch some squishy game."
“Me?”
“Yes. So I’m not going, and I’m going to play with Yvonne.”
The black pupils in his slightly narrowed eyes stared at me so persistently that I felt like I was suffocating.
“When you say prey, do you mean Prince Felix?”
Our breaths were intertwined at a distance that seemed close enough to touch.
He looked down at me quietly and slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
“Isn’t it?”
“Absolutely not!”
"But why do you run so happily, like a lion that's found interesting prey? You're so anxious, you can't go out."
“I’m not a lion...”
When I pouted my lips in displeasure, Rudnine smiled and lowered his head, touching our foreheads.
“Then, can I check it?”
I was wondering if there was any question like, "Are you checking whether I'm a lion or a human?" and I couldn't help but wonder.
“...!”
His lips lightly touched mine, then lapped, then burrowed into mine. The sweet kiss, warm yet cold, came without warning.
Soon, a tingling sensation spread through my fingertips and my entire body, as if a flower was blooming, and my heart started pounding wildly.
At the same time, his hands gently stroked my back and waist, pulling me closer, and my legs lost even more strength.
I was pushed against the wall, trying to catch him running towards me, and I almost fell over.
He whispered with red lips as he pulled away from me while still holding me tightly.
“I'm not a lion, am I?”
"What..."
As I muttered, dazed by the deep kiss, he whispered slowly.
“There can’t be a lion with such a soft and sweet mouth.”
My already burning ears were getting even more pissed off because of this man, who was becoming more and more shameless.
“Honestly, I don’t care if Yvonne is a lion. I don’t care if the others don’t.”
I watched the shadows moving along the movement of his neck.
“Why? Because Rudd is strong?”
"No."
Rudnine, who had been rubbing my eyes and tilting his head slightly, answered again, bringing his lips closer to mine.
“Because I love Yvonne the most.”
'Ah.'
The shadow he created fell over my eyes that had grown wide by themselves.
'I love you?'
Rudnine, who was covering my lips again, seemed determined to prevent me from thinking about anything else this time and pushed me to the point where I could hardly even breathe.
It was ecstatic but also burdensome.
A sigh mixed with heat escaped thinly between my lips.
I felt so weak that I almost hung on to his neck.
“Clothes, why are my clothes like this? Huh.”
And when I was startled and terrified to see that my dress was badly disheveled, Rudnine let me go.
“Oh, I held back a lot. Yvonne is so lovely and beautiful...”
He looked at me with affection as I panted for breath, rubbed my chin and lips, then knelt down like a servant and straightened the hem of my clothes.
Then he hugged me tightly and whispered sweetly in my ear.
"I'm starting to hate being apart from Yvonne. What should I do? Please don't hate me."
I laughed because the tone of voice didn't seem like it was from the same person who had been kissing me so persistently just a moment ago.
Even this huge gap is lovely.
I patted the broad back of the cute, big black puppy who was whining.
“I don’t want to be separated from Rudd either.”
"Really?"
He smiled brightly, making my heart flutter, but he gave strength to his eyes with determination.
"But what needs to be done must be done. Please bring those people back safely. If it's too much trouble, I'll go myself."
As I tried to step forward, he quickly pulled away and was startled.
"Yes, I understand, Yvonne. I'll go and get him right away."
Rudnine, who was leaving the secret space under the stairs with a sullen expression, sighed and turned to me, muttering.
“Don’t cheat.”
“...Rudd, are you serious?”
“I don’t really mean it, but I’m worried. Because you’re pretty.”
“What are you talking about! This is ridiculous, really!”
I raised my eyebrows in anger, but he smiled with a look that said even that was lovely, waved his hand, and left.
'Oh my.'
I ended up chuckling.
I also don't want to be separated from Rudnine.
I thought that if I liked and loved openly, my suppressed feelings would get better... But as time went on, my greed grew, so what should I do?
And how could you suddenly confess your love like this? I was the one who wanted to say that first...!
“Doing it first? That’s foul play.”
The burning lips that had been swallowed like candy by him still hurt bitterly, so I touched them with my fingers.
I pushed him to go, but why does it feel like I'm the one being abandoned?
Like a dog watching its owner's back after he leaves, a sorrowful feeling welled up in me, and I clenched my fists.
I tried to shake off this strange feeling, striding towards the conference room where the wizards were gathered and flung open the door.
“Are you also planning to do research, Princess?”
I smiled confidently as I watched the wizards and scholars looking at me with puzzlement.
“Of course. You’ll regret it if you leave me out.”
Yvonne Argenthoz, if nothing else, was a woman who loved magic and dug a well of magic with great sincerity.
'When it comes to magical research, you'll be disappointed if you leave me out.'
I walked in briskly and took a seat, trying to push my anxious feelings aside.
It's okay, we're not going to break up.
I believe Rudnine's words.
When Yvonne was deeply engrossed in researching black magic with the wizards.
The activists devised a new plan and put it into action.
A joint operation between the Demirant Information Guild and the Iels family's intelligence organization, the Last Moon, was secretly carried out.
First of all, the evidence that those who protect Emperor John and guard the palace, including Empress Giselle, Duke Cardin, Lady Alentia, Marquis Rontier, and Count Dentmar, are high-ranking warlocks has been revealed one by one.
Additionally, posters were posted everywhere, showing evidence that the warlock had been kidnapping and murdering innocent people for a long time to obtain black magic.
As the suspicion that it might not have been a betrayal became reality and a more terrifying truth was revealed, the people of the empire were shocked and greatly enraged.
Public opinion changed in an instant.
At that very moment, the elite knights of the Northern Duke Iels's family successfully entered the capital, and reinforcements from each region also gathered one after another.
The capital was sealed off under the Emperor's state of emergency, but there was no way to stop them.
On the contrary, as rumors spread that Emperor John had been bewitched by a group of warlocks, the Imperial Knights who had been controlling the capital under a state of emergency began to desert one by one, leaving a hole in the military.
Even the nobles who had been neutral sent messages to the Duke of Argenthoz's mansion, who had been mistaken for a traitor, to join the fight.
As a result, the imperial palace in the center of the capital ended up being isolated.
But the warlocks who controlled the place were strangely quiet.
"Why is there no movement? Shouldn't we at least be out on reconnaissance?"
"I wonder if they're just flustered by the way public opinion is moving. It's suspicious."
“Keep monitoring the situation.”
On the other hand, the warlock Extermination Faction, centered around Prince Felix, changed its name to the Emergency Allied Forces and was steadily preparing for battle with the Argenthoz Mansion as its center.
While Duke Argenthoz was in charge of foreign diplomacy, including the conquest of the capital's nobles and wizards, Rudnine was fully prepared for the military for the battles to come.
The atmosphere shifted completely in their favor as the massive funds needed for diplomacy and battle preparations flowed smoothly, thanks to the power of the two ducal families.
The spirits were soaring with the prospect of victory.
In various places in the capital, where the state of emergency no longer had any meaning, commoners gathered in small groups and raised their voices in discontent.
“Haven’t the Emperor and Empress already run away?”
Because black magic was banned, the people, ignorant of black magic, did not fear the warlocks who were confined to the Verbent Palace without any counterattack.
"Huh. That could be true. Maybe they're just trembling in fear."
"I wish the knights and wizards would rush in and crush them quickly. It's so frustrating, really! They killed so many people! It's horrifying."
"They razed down several orphanages in the countryside, killing the poor children? They're the worst bastards in the world."
The people had heard of the terrifying powers of the warlock, who could kill and curse people, but they had never seen it firsthand.
There could be no witnesses. Anyone who had witnessed the warlock or been kidnapped was already dead.
The atmosphere of the upper class was not much different.
“I heard that the Third Prince is at the Duke’s mansion.”
"Did you hear that too? I heard that Duke Argenthoz and Duke Iels have been assisting with the treatment of Consort Evelyn for quite some time."
“Then, His Highness the Third Prince will be the next Emperor?”
"Oh my goodness. The Third Prince! I never expected that! Princess Argenthoz had a real eye for men."
"That's right. I heard the Princess was dating Duke Iels. At the time, she was even partnered with His Highness Prince Felix."
The atmosphere was tense, but the noble ladies, who had been having a social gathering for a long time, spoke seriously.
They simultaneously recalled the incident in which the young lady Melovy Gratti, who had been cursing Yvonne, was not only humiliated by the Duke of Iels, but also the family went bankrupt.
A chill ran down their spine, and the hair on their body stood on end.
"I guess I've been underestimating the Princess all this time. I heard from our Count that the Princess of Argenthoz saw through the warlock's scheme."
“I heard that too. And they say she took the warlock hostage and extracted important information.”
“Oh my goodness. She's already achieved something great...”
"That's right. I knew the Princess was smart and a skilled magician. Plus, she's the only legitimate daughter of the prestigious Argenthoz family."
Silence fell.
What have they been obsessed with all this time?
Even so, why did they ignore and shun Princess Argenthoz so much?
Breaking the brief silence, a woman cautiously raised her hand.
“What should we do with the Princess in the future?”
"What should I do? I need to come to my senses and, as soon as this 'incident' is resolved, I need to apologize properly to Princess Argenthoz and rebuild our friendship."
“Perhaps she will receive a new title or something... I have a feeling she has become too distant for us to approach.”
Although they did not openly curse Yvonne, the women who had ignored her until now sighed deeply, worried about the future.
The oldest woman among them muttered softly.
“I couldn’t believe it when they said the two were dating, but it seems Duke Iels truly recognized the Princess’s true worth.”
Everyone was speechless and fiddled with their teacups.
Whether commoners or nobles secretly worried about their future power, they were confident of the victory of the Emergency Coalition.
With the Argenthoz Mansion as the focal point, numerous troops gathered, and the emergency coalition force grew larger, but they did not advance towards the Verbent Palace.
Instead, they waited patiently, sending a message to the locked Verbent Palace, demanding their surrender.
For the fifth day, they continued to have meetings and research on black magic internally.
Eventually, things blew up.
Dawn in the dusky capital.
A young couple, waking up early to prepare for the day, pulled a cart together. But before long, something caught in the wheels, and they rattled.
“Huh? Is the wheel broken?”
“I told you to check it before I went to bed yesterday.”
“No, the wheels are the same, you know.”
“It’s the same, but it doesn’t work very well!”
Suddenly.
The husband became angry when the cart stopped completely at the same time as his wife's scream.
“Hmm? Hey, I’m going to have bad luck this morning.”
“Oh my! Seriously, let me take a quick look.”
Because they had to move heavy loads to do business, it was a disaster if the cart broke down.
The couple frowned and grumbled, their annoyance mounting. Then, the strange stench that had been emanating from earlier made things even more unpleasant.
The blood drained from the faces of the two men who bent down to inspect the cartwheel.
“Gyaaaaah!”
“Eww! What, what is this!”
Hanging from the wheel was the mangled and bloody carcass of an animal.
“Hey, honey, over there...”
“!!!”
As the sun began to rise and the streets of the capital city became brighter, the young couple's legs gave out, and they collapsed to the floor.
No, he looked so good that my heart started beating fast. The high nose, the beautiful eyebrows and jawline, the deep eyes, and the strange gaze.
This situation felt somehow unsettling. Something like this happened in my room last time.
I narrowed my eyes and made a 'hmm' sound, but he reached out with great brazenness and composure and gently stroked my left cheek and hair.
“Rudd?"
"Yvonne, are you bored? You're going out to catch some squishy game."
“Me?”
“Yes. So I’m not going, and I’m going to play with Yvonne.”
The black pupils in his slightly narrowed eyes stared at me so persistently that I felt like I was suffocating.
“When you say prey, do you mean Prince Felix?”
Our breaths were intertwined at a distance that seemed close enough to touch.
He looked down at me quietly and slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
“Isn’t it?”
“Absolutely not!”
"But why do you run so happily, like a lion that's found interesting prey? You're so anxious, you can't go out."
“I’m not a lion...”
When I pouted my lips in displeasure, Rudnine smiled and lowered his head, touching our foreheads.
“Then, can I check it?”
I was wondering if there was any question like, "Are you checking whether I'm a lion or a human?" and I couldn't help but wonder.
“...!”
His lips lightly touched mine, then lapped, then burrowed into mine. The sweet kiss, warm yet cold, came without warning.
Soon, a tingling sensation spread through my fingertips and my entire body, as if a flower was blooming, and my heart started pounding wildly.
At the same time, his hands gently stroked my back and waist, pulling me closer, and my legs lost even more strength.
I was pushed against the wall, trying to catch him running towards me, and I almost fell over.
He whispered with red lips as he pulled away from me while still holding me tightly.
“I'm not a lion, am I?”
"What..."
As I muttered, dazed by the deep kiss, he whispered slowly.
“There can’t be a lion with such a soft and sweet mouth.”
My already burning ears were getting even more pissed off because of this man, who was becoming more and more shameless.
“Honestly, I don’t care if Yvonne is a lion. I don’t care if the others don’t.”
I watched the shadows moving along the movement of his neck.
“Why? Because Rudd is strong?”
"No."
Rudnine, who had been rubbing my eyes and tilting his head slightly, answered again, bringing his lips closer to mine.
“Because I love Yvonne the most.”
'Ah.'
The shadow he created fell over my eyes that had grown wide by themselves.
'I love you?'
Rudnine, who was covering my lips again, seemed determined to prevent me from thinking about anything else this time and pushed me to the point where I could hardly even breathe.
It was ecstatic but also burdensome.
A sigh mixed with heat escaped thinly between my lips.
I felt so weak that I almost hung on to his neck.
“Clothes, why are my clothes like this? Huh.”
And when I was startled and terrified to see that my dress was badly disheveled, Rudnine let me go.
“Oh, I held back a lot. Yvonne is so lovely and beautiful...”
He looked at me with affection as I panted for breath, rubbed my chin and lips, then knelt down like a servant and straightened the hem of my clothes.
Then he hugged me tightly and whispered sweetly in my ear.
"I'm starting to hate being apart from Yvonne. What should I do? Please don't hate me."
I laughed because the tone of voice didn't seem like it was from the same person who had been kissing me so persistently just a moment ago.
Even this huge gap is lovely.
I patted the broad back of the cute, big black puppy who was whining.
“I don’t want to be separated from Rudd either.”
"Really?"
He smiled brightly, making my heart flutter, but he gave strength to his eyes with determination.
"But what needs to be done must be done. Please bring those people back safely. If it's too much trouble, I'll go myself."
As I tried to step forward, he quickly pulled away and was startled.
"Yes, I understand, Yvonne. I'll go and get him right away."
Rudnine, who was leaving the secret space under the stairs with a sullen expression, sighed and turned to me, muttering.
“Don’t cheat.”
“...Rudd, are you serious?”
“I don’t really mean it, but I’m worried. Because you’re pretty.”
“What are you talking about! This is ridiculous, really!”
I raised my eyebrows in anger, but he smiled with a look that said even that was lovely, waved his hand, and left.
'Oh my.'
I ended up chuckling.
I also don't want to be separated from Rudnine.
I thought that if I liked and loved openly, my suppressed feelings would get better... But as time went on, my greed grew, so what should I do?
And how could you suddenly confess your love like this? I was the one who wanted to say that first...!
“Doing it first? That’s foul play.”
The burning lips that had been swallowed like candy by him still hurt bitterly, so I touched them with my fingers.
I pushed him to go, but why does it feel like I'm the one being abandoned?
Like a dog watching its owner's back after he leaves, a sorrowful feeling welled up in me, and I clenched my fists.
I tried to shake off this strange feeling, striding towards the conference room where the wizards were gathered and flung open the door.
“Are you also planning to do research, Princess?”
I smiled confidently as I watched the wizards and scholars looking at me with puzzlement.
“Of course. You’ll regret it if you leave me out.”
Yvonne Argenthoz, if nothing else, was a woman who loved magic and dug a well of magic with great sincerity.
'When it comes to magical research, you'll be disappointed if you leave me out.'
I walked in briskly and took a seat, trying to push my anxious feelings aside.
It's okay, we're not going to break up.
I believe Rudnine's words.
***
When Yvonne was deeply engrossed in researching black magic with the wizards.
The activists devised a new plan and put it into action.
A joint operation between the Demirant Information Guild and the Iels family's intelligence organization, the Last Moon, was secretly carried out.
First of all, the evidence that those who protect Emperor John and guard the palace, including Empress Giselle, Duke Cardin, Lady Alentia, Marquis Rontier, and Count Dentmar, are high-ranking warlocks has been revealed one by one.
Additionally, posters were posted everywhere, showing evidence that the warlock had been kidnapping and murdering innocent people for a long time to obtain black magic.
As the suspicion that it might not have been a betrayal became reality and a more terrifying truth was revealed, the people of the empire were shocked and greatly enraged.
Public opinion changed in an instant.
At that very moment, the elite knights of the Northern Duke Iels's family successfully entered the capital, and reinforcements from each region also gathered one after another.
The capital was sealed off under the Emperor's state of emergency, but there was no way to stop them.
On the contrary, as rumors spread that Emperor John had been bewitched by a group of warlocks, the Imperial Knights who had been controlling the capital under a state of emergency began to desert one by one, leaving a hole in the military.
Even the nobles who had been neutral sent messages to the Duke of Argenthoz's mansion, who had been mistaken for a traitor, to join the fight.
As a result, the imperial palace in the center of the capital ended up being isolated.
But the warlocks who controlled the place were strangely quiet.
"Why is there no movement? Shouldn't we at least be out on reconnaissance?"
"I wonder if they're just flustered by the way public opinion is moving. It's suspicious."
“Keep monitoring the situation.”
On the other hand, the warlock Extermination Faction, centered around Prince Felix, changed its name to the Emergency Allied Forces and was steadily preparing for battle with the Argenthoz Mansion as its center.
While Duke Argenthoz was in charge of foreign diplomacy, including the conquest of the capital's nobles and wizards, Rudnine was fully prepared for the military for the battles to come.
The atmosphere shifted completely in their favor as the massive funds needed for diplomacy and battle preparations flowed smoothly, thanks to the power of the two ducal families.
The spirits were soaring with the prospect of victory.
In various places in the capital, where the state of emergency no longer had any meaning, commoners gathered in small groups and raised their voices in discontent.
“Haven’t the Emperor and Empress already run away?”
Because black magic was banned, the people, ignorant of black magic, did not fear the warlocks who were confined to the Verbent Palace without any counterattack.
"Huh. That could be true. Maybe they're just trembling in fear."
"I wish the knights and wizards would rush in and crush them quickly. It's so frustrating, really! They killed so many people! It's horrifying."
"They razed down several orphanages in the countryside, killing the poor children? They're the worst bastards in the world."
The people had heard of the terrifying powers of the warlock, who could kill and curse people, but they had never seen it firsthand.
There could be no witnesses. Anyone who had witnessed the warlock or been kidnapped was already dead.
The atmosphere of the upper class was not much different.
“I heard that the Third Prince is at the Duke’s mansion.”
"Did you hear that too? I heard that Duke Argenthoz and Duke Iels have been assisting with the treatment of Consort Evelyn for quite some time."
“Then, His Highness the Third Prince will be the next Emperor?”
"Oh my goodness. The Third Prince! I never expected that! Princess Argenthoz had a real eye for men."
"That's right. I heard the Princess was dating Duke Iels. At the time, she was even partnered with His Highness Prince Felix."
The atmosphere was tense, but the noble ladies, who had been having a social gathering for a long time, spoke seriously.
They simultaneously recalled the incident in which the young lady Melovy Gratti, who had been cursing Yvonne, was not only humiliated by the Duke of Iels, but also the family went bankrupt.
A chill ran down their spine, and the hair on their body stood on end.
"I guess I've been underestimating the Princess all this time. I heard from our Count that the Princess of Argenthoz saw through the warlock's scheme."
“I heard that too. And they say she took the warlock hostage and extracted important information.”
“Oh my goodness. She's already achieved something great...”
"That's right. I knew the Princess was smart and a skilled magician. Plus, she's the only legitimate daughter of the prestigious Argenthoz family."
Silence fell.
What have they been obsessed with all this time?
Even so, why did they ignore and shun Princess Argenthoz so much?
Breaking the brief silence, a woman cautiously raised her hand.
“What should we do with the Princess in the future?”
"What should I do? I need to come to my senses and, as soon as this 'incident' is resolved, I need to apologize properly to Princess Argenthoz and rebuild our friendship."
“Perhaps she will receive a new title or something... I have a feeling she has become too distant for us to approach.”
Although they did not openly curse Yvonne, the women who had ignored her until now sighed deeply, worried about the future.
The oldest woman among them muttered softly.
“I couldn’t believe it when they said the two were dating, but it seems Duke Iels truly recognized the Princess’s true worth.”
Everyone was speechless and fiddled with their teacups.
Whether commoners or nobles secretly worried about their future power, they were confident of the victory of the Emergency Coalition.
With the Argenthoz Mansion as the focal point, numerous troops gathered, and the emergency coalition force grew larger, but they did not advance towards the Verbent Palace.
Instead, they waited patiently, sending a message to the locked Verbent Palace, demanding their surrender.
For the fifth day, they continued to have meetings and research on black magic internally.
Eventually, things blew up.
***
Dawn in the dusky capital.
A young couple, waking up early to prepare for the day, pulled a cart together. But before long, something caught in the wheels, and they rattled.
“Huh? Is the wheel broken?”
“I told you to check it before I went to bed yesterday.”
“No, the wheels are the same, you know.”
“It’s the same, but it doesn’t work very well!”
Suddenly.
The husband became angry when the cart stopped completely at the same time as his wife's scream.
“Hmm? Hey, I’m going to have bad luck this morning.”
“Oh my! Seriously, let me take a quick look.”
Because they had to move heavy loads to do business, it was a disaster if the cart broke down.
The couple frowned and grumbled, their annoyance mounting. Then, the strange stench that had been emanating from earlier made things even more unpleasant.
The blood drained from the faces of the two men who bent down to inspect the cartwheel.
“Gyaaaaah!”
“Eww! What, what is this!”
Hanging from the wheel was the mangled and bloody carcass of an animal.
“Hey, honey, over there...”
“!!!”
As the sun began to rise and the streets of the capital city became brighter, the young couple's legs gave out, and they collapsed to the floor.
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