By the time Neriel returned to the Empress, it was already afternoon.
Saya saw her enter the palace and raised her lovely eyebrows.
"Oh my God. Sister Neriel, where did you stay out yesterday? I was worried."
"I was so drunk that I... at Tom's house".
Neriel stammered.
"Until now? Tom should also be self-respecting if he becomes the head of the department now. Why did he hold on to people like this?"
Saya grumbled, but Neriel didn't have the heart to defend her innocent motive.
"Her Majesty?"
"Her Majesty briefly looked for you last night, but I told her that you went to a dinner party."
Neriel nodded. She hurried to the Empress's drawing room.
"The Count of Kensington."
"Sir Neriel."
Just then, Kensington was coming out of the drawing room after meeting Medea.
"Are you on your way to see Her Majesty?"
"Yes, then excuse me."
Neriel took a step, but his staff blocked her path.
"Her Majesty is playing with His Highness Bea right now, so please tidy up for a while and come back."
What is tidy?
Neriel paused, and Kensington tapped his chin at the mirror on the wall.
"...!"
Bloody hell.
The messy hair and swollen lips in the mirror were shocking.
"Hey, this is because I just fell down the stairs... No, it's because of a hangover! I overdid it yesterday-!"
Neriel made a hasty excuse, but it was difficult to deceive Kensington's eyes, who had gone through all the hardships of, although she might be able to deceive the young Syaa.
"If you do it, I'll go."
Kensington smiled as he saw Neriel hurriedly leaving her seat.
Who is it that made Neriel, who has always been as unshakable as a solid giant, so flustered?
"Is it the person I guessed?"
Kensington raised his head and stared at the sunny sky.
"It's a good time."
***
Two weeks later.
Behind the Empress's palace was a labyrinth garden hidden like a secret.
For the only owner, colorful walking paths were beautifully created throughout the maze.
It was also the place where the World Tree, which the Emperor personally ordered to bring in from the Dark Forest to replenish the Empress's physical strength, was planted.
Because of this, a small chase was taking place in this garden, where no one could set foot in it carelessly.
"Are you going to keep doing this? Sir Neriel, why do you keep avoiding me?"
"When did you say I avoided you?"
Gallo followed Neriel through the trees.
The pace of chasing and chasing each other was urgent, and there were some grass leaves on their shoulders.
"Every time I come to the palace, you leave as if you are running away, and you don't avoid the fact that there is no answer to my letters, so why are you?"
For several days, Gallo's skin was fluffy and his eyes were bloodshot.
"Sir, I have no intention of avoiding you. I won't make excuses. I didn't confess to you with that intention, but since this is the result, you can slap me on the cheek for being a terrible person."
Gallo carefully held Neriel's hand with trembling eyes.
This was not the beginning he had dreamed of with her.
He drank too much. He didn't even intend to use a swarm of people to ask why they didn't accept his heart.
He had no intention of showing a false appearance like a crying boy.
But that night, the moment Neriel's warm lips touched under the moonlight, reason flew away.
"I will not say that I will take responsibility because I have taken my chastity. Instead, grant me the honor of being responsible for your life."
"Gallo, what are you doing..."
Gallo knelt down.
Then, as if waiting, he took out a small ring from his pocket.
Charang-!
Inside the velvet box, a ring that sparkled so much that it hurt her eyes was peeled off.
"Please marry me. Although I look like this and you may not look like me, I am surprisingly good at housework."
"Wait, get up. Get up and talk-"
But Gallo did not budge.
"Since I was 14 years old, I have been Independent and have mastered laundry, food, and cleaning perfectly. Even when I was a teaching assistant at the Tower of the White Night, I took amazing care of the children. There are not one or two lambs that have passed through my hands!"
Neriel's eyes faltered in distraction.
She couldn't believe this situation where the head of the Facade was now courting her while boasting about his living skills.
"Family, Ican do it properly. Just because I'm the owner of Facade doesn't mean my wealth is false."
His eyes were shining as he didn't swallow a single breath and lined up in rows.
"There are properties all over the continent, so it will take some time to gather them together, but I will report everything properly without any tax evasion so that I will not be in the honor of you, and I will prepare the ceremony perfectly."
"Wait, what are you talking about now... It's a marriage proposal. Don't do this...!"
Neriel stammered in fear. She gave up on raising Gallo and distanced herself from him.
She had to make it clear.
"Sir, what happened that night is also my fault. It was a mistake made by alcohol, so there is no need to take responsibility or reason for it. So just... Let's forget it."
"Is it a mistake?!"
Gallo's dark brown eyes widened.
His face was stained with shock, as if someone had poured boiling water on the rose garden he had cherished.
"I was sincere. Even if it wasn't alcohol, I was..."
He put the shock behind him and tried to convince Neriel for the time being.
"I'm not."
But even so, when Neriel took a step backwards in disgust, he fell to the floor and grabbed her leg.
"I'll do all the food and do all the laundry! Take all my property. For the rest of my life, I'll do everything Sir Neriel wants. So, yes?! Sir, please!"
Neriel still shook her head firmly. She barely pulled out her leg and raised Gallo.
"You know, Gallo. We can't."
"Why, why-!"
"I am Her Majesty's knight, and you are Her Majesty's person."
Gallo froze in disbelief, and Neriel caught her breath and continued.
"I have sworn to protect Her Majesty Medea for the rest of my life. If I continue with you, one day I may have to choose between Her Majesty and you. I can't take that risk."
"It sounds as if Her Majesty might turn against you one day. Sir Neriel, you know better than to believe that such a thing could happen."
The Emperor risked his life to swear his love for his companion.
Neriel's fear that Gallo's unbreakable oath would be broken didn't seem reasonable.
"I didn't expect you to understand."
Neriel shook his head.
"But in the world, things are always happening that you can't even imagine. Could I have imagined that ten years ago I would leave Valdina and be in Katzen?"
"..."
"So, I apologize. I confused you, Gallo. I will never make this mistake again."
Neriel bent deeply. Without making eye contact with Gallo, she forced her gaze down.
Under her downward gaze, she saw a clear liquid dripping from her feet, but he pretended not to know.
"Well, go carefully."
Neriel turned around.
Behind her back, she felt as if she could hear a small whimper like that night.
"Don't look back."
She wanted to stop for a moment, but then she moved quickly.
***
Empress Palace.
"Neriel, you can send this to Valdina."
Neriel's gaze, blankly staring out the window, was wandering somewhere.
“Neriel?”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
At the sound of a voice calling her, Neriel reflexively jumped to her feet.
"I'm sorry. Ah. Is this the reply you were trying to send to the Baldina Imperial Family?"
Seeing the bundle of letters in Medea's hand, she quickly cleared her mind and found something to do.
"I'll go right now."
"Are you planning on never seeing Gallo again?"
Neriel's shoulders stiffened slightly as she turned around.
Auch 💔
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