“A face?”
“Ahh!”
Allen, who was rubbing his chin, was startled by Lia’s question.
“You were surprised!”
“I’m sorry.”
Allen hesitated as Lia shyly backed away. Jack’s expression hardened.
“Don’t yell at Guy!”
Diana, in particular, couldn’t stand still.
“Ouch, I got it! Ugly, please dry Dana.”
Terrified at Diana biting off her hand, Allen hurriedly found Lia. Because only Lia could stop Diana from running amok.
“Because I can’t!”
However, Diana’s attack intensified as if it had fueled her anger. Lia’s head pounded as she came out excitedly to show off her maid outfit. And this situation ended only after the Duke and Duchess of Elad came out after they had finished their preparations.
* * *
‘Wow, he looks more handsome today.’
She looked at the Duke dressed in a deep blue knight’s uniform and stuck her tongue out. At the castle, he was dressed lightly because he was doing his housework, but today he felt more perfect because he was wearing a uniform because he planned to enter the imperial palace immediately after going up to the capital. In fact, she had seen the Duke dressed similar to today when he first came to the nursery school, but at that time she was just terrified. But now, the sculpture-like appearance caught her eye more.
‘Surely… They really look alike.’
If it’s natural because it’s blood, it would be natural. Allen, who had the same silver hair but the golden eyes of the Duchess, was like a playful boy, and Diana, who had blue eyes like the Duke’s, was soft and charming rather than sharp. Such a cool and bitter feeling was only the Duke’s…
“Oh, Lia! The maid outfit also suits you really well. So cute.”
At that time, the voice of the Duchess, who had been pushed aside by the distinct presence of the Duke, was heard. At the words of the Duchess, Diana hurriedly ran away from Allen, who had been bothering her for a long time, as if he had finally seen her appearance.
“You are so cute!”
Her cheeks blushed involuntarily at the praise she had been wanting to hear all along. Strangely, the Duke twitched his eyebrows and looked uncomfortable.
“I’ll go.”
At the words of the Duke’s declaration, the servants quickly lined up and prepared to send them off. Watching the knights mount their horses and the coachman get into the chariot, she hurriedly chased after Jack to the rugged carriage behind the fancy carriage.
“What are you doing?”
At that time, the Duke who was about to mount the horse looked at her and asked.
“Yes?”
“Why are you going that way?”
She tilted her head at the incomprehensible words.
“Excuse me… Shouldn’t I be riding in the carriage behind you?”
Young apprentice knights and councilors, like Jack, who were not yet accustomed to riding horses, all rode in the large carriage at the back. Then the Duke frowned and said.
“You are going with us.”
“Yes…? Hey!”
She was startled by the Duke’s words, and even hiccups came out. The Duchy of Elad and the capital are quite far, so it would take several days using a wagon or horse. She knew this well because she had been begging for several months with the children at the orphanage. However, there was an innovative way to shorten that time, which was to use teleport. The problem was that since the cost was enormous, no matter how wealthy the Duke was, it was impossible to teleport everyone going to the capital right now.
‘Besides, it’s not an exhibition right now, so there’s no need to rush.’
Only the direct descendents of the Duke and the elite knights in charge of close escort would use the teleport, while the rest of the members would use horses and carriages to go to the capital. So she thought she would too. However, the Duke told her to get on the carriage to use the teleport.
‘No matter how rich I become, I have no intention of spending that much money all of a sudden…’
“What the hell are you thinking with that little head?”
The Duke clicked his tongue and said, perhaps sensing her hesitation.
“Diana would cry without you.”
“…”
“Fluffy for days. Right, Diana?”
“Yes!”
She didn’t know exactly what the situation was, but Diana, who had tears in her eyes just because she tried to get into the other carriage with her, grabbed her arm and looked up.
‘Ugh.’
Looking at Diana’s eyes like this, she couldn’t say anything. Apparently, the Duke was going to let her use the teleport for Diana, but it was amazing how much love he showed for his daughter to take care of a maid like her. However, she noticed something, so she glanced at Allen. No matter how much the relationship got better than before, riding the same wagon was another matter.
‘I got angry a while ago.’
Fortunately, Allen shook his head and said calmly.
“Haha! I can’t because my sister likes it.”
…She bit her brother a little while ago and pulled her hair out. Anyway, she shook her head in her heart, saying that the love of the Duke and Duchess of Elad for Diana was really great, and she cautiously climbed into the carriage.
* * *
“Lia, why are you looking at me like that?”
She must have stared at her for a long time without even knowing it. The Duchess touched her face and asked, so she said shyly.
“The lady is prettier today.”
“Oh.”
Like a flower bud bursting, the Duchess burst into a radiant laugh.
‘I was worried, but I’m glad.’
The Duchess didn’t seem to be in a bad mood. No, she even looked good with a little flirtatiousness. Today the Duchess wore a small hat with artificial flowers and she wore a lighter colored dress than usual. Unlike the still chilly Duchy of Elad, it was a light outfit tailored to the spring weather. If it’s good that she went to the warm capital, matching her orange hair and her golden eyes, she even hums her lightly. Her bright appearance reminded her of the decision she made last night.
‘I will protect the Duchess.’
She didn’t know the exact cause of her illness, but if someone’s malice was involved in her death, she would never let her die in vain.
‘Even though I’m young and weak now…’
Thanks to being in the information guild, she knew a lot about the secrets of nobles active in the social world. If anyone offended the Duchess, she was going to protect her, even if it meant taking advantage of her weakness and doing mean and cowardly things.
“Guy, how about Dana?”
“Yes?”
“Isn’t Dana pretty?”
At that time, Diana, who was looking out the window clinging to the Duchess’s arm, asked with sparkling eyes.
“Of course the lady is pretty too.”
“Lol. Guy is pretty! The best!”
Her blushing cheeks were so cute that one wanted to bite her. Grasping her heart, she suddenly felt that she had become very accustomed to the word Diana’s pretty. She even cried when she first heard it, but now she could laugh it off.
“Her!”
Of course, she was still embarrassed in front of Allen and other people like this.
“You’re really handsome, too.”
She told Allen, who was sitting next to her, to freshen up the atmosphere.
“Haha! It sounds obvious.”
She could see the corners of Allen’s mouth moving as he turned his head. He also seemed very fond of being told that he was handsome.
‘Because Lope has never been wrong.’
The Terencium executive who taught her letters and numbers, Lope, was a very intelligent woman. Always sitting at her desk, with her gray hair pulled back and her glasses draped over her nose, she gave her a lot of advice.
‘For example, there’s absolutely no one in the world who doesn’t like compliments.’
Deep down, it was as if she was praising Jade and the other colleagues, hoping to get closer to them, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop talking about those who disapproved of her. Still, it was a pretty good method for conciliating executives, masters, and people during missions.
‘It doesn’t seem to have worked for the Master, though.’
That person was different from ordinary people in many ways, so let’s leave it out.
“Hey, ugly.”
Then Allen whispered secretly so that Diana, who was again absorbed in the sights outside her window, could not hear.
“There was something I wanted to say earlier.”
“Yes, please.”
“A face is not everything.”
“…yes?”
His absurd words made her speechless. He must have been joking, but Allen’s face was more serious than usual.
“Really. Remember, because the face is not everything.”
“…”
At the end of Allen’s words, the word “Cheer up!” seemed to have been omitted. Was it because of her mood? He didn’t have to call her ugly and say things like that.
‘…Are you pretending to be comforting me now and getting choked up?’
She frowned.
* * *
“All of you can stand on this side.”
Among the teleport management areas spread throughout the Rakshten Empire, they entered the Duchy of Elad and followed the guidance of the palace wizards to a golden magic circle. She was a little nervous. During her life as an informant, she heard several times that colleagues used teleports for missions. But she had never been on a mission to leave the capital, and this was the first time she had ever used teleport in her life. What really stands out in this space was the huge and elaborate magic circle on the floor. She couldn’t take her eyes off the intricately intertwined shapes, which were mysterious and beautiful. She didn’t know if it’s because she had never studied a magic circle like this before, or if it’s because she had recently had a question, but a spirit of inquiry that she didn’t even know was in her came up.
‘It would take an enormous amount of mana to teleport this long distance with mana instead of mana stone, right?’
If you lose concentration, your limbs may fall apart.
But somehow, she had a strong urge to try it.
It was then.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. Thank you very much for reading.
Next post will be released on July, 15.
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