A hint of puzzlement flashed through the young man’s red eyes.
“What?”
Klisha spoke, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear with an awkward expression.
“No, you… you look like a Northern Archduke.”
An awkward smile hung over the young man’s beautiful jawline.
“My Lady. What do you mean by that?”
“There is someone like that.”
Klisha quickly glanced up and down at the dark-haired young man who appeared with all his glory so suddenly, briefly focusing on the subtle detail before turning her head and speaking.
“Well, not quite necessarily.”
“….”
The young man maintained his calm composure on the outside, but inside he was quite flustered. He couldn’t help but wonder what the red-haired woman knew and was talking about.
On top of that, her gaze was sharp and subtle, something that could only be recognized by someone who had mastered martial arts. But where on earth was that woman looking at just now?
The young man felt his face flush for the first time in nearly ten years. Was it embarrassment? Anger? Or something utterly absurd? Regardless, it was an unfamiliar emotion to the young man.
In addition, what’s with that indifferent reaction?!
The young man was born in the northern part of the Karion Plains, but in terms of appearance, he was somewhat different from the typical people of the Northern Continent.
With unusually pale skin, black hair, and red eyes. Because of his vivid red eyes, he had faced harsh remarks about being cursed or ominous during his childhood.
When he grew a little older, no one could say anything about the young man’s appearance, whether he was from the North or the Central region. To be precise, they found it impossible to voice anything at all.
However.
This young woman casually remarked that he was from the North.
And the Archduke?!
The young man’s beautifully shaped lips curled slightly upward.
“Is the Lady interested in the North?”
Klisha, who had turned her head again and was busy choosing ice cream, answered absentmindedly.
“Not the North. The Northern Archuke. No, never mind. I don’t want to talk about that anymore.”
“Is that so?”
Klisha paid for the ice cream she had carefully chosen and turned around. Looking at the lively environment of Myuta, unlike what she had seen at dawn, she added in an unusually gentle tone.
“By the way, you have really beautiful eyes. They remind me of the sunset in our hometown. So don’t be upset, because we always… support you.”
“….”
What does this mean? What does it imply?
And who are ‘we’?
Klisha gazed into the young man’s red eyes, her expression softening into a brief, solemn smile. Then, placing her right hand on her chest, she bowed slightly in greeting.
“Well, that’s all.”
The black-haired, red-eyed young man, hearing a series of incomprehensible words from a woman he had no contact with, and was also greeted with an excessive bow, felt overwhelmed by various thoughts swirling in his mind due to the excessive formality, but he couldn’t organize them well.
Is she really the Emperor’s spy? If so, is this some kind of advanced psychological warfare? Or perhaps….
However, the young man could never know.
Klisha, who had already moved far away, was a fan of serialized novels that were trending among the public.
It had been seven years since Klisha had poured her allowance and time into serialized novels. In fact, Klisha had become proficient in the standard language’s spelling rules of the Empire through these serialized novels.
As a result, the teenage Klisha began to use a more cringeworthy and sly way of speaking than her peers, and the nanny, who tried to correct it, raised her hands and feet in surrender.
It’d be better if you speak informally rather.
That was the nanny’s last words.
Among the serialized novels that Klisha had read widely, her particularly preferred genre is!
A touching love story that transcended the status of the Northern Archduke and a maid, a heartfelt love story that transcended national borders between the Northern Archduke and the daughter of an enemy country, or a love story that transcended the races of a Northern Archduke and a polymorphed dragon… this sort of,
「Northern Archduke Series (19+)」
When she first encountered the Northern Archduke series. That thrill, that intensity, that freshness…. It was engraved in her mind like ‘the boy in my dreams’, the one she had met on the northern battlefield long ago.
In the end, young Klisha made it her life’s goal to marry the ‘Northern Archduke.’ Although it is unknown who she was referring to, it is currently on hold due to the fierce opposition of her father, Issac Mezerine.
‘No, absolutely not. If it’s the Northern Archduke, then it’s that guy. Even if I die, I won’t accept it. Even if I have to be buried in the dirt, it can’t be.’
‘….’
Regardless of what her father said, Klisha, who was naturally proactive and had a determined personality once she got fixated on something, didn’t stop there. She gathered her ‘allies’ from the vicinity of Schmarin and created her own group.
And the name was.
「Research Meeting for Northern Archduke (RMNA)」
The organization, shrouded in secrecy, maintained the identities and statuses of its members confidential. While the membership process is stringent, once you join, you become a lifetime member, and outstanding members even have their activity fees waived.
However, it was officially a ‘professional academic organization’ registered within the Schmarin Academy.
Klisha was a founding member of RMNA, and led the golden age of the dark organization, RMNA, with like-minded allies, transcending social status and age.
At that time, the research group’s assets included not only drafts, outlines, and side stories of serialized novels, but also a wide range of secondary works such as paintings, sculptures, play scripts, theme music, and fanfiction.
Nevertheless, the conclusion that Klisha and the members reached after their in-depth research was that the Northern Duke…
Has black hair and red eyes! Loves monster hunting! Possessing both martial and scholarly capability, the most capable among the capables!
Along with childhood trauma as a prerequisite.
But he would be a sweetheart for his woman.
And above all… He’s irresistible in bed.
The gaze of the black-haired and red-eyed young man, who had no way of knowing these inner circumstances, gradually deepened.
“Haha.”
The young man, lost in thought, soon let out a hollow laugh.
As the young man spread his long white fingers and swept back his hair that was as black as obsidian, the large sapphire ring on the young man’s pinky finger reflected the sunlight.
The faces of the women who were intentionally wandering around the area turned red.
It wasn’t strange, since the popularity of the tycoon Tomma Ryuiken in Myuta was enough to slap the cheek of a popular leading actor from the central theater company of the capital three times and still have room for another hit.
When the young man suddenly raised his head, Klisha was already out of sight.
A light breeze blew and caressed the young man’s cheek.
* * *
Klisha headed to earlier than planned.
While eating ice cream and walking through the market, she heard the words ‘white horse’, ‘accident’, ‘butcher shop’, and ‘collapse’ frequently among the conversations of the merchants around her, and for some reason it made her feel uneasy.
No way. Shukrim?
Could it be? It could be! Klisha kept repeating the same phrase as she hurriedly towards her destination.
A small wooden building that looked like it had been reduced to ruins, as if an earthquake had struck, along with a low wall that had been smashed and stacked waist-high, and a young man lying on the ground.
And…
That damned horse that was clearly the cause of all this.
Shukrim was licking his lips with a satisfied expression.
“You.”
When Klisha called out to her beloved horse in a chilly voice, Shukrim perked up his ears for a moment, then slowly lowered his head and folded his long legs to lie down on the ground.
“You.”
The horse refused to budge.
“You. You. You little brat! You couldn’t hold back for one day and already caused an accident? I only left you for one night! Do you think pretending to be dead will work now?”
Shukrim felt a little aggrieved as he met Klisha’s angry eyes as she ran towards him with a dagger drawn.
For some reason. Last night. The humans (♀♂♂) didn’t give him water or hay, and only gave him strange candies, so he was really hungry. At first, he thought it was sugar cubes and ate them, but the more he ate, the hotter his blood became, his head ached, and his stomach growled.
‘Master (♀)… If I had learned the perception of the dragon, I could have explained all of this.’
Shukrim sent a mournful look. But surely, his master would understand…
Bam!
Klisha kicked Shukrim, who was lying down and raising his head at her.
“You little punk! I told you to get into the habit of eating hay when you’re hungry! You can’t control your appetite again, huh? Huh?”
“….”
Shukrim lowered his head dejectedly. Having a good bond with your master is utter nonsense.
Marian, the branch manager of , approached Klisha, who was fuming.
“Pardon me, esteemed customer?”
When Klisha, still not having calmed down, turned her head without fully masking her glare, Marian flinched slightly.
What a boy….
“Um, pardon me, esteemed customer. I am Marian Anderson from . I apologize for not properly taking care of your horse, whom you entrusted to us.”
“Ah.”
“However. As stated in our terms and conditions… Oh! You received the terms and conditions yesterday at the 12th Street Inn, right? According to Article 7 of those terms and conditions, if an accident occurs to a third party due to our company’s negligence, the owner is entirely responsible.”
“….”
“Your horse, you mentioned its name is Shukrim, correct? As you can see, Shukrim attacked the store across the street. It seems you might have an idea of the reason behind it, there was some damage to our wall as well. You will need to provide compensation for the part of the shop in front of us.”
Marian pushed up her glasses and examined the boy’s expression.
“Understood.… I’ll pay for it.”
Oh. Is he originally rich? A real confident of the Emperor?
Marian added further, hiding her true feelings.
“We are also partially responsible, so I think the ratio of liability should be 10:90. How about paying the compensation in cash?”
Klisha scratched her head lightly. Now that she thought about it, this wasn’t the Schmarin territory.
“I currently don’t have cash in hand. If I can go to the Central Royal Bank, there’s a trust fund that my father set up. Would it be possible for me to retrieve that and give it to you?”
Marian continued with a regretful expression.
“There’s no branch of the Central Royal Bank in Myuta. It’s too far to go all the way to the capital… Is there any other payment method?”
Klisha pondered for a moment. There is a self-proclaimed uncle in Calvain, which is two hours away from here, but she felt it troublesome to impose on him for something like this.
“Uh….”
Marian understood her predicament and got to the point.
“Dear customer. If you can pay it back soon, how about using our high-interest loan service? There are various options such as one-week and one-month service. There’s also a three-month service. Oh. It looks like the branch manager of is here. Mr. Luke!”
As Klisha turned her gaze, a middle-aged man dressed in a fancy, high-end suit approached with a warm smile.
“Greetings, esteemed customer. In need of some quick cash?”
