She didn’t know if he would look at her with pity. Now that she thought about it, she remembered something from before. To avoid a difficult situation, she once tried to distract this man by gaining sympathy by telling him a story about her grandmother. But now, it felt difficult to gain sympathy from this man. What had changed in the meantime? She added as if making an excuse.
“Even though I grew up alone with my grandmother, I was very happy to be able to have my grandmother’s love all to myself. There was nothing lacking.”
“I can feel it when I look at you.”
Warm lips touched her forehead for a long time.
“But with this story…”
She suddenly remembered why it was difficult to gain sympathy, and stopped while trying to persuade. How should she express it? When they had to part ways because they couldn’t find a way to create a successor. How could she express this in a painless way? After thinking for a moment, she cautiously opened her mouth again.
“Even if something happens where you have to tell me to stop here, you don’t have to hesitate because I don’t have any family.”
She smiled bravely, but the Grand Duke’s expression hardened.
“Neither I nor Luna nor Luca will ever abandon you.”
“No, I don’t think you are throwing me away…”
“I’m afraid you’ll abandon us.”
“…Why me?”
“Because it’s for us.”
“…”
“I think you will. Even if you’re nice, you’re too nice. Can’t I just be selfish? We love you selfishly too.”
Why did these words make her want to cry?
“I think that people who easily sympathize with other people’s pain have a lot of memories of being hurt themselves. Although you don’t show it on the outside, I thought you might actually be a person with a lot of scars. In the end, I was right.”
“I’m fine.”
She raised her head and smiled, and the Grand Duke pressed the corner of her mouth down with his index finger as if he was disapproving.
“This is the problem. You don’t depend on me. I’ve been leaning on you for the past five years, but you’ve never leaned on me or asked for anything first.”
“Ah…”
Did she do that? As the Grand Duke looked back on the past time in a daze, his face turned sour and he asked:
“Am I untrustworthy?”
“No, that can’t be possible.”
“Then I hope you learn to lean on me.”
But they didn’t know what would happen in the future… If she got used to leaning on this man, and he disappeared, she may have to fall again and again for a long time to stand on her own. Just like she did when her mom disappeared.
“I can’t even imagine life without you, but I think you’ll do just fine without me.”
‘As always. Be brave and not show off.’
He added in a sad tone. She couldn’t say that wasn’t the case. She always had to live well alone. That’s what happened when her mom left. After that, she always had to be ready to stand alone because she never knew when her elderly grandmother would leave her. And then she suddenly ended up alone in this unfamiliar world… As a result, living well alone has become an ingrained habit in her body. It’s just a habit, it’s not like she was living well without this man.
The Grand Duke looked at her with sad eyes, then suddenly his eyes turned kindly and he smiled.
“Of course, if you have to, I hope you live well with whoever you live with.”
She felt the same way. If that’s the case, she hoped the Grand Duke was happy no matter who he lived with. Of course her heart would break.
“But I hope that it will only be a sad imagination. Hazel, there must be a way.”
Were her feelings revealed on her face? The Grand Duke hugged her crushingly.
“If we just resolve this, we’ll get married. Never think about another reality. That’s nothing to me. Please don’t look at me so incompetent.”
“If Your Highness were incompetent, there would be no competent person in the world.”
A pleasant smile passed her forehead and warm lips landed.
“I gave up my dream for my family, but I don’t want to give up on you. Please don’t give up on me either.”
She nodded her head vigorously. Actually, she was depressed today without being able to find a clue to the solution, but hearing his words of determination gave her strength again. The Grand Duke was disappointed that she did not rely on him, but he did not know that she was already relying on him without him knowing. Tonight, as she placed her cheek against his chest and listened to the warm sound of his heart, the soft sound of words rang in her ears from deep within her heart.
“I actually held back on saying this because I felt like I was forcing you to choose me no matter what, but I ended up doing it. I am such a selfish person.”
“Still…”
She raised her head and gently placed her lips on his rough, dry lips. Then, she finally expressed what she had only imagined in her head until now.
“I love you.”
Even at such simple things, he smiled like someone who has acquired a rare masterpiece.
* * *
“We recently sent a scouting party north of Billund. Do you know what was discovered in the Breten Swamp?”
The coal deposit the crown prince was talking about turned out to be a false listing.
“The Breten Swamp is a place infested with monsters.”
“That’s why it’s a difficult place to access.”
“Of course, if I wipe them out with my holy power, that will be the end, but if I do that, it will arouse the Emperor’s suspicion.”
“Even then, there would be no coal.”
After listening to the explanation given back and forth by the Archduke and Sir Daniel, I finally understand. The Grand Duke had already noticed this and was upset during the birthday party.
“So we won’t have to go to the Breten Swamp.”
“I see.”
This was a shaking carriage. They had been traveling east from Killen for two days. Rebel forces were located in a rugged mountain range in the east. The Grand Duke was on his way to appease in person so that there would be no more blood. This time, she listened to anecdotes about the past war from three people while eating popcorn. The more she listened, the more amazing the man sitting next to her seemed.
“No matter how big and powerful the men of Billund are, maintaining a human army requires a huge amount of food and supplies, and Billund, with its barren land, could not afford it. That’s why we’ve only bothered the Dukedom of Monet so far, and we’ve never had the entire empire attack us.”
The Grand Duke explained in detail to her, who was not from here and did not know much about history.
“Oh… I see.”
“So they’re using monsters and corpses as troops. It was a heinous act, but I have to admit that it was ingenious.”
The Pope shook her head.
“This is a tactic that has never been used before in Billund, so it must have been Regina’s idea.”
The Grand Duke smiled bitterly.
“The princess was probably just an object of interest in Billund, but she persuaded the king and took power in a short period of time.”
Sir Daniel sighed and clicked his tongue.
“So, I heard that there was a bloody storm in the Billund royal family.”
“Blood and wind?”
“They say they executed some tribal leaders who opposed the unholy war.”
“Omg…”
“Seeing as the collateral royals have disappeared and have yet to appear, it seems like they have all been assassinated.”
“Oh my god…”
It’s a terrible story. If you stayed here, you would realize that the position of royalty or imperial family, which they always fantasized about in Korea, was not always a good thing.
“But there was a tribal leader and a separate royal family?”
“Billund was a confederation country made up of several tribes of the same nation. He deified the ruling tribe and made them kings. That’s why there is strong hostility toward foreigners.”
“Ah, so the rebellion is still strong even after the defeat.”
“That’s right.”
“I would rather give it to the Duke of Monette, which borders the border. To entrust the northernmost land of the continent to a lord in the west.”
Sir Daniel sighed again.
This was land that was put up for sale but no one would buy it. It came to bear only the duty of maintenance and protection without any benefit. Soon the topic of conversation turned to how this place should be governed in the future.
“If Luna were an adult, we could have made her a local governor and entrusted her.”
The Grand Duke furrowed his brows at the Pope’s words.
“Are you asking to entrust this barren and dangerous land to Luna? Say something that makes sense.”
“Luna would call that overprotection.”
“No brother can sleep with his legs stretched out, leaving his sister in the cursed land.”
When he finally decided that he had no choice but to find a suitable person among his retainers, the carriage stopped. The sun was slowly going down outside the window. Today they decided to camp at an abandoned fortress on the ridge. While the soldiers were fetching water and making fires, the Grand Duke’s knights designated areas by selecting only areas where the roof and walls would not collapse.
“At the Vatican, you can use the altar room on the second floor. I told them to send soldiers to block the broken window.”
The people of the Vatican looked shocked at the Grand Duke’s words.
“Your Holiness, who is favored by God, has to spend a night in a pagan chapel.”
The priest with his gray hair sighed.
“I am sorry about that, but I must tell you that it was the best option considering safety and well-being as the top priority.”
“It’s okay.”
The Pope, who was listening to the conversation between the two people from behind, spoke up.
“Any land in this world is in God’s arms. The messenger of God must not refuse the embrace of God.”
The woman in front of her was the solemn Pope herself. Even after wiping her eyes, she couldn’t find the informal and friendly appearance in the carriage. Come to think of it, the Grand Duke looked 180 degrees different when he was in the carriage and when he was outside the carriage. It was true that they were from the same family.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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