“Pair of 7.”
The Grand Duke, who had been quietly listening to my passionate explanation, showed a light smile.
“It was an interesting story.”
He let go of her hand with a satisfied expression.
“But I don’t think I need to hear more.”
“Pardon?”
“Do you know what they are doing at the Grand Ducal residence these days?”
What do you do at the mansion? At that moment, it flashed through her mind that the Grand Duke was going to go to war after his wedding. He was to quell the southern regions where a rebellion was about to break out. Of course, as Eve was murdered and he was pointed out as the culprit, the planned outing was also canceled.
“War… Are you getting ready?”
“That’s right. Right after the wedding, I’m urgently forming a new unit because I’m going to the battlefield. I came here while finishing the paperwork for the newly formed division.”
He spoke with a cold sneer.
“I don’t usually gamble too much, but I don’t have time to play card games, especially at times like this.”
To think he was wasting precious time on a day like this. He had a puzzled expression.
“But you don’t know yet.”
Visions were not something that happens in one minute or one second. He would only find out with time.
“Please wait for a day or even a few hours. If at all what I saw is correct…”
She looked straight at the Grand Duke and said.
“Then please believe me.”
She was worried that her prediction might not be right, but she decided to gamble. Because Eve really had the power of foresight.
The Grand Duke, who looked at her without answering for a while, finally nodded his head, wondering if her confidence and assurance was conveyed, or if he just thought that there was no need to continue the conversation.
“All right. I promise you.”
* * *
The conversation ended there and she moved to return to the princess’s palace. She looked around to see if anyone was passing by, but luckily there was no one in the hallway.
As she walked carefully down the hallway, she heard footsteps following her. She stopped walking and looked back, and the Grand Duke who was following her also stopped in place. Why was that person following her?
“Why are you coming this way?”
This was the direction to the center of the imperial palace. If you go straight along this road, you will find the residence of the other members of the royal family, including the princess’s palace. The way out must be the opposite way…
The Grand Duke replied indifferently.
“I will take you to the vicinity of the palace.”
“If you pass one corridor, it is the princess’s palace.”
Hearing her words, a soft smile crossed the corners of the Grand Duke’s lips. It was a smile so sweet and beautiful that even in the dark you would be fascinated by it.
He was cool enough to make her heart thump for a moment, but the words that followed didn’t resonate with me at all.
“It is not polite to send a lady alone in the middle of the night.”
“…”
The person who said that he would break her neck during the day was now showing courtesy towards ladies. She realized his intentions and swallowed a blank laugh.
“Is it because you are suspicious that I will go somewhere else? Or are you going to go out like this and meet someone else?”
Even though she took out all her cards and showed them, it seems that her behavior was still suspicious. She couldn’t believe it because he suddenly said such things.
“Not like that.”
However, the Grand Duke silently denied her expectations.
“I want to make sure that the princess returns safely. There are many dangerous people in the imperial palace.”
“…”
Now that the Emperor was away, the most dangerous person in this imperial palace was probably the Grand Duke. She wanted to point that out, but she gave up because she didn’t want to have a long argument in a place like this.
“Follow your heart.”
She resigned herself to letting him do whatever he wanted and started walking again, but she couldn’t even go three steps and was caught by the Grand Duke. He, who was following her, suddenly grabbed her arm and hid behind a pillar by the side of the hallway. Just as she was about to scream in surprise, he put his finger to her lips.
“Shh.”
She was about to ask what was going on, but she heard calm footsteps at the end of the hallway. The faint sound of footsteps echoed through the quiet hallway and grew louder and clearer. Clearly someone was coming this way.
The Grand Duke wrapped his arms around her waist and went deeper into the pillar. In the cramped space between the wall and the pillar, it was difficult for one person to enter and stand. Suddenly, she was in the posture of being embraced by the Grand Duke. But there was no time to panic. The footsteps in the hallway were getting closer and closer.
After a while, someone’s figure was reflected in the window next to the pillar. He was a young man in a well-groomed Templar uniform. The moment she saw the color of his hair, she breathed in silently.
A silver light like the flowing moonlight. His beautiful silver hair, free from any impurities, shone like the Milky Way even in the dark hallway. As soon as she saw that unusual hair color, she realized the man’s true identity. He was Mikhail Sheldon, the vice-captain of the Imperial Knights of the Albion Empire and the male protagonist of this novel.
* * *
‘Why is that person here?’
She met the male protagonist at an unexpected moment. Well, Mikhail was the vice-captain of the Imperial Knights, so he was always guarding the imperial palace. Even so, Eve seems to be out of luck. To think she would meet the male lead in a situation like that…
‘I’ve never met him in the five days he spent in the imperial palace.’
She was praying that he would just pass by when Mikhail, who was walking this way, stood still. Then, perhaps feeling a presence, he looked at where they were and shouted.
“There, who are you?”
When no answer came back, Mikhail quickly drew his sword. The blade of the sword, bathed in moonlight, left a long shadow on the hallway wall. The shadow was slowly approaching this way.
‘What should I do with this?’
It was in the middle of the hallway. There was nowhere to hide except for the pillars in which they were hiding. The Grand Duke pulled her closer, in her agony. The moment she touched his hard chest, she heard a low voice in my ear.
“Princess, please close your eyes for a moment.”
At first she didn’t understand what that meant. It was only when she saw the Grand Duke’s right hand point toward his left sleeve that she realized what he meant. Having read the original, she definitely knew. That there was always a dagger for self-defense hidden in the sleeve of the Grand Duke.
She stopped him with a small scream.
“No!”
He wanted to kill Mikhail!
With both hands, she firmly gripped the Grand Duke’s wrist. What if he kill the male lead? Even in the dark shadows, the Grand Duke’s eyebrows were clearly visible.
Just then, footsteps were heard next door. When he turned around, Mikhail, who had heard her voice and ran to it, was standing with his sword pointed at them.
“Your Highness, what are you doing in a place like this…”
As he approached her while looking at the Grand Duke, he found her belatedly and opened his eyes wide.
“I greet the princess.”
Mikhail hurriedly drew his sword and bent his back at her. Before she could answer, a calm voice came from behind.
“Sir Sheldon. If you interfered with the tryst, shouldn’t you apologize first?”
What was he disturbing?
Mikhail’s green eyes as he gazed at the two of them slightly wavered at the Grand Duke’s careless rebuke. Even his well-groomed skin was slightly blushed.
“Excuse me, Princess.”
“Oh, no…”
It’s not like a tryst. She tried to deny it, but kept her mouth shut. In this situation, it would seem less suspicious to say that it was a tryst.
“Sir Sheldon.”
She hurried forward before the Grand Duke made any more strange remarks.
“Keep it a secret that you saw the two of us here today.”
She didn’t think this person was going to spread rumors that he saw the princess and the Grand Duke secretly go somewhere, but it’s better to make it clear. She looked directly at Mikhail’s well-groomed face and said.
“If you keep our business a secret, I will keep the secret of the third brick.”
Mikhail looked at her with shocked eyes. The stone wall to the left of the north library. The third brick in the very center of the wall.
Unlike other stones, the brick could be pulled out with one hand. Mikhail and Sorel secretly exchanged letters through it. Well, they weren’t love letters because they’re not officially dating yet. They were just letters written about trivial things happening inside the imperial palace.
‘Mikhail used to comfort Sorel when she confessed her hardships while adjusting to life in the imperial palace. He also told her about his hardships when he first became a knight.’
The two exchanged secret letters like that and slowly built a friendship. Still, it wasn’t just casual chatter. Whenever an interim incident occurred, Mikhail helped Sorel by exchanging information in this way. Of course, this is a secret that only Sorel and Mikhail knew.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. Thank you very much for reading.
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