Redian’s words echoed strangely as he questioned me.
“…Confident?”
I paused to think before answering. Why are we talking about this when it’s only about wearing this ring?
“I always told you.” Redian shrugged as he looked down at me. “That you have to take responsibility for me to the end.”
Hmm… To think that the future crown prince is talking about responsibility. In fact, Redian should be the one taking responsibility for my life.
“Well, maybe one day you’ll have to take responsibility for me.”
“I’m willing to.” His lips curved up slightly.
It felt like we were growling and bickering only yesterday, but now our conversations had become so natural.
“Redian, come closer. I want to touch your hair.”
Sitting on the swing, I couldn’t reach Redian with my outstretched hand. And I didn’t want to walk over to him.
“Come on.”
“…”
Eventually, Redian came over without a fuss, allowing me to touch his soft hair.
Ah, such a good body. The familiar, soft sensation dispersed from my fingertips.
“At first, this hair was soaked in blood and turned red.”
“…”
Those dark times in the underground castle had passed, and now we stood together under the sunlight. Even without noticing, the future was changing.
TL/N: Hello. Start from this chapter ‘basement’ will be changed to ‘underground castle’
“I’ve raised you well. Very well.”
“Who raised whom?”
Oops, Redian lifted his bowed head, making my hand wander in the air.
“Be honest. You started calling me master to manipulate me, right?”
“Actually…”
There was silence for a moment.
“Princess is someone that shouldn’t be anyone’s master,” said Redian.
“What? Why not?”
I could hear the cracks in my pride. Where else would you find such an insolent person saying this to their master?
“Too kind, gentle, and friendly to everyone…”
“…”
The blue eyes looking at me were calm, almost resolute.
“That’s why unnecessary things keep clinging to you.”
Kind, gentle, and friendly. In all my life, Redian was the first person to say something like this to me.
“It’s strange to me that you see me that way.”
“…”
“I’ve never heard such things in my life.”
I happened to be a professional possessor of villainess, hated by everyone.
“You know what the trainers say about me. Everyone else says that.”
“Does it matter? I know it, but that’s it.”
“…Hmm.”
Sometimes, he left me speechless.
“Ah, but your uniform…”
Remembering why I came to the training ground, I noticed Redian’s uniform.
I’m annoyed that Bergman didn’t tell me first and went right away to Redian… But he’s really talented. Or is it because the model wearing it is so splendid?
Seeing the black uniform with the red epaulets made me proud. He will be introduced as my knight in the greatest festival of the empire.
“It suits you. You’re the best-looking knight I’ve seen.”
“…”
Initially, his ears would turn red at such comments. But now, Redian just raised an eyebrow as if he knew.
“Ah, right, the restraint ring.”
“Yes?”
I then remembered the ring box on my lap. “I should put it on you.”
Redian’s eyes lingered on the ring with curiosity.
“Let’s not call it a restraint ring, but a friendship ring. A promise to take responsibility for each other’s lives.”
“Master, you call that friendship?” Redian chuckled, but his face didn’t seem displeased.
“Hand.”
“…”
Watching Redian naturally extend his hand, I almost laughed.
Francis was like a puppy wagging its tail, and Vallentin was like a fussy cat. But Redian was sometimes a proud cat and sometimes an obedient dog.
“Unbelievable, you’ve always held weapons…”
Putting the ring on his masculine yet beautiful hand was astonishing.
“But your hands are this beautiful,” I murmured without realizing.
One day, the ring symbolizing our friendship would be replaced by a golden ring signifying the heir of the Rixon family.
Wait, should I make restraint rings for other Norma too? An interesting thought occurred to me. When I imagined myself wearing four rings, I thought it would be impressive.
“…Master.”
“Huh?”
But then.
“Do you know why, out of all the magic weapons, Astra is used to hunt monsters?”
Redian’s voice made me look up.
“Astra can be used even if a finger is chopped off. All you need is to pull the trigger.”
As he said, real monsters usually bite human fingers first, unlike training monsters. But this was an odd topic to bring up during the ring discussion.
“What are you talking about?”
“We don’t know how many of their fingers will be cut off in this monster-hunting competition.”
“What?”
“Then, if you try to match the ring, there won’t be anywhere to put it…”
It was an eerie statement despite his gentle tone.
“Impossible. They’re skilled, though not as much as y—”
“Maybe I might accidentally cut off all my teammates’ wrists.”
In other words… What he was saying was not to match rings with other Norma. He could have just said that instead of scaring me with talk of fingers flying off.
“Don’t worry about useless things. Wear Master’s own ring first.”
“My ring?”
“Yes. It’s no use if I’m the only one wearing it. After all, Master made it to keep me by your side.”
I had forgotten about my own ring, focusing on Redian’s.
“This time you—”
“Cough!”
But at that moment.
“Cough!”
A cough like thunder was heard from somewhere.
What… Huh?
“Siani.”
I turned reflexively and blinked. “…Father?”
“What are you doing there?”
Why is the Duke here?
* * *
“In the first place, the devil has to possess humans, so they have no choice but to look dazzling on the outside.” The Duke, unusually agitated, raised his voice.
“Moreover, with a slick-looking guy like Redian—!” He continued his lecture about men for a while. “Naïve girls like you can’t imagine how dangerous guys like Redian are. You shouldn’t choose men by their looks.”
As the Duke passionately lectured, I sipped my tea and finally spoke. “Well, to me, he seems just kind and cute.”
“What…?!” The Duke’s eyes flickered momentarily. “Are you taking Redian’s side in front of me right now? Oh gosh.”
“Father… It’s not like that.”
“Irik was right. I should have noticed when you talked in your sleep while looking at documents,” he mumbled, recalling when they said they were going on an outing. “He kept saying you’d elope with Norma at night. He must have felt something.”
Elope? How did it come to that?
“Redian won’t do. If it wasn’t for your mother’s request, I wouldn’t have brought such people to the duchy.”
Affected by Irik, he shook his head as if he had already written a tragic drama in his mind.
“He’s not someone to be entangled with you. So no, no!”
What does he mean by no?
“He was an ace in the most ruthless underground guild at only thirteen. I went through so much trouble to get him.” The Duke frowned, recalling his first meeting with Redian.
I became curious. “Why did you leave him in the underground castle after bringing him with so much effort?”
“…Leave him?”
Suddenly, the Duke smiled enigmatically.
“Right. As everyone thinks, if I wanted to raise him as a killing weapon, I would have released him to the battlefield long ago.”
“…”
“Instead of a killing weapon, I guess I was protecting him in my own way.”
“Protecting?”
His words were hard to grasp. The difference between a killing weapon and protecting seemed too vast.
“Anyway.” He waved his hand dismissively and changed the subject. “Didn’t I say before I didn’t like Ash Benio? Men can judge men.”
“…”
The Duke’s proper man theory started again. “Even Ash Benio, the most eligible bachelor in the capital, is like that. You can’t trust men unless they are the crown prince!”
Excuse me, father. That man who looked slick and shouldn’t be trusted is the crown prince.
“Don’t worry, Father. Everything will be fine.”
I comforted the Duke. I was surrounded by people needing reassurance.
“Hmm, right, I came to give you this but got distracted. It’s from His Majesty.”
“…His Majesty?”
The duke then presented something on the table. It was a letter from the emperor.
