I Stole the Heroine's Holy Grail

After making a deal with Serajin. Ivan and Adelia left the room and faced each other in the hallway. 

“I think we should have a little chat.”

The time has come. Adelia sighed inwardly and nodded slowly. The Grand Duke took Adelia to the balcony.

“…I’m sorry, I should have told you beforehand.”

Adelia immediately bowed her head to the Grand Duke for planning things without consulting him. The Archduke let out a laugh at Adelia.

“You do that. I want you to tell me in advance next time.”

Adelia heard his laughter, but somehow, she didn’t feel offended. Adelia looked at the Grand Duke in wonder. A nice smile hung around his mouth.

I thought you were angry…?

“By the way, I want to hear the solution about the Mana stone.”

“That’s simple.”

Adelia replied with a confident smile.

“I’ll just have to stop the time of the mana stone but it will still make you feel like it’s still flowing.”

The duke looked down at Adelia with a look of bewilderment for a moment. It was a completely unexpected way.

Mana stones were not widely used because they were expensive. However, it is now possible to use the Mana Stone for a long time in this way. Furthermore, if it becomes permanently usable. The use of Mana stones will be endless.

“What an unexpected way. But it will certainly work. How much time can you possibly stop?”

“I haven’t tested the limits yet. But I can do it without any difficulty.”

“That’s great.”

The duke admired Adelia’s ability in a sincere voice. Adelia wanted to turn her head away from the Grand Duke for a moment as she felt a little embarrassed.

“…it’s just a little trick.”

“No, it’s too much to say it’s just a trick. Don’t underestimate your ability. If Yongan can be supplied from the Duchy, things will probably change a lot.”

The duke moved his lips with joy.

“As you may know, the Duchy has always had chronic problems due to bad and cold weather. Yongan can be a great nourishment for soldiers. You’ve done a great job.”

Pure praise, with no self-interest.

Have I ever received such pure praises in my two lives?

It was the first time she had been recognized for her ability so freely.

Did I like compliments this much?

Adelia couldn’t take her eyes off the Grand Duke’s face. Her heart began to beat fast at the sight of him under the moonlight. It was strange. She couldn’t describe what she was feeling right now. Adelia’s expression darkened. The Grand Duke frowned looking at Adelia’s face. 

“Are you not feeling well?”

“…No, it’s just….”

Adelia blurred out the end of her words. She thought maybe she wasn’t feeling well. Adelia’s shaky eyes and Ivan’s straight eyes, complicatedly intertwined. The sound of Adelia’s heart, which had been pounding and ringing for a while, grew louder. To the point where she wonders if she’s going to faint.

The Grand Duke’s hand slowly turned to Adelia’s face. Adelia wanted to close her eyes tightly for a moment, but she held on. The Grand Duke’s hand reached out to Adelia’s forehead.

“…you don’t have a fever.”

The Grand Duke’s voice seemed to have subsided for some reason. Adelia forcibly raised her voice, which didn’t come out well.

“…I guess I’m not sick.”

A small laugh flowed through the Grand Duke’s lips.

“Right.”

The Grand Duke’s hand hardly fell off Adelia’s forehead. Adelia didn’t know how to act at a time like this. She never had a proper relationship in her barren life.

But one thing was certain. She doesn’t hate this situation right now.

The Grand Duke’s hand slowly reached Adelia’s back.

He said warningly.

“If you don’t like it, reject it.”

The voice of the Grand Duke penetrated into her ears. Their eyes were in a jumbled confusion. They read the emotions in each other’s eyes.

Instead of answering, Adelia slowly lowered her eyelids. For a moment Adelia remembered that she had not closed the curtains.

“Wait, Your highness, the curtain….”

But it was too late when Adelia opened her mouth. The Grand Duke’s lips crept over Adelia’s.

It was a soft yet sticky kiss. The various thoughts that were filling Adelia’s head disappeared cleanly. Ivan Hamilton has taken over her head.

As time went by, Ivan became more persistent in digging into Adelia. Adelia felt her breath run out, as she accepted him nervously.

It was then.

An unexpected uninvited guest came into the balcony, where Ivan and Adelia were breathing heavily.

Tak~

“Isn’t that your Highness?”

Adelia quickly pushed the Grand Duke away from her. The duke stared at Adelia in vain. Not noticing the eyes of the Grand Duke, Adelia grabbed her wild beating heart.

Did we get caught?

Adelia peeked behind the Grand Duke. Fortunately, there was a considerable difference in physique between her and him, so the uninvited guest did not seem to have caught them.

Adelia coughed awkwardly and slipped out of the Grand Duke’s arms. The uninvited guest, who belatedly found Adelia, spoke his eyes wide open.

“Oh, my. You were with someone… Haha…”

The face of the Grand Duke frighteningly crumpled at the awkward laughter. The Grand Duke managed to overcome his irritation and turned.

“…Baron Berker.”

When he called the uninvited guest’s name, the awkward smile on the uninvited guest’s face disappeared at once and the color turned bright. Ivan didn’t like the Baron’s face very much.

“Oh, you remembered me! It’s an honor!”

“The baron doesn’t seem to know manners.”

The baron’s face became stiff at the voice of the Grand Duke.

“What?”

“Although I didn’t close the curtains, I can’t believe you came into the balcony where there is already an owner.”

The baron broke into a cold sweat at the sight of the Grand Duke pointing out his rudeness.

“Sorry, I’m sorry, Your highness…! I’ve been rude to you who I haven’t seen in a long time!”

“Yes, very rude.”

“Well, I’ve just started a new business, and I’d like to ask you something.”

“You wanted to talk to me?”

The baron nodded frantically. The Grand Duke sighed and rebuked the baron.

“You seem too careless to do business.”

“Your Highness…”

“If you want to talk to me, go through the formal process.”

The baron’s shoulders fell to the floor. Adelia, who was watching the situation, opened her mouth thinking it was time.

“I’m fine, go and talk.”

“Adelia, wait a minute….”

Ivan tried to catch Adelia, but Adelia quickly escaped from the balcony as if she were running away. Adelia’s face as she hurried along was red. Ivan’s absurd gaze followed Adelia’s footsteps.

[T/N: THE KISS!!! OMG. I feel like something’s missing. It happened so fast and ended so fast.]

***

Adelia walked frantically in the quiet hallway. If it were noisy, she could forget the kiss with the duke for a moment.

A sigh came out of control between Adelia’s red lips. Adelia regretted it. Her own actions that resulted in an irreparable accident.

How can you do that?

Adelia prided herself on being a rational thinker in her own way. But that wasn’t rational at all. Kissing the Grand Duke on the spur of the moment….

Again, the previous situation filled Adelia’s head. Adelia shook her head quickly, not minding the mess of her neatly raised hair. Then, Adelia heard a man and a woman fighting.

“You come to your ex and accuse her of being a traitor. Rainer, you’re a mess.”

Rainer.

The name of the man who attended the ball as her partner today. Adelia held her breath.

“A mess? Me? Ha…!”

Rainer shouted in a quivering voice as if he were dumbfounded.

“Are you saying that because you don’t know who the real mess is?”

Adelia realized who he was arguing with.

Mary Dale, the woman who abandoned him and became engaged to another man.

Adelia tried to leave minding her own business. She didn’t have enough time to watch other people’s love fights. But Mary Dale’s words, which sounded like a scream, flew into Adelia’s ear.

“I’m pregnant!”

What?

Adelia turned her head in surprise.

“Now, that’s, what… It’s a… Explain it to me. Mary dale.”

Rainer’s voice, shocked as much as Adelia, was cut off.

“…it was a one-night mistake.”

“One night’s mistake? No way… Are you saying you have my child? Then why would you….”

Rainer’s voice cracked as if he was choking. There was no answer back from Mary dale. Rainer swept his face down with his palm. He asked again as calmly as possible.

“Tell me whose…, whose child it is.”

“It’s not your child.”

Mary dale turned and said, avoiding Rainer’s gaze. Rainer’s face crumpled painfully.

“Is that his child?”

“…no.”

“Mary, please don’t drive me crazy. Who the hell did you spend the night with!”

Rainer shouted as if he couldn’t take it anymore. Mary Dale raised her head and shouted, as if she was angry.

“It’s your cousin’s child! You were too busy with your successor’s work and I was lonely. Then… Mr. Zarner came up to me and comforted me. I… I… When I woke up in the morning, I realized that the man lying next to me wasn’t you and regretted it right away. I’m sorry. I..It was just a one-night mistake….”

Mary dale collapsed and cried out.  Rainer looked down at Mary dale, who had collapsed from shock.

Adelia was also shocked.

What morning drama is this?

Rainer’s face turned expressionless. He asked in a hollow voice.

“Did you tell him? The fact that you’re pregnant.”

Mary dale did not respond. But her silence was like an answer. Rainer laughed.

“Yes, you would have said it right away. He’s the father of your child. Zarner, the coward would have denied it completely.”

“…it was a mistake.”

Mary dale protested, saying, “What happened that night was a mistake.”

“Mistake? No. This is not a mistake, Mary. If you were lonely, you should have told me right away. Then I’ll…!”

There was a heavy silence. Adelia drew her breath quietly in the stifling silence.

“Don’t appear in front of me again. This is the price for hiding your infidelity.”

Mary dale burst into tears at the cold Rainer’s warning. She looked like a child abandoned by her parents.

She sprang to her feet. Her face, stained with shame, was very pale.She looked as if her last remaining string of hope had been cut off.

Mary dale turned and escaped from the balcony as if she were running away. Adelia hid behind the curtain in astonishment.

The sound of Mary dale’s footsteps on the run grew quieter. As a result, Rainer’s voice came to Adelia, who was sighing with relief.

“The show is over, so please come out.”

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