Chapter 59 Blind date (4)

In the hastily arranged office in the imperial-owned mansion, those who spent busy days shuttling between the pavilion, training ground, and mansion were dealing with a pile of reports with vacant expressions on their faces.

“Oh… please… can we stop these accidents? I might as well feed them sleeping potions until their heads explode.”

“I mean, hitting those who cause accidents might reduce their numbers, but we shouldn’t engage in actions that tarnish our reputation in the first martial arts competition we undertake.”

“If you claim to give fitting punishment to those who did wrong, why? Let’s just settle for giving each of them a good night’s sleep with a honey potion.”

“You’ve finally lost it, haven’t you?”

Haint, in charge of the security and escort of the imperial family during this martial arts competition, tore at his short grass-like hair. With problems arising both inside and outside the arena, he was experiencing the busiest days of his life. “It’s been over a day since I last saw Retina’s face… sob. This is torture. She’s in our house, and I still can’t see her!”

“Retina is not at the mansion right now.”

Sat, who frequently visited the mansion, rummaged through the reports and spoke. Even though he occasionally went to the mansion, it wasn’t as if he could see Retina. It was a repetitive cycle of taking care of the delayed mansion work on behalf of his father and returning. “The Grand Duchess took her.”

“The Grand Duchess? Ugh… Why would that old lady, who is like a rolling pin, take her?”

“My father called for her. I heard it briefly when I stopped by this morning. I don’t know the details, but my father summoned the Grand Duchess, who served as Retina’s chaperone, to the capital.”

As Sat’s words trailed off, Herald, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, let out a loud exclamation.

“Oh, is that it? That… that… what was it called?!”

As Haint struggled to recall the elusive word, he raised his voice. Yes, today was the day Retina faced her match. Given the sensitivity of the matter, the undisclosed opponent from the North was a prince. Haint had been tormented by shock and discomfort after hearing about it during the meal with Sat.

“How, how could I forget? I must be out of my mind. Sat, slap me on the cheek.”

“Quiet, keep it down. We’re not the only ones here.”

“Even if we say we’re the only ones here…”

Haint, who had been scanning his surroundings with rolling eyes, stopped at a certain point.

“Oh, Herald probably doesn’t know.”

In response to Haint’s muttering, Sat rolled up a piece of paper and lightly hit him on the head.

“Stop messing around and focus on the work. Where do you think you have time to think about other things? Come on, if you can’t finish it today, tomorrow will be twice as much.”

“No! Please, Sat, help me!”

“If you stop fooling around, you can handle it on your own.”

Sat, who covered Haint’s mouth, watched Herald, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation and signed the papers they handed over. Even though the pen nib pressed down, making the ink spread in a circle on the paper, Herald’s hand didn’t move.

“Retina, the lady… what?”

Herald, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, raised his head and asked. With a slight metallic sound and a sullen voice, his throat was tight. At Herald’s question, Sat sighed, and Haint, who still didn’t know their relationship, closed his mouth, thinking it was just that Herald didn’t want to know because he had been making noise.

“I asked why Retina went there. Haint Deneuve.”

“Um… so, Retina is coming to watch my match tomorrow. Yeah, that’s it. Retina comes to watch every match we have.”

Haint explained with sweat streaming down his face. Since the time he started walking, he had cultivated a sharp intuition, signaling to Herald not to mention that Retina went to see the match.

“That’s not what I asked.”

However, despite Haint’s efforts to change the topic, Herald persisted in extracting the real content of their conversation. Haint signaled to Herald not to mention that Retina went to see the match, even the parts he didn’t ask about.

Translators: Stardust. Read on moonlight novels only

 “What match is Retina watching with whom?”

A sinister aura emanated from Herald. Fearful and not knowing what else to say, Haint spilled everything he knew to Herald. Even the unasked parts. Haint looked pitifully at Sat, who was glaring at him, as if saying he shouldn’t have mentioned that Retina went to see the match.

“So, Retina went to meet Prince Norden Raglaras now.”

Somehow, the way he referred to Retina had become quite familiar. Herald threw the pen he had been holding onto the desk. It was useless to hold onto the pen when he couldn’t concentrate at all.

“Those old folks really stirred up trouble.”

Herald, who had heard about Duke Deneuve’s plan from Sat before, massaged his neck as if in pain. For some unknown reason, pain throbbed throughout his body.

“Does Duke Deneuve think it’s okay for Retina to go to the North as a hostage?”

“Rather than sending her as a hostage, it seems like Retina… uh. If she goes to the North, she can live more comfortably. No, I mean, why can she live more comfortably? Because Retina is so serene and likes new places…”

Haint, unable to confess the truth about Retina’s silver hair making the North more comfortable, circled his words. Since he was more accustomed to solving problems physically than verbally, the more he spoke, the more his tongue tangled. Seeing his struggles, Sat, who had been watching silently, interjected.

“Herald knows too. That Retina has silver hair.”

Haint shrunk.

“…Huh?”

Haint’s mouth hung open. He stared at Sat and asked, “Since when?”

“When she was at the mansion. I saw Retina wandering around at night.”

“Why?”

“Because when Retina goes into her bedroom at night, she takes off her wig.”

However, Retina, who stayed on the second floor, and the Crown Prince on the first floor had almost no chance of meeting at night. Haint’s mind went blank as if his brain had stopped working.

“It was a sparkling color that could attract people who don’t believe in curses. “I now understand why it’s called a curse.”

The Herald, who was listening to their conversation, sneered. From the moment he saw her silver hair, there was never a moment when he didn’t think about her. He always wanted it, he was longing for it. It seemed like a curse to him that his burning thirst grew worse as each day passed.

“I already thought her brown hair didn’t suit her. It turns out she’s a wig. I think she’s rather fortunate.”

He recalled the image of Retina, with her wig removed, passionately kissing her lips onto the falling hair in her bedroom at the mansion. Sat, feeling a shiver from the possessive words, deliberately ignored it and gave a belated report to Herald.

“It seems that Father has realized that I am investigating. The situation escalated faster than expected.”

“Why didn’t that Haint guy inform me of the information he knows?”

“We only found out not long ago. I didn’t mention it because the marriage isn’t confirmed yet. Besides, there are many other things to focus on.”

Although not reported to Herald, Sat was carefully monitoring his father’s movements. The conclusion drawn after scrutinizing Retina’s actions since her liberation from the curse was clear.

“Father intends to elevate Retina to a position where no one can treat her lightly, all while liberating her from the curse.”

Retina’s wishes were disregarded in this process. Despite the fact that living in the capital could be considered more prestigious than going to the North, it was Retina who planned to go there for her happiness once she became alone.

“Father sees Retina’s mother as having inherited the blood of the Northern royalty, and he believes that this has been passed down to Retina.”

Stories from the past about her mother’s mother, who supposedly performed a ritual that saved her from persecution just because she was cursed, were considered mere rumors by Haint. However, during his investigation into the North after Cecilia’s death, he discovered some truths.

“I couldn’t find out the details. But I can guarantee that Father’s desired future is related to the North.”

This was news even to Haint. With every new revelation from Sat, his expression changed rapidly.

“Father will choose a certain and safe method. A more powerful one than gaining the support of fickle nobles who might change their minds at any moment.”

Thud. Sat raised his hand and slammed it down on the desk. Under his palm lay a single sheet of paper.

“A useful card to play.”

It was Norden’s participation form for the tournament, already securing three victories in the main rounds.