The sweet rest has ended.
No sooner had they unpacked than they packed again.
“I will contact you often. And I handled the matter at the banquet well.”
On the morning of departure, David, who came out to see her off in person, whispered to Elise.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
He promised to open the forbidden library and even make the damage to the forbidden library a non-issue.
“I think it was a fair trade. After all, I secured a firm position.”
Rumors were rampant that Lange would announce the succession plan following the confirmation of the crown prince.
“Thus, I’m sorry. It feels like I’m passing my burden onto you.”
Following David’s awkward gaze, there was Chase, checking if his luggage was properly loaded onto the carriage.
“I never dreamed that Prince Chase would decide to go to Tetris.”
The fact that it was top secret that Elise knew first was thanks to the deep trust she had built with David.
Elise knew even the conversation that Chase had with Lange as soon as the first victory banquet ended.
[Your Majesty, have you seen the article? Tetris has reached a level that can no longer be ignored.]
Chase showed a newspaper article from the Deboa press.
The article seemed to praise Bedrokka and David on the surface, but when you strip away the flashy rhetoric and superfluous details, it was a tribute to the warriors of Tetris.
Even from afar, the reporter who watched the gate subjugation was fascinated by the warriors of Tetris, despite being a Bedrokkan.
However, it was clear that if they wrote an article praising them, they would be beaten, so they published an article with the gist of [The warriors of Tetris made a tremendous contribution, but Prince David caught Salamander.]
In fact, if it weren’t for someone like Elise who meticulously dissected the article, they wouldn’t have been able to discern the true intention of the article, and it would have been a passing article without any problem.
‘I was worried that Deboa would be embarrassed by this, but the problem exploded elsewhere.’
Chase was able to grasp the true intention of that article.
[We need to keep Tetris in check. They are barbarians, but they are barbarians with power. We can’t just watch them grow stronger.]
[What do you want to say?]
[I will go and check out Tetris. I want to know why their power suddenly increased, and whether we can bring that to Bedrokka.]
Lange, who was expected to oppose, gave permission. Because Chase’s absence would be beneficial in passing on the throne.
Thus, Chase’s journey to Tetris, cloaked in the pretense of cultural exchange but with ulterior motives, was decided.
“I tried to stop it, but His Majesty’s will was adamant…”
David gave a bitter smile. It was as if he had attached his own suspicion to Elise.
Elise chewed her lip. She should say it’s okay, but the words didn’t come out easily.
When Chase said he was coming, Karan’s crumpled expression came to mind again.
‘It’s not something I intended, and Chase isn’t following me either.’
It may seem like an over consciousness, but Karan said this as soon as he heard that Chase was going to Tetris, so she couldn’t help but be bothered.
[It’s because of you. That kid, sigh, sorry for the harsh words, Elise. Please allow it for now. That kid hasn’t forgotten you.]
[No, absolutely not. That person didn’t even look at me.]
Elise told him the fact that she was there, but Karan didn’t want to believe it.
[How can I believe that he didn’t even look at a pretty person like you?]
Karan had a tendency to see Elise too favorably. The two almost quarreled over the Chase issue.
They went to bed early for today, and the conversation was concluded for the time being, but the chill did not subside.
Elise wanted to resolve this issue before the day was over.
The flag embroidered with a silver wolf rose.
At the departure signal, Elise hurriedly said her final goodbye to David.
“Take care, Your Highness.”
Even without Chase, Iris was still there.
She wanted to ensure his safety and leave, but the short time was regrettable.
‘Because there’s Deboa.’
The reporters from the Phon press were everywhere. They would predict Iris’s movements.
‘Let’s be satisfied with this.’
She had saved him once, so she had paid off her debt.
Elise bowed her head again, and David also returned the greeting politely.
Elise got on the carriage. Karan’s horse, leading the way, forcefully dug its hooves into the ground.
The powerful march continued towards the capital of Tetris, as if no more obstacles would be tolerated.
****
Night fell. It was a serene night with the moonlight reflected in the lake.
Karan’s warriors chose a plain where wildflowers bloomed profusely as their first campsite.
The hill surrounding the plain protected them from the wind, and it was a convenient place in many ways as it was by the lake.
“Wow, Andy really showed his skills today! The food that the Bedrokka guys eat, ugh, it’s greasy, but it doesn’t have this refreshing taste.”
“You know it’s weird to say it’s refreshing while eating something hot, right?”
Among the warriors, the men’s unique vitality and down-to-earth charm burst out.
“I feel overwhelmed thinking about going home.”
“Ah, don’t tell me you’re going to turn your horse around! You’re not going to do that, are you?”
The warriors, who were sitting around the campfire and chatting about this and that, all looked at Karan at the same time.
“There’s no need for that. From tomorrow, we’ll run at full speed. There won’t be any room for anything to interfere.”
Woooh. The warriors were delighted like children. No matter how barren the land was, Tetris was their hometown and home.
While everyone was happy, Karan was troubled.
There was still a fight to be had in Tetris. And then there was Chase.
No matter how you looked at it, that guy hadn’t given up on Elise.
He was seething. To vent this anger, he had to beat someone up.
He wished for a monster to appear, or even a beast.
At the moment he was wishing for that, someone touched Karan.
Karan, who hadn’t yet vented his anger, glared at the person who touched him.
“Huh!”
The surprised person gasped for breath. Then they started hiccuping.
“Ah, Elise?”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Hic, did I, hic, interrupt your time?”
****
Elise was sitting in the carriage. She was still hiccuping. Every time she hiccuped, her shoulders jerked up.
“Elise, here’s some water.”
Karan came into the carriage. Elise gripped the water glass he offered with both hands. Even while drinking water, she hiccuped and was embarrassed.
“Were you very surprised because of me?”
“What, hic, were you, hoo, thinking?”
She wanted to have a conversation with Karan, but with her condition, a proper conversation was impossible.
Elise put down the water glass and put her hand on her chest.
Regina’s prescription that drinking water would stop the hiccups failed.
“I didn’t think much.”
“You looked, hic, upset.”
“Did I bother you?”
“It’s not that you bothered me, I was the one who was bothered.”
Karan’s pupils shook slightly.
Elise wanted to be sincere in her relationship with Karan. No, she was already being sincere.
She might not be able to return the same amount of respect and consideration that Karan gives her, but she wanted to do at least half of it.
She thought that was the duty of a couple. And the duty of a wife.
“I want to, hic, have a conversation…but with my condition…”
Hiccups had the power to turn a serious conversation into a comedy in an instant. Elise was embarrassed to see herself hiccuping in surprise like a child.
“It’s cute.”
Elise’s eyes widened. It was a comment that didn’t fit the situation at all.
“I don’t mind, but if you’re uncomfortable.”
Karan leaned his upper body forward. The carriage wasn’t very wide, so just his movement filled Elise’s field of vision.
Karan gently stroked Elise’s cheek.
“Shall I stop it?”
“It seems you have a way, hic!”
Elise was embarrassed to hiccup right in front of his nose and covered her mouth with both hands.
“Shall I stop it?”
Karan asked again.
The hiccups were getting tiring. Elise nodded her head while firmly covering her mouth.
Karan tapped Elise’s back of the hand.
“Move it away.”
Sometimes, Karan gave orders in a way that didn’t sound like orders.
When she heard such words, Elise unknowingly followed what he said. Just like now.
Elise’s lips were tinged red from how hard they had been pressed by hand.
Karan savored the sight of her rosy lips.
“Hiccups, Elise.”
Karan’s face gradually turned towards Elise.
“Although out of surprise, however..”
Their lips made a soft sound as they touched and then parted.
“Can also be stopped by a surprise.”
The recent peck seemed like a prank as Karan nibbled on Elise’s lower lip.
In an instant, Karan’s tongue clashed between her parted lips.
His hand boldly lifted the hem of Elise’s dress.
Suddenly, the exposed body in the cold air, tensed.
Karan’s hand moved forward without stopping.
Immediately, Elise’s shoulder trembled.
Unfazed, Karan’s tongue thoroughly licked the inside of her mouth.
Elise’s hiccups were completely consumed by Karan.
He gladly swallowed the saliva and hiccups coming from Elise.
The frequency of the hiccups gradually slowed down.
Karan’s busy movements also gradually slowed down, and he pulled his lips away from hers.
Elise looked up at Karan with a flushed face.
Karan reminded, and gave her a kiss on her flushed cheek.
“Stopped, right?”
Karan looked refreshed, as if the act was solely to stop the hiccups.
The hand that had been exploring her thigh through the dress, rectracted.
Elise blinked. The hiccups had stopped, but she wanted to continue the act with him.
‘Vulgar.’
Elise was confused. Her heated body didn’t feel like her own, and the desire she felt seemed abnormal.
And this wasn’t even a bed, but a carriage!
“Elise, it’s getting late. You mentioned something you wanted to talk about, right? That can wait for another time…”
Karan adjusted his upper body, but was unable to sit properly.
“Your Highness…”
Elise, with moist eyes, looked up and grasped his wrist.
