“You still have a way with words, Ignis.”
“Well, I guess you’d prefer Danae, who acts just the way you like, over a wife from a political marriage or a daughter you can’t even remember when you had, right?”
“Still as crude as ever. Ignis, it must be because father raised you too freely.”
“Raised me, my ass. Don’t even mention that sh*tty old fool.” Ignis snapped back fiercely, but Carl simply responded with a pleasant laugh.
Losing his enthusiasm, Ignis snorted and turned away. “Well then, both of you, have a good night. Who knows, nightmares might visit you starting tomorrow?”
“…”
Saying goodnight in such an annoying way was quite a talent.
Watching Ignis leave, I sighed. Ignis has returned. But why…?
“Dana, are you okay?”
But the moment Carl’s hand touched me, I forgot everything.
“Does your head hurt?”
With superhuman concentration, I suppressed the memories that surged up. Let’s not think about it.
“How much did you hear?”
Those scenes from back then. Let’s not think about it.
“I’m fine, Uncle.”
Instead, I had to pretend to be loving. The moment he sensed my fear, his suspicion would begin.
“If Ignis bothers you, tell me.” Carl sighed and cupped my cheek. “Understand? Don’t suffer alone. Okay?”
“Yes.”
I was so tense. My heart was beating uncontrollably. Even my concentration was slipping.
The warmth pressing against my cheek, that grip felt too intense… The grip of this murderer.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes. Thanks to you. Thank you, Uncle.”
“Thank you? I’m the one who’s grateful that I can take care of you, Dana.”
Carl looked at me as if I was adorable.
“I’ll be leaving for Kaltusa again tomorrow.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve decided to go see the Retillan mine we found with some people.”
“Ah…”
I barely held back her lips from twisting. Right. Of course. If it’s you, that’s exactly what you would do.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll be back soon. Okay?”
No, actually, it would be better if you never came back at all.
“Dana.” Carl pinched my cheek and let out a low chuckle. “I’ll miss you a lot in Kaltusa. We have a lot of memories there, don’t we?”
“…Yes.”
“I keep remembering how you tried to sneak out the cotton, thinking I was asleep. You were so adorable.”
Memories. Can that even be called a memory? I just smiled without saying anything.
“It’s late.” Carl left a goodnight kiss on my forehead. “Go inside and sleep. Have sweet dreams.”
It seemed like I would have nightmares tonight.
* * *
But the real nightmare came the next day.
[Proposal Letter]
A proposal letter arrived from Ignis de Windsor in the morning.
Is he insane? Reading it out of sheer disbelief, the content was just as absurd.
[I propose
-Ignis]
This crazy person sent this as a proposal.
Why suddenly send a proposal to me, a Windsor?
The person who hated Windsor so much that he disowned himself and left, now suddenly wants to return to Windsor?
“What should we do, Milady?”
I wanted to ignore it, but… With Ignis’s temper, he won’t just sit still.
[I reject
-Danae Windsor]
“Send this back.”
I desperately hoped this would be the end. What on earth is that madman thinking?
Of course, it didn’t end there.
What is this?
I knew it would be like this.
On my way back from a vassal meeting, I found my bedroom turned upside down.
“What happened here?”
A broken vanity mirror, a vase; overturned furniture. It looked like a storm had passed through. And in the middle of that mess, Ignis de Windsor was sprawled out on the bed.
“Ah, you’re here.”
“Did you do this, Lord Ignis?”
“Who else would have done this?” He casually smoked a cigarette on the bed and chuckled. “Hey, your bed smells nice.”
“…”
“So I ended up dirtying it a bit more. What are you going to do about it?”
Ah, that was my favorite bedsheet. I’ll just buy a new one and replace it. Getting angry because of someone like him would only be a loss for me.
I responded indifferently. “Please get up now. If you have something to say, say it quickly and leave.”
Then Ignis abruptly sat up, cigarette still in his mouth, and exhaled smoke in my direction with a laugh.
“Danae Windsor.”
“What?”
“Where is your brother, Viego Windsor?”
“He said he was leaving on a business trip last night. Why?”
“Well, I wanted to talk about marrying you, but he’s not here.” He shrugged. “I may dislike you, but I love your wealth. So intensely and passionately that I can’t get it out of my head, day and night.”
“I didn’t know you loved money, Lord Ignis. You left Windsor, abandoning wealth and glory.”
“Ah, a young girl like you wouldn’t understand the complex reasons of adults.”
I was suddenly infuriated. Both Carl and Ignis, why do they keep treating me like a child?
“Hey, Danae.”
“What?”
“You’re kind, aren’t you?”
“…”
What does he want to say?
Ignis got up from the bed and approached me, then handed me a box.
“The fate of the Windsor family lies in your hands.” He forcibly handed me the box and then roughly tousled my hair. “Depending on what you do, I can either destroy or save the Windsor family.”
What nonsense is this?
I sighed deeply and opened the box. Alright, let’s see it quickly and kick him out…
“…What is this?”
Inside the box was a book. A book I knew well. A very old book. With the title in ancient language and the distinctive emblem of the Sun God…
“Have you ever heard of the original scripture? Not a copy, but the real scripture.”
The real scripture. Something that looked like this.
“Ta-da. This is it.” Ignis said seriously. “This is the original scripture.”
“…”
“How about it? Surprising? Amazing, right?”
“…”
Hi, now you can purchase 5 advance chapters in here.
