CHAPTER 5: HERE, NOW, AND YOU (X)
Part 106
On Tuesday afternoon, the entrance to Duke Bigor’s residence, where no one was breathing loudly, became noisy. A magnificent carriage came across the garden and stopped in front of the front door. Ethan, who was not happy to welcome an uninvited guest, stood awkwardly at the entrance and frowned even more when he saw the family crest engraved on the carriage. Duke Galleon got off the carriage and opened his mouth, looking disapprovingly at Ethan, who did not even say hello. He “came to see the Duke of Bigor.”
“My master has no guests scheduled today.”
“Insolent! Tell your master. He will be waiting for me.”
“I don’t think that will happen, but please wait in the living room for now.”
Ethan answered sullenly and informed Adrian of the visit of the Duke of Galleon, and Adrian came down to the drawing room, his face completely cold. The Duke of Galleon, who had thought that Adrian, who had been arrogant while swinging his sword in the past, would bow down to him, became nervous again when he faced Adrian, who was giving off a fierce attitude. He barely suppressed his anger at being treated as a tea drinker and opened his mouth with a smile on his face.
“Not long after the war broke out, a man named Hennessy came to me. It is certain that the Duke will lead this war to victory, so he asked me to help put him on the throne after the war.”
Adrian just looked at Duke Galleon with cold eyes. Duke Galleon cleared his throat once and continued his speech.
“Do you know how much I worried about you and the crown prince? Out of concern for Laurentine’s future, I decided to bet my future on the Duke. It is certainly a tragedy that the crown prince ended up like that, but it is better than having someone without qualifications wear the crown. Cancer, nothing like that.”
“So, what do you want to say?”
“Who would be the biggest obstacle to the Duke’s ascension to the throne? Isn’t he the Duke of Donovan? I will unite the will of the nobles against him.”
Adrian closed his watery eyes. The Duke of Galleon’s trick was so obvious.
“Right. If only the Duke would do that, it would be easy for me to take the throne.”
Adrian’s face was filled with a crooked sneer as he responded harshly, but the Duke of Galleon was pleased. After receiving Hennessy’s offer, he kept a low profile, keeping an eye on the situation. When they took over the palace, he was worried about what they were going to do, but after dealing with the crown prince and Adrian coming to the forefront, he became anxious. Although Duke Donovan was now opposing it, he cannot know how it would turn out in the future. He still scoffed at the nonsense he brought up about Remina. How could a woman ascend to the throne? As the Duke of Galleon, who has become completely at odds with Remina, there is no benefit for her if she becomes king. Even though she was from her mother’s side, it was clear that she would draw a line. So, since this was already the case, he thought that he should put Adrian on the throne and secure his trust, so I went to Duke Bigor’s residence. In the Donovan duchy, there is Ailene, who is still called ‘Queen’s Star.’ Even if she couldn’t attach her to Adrian because of her affair with the two princes, there was one more princess in the Nodo family. It was obvious that the prestige of the Galleon family, which did not directly participate in the war, would fall after the queen’s position was lost to the Duke of Donovan. Now was the right time as Duke Donovan and Adrian were sharpening their minds.
“Don’t worry about the ball. I will definitely look after Duke Donovan’s back so that he doesn’t talk nonsense.”
“If you do, what kind of reward do you want in return?”
“Ha ha ha. Rather than repaying the favor, I think it would be good if I could strengthen the bond between me and Gong. How about it? This is the end of the story I rejected last time. Isn’t it worth reconsidering now???”
Adrian almost held back his fist by gripping the armrest of the sofa he was sitting on.
“The advice is to make the princess her queen.”
“What alliance is more certain than becoming one family?”
Duke Galleon smiled happily, then met Adrian’s red eyes and unconsciously hardened his face. Adrian stood up, glaring at Duke Galleon.
“I didn’t bring a sword today. I know for sure that you won’t understand once I speak to you, so next time, I’ll try to speak to you so you can understand.”
As soon as Adrian left the drawing room, Duke Galleon also hurriedly left Duke Bigor’s residence. Adrian returned to the office and spoke to Ethan.
“Please contact Duke Donovan’s residence. I have to meet the princess.”
* * *
On the night that Ethan delivered the news to the Duke of Donovan through ‘inbox’, Adrian quietly left the Duke’s residence and headed to the annex of the Duke of Nodovan. Duke Donovan, Remina, and Van, who had been notified in advance, were waiting for Adrian. While Adrian was talking for a while, telling the story of Duke Galleon and the situation of the nobles that Duke Donovan had met, there was someone entering the annex. It was George.
“I went to the Duke’s house, and he said he was here, so I came.”
Adrian approached George, who bowed his head, and asked. There was desperation in his low voice.
“She is?”
“As we swept down the Lorraine River, we reached the Viscounty of Gorgen. I remembered that the leader’s hometown was there, so I went to his house. The house was empty, but there were traces that someone had stayed there. I found the dress and brought it with me, and Jenny, the maid at the mansion, confirmed it. It’s exactly what you were wearing.”
Adrian grabbed one of George’s shoulders. His eyes were trembling.
“Where, where has she gone? Where is she now?”
“After asking around, I heard that he left in a carriage this morning. We couldn’t find out where he had gone, so he returned.”
After finishing speaking, George looked at Adrian. Near Homer’s house, which is located in a remote place, there are no houses that can be called neighbors. If it weren’t for the villagers who noticed that a large carriage that was out of place in their shabby neighborhood came and went, they would not have been able to find out when it left. Adrian let go of George’s shoulder, who was regretting whether he should have investigated further, and said with empty eyes.
“Good work. Return to the knights and wait.”
Letting George go, Adrian grabbed his stuffy neck. Standing there, not knowing what to do, Adrian looked at the darkness outside the window, then he looked at the floor again, and then he saw nothing. Homer seemed to be taking care of him, so he would be safe for now. He was sure she would be safe. But, where on earth is it? Where was it headed? Maybe he was caught by those guys again while trying to return to Midoc. If they had left this morning, a day would already have passed. He feels like he is dying because he misses her, but Damian, who appears before my eyes, has been crying since yesterday. He found out that Damien was off Midoc, but there was still nothing he could do. Until she was sure she was safe, all her actions were hasty and any predictions were meaningless. Her desperation combined with impatience shook Adrian mercilessly.
“Duke.”
Remina called Adrian. When she turned her head and saw that Adrian’s eyes were not reflecting anything, she spoke to Adrian one more time.
“Duke, there is no time to lose your mind. Damian must be struggling outside.”
As her mind wandered endlessly, Damian’s name sounded clearly. Adrian’s gaze was straight at Remi this time, but she was still shaking.
“You clever young lady, you must be trying to get into Midoc somehow. You have to be ready to move right away.”
“They are blocking the gate.”
Adrian barely responded. There was nothing scary or rough in the world, but after Damien disappeared, he became more and more of a coward. In his heart, he wanted to wipe them out right away, believing that she would be safely outside the castle, but he couldn’t move because he was afraid that she might get hurt. When Remina saw Adrian like that, she smiled.
“You know Lady Damian well, don’t you? She must be getting her way in somehow. Isn’t this the kind of person who can survive that?”
Adrian let out a deep, long breath. He clenches his trembling hands into fists. It will happen. If it were her, she definitely would. She must be trying to get back to me somehow. She will come and hug him. She always saved him with a bright smile. This time too, she will save him.
The red eyes shined again. Adrian, who was sitting across from Remina, opened his mouth.
“We have to send the soldiers out. Her military can prepare, but I can’t step forward and make a move since I can’t completely rule out her ability because her goons are with her. It is difficult to engage in an all-out war with them at the castle gate. We have to find a way to quietly get out of the gate.”
“I will be the bait.”
“Oh?”
“They are looking for me. If I step forward, it will be easier for the Duke to carry out his work.”
“It’s too dangerous!”
Ban, who had been silent until now, shouted. A total of 1,000 militiamen were divided into four castle gates, blocking them. The person they are most anxiously looking for right now is Remina, and if word spreads that she has appeared, she will reduce the number of people guarding the castle gate and flock to her. It was said that they would open the castle gate in the meantime and take out the troops who were looking for Damian. Remina could be in danger if she went to the front now. Ban quickly expressed his opposition, but Remina comforted him with her smiling face.
“What are you worried about when you are by my side?”
“But you…??
Ban shook his head once again, but eventually silenced him when Remina patted the back of his hand. In the middle of the night, Cale, who was guarding the military base with his eyes turning black, met Adrian and his eyes turned red. A separate unit secretly led by Cale gathered at the military headquarters one after another under his orders. Thanks to Cale, who was prepared for an emergency, work progressed quickly. Some will wear civilian clothes and follow Ban around Midok, while others will go out of the castle and look for Damian.
At dawn, Ban and Remina left Duke Donovan’s residence.
* * *
On Tuesday morning, they arrived at the County of Cerdora. As he came he saw in the distance the north gate of the dock. Some people were shouting something in front of the gate, but the gate was closed and would not open. When she looked into it, it seemed that commoners were prohibited from entering and that the door was only open to carriages belonging to noble families. It was said that there was a merchant who tried to enter the palace by pretending to be a member of a noble family, but was stopped and kicked out of the castle. They settled down at an inn in the southernmost part of the County of Cerdora, that is, on the road to the North Gate of Midoc. Now all they have to do was wait for Laurel to arrive here. After a terribly boring day, it was now Wednesday. Homer went out to seek information for me, who was anxious and couldn’t sit still, and she was wandering around the small inn room. Her body has recovered to some extent, and with Midock right in front of her, she was so anxious that she couldn’t sit still. Midoc was just an hour away by carriage.
‘Adrian must be worried about me, only an hour away, so does it make sense that I can’t go see him or let him know I’m here?’
The castle gate is blocked by unqualified, vicious men, the princess, the owner of the palace, is hiding to avoid them, and Adrian, who came back from a hard day, is unable to rest properly and asks, “What are you doing?” Wow, the more she thought about it, the more fever she got. Was it possible for her to live? She was tearing out her head and fell down on the bed. She smashed her face into his pillow and screamed.
“You squeak!!”
It’s not cool. After all, she needed Jenny. When she went back, She would have to learn something. As she was struggling and hitting the pillow, she heard a voice from behind her.
“What… are you doing?”
When he came in, Homer was looking down at her with a bewildered expression. She put down the pillow that was dented in the middle after being beaten so hard, and asked Homer.
“Was there any useful information??
When she asked so casually, Homer wiped the bewilderment from his face and answered.
“The Cologne delegation has entered the County of Cerdora. “I’m on my way to meet you now, and I’m coming here.”
“Really?”
She stormed out of the inn room without even hearing an answer. As she went out of the inn and was snooping north on the street, Homer followed her and laughed. In the distance, she saw a carriage running towards me. The carriage, which was running furiously, found me standing in the middle of the road, drifted, dragging its wheels, and stopped, kicking up dust.
Well, she wanted to scout that coachman.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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