Chapter 97:
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
“…Your Highness?”
Surprised, Janice rose hastily from her seat.
How did he know she was here?
Looking back, she saw a maid.
“There’s no need to see the maid. Because I knew you were here.”
That pattern.
Janice’s lips trembled. For her, the pattern was an existence that made her feel two emotions.
Even when she wants to be alone like this, he always finds me
“…What brings you here?”
At Janice’s words, Delther smiled.
“Well, I wonder what you’re working on.”
Janice shrugged at Delther’s words.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I know everything you’re doing.”
“I suppose so. Because we’re connected.”
Janice swept Delther’s wrist.
This is why she didn’t want to be together. She’ll be swept away by the power of the pattern.
Her body reacted differently from her mind. She didn’t like this.
“So did you think hard?” What would you say to my father?”
“I just went to say hello.”
“Really?”
Delther clenched Janice’s shoulder and lowered his upper body.
He whispered and laughed in her ear.
“You know what? What has Leon done?”
She probably doesn’t know.
And who the next opponent is.
If she knew what kind of post-processing he did, what kind of expression would Janice have?
How reckless it is to believe and act with the symbol of companion.
“Don’t think, Janice, that being a saint will solve everything.”
“…How can you do that?”
“I know everything about you.”
Delther laughed as he unpacked the accessory on her wrist.
“If you don’t like this, kill me yourself.”
“…I can’t.”
“You want to kill me. Why can’t you? You can’t get away from me because of your scrupulous conscience.”
She knows.
Janice wanted to strangle Delther even now.
But what if Leon tried to kill her after he died?
Then who can protect her then?
She wasn’t that stupid.
“I have no intention of doing that.”
“…You don’t have any?”
“How can I kill your Highness?”
Janice turned her head and faced Delther.
There is no one better to wield than a person who shows emotions like this.
If you give it a little comfort, Delther will collapse in no time.
Her warm hand touched Delther’s cheek.
Suddenly, her body trembled. There was a feeling of embarrassment in her eyes.
“So don’t worry. It’s just what I do to survive.”
“That’s funny.”
Delther clasped Janice’s hand and kissed her.
“Yeah, keep trying to run away like that. I’ll catch up with you sometime. Take a rest.”
He rose from his seat without hesitation.
It would be hard to control his emotions if he was with her a little longer.
So, he was going to leave now. He’s sure Janice wants that too.
Soon Delther turned his back and tried to get out of the garden.
“…Don’t turn your back.”
If it wasn’t for Janice who hugged him from behind.
“You’d better let go. If you don’t want to regret it.”
“…I don’t regret it. Even if I avoid it, it won’t change.”
Janice’s sudden change of attitude was strange.
Nevertheless, Delther intended to let it go. It won’t work out the way she wants it to anyway.
* * *
I trembled like a pooping dog.
“Why aren’t they coming.”
Looking at the clock, it’s been a while since Diria went to check.
Tuk tuk tuk
My legs in the chair trembled without stopping.
Knock, knock, knock.
“I guess they’re here!”
I jumped out of my seat and popped the door open.
“Why are you looking for me so much?”
“Father, I’m in trouble.”
“…Trouble?”
I nodded.
Diria stepped aside to get the tea.
“I feel weird!”
I soon pulled my father by the wrist and cried.
“What do you mean, you’re sick?”
“That! Like, I use someone else’s power as I want…!”
“Are you able to? Absorbing power is in the history of the Velois family”
“I can not only absorb but also let it out!”
“…That’s certainly strange.”
Edgar took my hand and sat down as if to calm me down.
“First of all, I must call Leon.”
“I wrote a letter, but the crown prince will come tomorrow, so I told him to avoid him.”
“I see. There will be no problem, so don’t worry.”
“Yes, I understand…”
I nodded and sighed.
“Oh, by the way! I met the empress earlier. She came to see me.”
“……The empress?”
Edgar’s face was horribly distorted.
“She’s trying to make a deal, but I’ll get an answer in three days.”
“Three days?”
“Let’s go back to the capital.”
That’s how we do everything.
If we’re on the outskirts, we’re bound to fall behind.
We’ve laid the foundation, and we’ve created enough businesses, so we should go back to normal.
“The capital… Yes, it is time to go back.”
“It took a long time, right?”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect to go back.”
Edgar’s eyes were filled with grief. It must have been my father who was more upset than anyone else.
He must have been angry every time he saw the royal family.
“You mean that you dangerously met the empress alone.”
“Oh…Well, there was something to believe!”
It’s a lie, but I should let it go like this.
Otherwise, he might stop me from going out again.
“I’ll come to the royal family tomorrow, so don’t think about anything else and rest.”
“……Aren’t you going to scold me?”
“You’re safe, that’s enough.”
Edgar put his hand on my head and smiled softly.
“But you don’t ask about Duke Sen.”
“Well… I thought it would be better not to know.”
“Yes, well thought out. You look fine, so take a good rest.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Just in time, Diria brought the tea.
I sat face to face with my father for the first time in a long time and drank tea peacefully.
“The tea smells good.”
“Right? The mint scent is refreshing.”
Edgar nodded.
“It’s a pretty good time. It wouldn’t be bad to have this kind of time often in the future.”
“Right? I think so, too.”
Edgar and I nodded, smelling the scent deeply.
I’m looking forward to how much I’ll go through the house tomorrow.
Diria shook her head, looking at me and Edgar alternately.
“Looking at you two like this, I think you really are a father and a daughter.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s so nice to see.”
I smiled broadly at Diria’s words. How hard it was for this to happen…….
I need to enjoy the present more.
Edgar seems to be in a good mood, so shouldn’t we throw it a little?
I put down the teacup and smiled.
“Father, that’s why. I have a favor to ask of you.”
“…What is it?”
“I think you’ll have to hit a master.”
“Master?”
“Yes, Leon and I are engaged.”
“…What?”
The good atmosphere turned cold in an instant.
It must have been too early.
* * *
“Stop talking. How many times has it been?”
“That’s right. You were too hasty.”
Diria sighed as she dressed me up.
“No, the atmosphere was good.”
“But the story of the engagement…Does he know too, Leon?”
“No?”
I think Leon would say yes.
“If he has a companion, you’ll be in trouble.”
“Yes, I know.”
Diria looked incomprehensible.
It’s probably because she thinks it’s no use getting engaged to someone with a companion.
“By the way, what Her Majesty has done?”
“…Is everything all right?”
“Uh, I don’t think so.”
Looking at the silence, the Empress must not have anything special.
Diria looked uneasy at my lukewarm response.
“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”
“If that’s what the lady says…… But there’s one thing I’m worried about.”
“What?”
“Sir Leon…Somehow, he looks similar to the person in the rumor.”
Rumor?
At that moment, I remembered one thing I had forgotten.
‘The cursed child.’
A red-eyed man who killed his family and disappeared.
Yeah, I forgot that important thing.
I was distracted by the pattern and overlooked that it would be difficult if Leon was revealed to the world.
“…I’ll have to stop it somehow.”
“What?”
“Moreover, Leon and I have a reason to get engaged.”
“Lady?”
I took Diria’s hand and made a determined expression.
“It’s all right.”
It’s time for the crown prince to come for my family, so I have to get my head on straight.
As expected, the mansion was noisy after opening the door.
“Did you come out, my lady?”
“Sir Hessen. Your Highness the Crown Prince must have come.”
He nodded his head.
“Did Princess Janice come too?”
“She didn’t come with him today.”
“…Is that so?”
That’s unexpected.
Janice didn’t come, which means she might have gone to Leon now.
“Let me guide you first.”
“Wouldn’t it be better not to go?”
“There’s no reason to avoid him.”
Even more, so if it’s Delther.
I had to see what he was thinking, too.
When Janice started moving, he wouldn’t be able to stand still.
‘I need to find out what I heard from the Empress.’
I followed Lord Hessen’s guidance to where my father and Delther would be.
