When the Main Protagonists Broke Up

After meeting Adela, I returned to the investigation team’s hideout. It was very late at night when the whole world was dark.

Except for these few guards, there were few people around, so the surroundings were quiet.

I waited near the dungeon.

The knights guarding the entrance to the prison were deliberately sent elsewhere.

If there are knights standing at the entrance, you can see it from afar and go back.

I went and deliberately disturbed her, so if Adela is right, she will definitely appear here.

I had been staring at it for a long time.

A figure was approaching nearby.

Just looking at the faintly visible silhouette in the dark, the opponent was a slender woman.

‘It’s here.’

Even though I did it to make it come, I had hoped that it would not come.

Such an antinomic mind was tangled up, and a mess came over me.

She went into the dungeon.

I followed carefully.

But there was a strange smell coming from the entrance.

I quickly covered my nose and mouth with a handkerchief.

‘You burned sleeping incense.’

I waited for some time for the incense to dissipate, then quickly entered the room after covering my nose and mouth tightly.

When I went inside, I found two knights guarding the prison lying on the floor.

It was as if I had been lulled to sleep.

I passed them and approached the source of the voices.

“That thing in your neck is what you really want to explode.”

“No, no! I didn’t say anything!”

“What? You didn’t say anything?”

“Yes, I kept my promise to the princess!”

“Don’t lie! I heard that you will confess everything tomorrow.”

“No, princess! I never disclosed what the princess ordered me to do! just-.”

“You’re right.”

When I suddenly interrupted and answered instead, the two turned their heads to me.

Perhaps because she turned her head hastily, the hat of the robe that was covering the woman’s face came off, revealing her face under the torchlight. “Adela.”

“Hey, princess…!”

Owen Est put on an expression bordering on astonishment.

“Belita.”

Adela’s expression, on the other hand, showed no sign of surprise. Aiden had told me that before.

He said that his sister was weak in mind as much as her body was weak.

No, he got it completely wrong.

Adela, his sister, despite her weak body, had stronger mental strength than anyone else.

That’s why you don’t blink an eye like that even if everything is revealed to me.

“Shall we go up and talk?”

“Great.”

I didn’t think the story to be shared would be something to talk about here, so I suggested that we go to a place where the two of us would be alone.

We left the dungeon and headed to the mansion’s garden.

And as soon as they reached the depths of the garden, they faced each other.

“Did you notice that I was scooping Adela when I visited today? You look so calm when you see me.”

“No, I didn’t know. I just heard the voice of the princess and thought that something had come.”

For some reason, she was very unfamiliar.

The person who first asked me to call her by name was now calling me Gongnyeo.

I even imagined that she might be a different person at the moment with her confident and lofty attitude, which I had never seen before in a sickly and pitiful woman.

“Why did you do that?”

Without delay, I immediately asked the question I was really curious about.

“Why did you do that to me?”

She seemed lost in thought for a moment.

I waited patiently for her.

“You really don’t know why?”

I asked why, but instead she was questioning me.

“Is it because of Duke Maxius? I think I made it clear. Whatever he feels toward me, it has nothing to do with me.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter.”

“What does it mean?”

Even though he said that he had no feelings for Kane and that he would never have anything to do with me, in the end it didn’t matter.

“Because I took away all the Duke’s attention and affection toward me.”

Ha ha, that was ridiculous.

“That is not what I wanted.”

“So I am angry. I feel dirty. I’m broken.”

“Yes?”

“The princess’s indifferent attitude is even more disgusting.”

The unexpected words made me feel numb for a moment.

Was it Adela who said she was disgusting to me?

“I’m sick of having everything I want and not being happy at all, being laid-back.”

“Is that so?”

“….”

“Are you pretending to be friendly to make me feel safe and then try to stab me in the back of the head?”

“That’s right. But in the end it failed.”

“Why are you so shameless? Why don’t you feel sorry for me? Now Adela is doing me wrong. You tried to frame me and push me into the abyss. Do you feel no guilt at all?”

“Then give it back to me.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Please give me everything back. Please return Duke Maxius’ love and Aiden’s affection and interest. Then I will kneel down and apologize to the princess.”

I wanted to give it back, but when I asked for something I couldn’t give it back, I was so full of energy that I couldn’t say anything.

Was this the price of trusting people?

I’d rather not be close, only regrets came over my foolish decision in the past.

“I really tried to get along, but I believed that I could properly undo the relationship that was broken from the beginning because of a man….”

“That is foolish.”

Yes, it was just as stupid as she said.

“Does Aiden know?”

Adela burst into laughter for a moment.

“If he had known, would he have stayed quiet? I’ve seen him since I was very young. So I knew at once where Aiden’s gaze was.”

“….”

“But you know what? Whether or not Aiden has feelings for the princess has nothing to do with it. Because he was subordinated to our Bayern family.”

“Isn’t it too much to say that you are dependent even though you are a family?”

How could you talk to your brother like that?

Even though I don’t have a brother, I could tell she was talking too much.

“Ah.”

But Adela suddenly made an expression as if she had realized something.

“I see.”

He continued talking to himself, then raised one corner of his mouth.

Then he mumbled to himself words he couldn’t understand.

“I will reveal everything tomorrow.” It didn’t matter what she said now.

I immediately declared war on her.

“There is no evidence. But are you going to reveal what I did?”

“I have evidence, I have witnesses.”

“My escort? The author can’t say anything. Especially when it comes to me.”

“No, I will make it.”

“How?”

“Why should I say that?”

“I’m sorry to hear that there is no way. On the other hand, I have plenty of evidence to prove that the princess is the culprit.”

Hey, wasn’t it Mrs.

For a moment, I doubted once again whether the person in front of me was really Adela Bayern.

What the hell is this novel

Why is it that all of the male and female characters are switched and make me so confused?

But I couldn’t lose.

‘Be alert.’

Yes, you can just start over.

How did I come this far, but I could never let go like this. “You’ll see that tomorrow. I mean, I really don’t have anything.” I looked at Adela with a confident expression.

Then, a slight crack appeared on her face, which had remained calm.

It was a very slight crack, so I could barely see it.

“I don’t think there’s anything more to say between us.”

“I guess so. So let’s go first.

“Yes, please go in.”

Not long after Adela left the garden, I also left the garden and returned home.

After clearing my mind, which had become complicated by the conversation with her, I made a plan step by step on what to do.

And he started moving busily for an all-out war with her, whom he would meet again soon.

But the next morning, what my father said happened.

Demonic spirits appeared on the northern border and attacked people indiscriminately.

The empire hastily organized a subjugation party.

My father was supposed to go to this subjugation.

I wanted to take care of my father until the day he left so that he would not have any inconvenience.

However, the rest of the motivation was so strong that a few days before the campaign, my father had an accident during training.

“Father!”

I went into my parents’ bedroom and gave my father a quick, worried look. A bandage was wrapped around the father’s shoulder.

“How did you get hurt, father?”

“So, when I told you to do it in moderation, you didn’t listen and this happened, honey.”

“Kuhm!”

At the nagging of the mother, the father showed a displeasure and cleared his throat.

“Mother, how did your father get hurt?”

“I heard that during the subjugation, the strength did not come out like before, so in case the knights would undermine his family name, he was training at night, and the strain on his shoulder caused his muscle to rupture.”

In a way, he was like a father who was passionate about everything.

“Don’t worry, you can still compete.”

“How are you going with this body?”

“You can go.”

Despite her mother’s persuasion, her father continued to be stubborn.

“Father, you won’t be able to ride a horse properly in this state.” So I joined in and started persuading my father.

“Hmm. Shouldn’t you also solve the wagon case? So I must go.”

“You can come back and investigate the wagon case again. What kind of son would stay still when his father went out with a body like this? I’m coming, Father.”

“Belita….”

My mother looked at me with worried eyes.

“Mother, don’t worry. I am the daughter of two people. You can do well even if you go up north.”

“Honey, do it. I also hope Belita doesn’t go, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go. If someone has to go, Belita should go instead of you who are sick.”

I nodded my head as I listened to her, as she was a mother who made wise decisions in any situation.

“…Got it. I was foolishly injured and ended up sending my daughter to the battlefield. I’m sorry, Belita.”

“No, Father. It was a place to go someday. It’s not a bad thing to go a little faster.”

I tried to lighten the burden on my father’s heart.

“Yes, we have the power of fire that we dare not surpass. So with this power you will be safe.”

Crest of fire.

And the power of the House of Fire

“I will hand you this ring.”

It was the red ring on my father’s left hand.

The ring had the power to summon Phinea, the guardian of the Fire Family.

“Do I deserve to wear that ring?”

“Of course. No one but you deserves to wear this ring.”

The father’s voice and expression were determined.

My father’s attitude gave me greater courage and confidence.

My parents who always believed in me without wavering.

“Thank you, Father and Mother.”

In the end, I couldn’t finish the carriage incident and I joined the subjugation party.

* * *

The situation at the northern border was worse than expected.

So, this monster subjugation party decided to recruit about 30,000 people from the capital and about 70,000 people from the castles of various lords of the empire.

It was a large army of 100,000 men.

The overall commander of the Capital Army was Crown Prince Ediel Winston Baltheus.

Below that, the three ducal families, me, Aiden, and Kane, decided to lead the knights.

Thorough preparation was necessary to prepare for the long time it took to form the subjugation party and go all the way to the north, as well as a long fight.

They usually growl at each other, but they knew exactly when the moment to join forces came.

With the combined power of the three families, the preparations for the expedition proceeded quickly.

And finally, it was the day before the ceremony.

A grand banquet was held at the imperial court.

It was a banquet to cheer up the morale of the nobles and knights who participated in the subjugation of monsters and honor their spirit of sacrificing for the empire.

Today I wore a red dress embroidered with gold thread, not to stand out, but to show off the image of the fire family.

Knights of a lower rank were given a separate space in the imperial family, and nobles were enjoying a banquet in the large hall in the imperial palace.

I followed my parents and exchanged greetings with nobles at the banquet hall.

While we were having such a boring time, Kane came into the banquet hall.

He didn’t look anywhere else, but as soon as he saw me, he came towards me.

“Duke of Heights.”

“Duke Maxius.”

My mother and I greeted Kane in turn, and after that Dad and he started chatting.

“I heard that the Duke also decided to go on the campaign this time.”

“Yes, it is. As a duke of the empire, I am doing what I ought to do.”

“But Duke Maxius doesn’t have an heir yet. I should have fallen for this subjugation party.”

“I think it’s right to think of the empire first rather than the successor.”

“Still, I think the Duke might do well to think again. If there is no duke, the Maxius duchy will cease to exist.”

As his father had said, if there was no successor, he accepted even stepping back from the duty of military service.

That’s why Kane didn’t have to join the subjugation party this time. But what the hell was he thinking, he insisted on this campaign.

In the event of an unexpected event, the empire could face a huge loss of losing the family that uses the power of water forever.

So, not only the emperor, but also the crown prince and various nobles tried to stop him from going out, but to no avail.

‘Is it a person who suffers from buying things?’

In many ways, I wanted to be a person who lived a difficult life.

“Thank you for your concern. But my decision remains unchanged.”

“Hmm. Then I won’t say any more.”

“Thank you. By the way, may I speak with Princess Heitz alone?”

“You mean Belita?”

No, why am I suddenly

I shook my head slightly while looking at my father so Kane wouldn’t notice.

I meant to refuse.

“Yes, since I couldn’t finish the carriage case properly, I want to talk to the princess for a moment. Princess, are you okay?”

I could feel Kane’s gaze, but I didn’t take my eyes off my father.

“Then do we need to talk separately about what we can talk about here?”

‘Also!’

My father, who returned from attending a meeting the other day because of the carriage incident, said that.

It was said that Kane took the side of what was going on, so things went smoothly.

At the same time, he properly called Kane’s title, which he used to call this guy and that guy.

So I was worried that maybe my father’s feelings for Kane had melted away, but he was also my father.

‘It can’t be.’

“…All right. Then we will talk here.”

Kane immediately gave up and immediately spoke to me.

“Princess Heitz, did you interrogate Owen Est that day?”

“Yes I did.”

“What did he say?”

“They said they knew nothing about the case.”

“Is that so. Didn’t you say anything else?”

“Yes, but….”

I paused. And I took a look around.

It was too loud from the music coming from the instruments and all the conversations of the people in the banquet hall.

So it was not easy to focus on the conversation.

‘I don’t like being together.’

Still can’t help it

The ball is a ball and it was a company to live.

It was impossible for me not to do my job properly because of personal feelings.

I looked at him for a moment and then turned to face my father.

“Father and mother, I will talk with the duke for a while and come back. This place is so noisy that I can’t.”

“Hmm. I get it. Go away.”

“Yes. Let’s go, Duke.”

With my father’s permission, I decided to take Kane to the terrace.

But just in time, people from the Duke of Bayern were entering the banquet hall. Duke of Bayern, Adela,

And….

Aiden.

Adela and Aiden were watching us.

Aiden was very nice today.

He was so perfect in my eyes that I can’t recall what happened with Adela for a moment.

“Let’s go, princess.”

“Ah yes. Song.”

When Kane insisted on me, I turned back, ignoring the hot gaze staring at me.

And went into the empty terrace with Kane.

As I entered the terrace, the cold night air brushed my cheeks.

I was about to go into a daze at the thought of Aiden I had just seen, but the cool wind helped me come to my senses.

“Gongnyeo.”

“Yes, so I will continue what I said earlier.”

I focused on my conversation with Kane, trying to forcefully distract Aiden’s face from coming to mind.

“On the day of the interrogation of Owen Est, Prince Bayen also came and left early because something happened.”

“Bian…Are you Confucius?”

“Yes?”

Ah, the name.

Adela corrected my title that day, so I thought I should stop calling them by their names in a friendly way.

That’s why the title of Prince Baian instead of Aiden came out of his mouth.

“Confucius Baian is right. Is there any problem?”

I asked him back with a rather calm face.

“No, that’s right. Please continue.”

I could see that Kane’s expression relaxed happily.

Like a quick-witted person, he seemed to guess something.

But no matter what Kane thought, it was all bothersome now.

So I just continued on with what I was going to say.

“So I interrogated Owen Est by myself, but he suddenly had a seizure and couldn’t continue.”

“A seizure?”

“Yes, I struggled and immediately passed out.”

“Did you find out what caused the seizures?”

“No, but there are a couple of things I suspect, so I guess I’ll have to investigate him further when I go back. So I gave some orders to the knights of the investigation team and came.”

“Okay. I wish I could have helped, but it must have been difficult by myself.”

Instead of answering, I shrugged my shoulders up and down.

“Then, I think I’ve said everything to the Duke, so let’s go.”

“Gongnyeo.”

I was about to step out of the terrace when Kane urgently called me.

“Yes?”

“The reason I joined this subjugation party is because of the princess.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

I asked him what he meant with bewildered eyes.

“It’s because I can’t send the princess alone to a dangerous place out of my sight.”

Even when I heard it, I was so stunned that I was dumbfounded.

It seems that this man likes to pretend to be a lover.

It was the same when he confessed his feelings for Adela two years ago and gave me the diamond mine away.

And what?

Are you fighting for me?

Did you really think I would be happy if I said that?

“Duke.”

I called out to him with unfeeling eyes and with an attitude that I was not at all impressed by such remarks.

“Do I look that weak?”

“…no.”

“Do I look like someone who needs to protect me?”

“…no. I’m just doing it because I don’t want even a hair of the princess to get hurt.”

“I am also a member of a ducal family, just like the duke. And I am the next Head of the Fire House. I am not so weak that I need someone to protect me.”

“I know. But my heart-.”

“No, if you really intend to join the punitive force because of me, stop. If the Duke intends to burden me in that way.”

“I don’t think so. I’m sorry if I hurt the princess’s pride.”

Kane politely apologized to me, but I wasn’t willing to accept his apology.

“Let’s go out first.”

I got out of the terrace right away.

Then I looked around and quickly found my parents.

My parents were chatting with other nobles.

I approached where my father and mother were.

“Mother, Father.”

“Belita, is the conversation with the Duke over?”

“Yes.”

“Greetings, Belita. This person here is-”

It was then.

My mother was just about to greet the nobleman standing in front of me.

With the sound of the door opening, the doorkeeper’s loud voice overwhelmed the audience and resounded throughout the banquet hall.

“Here is His Majesty, Emperor Christian Winston Baltheus, the brightest sun of Baltheus. Everyone, pay your respects to His Majesty!”

It was the sound announcing the appearance of the emperor, the host of this banquet.

The banquet hall became quiet in an instant.

The nobles, who had been talking in groups of two or three, stopped what they were doing and bowed their heads toward the emperor.

Following the emperor, the empress, the prince, and a few people who appeared to be members of the imperial family entered the hall. All nobles greeted them with courtesy.

The emperor sat on the high table, the empress sat next to him, and the prince and others sat below him.

My parents and I sat in our seats and gazed at the emperor.

“Thank you for making the place shine like this today. Above all, how could I not be moved by your loyalty to the Empire? That’s why I couldn’t stay still even in the imperial family. The prince will personally command the punitive force. You will have to follow the crown prince to the northern border to save the people of the empire and show the diabolical monsters the strength and stability of the empire.”

After the emperor’s speech, all the nobles stood up and shouted in a loud voice to pray for the eternal glory of the empire.

“Long live the Baltheus Empire!”

“Long live the Baltheus Empire!”

Soon after, upbeat music played to announce the real start of the banquet.

It was music that made my steps lighter.

I saw people coming out into the middle of the hall, all of them.

Then, with each other and their partners, they started dancing to the music.

“Mother, Father. I’m going to get some fresh air.”

“Where are you uncomfortable?”

My mother asked me with a worried face.

“No, it’s because the air is stuffy. Don’t worry, I’ll be right back.”

“Yeah, got it.”

“Go carefully.”

“Yes.”

I got up right away.

And I walked out of the banquet hall with a little speed.

‘Shall we go to the garden again?’

I’ve been to the banquet a few times, but it wasn’t an atmosphere I could enjoy.

It was better to just enjoy the quiet contemplation like this.

It was night, so the air entering his nose was now quite cold.

I have to leave a long way tomorrow, but the weather wasn’t very suitable for staying outside. ‘Let’s go in a little while.’

With that in mind, it was time to step out to go to the garden.

Behind me, I heard the huge door of the banquet hall open and close.

It seemed that someone else, like me, had come out to get some fresh air.

“Princess Heitz.”

– I thought so, but no.

When I saw her calling me in a calm, thin voice, I realized that she had followed me on purpose.

I was about to look back after adjusting my expression, but before I turned around, the person who called me approached me first.

“Princess Bayern.”

It was Adela.

“Do you have any business with me?”

As soon as I saw Adela, I immediately asked why she followed me.

“I saw you going into the terrace with the Duke earlier.”

“Yes, I had something to say, but is that wrong?”

“What did you say?”

Adela no longer hid her jealousy and envy towards me.

“Do I really have to tell Princess Bayon about that?”

“How far did you tell the Duke? Could it be that the princess told everything she knew?”

Adela didn’t listen to me and just talked to me and brushed me off.

“…did you really say that?”

“….”

I deliberately kept my mouth shut and looked at her with bitter eyes.

“Isn’t it?”

Adela’s voice got quite loud as if I was frustrated at not saying anything.

“Princess Heitz!”

“The princess and the duke are people who really only know themselves.”

Seeing her flushed face with anger, I slowly opened my mouth.

“What…you mean?”

“It is literally. Your feelings are the most important thing in the world, and you try to get what you want no matter what.”

“….”

“The two of you get along really well.”

‘It’s a pity,’ I whispered in her ear, with apparent scorn.

“Finally, I advise you once again. If you want to get the Duke’s heart, think of a way to get his heart back. Don’t make people feel bad with useless actions like this.”

Dirty is exactly what Adela said to me.

With a slight sense of relief and having nothing more to say, I tried to get out of the seat.

However….

Adela’s expression suddenly changed.

Adela, who had been blatantly questioning until just now, had gone and had a very pitiful expression on her face.

“Dirty…still?”

The voice also completely changed to the point where it was hard to believe that it was the same person as before. “I didn’t know that the princess hated me this much….”

What.

Why are you doing this?

I couldn’t figure out why the sudden change in attitude, so I just stared at her with an absurd expression.

“I wanted to be friends, so I tried, but the princess must have hated me to the point of wanting to kill me….”

“No, over there-”

“Sorry. I’m sorry for not being so good. Sobbing.”

As she said that, she lowered her head and shed tears.

“Gongnyeo, what are you doing-”

“Sister.”

Then Aiden’s voice came from behind.

I had my back to the door and was so focused on my conversation with Adela that I had no idea he was out.

Adela, on the other hand, had seen Aiden come out.

‘So this kind of acting….’

Now that I see it, it was Adela who was born with acting skills, not me.

Aiden came to Adela’s side.

And handed the handkerchief to the crying woman.

I laughed and looked at Aiden and Adela alternately.

Then I met eyes with Aiden.

There was still no hostility towards me in his eyes.

But I couldn’t bear to keep my eyes open for fear that those eyes, those eyes that looked at me kindly, would soon change.

So I hurriedly averted his gaze.

“I didn’t do anything wrong to make the princess cry. So take me with you.”

And he said in a voice that was no longer friendly.

“Princess Heitz, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for appearing in front of the princess. To the Gongnyeo, I’m a sinner, and I’m sorry that you don’t want me to look at you. Aiden, what do I do? Since the princess hates me this much, what should I do?”

When Adela continued to pretend to be the victim, pretending to be pitiful, her annoyance flared up.

“No. I’m coming.”

So I moved my body, deciding that it would be quicker for me to get out of this place.

“Belita.”

I turned around and headed for the door, ignoring Aiden calling me.

It was just when the gatekeeper opened the door.

I raised my hand to stop him for a moment.

Then, without looking at Aiden, he opened his mouth.

“Don’t call me that. Didn’t they mean a lot to each other in the first place? So, from now on, please call me by a respectful title.” Then, before he could say anything, he entered the banquet hall.

Fortunately, my parents were still sitting there.

I walked over to my mother and father and took my seat next to them.

“Did you get some fresh air?”

“Yes, mother.”

Suddenly, my mother grabbed my hand, which was lying on the table.

“It looks very chilly outside. I see your hands are shaking.”

“…yes?”