Chapter 67
Translator: wuttisyun
“Thanks for that. But you are also helpless with directions, brother. It was mostly Lord Ray guiding us.”
Then I quickly retreated as his sleeves pulled behind his wrist and his hands narrowly missed my nose. A soft sandalwood like scent wafted into my nose. I realised that it was a very strong vanilla scent.
“You’re already an adult now but your lips are still making those cute noises? Huh?”
He tossed his mature image aside as he returned to his stubborn and childish personality before pinching my cheek.
“Stop, stop!”
When would he get rid of this nasty habit of his? I slapped his hand away and pushed him away before looking up at him sulkily. I had wondered if he had grown even a little but he was still my immature brother.
“Don’t even think about dating anyone before you fix that habit of yours, brother.”
It would be a crime to give any girl away to my brother with those naughty hands of his. The girl would be wasted on him. That brother of mine was so hot-tempered.
“Oh. Did it hurt a lot?”
“Did you think it wouldn’t?”
When I spun around as I rubbed my sore cheek, I could hear him chasing after me embarrassed.
Throughout our trip back, Fleon kept pouring out excuses that could never be considered apologies. Eventually, he was told to stop talking by Lord Ray who was sitting next to him. Only then did he shut up.
It was just past noon when we reached Terena Palace. I could feel him take a glance at me.
“Lunch will be stew made from piglet game. Why don’t you come eat at my palace?”
“Well, that sounds good but I prefer my palace’s cooking.”
I wondered why the moment I entered the palace, the faces of my maids welcoming me looked a little strange.
‘What’s wrong with the atmosphere?’
They look like they were just about to throw up. Like job seekers a minute before their interview.
As the maids’ representative, once Bess saw me, she ran towards me. With a trembling voice, she spoke.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uhm… The Duke has visited once again.”
“Again?”
Fleon was the one who replied. He looked puzzled. Ah, now that I thought about it, Fleon and Dane had never met Hernan before.
“Lead me to the drawing room.”
“Yes…”
The Duke from the novel, Hernandez, started visiting me about three months ago. He first came one afternoon after I returned from learning how to work from Penne.
“What an honour, Princess. Have you been well?”
“You.”
He was kicked out as soon as he appeared. As if I had nothing to say to him at all, I drove him out of the palace.
“Please hold on. Princess!”
Since then , he would keep popping up with flowers without saying anything in advance and I had never welcomed him. The flowers went straight into the trash can. And this had continued for the past three months.
He would visit me once a week or three to four times a month. Today was his 10th time visiting me.
Just like how Hernandez acted in front of Castor, I was sure he thought it would be better for him to smile softly and build intimacy with me by treating this moron like his girlfriend.
The excessive attention he was placing on me was flustering but I had to understand why he was doing this.
Hernandez was a close associate of Castor’s. He knew what I did not. I wanted to ask him why he threw his body in front of me to save me from Castor a year ago.
“You. Can you not hear me?”
But it was all in my head. I knew I had to approach him calmly but the moment I remembered that he had even the tiniest connection to Castor, the feelings I had welling inside of me only arose and hurt me. There was also this sense of fear.
If I were to be involved with him, Castor would return and blow the peaceful times I was having away like dust.
“Do you know anything about the curse placed on me when I was younger?”
However, no matter what, I could not forget the things he told me after saving me from Castor. I had questioned him the whole time before I would chase him out of the room, leaving things as it was ambiguously.
“… I shall be back next time.”
I would not stop him from coming back. With flowers piling inside of it, I now question whether it was a trash can or a vase. Just like that, three months had passed.
“Princess.”
When I entered the drawing room, Hernandez was already there, holding a small package in one hand. He smiled sweetly as his fine white hair glowed in the sun. I frowned deeply.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, till now.”
How could I suddenly be happy to see his face when I was unhappy to see him the last time he was here? What did he bring today to make me feel troubled?
“What did you come to bring me this time? There’s no use.”
My soft yet powerful voice resembled Amor’s. Hernan grinned before curtsying Fleon once he noticed him. Fleon seemed to have been shocked by the unexpected visitor and asked calmly.
“How did the two of you know each other?”
“It’s just a one-sided relationship, my Prince.”
His gaze that alternated between Hernan’s and mine were filled with energy.
“Hold on, if you say it like that…”
I was embarrassed. His words left a lot of room for misunderstandings. At that moment, I quickly looked at Fleon only to see him nodding his head and muttering, “Just as expected.” He expected this? What did he expect?
I turned my head and glared at Hernan. I could not yell at him for just watching me at the sidelines without sound as I died in front of all the maids.
“This may be insignificant but I hope you like it, Princess.”
For some reason, once he handed me the package he had been holding, everyone in the room became convinced. What? The gift had been decorated with some unknown flowers.
A purple flower that got thinner towards its stem.
“Huhu, so has my younger sister finally reached that age?”
“Hold on, brother.”
It could not be. No way would that be possible. Everything I had been worried about disappeared as I pulled on Fleon’s clothes. Fleon looked at me clinging onto him desperately slyly before placing his hands on top of mine.
“‘Ah, I wanted this little chick to forever remain in my hands but alas…”
I did not know what he was thinking but with one hand resting on my hands, his other hand was pulling my chin. He nodded to himself as he reached his own conclusion.
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“Damn, I understand that you’re embarrassed.”
“Stop, just listen to me.”
I spat out. Still, Fleon did not care.
“Right, though I may hate those nobles who are templars as well.”
He tilted his upper body towards me before whispering into my ear.
“It’s fine if he’s a duke.”
It should be a crime to take things so far. This guy was being ridiculous! Just as I was about to lose my temper, Fleon glanced at Hernan before giving him a piece of his mind.
“Duke Develo. I have heard countless stories about you but even at your age, I don’t think you have yet to encounter any scandals.”
Fleon held my hands tightly before sighing briefly. Soon, he spat out.
“I’ll allow you both to go on a date.”
With what right! Fleon was the one blocking my path to marriage now! What kind of ridiculous misunderstanding was Fleon making by himself to prevent my marriage. Feeling more and more flustered, I clung onto him for a long time but in the end, instead of solving the misunderstanding, Fleon disappeared with the wind.
“I’ll die if you cry.”
What was he even saying when he was not even the father sending off his daughter during her marriage? I stared at the space Fleon left behind in the drawing room. I slowly raised my hand, pressed it down on my face and removed it. I let out a short sigh.
My beating heart sank slowly.
“Duke, would you like to go on a walk with me?”
pαndα---noνɐ1,сoМ As my hand lowered, I asked him as if it was a matter of business.
“You don’t call me by my name anymore.”
He whispered as his sky coloured eyes watered momentarily.
“Because there’s no reason for me to call it.”
Hernan’s voice did not sound right nor comfortable. I maintained this courtesy out of necessity firmly.
As I stared at his eyes fluttering about as if he just lost his country, though I had done nothing wrong I could feel something eating at me inside.
Why? Why was he looking at me like that?
“Fine. I shall go on a walk with you, Princess.”
He grabbed the hand I had lowered. His grip was firmer than Fleon’s
“Let’s go to the Back Garden.”
He held my hand tightly. I had been trying to avoid doing certain things with him but because of Fleon, I had no choice but to do this at least once. I let out another short sigh.
“Isn’t it too quiet? No one’s approaching us.”
A 20 minute walk from the Back Garden led to the fence surrounding the Forbidden Forest. On the other side of the fence was the endless forest. For that reason, most of the maids do not come here.
As we reached a small fountain, a gust of wind blew. I stepped back to create some distance between the two of us before looking up.
“What a nice day.”
“I’m sorry but I don’t like sunny days.”
It was the warmest day on record. Hernan’s white hair standing out in the middle of the garden under the midday sun felt very foreign. Even if I were to meet him in the middle of a dark forest, I would recognise him right away.
“Is that so? Then, I too, shall hate sunny days from today onwards.”
His milky white hair matched the gentle expression on his face as it moved in waves with the wind.
“… What?”
The Duke had never been a comfortable existence to me but he kept making me misunderstand. He felt like feathers, providing a cozy feeling that helped people feel comfortable.
“A year ago, you saved me from my brother, Castor.”
I no longer wanted to talk to him in rhetoric so I spoke right to the point.
“You’re mistaken, Princess.”
Hernandez shook his head gently.
“You might not believe me but he had no intentions of killing you.”
“Are you trying to defend my brother in front of me?”
I did not try to hide my expression that made it look like my face was filled with blades pointing towards him.
“You are my brother’s knight. I won’t get angry just because you took my brother’s side. You also do not care if I were to resent you.”
“That’s not true,”
“He tried to kill me.”
Then he hesitated before saying.
“Princess, a knight has something he lives for, And when he kills, that precious thing appears on his sword. But the sword he was wielding that day was shallow and weak. It was not enough to kill anyone.”
He looked seriously apologetic.
“Before he put strength behind his swing, His Highness had already seen me run towards you. That’s why I was hurt. It is my fault… At that moment, I had been so surprised that I could not think clearly and just got in the way which flustered him. If I had not stepped in, the sword might have stopped…”
“So are you saying that my brother is free of any sin?”
“No, His Highness…”
As his lips twisted round his words, he struggled to speak.
“You’ve gotten it wrong.”
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