Chapter 23: 23

Chapter 23

“Is navy not good?”
“It’s too cold and dark. The cold breeze will be blowing on top of His Grace’s atmosphere, so we must neutralize it even if just a little, Jude.”
“Then it will be better to choose a different color.”
“Yes. Avoid navy or black.”

With an uninterested expression, Kael looked at the butler and Zion having a conversation to choose the decoration of the mansion.
Being enthusiastic, it was like the flames were burning in the eyes of the two of them.

“Why are you making such a fuss?”
“What do you mean making a fuss, Your Grace! Marquis Tien and his family are visiting today! The Grand Duchess is coming too!”
“We haven’t had a wedding yet. She’s not the Grand Duchess, she is Lady Tien.”
“Ah, but you’re going to have it soon, so there’s that! Anyway, in my heart, she is already the great Grand Duchess…”
“That’s enough.”

Kael blocked Zion’s fuss in advance, who had been excited to the fullest.

“Your Grace will never understand. How excited we are.”
“I don’t understand. I can’t understand why you guys are so excited.”
“Your Grace finally found someone you love and you’re going to get married! And the position of the Lady of the North, which has been vacant for a long time, is finally filled! How are you not excited, Your Grace?”
“Someone I love. You know that. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Your Grace. You’re just in negation. Just admit it.”

As Kael stiffened his expression, Zion stepped back, slightly frightened.
However, he continued to cover his assertion without stopping.
He knew better than anyone that it was a sign to stop here, but he couldn’t stop at this part.

 

“If stopping by the salon in bloody clothes to buy a dress for the Lady is not love, then what is it?”
“Feeling sorry. And going further, courtesy.”
“That’s not it. It’s love. Your Grace does not feel sorry for anyone, nor do you show courtesy.”
“… Are you scolding me?”
“Ahem.”

After clearing his throat a few times, Zion tried to end his master’s ‘love negation’ by slightly changing the topic.

“Your Grace. Think about it. You’ve been smiling a lot lately. You keep smiling in the study.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“What’s wrong with that? Did you just ask what’s wrong with that? Your Grace. You can’t shut your mouth like that. You just didn’t smile before! You don’t know how delighted your people, including me, are after seeing you smile just once…”
“I told you before. That’s enough.”
“I’m like this because it’s frustrating! Just admit it, put it down comfortably, and be completely happy…”
“Zion.”

A voice that was much lower than usual called Zion.
It was a kind of ultimatum. It was now a warning not to really cross the line.
Zion, who understood this well, sighed and shut his mouth.
He felt sad seeing Kael reacting sensitively whenever he said that he could be a little happy now.

“If the one who sees Your Grace covered in the blood of the Corrupted and approached you without being afraid and without caring for her dress becomes the Grand Duchess, no matter how you react, I will pray that you two will love each other sincerely and stay by each other’s side for a long time.”

Zion also spoke in a low voice that was completely different from the excited voice a while ago.

When he brought up that conversation, Kael remembered that moment.
Everyone who watched was surprised, but it was Kael who was the most surprised.
He really couldn’t have dreamed that she would approach him as if it was nothing and wipe the blood off him, and that she would make him smile by saying that white or blue suited him better than red.

‘Why wasn’t she scared? Even those who have devoted their lives to the battlefield see me as a monster.’

There was no fear in Adeline’s eyes that day when she looked at Kael.
He couldn’t even see the many cogs he usually saw whenever Adeline looked at him.
He didn’t know about her, but whenever Adeline talked to Kael, he could clearly see how she thought hard about how to deal with him.
Others might not notice it, but it was an exception for Kael, who was good at reading people’s inner feelings.

‘But not that day. It was the genuine Adeline Tien.’

Of all the occasions he had met her so far, it was the moment when she treated him with the most genuineness.
He could feel the person called ‘Adeline Tien’ without the various calculations.

[Adeline.]
[…]
[Thank you.]

Whether her genuineness was contagious or not, Kael at that moment also conveyed his pure sincerity for the first time in a long time.

It was pure gratitude, not mixed with any cynicism.

The aftermath of his sincerity was longer than he thought.
Adeline’s messed-up dress was particularly noticeable, and even after climbing into the carriage, he kept thinking about it.
He couldn’t think of anything else. The fact that he was covered in the blood of the Corrupted and that he had to quickly remove this terrible trace from his body was also forgotten.
He wanted to send Adeline a new dress as soon as possible.

“Zion. You’re bothering His Grace again.”
“What is this? Where did you come from? I told you to make some noise when walking!”

While Kael was thinking, Vero, who approached them silently, rescued him from his swamp of thought.

“I’ve returned from looking into all the places you ordered, Your Grace.”
“Let’s go inside and talk.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Zion. Leave it at that and make sure to prepare for today’s dinner. Jude will be terribly busy.”
“I’m going anyway. I’m going.”

Zion grumbled and moved away, and Kael and Vero headed to the study.

 

***

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“I couldn’t see any of the things you were concerned about. There was no particular movement either.”
“That’s a relief.”

If Zion was Kael’s tactician and his right arm that moved around in daylight, Vero was his left arm that moved around in the shadows.
Very few people knew of Vero’s existence.
His left arm and shadow. An aide in charge of Kael’s most secret orders. That was Vero.

Today’s report was also based on Kael’s orders to observe several tribes beyond the northern border.
Formally, it was something that could never be done.

“By the way, Your Grace.”
“What is it?”

“I heard that a Corrupted had entered the imperial palace a few days ago. I also heard that was why Your Grace was covered in that blood.”
“That was uselessly fast.”
“Isn’t that why I’m standing by your side?”
“That’s right. That’s it. It’s your turn to ask me to show you my back, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”

Kael laughed and took off his shirt.
Vero was also proficient in various kinds of black magic and medicine.
He was the only one who knew more about the biggest wound deeply engraved in Kael’s body.

“It seems that there is an aftermath from the blood of the Corrupted touching you. The wound got bigger.”
“Is it faster than a normal cycle?”
“Yes, Your Grace. I think it will be back in three days.”
“Like a beggar.”

Kael’s back had a horrible number of scars.
It was devastating enough to believe it was the back of a slave and not of a grand duke.
The biggest wound of all was the blackish-red scar on Kael’s left shoulder blade.
It was a wound that tormented Kael periodically.

Kael sighed at the pain that quickly came to him and put on his shirt again.

“You’ve done your job, so go and rest. You rushed all the way here from the North.”

“Yes. By the way, Your Grace.”
“What is it again?”
“I also heard another story. That day, Lady Tien…”
“If you’re going to nag me too, stop. Zion has already pestered me.”
“… Both Zion and I sincerely hope that Your Grace will become happy. We truly hope so.”

Happiness.
Kael quietly thought about the ordinary word.
He waved his hand once without saying anything. It was a sign to get out because he didn’t want to hear it.
Eventually, Vero quietly withdrew, and only Kael remained alone in the spacious study.

“In three days…”

Kael, who was briefly lost in thought, got up from his seat and headed to a space hidden behind a huge bookshelf.
It was a place where various magic tools were collected.

Kael passed through the many gaps in the dizzyingly stacked tools and headed for the spot where the medicine was gathered.
Even though the aftereffects were strong, he had to take an effective painkiller in advance.

“… So this is where I left the orgel.”

As he was about to go back after grabbing the medicine, he noticed a splendidly crafted platinum orgel.
It was an object that had been forgotten for a very long time.
Of course it was. He thought he had no use for this orgel, and he wouldn’t have in the future either.
But then, Adeline appeared.

[Please promise me one more thing.]
[What is it?]
[If I fall in love with Your Grace, you’ll end the marriage.]

The orgel in his hand suddenly became important because not only did she appear, but she also came with a very impudent condition.

The orgel was a magical device connected to the ring that Kael had given Adeline.
It was an orgel that reflected the heart of the person wearing the ring.
If the woman wearing the ring truly loved the Ruler of the North, the firmly locked orgel would open, and ‘heavenly music’ would play.

Kael slowly touched the orgel’s lock.
He pressed it a few times, but the firmly locked orgel didn’t budge.

“She’s trying to fool me like this.”

Kael grinned as he remembered Adeline thinking hard and trying to deceive him when she had a chance.

“No matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to move this orgel.”

 

Just as she was confident that she could deceive him, he was confident that she would never fall in love with him.
Kael swallowed the words he couldn’t utter out loud and exited the magic tool’s place.
The orgel should not open, and the music should not play.

For ‘happiness’.

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