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Chapter : 14
Rustle.
“Who’s there!”
I had no choice but to freeze in place.
‘Damn it…’
Of all the rotten luck.
Of all things, my robe had brushed against the bushes.
“How dare you spy on Her Highness the Princess. Crawl out here at once!”
The sharp-eared nurse shouted angrily.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
If I wanted to keep my face hidden, I had no choice.
I immediately dropped to my knees and bowed my head deeply.
“I’ve only recently entered the palace, so I’m not familiar with the grounds—”
But smack! A flash of lightning exploded before my eyes.
“Who told you to answer before I even asked?”
I tasted blood inside my mouth.
“How much did you see?”
“I didn’t see anything.”
Ha—did I just get hit?
I clenched my tingling cheek and answered.
“You dare lie.”
Smack! My head snapped to the side again.
“You must have seen and heard everything that happened just now. Isn’t that right?”
I was starting to get irritated.
If she wasn’t taking out her frustration over being rejected by Ferzen on me, then what was this?
Why did I have to be the one getting slapped by Lucia?
‘It’s not like I can control Lucia.’
Still, in the imperial palace, I had to be especially careful with control.
Because of the robe, I couldn’t see well enough to even check the control window.
“…Yes. I truly apologize for overhearing it unintentionally, Your Highness.”
Still, getting slapped twice was unfair, no matter what.
“You were rejected three times by Duke Ferzen… ah, and since it just happened again, that makes four times now.”
“W-what?”
Lucia sucked in a sharp breath and pressed her fingers to her forehead.
“Take off that rag immediately.”
“……”
Instead of answering, I lowered my gaze and called out internally.
‘Irago, activate protection mode.’
I hadn’t acted without a plan.
[Protection mode activated.]
There might be marks on the outside, but whatever.
With protection mode on, she could hit me all day and it wouldn’t hurt at all.
“Strip that thing of its robe at once.”
In an instant, the nurse and the maid rushed toward me.
“Are you insane? How dare you defy Her Highness’s command!”
But I clutched the robe tightly and resisted.
‘Just run to the temple area.’
If I could just reach the fork between the temple and the forest, I could shake them off.
Since the temple was nearby, Lucia wouldn’t dare act recklessly.
“Step aside.”
At that moment, Lucia’s shoe stopped right in front of my eyes.
“I’ve never even taken off my own clothes with my own hands. Someone like me couldn’t possibly strip this filthy robe myself—so I suppose I’ll have to make it come off.”
Ah, so she planned to beat me until the robe came off.
‘Just one more hit.’
Thanks to protection mode, it didn’t hurt anyway.
I’d take one more blow, pretend to tumble backward, and then bolt.
“I’m curious what kind of face you’re hiding so tightly. I suppose I should see it.”
I saw Lucia raise her hand high.
Just as I squeezed my eyes shut—
“What?!”
Lucia’s shrill voice rang out.
“Your Highness. That’s enough.”
“…My goodness. D-Duke Ferzen, what brings you here?”
Who? Ferzen?
‘Why Ferzen all of a sudden?’
I lifted my head slightly without thinking.
The first thing I saw was Lucia, frozen stiff with someone gripping her wrist.
“I greet you, Duke Ferzen.”
The nurse and maid slammed their heads to the ground, prostrating themselves.
‘Why is he here?’
All I could see was Ferzen’s long, straight legs.
How tall was he, exactly? I’d have to fully stand up to see his face.
“I sent my maid, but when she didn’t return, I came myself.”
“What? Your Grace’s maid…?”
“From the looks of it, Her Highness’s maid must have delivered the message first.”
“What—what do you mean by that?!”
Lucia’s gaze snapped toward me.
“Maid, you answer.”
Maid? Who, me?
No matter how I looked at it, Ferzen seemed to be talking to me.
Why was he helping me?
I didn’t know the reason, but escaping the situation came first.
“Yes. That’s right. However, I thought Your Highness might be displeased to hear about being rejected twice again, so I was on my way back when…”
“My goodness. I-I think there’s been a misunderstanding, Your Grace.”
Lucia, pale as a sheet, looked at Ferzen.
“I wasn’t doing anything like that!”
But Ferzen walked right past her and stopped in front of me.
“You should have just come back.”
“…!”
In that moment, time seemed to slow.
[Kaije Knox Ferzen, Rank A, Grand Duke of the Elbenard Empire]
“Your cheek is swollen.”
Ferzen knelt on one knee and gently reached out to touch my cheek.
“That’s upsetting.”
Jet-black hair catching the dawn light, and deep blue eyes.
‘He’s too close.’
How could someone look this unreal?
Even I, who had seen countless male leads, was stunned.
‘But why is he looking at me like that?’
The way he looked at me even felt affectionate.
There was no way Diel and Ferzen knew each other.
“Your Grace, I’m truly sorry. I was momentarily flustered…”
Lucia spoke again then.
She forced a smile, the corner of her eyes twitching as if she were trying desperately to smooth things over.
“Y-yes! Your Grace, it’s true! That maid—no, that maidservant—was hiding in the bushes wearing a robe!”
The nurse chimed in even more urgently than Lucia.
“Our princess is very delicate by nature, so she’s easily startled by even small things!”
“So you’re saying this is my fault for giving such an order?”
“N-no! That’s not what I meant!”
“Your tongue has always been the problem.”
Ferzen said lazily.
“If my knights talked as much as you do, they’d learn silence—even if it meant cutting out their tongues.”
The nurse’s lips snapped shut, her face turning deathly pale.
Though he was wearing nothing more than a light shirt at this hour, the pressure of his presence was unmistakable.
“You should be grateful your mistress matches your level.”
“P-please, spare me! Your Grace!”
The nurse trembled violently, her forehead pressed to the ground.
‘Ferzen…’
I’d known it ever since he toyed with the hot-blooded emperor despite being young enough to be his son…
‘I should stay far away from him.’
He seemed like a real madman.
One wrong move and I might lose my own tongue.
“…Please forgive me, Your Grace. I-I’m simply delicate.”
“If you’re that delicate, wouldn’t it be better to spend the entire day lying in bed?”
Ferzen said, turning his gaze to Lucia.
Just meeting his eyes made heat bloom on Lucia’s cheeks.
She blushed and lowered her head, while Ferzen’s eyes as he looked at her were completely emotionless.
“And this is…?”
Cutting off his gaze, Ferzen looked at the flowers scattered on the ground.
“Maid, did you do this?”
Who? Me?
I was about to raise my head, but Lucia was staring at me, so I stopped.
‘She’d know about charm magic.’
In this world, red flowers were mostly used as materials for enchantment spells.
‘In this situation, wouldn’t anyone assume Lucia did it?’
Why was he pinning it on me?
“It can’t be helped.”
I felt a man’s hand lightly pat my head over the robe.
Before I realized it, I had lifted my head slightly—
“Do you like me that much?”
…What?
“If that’s how you feel.”
I met his smiling eyes, as if he’d been waiting.
“I’ll gladly accept it.”
