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Chapter : 25
“Your Highness the Crown Princess definitely said ‘anything,’ correct?”
Did I… underestimate the grand duke’s knights too much?
My face went a little pale.
After all, the only ones awake right now were those who received daily punishment drills from Duke Rikesis…
How could I not let my guard down?!
I bit my lip hard.
Either way, I couldn’t take back what I’d just said.
“…Yes. Please tell me what it is you want.”
Let’s at least hear it first.
But what followed shattered my composure.
“What we want… is Lord Ruaque.”
What?!
The moment the knights said Ruaque’s name, I froze stiff.
D-Do they mean to slit Ruaque’s throat?
Come to think of it, I had heard rumors—
That northern people may look slow, but in ancient times they were infamous barbarians!
Their nature was said to be so brutal they even practiced cannibalism.
Of course, I’d always taken it as nasty stereotyping and ignored it, but—
N-No way!
A horrifying image flashed through my mind, and I felt the blood drain from my legs.
He’s still my brother!
Annoying, yes—but precious family all the same.
I raised Ruaque so dearly!
Naturally, northern knights wouldn’t roast a noble heir and eat him, but if they claimed jurisdiction, they could punish him by northern law.
Absolutely NOT!
“No way—!”
“We want to become friends with Lord Ruaque! Please grant us permission!”
“Please entrust the young lord to us!”
…Excuse me?
My eyes widened.
Duke Rikesis and his knights surrounded me, eyes sparkling.
W-what is this?
“To be honest, we were all suspicious of Lord Ruaque’s abilities.”
“We thought his reputation as a sword genius was exaggerated!”
“But after fighting him—Lord Ruaque is an incredible warrior!”
“He has opened our eyes to a new world!”
“Lord Ruaque is truly—!”
And so began a testimony that went on and on and on.
“I see…”
I nodded, understanding now.
Right… Ruaque is the protagonist.
I had temporarily forgotten the fact.
He has protagonist aura…
I thought I had thrown the original plot into chaos, but no matter how I looked at it, the supporting cast had simply become inspired by the protagonist.
Otherwise, there’s no way the knights would admire someone who ambushed their lord.
Maybe Ruaque really is charming enough to be the novel’s main character.
He was especially popular with strong, wild types in the novel.
They said he “felt like one of their own.”
Anyway, better friendly than hostile, so that’s good…
“……!!”
A brilliant idea flashed through my mind.
Wait. Doesn’t this make things easier?
Figuring out what to do with Ruaque was also a major problem for me.
Because the boy had caused this enormous incident just because he disliked the duke.
Ruaque was destined to be a thorn in my path to revenge.
But what if…
I hand Ruaque over to the Rikesis knights?
There was no one in this world capable of perfectly restraining Ruaque, one of its strongest.
So having elite knights monitor him was better.
Plus, I could even gain something immediately—
[Keep the duke nearby! → Go on dates with Duke Rikesis!]
Which happened to be my next objective.
The problem was…
The duke would worry about being seen.
But if Ruaque came along, my outings with the duke would simply look like siblings showing a guest around the capital.
Moreover—
I had no idea what to do about the knights tailing us everywhere…
But now they wanted Ruaque?
Then they can spar with him instead!
I pictured Ruaque and the knights together, and the duke and I separate—
And reached a conclusion.
Ruaque must accompany us on tomorrow’s outing.
In many ways, sending him back to the estate was a waste.
[Jenine to Father, knights to Ruaque, and me with the duke.]
I finalized the plan.
“Very well, I will send him. However…”
I clasped my hands, putting on a sorrowful expression.
“As his elder sister, I must respect my little brother’s free will…”
“Ohh…”
They nodded understandingly.
Seeing that, I slipped my true condition in.
“As you know, my brother Ruaque is so wary and devoted to me that he challenged the duke to a fight in the dead of night. So—what if you all joined us tomorrow when I take Ruaque out? You’ll have a chance to bond.”
“Ah!”
The knights gasped, nodded eagerly, and I calmly held up five fingers.
“In exchange, I’ll persuade Ruaque to sign a contract requiring at least five serious duels per day with Rikesis men.”
“OOOHHH! Excellent!”
And so the deal between Rikesis and me was struck—
Ruaque has no free will!
He had effectively received a sentence of slavery.
* * *
[Leaving the palace today — Crown Princess]
The Crown Prince received the message the morning after he sent Duke Rikesis to House Haim.
Rtie left bed, got dressed, and went to the Haim estate right away?
Sunlight spilled over his desk as his quill froze mid-stroke.
“…….”
A few days earlier, he had placed restrictions for her recovery.
Among them: to retire before 9 pm for two weeks, and to report whenever leaving the palace.
But nothing specified how she must spend her break.
Visiting her family during her rest isn’t strange.
The quill resumed moving.
I really am drowning in work.
Today, he planned to finish all Crown Princess Palace paperwork himself.
Tomorrow I head west with the priests…
And afterward, review southern railway documents.
He had no time to worry.
And of all places, she’s with her family—there’s nothing to worry about.
But focus slipped quickly.
He lifted the quill—and the feather brushed his cheek.
“Duck!”
“Quack quack!”
“Duck!”
“Quaaack…!”
The horrible noises from yesterday rang in his skull.
“……”
Drop.
Black ink splattered across the document.
Those damned knights…
His lip curled.
To parade around half-naked before the Crown Princess…
The moment he saw Duke Rikesis and his men strutting through the palace in nothing but shorts, he nearly executed everyone on the spot.
Only Rtie at his side kept him sane.
She clearly had something to gain from them…
Thinking that, he felt newly impressed by her.
“I wished to offer Duke Rikesis the comfort of home while he honored my palace with his presence…”
The fact she endured three days of their uncivilized behavior without complaint amazed him.
She must have been exhausted.
He hoped her trip to House Haim brought rest.
And the Haim estate has those bath facilities she loves…
Just then—
“The Haim estate has showers too?!”
“……”
He recalled last night’s conversation with the duke.
“Of course.”
“And a giant bath?”
“Probably.”
“Yaaay!”
The duke suddenly shouted and declared—
“Thank goodness! I’m a man who can no longer live without Her Highness’s bathing facilities!”
“…”
“I need to go wash immediately!”
“…”
Snap.
The crown prince’s quill snapped cleanly in two.
