A Blend of Romance and Fantasy - Chapter 85

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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85.
I couldn’t break Cedric’s stubbornness in the end.
He left our room again shortly after, saying he had to return to where the Blake Holy Knights Order was staying.
Leonard made no effort to hide his displeasure. His fingers twitched subtly as he stood with his arms crossed.
“What’s wrong?”
He hesitated briefly at my question before drawing a small breath.
“I suppose I need to speak my mind now.”
“About what?”
“You still don’t understand?”
He furrowed his brow, his voice thick with emotion.
“That Duke loves you. What Duke across the entire continent would join a knight’s order as a mere foot soldier just to protect a Princess? It’s something impossible without being blinded by love.”
Heavens, he was saying the same thing as Mrs. Thetis.
I, who had frozen in panic, quickly objected.
“That’s… well, couldn’t he do that as a guard knight?”
“Would a senior executive of a major corporation realistically join a small company as a new employee just to protect the chairman’s daughter?”
Ah. That struck home unexpectedly.
But Cedric absolutely could not have feelings for me.
If it were true, wouldn’t I be no different from the heroine in that trashy romance novel I’d cursed so much?
Since I had to deny it vehemently, I clenched my fists.
“This is a fantasy world! And knights typically possess blind loyalty, so they’re different from wage earners!”
“Then think carefully about that novel you read. Is the Myers Duke the type to do such a thing?”
At Leonard’s words, I recalled the original story for the first time in ages.
He was… that is to say.
A man of considerable arrogance, taking pride in his swordsmanship and his title.
He treated all emotions, including love, as trivial.
And he was a cold-blooded man who viewed marriage merely as a means to preserve his family.
When he fell in love but didn’t know how to express it, he became both the one who wounded and the one who was wounded.
‘A man like that joining a knight’s order as a foot soldier for the Princess?’
No. It made no sense.
“I think it’s fair to say he’s been reborn. Cedric has become somewhat more human.”
“Listen.”
“But I really can’t believe it. For example, if I possessed someone from that famous wizard series and suddenly the protagonist didn’t like his love interest but liked me instead, and his best friend didn’t like the female lead. Does that make any sense?”
Leonard faltered for a moment, and I grew slightly more triumphant.
“Besides, all I did was buy Cedric from the Slave Market. Nothing else. Usually in romance novels, you need to build up a regretful man gradually from childhood to seduce him, but do you really think I have the personality to tolerate such a man?”
He shook his head without a moment’s hesitation, but that was all.
“A man understands men. That Duke definitely loves you.”
“Ugh, seriously!”
Further conversation was pointless. I looked up at him with my arms crossed.
“So what? Even if Cedric loves me, does anything change?”
“?”
“What I love right now is you.”
It seemed he finally understood my words. Leonard’s face gradually flushed crimson, and he turned his head sharply to the side.
“You certainly speak embarrassing things without hesitation. Have you said them often?”
“Are you jealous about this too now? I’m genuinely angry with you.”
At that, he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
“My apologies. I’m simply not accustomed to such matters.”
“Yet you’re skilled at kissing? Shouldn’t you be the one who’s done it often?”
My words turned slightly sharp, but Leonard didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
Like before, he gently cupped both my cheeks and offered a languid smile.
“That falls outside the scope of this discussion.”
“N-outside the scope?”
“It’s only natural to crave more of something sweet whenever it’s within reach.”
I felt my face burn at his brazen words. Soon, I placed my hand against his chest and pushed away his lips as they slowly drew near once more.
“Wait, please. We absolutely cannot repeat what happened last time. Abigail noticed and lectured me about it.”
The perceptive Mrs. Everhart had seen my disheveled hair and loosened dress when I emerged from the room last time, and…
Even for newlyweds, she’d cleared her throat about minding the time and place.
I’d been so mortified that I couldn’t face Abigail for quite some time.
I couldn’t bear to show her that sight again. I turned my head with all my might, trying to escape his embrace.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I didn’t even need to exert much force before he was forced to pull away.
“Your Highness the Sixth Prince, Your Highness the Prince’s Consort. Miss Sara has arrived.”
In Sara’s hands as she entered the reception room was a glass box containing Demian’s gift—an inner armor made from Ragnarok’s scales.
“As Demian said, it is indeed made from dragon scales.”
As Sara set the glass box on the table, Ignis, who had been perched on her shoulder, landed on top of it with a thud.
He looked between Leonard and me in turn, his small eyes narrowing like a flatfish’s.
“Hey, what were you two doing before we got here? Why are both your faces so red?”
“Well, that is…”
I couldn’t tell if his perception was sharp or just plain meddlesome.
I waved my hand dismissively with my flushed face, but Sara quickly scooped Ignis up.
After setting him down on the sofa, she continued speaking.
“If what Demian said is true, it would be best if His Highness doesn’t wear this armor. You possess holy power, after all.”
“I agree. And keeping it here with us like this is also dangerous.”
“Why?”
Leonard tapped his fingers against the top of the glass box.
“As Demian said, the dragon will surely appear again to reclaim what’s his. I can guarantee that much.”
“Your Highness, how can you be so certain?”
“…Well, I’ve experienced it once. It’s difficult to speak of, though.”
At his evasive attitude, Sara frowned and looked at me, but I could only laugh.
‘Could it be… that?’
—When Ragnarok descended a second time, he had searched for something like a madman.
What Ragnarok in Leonard’s past had been searching for.
His past remained shrouded in mysteries, but I decided to uncover them gradually.
“But Leonard, Demian acted as though I would absolutely wear that armor and participate in the Redford Hunting Festival. What scheme might he be plotting?”
“Will you participate in the festival?”
“…I heard that the winner of the Blackwood Hunt Festival receives tremendous honor. Moreover, those who don’t participate are branded as cowards.”
Of course, merely having my name listed would suffice, but I needed to at least make an appearance.
Ignis paused mid-lick of his paw.
“So you’re going?”
“The Sixth Prince’s Wife can’t be called a coward.”
“Dragon-forged inner armor.”
Sara murmured quietly.
“Inner armor is an exceptional item. Perhaps Demian deliberately created a situation where His Highness would have no choice but to wear it.”
“For instance, by spreading rumors that Charlotte received a gift?”
“Then there’s a very simple solution.”
I brushed my hands together decisively.
“We present that armor to the festival’s host—Empress Milena.”
* * *
Empress Milena was one of the imperial family members who survived Emperor Yukal.
Thus, though she lived quietly, the original work noted that resentment and anger festered in a corner of her heart.
Such a person naturally becomes pleased when shown a certain degree of respect.
I wrapped the glass box as elaborately as possible and visited Milena with Abigail.
Milena seemed puzzled by my visit but greeted me with an aloof expression.
“Why did you wish to see me?”
“I must depart for Blackwood soon, and I felt I hadn’t properly paid my respects to Your Highness.”
Milena let out a scornful laugh.
“If you had wanted to come, you should have done so long ago. What respect do you speak of now?”
“How unfair of you to say. As you know, I come from a foreign land. I was unfamiliar with this empire’s customs, and besides, I’ve had little opportunity until now.”
“….”
Milena nodded slightly, as if willing to hear me out.
“I received a gift. However, it is far too precious, and I believe it would be far more suitable for Empress Milena, who hosts this hunting festival. I wish to present it to you.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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