Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 29

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

Chapter 29
Ugel Square. I stood there like an idiot, my mouth hanging open. It was a place name that had come up frequently during tea with Marienne and Diego Schmart in the Palace Garden.
Diego Schmart’s gentle voice brushed against my ears.
“If you’ve come to Barishard, you absolutely must visit Ugel Square. It’s truly the culmination of centuries of Belgot’s culture and artistry.”
“Ah. So this is that…!”
An exclamation burst from my lips. Diego Schmart was right. This enormous plaza, the size of two soccer fields, was itself a work of art. In the center of the square ahead, I could see a statue of a wolf howling toward the heavens. It seemed as though Belgot’s symbolic emblem had been transformed directly into stone.
My body lurched forward instinctively, but Auredhian Belgot caught me firmly by the arm, stopping me in my tracks. Even with his light grip, my body spun around. Auredhian Belgot issued a stern warning.
“You can’t act alone, Princess.”
“Oh, yes.”
His tone carried an edge of tension. His reddish-brown eyes swept sharply across the surroundings. I thought I glimpsed something keen flash across his gaze. The hand that had been holding me lightly suddenly tightened its grip on mine with force.
“…?”
But it lasted only an instant. As if nothing had happened, the weight of his hand in mine grew light again. I looked down at our joined hands, then lifted my gaze back to his face. His violet eyes had already returned to their usual calm.
“Have you heard anything about Ugel Square?”
Auredhian Belgot asked in a tone that seemed somehow off, as if nothing had occurred. I stared up at him intently. What was that? Did I imagine it?
After scrutinizing his face for a long moment, Auredhian Belgot tilted his head.
“What?”
“…It’s nothing.”
I must have misread it in the shadow of his hood. I nodded, convincing myself.
“I heard Ugel Square is a must-see place. Everyone was recommending it so highly.”
“Who?”
“Diego Schmart.”
The moment I answered, Auredhian Belgot’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. This time, his expression suggested something displeased him.
“Seems you’ve grown close rather quickly.”
“…?”
Why did the conversation suddenly take that turn? I answered in confusion.
“Is that not allowed?”
“There’s nothing wrong with it.”
His expression was exactly as his words suggested—there was nothing wrong with it. In other words, it meant there was simply no need for it. I tilted my head blankly. Wouldn’t it be strange not to become close?
If I’m being honest, I’ve spent more time with Diego Schmart and Marienne than with Auredhian Belgot. In the Imperial Palace with no connections, I couldn’t simply wait for this man all day. Yet what he was saying seemed to point in a different direction entirely.
“Did Diego Schmart permit you to use his name?”
And that was precisely the point I hadn’t anticipated at all. My mind went blank for a moment. A thought that suddenly surfaced tumbled out without passing through my filter.
“Wait, could this be… jealousy?”
And Auredhian Belgot’s expression became utterly absurd.
“Who? Me? Of whom?”
“…Please don’t make that expression so blatantly denying it. It’ll hurt my feelings.”
As expected, my probing attempt bounced off his iron wall of defense. Fortunately, even I thought it was ridiculous, so the blow wasn’t severe. And with a face as thick-skinned as his wall, I spoke boldly.
“When you become close, you can call each other by name and such things. Diego Schmart said it was fine to call him by his name.”
Of course, it was merely a compromise I’d reached because I couldn’t bring myself to drop the formal speech. Auredhian Belgot slowly shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, if mutual agreement has been reached. Surely he didn’t permit you to use your own name as well.”
“Oh, yes. Despite my appearance, I am of royal blood….”
Perhaps everyone, including myself, had momentarily forgotten, but I was nonetheless royalty of Lebovni. In Belgot, I received treatment befitting a distinguished guest. My name carried weight enough to represent Lebovni itself within these walls.
“Well, if that’s the case.”
Auredhian Belgot answered readily enough, yet his expression remained unsatisfied. I tilted my head, gazing up at his face curiously. What was it? What about this man left him so discontented? After a moment’s consideration, I ventured to broach the subject.
“Would you like me to permit you to use my given name?”
“What?”
“Yerenika. My full name is rather long, so you’re welcome to shorten it however you wish. Yerenika, Yenika, Yeni—any of the three suits me fine.”
….
“It’s a name only my family uses, but I’ll make a special exception for Your Majesty.”
Bewilderment flickered across his handsome features in an instant. My eyes sparkled as I gazed up at him. Auredhian Belgot smiled awkwardly.
“You still know so little about Belgot, Princess.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m declining. Besides, do you remember what I told you before? When you first arrived at the Imperial Palace?”
Tsk. This wasn’t it either? I pouted my lips.
“What are you talking about? I don’t remember.”
“…I suppose I’ll simply have to guard it well myself.”
This man kept spouting cryptic remarks. I scrunched my face, desperately trying to decipher his meaning. Could it be that he disliked me growing close to the priest he trusted? If so, how utterly ridiculous! A petulant voice tumbled out.
“We can become close if we wish! Besides, it’s Your Majesty’s fault for not appearing. When you made me wait like that—”
“I was busy.”
A clean, decisive response. I had become like a nine-year-old throwing a tantrum at a busy person, demanding to play. Damn. I’d truly become a strange woman. What was sadder was that this seemed to have been going on for more than just a day or two. I finally sighed and raised the white flag.
“I was joking. I’m already grateful that you’ve abducted me here. How could I possibly pester you to play with me?”
“You concede quickly.”
“Ugh, really.”
I released the hand I’d been holding as irritation began to rise, but Auredhian Belgot’s grip remained unmoved, so my hand stayed firmly clasped in his.
Auredhian Belgot laughed like a sigh and lowered his head slightly to meet my eyes. In those violet eyes tinged with crimson, I was reflected perfectly. The irritation that had been building dissipated on its own.
And in the next instant, his grip tightened. It didn’t hurt, but it was enough grip strength to startle me. Simultaneously, I felt an intangible force that seemed to pierce through my entire body with a tingling sensation.
“Watch out.”
Auredhian Belgot stepped backward and pulled me along. Whoosh—my body was dragged with him. Someone shot past the spot where I’d been standing just moments before at incredible speed.
“…!”
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
The person who’d nearly collided with me directly vanished so swiftly my eyes couldn’t even follow.
Click. Clatter.
Something like a small bead rolled along a finely cracked crevice in the floor.
I stared blankly downward. It resembled a black, glossy pearl. The person must have dropped it. But that bead too soon disappeared among the feet and legs of the crowd. Simultaneously, the sacred energy transmitted through our clasped hands—that sensation which had been scratching my body with a tingling feeling—vanished without a trace.
What was that just now…?
My eyes rolled with question marks and exclamation points, and I let out a nervous laugh.
“That was incredibly fast. They must have had urgent business.”
….
“Ah, thank you for catching me.”
Auredhian Belgot wore an expression that was neither quite a smile nor a frown. He spoke slowly.
“In moments like this, your carelessness is rather fortunate.”
And I broke into a wide smile.
“Was that an insult?”
“No. It meant exactly what I said—fortunate.”
“How is that fortunate in any way?”
As I asked with a bright grin, Auredhian chuckled softly.
“There’s no need to do things that don’t suit you.”
“…?”
He kept saying things I couldn’t quite grasp. What on earth was he talking about? It seemed I was missing something crucial. I wrapped my arms around myself, which had begun to tingle strangely, and glanced around.
Yet there was nothing particularly remarkable to see—except that people were gradually gathering in the square. Auredhian said nothing more either. He merely smiled enigmatically and tapped the tip of my nose with his index finger.
Even from that small touch, a crisp and refreshing energy surged through me. The tingling sensation that had lingered at my fingertips vanished instantly.
He spoke tenderly.
“Shall we go?”
“….”
In the end, I simply nodded.
* * *
Ugel Square was a colossal work of art in every conceivable way. From the floor tiles to the grand fountain at its center and the howling wolf statue, and the murals painted across the towering walls that encircled the square.
I wandered through the square with a skewered meat in hand, admiring everything. I couldn’t quite tell if it was chicken or duck, but it tasted wonderful. Not just the skewer—the alleyways around the square were lined with delicious-smelling snacks. Among them was a massive cotton candy that resembled my hair color almost exactly. It looked more like fluffy strands of spun sugar than traditional cotton candy, and the pale pink hue floating weightlessly in the air was unmistakably like my own locks.
Auredhian spoke with a hint of amusement in his tone.
“I think you should eat that instead. Not what you’re holding now.”
I turned my head sharply to glare at him, tightening the hood I’d already pulled snugly over my head even more.
“Are you teasing me? How cruel.”
“Well….”

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