For the heart - Chapter 23

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 23

* * *

Casian secured a room and then left the inn.

“I’ll be back in about an hour, so take a shower and get some rest.”

Casian disappeared immediately without saying where he was going.

Nina, who had been dozing as he suggested, opened her eyes to the faint sound of running water.

‘Casian…?’

At the sound of the water stopping, Nina sat up on the bed.

It seemed Casian had returned while she had dozed off.

Nina’s eyes widened when she saw Casian emerge from the bathroom.

He was wearing pants but had nothing on his upper body, with a towel draped over his wet hair.

“You’re awake. I was just about to wake you up.”

She knew he had a sturdy build, but his bare torso was beyond her imagination.

Broad shoulders and firm yet elastic-looking muscles formed his body.

Though she had seen countless bare-chested knights on the battlefield, Nina somehow found herself quickly turning her gaze away from his body.

Casian took out a new shirt and jacket from some bag, put them on, and approached Nina.

He was holding a dress in his hands.

“I bought it by eyeballing the size, so I’m not sure if it’ll fit well.”

Only then did Nina turn her head to look at the dress he placed on the bed.

The dress, suitable for a young woman, had a slightly low neckline and was designed with light blue crepe that fluttered gently.

“Right now… you want me to wear this?”

“Yes. Oh, I also prepared a wig.”

Casian smiled brightly as he held up a long light brown hair wig.

“Just a few key features would make identifying the Princess easy. There probably aren’t… any women with such short hair in Arsed.”

“Hah.”

Nina sighed as she looked at the dress spread out on the bed again.

He wasn’t wrong. If rumors spread that Princess Nina of Arsed had come looking for the attendant of the Grand Temple Scriptorium from 20 years ago…

Finding the truth about the oracle would certainly become more difficult than it already was.

“I’ll step out for a moment, so please change. Hita Village isn’t very far from here.”

The man, who had transformed into a proper-looking nobleman, disappeared outside the room.

“A dress…”

When was the last time she had worn a dress?

Since she began rigorous training at age seven, the only clothes Nina could wear were training clothes and combat gear.

Resigned, Nina began taking off her shirt and pants to put on the dress.

Though he said he had chosen it by eyeballing the size, it fit perfectly without lacking anywhere.

But then.

“Ah… I need to tighten the laces from behind.”

After putting on the dress, she realized it was the type that needed to be laced up from behind.

It wasn’t so loose that her entire back would be exposed, but she definitely needed someone else’s help.

Nina sighed once more and put on the long brown wig Casian had left behind.

When she combed it neatly with a brush, she looked like a young lady from some noble family at first glance.

Knock knock.

At the light knocking sound, Nina opened the door.

Casian was leaning against the railing across from her, as if he had simply been waiting outside the door while she changed clothes.

“Come in and help me. I need assistance.”

Nina felt somewhat awkward as he just stared at her without coming inside.

Her appearance must have looked quite strange indeed.

“Hurry up.”

Only after hearing her urging did Casian come inside.

Nina swept the long brown hair over one shoulder and turned away from Casian.

This was her first time asking someone for such help, and asking Casian, a man, made her feel a bit embarrassed.

But Nina suppressed such feelings and spoke matter-of-factly.

“It’s a dress that needs to be laced up from behind. It’s impossible to do alone.”

“…”

Without responding to Nina’s words, Casian silently reached out and began carefully tightening the laces starting from the upper back.

Swish, swish.

Only the sound of the laces being pulled through the holes on both sides and creating friction filled the small room.

When Casian’s hands reached down to her waist area, he pulled the laces with a bit more force.

“If it’s too tight, please tell me. I’ll tie it a bit looser.”

“It’s fine.”

At Nina’s response, Casian slowly moved his hands over her slender waistline.

“Princess Nina, you know. You always wear knight’s attire, but if you dressed up properly, probably all of Arsed, no, the entire continent would be turned upside down, right? I can tell just by looking.”

What could he possibly know. She had pulled his lips for chattering about things she never asked about, just like her attendant Emil used to do.

But maybe she should apologize to Emil when she sees him.

Even though it wasn’t as fancy as the elaborate dresses worn by Princess Lillien, the Empress, or the maids she had seen at the Imperial Palace, somehow he couldn’t take his eyes off the figure he sensed from behind.

“…It’s done.”

“Thank you.”

Casian extended his hand to Nina.

Looking at the hand extended to her, Nina unconsciously tilted her head.

She couldn’t understand why he was suddenly extending his hand to her.

“Take it. From here on, we’re a married couple.”

“What?”

“Think of it as a disguise on the battlefield.”

Casian chuckled and directly took Nina’s unmoving hand, grasping it.

Nina, who left the room like that, was led by him onto a horse, and the horse headed toward Hita Village.

* * *

Finding Haren wasn’t difficult.

When they went to the place people had told them about, fortunately he was inside his house and readily welcomed Nina and Casian inside.

“To think someone would come all the way to this remote village to find me. What brings you here?”

“I’m Terry Debuah. This is my wife, Ellinne Debuah.”

Nina glanced sideways at Casian as he smoothly spouted lies with a natural expression.

The clothes were already awkward and uncomfortable, and when he introduced her with a name she was hearing for the first time, a slight twitch occurred at the corner of her mouth.

“My wife’s father was a Seregwan at the Grand Temple 20 years ago. We learned that you assisted the Seregwan at that time, so we came to find you.”

Haren’s eyes widened so much that the deeply wrinkled corners became taut.

The daughter of the Seregwan he had served 20 years ago.

Moreover, with the courteous attitude of this handsome young man who was clearly a noble, Haren couldn’t harbor any suspicion and was filled only with joy.

“Then, you’re saying you’re the daughter of Sevian Priest?! When did that ascetic man who regarded women like stones ever…?”

Casian, noticing the old man’s budding suspicion, cast his eyes down sorrowfully.

“My mother-in-law, who passed away recently, told us. It was a one-night mistake… Since she told us just before passing away, we don’t know much about her father. My wife wants to know what kind of person her father was, what kind of work he did. It’s like a longing for the father she lived her whole life not knowing. Isn’t that right, dear?”

“…Uh. Yes.”

“My wife is quite nervous. This is the first time meeting someone who served her father so closely.”

Casian gently took Nina’s hand and patted it affectionately.

Nina was startled but tried not to show it. This kind of contact unrelated to healing was a first for her.

Both acting like a real wife and the warmth of the held hand felt strange.

“Oh my, I see. The Sevian Priest I remember was one of the Grand Steward’s assistant priests. He recorded the oracles that the Saint received at the Grand Temple in the oracle books.”

In that moment, a spark of light flashed in Nina’s blue eyes, which had been awkwardly stiff until now.

“Have you ever seen those oracle records, I mean, have you seen them?”

To Nina’s question, who had spoken sternly like a knight commander before quickly correcting herself, Haren slowly shook his head.

“No. The oracle records are first reviewed by the Grand Steward and Seregwan who are present when the Saint’s oracles are delivered, then received by His Majesty the Emperor at the Imperial Palace. After that, they are well sealed and moved to one of the Thirty Temples scattered throughout Arsed to be stored in the Secret Vault’s Reliquary.”

One of the Thirty Temples. The Secret Vault’s Reliquary.

Nina’s mind raced quickly.

When the High Priest and Viscount of Demont’s plan to overthrow the imperial authority was exposed, they were all executed, and all temples in Arsed, including the Grand Temple, were destroyed.

Casian, who glanced at Nina, asked Haren.

“Then by any chance… do you know where those oracle books went?”

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