I Will Become the Ex-Wife of the Beast - Chapter 25

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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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Kiers checked the time and lifted one eyebrow slightly. Going by the look of it, there were more people than he could count hiding behind the trees, all for the sake of one child.
“Hmm~ where could she be, hm?”
Every time Rose took a step, the whole lot of them flinched and scrambled from one tree to the next. It was a ridiculous sight. They might as well have been monkeys.
Watching the scene, Kiers let out a deep sigh, and with it, the power he had been holding in seeped out of him.
“Hm?”
Rose, who had been standing in the middle of the footpath, tilted her head and turned around. Kiers had never been hiding, nor had he any intention of doing so, so spotting him took no time at all.
Thud! Startled, Rose dropped her basket and blinked.
“Oh.”
“…….”
Kiers rubbed his chin as he regarded her quietly. This wasn’t a hunt, and there was no reason to keep standing there studying her forever. Crunch, crunch. He walked straight ahead, shaking out both wrists lightly as if shrugging off the tension.
“…Y-Your Highness the Grand Duke!”
“You mustn’t do this, Your Highness! She’s still a young lady!”
“…….”
The moment he took a step forward, the knights who had been hiding behind the trees poured out all at once. There were more of them than could be seen, and Kiers set his jaw.
“You lot.”
“Hmph!”
But the one who was most startled was, as expected, Rose. She had been humming happily to herself when the knights suddenly blocked her path, and she plopped down hard on her bottom.
“Waaah! Sis!”
“My lady!”
“Are you all right, my lady?”
Devon and Aiden, the brothers, were the first to reach for Rose with both arms. They had been standing behind the foremost tree, so they lunged forward as if they had been waiting for this very chance. But no matter how quick they were, they could not hope to match Kiers.
“Move.”
“…W-Your Highness, we only…”
“I said move.”
He hadn’t drawn his sword, but simply drawing a line through the air with his chin was enough.
His subordinates stepped back at once under Kiers’s command, but their faces were brimming with reluctance and unease. In the end, Lear, the one serving as their representative, gritted his teeth and bowed.
“Your Highness!”
“…What now.”
“My lady seems to be quite shaken. Please, calm yourself, Your Highness.”
“…….”
What did I do? Kiers’s left hand lingered briefly near his brow, just above the mask. But instead of wavering, this time he issued his order more firmly.
“Go back.”
“Your Highness!”
“Is there any reason a knight who’s late for training should be standing here?”
His crimson gaze threatened more sharply than any blade, and there was no point in saying anything more.
The knights cast pained glances at Rose one by one, then had no choice but to turn away. As their silver armor clinked and they hurried off, Rose, pale as paper, only heaved her small shoulders.
“…Hic.”
“…….”
Damn it.
Kiers looked down at her with belated regret. He should have sent them off properly, but he couldn’t rein in his own irritation, and his glare had carried his power out without him meaning it to.
…She’s going to cry, surely.
Rose sat there, blinking up at him, and he knew the tears were about to spill. He wasn’t exactly waiting for them, but Kiers shook his head and let out a quiet snort. Then, rather than forcing her to her feet, he bent one knee to bring his eyes level with hers.
“…What are you doing out here, my lady?”
“Hmm.”
“Your sister must be searching for you frantically.”
“S-Sis!”
At the mention of her sister, Rose’s eyes went as wide as they could possibly go. Just as she stamped her feet and started to get up, Kiers’s hand shot out on pure instinct.
“Your Highness! S-stop, you were here all along!”
“…….”
“Oh, Lady Rose is here as well.”
At the hurried shout coming from behind, Kiers turned his head, his arm still outstretched. He watched the Count come rushing over, hair disheveled, and a thin, mocking curve touched his lips.
“What brings you out here, Count?”
“Yes. Well, it’s a matter of…”
“Did those fools run straight to you? Telling you I was about to finish off this young lady, so come and save her?”
“Y-Your Grace!”
Anyone could see right through it.
Kiers stretched his arm out again. The moment he caught Rose’s small body, he scrunched his eyes at its weight, then lifted her up with a single heave.
“…Your Highness! If you’re going to do that—!”
“Shh. The more you tell me not to, the more I want to.”
“….”
“By the way, you feel hollow.”
Keeping his doubt to himself, Kiers wondered whether this was truly a human being, then set Rose down with great care.
“Hm?”
Rose, who had been dangling stiffly in midair, had barely touched the ground before she rolled across the floor to test it.
“Wow!” At the child’s delighted exclamation, not only the Count but Kiers too raised an eyebrow.
“…Now you have to tell us. What were you doing here?”
“Mm…”
Rose clasped her hands together and fidgeted with her fingers, hesitating. She wasn’t crying, but she gazed up at them with wide eyes, her lips twitching as if she might speak and then thinking better of it.
“Um, Grandpa.”
At last she hesitated and looked up at the Count, who, barely hiding his grin, quickly bent down and tilted his ear toward her.
“Ah, yes… I see… Of course, I understand.”
“…Count.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
At Kiers’s low summons, which he had been waiting for, the Count bowed his head apologetically. Still, his ear was tilted toward Rose more than ever.
“The young lady says she’s looking for the owner of some candy. A candy basket was dropped in front of the garden.”
“…Why can’t you tell me that directly?”
“One moment, please. Yes, my lady… Ah, I see. No wonder.”
Listening to Rose’s whispers, the Count nodded along, sharing a deep sense of understanding with her.
The Count glanced up at Kiers, and a flicker of mixed emotions crossed his face.
“…The little lady would like to tell you herself, but her big sister told her she mustn’t speak to the Grand Duke.”
“…Why.”
“Please wait. I’ll ask her again.”
“Never mind. Tell her she can speak to me.”
Kiers waved him off with one hand and gazed down at Rose. Her face, so like her sister’s and full of curiosity, tilted up at him. Taken aback by her precociousness, the Count lowered his voice and leaned toward her ear.
“His Grace the Grand Duke says you may speak to him directly.”
“Why?”
“Well, that’s because…”
“Because I’m going to be your sister’s husband.”
“….”
Kiers spoke directly, without going through the Count. Rose, like a budding flower, blinked in confusion, and though neither said a word, both men were plainly tense. Kiers in particular, who had never once been flustered, found a tightness creeping into the corners of his mouth that he could not help.
“Oh, I see!”
“…Hah.”
With a bashful little smile, the childlike sweetness spread across Rose’s face, and Kiers squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. Why was he feeling tense now, when he had never once felt it on the battlefield? It was a relief, yes, but it was also true that the weight of dealing with someone so guileless had been added to his burden.
“So the Grand Duke is my sister’s husband!”
“…I’ll be your brother-in-law, then.”
“Brother-in-law Rose?”
As if she hadn’t thought that far, Rose’s mouth fell open. Whether it was a good thing or a bad one, only she knew what it meant.
“…I understand that you don’t like me, but…”
“Brother-in-law?”
“…Yes. Brother-in-law.”
“Hmmm.”
‘I don’t know, I don’t know!’ Rose twisted her body, covered her face with both hands, and shook her head. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and her platinum-blonde hair swayed, the worn ribbon pin dangling along with it.
…What am I doing? Kiers, who had unconsciously reached out his hand once again, came to his senses and rose from his seat.
“For now, we should go to your sister. She’ll be looking for you for sure.”
“My sister? But Rose was only trying to find the owner of the candy.”
“The owner?”
Following Rose’s hand, Kiers wore the look of someone who had figured something out.
“Don’t worry. Everything inside the Grand Duke’s Castle is mine, anyway.”
“…So the candy is yours, Your Highness?”
“Just now you called me brother-in-law.”
“….”
“Well, that’s only a formality, of course.”
With a shrug, Kiers set off ahead. “Your Highness,” the Count murmured, narrowing his eyes and pushing his glasses up, but Kiers pretended not to notice and lowered his gaze to Rose alone.
“Anyway, why are you so set on finding the owner?”
“If you lose candy, it’s so sad, you know.”
“…Sad, you say?”
“If you lose something this delicious, Rose might cry. At home, my big sister breaks one in half for me, and I have to make it last five nights.”
“…….”
Rose tilted her head back with a chirp. Given how far apart their heights were, it seemed like she might tip right over at any moment. I hadn’t realized there could be someone who made you anxious just to watch.

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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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