Let the Whales Fight, This Shrimp is Leaving! - Chapter 24

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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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Chapter 24
“Strip.”
Deyan swallowed a sigh as he looked at the slender beauty who had come to find him again today.
And, silently turning his back, he took off his shirt and held it close.
Idir, who had barged into the room without hesitation, lined up bandages and medicine on the side table.
Her dedication in coming to disinfect his wounds twice a day to personally check on his healing process was almost admirable.
“Does it hurt?”
“……I am fine.”
She intentionally pressed hard on the wound, then began to meticulously apply the medicine.
‘It hurts.’
Judging by her somewhat rough movements, it was clearly intentional, but he didn’t dare object.
“I’ll wrap the bandages.”
“Yes.”
Slender hands brushed against his bare shoulder.
Reflexively, Deyan’s body flinched.
He feigned composure, pretending nothing was wrong, but he couldn’t hide his body’s reaction.
Idir had likely noticed his tension long ago.
‘Uncomfortable.’
He wasn’t used to being touched by others.
Even if it was a squabble that had been repeated for days now, it was no different.
Deyan asked, even though he knew it was futile.
“Can I not just do it myself?”
“Are you naturally this lacking in learning ability? Should I assign a tutor to you during your stay?”
Her response was more than just a little flawed.
Deyan lowered his head dejectedly and shook it side to side.
“No. Never mind.”
Still, grateful for her thoughtfulness in offering to call a tutor for him, he added.
“Thank you for your concern.”
“…….”
What displeased her this time?
Idir’s smile, reflected in the edge of the mirror in front of him, deepened slightly.
‘What did I even do?’
The more displeased Idir was, the more beautifully she smiled.
She was unhesitating in her actions, and would ruthlessly strike an off-guard opponent from behind without a second thought.
Even knowing this, seeing how he kept falling for that smile, Idir’s smiling face was definitely a weapon.
“The wound has healed quite a bit. Though it looks like it will leave a scar.”
“I am used to it, so it is fine.”
“I wasn’t worried; I was testing you. Normally, it wouldn’t leave a scar, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then what about those fingernails?”
Idir gestured with her chin toward Deyan’s hand.
Rubbing the spot where his fingernails used to be out of habit, Deyan clenched his fist to hide the unsightly marks.
And he inadvertently scanned Idir’s face.
Judging by her nonchalant tone, she seemed to have asked without much thought, but she was a woman whose inner thoughts were impossible to read, making it difficult to guess.
He consciously raised his guard against her.
“Knight Nemanic.”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a fiancé?”
“……Pardon?”
Suddenly, all his strength drained away.
With what intention was she asking this time?
Did she truly ask believing he would have a betrothed?
‘Who would want to be entangled with a guy like me?’
Deyan intentionally furrowed his brow.
Thinking she was teasing him, he intended to look threatening.
However, even though it was an expression that would normally feel intimidating, Idir remained composed.
“Well? Do you?”
“…….”
* * *
I asked again with a beaming smile.
Deyan’s dumbfounded face, utterly bewildered by the unexpected question, was quite a sight.
“Why aren’t you answering? Did you perhaps not hear me well? Is your hearing bad?”
“……No. That is not it. Thank you for your concern.”
“It wasn’t concern; I was demanding answers because I’m annoyed.”
“…….”
He seemed quite flustered.
Seeing how he shut his mouth tight like a clam and just swallowed hard.
‘He has a bit of a dense side.’
I pressed the seemingly incompetent knight of the enemy country for an answer.
“Forget it, just answer. Do you have a fiancé?”
“I do not.”
“Good.”
“……Is that also meant to insult me, perhaps?”
When Deyan asked slowly, I answered firmly that it wasn’t.
“No. I was being sincere.”
“Then why did you ask about my betrothed?”
“Because I’m planning to take that spot.”
“……Pardon?”
“Temporarily, of course.”
“Pardon?”
Flutter.
The shirt dropped limply from Deyan’s hand to the floor.
“Are you planning to stay stripped? How rude.”
“It is not that, Lady Idir……!”
“Forget it.”
I cut him off nonchalantly.
At the same time, I glanced down at the clothes on the floor, and Deyan hurriedly picked up his shirt and put it on.
Without bothering to move, I stood facing him and spoke.
“Joaquin Perez is scheduled to visit in two weeks.”
The moment his name was mentioned, Deyan’s eyes grew sharp.
As I scanned his tense posture up and down with a sly smile, a crack finally appeared in his expression.
“Is it perhaps because of me?”
“Probably.”
I nodded and told him everything about Joaquin Perez sending his henchmen.
From how I faked his death to the fact that Joaquin Perez’s henchmen retreated quietly—all of it.
Having listened to me in silence, Deyan offered a brief impression.
“He will search for me while your eyes are turned.”
“Most likely. He’s a man whose mind works well when it comes to underhanded methods.”
“May I ask one thing?”
“Ask away. Whether I answer or not is up to me, though.”
“Lady Idir, you bear ill will toward both Cordi and our Adorif Empire, do you not?”
“You know me well.”
“Why did you permit his visit?”
“Let’s get the facts straight.”
I corrected his words with a smiling face.
“I never permitted it. He’s just coming on his own. Just like a certain someone.”
When I intentionally poked at him with thorny words, Deyan’s jaw twitched.
‘Felt that, didn’t you?’
“Now I’ll give you a proper answer. I’m going to explain it in a complicated way, so listen carefully and think about it. Got it?”
Deyan nodded hesitantly.
I slowly explained the situation as if teaching a ten-year-old child.
“Joaquin Perez has already visited the Grand Ducal Castle unexpectedly multiple times. He has also frequently sent personal gifts out of the blue. This time is no different.”
“Are you originally close with him?”
“No. If I had my way, I’d want to stab him to death right now.”
I spoke with a bright smile, full of sincerity.
“I hate that bastard so much I want to make pickled fish out of his guts and throw them to the dogs.”
“…….”
Can you feel my sincerity a bit?
Deyan said nothing. Though his complexion did seem to turn slightly pale.
“The period Joaquin Perez stays at the Grand Ducal Castle will probably be about five days. I don’t know if it will be longer.”
“What was the purpose of the visit?”
It was omitted, but it wasn’t hard to realize he was asking for the superficial reason.
Meeting his hazel eyes, which had grown lighter under the light, I spoke directly.
“A State Marriage.”
“A State Marriage in Plene…… unless.”
Deyan, who had been blankly repeating my words, frowned.
His already rigid expression instantly turned fierce, making him look like a true grim reaper.
Or a bear.
‘A rather starved one at that.’
I readily gave the correct answer to Deyan, whose expression conveyed his sheer absurdity.
“Yes, that ‘unless’ is exactly it.”
“Joaquin Perez is over thirty. He is fourteen years older than you, Lady Idir. Furthermore, I believe he has already been married once.”
Deyan’s speech quickened.
Looking at him, who seemed somewhat angry, I asked back with a beaming face.
“Do you think I don’t know that?”
“Are you not the official Successor?”
“I am the Heir, yes.”
“Then how can he demand such a State Marriage from you?”
“How indeed.”
I simply shrugged.
‘Think about it with that grand brain of yours.’
Soon after, a troubled expression came over Deyan’s face.
Has he finally realized even a fingernail’s worth of the reality of the sorrow our Grand Duchy has endured?
And that the Adorif Empire is also responsible for this outcome?
“I told you. You wouldn’t know, since you were in the position of the strong.”
“Yes. I did not know.”
Glancing at me, Deyan nodded and wiped his face with his palm.
It was a mystery why his own expression looked so complex when it was my business.
‘Even though he cuts people down and kills them without blinking an eye.’
Does he want to show that his nature is inherently good?
‘Don’t make me laugh.’
Even so, he was a man who would chop off my head without hesitation if the Emperor ordered it.
It was annoying because even his pathetic empathy felt like deception.
“Shall we move on to the fiancé talk I mentioned earlier?”
I changed the subject, not wanting to hear any unnecessary sentiments.

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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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