âWhat?â
In an unexpected change of subject, I raised my slightly bowed head. But Esadien repeated casually.
âCould you take off your gloves and show me your hands?â
âSuddenly, my hand? Whyâ¦..â
âDidnât you say you didnât hide anything from me?â
I couldnât breathe.
âNo, not this one.â
The burn marks that could not be blurred even by divine power were the only big flaws that existed on Minuelle Karinenâs beautiful body.
âI donât want it to be seen. Never.â
Especially for someone as beautiful as Esadien.
As soon as he saw the scar, I was afraid that his eyes would be distorted and have a contemptuous light.
The intense fear even consumed the heat that traveled throughout the body. Only the tip of my nose was still hot.
âMinuelle.â
I hesitated back.
âIt was so sudden. Laterâ¦. laterâ¦.. now isâ¦.â
While I was stuttering and talking, I felt something hot crossing my throat.
âMinuelle!â
Esadienâs eyebrows were sharply distorted.
âAreâ¦. you angry?â
It was a time when I took a deep breath as I felt my throat clogged.
Contrary to the previous one, Esadien narrowed the distance I had been working hard on. Then I blinked blankly when a soft handkerchief touched the tip of my nose.
âUhâ¦.?â
âItâs all right, calm down. Itâs okay to show me next time.â
It was dark, but it was recognizable enough that Esadienâs dark green handkerchief was wet to near black.
ââ¦.this body.â
In the end, I saw the blood again.
âYouâd better go inside. Rest and go back.â
âWhat about you, prince?â
Instead of answering, Esadienâs gaze returned to the carriage in which Lafesch rode.
Hahaâ¦
âI see.â
I did this much.
My spirits went flat.
âI think Iâll be late, so donât waitâ¦..â
At the same time, what he said while looking back at me, even the last remaining patience was volatilized. Iâm not even a naive hostess!
âNo. Thatâs it.â
I took off Esadienâs hand with a handkerchief, but soon I felt blood flowing again.
I thought I had vomited a lot of blood before, but this was another unfamiliar symptom. Again, holding down the anxiety that was about to rise, I pulled out my handkerchief and pressed my nose.
âHandkerchief, do you want me to wash it and return it?â
âIt doesnât matter.â
Ha. I guess so. It would be better if we didnât meet under the pretext of a handkerchief, you.
âThank you for your noble consideration, but I will stop and return.â
Seeing Esadienâs eyebrows frown, it was clear that he didnât even know why I was sarcastic.
âIf you collapse,â
âNo, you donât have to worry about that.â
I strode up the stairs of the carriage without an escort and opened the door. When I saw Ramande sitting inside, Esadienâs hardened face became clear.
âThe Priest of Flendena.â
âLong time no see, Prince.â
Whether the two greeted each other or not, I sat down across Ramande. Ramande, who was looking at Essadien and me, added.
âI followed because I was worried that it was late. Looking at Minuelleâs condition, Iâm glad I did.â
As soon as Ramandeâs divine power wrapped around her, the nosebleed stopped and the heat subsided.
âHaâ¦. thank you, Ramande.â
As soon as I exhaled a comfortable breath, Esadien spoke as if interrogating me. What Ramande explained a while ago didnât seem to reach him at all.
âMinuelle, you have no reason to be angry with me. Isnât there someone else in your carriage?â
âI beg your pardon? Who are you attaching Ramande to now?â
âWhatâs the difference? Arenât Flendenaâs priests and Lady Celeste also friends of each other?â
And words rolled out, adding as if they had forgotten.
âThey are both of the opposite sex.â
âWhat⦠friend? Lafesch Celeste is the princeâs friend? Are you serious?â
Esadien only looked at me silently, even though I was getting heated up again.
Ramande, who was restless, comforted me and said as if he were making an excuse.
âPrince, Minuelle is being emotional right nowâ¦. Iâm sure sheâll regret it and apologize in a little while. Please forgive her.â
At the same time, the eyes of Esadien and I were on Ramande.
âWhy do you ask for forgiveness?â
âPriest, you know itâs not a place for you to join.â
To his surprise, Esadien was staring at Ramande. Ramandeâs mouth is slightly stiff.
âHa.â
Now Iâm really angry, too.
It wasnât disappointing, it wasnât disturbing.
Esadien put that woman and Ramande, the benefactor of my life, on the same line, without recognizing she was making a move on him.
âYou dareâ? What he did was âdaringâ.
âAll right, go, Prince. Go away to your precious friend!â
I screamed and slammed the door shut in Essadienâs face. And, not caring whether he went down the stairs or not, but I knocked hard on the wall on the horseâs side.
âIâm annoyed. Iâm annoyedâ¦â¦â
The carriage set off slowly. I stamped my foot, scrambling my head.
âYouâve definitely become a narrow-minded woman.â
Everyone will gossip when they hear this.
A narrow-minded who canât tolerate her friend. Now, who is going to approach the prince?
âMinuelle, stop.â
Ramande slowly took my hand off my head and organized my messy hair.
And then this is what he said.
âIâm sorry, Minuelle.â
âWhy are you apologizing when itâs not your fault?â
Yes, the bad guy is Esadien. The guy who proudly calls Lafesch a friend is a bad guy!
âStupid! You fool who doesnât know that Lafesch covets you!â
As I stomped my foot again, Ramande gave me a puzzled and bitter look. Seeing that face made me feel even more sorry.
âOur Ramande is the body that will become the High Priest in the future. He told him not to step inâ¦..â
Haah. Another sigh came out.
âDonât do that again, Ramande.â
âWhat?â
âBegging for my forgiveness, donât do it.â
It was like a beating start, so I still didnât feel good.
But I couldnât get the words out. It was because Ramandeâs face, which immediately questioned her, was like someone who had speak ill of someone.
âCanât do that?â
âWhat?â
âYouâre my friend, arenât you?â
Ramande would sometimes become blind under the name of a friend. Of course, he was so precious that I thought I could do anything for himâ¦..
âNo, I mean.â
I shook my hand for a moment and put it on the back of Ramandeâs hand.
âIt wasnât something you had to apologize for. Donât you think so?â
Only then did Ramandâs expression ease a little. He turned his hand over and grabbed my hand, leaning his face gently toward me.
âMinuelle, I didnât want to say this because Iâm cheering for you.â
Ramandeâs lukewarm sigh touched my cheek.
âIf youâre having a hard time, I think youâd better do as the young duchess or the princess says.â
ââ¦.to break off the engagement?â
Ramande patted my head without saying any more. The quiet comfort made my heart ache even more.
Esadien hasnât been contacted since that day.
âI always went to you first. Youâre so mean.â
I laughed bitterly at the thought that came to mind without realizing it.
It wasnât like this before. It was good just to see him, regardless of whether I visited him or not.
âWas Esadien right after all?â
The feeling of liking someone is unbelievable because love is such a short-lived feeling.
My mother hinted at me, who was depressed and stirred the tea cup without sugar meaninglessly.
âMinuelle, I heard that you decided to sponsor a student who will enter a magic school.â
âOh, yes.â
âIt is also important to find talented people. Well done.â
Is the bill already gone? The answer was soon given to me, who was puzzled.
âI happened to see the great magician yesterday.â
âThe great magician?â
Why suddenly the great magician?
In the original story, the great magician appeared from the middle, and he was the one who would become Lafeschâs teacher.
I mean, it has absolutely nothing to do with me. So Iâm more confused.
âMr. Brasidas has been in hiding for a long time. When I was young, no one knew his name.â
Brasidas. Hearing his name, I opened his mouth wide, forgetting the etiquette.
âThe magicianâ¦. No, he said heâd take Palos as a pupil.â
So what about Lafesch?
âWow, the original is twisted like this again.â
I havenât felt much guilty so far as I went on a different path from the original, but honestly, I was a little sorry this time.
â¦â¦What is it.
It tasted like sesame seeds. Hgh.
âLafesch, Iâm sorry! I canât help it either⦠I guess Iâm the villain!â
Does she know that she was destined to become a pupil of the archmage?
But it wasnât time to worry about other peopleâs future.
âSo, Minuelle.â
âYes, mom?â
âThere was an incident that you didnât tell me.â
Right in front of my eyes, my mother was smiling, which is rare. A smile as cold as the snow in the north.
âAhh.â
I swallowed the tea at once and straightened my posture.
âIâm sorry. Thanks to the great magicianâs help, there was no damage, so I thought it was okay.â
âOkay. There was no damage. But there were things you didnât know.â
The mother told the story she had heard from Brasidas in a rigid tone as if she were instructing the operation.
At that time, I did not get on the carriage, which was like the underworld bus, but it had a powerful deceptive magic on me.
At first, even if there are no symptoms, once it takes root, it suffers from hallucinations and eventually finds the caster as if possessed.
âIs that possible?â
âI just heard it, too. He said itâs not the preferred way these days.â
Once again, it got creepy.
I thought it was too sloppy for the carriage to disappear, but there was another target. If it wasnât really Brashidas, it would have been a disaster.
âWow, people should do good things.â
I need to listen to this Lamande too. Heck, helping Palos wa something else.
âBut mom, do you have any idea where itâs behind it?â
âIâll tell you when Iâm certain.â
My motherâs âwhen Iâm certainâ meant that after the culprit was powdered. It felt like black flames were already running behind my back.
âThereâs a good candidate, so please let me know.â
There are two candidates who pester my mother.
It was the second prince and the Church of Fire.
âThe Church of Fireâ¦.â
Not long ago, only a brief caution was written in the templeâs communication, but has it already grown to the point that my mother pointed out?
âBaby.â
âYes.â
âNow when youâre out, youâll stick with the best knights and magicians. We didnât bring you from the temple to lock you up at home.â
Therefore, my motherâs voice, which continued to speak, trembled slightly.
âJust be safe.â
I was choked by her heavy sincerity.
âMomâ¦â
I managed to mumble after my mother gave me a big hug and left the room.
âIf you say so, I wonât go out more.â
I have a conscience, too.