CH 63

“That.”

She was reluctant to answer and was frozen with her dreamy, dazed expression. Her eyes were not focused.

She then regained her senses after a while.

“I don’t know.”

Verndia gritted his teeth. Can’t she completely break the spell just by feeling detached from herself?

What should she do?

He was in the midst of thinking.

After alleviating her headache, Psychke opened her mouth.

“I thought of you when you said it was a supernatural ability, Duke. You said you wouldn’t break off our marriage in front of the Emperor?

“Yes, I did. Because as soon as we breaks our marriage, he intends to send the Princess to Hestie.”

“…!”

Psychke’s face turned white. And Verndia, who saw that, mistakenly thought that her paleness was due to something else.

“Ha.”

She exhaled her cold breath and half-raised her body. Psychke suddenly looked up at him.

His chin, his large hands, touched the wall behind her. His face came closer. A rough breath felt at the tip of her nose.

“Why, are you worried that I won’t let you go? Are you afraid you will be forced like what Silkysia did?”

Why?

Why does his face look scarred?

And why does she feel these emotions through the ring?

Verndia said bitterly.

“Don’t worry. I will definitely break off the marriage as you wish. I’ll put you where no one can find you.”

“That’s not it!”

Psychke cut him off. Everything he said was wrong, but that wasn’t why she asked about their breakup.

(TN: Haaaaaaaaaaaaa, these two are frustrating as fre… if I have a power, I’d likely want to punch these two so hard.)

Suppressing her thumping heart, she opened her mouth.

“I heard from Duke Evergreen.”

“About what?”

Verndia answered pointedly. Psychke, who was about to speak without hesitation, flinched while looking at him. She looked into his purple eyes and cautiously parted her lips.

“Promise me you won’t kill me no matter what I say.”

“Those words again? Haa. I will never kill you. I will protect you no matter what. Didn’t I already promise?”

“It’s different this time. You might listen to me and change your mind.”

“Why, did Widnix say I want to kill you?”

Psychke avoided his gaze. She gently bit her lower lip, gripping the hem of her fine skirt tight enough to leave a mark.

Verndia laughed. He took a seat next to her. He crossed his arms and legs to hear what she wants to say.

“Tell me, I think I have a rough idea.”

“…. The unquenchable flame that won’t go out. If you say it was because me, that was it.”

As soon as the faintly trembling voice stopped, Verndia asked back.

“So?”

“So then?”

She was surprised by what he meant so she raised her gaze.

“Don’t you know what that means?”

“The princess will kill me, what, is this what that means?”

Psychke frowned at him. It was as if those words that had no place had become sharp blades and pierced her heart.

She wished she could be angry, astonished, or at least surprised. Then her heart wouldn’t be so heavy like this. It would be a little lighter.

Burying himself in his seat, he asked casually.

“Princess, have you ever been to the East?”

“…. Yes. I have been there once with my father.”

“Then it doesn’t matter if I just burn it.”

“Yes?”

The words she heard from him passed by at first glance.

‘Because if I heard some b*lls*ht once again, I’ll burn the East Coast.’

Verndia smiled eerily.

“I will do as I say.”

“No, wait!”

Psychke was shocked.

“Duke Evergreen said this because he was thinking of you.”

“Do you believe in Widnix?”

Does she believe in Widnix?

Believing.

Because he knew the world before her regression. Because he knew the past when she was trapped in Silkisia and died lonely.

After reading her expression, Verndia let out a sigh.

“Widnix is not a prophet.

“But.”

“I don’t know what you want to say, but…”

He stopped talking and tilted his head as if he really didn’t know.

“You’re not asking me to kill you, are you?”

“No!”

“Then?”

Psychke said nothing in return. The best way to get rid of a threat is to kill it. So, if she kept on pushing this topic, there was only one conclusion.

But even knowing that, she couldn’t stop.

Verndia laughed mischievously at the deepening depth.

“Didn’t you tell me? Widnix is not a prophet.”

“However.”

“I don’t know what he said, so I don’t even believe him.”

He told Widnix not to say nonsensical thing, but he did that s**t again. He let out a deep breath.

“Widnix can’t see the future. He knows the past better than anyone.”

“But…”

She couldn’t retort to anything he says since she has no idea what he did after her death. However, even when she couldn’t speak, Verndia continued,

“He is always like that. He speaks bullsh*t as if he knows everything about being a coward.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“If I die, what will the Duke do?”

Verndia’s expression disappeared. For a moment, Psychke even had the illusion that what was in front of her was not a person. A chill went down her spine.

– Hhhnggg!

The horses outside sensed the ominous and made a fuss. Even the coachman trembled and muttered that it was creepy for some reason.

By the time the sound goes quiet. He voiced out so low that only she could hear him.

“Did that bastard say that?”

It was indescribably ominous. Psychke hastily denied it.

“No. I just asked.”

“I don’t think it’s just that.”

“… I’ll be honest. I think there is a connection between my death and the saying that the unquenchable flame is extinguished because of me.”

“…”

She spoke as honestly as she could. She was scared that doing nothing will be the end of East Coast.

Having reaped her life, she lowered her gaze.

He covered her mouth and thought.

He thought deeply about why the princess said such a thing and what bullsh*t Widnix told her about. Without thinking for a long time, he came up with something.

‘He must have used his authority… I guess I’ll have to talk to Widnix.’

Quickly organizing his thoughts, he raised his head. Even then, Psychke’s complexion was dark. She worries over useless thing. In an attempt to relieve the tension, he made an erratic sound.

“Why, if a princess dies, do you think I’ll follow her?”

“…!”

“Well, come to think of it, that’s not too bad.”

He pokes her cheek playfully. It was soft as when she was small.

He wanted to touch it more, so he rubbed it gently. Redness spread from the place where his fingers touched, like paint smeared on a paper. Embarrassed, Psychke threw her body back.

“Wh, what are you doing?”

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to die. So don’t be so desperate and smile. Don’t worry about weird things.”

He locked her against the wall as she tried to escape. He tucked her hair from her pale cheeks behind her ears. Then, the blue eyes that had lost their way and wandered turned to him.

The closer face looked like a puzzled rabbit. She looked very cute, too.

“Mo…. Ve, please.”

“I don’t want to.”

Watching that she kept on averting her eyes with her face flushed, from him, he suddenly wanted to ask her.

‘At that time, she said that she would have no feelings for me from now on. What should I do if I can’t keep it?’

But before putting that idea into reality, the sound of arriving at today’s destination, the swordsmanship competition hall, echoed inside the wagon.

Intermittent cheers could be heard echoing from inside the arena. Unfortunately, time is not limited to today.

“Shall we go?”

He smiled and held out his arm.

* * *

The seat the attendant guided was the seat of honor. The field of view is wide open, she can see the stadium at a glance, and it was close enough that she can even see the expressions of the judges.

Psychke, who was sitting down, opened her mouth with a question that suddenly came to mind.

“I have something I want to ask you about Duke Evergreen.”

“Are you really thinking of another man on a date with me?”

He thought it was over. He also grumbled to mean that she should stop focusing at Widnix’s tirade.

Yes, she could ask later, but for now, she should stop. Let’s just focus on the present.

Psychke apologized plainly.

“Sorry.”

“You are not allowed to think of other man when you are with me. No, even when you are alone, do not think.”

“Yes.”

She didn’t know what he was feeling, so she apologized. He liked her cool answer. Verndia leaned against her slightly.

Because they were so attached to each other when she was still small, Psychke did not feel a sense of incongruity.

“Are you not uncomfortable?”

“Yes, I’m okay.”

What Verndia asked was ‘Am I uncomfortable?’, and Psychke’s reply was ‘This posture is fine’.

It passed anyway. If it was uncomfortable, she would have run away. Verndia smiled wider, leaning more towards her.

Then he saw a finger pointed at Psychke.

“Oh, look over there. She is Princess Psychke. And next to her—”

“I heard that they fought enough to burst an alleyway, but what is this?”

“Aren’t they only pretending to look good? There’s nothing good about showing off bad things in a place like this.”

“Well, it was like that at the fountain too. The Duke must be having a hard time too. Every time I look at the,, Princess Lillian suits him much better.”

Instantly, his good mood went downhill.

How dare they say something like that when they can see how Psychke was pretty!