Chapter 67

Chapter 67

“….!”

Eventually, when she came out of the dark forest that had blocked even the moonlight, what caught her eyes was the light of the party hall. A bright light poured from the window of the building where she had been before. Still, Seth was nowhere to be seen.

In front of the distant reality she faced, Min-ha felt so discouraged that she collapsed.

‘I cannot go any further.’

Her physical strength had reached its limit, but she had yet to see anyone waiting. Breathing heavily, she held onto the wall of the party building.

At that moment, she could hear someone running from afar.

“….!”

Whose footstep was it…?

…Perhaps, it was the sound of footsteps of Rupert, who had harmed Bediviel, chasing after her. With that thought, Min-ha trembled in fear and barely got her body up as she heard the footsteps before turning her head to where the footsteps were emerging.

“Min-ha…!”

Fortunately, however, what caught her eyes was the appearance of her beloved Seth.

Seth, dressed in the cloak of the Persen Knights familiar to her eyes, was running towards her with the knights holding torches as their cloaks fluttered. Seeing his appearance, Min-ha felt like she was about to burst into tears.

She shouted, taking one step at a time towards him, who hastened his steps to her.

“…Seth!”

At the call, Seth ran towards her at an even faster pace as he spread his arms wide and hugged her body tightly.

The next moment, the feel of the hard armor on her cheek, the face of her loved one that could be felt on her head, and the warmth from him as he hugged her softly enveloped Min-ha. It was only then that she was able to taste a sense of complete relief.

Falling into his arms, who gently stroked her hair, Min-ha let out a cry.

“Heuk, Sir Bedivi—Bediviel is still there, over there…”

“Ha… I know. Min-ha, you don’t have to worry anymore.”

“At the tea party… the women… Huuk, because they said something bad… I-I came out and… there, there…. H-he was there… hngg—Rupert, Rupert Guinivis…”

“It’s okay. Everything’ll be fine now, Min-ha.”

Seth comforted Min-ha, who stammered with anxiety and uttered her words, stroking her affectionately.

At the same time, he gave orders to the knights standing behind him with cold eyes. That fierce and cold gaze commanded them to pursue Rupert immediately and to support Bediviel and bring him back safely.

The knights of Persen, including Lancelot and Gawin, nodded their heads with serious expressions. Then, leaving only the minimum number of knights to escort the two of them, they disappeared into the forest Min-ha had passed through earlier.

Looking at the scene, he hugged Min-ha’s crying body tighter and opened his mouth.

“Now, let’s go back.”

“Sir, Sir Bediviel…”

“Don’t worry. He’ll definitely come back to you and me.”

“…Really?”

Min-ha asked, gazing at him with her tears welling up at his words.

Seth brought his lips to the corner of her tear-filled eye, capturing her pathetic yet lovely figure. Her eyes widened and a faint blush appeared on her pale, tired cheeks.

As he stroked her cheek gently, capturing all of her face, Seth spoke.

“So, don’t worry about it anymore.”

“Yes.”

“I’m about to get jealous.”

“Uh…?”

“Do you know how anxious I was to hear the report that you were missing? My heart almost stopped beating, and yet you’re only worried about Bediviel?”

“Sorry. I’m sorry, Seth.”

Seeing Min-ha’s sincerely apologetic face, Seth smiled charmingly.

“It’s a joke. I just want you to take care of yourself first. You know I’m a fool when it comes to your problems, right?”

At that, she glanced at him quietly and smiled with her ears dyed red. It finally dawned on her that she had finally returned to his side. At the same time, she longed for a warm sense of stability and affection that spread in her mind.

Unable to bear it, Min-ha tiptoed slightly and kissed his exposed cheek briefly.

Seth loved her like that.

The next moment, he immediately bent over and put his arm between her arms and legs, lifting her up. Surprised to see him embrace her as if he was holding a princess, Min-ha raised her voice.

“Oh, wait! Seth…!”

“Don’t ask me to put you down. I’m going to go all the way to the red acacia mansion like this.”

“But, if other people even see it!”

“It doesn’t matter who points the finger because your physical condition is more important to me. Besides, we’re a married couple recognized by imperial law.”

“…Yes.”

Eventually, she nodded at Seth’s words and gently wrapped her arms around his neck. Holding Min-ha, who was quietly in his arms as if exhausted, and smiled kindly, he then turned his head and gave orders to the knights who were escorting them.

“Kay, Percival, we’re going back now.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“When Bediviel, Lancelot, and Gawin return, tell them to report to me immediately.”

“Yes. I’ll pass it on to them.”

“No one knows about today’s commotion. If there is, please keep their mouths shut.”

“Of course, Your Grace.”

“Good.”

At that, Seth quickly walked towards the red acacia mansion.

In the meantime, Min-ha gazed up at him, who was constantly examining herself and hugging her from time to time in case she felt uncomfortable, with a sad gaze. His handsome face, as usual, showed a slightly tired look.

Like he said a while ago, he seemed to be very surprised and afraid because of her.

If it had been her usual self, she would have asked him to put her down because she wanted to take care of him, who seemed so tired. However, she had no energy to do so.

…No, actually, her heart did not want to. Min-ha was so exhausted that she just wanted to relish his body warmth. For this moment, she did not want to be away from him even for the slightest bit.

“There will never be a bride who’ll give him something grandiose like ‘wings’ in his lifetime… because I’m going to make sure it would be like that.”

Suddenly, she remembered what Rupert had said.

‘If Rupert said that… does that mean we would end up breaking up?’

…No. It could not be.

Never, never would that happen. With such a firm heart, how could she ever break up with him?

Thinking like that, Min-ha dug deeper into Seth’s arms. It seemed like she wanted to run away from the growing anxiety in her heart.

ﾟ· : * ✧ * :· ﾟ

In Seth’s arms like a princess, she returned to the red acacia mansion.

Min-ha, who had fallen asleep without realizing it, woke up only when she arrived in front of the door of the mansion. It was nice to put back the anxiety that was weighing on her heart thanks to the exhaustion, though her mind went blank.

Seeing that she had woken up from her sleep, Seth gazed at her and spoke.

“Are you up?”

“…Yes. I slept for a while.”

“You slept so well that I thought I was the person who was trembling with anxiety just a while ago. Are you okay now?”

“How are you? But… what did you say now? Are you teasing me?”

“No. I like you more because you’re so brave like this.”

‘I think he is joking with me.’

Min-ha thought so with a blank face and pouted her lips. Meanwhile, Seth smiled sweetly and entered the mansion.

“Are you back, Your Grace? …Oh, my goodness!”

“Oh, my God, Madam—!”

The servants and maids were already standing at the door and waiting for the two to greet them. However, the greeting was brief as they looked astonished at the appearance of Min-ha in Seth’s arms.

It was because they could quickly tell that she seemed like she had been through something difficult. Her hair, which was not raised high, but beautifully adorned with flowers and jewels, was disheveled. In addition, her expensive dress was full of dust and torn at the ends.

What surprised Min-ha the most was Pompa. Unlike her usual calm and strict attitude, she shouted with a white face.

“Oh, Madam! What happened!”

Asking that, Pompa looked at her in Seth’s arms and screamed. Min-ha smiled awkwardly and opened her mouth calmingly to her, who examined her body worriedly.

“I’m fine, missus.”

“No, you don’t look all right to me at all! Did you happen to meet an assailant?”

“Oh, that’s…”

“If that’s the case, you must never let it go like this! How dare they let this happen to a guest who visits the mansion, and even to the high-ranking Duchess…! This is a great sin! We need to call the head of Loengram Castle and protest right away and find out who did this to the Madam—!”

Uttering so, Pompa was furious as if this had happened to herself as she rushed to call the butler at any moment.

Min-ha was happy and embarrassed at the sight of her, who was cold to her until just a few months ago, but now, she was genuinely angry for her.

It would really not matter if it was just a matter of a ‘simple unidentified assailant,’ though it was because the people involved in this matter were ‘Rupert Guinivis’ and ‘Grand Duchess Blaine.’ In addition, it was possible to assume that it was through the cooperation of the Marquis of Loengram that Rupert was able to hide safely in the mansion and meet her.

Since it seemed that all of them were in collusion together, they might be conspiring to hide Rupert by now.

“I’ll deal with this matter on my own, so don’t step in.”

Seth said to Pompa as if he knew all of Min-ha’s thoughts.

“….!”

“More than that, I’d like you to prepare hot water and ointment.”

“Yes, Your Excellency. I’ve prepared the bath water so that you can use it whenever you return, and I’ll prepare the ointment and bring it to you.”

“Prepare warm water and ointment in the bathroom next to my bedroom, not in the one next to her bedroom. I’ll take care of her.”

“…Yes?”

“Are you going to make me say it twice?”

At Seth’s following words, both Min-ha and Pompa swiftly stared back at him with equally surprised expressions.

‘No, what is he talking about now? What does he mean, take care of me…!’

Blushing, she grabbed his shoulder.

“Seth, you don’t have to do that! I can do it on my own…!”

“I see, Your Excellency. I’ll prepare it now.”

“Thank you. When you’re ready, don’t let the attendants and maids come near my bedroom until I call.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Nevertheless, Seth, who finished the conversation with Pompa before Min-ha could refute, quickly passed the entrance lobby and climbed the stairs to the second floor.

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