Chapter 86

Chapter 86

11. Returning.

The carriage finally arrived at Persen Castle after running non-stop for a few days.

After passing the castle gate and running through the city, the carriage stopped in front of the Duke’s mansion. Min-ha pulled back the curtains covering the carriage windows and glanced at the familiar faces of the people in the mansion lined up around them and the scenery of the Persen mansion.

It’s been less than a month since she left the mansion, and it felt like she’d been back from a long trip.

“Sister-in-law, sister-in-law! Let’s get down quickly!”

“Yes, let’s do it.”

Min-ha answered with a smile at Noah’s urging as he pulled the hem of her sleeve. From the time the carriage entered the city, the child kept asking when he could get off. So when the carriage finally stopped, he seemed impatient to get off as quickly as possible.

After stroking Noah’s head, who was gazing up at her with her bright eyes, Min-ha slightly raised herself to stand up as well.

But then, Seth held up one hand to stop her.

“Wait for a moment.”

“Yes?”

As Seth sat them down again, he got up first before opening the carriage door and going outside. He first took Noah in his arms and held him out from the carriage.

“Thank you, brother!”

“Yes.”

“Oh, it’s Gareth! Gareth!”

“Noah! You’ll fall while running!”

“Young Master Noah, walk slowly! I’m not running anywhere!”

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Noah hurriedly ran to the people who came to meet him.

Seeing him like that, a knight, Gareth, who was waiting for them in front of the mansion, ran in front of the child as he was running towards him in case he fell.

Seth and Min-ha watched Noah worriedly like people who had put their children in water for the first time. It was only when they saw the child safely jump into Gareth’s arms that they turned their heads to each other and burst into laughter.

“Come now, Madam. Hand.”

After confirming Noah’s safety, Seth looked away and politely extended his hand to Min-ha, who was sitting in the carriage. As she took his hand and stepped out of the carriage, she smiled shyly while holding his hand until she safely stepped on the stairs and landed on the ground.

“Thank you, Seth.”

“You’re welcome, Madam.”

At her thanks, Seth kissed her briefly on the back of her hand as Min-ha blushed at his caring expression of affection.

Tucking her hair, which flowed slightly down the side of her face behind her ear, he uttered.

“Your cheeks are bright red. Was it very hot in the carriage?”

“…No, it’s not like that. It’s just embarrassing.”

“Are you embarrassed? Which part?”

“That, just… the part where you kiss the back of my hand or brush my hair…”

“Haha, just something like that?”

“What do you mean, just that…”

“For someone like that, you slept so defenselessly next to me? You even leaned on my shoulder and even talked in your sleep.”

“That, that’s…! A lot of things happened, and I was tired—”

“I know. I’m just saying it.”

“Seth!”

“Haha. I’m sorry. I was wrong, so don’t stare at me like that.”

Seeing her speechless, Seth laughed out loud. Min-ha glared at him for a moment before eventually laughing helplessly along with him.

He was always friendly and sincere, and sometimes when she made fun of herself like this. Still, he was always kind.

It was because he, who was always burdened with heavy responsibilities in front of other people and looked undisturbed, smiled and occasionally joked with such a comfortable face only for himself, it was like proof that he really loved her.

“Your Excellency! Madam!”

It was then.

While the two exchanged friendly glances, they turned their attention to the voice of the young knight approaching them. With bright blonde hair as radiant as a ripe lemon and a handsome appearance, he was the young knight whom Noah had just called Gareth.

Min-ha gazed at Gareth, who knelt in front of them and greeted them.

“Your Excellency, Duke Persen, and Duchess Persen! I was waiting for you two to return safely.”

“It’s only you now, where did you leave Noah?”

“Young Master Noah is now being led by the maids to have a snack. They baked a lot of cakes and cookies to give to the Young Master for when he comes back.”

“I see. Raise your head.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Gareth, who responded brightly to Seth’s command, quickly stood up.

Min-ha tilted her head, thinking that the young knight who smiled kindly at her and Seth looked like someone. As if noticing the gaze directed at him, Gareth smiled brightly and held out his hand in front of her.

“It’s an honor to meet you. Knight Gareth, greets the Duchess!”

“…Oh, nice to meet you. Sir Gareth.”

When Min-ha held out her hand, Gareth gave a short kiss on the back of her hand and smiled kindly.

‘Why do I feel like I saw him somewhere…’

It was definitely a face she had never seen before, yet it felt strangely familiar. Then, at the right time, Gawin approached the three of them with a smirk from the other side.

“Gareth, let go of the Duchess’s hand. If you don’t, you’ll be summoned to the Captain like me and be in big trouble!”

“When did I summon you, Sir Gawin?”

“Oh, brother! Congratulations on your safe return!”

“Thank you.”

“Older brother…? Oh!”

As Min-ha stared at Gawin, who raised his body with a bright voice, she immediately raised her voice and covered her mouth with her hand.

Strangely enough, Gareth resembled Gawin.

If the older brother, Gawin, was a manly handsome man, the younger brother, Gareth, was a flower-looking man. Because of that, it was difficult to recognize at first glance though when you put them side by side, they definitely resembled each other.

When she was interested in seeing the two of them, Gawin smiled and opened his mouth.

“Duchess, my brother is handsome, but please don’t stare at him so piercingly.”

“Oh, my. I’m sorry. I’ve been wondering for a while that he resembles someone, but I’m a bit surprised to think that it’s because he is Sir Gawin’s younger brother.”

“Haha, did you? Well, the Duchess saw him for the first time.”

“Yes. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you even in the castle.”

“This guy is mainly responsible for delivering the Captain’s correspondence to other castles, so it’s difficult to see him in the castle unless the captain and we are moving on a large scale. Haha.”

“…I see. I didn’t know.”

“Well, it’s natural that you don’t know. In the meantime, I’ve hidden the organization chart of the Knights and the existence of several knights from the Duchess.”

Gawin replied with a slightly awkward smile at her words, and Min-ha nodded her head as if she understood. It was said that Minase Persen had been in a relationship with Rupert before, so he couldn’t tell her all about important personnel.

At her attitude, he smiled kindly and said.

“But, if it’s the current Duchess, it’ll be fine! Next time, we will set up a place for you to formally greet all the knights of Persen!”

“Thank you, Sir Gawin.”

“Thank you for your understanding. As expected, your heart is as good as your appearance.”

“Is this conversation over now?”

As she was talking comfortably between Gawin and Gareth, Seth, somewhat uncomfortable, intervened in the conversation. Gawin then deliberately put on an exaggeratedly surprised expression and moved one or two steps away from Min-ha to his side before he scratched his back with one of his hands and spoke humbly.

“Oh, look at me. This isn’t the time, Captain. We just received a letter from Sir Gallahed.”

“Is it an answer from Sir Lancelot’s letter?”

“Yes. He said he wanted to talk to the Captain about the letter, so I came to call you.”

“Where is Sir Lancelot now?”

“First, he said that he would go to the captain’s office and look at the correspondence. Somehow, the correspondence was intercepted in the middle, and we’re looking to see if there’s anything suspicious or if the contents have changed.”

“Right, I see. Sir Gawin, Sir Gareth. You guys go back to my office first and wait. I’ll follow you soon.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“I’ll take your order, Your Excellency.”

After Seth responded to Gawin’s report with a slightly serious expression and gave them an order, the two knights bowed their heads to Min-ha and him, then got up and walked toward the east mansion. Min-ha, who had been watching the scene, turned her attention to Seth’s actions as he placed his arm on her shoulder.

With a friendly face on his face, he made eye contact with her.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Huh? Yes?”

“I wanted to come back to the mansion after a long time and spend time comfortably with you, but I’m sorry I left you alone again.”

“Huh? No, it’s okay because you’re busy with work. Right?”

“I’ll just check the correspondence today and come back to you right away.”

“I’m fine. You can come slowly after finishing your work.”

“….”

“Seth?”

Seeing his apologetic appearance, Min-ha waved her hand. Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t have any regrets about not being able to relax with him though she felt like she shouldn’t be childish with him when he was busy like this.

However, Seth’s expression hardened at her actions.

Somehow, he seemed a little offended, so when she gazed at him with a puzzled look, Seth sighed briefly and hugged Min-ha tightly.

“I’m not okay.”

“….!”

“I was happy because I thought I would be able to spend time with you leisurely without paying attention to anything else… It seems like I was the only one who expected that.”

“I’m sorry, Seth. I didn’t mean that…”

“I know that you said it out of consideration for me, who’s sorry… I just said that because I wanted to act a little childish.”

“…Yes.”

“I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Feeling her heart tighten, Min-ha buried her head in his shoulder. Her heart seemed to melt every time this tall, strong person who was hugging her, acted like a child like this.

‘‘Oh, please. I wish he could do only handsome and cool things… Don’t be cute and adorable like this…’

…How could her heart remain calm?

As she put both arms on Seth’s shoulders, who was embracing her tightly, Min-ha kissed him softly on his cheek and said.

“Then, finish your work quickly.”

“Okay. I’ll be there as soon as possible. You need to get some rest first.”

“Yes. I will.”

After that, she stepped away from his arms and waved her hand at him. Then Seth, still gazing at her with a wistful look on his face, slowly turned her around and walked toward the east annex.

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