Chapter 3

Izar’s words continued to linger in my ears.

A saint… Me?

Nonsense. That was way out of line with the original.

“I think there’s a mistake. They already misinterpreted it once, so it’s probably wrong again this time.”

“… I didn’t believe it either at first. But the Pope insisted strongly. So, there can be no mistake this time.”

Does that mean the Pope directly pointed at me?

My head is fuzzy. It was difficult to continue my thoughts.

“No. I am not a saint. I have no divine power.”

“We’re going to check that when we go back”

The answer came from behind, not from Izar. I turned my head and checked the owner of the voice.

A man with black hair that seemed to absorb all the light came into my eyes.

When the man appeared, Izar, who was sitting across from him, got up and took a salute.

“You’re up.”

“Yes. Is this woman Adelia Sorne?”

“That’s right.”

“No, I’m not a Sorne. Just… Call me Adelia.”

I cut off Izar’s words to affirm and corrected my name.

Then the man smiled and shook his head lightly to apologize.

“I was wrong. Yes, Lady Adelia. No, you’re not a Lady anymore?”

“Right. After abandoning Sorne, I’m no longer a noblewoman.”

When she proudly said that she had abandoned the nobility, the man’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“Right. Then, Adelia go back to the capital with me.”

If it was Izar, I would have resisted a little more, but the man in front of me exuded an aura that was difficult to resist.

Is this what you call charisma?

I asked the man a question, trying not to lose my confidence.

“Is it because of the oracle?”

“To be precise, to make sure that you are really the saint that the oracle points to.”

The saint indicated in the oracle. It must be Hestine.

I don’t know how the interpretation is distorted and calls me a saint.

“What if it’s not me?”

“Then you can come back here.”

I can come back again….

Can I believe it? First of all, the man in front of me did not seem to be a person to lie about this.

But that doesn’t mean I should follow him blindly.

I didn’t let my guard down and asked the man.

“Can you guarantee it?”

“Of course. If you don’t have a divine power, I’ll let you come back under the name of my family.”

He said so and took out a well-managed sword from the scabbard.

Then he knelt down on one knee as if taking an oath of a knight.

Not only her but also the knights around them were bewildered by his actions.

“I, Ivan Hamilton, promise in Hamilton’s name. If you do not have divine power, I will send you home safely.”

Oh, my. I can’t believe this guy is Grand Duke Hamilton!

It was only then that I understood why Izar, the successor of a famous marquise, was inferior to this man.

No matter how powerful the successor is, he cannot be above the imperial family.

Grand Duke Hamilton spat out his oath and then slowly rose to his feet. Then he asked with a carefree smile.

“Is this enough?”

I was speechless for a moment. Enough? It was an overflowing act.

The knight’s oath was such a heavy pledge. Furthermore, the oath to name the family.

“…too much.”

“That’s a relief. Izar. Make a departure schedule with the prospective saint.”

“I see.”

Grand Duke Hamilton left the rest of his work to Izar and turned his back and left.

It had been quite some time since the Grand Duke had left, but she was still stunned.

I barely came to my senses and asked Izar who was quietly sitting in front of me.

“When do we have to leave?”

“The sooner the better.”

“Then let’s leave tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

One day. It was the right time to say a short goodbye to Emily.

If I say I’m leaving tomorrow, she’ll probably cry.

However, the later the departure time is, the more anxious the villagers will be. So, it would be better to leave here with these knights as soon as possible.

After organizing my thoughts, I stood up and prepared to go back home.

“Oh, and it would be nice to leave around lunch time. I will come to this inn myself.”

“I’ll just send you a servant and a carriage too.”

“No, I’m comfortable alone. And this place has a narrow mountain path, so carriages are too much.”

I quickly turned down Izar’s unreasonable kindness. His kindness, with clear intentions, was awkward.

And at the same time, I was annoyed.

It was astonishing to see that Izar, who has become nothing compared to his fiancé, is kinder now.

Of course, he didn’t have any feelings that could be called affection, but this double attitude was what I hated the most.

I turned around relentlessly and left the inn. Then I headed to Emily’s house.

Standing in front of Emily’s house and knocking briefly, the door opened immediately.

It wasn’t Emily who opened the door, but her mother.

“… What’s going on?”

Emily’s mother stood in front of the door, full of thorns, blocking me.

She must be wary of me, who brought a lot of strangers to the village.

“Don’t worry. The knights will never come in this town again.”

“Is that true?”

“Of course.”

“Then why did you come to my house?”

“I want to say goodbye to my little friend.”

Emily’s mother still seemed dissatisfied with me, but she gently stepped out of the door.

I smiled bitterly and entered Emily’s house.

Then Emily, who was crying while lying on the sofa in the living room, caught my eye.

“Emily.”

“…Lady?”

“I told you to call me ‘unnie’.”

“You’re not really leaving, are you?”

Emily asked, raising her body and grabbing my arm.

“I think I’m going out for a while.”

“Can you not just go…? I have a bad feeling.”

“I will be back soon. Wait a little bit.”

I said while stroking Emily’s head, who had a broken expression on her face.

“I’ll leave the mansion to you until I get back. You can use it as much as you want.”

“But you have to hurry up and come back!”

“Okay. I’ll try.”

Emily’s hand, which was holding my forearm like a lifeline, fell. I smiled a little and turned my back.

“Then I’ll get going now.”

“.. Be careful when you go home.”

“…..”

“Sister! You must come back in seven nights!”

Will it be possible within a week? I think it’ll take a little longer than that.

In the end, I had no choice but to tell a white lie.

“I’ll do that if Emily eats eggplants every day.”

For a moment, Emily’s face crumpled. Eggplant was a food that she hated to the point that it was like her enemy.

Emily pondered for a moment, then nodded her head hard.

“Okay!”

“You can’t lie, because I’ll ask your mom later.”

“Ugh… Yes…”

“Nice.”

I finally said goodbye to Emily and left her house.

The sun is about to set and it is getting dark. My house is in the mountains, so I could get lost if I didn’t hurry up.

‘I should hurry up and go.’

“You still haven’t gone home?”

At the sudden voice, I turned my head in shock.

“…Your highness.”

Grand Duke Hamilton was leaning obliquely against the wall and looking this way.

It was for a moment, but the way he looked at me was cool.

Why are you here?

“It’s going to be dark soon.”

“That’s why I have to hurry up and go.”

“Hmm.”

He stood still with a worried expression for a moment, then came closer to me.

“What…”

“I’ll escort you to your mansion.”

“No. That’s too much for me. it’s okay.”

As if he didn’t hear my refusal, he walked past me towards the forest.

I sighed as I looked at the wide back of the Grand Duke who was walking ahead first.

What are you trying to do?

“The sun will set completely soon, so let’s hurry.”

“… Yeah.”

Grand Duke Hamilton.

The younger brother of the current emperor, a genius swordsman who reached the status of a sword master even before his coming-of-age ceremony. The cold-blooded owner of the White Highlands.

There were many words that could describe him.

I struggled to recall the contents of the novel.

Obviously, he played a major role in helping Hestine deal with disaster in the novel.

In the end, he fell in love with Hestine and confessed his love for her.

Hestine, who had already shared his heart with the emperor, eventually refused the Grand Duke’s confession.

“But is the Grand duke’s personality originally like this?”

In the book, he was a blunt and indifferent Grand Duke. But the Grand Duke I’m seeing right now ……

‘Should I call this clever?’

No, he sometimes felt eerie to be called clever.

I can’t let my guard down.

We walked in the forest without a word. Finally, a mansion in the middle of the forest caught my eye.

I exclaimed inwardly and hurried my steps. I was finally freed from this uncomfortable atmosphere.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Don’t mention it.”

When I arrived home, the sun disappeared just in time. The Grand Duke is good at swordsmanship, so he can go through the dark forest alone.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

I asked in anticipation of the Grand Duke’s refusal.

“Okay.”

“What…”

“There’s no reason to refuse a cup of tea.”

No, this is just a courtesy greeting! Shouldn’t you say, ‘It’s okay, I’ll see you tomorrow?’. Even if I don’t want to, I have no choice but to him serve tea.

“…Come on in.”

Ivan Hamilton stepped into the mansion without hesitation.

“It’s wider than I thought.”

“It’s much wider inside than it looks on the outside. That’s why I like it more.”

I struggled to raise the corners of my mouth and guided the Grand Duke to the drawing room.

“Please wait a moment, as I have to prepare the tea myself.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“It’s okay. Make yourself comfortable.”

I left the Grand Duke still and hurried out to get the tea. The fragrant smell passed by the tip of my nose.

I was nervous because I never really care about making tea before, but luckily it turned out to be a success. I picked up the tray and entered the drawing room.

Click.

“Please enjoy it comfortably.”

“Thank you.”

He drank slowly, savoring the tea.

It’s getting late. What if he suddenly says he will sleep here?

Sadly, my ominous premonition was never wrong.

After drinking a cup of tea for an hour, Grand Duke Hamilton told me.

“I think it’s quite late. Can I borrow a vacant room?”

I wanted to kick him out right away, but I, who abandoned the nobility, could not dare to treat the emperor’s younger brother, the Grand Duke like that.

I bit my teeth tightly and spoke to the Grand Duke who had been making shameless demands with an expressionless face.

“Of course, I’ll give you a room.”

T/N: Hello! Remember my note on chapter 02 about this ‘제도로’. Someone said that it is usually the abbreviation of 제국 수도 which means Empire Capital. So, they’re taking her back to the Capital not the system or whatever.