Chapter 43

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Chapter 43

“Your Majesty!”

Declan’s eyes widened as if bewildered by my sudden action.

“E…”

“Shh, don’t tell me.”

I quickly brought my index finger to his mouth and shook my head. His eyes gleamed fiercely as he asked what I was doing.

‘You surely won’t pull out your sword just because I wouldn’t let you see Chloe, right?’

Then, I turned around and saw the shaman Gerald. I was so nervous that Declan, who was angry, might use Gerald to cast a spell on me.

“Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying now, and listen carefully.”

I put my hands together and looked at him sadly.

‘Don’t be angry. please…’

Delan nodded his head slightly as he looked at me quietly.

“Sigh.”

A breath of relief escaped.

A few seconds before he nodded his head felt like an eternity. I straightened my expression and faced Declan seriously.

“Do you know how much I like the Princess?”

Again, Declan nodded his head.

“I’m a soul, so I will recognize the same soul, right?”

At my words, his eyebrows frowned a little, who had been listening quietly. Fortunately, he seemed to understand what I meant.

“Tell me.”

Declan’s shoulders shrugged as he spoke out loud. Looking back, Gerald tilted his head, but said nothing.

“Can you say it out loud?”

“It’s okay.”

“Again!”

Declan gestured at me to go ahead and talk.

‘Who stops this stubbornness?’

I sighed and opened my mouth again.

“Please tell the Crown Princess this: ‘I have heard what you said to this child.’”

As I turned back, I glanced into Chloe’s soul.

‘It must be painful to be suspicious while facing it in person.’

I had no idea how he was feeling now.

“Chloe.”

Declan did not speak his words for a long time after calling her name.

“You remember this child?”

“Of course, she’s my doll.”

Chloe smiled softly and answered.

“I heard what you said to this child. Do you remember it, too?”

“….”

Contrary to what I had answered right away, Chloe’s mouth did not move.

‘As expected, that was a fake.’

For a moment, Gerald’s eyes fluttered slightly.

“Chloe? What you asked this child to say.”

Declan pulled his torso back as he waited for her answer.

“How does a doll speak? Brother is really. You’re still mischievous. Did Brother see me talking to the doll?”

The longer she spoke, the more the sense of incongruity grew.

Chloe called the doll Erica, though she never said it was a doll. Declan noticed that, too, his eyes, which were wet with tears, grew colder and colder. Gerald noticed the change in the mood and slowly glanced at him.

“…Right. How would a doll talk? It makes no sense, right?”

Declan lowered his head and grinned.

“So, you tell me.”

He acted as if he was really dealing with Chloe, and Gerald, who was nervous, seemed to be relieved as well.

“Oh, I’m shy. I said that my brother is the best in the world because my brother is the coolest.”

She said shyly, twisting her body as if embarrassed. Seeing that, Declan’s eyes turned cold, but his smile deepened.

“Yes, that’s what I meant. It’s like a dream to be able to see and talk to you again like this.”

He sounded sweet at first glance, though there was no soul in his words. I knew it because I had experienced firsthand how he was different when he treated Chloe.

‘Why are you standing still? You must have known that it was a fake.’

As soon as he got the wrong answer, I thought he would draw his sword right away.

“It’s all thanks to you.”

He even smiled kindly at Gerald.

“I’m not sure what to say. It’s an honor to be able to help even with my humble talent.”

Gerald shook his head with a look of excitement.

‘What is he thinking?’

Confused, I tilted my head and looked at Declan, who gave me a glance.

‘Yeah, there must be some plan.”

I decided to wait quietly for now.

“If you go, I won’t see Chloe again, will we?”

Declan made a sad face and made eye contact with the fake.

“I want to stay with you.”

Even though tears were brimming in his eyes, she just stood still in her place.

‘Well, is that the limit of your abilities? Or lack of imagination? At a moment like this, you have to run and hug him!’

I evaluated his magic skills, forgetting that I was nervous a while ago.

“Yes, I don’t want to separate again.”

Saying so, Declan turned to Gerald.

“Your Majesty, don’t worry. I’ll leave everything behind and run to you at any time.”

“Are you sure you will? I will never forget this grace. I will give you enough reward. Is there anything else you want?”

“No. It’s a great honor for me to be able to relieve Your Majesty’s troubles.”

“I really like it.”

When Declan gave a satisfied look at Gerald’s delight, I was at a loss for what to do.

“I need to discuss the detailed schedule and reward, so will you wait outside for a while?”

“Yes. Before I apply my magic, you can say goodbye to the Princess.”

Nodding his head, Declan gazed at Chloe fondly for a moment.

‘This will be the last time he sees it in real life, so he would like to keep it in his mind.’

Sadly, I looked at his back.

Declan, who had been quiet for a long time, gave his final goodbye. Eventually, the fake waved her hand saying see you next time and disappeared.

As Gerald left, Mason and Noah, who were waiting outside, entered.

“How was it?”

Declan’s face, who had been smiling softly at Mason’s question, suddenly turned cold.

“Noah, first lead that person to the guest room and tell the knights to guard it.”

“Understood.”

Noah went out right away.

“What happened?”

Mason asked anxiously in an unusual atmosphere.

“He tricked me.”

Answering him, Declan’s voice was so low that it sounded even more gloomy.

“What are you talking about?”

“He created a figure for Chloe with his magic, and they said it was her soul. It was able to talk.”

“What? What is that…!”

Mason was just as surprised as he was when he found out about my existence.

“Does that make sense?”

“He dared to play with me, so he’ll have to pay the price.”

The corners of Declan’s lips rose sharply.

‘Even I am trembling. So, why did he touch Chloe?’

I quietly mourned Gerald and the unknown someone who planned it.

“Your Majesty, I’ll help, too.”

I would have not dared to touch Declan’s wounds. This was an issue I couldn’t stand still.

“I don’t have to go out.”

“You left the person alive to find out who was behind it?”

“Yes.”

“If it’s following, monitoring, and spying, I’m the right person.”

Pretending to pound my chest, I confidently raised my chin. Declan smiled and shook his head as if he couldn’t stop me.

“It’s dangerous for you to leave the Imperial Palace. Even after going through what happened last time?”

“The doll can stay here, safe by Your Majesty’s side.”

Well, this was different from the last kidnapping case.

“But, that doesn’t mean your safety is guaranteed.”

Ah, this is a bit touching.

“No one can see me. You’ve just seen it.”

“Still…”

“It’s okay because I knew the location of the Imperial Palace for sure.”

At my reassurance, Declan looked at me with an expression as if he had a lot to say.

“More than anything else, I’ll be very thorough with those who played with the Princess!”

I narrowed my eyes and muttered gloomily.

“Your Majesty, is Miss Erica going to follow him?”

Mason, who was standing still next to him, asked cautiously.

“Yes. She doesn’t hear me even if I try to stop her.”

“If I put a shadow on a person named Gerald, wouldn’t it be okay if the lady went with him?”

Yes, it’s nice.

I cheered for Mason.

“The shadow can’t see Erica.”

He then rebuked Mason like a fool, “Since the target is the same, they will go together.”

“That’s right. Your Majesty. You will always know where I am.”

Moments later, Declan still rubbed his chin with a dissatisfied expression on his face and eventually opened his mouth again.

“I’ll disguise myself as a shadow and go around with you…”

“Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty!”

Mason and I shouted at the same time.

“No matter how good your Majesty is, it’s still dangerous! If you don’t want to ruin things, keep quiet.”

I quickly poured out my words towards Declan, who was talking nonsense. When Mason dissuaded him for similar reasons, Declan muffled his mouth as if he didn’t like it very much.

“Are we going to keep arguing here? Gerald will think it’s weird.”

“If you look closely, I don’t know who the emperor is.”

At the awkward remarks, I quickly straightened my stiff posture.

“It’s all because I’m worried about Your Majesty.”

As I glanced at him and smiled, Declan feigned a smile.

“I promised you. I will protect Your Majesty.”

He gazed at me with a puzzled expression and slowly opened his mouth.

“You don’t have to keep that promise.”

What are you talking about all of a sudden? You’re not going to war again, are you?

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