Chapter 47

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Chapter 47

Count Nolan, who had been imprisoned while dealing with Gerald, committed suicide.

Even though Declan showed an attitude that he knew it, I was suspicious in many ways.

‘The Count who believed in Duke Otien and did not open his mouth until the end, took his own life…?’

Nevertheless, I couldn’t figure out more, so in the end, I decided to stop thinking about him for a while.

After the fake Chloe incident, Declan looked busier than before. There were more papers on the desk than before, and he was absorbed in his work like a man on the run.

‘More than that, he really doesn’t ask.’

He had not said a word about the puppeteer incident.

‘…If he does this, it’ll make my heart weak.’

Again my head cluttered, and my shoulders drooped as I heard his voice.

“Are you feeling bad anywhere?”

Look, it’s like this. How did the person who had just shoved his nose on the paper just now notice how I felt?

I gazed at him with a curious yet bewildered heart.

Declan used to be an attentive person, though lately, he has been more friendly. That was why my heart tickles from time to time.

“It’s okay.”

Although I shrugged my shoulders and responded indifferently, Declan still stared at me with concern.

“Do you want to go get some air?”

“It’s fine. If I have time, I’ll go out then.”

“These are things we need to keep looking at anyway.”

Before I could answer, he cleared his seat and got up.

“If you want to go out, just tell me. The weather is nice. Would you like to ride a horse? Have you not seen the lakeside yet?”

My eyes widened when I heard the word lake.

“Is there a lake…?”

“Yes, if you go to the garden.”

I have been to the greenhouse often, but this was my first time in the garden. Then, I noticed the doll lying on the desk.

“Uh, but wouldn’t it be dangerous to ride a horse with a doll?”

As I was wondering if Declan was going to leave the doll behind, `I glanced at his reaction.

“That’s right. No matter how well I ride a horse, there is one thing.”

At my words, he touched the corner of his mouth as if contemplating for a moment as he looked at the doll.

“Leave the doll to Noah and let’s go.”

“No, aren’t you worried about leaving the doll behind?”

“Why?”

I couldn’t bear to say that he had been carrying the doll around like a stuck gum, so I just blinked silently.

“Are there any problems with your body…? It’ll be fine with Noah. The knights will also be placed there.”

I was rather embarrassed to see him doing nothing for the safety of the doll.

“Come on.”

Eventually, I said nothing more and followed him.

‘Hmm, I was worried for nothing.’

Watching Noah carefully holding the doll and the knights behind him, I muttered to myself.

‘But, it’s almost the first time Declan has left the doll…’

Noah seemed to be a bit perplexed by Declan’s actions as well.

“Your Majesty, is it really okay for you to entrust Her Highness to me?”

“How many times are you going to say it?”

“What… Do you believe in me? No, there is no one who can take care of Her Highness as well as I do. Thank you for trusting me, but still, this is so…”

“Here we go again.”

Hearing him, Declan clicked his tongue and shook his head as he spoke gibberish.

“Can’t you trust yourself? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Usually, you wouldn’t let anyone touch the Crown Princess, so it’s like you suddenly entrusted it to me.”

Noah looked at his face for a moment and then continued, “I’m worried that you might suffer from separation anxiety.”

“What? What are you worried about?”

Declan asked, seemingly absurd.

“Since you have always traveled with the Crown Princess, you may not feel insecure…”

“Sir Hermann, please take good care.”

Declan cut off his words, perhaps already tired, and ordered the deputy commander of the Guards, who was standing next to him.

“I will take responsibility and protect the Crown Princess and the chief attendant.”

He then shook his head and turned his body towards me before reaching out to me and putting me up awkwardly.

‘Is he trying to give me a ride on the horse now…?’

Every time I saw him treating me, who was a soul, like a human, a smile leaked out.

“Your Majesty, get on first.”

Declan coughed a little and got on his horse. Seeing that, I smiled and climbed in front of him.

“I can’t hold you, it’s difficult.”

He muttered softly as he saw his arm passing through my body.

“Don’t worry, I can’t fall. You’re free to run.”

As I said so, Declan gave me an awkward look and he slowly drove his horse.

“Your Majesty, I will risk my life to protect the Crown Princess, so don’t worry and go!”

Meanwhile, I could hear Noah cry from behind and smiled a little.

“The chief attendant is a really fun person.”

“He’s fun, but one screw is missing.”

I let out a small laugh.

“Are you happy to go out?”

“Yes, it’s refreshing and it feels good.”

I spread my arms and imagined the wind. He reflexively raised his hand to hold me, then grabbed the reins again.

“Your Majesty, can’t we run a little faster?”

“There’s nothing that can’t be done.”

As he kicked the horse, the scenery around me quickly changed. Even so, when I felt the sense of speed, it felt like my heart was wide open.

When I glanced back, Declan’s face was relaxed as well.

‘I’ve only been indoors for so long. There were a lot of things.’

For this time, I hoped that I would forget all the headaches and enjoy it.

After running for a while, I saw a forest lined with long stretched trees.

“Is there a lake here?”

“You’ll see it if you go in a little bit more.”

As we entered the forest, the sound of horse hoofs and the chirping of birds was strangely pleasing to our ears.

“Your Majesty, if I become a human, please teach me how to ride.”

When I first got on the horse, I was a little scared because it was taller than I thought, though I enjoyed the feeling of moving around.

‘Why didn’t he say anything…?’

As I turned my head at that sudden thought, my eyes met with Declan, who was gazing at me slowly.

‘Oh, is it difficult to find time to teach me?’

I continued speaking, guessing his own reason for not answering.

“If you’re busy, I can ask someone else.”

“…I’ll teach you. When you’ve learned everything, let’s ride together. Just like now.”

Even if I couldn’t become a human, I was grateful for his reply.

“I’m already looking forward to it.”

As I smiled at him, his eyes deepened and a faint smile formed on his lips. When I got used to the forest to some extent, a wide lake spread out in front of me.

“Wow…”

I was amazed at the sight unfolding before my eyes.

The view of the deep blue lake containing the sky among the lush greenery was like a painting. The ripples rising above the surface of the water glistened as the sun shone down as if only the lake had been spotlighted.

Excited, I quickly got off and ran to the shore of the lake.

“Do you like it that much?”

“If there is a place like this, please let me know.”

“If I had known that you would like it this much, I would have brought you here sooner.”

Declan smiled softly.

I opened my mouth like a child and looked into the scenery around me.

“…This is where Chloe and I sometimes go on picnics. I haven’t been here since the child died.”

His eyes looking around the lake changed faintly, as though he was searching for his old memories. He and Chloe went on a picnic when they were young. That is, before the age of seven, when the doll was presented to her.

According to the original story, the threat of assassination got worse after that. So, they could not get out of the palace, and it was said that the only thing they got to do was go out to the greenhouse.

“It must have been cute to see the Princess running around.”

I imagined a child with beautiful braided hair running around the lakeshore, and the figure of Declan walking behind her smiling happily.

It was truly a heartbreakingly peaceful sight.

“Yes, even though I told her to be careful, she ran around and fell and cried, and when I comforted her, she ran again.”

There was little laughter in his voice.

“When I saw you walking like a doll, I thought of Chloe.”

I guessed that was why he laughed. Although I was a little angry that he made fun of me.

A longing flashed across his smiling face. Whenever I recall that memory, it was still funny and embarrassing. However, now that I know the meaning of his smile, I decided to show it to him sometimes.

“I won’t be angry in the future.”

At my words, Declan just smiled a little.

As I slowly strode along the shore of the lake, I felt at ease.

‘Now is a good opportunity.’

Thinking that, as I glanced up, I could see that Declan’s face was unusually relaxed.

‘…How far should I say it?’

I couldn’t delay any longer. It was inconvenient to stay like this all the time since there was no further progress in the investigation into the answer that Mazvin gave.

At that, I made up my mind and stopped walking.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty. I have something to tell you.”

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