Chapter 14

Translator and Editor: Lea and Ishy

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Chapter 14

The voice was low and heavy.

I raised my head as the voice rang softly in the quiet room.

“You are…”

A handsome man swiftly jumped over the railing.

While looking directly into my eyes, which had widened in surprise, he smiled.

“How have you been?”

“Your Highness?”

I was speechless.

How did he come up here? How did he know about this place?

He chuckled as I failed to hide the confused look on my face.

“You told me.”

“When did I… Oh!”

“I remember you kindly explained how to sneak into the mansion.”

“That was because I couldn’t help it!”

Before I knew it, I was shouting.

I did tell him, but who expected him to put it into action in this way?

Lennox’s lips curled into a proper smile.

“I thought you wanted me to visit you in the same way.”

“Never!”

I yelled at him, who seemed to have misunderstood something.

“No, why did Your Highness have to sneak in?”

Just one message for his visit would have been enough to bring Viscount Brienne to wait at the main gate with a red carpet.

Lennox replied calmly,

“Because it’s annoying and cumbersome. Why do I have to stick to the uncomfortable method when there’s a shortcut?”

“But this means Your Highness is breaking into the mansion of Viscount Brienne without permission, doesn’t it?”

Though it was a threat, I tried to point it out as smoothly as possible.

I could not just shoot a threat openly to a Duke, so I took great care of my behavior.

However, Lennox was very relaxed.

“Why? Are you going to report it?”

“Who said that I would?”

Moreover, I would have to live in poverty if I reported a Duke to the institutional security.

Instead, it would be better not to get dragged into that.

“How did Your Highness come in? The hole seemed too small to pass through.”

He replied with a shrug.

“I crossed the wall.”

“What?”

The wall around the Brienne mansion was twice my height.

‘You simply jumped over that?’

My eyes naturally lowered to his body.

I had no doubt when I saw his solid and sturdy build.

At the same time, I uttered what I had been pondering about.

“If you were going to visit, why didn’t you come earlier…?”

I expected him to ask about what happened, but he just nodded.

“I didn’t know that evil spirits could track your location and attack you. It seems like the energy your Epure gives off is stronger than I expected.”

How did he know that evil spirits were attacking me?

Lennox shrugged when my eyes grew wide.

“As soon as I entered the mansion, I felt the unique energy of evil spirits. I have taken care of the spirits that were after you, so rest assured.”

“I see.”

It suddenly reminded me of the glass pieces falling weakly to the floor.

‘It wasn’t a coincidence.’

The only individual who could cut down the strength of evil beings of the Rutoru forest and get rid of them was a Kravant.

I was really lucky.

“Thanks to Your Highness, I’m safe. You have my gratitude.”

“The rest of those creatures will protect themselves for a while because they know I’m here. It’ll be quiet for a while.”

After I breathed out in relief, I thought about his sudden visit.

“Why did Your Highness come to see me?”

Lennox calmly replied to my question.

“I have some news to share with you.”

***

I offered him a seat, but Lennox politely declined.

Instead, he leaned his back against the closed window before he opened his mouth.

“I found a record of the use of Qualum leaves.”

I opened my eyes wide.

“Is that true?”

“According to the records of the temple, dark sorcerers used to perform certain spells in the past.”

‘Dark sorcery?’

I frowned at the unfamiliar information.

‘There has never been a story related to sorcery in the original work.’

An unknown anxiety grasped my mind.

It was even more so because I had no idea how sorcery was described in this world.

Presumably from Lennox’s attitude, he seemed to think that I knew what sorcery was.

If so, I should have had the least common sense, but no information came to mind.

“What kind of magic do the leaves hold?”

How were odorless and nontoxic leaves used in dark sorcery?

With what intention?

My heart began to pound inside my ribcage.

“Is it used to make poison?”

I didn’t even know if it was toxic when mixed with tea.

A chilly sensation flowed down my spine.

“It’s not like that, but anyway, don’t drink that tea again.”

“That’s why Your Highness should tell me why I shouldn’t drink it.”

Lennox pressed his fingers to his forehead instead of answering. Nervously, I bit my lips.

“Do you have to know?”

“Please tell me. What kind of sorcery is it?”

I felt my voice shaking.

He seemed to be pondering for a while, but he finally opened his mouth.

“It’s used in sorcery to turn people into evil spirits.”

The shock hit my whole body as soon as he said it.

I stared blankly at him with my mouth open.

I managed to ask,

“E-Evil spirit….?”

My head was spinning.

“Olivia Brienne!”

Lennox caught me hurriedly.

“Are you alright? Breathe, slowly… Damn it, come on, get yourself together!”

I was hyperventilating, gripping on Lennox’s arm as if it were my lifeline.

My whole body was trembling.

What was Olivia drinking until I came?

‘Rather…’

…Even poison sounded better than this.

“I wasn’t going to say it because I was afraid this would happen. Damn it, it’s not good for you to drink that tea…”

A man’s voice was faintly echoing in my head.

His other huge and warm hand was constantly patting my back.

Until I regained my stability.

As the shock went away, I hurriedly moved away when I realized that I was in Lennox’s arms.

“E-Excuse me.”

“Are you feeling better now?”

I nodded and sat up straight.

“I’m fine. Thank you for coming all the way here.”

“I just wanted to correct myself because I gave you the wrong information about the Qualum leaves before.”

I shook my head.

“Still. It’s rare for people to do this for someone they’ve met for a while.”

I meant it.

He even took the trouble of infiltrating the Brienne mansion.

I looked at him with gratitude.

“I will not forget your favor.”

Then, his cheeks were flushed red like his ruby eyes and he turned his face in embarrassment.

“It wasn’t much,”

He answered firmly.

“It’s equally important for me to investigate what wandered out of the Rutoru forest.”

Somehow, him visiting me seemed odd in this inspection.

He was a guardian everyone praised. In no way could he visit places like my room for such an investigation.

Needless to say, I didn’t give in and smiled.

“Anyway, thank you for coming all the way here to let me know.”

“…I’ll be glad if it helped.”

“It is a huge help. I don’t have a hobby of becoming an evil spirit. I don’t want to be sliced into two by your sword.”

I smiled briefly as Lennox chuckled at my joke.

The stiff atmosphere which had developed due to tension and shock quickly collapsed.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You don’t look very safe here either. Do you have a remedy in mind?”

Until this morning, I thought I’d be okay for the time being as long as I stayed home.

My first goal was to live quietly and find out what Carinne was planning.

I also had a faint hope that Carinne might’ve not intended to harm me, unlike the original.

But now, I had to survive the clutches of the evil spirits from the Rutoru forest.

“I’m thinking about it.”

Suddenly depressed, I sighed deeply. Of course, I would have no solution even if I thought for a hundred days.

“Ash?”

At that time, Ash flew in and dropped a piece of paper in front of me.

I grabbed the paper before it hit the floor.

‘Newspaper article?’

I almost cheered for myself while reading the contents.

I slowly faced Lennox, my eyes sparkling.

Lennox’s ruby red eyes paused at me as if shooting a laser beam.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“Yes!”

I shouted, nodding my head up and down like a puppy in front of a hell hound.

“I’ll do it!”

“You will do what?”

Lennox frowned at my excitement, but it didn’t matter.

‘This man was my only golden rope.’

Even his frown looked beautiful and noble when I thought of him as my lifeline.

The heavenly light showed itself behind Lennox.

I couldn’t believe he looked so handsome even when he smiled.

“You haven’t found the right person yet, have you? I’ll do it. I can perform the role very well!”

“What are you going to do…?”

He stopped as I shook the newspaper article in my hand.

“I’m talking about the bride you are looking for.”

With a face brighter than ever, I said,

“What do you think about me?”

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Rate the novel on Novel Updates.

Join our discord to receive the latest updates as soon as possible!