CH 21

“Um, Elia…”

He stretched out his arms as if the child was trying to reach her in his sleep. He was just trying to find her in the middle of the day, and he was going to cry when he couldn’t catch anything. So she quickly put the pillow into the child’s arms. The child hugged the pillow and fell asleep again. She almost woke him up. Heaving a sigh of relief, she sprinted toward the door. As she carefully opened the door, Richard and Jade, who were standing guard in front of her, raised their heads.

“I can’t sleep, so I’m going to take a walk.”

She quietly closed the door and moved on. Richard and Jade followed her. She immediately left the mansion and headed for the rose garden. It was the first time she had gone out for a walk at such a late hour, so the garden looked a bit different. The wind blew through the roses dyed in darkness. The thick scent of roses hovered at the tip of her nose and then dispersed. After walking, she stopped for a moment. It was a time when she took a deep breath and inhaled the smell. In the distance, a black figure shimmered in her vision. It was only when her eyes got used to the darkness that she realized who that person was. It was none other than the Duke. Did he come here because he couldn’t sleep like her?

After thinking for a while, she moved on. If she walked quietly, she wouldn’t get in the way of the Duke’s thoughts. It was around the time when the distance with the Duke was close. She suddenly looked back. When she saw the dark red eyes that suddenly met, his breath choked to the point of being strange.

“What’s going on here at this hour?”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I came to take a walk.”

“Then I’ll leave you alone.”

She called the Duke who was about to pass her.

“Wait a minute, Duke.”

“What?”

“Would you like to go for a walk with me?”

The Duke stared at her without a word. She slightly averted her gaze, feeling embarrassed that she might have said something useless.

He would probably refuse. She was also dumbfounded by the suggestion she made. But at that moment, an unexpected answer came.

“Do whatever you feel like.”

After that, the Duke started walking ahead. And she stared blankly at his back.

“What are you doing without coming?”

The Duke turned around and slightly frowned. Then she came to her senses and hurried after the Duke, that moved at a pace that was neither slow nor fast.

A cool yet refreshing scent was inhaled through the thick rose scent wafting from within the garden. Where was she? She thought it’s the smell she had smelled before, but she was a little confused because it had a strong rose scent. When she came to her senses, she saw the Duke’s face right in front of her. It was because she was subconsciously trying to ascertain where her notes came from.

She was startled for a second and tried to step back and tripped.

“Oops!”

She screamed involuntarily and closed her eyes. She thought she was going to fall, but she didn’t feel the pain even after a while. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the dark red eyes that were right in front of her.

“Can’t you be more cautious?”

The Duke, who clicked his tongue slightly, removed his hand from her waist and straightened his body.

“…Okay, thank you for catching me.”

She turned her head away and averted her gaze. She was somehow embarrassed to face the Duke. Whether he knew that or not, the Duke just walked calmly. She felt a little regret as she walked without saying anything. With what kind of heart did she ask him to take a walk together? She definitely expected it to be such an awkward atmosphere. She heard the voice of the Duke as she walked, touching his wrist.

“…At that time, why did you save it?”

“Pardon? Ah, the reason why I saved Deliam from the wizard when I saw him in that rural village.”

She did not understand the intention of the Duke’s question. Was he asking because he was really curious, or… did he believe her completely now?”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m still looking for evidence about you.”

He said so, but was it her imagination that sounded like an excuse?

“…but.”

“Answer my question.”

She answered while looking straight at the Duke.

“Because I saw it right in front of me. So I saved him.”

“…Is that all?”

“Then what? That wizard was beating Liam. I think anyone who saw it could have saved him. That’s all. Not for any grandiose reason.”

The Duke was speechless. She answered very honestly. It was a moment when she was about to feel a little bit of regret.

“That’s strange.”

She blinked at his unexpected words.

“Yes?”

“No, it’s not weird, it’s bizarre.”

“…That’s not what you’re talking about, are you?”

“Then who else is here besides you?”

She glared at the Duke in amazement. Because she really wanted to see this person… The moment she opened her mouth to say something, she stopped for a moment at the scene caught in her field of vision. It’s obviously expressionless, but she had to say that it looks indescribably awkward. It’s the first time she had seen that expression.

“I don’t know what you’re looking at. Will you take responsibility if my face wears out?”

After saying that, the Duke left her and went ahead. She stopped and stared blankly at the back of the Duke. Who in the world says something like that? The Duke looked different enough to contrast with the first impression that it seemed that even if it was stabbed with a needle, not a single drop of blood would come out. She immediately moved her legs and started walking beside the Duke.

“Oh, Duke. I have something to ask you.”

“What?”

“The curse that hangs over me. Is there any way to completely break it?”

He thought for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“There is Allegro Bian. He is the master of the Magic Tower.”

If it was Allegro Bian, she knew about him. Because he was described simply in the book. Was he the eccentric and materialistic type?

“…I’ve heard of him, but what about him?”

“He said he really wants to see you.”

“Me?”

“He heard everything about your curse from me. So it might be helpful to meet you too.”

“I’m sure it is. But what about him?”

What’s the reason for wanting to meet her? Just using him… she sensed that the Duke didn’t like him very much. He said he had such an eccentric temperament, so he wouldn’t be happy to say that he was a Duke.

“I’ll arrange a place soon.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you, take good care of Deliam.”

“Don’t worry. I’m doing my best to take care of him.”

The Duke snorted lightly. He was dumbfounded by the look, but he wasn’t in a bad mood. Contrary to what she initially feared, the walk with the Duke ended well.

* * *

A few more days passed after that. In the meantime, big and small changes have taken place in the mansion. Goods were brought in and out of the mansion, and the employees changed noticeably. Anyway, the hectic days continued, and today has finally calmed down.

She looked at Lubart, who said something unexpected.

“…Are we going out?”

“Yes. If you don’t mind, how about taking a tour of the capital together with Lord Deliam?”

“It doesn’t matter to me, but will the Duke give us permission?”

“Of course, the Duke allowed it.”

No, that person gave permission?

“Really?”

“Yes. That’s right. He also said it would be nice to go out with the young lady.”

“Anyway, why visit the capital?”

Just as Lubart was about to reply, Liam burst inside. The child was strangely excited.

“Elia! Are you going to see the capital? Is that so?”

He said he was only at the mansion and went out, so he must be doing it because he liked it, but was it her imagination that it looked like there was something more? At that time, Lubart whispered in her ear.

“Actually, the first day of next week is Lord Deliam’s birthday.”

In an instant, her mind flashed. Deliam’s birthday was next week? She was embarrassed to know now, but it was even more confusing that there was less than a week left. No, why didn’t anyone tell her until now? She looked at Lubart with an absurd feeling. And the butler cleared his throat and hinted that he hadn’t thought of it.

She whispered to Lubart while watching the child running around in place, still excited.

“What does that have to do with going out today?”

“Lord Deliam said he wanted to receive a birthday present in advance…”

“Then, is the present that Liam wants to receive in the capital?”

“Yes, it is.”

Now she understood the situation. Apparently, the Duke had to protect his baby so much that he would hardly ever leave the mansion. So, he must have wanted to visit the capital without knowing it. He tried to endure it until his birthday, but it seemed like he decided to go today because he couldn’t wait anymore.

“Do you want to go out with me?”

“Yes!”

“Okay. Let’s go then.”

Going out was no problem. However, she wanted to prepare something as a birthday present for a child with less than a week left. Before that, she would have to have money to do anything or not. After thinking for a while, she whispered to Lubart.

“Then you give me money separately?”

“Yes. Even so, the duke told me to buy it freely if there is something he wants to buy.”

If that were the case, she would buy a birthday present without the child’s knowledge when they go out today. She didn’t know if she would b able to do it without being caught by the child, though.

“When are we going? Are we going now?”

Looking down at the child stomping his feet, she asked Lubart.

“Can we go now?”

“It doesn’t matter. If you return to the mansion before sunset.”

“Then we’ll go now.”

“I think it would be good for both of you to wear this before then.”

Lubart handed her what was in her maid’s hand. It was a rob that covered all the way down her head.

“Anyway, since both of you have outstanding looks, I thought they needed something to cover up, so I prepared it.”

“Surely so. Thank you.”

Quickly putting on their robes, she and the child followed the maid. As she left her mansion, she saw a carriage ready right in front of her. In addition to Jade and Richard, who originally followed her, there were three other knights standing next to it. Somehow, she thought that Richard and Jade’s outfits look simpler than usual. It seemed that they had already heard the story and were ready.

She climbed onto the carriage with Deliam and the door closed with a click.

“Elia. There must be a lot to see in the capital, right?”

“Is this your first time visiting the capital?”

“Yes.”

“Where are we going?”

“A library!”

“…library?”

“They say there is a central library in the center of the capital! They say there are a lot of books there. So I’m going there.”

Of course, she knew he would want to go to such a noisy place like a market or a shopping mall. It reminded her of the fact that the child had a high academic fever. By the time she was talking with the child for a while, the carriage stopped.

[Lord Deliam. We have arrived at the Central Library.]

At that, the child grabbed her hand and opened the door. Richard, who was about to open the door from the outside, looked a little flustered. The child didn’t care, got out of the wagon and led her. The carriage seemed to have been parked right in front of the main entrance of the library.