CH 30

‘…It’s awkward.’

Eristella stared at Heinricion, shifting her eyes away, and then glancing at him. Instantly, she met the gaze that was still fixed on her.

‘I didn’t think we would meet like this.’

She guessed she would have to approach Heinricion in order to properly rectify the situation.

‘Oh, it’s embarrassing.’

Heinricion’s eyes still stung a lot.

‘Hey. I think there is some misunderstanding…’

This was really a misunderstanding. Eristella was only going out for a while.

However, when she tried to go out through the main entrance, the guards prevented her from doing so because it was dangerous, so she had to turn back.

It seemed impossible to climb the wall, but she managed to find a small hole… 

‘Ugh. Why. Why do I have to make excuses like this?’

It was great, but still not good.

‘First of all, I will have to explain so that the misunderstanding does not deepen here.’

Eristella took a step towards Heinricion. Then she stopped right away and scanned the surroundings.

Again, she took a step while pretending not to, and looked back. This time, she mustered up her courage and ran two quick steps.

She was nearing Heinricion, he was right in front of her…

“This. This is a newly developed dessert, and it’s good.”

Heinricion held out a bowl with a delicious looking dessert.

‘What? All of a sudden, what does this mean?’

‘Don’t tell me…’ It was when Eristella’s suspicious eyes became thin.

“If you don’t want to eat, I’ll tell the servant to take it away.”

‘There’s nothing wrong with the food. Why are you teasing me? I’m going to eat it.’

Eristella pulled the bowl closer with her front paws. And she took a big bite.

‘It’s so delicious…’

It was when Eristella’s eyes fluttered open and the corners of her mouth went up at will.

Heinricion, who was watching the scene, abruptly said,

“Your fur is tangled.”

‘Ah…’

A completely unexpected statement relieved Eristella.

Lately, she had been walking around alone, not being with any employees, so there was no one to help manage it. As a result, her fur was tangled.

“I need to brush it.”

Heinricion casually brought a comb and started running it through her fur.

‘Uh? Huh…?’

He combed through her fur, naturally untangling the tuffs.

‘Ah!’

‘It hurts!’ An excruciating pain followed as her tangled fur was pulled. ‘He’s doing it on purpose, isn’t he?’

Eristella’s eyes grew fierce and she glared at Heinrishion.

“Sorry. I won’t hurt you.”

Heinricion took the oil next to him and carefully applied it to the fox’s fur. After that, even when he combed it, it was gently and smoothly brushed like it was a while ago.

Eristella’s tense body started to relax little by little.

“About the death of my parents.”

Twitch. Eristella’s back stiffened.

“Would you mind telling me? How did you get involved in black magic?”

Heinricion stared at Eristella.

‘How did you find out?’

Was it because of Count Azurdi’s case last time? Eristella’s eyes narrowed.

She wanted to pretend she didn’t know for a moment, but the look on his face made it seem like he knew everything already.

“You embraced all the misunderstandings and didn’t show the slightest hint.”

The times he felt resentment came rushing back to him and he regretted it.

“Why didn’t you at least tell me?”

‘…Sorry.’

Eristella’s head fell down.

She could not tell him about the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Adelasia.

Because she knew he would be shocked and tormented like he is now.

She didn’t want to see his pride for the Grand Duchy of Adelasia crumble.

She just wanted them to be remembered as  loving and good parents to him.

…Even though it has become like this.

She thought that a day like this might come one day, but she hoped it would never arrive.

Seeing Eristella drowning in self-blame, Heinricion gently suppressed his upset stomach. And…

“Thank you.”

Heinricion let out a groan.

‘……?’

Eristella’s eyes widened slightly. She was surprised by the unexpected response.

“You were thinking of me and the Adelasia family.”

That was why she couldn’t speak as much to Heinricion.

“If you had waited until I came back to hold the funeral, it would have gotten out somehow. Before that, you tried to organize it so that no one would notice. Now I know.”

All of her actions, which were seen as reckless, were to protect the Adelasia family and Heinricion.

“You took care of all the misunderstandings because you were afraid I would get hurt.”

Rather, after he knew all the facts, Heinricion realized that Eristella had bestowed her favor on the Grand Duchy of Adelasia.

That was the case with his nephew last time, and it was the same this time.

It turned out that there were various reasons for the actions of Princess Eristella, who was considered selfish and careless.

And in the end, it was not for herself, but others.

For others.

She never explained anything.

‘Why is that?’

‘Why does she act like she wants to be hated?’

Heinricion had known the person named Eristella for 15 years.

Once upon a time, he was close to her.

She was immature and self-centered, but she was a girl with a fresh smile.

The girl was loved by everyone and used to love anyone. Once, he harbored greed for wanting to get closer to her.

The decisive event that caused the people to turn their backs on her was the deaths of his parents, the predecessors of Adelasia.

‘I didn’t help with such a grand idea.’

Seeing Heinricion in pain, Eristella did not know what to do.

Eristella had a relationship with the former grand duke and grand duchess. When she was young, they took good care of her.

After all, she was already hated by people. If she was misunderstood one more time, it wouldn’t change much. It was all right.

There was no need for Heinricion to feel guilty toward her.

“I wonder if they have done anything that harms the empire.”

Heinricion asked carefully. He seemed nervous despite having the intention to handle whatever reply that came back.

Eristella also didn’t want Heinricion to misunderstand any more.

But there were too few ways for her to convey her feelings to him.

Eristella jumped onto the chair, then leaped onto the desk and grabbed a pen.

She had already held a pen with her paw a few times and wrote, but her writing was still clumsy and crooked. But Eristella was writing to the best of her ability, and she wanted her sincerity to be reflected in it.

Heinricion also noticed her behavior and shifted his gaze to the paper.

— Heinricion. There’s something you need to know —

‘I hope he won’t think too badly of his parents.’

Because the two of them loved him very much.

— The Grand Duke and his wife didn’t join hands with black magic with a bad heart. At that time, the Grand Duchess’ body was very sick —

To begin with, her body was frail. However, thanks to the great care of the grand duke, even after Heinricion was born, she had almost no health problems.

However, it was not a complete cure, and eventually a problem arose. The grand duchess only had a few days left to live.

No matter how rich and powerful the grand duke was, he could not cure an incurable disease. However, Grand Duke Adelasia could not let his wife go.

As he looked for a cure in every way to somehow save her life, he could barely grasp one remaining hope.

That’s right, black magic.

The grand duke would not normally be shaken, but at that time he was desperate.

Enough to destroy all the beliefs and pride that he had kept for his whole life.

They touched black magic, but there was not as much progress as they expected.

However, the condition of the grand duchess improved at first. So they started to have more faith in it.

If they just did this, she would be cured. When the time came, they would confess their sins and pay the penalty.

However, the symptoms only temporarily improved, and there was no lasting change in the grand duchess’s health.

Rather, the side effects of using black magic appeared.

And when it got to the point where they could no longer control it, Eristella found out.

She hated black magic and could never forgive anyone who used it, but when she found out about the two of them, her heart was shaken.

But she was too late. The side effects of black magic on the grand duke and his wife were so severe that not even Eristella could help suppress it.

(TL/N: refer to episode 22 for the side effects of black magic on the user.)

Realizing that they no longer had control over themselves, they made the final decision.

Eristella arrived late, but the two of them were on the verge of running out of breath. She listened to the last wills of the predecessors of the Grand Duchy of Adelasia.

She hadn’t told anyone up to this point, but now she could.

‘I hope this is properly delivered to Heinricion.’ Eristella put the pen down and looked straight at his face.

It was when she opened her mouth with difficulty, hoping that this heart would reach Heinricion.

[They were worried about you until the very end.]

This time it was the real Eristella’s voice.