CH 25

“Are you going to follow me to the north?”

Kael asked as if he had misheard her.

“Yes. I’m going.”

Unlike Kael, who had an expression that looked like he didn’t understand at all, Adeline was calm.

“The interest towards us will not stop easily. It will probably get worse after the marriage, but it’s never going to diminish.”

“…”

“At least it’s split between you and me right now, but if you leave for the north, I’ll have to take care of it all by myself.”

“…”

“I’ll live my days suffering at the countless social gatherings in the capital. They’ll start by asking how the Grand Duke is doing in the north, and end it with the question of why I didn’t follow you to the north.”

“…”

“I just hate it. If I was the type of person who enjoyed such a life, why would I have lived while visiting the battlegrounds or the plains?”

Adeline explained the reason she had to go to the north very positively.

“And being the Grand Duchess is not an easy job.”

“Adeline, about that…”

“I know. You don’t want anything from me related to my duties or my role as the Grand Duchess, and you don’t want anything at all.”

“If you know, why do you intend on taking responsibility?”

“If I’m going to live under the name of the Lady of the North, shouldn’t I at least stay in the north, even if I don’t do anything?”

Adeline pushed her left hand in front of Kael’s eyes.

It was the hand with the ring he had given her.

“If I am going to wear a ring with an ice stone in it, I should at least get a taste of the northern blizzard.”

Kael looked at Adeline with a frown on his face, as if asking what that meant.

‘… That’s right. What I just said was kind of ridiculous, even to me.’

Adeline swallowed the embarrassment and regret she felt.

In fact, there was only one reason to go north.

Pretending to love him and successfully breaking up the marriage.

In order to do that, she had to stick with Kael at least.

If they were separated from each other in the capital and the north and she suddenly fell in love with him, there was no way he would believe it.

“But still, the north…”

“Besides, living in solitude is not to my taste.”

Kael’s expression changed strangely when she told him again that she didn’t want to be left alone.

“It would be a different story if spring or summer was coming. But the north is about to face winter.”

“…”

“It is not a cold you can endure, it is not a barrenness you can endure.”

Even for the people who grew up there, the northern winters were difficult to endure.

Kael was convinced that Adeline, who had been surrounded by the sun and the sea, would never be able to endure it.

“It means it’s not a place to blindly follow me to break the contract.”

Kael hit the bull’s eye.

‘… Does he really know how to read minds? So, is he saying he can confidently tell whether I truly love him or not?’

Adeline frowned slightly without realizing it.

She had felt from the first time they met that he was not someone who was easy to deal with, but somehow, as time went on, Adeline felt like he could see through her more easily.

Adeline sighed softly, thinking that it would be a big problem if Kael really read her mind.

“You’re misunderstanding. I’m not going to the north for that reason.”

Kael would never believe her, but she still had to sever their relationship.

Adeline immediately denied it, then looked straight into Kael’s eyes and continued speaking.

“But still, people live there. They have lived, and will continue living.”

“…”

“I’ll run away on my own if I go there and end up not being able to handle it, so don’t worry.”

“…”

“But who knows? Maybe I’ll end up loving the north very much.”

Kael immediately tried to argue, but Adeline was faster.

Adeline didn’t give him a chance.

“And I’m curious. About the land you rule.”

“…”

“Does it really resemble you, as it is rumored, and do the people there have a similar atmosphere to you?”

She was sincere about this.

Adeline had never been to the north.

So, she wanted to go and see for herself.

Whether she would really remember Kael when facing the atmosphere and shape of the north, or whether the winter there really resembled the color of his eyes.

“I’m serious.”

Adeline didn’t need to add anything; Kael could tell as well.

There was no lie in Adeline’s eyes as she faced him now.

Just like the day she wiped the blood off him.

‘It would have been a better strategy to keep treating me like this instead of thinking hard.’

He could see it clearly whenever Adeline tried to make up her mind, so he just smirked, but it was different when she was sincere like now.

It complicated Kael’s mind, and her light green eyes kept hovering around him.

It was like that right now.

It was different from when she mentioned things like social gatherings or living in solitude.

And Kael was also eager to hear it.

About how the north resembles him from Adeline’s point of view, and about how she feels when facing it for the first time.

“So don’t think about stopping me. No matter what you say, I’m going to the north.”

Kael, who was quietly staring at Adeline, finally nodded.

But he swallowed tightly without telling her how she could attack him.

He didn’t want to let her know.

If Adeline knew how to do it, and if she treated Kael with all her heart, he would be strongly shaken.

***

After dawn, Adeline was contacted by Simeon and went to the temple.

“I was terribly disappointed because you didn’t contact me during the prayer period. Do you know how surprised I was to receive your letter?”

“Don’t say that, Sister. You know I can’t help it.”

“I know. I’m joking. It was just a little prank.”

Adeline smiled playfully and teased Simeon.

It was something only her younger brother saw.

“I have to leave the temple for a while from tomorrow to take care of a few things. I only have time today, so I contacted you urgently.”

“You’re not doing anything dangerous, are you?”

“Not at all. I’ll be back before your wedding, so don’t worry.”

Adeline nodded, relieved.

“But what do you want to tell me? It seems like something pretty important.”

As she tried to go straight to the point, Simeon’s face darkened slightly.

The complexity of his mind was obvious from the outside.

“Take this first.”

With a resolute face, Simeon put a necklace in Adeline’s hand.

It was a gold necklace with a pendant embedded with blue jewels.

“It is a relic that blocks the energy of darkness. There is a strong holy power in that jewel.”

Hearing his explanation, Adeline looked at Simeon in surprise.

It wasn’t something that was easily obtainable, and it was an item that he would not get his hands on without a special reason.

The fact that Simeon gave her this necklace meant that a dark energy was hovering next to Adeline.

“The reason I objected to your marriage with Grand Duke Inver is different from our brothers’ reason.”

“…”

“Of course, our brothers’ reason is also correct. But the main reason I objected was that he was touched by the other side.”

He hadn’t told her exactly yet, but it meant that Kael was involved with it.

Adeline looked at Simeon with a stiff face.

“I know that you love Grand Duke Inver, and I know that the wedding is just around the corner. So be careful.”

“No, Simeon. It doesn’t matter, so don’t beat around the bush and just tell me straight away.”

“I’m not sure yet. I’m just suspicious.”

She told him it was okay to be straightforward, but Simeon was still cautious.

He seemed to be wondering whether it was okay to say this or whether it was the right thing to do.

But his hesitation was momentary.

“I can feel a great curse of darkness from the Grand Duke.”

“… A curse of darkness?”

Adeline’s eyes shook at the unthinkable words.

Simeon had enough holy power to be considered one of the greatest priests.

So if he felt something, there was a high probability that the darkness was touching him.

“Extremely strong black magic and curses can deceive even priests with high holy power.”

“…”

“If the energy I felt is correct and the Grand Duke really is cursed, you must be careful at all costs, Sister.”

“…”

“If it’s a curse that can kill your energy even in the face of my power, it’s even more powerful than what you can imagine.”

Adeline’s light green eyes trembled.

“I thought about it a lot. Because I’m not sure. Because of me, you may feel insecure for no reason.”

“…”

“But no matter how much I think about it, I think it would be dangerous to pretend not to know, and I’m worried.”

“…”

“And I don’t know if you also felt something. The curse of darkness makes people feel different things.”

As soon as she heard Simeon’s words, she remembered Kael saying he wanted to die.

She also remembered clearly how he was fine even though he was covered in blood from a Corrupted.

“I’m not sure yet, but be sure to wear that necklace. At all times.”

Simeon requested again and again, and Adeline looked at her brother with confusion.

She knew how stupid it was to cling to the original story at this point, and she had long since realized that it was futile.

‘Still, this is…’

But it was changing too much.

So much so that Adeline was anxious that no matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to reach the ending she knew.