Chapter 4

~ Chapter 4 ~

‘I want to break up my engagement with you.’

What I heard a few hours ago lingered in my ears.

Verndia frowned, as he was looking out of the window of the carriage at the city.

“The conversation didn’t go well, I supposed.”

Recognizing that the Master was not feeling well, the aide, Isolet, asked cautiously.

He appeared unwell, the moment he went out of Silkisia’s Residence.

I didn’t know that this kind of feeling would last this long.

I was just trying to grab a straw of hope.

He and Verndia knew that Yzhar would not accept the request to persuade the emperor. His visit that was not expected at all.

Verndia’s lips parted without looking away from the window.

“Isolet.”

“Yes.”

“What’s the benefit of a princess if she breaks off her engagement?”

“Uh…”

Indeed, it was a random question.

However, Isolet embarrassment did not last long. He quickly shook his head.

If so, these would be the benefit of Psychke Silkisia from the breakup.

…… Is there a thing like that?

“I don’t know about that, Duke. May I ask why are you suddenly asking that?“

“The princess has demanded me to break out marriage.”

“What?!”

Isolet’s mouth opened wide at the shocking news. He knew how Psychke was obsessed with Verndia.

He poked his ears to know if he had possibly heard it wrong.

“It’s not only that. She said that she would willingly help me in dealing with the monsters. To be precise, she said, ‘I’ll help you, so in return, let’s break off our engagement right after.’”

“Do you dislike the Princess that much?”

Isolet was guessing that he had bothered Verndia so much, that Psychke finally tried to escape after taking off the crane.

Verndia briefly glared at him and turned his eyes outward.

“You know that I am not a kind of person to ask for a breakup for that reason, don’t you?”

“No, it is, but Prince Yzhar didn’t say anything on that matter?”

“It’s…”

‘Please keep it a secret that I made this offer. Especially to the people of my family. ‘

It was only then that I remembered she asked me to keep our upcoming breakup a secret.

He was stabbed on the inside, but he didn’t show it on the outside. Anyway, Isolet wasn’t stupid enough to go anywhere and reveal it without thinking.

“… It seems like the princess personally suggested it.”

“What?”

Isolet breathed in vain as if he was exhausted. Then he snapped his fingers, as if something came to his mind.

“Isn’t it because of that rumor?”

“What do you mean rumors?”

“What do you mean why, Duke? Rumors that the real Princess Lillian has returned.“

Verndia, who realized what Isolet was saying, wrinkled his face.

The aide, who had no regard for the fierce master’s momentum, continued.

“I guessed you have pondered that it would be better to make an agreement with the Duke and finish it neatly than to be dragged out by the Emperor and divorced in front of everyone.”

After the real princess appeared.

Among the imperial nobles, Verndia and Psychke’s engagement had emerged as hot topic.

Now that the real princess is back, he should break his current engagement with Psychke and engage with the real Princess, Lillian.

After the forced engagement, they never helped each other, but they argued that the Duke should be engaged to Silkisia again, and somehow there were also strong opinions that the current engagement should be maintained.

“Look who’s a complete moron here.”

Verndia, who wore a vicious gaze, opened and clenched his fists threateningly.

Isolet just bowed his head as one of the residents of Lestir.

Originally, Verndia had no good personality. Even before the appearance of the monsters, his nickname was the Mad Dog of the North.

“It’s all annoying. Should I just flip this wagon over?“

“Residents, please think about the Residents, Duke!”

Isolet abruptly uttered his idea and don’t want Verndia to show his real colors.

Verndia, who had roughened the grip from his cravat, sharpened his teeth. Violet flames began to flash from his fingertips.

“Did you bring my medicine?”

“Yes, yes. Here you go!”

Isolet, who shook off the flame trying to move his cravat, hurriedly took a bunch of medicine out of Isolet’s pocket.

Verndia chewed one of them and leaned his back against the back of the carriage.

He was still frowning. The flame from his fingertips calmed down as if the medicinal effect was spreading to his body.

“Please refrain from it. I don’t want you to be burn to death.”

As the medicine bag was recovered, Isolet made a tearful face.

Verndia, who slowly closed his eyes, said as if growling.

“Things doesn’t go my way.”

“But you can’t live like this for the rest of your life… Oh, do you think Princess Lillian isn’t capable? Because it is a blessing passed down from generation to generation through the blood of Silkisia—”

“No, I don’t think so. If so, Silkisia could not have been this quiet.”

Even if Lillian was the ‘capable’ one, he had no intention of getting engaged with her.

Taking medicine for the rest of his life would be much better than living on with a leash called Silkisia.

Was it consideration for him to calm down? Isolet did not talk to him anymore.

As he said, Verndia slowly breathed in and out to avoid burning the wagon.

Then, amidst the silence in the wagon, his calm demeanor has resigned once again, and her words came into his mind.

‘I want to break up my marriage with you.’

Nervousness, anxiety.

Those feelings were always mixed within him, surfacing from inside.

But today…

‘I want to break up my marriage with you.’

Her eyes that contained him were empty. He felt empty from them.

Was it because of the belief that he would have no choice but to accept her offer?

No, it’s not. To say so, those eyes….

‘Thank you.’

Only once. There was a time when her empty eyes shone.

It was time for him to write a contract to break up the marriage.

It was like a dying man in the battlefield smiling at a priest.

He can’t say for sure if he’ll be able to survive, but he’s just happy that he got a chance…

That look kept haunting me. I shook my head to shake it off, but I couldn’t shake it off.

‘Tsk, so annoying.’

It was something I had seen so much on the battlefield. But in a place that was not even a battlefield, I was seriously annoyed to see her doing so.

‘Break off engagement.’

Verndia, who had been recalling her actions, frowned.

I couldn’t believe that it was alright for her to take off her ring.

He was convinced that there would be something else that would benefit the princess, which he had not yet grasped.

And he had a personality to dig thoroughly into what was behind her words.

“Attach the crow, Isolet.”

“What? Who will you be talking to?”

“Princess Psychke.”

“Are you serious, Duke?”

Isolet was terrified when he said that he was going to use the crows which he used to dig out the weaknesses of his enemies and will going to attach them to the princess who was known to be incompetent.

But Verndia had calmed down his backlash with a single gesture.

***

Psychke, who had broke up with Verndia, slowly went around the garden. It was to organize thoughts on how to deal with Duke Lestir’s castles.

In the past, she had been researching about monsters in her own way to alleviate the worries of her fiancée.

Although she died even before she had the chance to hand the information to him.

‘They live in the north, but they were unusually weak in the cold.‘

Most of the monsters living in the north were strong whenever it’s cold. Because of this, the northerners were used to use fire or warmth-infused tools when hunting monsters.

That was the thing.

‘The demons that appeared this time are the opposite. Weak to cold, strong to heat. On the contrary, there were things that became stronger when warmed up. The question is why did they appear in the North … .’

Doesn’t it seem like someone caught the monsters in the southern castle and put the protective shield on them and released them in the northern part?

There’s something suspicious about it.

This part is something that Verndia, the owner of the territory, has to investigate on his own, so she decided not to think deeply.

‘The outer leather is strong against the cold, so the priority is to pierce the leather on the skin.’

He said that it is not easy to even scratch the leather unless the organization is so solid and it is a magic sword.

Even though Lestir’s Territory is wealthy, he probably cannot afford to pay everyone with a magic sword, which is the price of one castle. It was impossible to do, even for the emperor.

‘There was a mineral that could replace a magic sword….’

Just around that time, I couldn’t remember what happened clearly because I was taken to the solitary room due to the necklace poison incident.

Psychke stopped walking and tried to recall the name of the ore.

‘Was that something like month? Month, month…’

Boogsh!

It was a moment when I was about to remember.

Cold water flew in from the side part. Psychke, who quickly became a drowning mouse, blinked.

“Oh, my. Princess!”

Maybe it’s because I was too immersed in my thoughts.

Before I knew it, I left the garden and arrived at the laundry.

“I didn’t know you were there, Princess. I’m sorry. Oh my what should I do?”

The maid who accidentally threw water on me, rushed over and made a fuss. With an expression that doesn’t seem sorry at all.

“Mari, you should have checked if anyone was passing by before throwing it away.“

“I didn’t know that the Princess would pass by in such a shabby place.”

The maids, led by Mari, poured out words that did not know if they were reprimanding, apologizing, or being sarcastic.

They all tried to wipe off the water from her clothes, but they kept their mouths open.

Whenever I blinked, the droplets formed on my long inner eyebrows and flowed down, making it look like I was crying.

Psychke quickly took a step, touching her messed up face with her palm.

“It’s fine.”

Unlike her wet appearance, what came out from her throat was a dry voice.

“Hey, I hope I’m not in trouble”.

“What’s the big deal? She’s a fake whose going to be kicked out soon.”

“If I were her, I wouldn’t be able to walk around because I’d be ashamed of myself.

Extreme voices were stinging on her back.

Psychke didn’t look back. She didn’t stop, yet continued walking. Until she arrived at her room on the second floor of the mansion.

“Haah.”

As soon as she arrived, she fell down leaning against the door. Then she sighed and lifted a handful of hair.

Wouldn’t this cursed ability be found out if there was any chance?

Strangely, thin ice was stuck on her wet hair.

Even though it was a sunny spring day.