New Facts (9)
âBut unlike back then, I am not Verdick.â
âNo, of course, in the old days, a big part of the reason I kidnapped you was because youâre a Verdick. But now I am more interested in you than that, and that beautiful face has charmed me.â
ââ¦â¦ what?â
There was a sense of incongruity in his words. Somehow he said it as ifâ¦â¦ he was the person who previously kidnapped her? Was it because he expressed the intention of the kidnapper as if it was his own?
âI failed then, but I succeeded this time.â
âWhatâ¦â¦.â
âIt was a really long time. Of all things, the knight commander had stayed in the room next to yours.â
âThen you were the one who tried to kidnap meâ¦â¦.â
The Crown Prince placed his elbows on his nobly folded legs and his chin rested on his lightly clenched fists. When Aris was unable to speak in shock, the Crown Prince, who was smiling, cleared his face again.
That time and this time too, it was always him who tried to kidnap Aris.
âDonât be too scared. Now Iâm not going to kidnap you anymore.â
Maybe thatâs why. The reason why she got goosebumps every time she looked at the Crown Prince. Her father, who she thought was a lucky choice as she seemed to have escaped from the Crown Prince, tried to sell her, and when she escaped from her father, the Crown Prince was the one who had failed to kidnap her in the past. what kind of situation is this
ââ¦â¦ As Your Highness knows, there is no eternal secret? It will be revealed someday that Your Highness had tried to kidnap me, and that you kidnapped me again today.â
âI am the only one who knows about it. Now that you know, why do you think I said that? I said it because thereâs no one else. There will be people waiting for you, but they canât speak because they have their tongues pulled out.â
âYou already killed them all.â
âThatâs a given.â
Aris couldnât help but get more scared. In any case, he would hide her somewhere in the Imperial Palace, and if things were to go against him, or if he felt that she was no longer needed, she would die.
âAnd this time is no different. In the first place, I brought a small number of people, and itâs not a big deal to organize things like this.â
The people who were moving with him outside were private soldiers hired by Leonhardt Verdick. No matter how many excuses he gave, he could not use the members of the Imperial Knights for such a one-time use. Because those knights too were the sons of nobles. However, temporary enlisted soldiers didnât matter. Even if they were to disappear, no one would dare to come to the Imperial Palace and claim them, and he could entrust their handling to the Imperial Knights, who should have originally escorted him, saying that they had committed a great mistake.
âThatâs why I left quietly when there were still the butler and the maids on purpose.â
No matter how weak the power of the Imperial Family was over the other Duchy, the Imperial Family was the Imperial Family, and the Crown Prince was the Crown Prince. Aris was disillusioned as he smiled slowly and looked into her eyes, contemplating what to do with Aris.
The carriage was quickly moving away from the mansion where Aris was staying, and she was about to get frustrated at the thought that she now had no dreams, no hopes for the future.
But then suddenly the door of the carriage opened and her savior appeared.
âIâm glad there were no eyewitnesses.â
âLeon!â
Leon casually opened the door of the moving carriage and entered, and immediately thrust his sword into the Crown Princeâs abdomen. As the Crown Prince was not given a chance to use his hand, the Crown Prince vomited blood from his mouth with a choking sound.
âI want to smack him in the throat right away, but I canât get Sisterâs eyes dirty.â
âLeon, how did this happen!â
âYou shouldnât look at things like this, you should look at things that are pretty and good.â
Leon stretched out one hand and took Aris in his arms, blocking her view, and with the other hand, he pressed his sword against the cloak he was wearing. After wiping it, he put it in the sheath.
âCan, can you do this?!â
âDo you think I stabbed him without even thinking about it?â
âIf itâs you, that makes sense.â
âThen what do you want to do? Shall we run away together?â
âLeonhard Verdick. Iâm not in the mood to joke right now.â
Leon was a very welcome sight. He was the one who really saved her from the end of despair. But the chain of being a murderer of the Imperial Family member was something that would be too harsh to bear.
âYou donât have to worry about anything. Because nothing will happen.â
ââ¦â¦ really?â
âI hate to say things like this, but itâs Older Brother who is behind the scenes.â
âOlder Brother?!â
Then it was safe. It was because she had the belief that if it was her older brother, he would do anything.
âIt hurts a little if you get so reassured like that.â
As Leon looked sad, Aris dug into Leonâs arms that were holding him. She was in his arms, whom she missed so much.
âLeon, I miss you.â
âMe too.â
Leon kissed her head over and over again. Although she hadnât been away for a long time, Leon longed for Aris, so he wanted to share the joy of the reunion for a little longer, but he had to deal with the dying Crown Prince before his eyes.
When Leon and Aris got off the carriage that had just stopped, they immediately changed to the carriage right across from them. The people standing outside the carriage were obviously the Crown Princeâs soldiers, whom she had seen several times before, but she couldnât understand how this happened. They surrounded the Crown Princeâs carriage and then disappeared, so Aris was still confused. But Aris felt that she needed to know exactly what the situation was now. So Aris asked Leon for an answer.
âLeonhard Verdick, please explain. What is this?â
ââ¦â¦ that is.â