Chapter 36
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Thankfully, I was able to recall the Klein from the original work.
“Isn’t he a knight?”
“But he has good connections since he came from a prestigious family. He’s cheeky too so he would be a good fit for the old men from the East.”
Although he wasn’t the main character, Klein was one of the few people who went to the South with Duke Kyron. I felt a bit relieved knowing that none of the members who came with him betrayed him.
“If he did not become an administrator then he would have stayed with the Duke until the end.”
“Hmm.”
Duke Kyron only hummed in answer before turning to look at the fireplace. I could tell if he was saving his words but this time it seemed like he was fighting a battle in his head.
“You’re upset because His Majesty, the Emperor, hates the Duke. Right? But the Duke only has loyalty for him…”
Duke Kyron downed the alcohol in his glass in one shot as his face distorted unpleasantly. It was only then that I realized that I have said something that I shouldn’t have said. But there was nothing else I could do since I already spat the words out.
“He was deeply hurt by the Grand Duke’s rebellion. So, he wants to hand over a perfect power to the Crown Prince. Although it was all the Grand Duke’s fault and not the Duke’s fault… It seemed like it just… It just happened like that.”
He continued to sit there and ignored me, but I could see him mumbling to himself.
“It just happened like that…”
“It’s not the Duke’s fault. And I’ll make sure to help the Duke meet her as smoothly as possible.”
“Her?”
Duke Kyron finally turned to me. I was looking at him with twinkling eyes but he just turned away from me as if he found me unpleasant.
“My love? Hmph.”
I did not say anything anymore. He did not believe in love since he had never fallen in love yet. I haven’t met his destined person that was destined to blind him with love yet. So it was meaningless to argue with him over this issue now.
I felt complex emotions running through my head. I felt both strange and empty. I took a glass from the console table and poured alcohol on myself.
“You.”
“Cough! Cough! Why is it so strong!”
I grabbed my throat quickly. It felt like it had caught on fire as I continued to cough like crazy. He looked at me as if he was dumbfounded. Then, he laughed lowly.
The fire in the fireplace swayed with his laugh. For a moment, I was mistaken that the flames were swaying from hearing his beautiful voice. For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to hate his slightly sneering gaze as he tried to hold back his laughter.
“Roll it a bit on your tongue before swallowing it. You can’t be a Northern man if you can’t stand this much.”
“How can I be a Northern man…”
Let’s just try it.
So, I rolled the alcohol in my tongue for a bit as I sulked. The tingling did not even feel that bad. After letting it stay in my mouth long enough, I swallowed it down. I was surprised when there wasn’t any stinging in my throat.
“Uwaaah!”
“Pfft!”
Duke Kyron tilted his glass as he looked at me. His expression looked like he was watching a puppy performing some tricks. I glanced at him with my proud gaze. But his gaze back seemed like he was just seeing something petty. Even if his gaze was like that, I did not have any time to feel bad.
“This is delicious! I’m like a woman from the North now, right?”
“Don’t try to pour more. This is a precious drink especially for those who don’t even know how to taste it.”
“But it’s delicious? I know that it’s delicious!”
I quickly filled my glass before cradling it in my chest. I was worried that he wouldn’t let me drink it if I left it on the table. Duke Kyron just smiled helplessly at me. However, his smile was also brief.
“That… I want to go to the festival with a man.”
Duke Kyron quickly placed the glass down on the table when he almost choked on the alcohol that got stuck in his throat from the shock brought about by my words. His face screamed ‘What kind of crazy nonsense are you saying, Arielsa?’.
“So please get rid of Sir Chaers’ punishment. It’s too much for me to be punished even at the festival. It’s my first Northern Festival, you know?”
Duke Kyron frowned when he heard my words. Various emotions flashed through his face. Then, he looked at me with a complex expression on his face.
“Chaers asked you to go to the festival…?”
“If it wasn’t for my dad, there’s probably a man who will ask me out now.”
He snorted as he turned to look at the fireplace.
“Hmph. You underestimate George.”
Now, I could confirm once again, that Arielsa growing up like a nun was entirely because of George. I could clearly imagine him asking ‘Are you the bastard who will die soon after asking my daughter out?’ as he crossed his thick forearms on his bulging chest.
But this time will be different!
“I have a secret weapon!”
I spoke bravely but he was still staring at the fireplace as if I was not that interested. But somehow, his words sounded a bit mad.
“You can go.”
“Yes?”
“With Chaers.”
“Duke! You know what Sir Chaers is like…!”
When I looked at him like a cat begging for treats, he frowned at me and spat out the alcohol in his mouth.
“Do you want me to withdraw my orders to my vassal for no reason at all? Do you think this is a simple thing for Harpel’s Lord, huh? Arielsa?”
“Hing… What do I do?”
I fell flat on the table not knowing what to do. But I quickly jumped up when a thought flashed in my head.
“If Sir Chaers asks this of you, will you do him a favor?”
“I don’t know.”
I did not know why he was grumbling about this but I felt like this problem would be solved if Chaers was the one to ask him. Since Chaers did not want to go with me, then this problem would definitely be solved. I smiled happily as I rolled the alcohol in my tongue.
Our drinking session was pleasant.
I made a lot of jokes that Duke Kyron ignored repeatedly but he did not blow me off at all. Everytime I mentioned a story about the entire world, I could see that his eyes would shine. However, he still did not say much. In the end, I demonstrated the entire youth gymnastics in front of Duke Kyron under the light of the fireplace. However, he declared that it was clearly sorcery.
“This is clearly sorcery that invokes shame on the user, Arielsa. It has a particularly evil effect on women.”
I booed him when I heard his words and Duke Kyron looked extremely shocked. There was definitely no one daring enough to stick their tongues out at the Duke while saying ‘Bleeeh. The Duke doesn’t know anything!’.
When I looked back, I realized that I had crossed a lot of lines. It was thanks to Duke Kyron’s precious liquor that I was able to extend my life. Thanks to it, it loosened my nerves as well as Duke Kyron’s words.
Duke Kyron sighed as he stood up from his seat. I laughed in surprise and looked up. He was reaching out to me.
“Duke?”
“You said you’re going to the festival? Arielsa always came back after watching the events during the bonfire. So, she won’t know how to dance. I don’t want anyone to get in trouble because of George.”
“Poor thing…”
I frowned while I said so but Duke Kyron remained standing as he stared at me. That was when I focused on him.
“Are you asking me to dance?”
“Did you want to miss out on the dancing during the spring festival?”
I hurriedly stood up from the table.
“Follow me.”
I copied him as he stretched his hand out. We walked in a large circle with our palms touching together. He let go of his hand, touched his back, went the other way and held my hand again. Then, we walked in a large circle again. After every four beats we had to bend our knees or move our bodies towards each other in greeting.
“Duke, this is fun!”
“Arielsa was never interested in this. I think she only liked tea.”
“No. Arielsa got interested in tea because of the Duke. Haha.”
Perhaps it was because I was drunk and dancing with him that I got a bit too excited.
“Oh my!”
Duke Kyron’s sudden stop made me lose my balance and stumble on my feet. He quickly wrapped his hands on my waist to prevent me from falling down. I was immediately glued to Duke Kyron’s chest. I slowly turned to look up at him. Looking up close, I could see that his chin was perfectly chiseled. Maybe the reason why his eyes that were staring at me were so dark was because he was drunk.
Badump, badump, badump, badump…
I was in a daze but I could feel my heart thumping from the dancing that we did earlier. But Duke Kyron just stared down at me with no intention of letting me go. When I finally regained my balance and stood up, our faces grew infinitely closer. I gently pressed his arm away as I twisted my body to get out of his hold.
“S, sorr…”
But his arms remained where they were. Just as fear started to accumulate in me, his arm loosened and he let me go. He turned around and looked at the fireplace.
“These are the basic movements, can you do it?”
“Yes! Duke!”
He lay down on the sofa when I answered him cheerfully.
“Then go to bed now.”
I hesitated for a moment before taking out a blanket and placing it by his head on the sofa. Then, I wished him a good night.
“Today was fun, Duke! Thank you!”
I returned to my room and happily went to bed. Both of us had to reflect on not so pleasant memories but they seemed to be too precious for us to throw it away together.
And although Duke Kyron had told me that he never get cold, I wanted him to sleep with a blanket covering him for warmth.
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I visited George the next day. He looked happy when we had breakfast together.
“What happened? Why did my brat find me first?”
“Just because…”
But when I spoke out after gathering enough confidence, his face immediately hardened. He even called my name as he stared at me sharply.
“Arielsa?”
“The Duke asked me to drink with him last night.”
“Hmm… It’s because of those bastards from the East.”
He got angry. But I only sighed. I was deliberately acting like I was discouraged.
“Daddy, I want to go to the festival this year.”
“Aren’t you going to the festival every year?”
“This time I want to go with a man.”
I almost dropped my fork in surprise when George slammed his fork down on the table.
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