Chapter 26
That was all that Karpel said.
Feeling the warmth rising to her face, she hesitated, but then gulped down the drink in her hand.
What was that drink? It had the scent of medicinal liquor, but…
Karpel was also about to drink, but Inaila stumbled forward all of a sudden.
“Uuuwwaaah?”
“Ina!”
Karpel caught Inaila in his arms as she fell over the table. It felt like his heart was about to drop to the floor.
As expected, there was something in the drink.
Inaila turned to Karpel, who had a very pale face.
“Karrrrr… ahhh…”
“Poison!”
It occurred to him belatedly that the drink might have poison, so Karpel hurriedly took the cup in her hand and brought it to his lips to taste what poison she had just ingested.
But the faint smell of the drink was of medicine that wasn’t the dangerous kind.
It was similar to the scent of mature grain. The tip of his tongue was tingling with a bitter taste.
However, it wasn’t poison.
“…This……”
It was a taste he knew.
“Liquor?”
Karpel stared back at the drooping lady in his arms, bewildered. Then, he tightly shut his eyes and furrowed his brows.
He adjusted her position in his arms so she could be more comfortable, but her eyes opened a little because of his movements.
Karpel froze as though he were caught doing something wrong.
Gradually, some focus returned to the blank blue eyes.
Then, pale cheeks began to turn red as if he himself had become drunk.
“Karpel… give me a hug…”
“What…?”
Inaila reached out to him and began to cling to him. He tried to stop her by holding onto her wrists.
“Inaila.”
At the mention of her name, her eyes opened wide, then she laughed.
She wrapped her arms over his neck and whispered sweetly.
“Karpel, I like you.”
Instantly, Karpel could feel her warmth.
All the thoughts that threw him in conflict disappeared from his mind.
Only the warmth that Inaila gave him filled his heart.
She was his treasure that he forcibly removed from his own reach for fear of her being broken. But there was never a time that he forgot her warmth.
In his arms, Karpel embraced his treasure dearly.
“Huh? Karpel?”
At Karpel’s strange reaction, Inaila pulled away, and Karpel quickly returned to reality when he saw her heavily flushed face.
He hurriedly removed his arms from her waist and grabbed Inaila’s shoulder.
“Snap out of it.”
Inaila looked Karpel, her bright eyes that were full of curiosity.
“I’m fine.”
Inaila adjusted herself on Karpel’s lap in a more comfortable position. She moved naturally, as if she really belonged there.
“Inaila.”
“Karpel, you don’t like Ina anymore?”
“What…”
“Why are you so cold to me now?”
Inaila used both hands to hold Karpel’s face over his cheeks, looking at him squarely face to face and with her voice full of disappointment.
What did she mean by him being cold… It’s been years since Karpel started keeping his distance from her.
“I’ll be good from now on. Please don’t hate me.”
Inaila wrapped her arms over him again, tears in her eyes.
Karpel gritted his teeth. He didn’t hate her. It wasn’t her fault.
He just wanted her to be safe and happy.
If he was confident enough to keep her safe in his arms, then he would never let go.
But Inaila’s happiness couldn’t be guaranteed if she stayed by his side.
“Get off.”
His cold tone startled the warmth in his arms. Inaila shook her head and raised her upper body a little, then placed a hand on Karpel’s cheek.
“Ina is… Karpel’s fiancée.”
“Inaila.”
“We’ll be together forever.”
“Get off.”
“You’re so stubborn… I know Karpel loves Ina.”
He looked up to stare at her, at which she smiled.
“I’m all grown up now, Karpel.”
“…”
Karpel was speechless.
He couldn’t figure out what this kid was talking about.
Inaila grinned, thinking it funny that Karpel was frozen in his seat, then she hugged him again.
“Hold* me, Karpel. I’m ready.”
“You…”
As Karpel was about to reply, the door swung open.
And he met the clear blue eyes of the Duke of Krenberia.
He was a statesman through and through. The Duke’s stare was so intense that goosebumps rose up Karpel’s spine.
“Karpel… What are you looking at? Focus on me. Don’t you want to see how much I’ve grown up?”
“…”
“Hm? Hold me. Why don’t you hold me anymore? Hold me like you used to…”
The Duke’s eyebrows rose up high.
“Like you used to?”
It was a ferocious voice filled with wrath. Inaila was young now.
But she was even younger back then.
Karpel didn’t know what was going on in the Duke’s head, but Karpel had only one thing to say.
“I’ve never done that.”
“Why would you lie like that? I’m just a bit busy these days… You’re sulking because I didn’t spend time with you, right? Hm?”
Inaila whined and further snuggled up to Karpel.
“I like Karpel because you’re warm. Warm me up more…”
“My child.”
The Duke strode forward and snatched Inaila from Karpel’s arms, then he immediately smelled the alcohol.
And his eyes zeroed in on the empty glass in Karpel’s hand.
At that… Karpel sighed at the glass.
Meanwhile, Inaila was struggling in the Duke’s arms as if she wanted to return in Karpel’s embrace again.
Even so, it was just a child’s defiance.
She was such a small and gentle child.
The Duke wanted to grab that young prince by the collar and interrogate him immediately. But, his rational side stopped him. He would only be called a brute if he did that.
He wasn’t like that.
After several seconds of reflection, the Duke managed to stay calm.
“Your Highness. Did you make her drink that?”
“…”
Karpel didn’t do it, but he couldn’t utter any excuses.
The scent emanating from the bottle was clearly the smell of alcohol, but at first he thought it wasn’t liquor because there’s no way she would bring any.
“What intentions did you have with getting my child drunk?”
“…”
It’s been a while since Karpel felt warm again, so he still felt happy even from the lingering feeling.
It felt like he tasted water after years of searching for an oasis in the desert.
Karpel sighed and cradled his forehead with one hand. As the Duke saw this, he stared at the bottle, then back at Karpel.
“What you’re saying… tell me it’s true. Otherwise, I’ll kill you right here, Your Highness.”
Inaila, on the other hand, was now sleeping in the Duke’s arms, but she started to stir, so the Duke motioned to leave the room with her.
But a stray thought passed through the Duke’s mind.
That little boy was just as young as Inaila.
He looked quite like a young man these days, but until last year, he still looked like a child.
Until children have come of age, they were usually taught by their family or learned by watching their peers.
But Karpel had neither family nor friends.
He was only accepted at the Krenberia Duchy because there was no one else who would take him in.
“But what is it that you never did, Your Highness? Don’t tell me you really thought of holding a child?”
At those words, Karpel couldn’t say anything.
All of Karpel’s exposed skin became bright red.
His hands, his face, even his ears, and the back of his neck burned as if a fire was lit under his skin.
“…I think it’s better for you to take a week to cool your head in your room, Your Highness.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Duke left the room after hearing his answer.
All the employees ceased their chatter at once. Soon, Karpel heard the Duke laying Inaila down on her bed in the next room. He stayed beside her for a long time, patting the sleeping Inaila before leaving.
Karpel didn’t really see Inaila as a woman.
It wasn’t because she was still young. It’s that she was precious. She was more precious than anything in the whole world.
Karpel had plans to kill the Emperor. If he succeeded, he’d be a monster. But if he failed, he would be dead.
There was no such thing as a future where he could show his love for Inaila wholeheartedly and make her his wife.
He couldn’t even be sure if he’d still be alive when Inaila comes of age.
So he never imagined a future with the grown-up Inaila.
But when the Duke asked like that, delusions swirled through his mind.
He felt like a piece of trash.
Even if he didn’t actively think about it, he kept imagining Inaila as an adult. Holding her in his arms… Kissing her…
“Ugh…”
He really needed to cool his head.
In his hands right now was a cookie that Inaila had baked for him.
Inaila had always been like a mischievous fairy whose intentions were never transparent.
But today especially, Karpel didn’t know what the hell she was trying to do.
Snacks she made herself. Even liquor?
And even more so… the drunk Inaila was fatally cute.
Karpel picked up another cookie, his face terribly flushed.
It was sweet and chewy. The cookie was delicious.
—
tl/n:
* the word used here could also mean hug or embrace, but it has the double meaning of ‘hold’ which is… y’know… *wink, wink*