38
Kaiden nodded.
“Alright. I understand. How much you must want to beat him up.”
“As expected, Your Grace understands my heart!”
“Ahem!”
Grand Duke Leopold gave a loud cough, signaling us to stop.
It seemed the conversation between Kaiden and me was reaching a dangerous level, so he was giving us a warning. There was an outsider, the mage, in the room.
Kaiden turned to the mage and asked,
“Then, the current Marion could kill the Crown Prince?”
“It depends on Lady Marion’s will.”
In other words, I should hold back.
I let out a “Ugh” and groaned. Right now, the Crown Prince wasn’t here, but whether I could hold back in front of his face was uncertain.
“Did you hear that, Marion? No matter how much you want to beat him up, you have to restrain yourself.”
Kaiden gave me a look that said, *‘You know, right? He’s the Crown Prince.’*
I answered with a determined expression.
“I’ll grit my teeth and hold back.”
Kaiden patted my shoulder twice, as if he trusted me, then asked the mage again,
“What’s your name?”
“Durante.”
“Durante. You’re not human, are you?”
“I’m a half-human, half-demon.”
At that response, everyone in the room looked at him in surprise. Grand Duke Leopold muttered,
“Right. I’ve heard there used to be half-human, half-demon hybrids. Demons are said to be skilled with magic.”
Kaiden glanced at Grand Duke Leopold before speaking to the mage again.
“Thanks to you, Marion came to her senses. As promised, I’ll grant you a great reward. If there’s anything you want, you may say so. But keep everything you saw and heard here today a secret.”
“Yes. I will.”
Durante bowed his head. Vito escorted the mage out of the room.
As the door closed, Grand Duke Leopold said with a worried expression,
“By the way, the commotion Marion caused, saying she’d kill the Crown Prince, must have reached the Emperor’s ears.”
Kaiden looked at me with firm eyes and said,
“We have evidence, so it’ll be fine. I won’t let them pin anything on Marion either.”
“That’s true. If anyone spouts nonsense, I’ll crush them with my own hands.”
I had been secretly worried about this, so hearing Kaiden and Grand Duke Leopold address it put me at ease.
After all, causing a ruckus about killing the Crown Prince of a nation wasn’t something that would go unnoticed.
There were still many problems left, but for now, things had settled down. Then, as if he’d been waiting, Grand Duke Leopold said,
“Now, let’s have the physician examine you.”
As if on cue, Lady March brought in a physician. Kaiden and I understood why they were so insistent on having me checked by a doctor.
The physician first examined me for any injuries.
Truthfully, I was more concerned about the condition of the knights I’d sent flying, but I figured they’d already been treated while I was unconscious.
The physician then carefully placed his fingers on my wrist to check my pulse.
I could feel everyone in the room tense up. I focused intently on manipulating my aura, mimicking the heartbeat of a baby in my womb.
When the physician removed his hand, Grand Duke Leopold asked,
“Is the baby safe?”
This was likely the question Grand Duke Leopold and Lady March were most anxious about.
The physician nodded.
“Yes. Fortunately, the baby is safe.”
“Oh, thank the heavens.”
Grand Duke Leopold looked up, closed his eyes, and offered a prayer of thanks to the gods. Lady March, standing nearby, also sighed in relief.
I couldn’t bear to look at them and turned my gaze away. Kaiden did the same.
Grand Duke Leopold said,
“Marion, you must have been so worried. Thank goodness.”
“Haha. N-No, it’s fine.”
I gave an awkward laugh.
“Kaiden, you made Marion faint like that! Even if the situation was urgent!”
He was referring to when Kaiden had knocked me out by hitting the back of my neck while I was raging about killing the Crown Prince. Kaiden said awkwardly,
“I’m sorry. But Marion comes first to me.”
His words secretly touched me. Even though there was no baby of Kaiden’s in my womb, he said it anyway.
The physician cautioned that, being in the early stages of pregnancy, I should move carefully, then left the room.
By now, it was past 1 a.m. Everyone looked exhausted, with fatigue etched under their eyes.
“Grandfather, please go rest now. Lady March, you should rest too.”
Kaiden urged the two. Lady March, looking relieved, stepped out the door. Grand Duke Leopold, about to leave, paused and turned back.
“What about you?”
“I’m heading to my room as well.”
Grand Duke Leopold looked at Kaiden with disapproval.
“You don’t need to mind me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tch! I’m saying it’s fine if you stay with Marion because you’re worried about her!”
“What?”
Kaiden let out a dumbfounded sound. I, too, was bewildered, not understanding what Grand Duke Leopold meant.
“You said Marion comes first, didn’t you? You say sappy things like your father without hesitation, yet you act all innocent! Tch! I’ll leave you two be!”
Grand Duke Leopold winked at Kaiden as if he knew everything. My jaw dropped at the sight.
“Ahem! I’ll be going now, so both of you rest well!”
With a satisfied expression, Grand Duke Leopold closed the door and left.
“…”
“…”
The room fell silent. Only the ticking of the clock’s second hand could be heard. Neither of us moved a finger.
So, Grand Duke Leopold was saying he’d turn a blind eye if Kaiden and I spent the night in the same room.
* * *
Crash!
The Crown Prince swept everything off his desk. Various items clattered to the floor. Still fuming, he panted heavily and let out a scream.
“Aargh!”
At that moment, a servant knocked on the door from outside.
Knock, knock.
“The Chief Mage has arrived.”
“Come in now!”
At the Crown Prince’s sharp command, the Chief Mage opened the door and entered. The Crown Prince threw an ashtray at him.
Clang!
The ashtray flew past the Chief Mage’s face, hitting the door and falling. Glass shards scattered, but the Chief Mage didn’t even blink.
“Peles! Did you properly cast the spell on Marion?!”
The Crown Prince lashed out at the Chief Mage.
“Did you botch the brainwashing?!”
The Chief Mage stared at him blankly. The Crown Prince flinched for a moment.
‘Did his eyes just turn gold…?’
The Chief Mage’s eyes returned to their usual black. He slowly opened his mouth.
“An ordinary person wouldn’t act out like Lady Marion. They wouldn’t want to reveal who brainwashed them. However, as a Swordmaster, she seems to have a strong resistance.”
“That’s not what I’m asking!”
The Crown Prince exploded.
“Why is Marion not only not in love with me but raging to kill me?!”
The Chief Mage looked at him impassively before smiling faintly and answering,
“The brainwashing spell to make someone ‘love’ another only works if the target has even a speck of affection for Your Highness.”
“What…?”
The Crown Prince let out a dumbfounded sound. The Chief Mage looked at him with a subtle smile.
“But if there’s no love, the brainwashing spell doesn’t take hold. Instead, it latches onto the strongest emotion the target feels toward the caster.”
The Crown Prince hoped the next words wouldn’t come.
“In other words, Lady Marion hates Your Highness so much she wants to kill you.”
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆▪︎▪︎☆
By Anna 💓
Chapters 39~40 can be unlocked using the site’s coins🫶
