C140
"If the 3rd Príncipe had not stayed out of it, it would have been a great fight.
The gathered students were nervous, and I was frozen in this situation because the duel didn't seem real to me. But the more I thought about it when I returned home, the stronger my heart pounded.
I wouldn't know if he were an ordinary person like Louie Gazelle, but the 3rd Príncipe was a knight who was quite active in the battle against monsters and stood on the front lines with the northern lords.
Since he inherited the blood of the imperial family of Histach, he would probably be at the level of a sword expert.
If the 3rd Príncipe accepted the duel, Isidor could have been seriously injured if he were unlucky.
It was too reckless.
I bit my lips until it hurt, and then impulsively called the coachman.
This is because I find it increasingly difficult to remain still as time passes.
"Let's go to the Visconti family's house."
The sun was setting, but when I hurried the coachman as if possessed by something, he drove the horse with a frightened expression.
The carriage drove for about an hour and a half to reach a large mansion with a quiet atmosphere.
I looked out the window as the porter entered to call the owner.
"What happened so suddenly?"
Shortly after, Isidor, dressed in loose casual clothes, ran in front of the main entrance of the mansion where the carriage was.
He was breathing heavily as he let go of his teleportation magic and ran through the large garden.
I silently watched him with my cluttered mind, much like his unstable and rough breaths.
'Why am I here?'
"Don't just stand there, come in first."
He said in a gentle voice.
"I don't plan to stay here for long."
A surprisingly assertive voice came out of my mouth.
"It's cold here."
He tried to cover my cold cheeks with a concerned face, and I pulled away. I didn't mean to do that.
"Are you angry?"
It seemed so when he pointed it out.
I was angry with this man, who was different than usual, for taking these things well, but who really didn't do anything wrong and was sometimes easier to convince than I.
"Why do you look like that?"
"Because you did something so reckless!"
I ended up bursting into tears.
"Don't do that without any measure in the future. I don't want to see you get hurt over an uncivilized tradition that's not amusing, like a duel. I hate it even more if it's because of me."
Isidor seemed surprised as I spoke rapidly. I took a deep breath again and said.
"Okay?"
"...Yes."
"Speak louder."
"Yes."
"Don't say it like that insincerely, but with a bit more seriousness...!"
He suddenly pulled me and covered my cheeks, so I couldn't speak properly.
Isidor gently pressed my lower lip with his thumbs. His scent was very sweet, as if he had just taken a bath. I felt like I would lose strength for a moment, so I pushed him away.
Then I stared at him while licking my lips.
"I'm angry."
"... this is driving me crazy."
He muttered something slowly as he breathed, then lowered his head when his eyes met mine.
"I'm sorry."
"Who told you to kneel? Why do you kneel so easily every time?"
He didn't pay attention despite my irritation.
" ... I was wrong. My body belonged to you, but I treated it so carelessly. I will never be hurt without your permission."
"Really?"
"I swear as a knight. Thank you for your concern."
"I said I'm angry."
"I won't make you angry again. I promise."
When he made the promise sincerely several times, my complicated mind calmed down a bit.
I decided to return as soon as I finished my business here, and Isidor lifted his body with teary eyes as he looked at me.
"Don't go. Let's stay together for a while."
"I'm cold."
"Then I'll take you home. It's because I'm worried since it's already late. The day is also cold, but you came here in thin clothes. That's bothering me."
Isidor said that as he put on a thin robe.
"Go back."
"I will after seeing you enter the carriage."
He quickly followed me to the carriage.
I looked out the window at the deep darkness with the same stern face.
Isidor, who silently watched me, was reflected in the window.
He didn't look away for a moment. He looked at me as if it were a waste even to blink.
'I couldn't be angry with him anymore.'
My heart weakened quickly, so I turned my head slightly, and Isidor laughed lightly when our eyes met.
"Do you remember?"
"What?"
"When I was younger, I said I broke the limb of that person when he was trying to touch my face."
"Yes. But why?"
"For a moment, I couldn't think properly like on that occasion. I couldn't see anything, so I didn't even think that the 3rd Príncipe would sneak away so cowardly."
"..."
"I thought just breaking it wouldn't be enough, so I was determined to bring back one of his arms home no matter what."
Isidor said with a cold expression.
"To me... you are much more important than I am. Seeing that I got much angrier about this than when someone tried to touch me."
"Then don't do anything more dangerous."
" ... I like you."
"I didn't ask for that kind of answer."
"It's okay. If I'm sure I won't get hurt, that idiot's limb... No, can I at least break his arms? I haven't been hurt since I was 13."
"I have never been hurt even once.
A strange feeling of déjà vu pierced through me.
"I feel like I've heard this before."
The desert landscape with a strong sandstorm suddenly flashed through my mind. However, I soon forgot that futile déjà vu because Isidor gently placed his lips on the back of my hand.
-----------------------------
"Where is the lucky coin with two faces?"
I definitely put it on the table.
Every time I close my eyes these days, the dream is so intense that I wake up drenched in cold sweat, but now I couldn't even see the lucky coin that I always kept nearby.
"Ack!"
I looked under the desk to search for the coin, then I hit my head on the desk.
"Today really isn't my day."
Finally, I stopped searching for the coin and went to Blanchia.
"Ahhh."
Last night, I lost my reason and got angry when I impulsively went to his house, but somehow it's even more uncomfortable to go and talk business with him now.
"That's why people say it's difficult to have a romance in the office."
I entered the master's office with an open mind.
"What is it?"
However, the inside of the office was somewhat different. It's a bit different from the gloomy and misty place from the past.
"Because this place is where we often gather more, I decorated it a bit more neatly..."
"Use that polymorph bracelet right now."
When I looked at his eyes fiercely, Isidor put on the polymorph bracelet on his wrist with a depressed expression.
"We have to work. Work!"
In reality, there was a business plan I made when I created Leticia's Shop with the Master.
When we reach our goal, I wanted to expand the business officially by recruiting franchises.
The fact that I could improve the master's business skills in the first place was because I shared the idea of franchises.
The business was going much faster than I expected, so I am considering a complete expansion of the business scale after the Goddess's Birth Festival ends.
"Shall we take a break?"
He poured tea into a tea cup with the Master's face after a long time. He usually adds several spoonfuls of sugar.
"Surprisingly, he likes sweet things."
He didn't pretend when we had a date at the teahouse last time. I took a sip of tea while secretly suppressing a laugh.
"By the way, Master. Maybe, is there only one coin with only one face on both sides?"
"Yes. It was harder to find than I thought."
"Actually, that lucky coin, I think I lost it by mistake."
"Just think of it as losing a defective product, rather than a lucky coin."
He said insignificantly.
"Although it's still a pity."
I thought I had to look for the talisman-shaped coin again. This is because I still felt anxious for some reason.
"Why?"
I couldn't tell if it was because of the restless dream or because of the 3rd Prince.
"What kind of confidence does the 3rd Prince have to say that I will continue to regret it?"
It was the same at the previous award ceremony and also the last time.
The 3rd prince, who was like the typical villain and repeatedly said twice that I would regret it, made me secretly worried.
Moreover, it was because he looked at Isidor as if he would kill him before he left.
Although as a result, the 3rd Prince was ridiculed because he didn't accept the duel...
"The 3rd prince seemed ambitious, but why did he risk losing his reputation and take a step back in that situation?"
"Because he has a higher goal. He lacks legitimacy, so if his body also looks ruined, he will be further down the line for the throne."
"Mmm."
"Seeing how the 3rd Prince even has to go to the outskirts and gather the powers of the north, he must have some ambitions for the throne."
"The throne..."
Honestly, I think the probability of the 3rd Prince changing the current situation and becoming Emperor seems low.
The fact that the Emperor entrusted the Crown Prince until the last day of the Goddess's Birth Festival, which is the "Burning Incense Festival," must have meant that the Emperor trusts him a lot.
Moreover, the Crown Prince was one of the only five sword masters in the empire, so he was popular among the knights.
"But I think there's something the 3rd Prince believes in."
After the 3rd Prince returned to the capital, I couldn't know what kind of move he made to gather the powers because the novel turned different throughout the year.
"Deborah. You're not thinking about that bastard, right? I should have cut off his arm right away..."
Isidor suddenly emitted a gloomy mood, so I quickly changed the subject lightly.
"By the way, you'll also attend the incense burning ceremony at the festival."
The long pilgrimage will end in three days, and the Goddess's Birth Festival will also conclude with it.
"The Incense Burning" was a ceremony to burn cherry blossoms, the symbol of the goddess, in front of the temple's relics, and it was an event held to end the festival pleasantly.
"It's an event the Crown Prince has been working on for a long time, and it's difficult to excuse myself because he is my friend. What a hassle!"
Isidor complained.
"I'll attend too. All direct lines of Seymour have been invited."
I diligently returned to the scene of the incense ceremony in the novel in my head.
I remember that Mia would probably go with the Pope as the embodiment of the Saint at that event and receive attention.
Before the incense burning ceremony, there was a large crack in the barrier, and Mia went to heal many people who were injured by monsters.
"By the way, I haven't heard any news about cracks recently...."
I frowned with a strange anxiety."