Chapter 23
When Seirin stepped forward, Lexion kept his mouth shut and I took advantage of the situation, looking at him with pleading eyes.
In fact, it was better not to go as Lexion said. It was a place where I would sure to sit like a sack of barley. But coming here was to protect Lexion, so I had to follow him.
‘Because the evil dragon will attack the capital.’
Unfortunately, the capital was left unattended. Everyone thought the capital was safe. This was because a large-scale protective shield was installed throughout the capital for protection against the invasion of the dragon. However, even that protective shield wouldn’t be able to stop the novel’s development. In a situation where I didn’t know how the evil dragon would invade the capital, I couldn’t leave his side recklessly.
‘It’s better to stay close to Lexion even if it’s a little boring.’
After a while, Lexion opened his mouth.
“All right. Then please, Princess.”
“Yes. Don’t worry, Lord Lexion.”
Seirin smiled bashfully at him and looked at me and said,
“It will definitely be fun.”
* * *
As expected, tea time was not the place for me to be. It was an uncomfortable seat, like wearing mismatching shoes. I stayed as quiet as possible so as not to be found faulty.
At teatime, Prince Korte, who wanted to meet Lexion, was also there. He was a boy who looked around thirteen years old at most. Next to him was his elegant sister. Perhaps because it was the Kingdom of Korte in a hot and dry area, their skin was coppery. The copper-colored smooth skin gave her a radiant beauty.
The kingdom enjoyed the nightlife, there were frequent conversations about dancing, singing, and alcohol. Occasionally, topics that were difficult to understand for me, such as politics and economics came up, but Gregory changed the topic again. Leading a conversation like a witty comedian or a charismatic joker didn’t seem like a normal skill.
‘Are you taking care of me?’
I glanced at Gregory, he smiled and winked at me. I quickly turned my head away.
“Imperial tea has a very deep taste. Maybe it’s because of the development of tea culture? There is a lot of demand.”
Princess Korte said with a smile. Seirin replied.
“Thank you for the compliment. If the tea tastes good, I would like to give it to you as a gift. I will send it through a maid.”
“Ah, I unintentionally asked for a present. I will drink well.”
“Not at all. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to make a good relationship and give you a gift.”
Seirin coaxed the Princess with her fluent speech. As the Imperial Princess, her appearance was very cool. Since it wasn’t a topic I’m familiar with, I had been barely holding on by laughing with them when they laugh. Before long, Lexion was caught by the prince and was demonstrating swordsmanship on the grass. As I stared blankly at Lexion, Gregory spoke to me.
“Do you like him?”
“What?”
“You keep chasing after Lexion.”
Gregory spoke indifferently as if letting it slide. I held my breath at the sudden fastball. My heart was pounding. I pretended to be okay with this.
“It’s a habit.”
“You don’t have to make excuses.”
Gregory answered with a grin. He looked like he didn’t care, he also looked a little bored in this place. He seemed like he wanted to get out of here as much as I do. I asked him, who was fiddling with his nails.
“Are you bored?”
“Yeah.”
“Me too.”
I reacted coldly to his immediate reply, he stared at me and snickered. I looked at him puzzled, who suddenly burst out laughing.
“I didn’t know you’d say it’s boring.”
“I didn’t know you would ask me if I liked him out loud.”
“Were pretending to be coy? You’re better than I thought.”
Gregory held his chin and walked closer. Curiosity was evident on his face. I hesitated before replying because I felt like I was acting too freely in front of him.
“Even if I’m scared, I say what I need to.”
“I’m proud of you”
Gregory raised his hand and stroked my hair. When I looked at the hand that suddenly touched me, he withdrew it and made excuses.
“I’m sorry. It’s a habit.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You did it with your eyes. You looked at me as if I was a molester, Miss.”
“I apologize…”
“No, well… I didn’t mean for you to apologize.”
Gregory ruffled the back of his head. There was silence for a moment, but as the Princess left Seirin turned and looked directly at me.
“It looks like you haven’t been eating well, is it possible that the cake doesn’t suit your palate?”
“No, it’s delicious!”
In response to Seirin’s question, I exaggeratedly took a bite of the cake. For some reason, the heroine’s kindness was awkward for me, so my actions did not come out naturally.
‘Seirin is still kind.’
With that thought in mind, Gregory looked at me with a curious gaze. I pretended not to see and ate the cake eagerly. After a while, Gregory gave a very sinister smile and said to Seirin.
“She says tea time is boring.”
“Pr- Prince!”
I shouted in panic when he revealed what I thought was tacitly a secret. As if my reaction was funny, he giggled and shrugged his shoulders.
‘No, you say you’re bored too, and you’re only blaming me!’
It was a sudden attack, and it felt like sweat was running down my back. Seirin said with a sullen expression on Gregory’s words.
“Oh, was it boring? I’m sorry. I said I would take care of you, but I must have made you uncomfortable.”
“Oh, no! It was just a little awkward.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Anyway, this cake is really delicious. I think it’s one of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten.”
“Lies, Miss. It was hard to eat. I saw it all.”
Gregory made fun of me with a mischievous expression on his face. As I glared at him, he put on an innocent expression. It had a very ugly face. Then, Seirin spoke harshly to Gregory.
“Don’t make it difficult. And what’s that about ‘Miss’?”
“What about it, everyone who heard it liked it.”
“You look so careless.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Gregory nodded and crossed his legs. She couldn’t rehabilitate a man who lived to be crooked properly. Even if she knew he wasn’t originally like this.
Seirin shook her head with a face that she wouldn’t let go. Then, without realizing it, she spoke as if complaining.
“Uncle would be sad if he knew that you were going around like this…”
“Seirin Aden Werbel.”
Gregory stopped Seirin from speaking in a cool tone, the tone of his voice changed drastically. At that moment, Seirin covered her mouth realizing her mistake. I glanced at the two of them in the sudden heavy atmosphere. The moment the word “uncle” came out, Gregory’s smile faded away. The uncle Seirin is talking about was Gregory’s dead biological father. He took a deep breath and got up.
“Wa- wait a minute…! Where are you going?”
She grabbed Gregory trying to escape. But he gently brushed off her hand and spoke coldly.
“I’ll get some air, I’ll come back.”
“Brother.”
“Don’t follow me.”
Gregory left the place with an unsuitable, firm voice that didn’t leave a gap for Seirin to stop him.
“…”
Seirin sat back down on her seat with a stiff face. Of course, the atmosphere was messed up. When Gregory left, the surroundings became silent. It was fortunate that Princess Korte wasn’t here.
Seirin drank the tea without a word. Judging by the reactions of the two, it seemed that the story of his father was a sensitive topic.
‘Well, he died for treason, but he deserves to be sensitive about it.’
It was Seirin’s mistake to refer to someone who was truly a traitor as ‘uncle’.
Of course, she was just trying to advise him but…
While the awkward silence continued, I saw the Princess coming in the distance. Then, Seirin spoke to me carefully.
“I’m sorry, can I ask you a favor?”
“Please speak.”
“Even if my brother said that, he really hates being alone.”
“Ah…”
“I want to follow him right away, but as you can see, I can’t leave my place since this is for the good relationships between nations. Will you go for me?”
“…Me?”
“Yes. I’m begging you.”
Seirin clasped my hand and gave off a pitiful expression. I hesitated and glanced at Lexion once. He was distracted because he was caught by a vigorous Prince. I came here for his safety. So it wasn’t good if I stayed too far away from him. But her eyes were so tender that it was hard to refuse.
‘Yeah, since the trailer said he would die saving Gregory, I can go to Gregory.’
Having concluded that, I quickly nodded my head.
“I will go. Do not worry too much.”
“Thank you.”
Seirin smiled happily when I agreed. As expected, she looked as if she knew I would agree.
“Where are you going? …Oh, Prince Gregory isn’t here?”
The princess who had just approached spoke to me. Seirin replied politely.
“Ah, just in time. The prince didn’t come so Young Lady Sparrow was about to go find him.”
“Ah, I see.”
The princess meekly nodded and sat down. I greeted politely and quickly headed in the direction where Gregory left.
‘I think I spent too much time looking for him’
I could see him lying on the grass in the distance. He was covering his eyes with his arms from the bright sun. As I got closer, he said sternly.
“Seirin, I told you not to follow me.”
Chapter 23
When Seirin stepped forward, Lexion kept his mouth shut and I took advantage of the situation, looking at him with pleading eyes.
In fact, it was better not to go as Lexion said. It was a place where I would sure to sit like a sack of barley. But coming here was to protect Lexion, so I had to follow him.
‘Because the evil dragon will attack the capital.’
Unfortunately, the capital was left unattended. Everyone thought the capital was safe. This was because a large-scale protective shield was installed throughout the capital for protection against the invasion of the dragon. However, even that protective shield wouldn’t be able to stop the novel’s development. In a situation where I didn’t know how the evil dragon would invade the capital, I couldn’t leave his side recklessly.
‘It’s better to stay close to Lexion even if it’s a little boring.’
After a while, Lexion opened his mouth.
“All right. Then please, Princess.”
“Yes. Don’t worry, Lord Lexion.”
Seirin smiled bashfully at him and looked at me and said,
“It will definitely be fun.”
* * *
As expected, tea time was not the place for me to be. It was an uncomfortable seat, like wearing mismatching shoes. I stayed as quiet as possible so as not to be found faulty.
At teatime, Prince Korte, who wanted to meet Lexion, was also there. He was a boy who looked around thirteen years old at most. Next to him was his elegant sister. Perhaps because it was the Kingdom of Korte in a hot and dry area, their skin was coppery. The copper-colored smooth skin gave her a radiant beauty.
The kingdom enjoyed the nightlife, there were frequent conversations about dancing, singing, and alcohol. Occasionally, topics that were difficult to understand for me, such as politics and economics came up, but Gregory changed the topic again. Leading a conversation like a witty comedian or a charismatic joker didn’t seem like a normal skill.
‘Are you taking care of me?’
I glanced at Gregory, he smiled and winked at me. I quickly turned my head away.
“Imperial tea has a very deep taste. Maybe it’s because of the development of tea culture? There is a lot of demand.”
Princess Korte said with a smile. Seirin replied.
“Thank you for the compliment. If the tea tastes good, I would like to give it to you as a gift. I will send it through a maid.”
“Ah, I unintentionally asked for a present. I will drink well.”
“Not at all. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to make a good relationship and give you a gift.”
Seirin coaxed the Princess with her fluent speech. As the Imperial Princess, her appearance was very cool. Since it wasn’t a topic I’m familiar with, I had been barely holding on by laughing with them when they laugh. Before long, Lexion was caught by the prince and was demonstrating swordsmanship on the grass. As I stared blankly at Lexion, Gregory spoke to me.
“Do you like him?”
“What?”
“You keep chasing after Lexion.”
Gregory spoke indifferently as if letting it slide. I held my breath at the sudden fastball. My heart was pounding. I pretended to be okay with this.
“It’s a habit.”
“You don’t have to make excuses.”
Gregory answered with a grin. He looked like he didn’t care, he also looked a little bored in this place. He seemed like he wanted to get out of here as much as I do. I asked him, who was fiddling with his nails.
“Are you bored?”
“Yeah.”
“Me too.”
I reacted coldly to his immediate reply, he stared at me and snickered. I looked at him puzzled, who suddenly burst out laughing.
“I didn’t know you’d say it’s boring.”
“I didn’t know you would ask me if I liked him out loud.”
“Were pretending to be coy? You’re better than I thought.”
Gregory held his chin and walked closer. Curiosity was evident on his face. I hesitated before replying because I felt like I was acting too freely in front of him.
“Even if I’m scared, I say what I need to.”
“I’m proud of you”
Gregory raised his hand and stroked my hair. When I looked at the hand that suddenly touched me, he withdrew it and made excuses.
“I’m sorry. It’s a habit.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You did it with your eyes. You looked at me as if I was a molester, Miss.”
“I apologize…”
“No, well… I didn’t mean for you to apologize.”
Gregory ruffled the back of his head. There was silence for a moment, but as the Princess left Seirin turned and looked directly at me.
“It looks like you haven’t been eating well, is it possible that the cake doesn’t suit your palate?”
“No, it’s delicious!”
In response to Seirin’s question, I exaggeratedly took a bite of the cake. For some reason, the heroine’s kindness was awkward for me, so my actions did not come out naturally.
‘Seirin is still kind.’
With that thought in mind, Gregory looked at me with a curious gaze. I pretended not to see and ate the cake eagerly. After a while, Gregory gave a very sinister smile and said to Seirin.
“She says tea time is boring.”
“Pr- Prince!”
I shouted in panic when he revealed what I thought was tacitly a secret. As if my reaction was funny, he giggled and shrugged his shoulders.
‘No, you say you’re bored too, and you’re only blaming me!’
It was a sudden attack, and it felt like sweat was running down my back. Seirin said with a sullen expression on Gregory’s words.
“Oh, was it boring? I’m sorry. I said I would take care of you, but I must have made you uncomfortable.”
“Oh, no! It was just a little awkward.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Anyway, this cake is really delicious. I think it’s one of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten.”
“Lies, Miss. It was hard to eat. I saw it all.”
Gregory made fun of me with a mischievous expression on his face. As I glared at him, he put on an innocent expression. It had a very ugly face. Then, Seirin spoke harshly to Gregory.
“Don’t make it difficult. And what’s that about ‘Miss’?”
“What about it, everyone who heard it liked it.”
“You look so careless.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Gregory nodded and crossed his legs. She couldn’t rehabilitate a man who lived to be crooked properly. Even if she knew he wasn’t originally like this.
Seirin shook her head with a face that she wouldn’t let go. Then, without realizing it, she spoke as if complaining.
“Uncle would be sad if he knew that you were going around like this…”
“Seirin Aden Werbel.”
Gregory stopped Seirin from speaking in a cool tone, the tone of his voice changed drastically. At that moment, Seirin covered her mouth realizing her mistake. I glanced at the two of them in the sudden heavy atmosphere. The moment the word “uncle” came out, Gregory’s smile faded away. The uncle Seirin is talking about was Gregory’s dead biological father. He took a deep breath and got up.
“Wa- wait a minute…! Where are you going?”
She grabbed Gregory trying to escape. But he gently brushed off her hand and spoke coldly.
“I’ll get some air, I’ll come back.”
“Brother.”
“Don’t follow me.”
Gregory left the place with an unsuitable, firm voice that didn’t leave a gap for Seirin to stop him.
“…”
Seirin sat back down on her seat with a stiff face. Of course, the atmosphere was messed up. When Gregory left, the surroundings became silent. It was fortunate that Princess Korte wasn’t here.
Seirin drank the tea without a word. Judging by the reactions of the two, it seemed that the story of his father was a sensitive topic.
‘Well, he died for treason, but he deserves to be sensitive about it.’
It was Seirin’s mistake to refer to someone who was truly a traitor as ‘uncle’.
Of course, she was just trying to advise him but…
While the awkward silence continued, I saw the Princess coming in the distance. Then, Seirin spoke to me carefully.
“I’m sorry, can I ask you a favor?”
“Please speak.”
“Even if my brother said that, he really hates being alone.”
“Ah…”
“I want to follow him right away, but as you can see, I can’t leave my place since this is for the good relationships between nations. Will you go for me?”
“…Me?”
“Yes. I’m begging you.”
Seirin clasped my hand and gave off a pitiful expression. I hesitated and glanced at Lexion once. He was distracted because he was caught by a vigorous Prince. I came here for his safety. So it wasn’t good if I stayed too far away from him. But her eyes were so tender that it was hard to refuse.
‘Yeah, since the trailer said he would die saving Gregory, I can go to Gregory.’
Having concluded that, I quickly nodded my head.
“I will go. Do not worry too much.”
“Thank you.”
Seirin smiled happily when I agreed. As expected, she looked as if she knew I would agree.
“Where are you going? …Oh, Prince Gregory isn’t here?”
The princess who had just approached spoke to me. Seirin replied politely.
“Ah, just in time. The prince didn’t come so Young Lady Sparrow was about to go find him.”
“Ah, I see.”
The princess meekly nodded and sat down. I greeted politely and quickly headed in the direction where Gregory left.
‘I think I spent too much time looking for him’
I could see him lying on the grass in the distance. He was covering his eyes with his arms from the bright sun. As I got closer, he said sternly.
“Seirin, I told you not to follow me.”
