Chapter 9
Even with her unusually striking appearance, she appeared dim next to Deonis. Perhaps Anna felt the same, as she whispered to Melody.
“The Duke’s estate has better welfare than the Imperial Palace, you know. Though the best thing is those two being together. I wish Sir Rohan could stand next to him too.”
Melody gave a small nod.
“I’d like Sir Rohan to be kneeling on one knee.”
“Oh my.”
Since the crown prince, Ryan, hadn’t entered the building, they all remained bowing their heads.
“Is the expedition preparation going well? I brought a gift from His Majesty.”
Ryan said cheerfully.
“The preparations were finished a week ago. Please tell His Majesty that we appreciate the thought.”
“Haha, what a joke.”
“Does it sound like a joke to you?”
Sparks seemed to fly in the eyes of Deonis and Ryan.
Even in the novel, their relationship was described as pure hostility. Although Deonis had given up his right to the throne, the former emperor’s people still supported him, making Ryan’s position as crown prince unstable.
Ryan curled his lips into a smile.
“You’ll be surprised when you receive it. Bring it down.”
When Ryan knocked on the carriage, the door opened and a priest with stark white hair stepped down. Judging by the gold-embroidered robe, he seemed to be a high-ranking priest, perhaps the High Priest.
“His Majesty has sent this priest wishing for your well-being.”
“May the goddess’s blessing descend upon the Duke.”
As the priest offered his blessing, Deonis’s face twisted in discomfort, which made Ryan’s pale blue eyes gleam with satisfaction.
“Let’s go to the drawing room.”
Melody realized Ryan’s true intention was to torment Deonis.
In the novel, Ryan utterly hated Deonis. At first, it seemed to be just because of the succession issue, but it turned out it was because Deonis was a magician.
Holy power, like the sacred barrier, was painful to magicians.
‘And that is supposed to be the male lead?’
Melody didn’t particularly like Deonis, but she was furious that someone who acted like such trash could be considered the male protagonist.
All she could do was try not to glare at Ryan.
Even after entering the drawing room, Ryan didn’t dismiss the servants, so they had no choice but to remain lined up. It was truly a distasteful hobby.
In The Secrets of Lihellin, every male lead had serious flaws. Ryan’s role was to represent promiscuity and regret.
He derived joy from stealing what belonged to others. Most of his secret affairs were with married women or those already engaged.
His interest in Lihellin began only after she grew close to Deonis. That said it all.
Even after seducing Lihellin, he continued to flirt with married women. He only pretended to love Lihellin passionately when Deonis was around.
‘A textbook piece of garbage.’
While reading the book, Melody had hoped he’d be ruined. Seeing him in real life, she just wanted him gone.
“What about blessing your sword?”
Ryan said. To receive a blessing, one had to hold the sword during the ritual — likely he wanted Deonis to suffer.
“You may not know, Your Highness, as you’ve never fought monsters, but in monster hunting, swords are mere consumables.”
The contempt in Deonis’s voice was clear. Just enduring this situation with a few words — he was remarkably patient. Excessively so.
“Don’t dare reject the goddess’s grace. Bring the sword.”
“Are you sure it’s all right for me to raise my sword in front of Your Highness?”
At the deadly tone, a twitch ran through Ryan’s lips.
“How could it not be? I’m the master of your sword.”
“I never thought I’d say this aloud, but… The only master of my sword is His Majesty.”
With that, Deonis stood up. Thud, thud. As he was about to leave the drawing room, Ryan abruptly stood and drew his sword from his belt. Then he pointed it at the nearest servant.
‘Damn it.’
Of all people, it was Melody standing there.
Suddenly taken hostage, Melody bit her lip hard. The cold blade against her skin was terrifyingly sharp and clear.
“When the master errs, the servant bleeds. Isn’t that a long-standing imperial tradition?”
The servants, startled by the sudden action, were flustered. “Monster bastard.” Ryan’s voice, low and venomous, reached only Melody’s ears.
“It’s the monster’s instinct to go mad at the sight of blood, after all.”
At Deonis’s fierce glare, the sword trembled. Then, the tip moved slightly away from Melody’s throat.
“Bring the sword.”
There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in Deonis’s voice. As the knight stepped out to fetch it, the sword pressing against Melody’s neck finally dropped.
‘Bastard.’
Melody quickly put distance between herself and Ryan. She touched her neck and, seeing no blood, sighed in relief — it seemed to be just a scratch.
“My apologies. What is your name?”
With a falsely pleasant smile, Ryan took out a handkerchief and offered it to Melody.
She had to try hard not to let her expression freeze.
“Melody, Your Highness.”
“The Duke wouldn’t listen unless I used such drastic means. I hope you know I never intended to harm you.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
With the prince’s apology, the atmosphere regained some warmth. Soon, the priest began chanting a prayer, and everyone’s attention turned toward him.
“Wow…”
As holy light burst from the priest’s hands, one of the pages gasped. For poor commoners, seeing divine power was a rare experience.
But Melody couldn’t take her eyes off Deonis. His complexion was getting worse by the minute.
Only after pouring sacred power into over ten swords did Ryan finally leave the castle — accompanied by the priest, who could barely walk from exhaustion.
‘Finally gone.’
As she left the drawing room, Melody threw the handkerchief Ryan had left into the fireplace.
* * *
“The cut is shallow. There won’t be a scar.”
As soon as they returned to the workshop, Anna applied ointment to Melody’s neck. Melody felt like cursing.
“That’s a relief.”
“Weren’t you scared? I would’ve burst into tears. Though the two of them never got along, it’s never been like that before.”
“I actually cried a little.”
As Melody wiped her dry eyes, Anna gave her a sympathetic look.
“So he’s never done anything like that before?”
“Of course not. He’d occasionally visit, bring gifts, and they’d talk alone. The air was always tense, like walking on thin ice, but it always seemed like the Duke was the one sharpening his blade. Many worried that the crown prince might be emotionally hurt. Even today, he was turned away after coming to bless the swords.”
“…What?”
“I mean, that’s going too far. Yet the crown prince still cares because they’re cousins by blood.”
Melody sighed, pressing her temple.
In Anna’s version of the story, the villain… was Deonis.
