6. I’ll Choose You
Western Forest entrance.
Lina was exhausted. She had to work at night and sleep during the day. But Dante had told her to come by 9 a.m.
Lina had hesitated—should she do the escort duty or not? She hesitated in an 8:2 ratio, and in the end missed the chance to say anything. So, as soon as her shift ended, she had no choice but to rush over to the Western Forest.
Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp.
Around the giant oak tree, sparrows and larks chirped. From a hammock more than five meters high at the treetop, Dante was sleeping. What if he fell?
Sunlight slipped through the leaves, scattering rainbows. The shimmering shadows of the oak leaves made the rainbow light dance. Various colors mixed and spread across Dante.
Seeing him surrounded by so many hues, Lina couldn’t help but think he wasn’t an ordinary person. Even his mysterious odd eyes—heterochromia—were rare in the Verdi Empire.
“Good morning.”
Lina cautiously called his name to wake him.
“Dante, it’s 9 o’clock.”
No reply.
“Daaante!”
Ugh, whatever. Maybe treating him casually would be better. Just like last night, Lina’s tone grew rougher.
“Hey, mister!”
Finally, he lifted his head.
“Who are you?”
His eyes peered down, expressionless, still clouded with sleep.
“Uh, you told me yesterday to be your assistant.”
“……Ah, right. Wait a moment.”
He jumped lightly down from the hammock. Even after only washing quickly at the nearby stream, he looked clean and well-groomed, almost as if he’d dressed up. A refreshing fragrance wafted from him, as if perfumed water had been poured in.
“But why do you call me ‘mister’? How old are you?”
“Um. Twenty…?” Lina casually picked a number.
“……”
Dante grabbed his sword and walked straight into the forest.
“Instead of just asking, wouldn’t it be fair if you told me your age, too? It’s not like it costs money to share.”
“To find valuable monsters, you have to go deeper into the forest. Hurry up.”
Huh? He avoided answering. So maybe he wasn’t actually that old? Didn’t want to be called an old man?
Hiding personal information, is he?
If that was the case, Lina didn’t care much either. If he refused to reveal his age, then she could treat him like an equal and he’d have no grounds to complain. Since their first meeting was already informal, it felt fine to keep it that way.
“Oh. Go back and grab that bag and cooking gear.”
“What? You should’ve said that earlier!”
She had to run a 200-meter round trip back to the giant oak. Jerk. Clearly, he had waited on purpose to mess with her. Suddenly, worry and regret weighed on her.
Did I really make the right decision? What if this just ruins my temper and wears me out?
Yet oddly, it was the first time she could speak so freely to someone.
Outside of work, Lina didn’t really have anyone to talk to. She was used to being alone. But she’d had so little conversation that her mouth felt like it was gathering cobwebs.
Having someone respond to her and reply—it felt nice.
“I thought monsters would just jump out, but nothing’s happening?”
“……”
“So finding them is harder than fighting them, huh? That’s why you need an assistant?”
Even after walking for a long time, no monsters appeared.
In truth, it was because Dante’s level was so high that monsters instinctively avoided him. Of course, Lina had no idea.
“……”
As Lina’s casual speech continued, Dante grew increasingly annoyed. He was used to people being informal with him, but never the other way around. Few dared to speak to him like this.
But her innocent, unknowing face stopped him from snapping.
Since I’m not even revealing my identity, talking about age is pointless anyway.
It was almost laughable. Though it grated on him, he could endure it. Her eyes were too clear—filled with nothing but curiosity. No schemes, no malice, no desire. That kind of gaze was rare in his world, and strangely pleasing.
“Well, I suppose that’s interesting too.”
He stroked his firm jawline. If he thought of it as bestowing grace, he could tolerate it. His lips curled into a confident smirk.
“Hm? What did you just say?”
Unaware of his thoughts, Lina blinked round eyes at him. Dante only pressed her forehead lightly with a finger, lips tugging with a dry smile.
“Seems monsters decide who to appear for.”
He truly had only given her a slight push.
But Lina had already passed her sleeping time after a night shift. Her body, drained of energy, toppled easily once she lost balance.
“Uwah?”
Defenseless, Lina fell backward clumsily. Her skirt flipped up completely, exposing all her undergarments.
A commoner’s outfit—without extra petticoats under the mid-length skirt—made the exposure glaring.
White.
Plain.
Trimmed with a little lace.
The sight struck Dante like lightning, freezing him solid. He couldn’t even retract his finger.
“S-sorry…”
People feared him. They called him arrogant and high-handed. But considering his noble status, that was nothing.
He had power over life and death, authority to command the world, granted from birth.
Yet he swore to his mother god—never in his life had he once acted so rudely toward a woman.
“I-I was just…”
The Verdi Empire’s society seemed outwardly liberal. But in truth, when it came to marriage, which upheld the class system, it was extremely conservative.
He had seen an unmarried woman’s undergarments? Even if it was an accident, society would never forgive it.
If the woman demanded marriage, even the Crown Prince—no, even the Emperor—would have no choice but to comply. Otherwise, the royal family’s dignity would be destroyed.
“No, I—I can’t possibly marry like this…”
Flustered, Dante rubbed his face repeatedly. He could only lament his fate.
“They’ll soon be choosing a bride too…”
His rational mind fled, muttering strange words.
“Hey!”
Lina quickly yanked down her skirt to cover her bare thighs and shouted.
She shoved Dante hard in the chest. Despite his nearly 190 cm frame, he collapsed like a limp sack.
His knees naturally folded inward, leaving him looking like a condemned criminal awaiting judgment.
“Y-you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Lina’s flushed face burned with embarrassment. She turned away and angrily brushed down her skirt, as if it were guilty.
“……?”
After a pause, Dante slowly raised his head. Was he… not executed?
His scattered thoughts crept back. Masking his panic, he feigned ignorance.
“W-what do you mean? When did I…”
Yes. This girl had no clue. She didn’t realize she’d nearly trapped the Empire’s greatest groom into a forced marriage. She clearly didn’t know—whether from ignorance of Verdi customs or being a foreigner.
“……”
His lips parted. He clapped a hand over them, but laughter slipped out anyway.
“Khk…”
The ridiculousness of knowing this alone was absurd—but strangely entertaining too. Not just because he’d narrowly escaped being dragged into marriage.
“Hff…”
Holding it back hurt his stomach. His shoulders shook, and when he glanced at Lina, her violet eyes were shooting lasers at him.
“Don’t laugh!”
The girl, unaware of the massive chance she’d missed, planted both hands on her waist.
“H-ha!”
Tears of laughter spilled from Dante’s eyes. Why he found it so funny, he wasn’t sure.
“Hahahaha! Ever since I met you, I can’t keep it together.”
“What?”
“First you whack me with a shovel, then I faint! I almost got marri—! No, really, what even is this…! Hahahaha!”
The storm cloud that always chased him seemed far behind today.
“And because of me, even the monsters don’t show up? What’s wrong with me?”
“Haha, don’t worry. If you can’t get married, I’ll choose you myself.”
He blurted out a reply that made no sense at all.
“What? Do you think you’re some Crown Prince or something?”
Unable to hold back his laughter, Dante kept teasing her.
“Haha, have you heard the rumor? They say every night a female ghost appears at the graveyard.”
“A ghost… in the graveyard?”
“Yeah! A pink-haired female ghost wandering with a lamp, chanting curses.”
“A curse? What kind of curse?”
“If you meet her eyes, you fall under her curse. Misfortune will strike, or you’ll fall in love—and eventually go insane.”
“Really? I never saw that when I was working…”
Dante nodded knowingly, tilting his chin toward her.
“Pink hair, I said. You really don’t know who it is?”
“It’s not me!”
Lina’s face flushed scarlet. Dante shook his head, laughing hard.
“Who would’ve thought I’d fall under a ghost’s curse. Getting smacked, fainting… Yeah, there’s no other explanation. It must be a curse.”
