Chapter 32
Heliote brushed off Tessarion’s hand with a stunned expression.
“Wow, what the hell is this situation?”
The Crown Prince pointed back and forth between Tessarion and me in disbelief, then smirked like a swindler finding juicy blackmail material.
“Are you two dating? No, that can’t be. Roy Dover must be harbouring feelings for Berieta beyond his station…”
Tessarion’s sculpted face twisted with terrifying fury. Heliote smiled mockingly down at me.
“……Hmph.”
Hic!
His gaze felt like it pierced straight through me, making my heart shrink. He seemed to have reached some inner conclusion, and whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good for me.
“N-no! That’s not true!”
“It’s not? Then if you don’t like Berieta, does that mean you and the Duke like each other?”
“Absolutely not!”
I protested fiercely, but Heliote burst into roaring laughter, sealing his own conclusion.
Oh, shit.
Sensing doom, I ran my hand over my face and turned away.
That was when—
“Crown Prince Heliote, you’re under a misunderstanding…”
Tessarion twisted Heliote’s arm behind his back and whispered coldly into his ear.
“Do you think I obeyed the imperial decree out of fear of the Emperor and other nobles?”
“……!”
“No. It was my own decision, calculated for one reason alone.”
Suppressing his murderous aura, Tessarion released a cold, refined, yet completely nonsensical explanation.
“If war breaks out, this kid’s marriage prospects will be ruined. A full-scale war drains even noble family fortunes, so how could penniless Roy Dover secure a dowry?”
“Huh?”
Heliote’s laughing face froze into a disgusted grimace as he scanned Tessarion up and down.
What kind of madman is this? — his eyes seemed to say.
But it wasn’t just Heliote who thought so. Lady Mores, her followers, and I shared the same thought.
“Especially if the Crown Prince and Princess keep clinging to Roy, his reputation among northern nobles will plummet. So don’t speak to him, don’t loiter near him, and stay out of his business.”
“……”
“And don’t think of getting in my way. If anything happens to Roy Dover, your lives are forfeit.”
Ruuumble… KRA-KOOM!
A bolt of blue lightning tore across the sky, shaking the earth. A lightning strike from a clear sky.
“Whaaat?! D-Duke! That’s ridiculous!”
I jumped up and shouted. Tessarion growled fiercely, glaring at me.
“Roy Dover. Didn’t I tell you to keep your mouth shut and stay out of the Crown Prince’s way unless you want to die a dog’s death?”
From between clenched teeth, a chilling aura leaked out. The grudges of a war demon who had slain hundreds of thousands tightened around my throat.
Eep! I raised both hands over my head and curled up.
“Get up. We’re starting from the top.”
Sniffling, I stood and straightened my wrinkled clothes. Today’s first lesson was approaching him with chest and shoulders straight, bowing slightly to invite him to dance.
Clearing my throat, I shot Heliote a resentful glare.
‘You’ve caused enough drama, just leave already! I’m dying of embarrassment here!’
I flicked my eyes towards the exit, then approached Tessarion.
I bowed as I had been taught to invite him to dance.
The music resumed.
Tessarion bowed slightly in return, and I gently placed my hand in his as we walked to the centre of the ballroom.
He kept nitpicking – my steps were too fast, my posture too careless – and called for a redo again and again.
“……”
Heliote didn’t leave. He watched Tessarion’s social dance lesson for me with arms crossed, even after the solo dances turned into group dances.
My steps grew tangled. I tried to ignore Heliote, but my nerves were already focused entirely on him, given his history of dropping bombs on me at every chance.
He clicked his tongue, chewed his lower lip, and grumbled quietly with a frown.
“Tch. Who’s teaching who, really…”
His words startled me. Could he read my mind?
Shaking his head, he finally left the ballroom.
❖ ❖ ❖
Do you know the saying ‘reading sutras to a cow’? No matter how good the words, a cow cannot understand them. Likewise, no matter how beautifully I tried to teach Tessarion the loveliness of love, he simply could not grasp it.
“Duke, isn’t Omok so cute?”
I held out the cutest, loveliest creature around me to Tessarion.
“……”
Holding his forehead, Tessarion glared murderously at me and Omok with his predatory golden eyes.
…Beep.
Poor Omok trembled violently.
“I think my brother attached a message tube to Omok. Doesn’t it look like a tiny school backpack? It has a miniaturisation spell, so it can now carry up to 200 characters!”
“I see.”
“Look at his little black sesame eyes and pink blush – he’s so tiny and round, yet he can carry 200 characters! And he’s such a genius! When I told him to ‘find the Duke’, he didn’t go to any other Duke but came straight to you. And when I told him to ‘tell my brother’, he knew to find Altaire!”
“Ah, I see.”
Despite his little carrier pigeon being upgraded by a master mage for free, Tessarion’s reaction was lukewarm.
Even though I hadn’t replied to Altaire, Omok still brought back a letter. I read Altaire’s letter again.
[“Little bird keeps coming to me empty-handed. Have you found the star coordinates you were seeking? Or is it hard to summarise into words and thus no reply yet? I worried something might have happened, so I’m sending this magical device with your bird. Messages up to 200 characters will shrink to fit, and for longer messages, use a low-grade mana stone.
I await your reply.
Altaire Oswalley.”]
‘Altaire! Thank you so much…!’
I hugged the letter close. He was truly the light (cheat code) in my bleak future. Holding Omok gently like a golden rope sent from the heavens, I raised him high.
So cute!
So lovely!
So proud!
I showered kisses on his tiny fluffy head.
Chirp? Chirp chirp chirp!
Omok fluttered his little wings, head-butting my lips.
“……Damn it.”
Reading his mountain of letters, Tessarion cursed under his breath. The letter in his hands crumpled and fell.
Did something bad happen on the Red Wood front?
Omok and I blinked up at Tessarion.
“Duke, please use nice words. Omok understands and gets scared, you know?”
Chirp.
I treasured Omok in my arms, stroking him. He understood words far better than a cow ever could.
I was demonstrating to Tessarion that “cute, small, and lovely beings should be praised and handled with care.”
“Hmph.”
Tessarion scoffed with a terrifying frown. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the next letter to read.
“Omok, stay here. I’ll write a reply quickly, okay?”
Using a soft, gentle tone as if speaking to a child, I placed Omok in my coat pocket. His black eyes peeked up at me – so cute. I carefully chose my stationery and pen to write a proper reply after the delay.
[To Altaire Oswalley.
Hello. First, thank you endlessly for your thoughtful care. I apologise for my late introduction. I am Roy, working as a squire knight in Claremont Castle…]
“Lady Mores has set the date.”
The pen nib that had been tracing a graceful curve jerked into a straight scratch.
Tessarion handed me Lady Mores’s letter.
