Translator and Editor: Lea and Aki

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Chapter 29

“Because there will be no mana in the sea.””……..I see.””Most of them can’t come down because they’re blocked by mountain ranges. However, when winter arrives, people who move south develop symptoms of diseases.”

Kalcion continued joyfully, as if his eyes had opened to the fun of teaching.

Selena was smart, but she was not talented in studying. Therefore, she rarely received the teacher’s commendable light during her school days.

However, here, she was gravely concentrated as if she had unknowingly been sucked in.

“That’s the best part of the Northern Continent.”

That’s how the population’s going to be. It was as large as any other metropolitan city.

“The North is usually hard to live in.””Yes, the other lands in Renbird are. Only Silenza is worth living in because of the hot springs that run from the Saindart Mountains.””Oh, so that’s why it was warm even though it’s winter.”

Selena followed more brilliantly than she thought. Kalcion nodded satisfactorily, feeling proud.

“There are hot spring water pipes running underground of Silenza. The hot water goes into each house.”

In short, a geyser for the entire city. Whenever she turned the faucet on, hot water flowed out of it.

‘Isn’t it worth living for?!’

Besides, it was not just hot water, but hot spring water. A resource desirable to sell.

Unaware of Selena’s snobbish ideas, Kalcion continued.

“So far, it has been doing well, but as the population grows, the requirements of Silenza are also increasing. We need to find a measure to keep the hot spring water warm.””I see……. It’s like you’re maintaining a country.”

“Close to a country. It’s a land with no central interference.””Don’t you pay any taxes?””Renbird is duty-free since it has contributed to the foundation of the empire.”

Not only was the land separated, but the system was completely independent.

“Don’t you think it’s better to be independent? You don’t have to keep going back and forth to the capital.”

A common sense.

“That’s true.”

However, Kalcion replied uncomfortably.

“I’m sure all the Dukes have thought about it, but why didn’t they help? Oh, is it that difficult?””No, not that difficult. Militarily or economically, they’re already separated and they’re not dangerous.””But, why did you not bother to solve it first?””Because it’s more annoying.””Oh..……”

‘I see……. I can’t say anything in this.’

“It’s just a once-a-year bother, but I have a lot of other things to do to become independent.””Don’t you think it’s better to just make an effort for once?””I heard that my predecessors were one-fold more troubled than I was.”

A gene responsible for bad interpersonal relationships was passed down to every generation of the Northern Duke’s family.

“And, until the Crown Prince was appointed, this was practically nonexistent.””The Prince? Isn’t the Crown Prince stronger than the Duke?”

He almost laughed without realizing it. Whenever he was with this woman, he felt like his mind was going disarray.

“There are many reasons. First of all, there was a problem with the wealth.””What about money? Don’t you have money for the Crown Prince?””The more the wealth, the better. Power comes from wealth.”

The bottom line was that the Crown Prince was a greedy person who wanted everything.

“I guess there’s no end to greed as a Prince.””Prince Larsen is in a very unstable position. He’s trying to compensate.”

‘So, he’s been playing a political conflict as well.’

A scenario of the royal tombstone crossed her mind. Although he was a crown prince, his position was unstable, so he wanted to boost his power by grabbing the aristocracy. A noble with such a powerful force as Kalcion would be more likely to be defeated and feared under his feet.

“That must be annoying.”

The Prince was one to attack, gritting under their breath until their opponent got exhausted. He would not quit unless Kalcion retreated from political strife or fell to the bottom.

‘Huh?’

She suddenly looked up at him as the thought crossed her mind. If it’s not Kalcion falling to the bottom, it would be him dying.

Kalcion had no siblings. If he died, that immensely large territory and wealth would be returned to the royal estate.

‘…….It’s about wealth, then.’

‘To murder his prospective fiancée so that he can’t have a heir…….? So that Kalcion will greet his death all by himself.’

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

“……Could the Crown Prince be one of the suspects?”

Kalcion seemed to have felt the shiver at the same time. Even his eyes flashed coldly.

“Whether he was directly responsible or not, I think he was related to it.”

This was not something women could know. It was a political relationship that Kalcion directly clashed with. She had great assurance.

“Please protect my life.”

Selena exhaled heavily. She thought, soon, she’d have to start negotiating again.

***

Unlike Selena’s complicated mind, the carriage ran smoothly.

Their carriage made its way into a large castle around lunch time.

“Where are we?””This place belongs to Dunfel.””Oh, are we going to eat?””That’s right.”

She felt a little better and a bit relieved when she heard of food.

The hillside was larger than she thought. Compared to Silenza, it was small, but it was a well-equipped building with proper walls.

The carriage clattered into a large mansion.

“Ah.”

As the carriage approached the gate, she could see some of the knights standing in front of it. Similarly built as Kalcion’s knights, but they were wearing a simpler uniform.

“Oh, my. What should I do? I thought we were just here to have a meal.”

Selena said, patting her face like a child.

“Ah, what should I do? There’s definitely someone in charge out there, right?””Yeah, there is.””Argh! What do I do? I didn’t dress up properly because I didn’t know we’d stop by somewhere! My hair is a mess.”

She screamed, panicking about her hair being ruffled by the wind.

“Wait, if I can do it here……””Here? Like this?””No, not this way.”

Meanwhile, the carriage was getting closer to the entrance. Anxious, both of them began losing their composure.

“If I can comb my hair……””Oh, just come over here and do it yourself!””Wait.”

Kalcion got up, as if to move to her side. At that same moment, the wagon halted before the door.

“Gh……!”

Kalcion lost his balance.

“Kyaa!”

Surprised, she screamed as she felt being thrown off at the sudden stop. Kalcion, unable to keep his balance, wobbled unsteadily.

“What’s the matter?!”

Dion hurriedly opened the door of the carriage, rushing to their aid.

Kalcion’s groan and Selena’s scream could be assumed in other ways as well.

And, he was not mistaken when he opened the door. It was just that the timing was terrible.

“Ah…….””I-Is anything……..Ah.”

As if Dion’s brain circuit broke at the scene inside the carriage. The representative, who was waiting at the entrance of the mansion, also met a similar fate.

Selena and Kalcion were tangled in each other. Her hair was messed up, her mouth was dry, her back was worn, her hands were touching his chest, and they were half overlapped in each other.

The final blow was their disorganized breathing.

“…….””…….”

No one could speak.

The first one to come to her senses was Selena.

“Kyaa!”

She crouched while screaming, hiding behind Kalcion. Kalcion hugged her body in an awkward embrace, blocking her from the eyes of the people.

“……..Bring a maid to help.””Ah! Yes! I will!”

The door closed with a thud.

“……””……”

The carriage was filled with silence. They couldn’t even move a single strand of hair.

“I…….””Oh, uh, yeah.”

Surprised, Kalcion stepped aside in a flash. He sat on the seat opposite to hers, but the awkwardness in the air did not end.

Selena couldn’t even speak because she felt as if she was being choked.

It never happened before. The romantic scene of ‘meeting her love after years’ that she filmed in a program she signed for flashed up in her mind in the next second. However, this was just an accident, but her face was burning.

‘…….Just surprised, yeah, I’m just surprised.’

She tried to calm herself down.

“Juna is here, Miss Selena.”

At the same time, Juna knocked on the door.

“Please come in!”

She had brought all her fancy clothes and makeup tools for her.

He couldn’t get out of the carriage, but neither could he look at her. If he went out, the others would think Selena was neglected. To act as someone precious to Kalcion, Selena had to move with him. Agreeing to that, Kalcion stayed in the carriage.

However, his heart never stopped beating horribly. The place where he stared at was the corner of the carriage.

He had never done such a lame thing in his life. He felt ashamed. The idea of getting off the carriage penetrated his mind again.

“You’re all set.”

In the meantime, Selena’s glooming look was over. Juna, who helped, was also good at preparing her.

Juna got off the wagon, officially opening the door. This time, the representative bowed politely and gracefully with a stern look on his face.

“I sincerely welcome His Excellency, the Duke. Please come in.”

She pouted when he did not even spare a look at Selena. The fact that her face had already been captured made her take the next step forward.

“Oh, my dear Duke.”

Kalcion’s back straightened at her sweet voice calling him.

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