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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: The Only One
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Two slaps.
At the sound, Enoch’s perfectly sculpted brow furrowed.
“Duke. You always go on about how much you cherish your niece, but it seems your method of cherishing is rather different from common sense.”
“N-no, Your Majesty. Please, just listen to me for a moment—”
“As I recall, you took control not only of the Daphne family’s assets but also all decision-making rights for the house, under the pretext of protecting the Little Marquess.”
Standing beside Enoch, rubbing my stiff body, I snapped my head up.
“What?”
‘What does that mean? If the Duke decides everything, from assets to whatever else, doesn’t that mean Riana has nothing?’
Seriously, what was up with this character?
In the novel, she was portrayed as an arrogant brat who threw tantrums….
Far from throwing tantrums, she froze up in fear just from making eye contact with Duke Herington, and on top of that, she had handed over all her assets.
Even though I had only skimmed the novel, from Enoch to Riana, everyone seemed slightly different from how they were in the story. My head was spinning with confusion again.
Perhaps thinking my grave expression was due to the pain, Enoch continued in an even colder voice.
As he shielded me behind him.
“However, if *this* is what you call protection, it would be best to revoke the authority you hold, Duke.”
“Your Majesty, what do you mean by that…?”
The Duke’s face, which had been smiling as if he had misheard, slowly contorted.
“That is unacceptable, Your Majesty! For the past twenty years, it is I, Ralph Herington, who has protected the House of Daphne! How can you revoke my position just because I disciplined *that thing*!”
“*That thing*… discipline….”
Enoch repeated the Duke’s words in a low voice, tilting his head with a blank expression.
“But, Duke. Why are you so angry?”
“…Pardon?”
“As I recall, your stewardship over the House of Daphne was only meant to last until the Little Marquess came of age.”
Enoch’s voice, now devoid of the formal speech he usually employed, was so low and calm it felt alien.
“To blush so furiously while returning something years late, something you should have returned long ago, makes it seem as if—”
‘—you covet your niece’s fortune.’ Enoch whispered intimately, then straightened his back.
At those words, Duke Herington, his face now pale, tried to use me as an excuse.
“C-covet her fortune? Your Majesty, I have so much of my own, why would I covet something so meager? Haha. I was merely continuing to look after the House of Daphne because that child, Riana, asked me to.”
“Ah. Is that so?”
Raising an eyebrow at the Duke’s words, Enoch half-turned toward me.
“Is that right, Riana?”
“…No. I don’t think so?”
I didn’t know what the real Riana would have done, but that was a no from me.
Having absolutely no intention of being cared for by the man who had just slapped me twice, I shook my head firmly.
The Duke’s blue eyes glared at me as if they were on fire, but what did I care?
There was no reason to accommodate someone who grabbed me by the collar one moment and slapped me the next.
Because I had shaken my head so vigorously, Enoch’s uniform jacket, which was draped over my shoulders, slipped askew.
As I struggled to adjust the oversized garment, Enoch naturally reached out.
Without even glancing at Duke Herington, Enoch spoke as he straightened my clothes.
“The Little Marquess does not seem to want your protection, Duke. Then, from this moment on, all authority concerning the House of Daphne will be managed by its heir, the Little Marquess.”
“Your Majesty!”
“Ah. And I suppose I must also assign blame for this situation.”
Ignoring the Duke’s devastated expression, Enoch met my eyes.
“Riana, is there any particular punishment you wish for the Duke?”
“Me? Hmm….”
No matter how unjustly I had been treated, I knew that in this world, one couldn’t personally decide the punishment for someone of a higher station.
Contrary to that unwritten rule, Enoch was asking for my opinion. My eyes darted around.
Then, suddenly.
I recalled the Duke, who a moment ago had acted as if his last few days before departing for war were precious. I pointed to him and then to the bushes behind him.
“Then, Your Majesty, the Duke and that person over there—”
To be precise, I pointed to the man hiding in the bushes, the one who tried to attack Enoch and was just talking with the Duke, and continued speaking clearly.
“—please send these two to the battlefield. From this very spot, right now.”
***
“Ouch! It hurts. Gently, please be gentle, Your Majesty.”
“…Stop fussing.”
Dabbing my lip with a cotton ball soaked in antiseptic, avoiding my flailing arm, Enoch sighed in disapproval.
“Are you truly satisfied with that punishment for the Duke?”
The fact that he had only sent the Duke straight from the banquet hall to the battlefield seemed to displease him, as a wrinkle formed between his perfect brows.
“Yes, it’s enough.”
In truth, a duke who wielded nearly absolute power, second only to the emperor, slapping his niece wasn’t that big of a deal.
No, far from it.
If anything, I would be lucky if people who heard about this didn’t just react with, “That troublesome Little Marquess must have done something wrong again.”
And also….
‘It could cause problems for Enoch, too.’
The relationship between Enoch and Duke Herington’s faction was already poor as it was.
I didn’t want to trouble Enoch by demanding an excessive punishment, so this was just right.
“But, Your Majesty.”
“?”
“Is it really okay to just send the Duke to the battlefield like that? There must be procedures for this sort of thing.”
Recalling how the Duke, clad in his splendid tailcoat, had been shoved into a portal in the middle of the palace garden, I fidgeted with my hands.
“He went empty-handed, without even a weapon….”
Maybe I should have given him time to grab a sword?
I imagined the Duke swinging his fists, adorned with rings on all ten fingers, while showing off his shimmering silk clothes instead of armor, and quickly shook the image from my head.
“Well. As you said, there are procedures, but I’m not one to follow them closely.”
“What…?”
“Well, it would be a bit of a headache if the Duke were to die after being dropped in the middle of a battlefield without a weapon, but I suppose that wouldn’t matter much either.”
“…It wouldn’t?”
“I’m saying you don’t need to worry about it.”
Having said something incredibly concerning in a completely nonchalant way, Enoch pressed the antiseptic-soaked cotton ball firmly onto my palm.
“Ouch! It stings!”
“Riana.”
“Yes? Ugh, that hurts.”
Perhaps because the area was larger than the cut on my lip, the stinging pain that shot through my palm was quite intense.
As I blew on my palm to try and ease the potent sensation, Enoch set down the tweezers and called my name.
“? Your Majesty, is there something you wish to say?”
Seeing him hesitate, I tilted my head slightly to meet his eyes, and his perfectly formed lips parted cautiously.
“…I didn’t mean to overhear.”
“Yes.”
“It’s about the conversation you and the Duke were having earlier.”
“Yes. Which conversation?”
“The Duke’s comment that getting closer to me would give you ‘breathing room.’ May I ask what he meant by that?”
“Ah. That.”
“Is it possible… that this wasn’t the first time the Duke has treated you like that? Is that why—”
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I don’t know either.”
Enoch’s serious demeanor made me serious as well, and I folded my arms thoughtfully.
“Whenever I see the Duke, my body just freezes up and I can’t speak properly. Judging by that, it seems we weren’t on good terms… hmm.”
I stared at the ceiling and thought hard, but nothing came to mind. It was like a blank canvas.
I had expected as much, but it still felt anticlimactic. I slumped on the sofa, scratching my chin with an awkward laugh.
“As you know, Your Majesty, my memory is full of holes. I don’t really have an answer for you.”
“…”
“Of course! As the doctor said, it’s not because of the alcohol, so don’t look at me like that.”
I said it preemptively because Enoch usually gave me a lecture of sorts whenever he noticed my memory wasn’t intact.
Unlike usual, he just stared at me without saying anything, which made me feel awkward. I fidgeted with the tweezers for no reason.
“Do I do it like this? Ah, maybe not?”
“…That is water, not antiseptic, Riana.”
“Really? Oh… then, this—.”
“Give it to me. I will do it.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Taking the tweezers from my clumsy hands, Enoch soaked a new cotton ball in antiseptic.
“If I’m the one you need, shall I stay by your side?”
“Pardon?”
I questioned the casually spoken words, narrowing my eyes.
“And in return, I become Your Majesty’s cure?”
“If you are willing.”
“Hmm….”
As I admired Enoch’s long eyelashes, lowered as he treated my wound, I abruptly asked a question.
“What does this ‘treatment’ entail, exactly?”
“I’m not entirely sure myself. I am, however, speculating that your fire ability might be able to melt the shard of ice in my heart.”
“And if it can’t?”
“Even so, it should at least prevent my brain from freezing over. If I leave it as is, I feel like my brain and heart will both freeze solid someday, and I’ll either become an empty shell or go on a rampage.”
Enoch let out a small laugh, as if something were funny, but for some reason, I didn’t like it.
“But, Your Majesty. Why does it have to be me? If your rampages can be stopped because of a fire ability, wouldn’t Elisha be a better choice than me?”
“The Duke’s Daughter cannot.”
“Cannot?”
“I have tried making contact with her as well, but I still went on a rampage.”
He lifted his lowered lashes, revealing the subtly colored, ash-gray eyes hidden beneath.
“Riana, it is only you. The one whose hand I can hold, the one from whom I can feel warmth. You are the only one for me.”
