188 - I Got Engaged to the Blind Duke
She widened her eyes and raised the corners of her lips.
“Your Majesty, you are so mischievous. Crown Prince must be upset.”
“Hmph. That guy? That incompetent fellow who can’t even meet my eyes? Upset?”
“That’s because Your Majesty always scolds him.”
When Eira took the Crown Prince’s side, the Emperor showed his displeasure and drank his tea.
“Wouldn’t it be better if our son became the Crown Prince?”
The Emperor put down his teacup and subtly probed her intentions.
“He hasn’t even been born yet.”
Eira burst into laughter again.
The Emperor did not laugh along but stared into Eira’s eyes for a long time. Her mysterious blue eyes made it impossible to read her thoughts.
The Emperor handed the empty teacup back to Eira and changed the subject.
“By the way, why don’t you ever visit Diamond Palace?”
“I heard there aren’t even walls yet. What would I do if I went?”
“That is where you will live from now on.”
The Emperor said in a voice full of majesty.
Eira met the Emperor’s eyes and smirked.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“Why? Of course, it’s because I cherish you.”
The Emperor frowned and replied.
“I’m the one getting all the flak? Even though I didn’t ask for it to be built?”
At that, the Emperor furrowed his brow and his face flushed.
“Who dares to speak ill of you!”
“Will Your Majesty punish them all for me?”
Eira lowered her eyes and asked in a coquettish manner.
“Of course! Just tell me.”
“I’ll write them all down and show you.”
The Emperor looked at Eira, who was smiling innocently, with affection.
\ \ \
The old Chamberlain hid the letter from the West in his bosom and moved quickly.
What an absurd thing this was. He had to inform the Emperor as soon as possible.
Arriving at the 7th Imperial Concubine’s palace, he met the eyes of the knight standing guard at the door of the reception room.
Sir Dimon.
A commoner who entered the Imperial Guard with only his outstanding swordsmanship skills, and whom the Emperor had personally appointed as the 7th Imperial Concubine’s exclusive knight.
“Sir Dimon.”
“Chamberlain.”
When the Chamberlain greeted Dimon lightly, he returned the greeting.
“Is His Majesty inside?”
“Yes. He said not to let anyone in.”
“This is a top priority, so I have no choice. I will inform him directly.”
The Chamberlain stood near the door of the reception room and raised his voice.
“Your Majesty.”
“I told you not to disturb me.”
The Emperor’s angry voice was heard from beyond the door.
“I apologize, but this is an urgent report.”
“Enter.”
“Yes.”
The Chamberlain went inside and handed the letter he had been carrying to the Emperor.
The Emperor, who had listlessly accepted the letter, read the contents and widened his eyes.
“Communicates with Monsters?”
“Oh my! Who?”
Eira, who was sipping tea beside him, widened her eyes in surprise.
“Ha, the Duke of the West. So, that’s why he kept that woman by his side.”
“The Duke of the West communicates with Monsters? The shield of the West?”
Eira burst into laughter.
It was something that anyone in the Empire would laugh at if you asked them.
The Emperor frowned and gulped down his tea.
“Not the Duke of the West, but his fiancée.”
“Your Majesty……”
The Chamberlain called out to the Emperor, worried about who might be listening.
No matter how much he cherished the 7th Imperial Concubine, this was not something to be easily revealed.
Eira’s gaze, which was looking at the Chamberlain, flashed coldly for a moment, but it was hidden by her lowered long eyelashes and went unseen.
“Is it something I shouldn’t hear?”
Eira fluttered her eyelashes and innocently asked back, and the Emperor wrapped his arm around her waist and sat her on his lap.
“Chamberlain. This is my beloved concubine. There is nothing she cannot hear.”
“……Yes.”
The Chamberlain’s bowed back bent even further.
“Investigate the Duke of the West’s fiancée in more detail and report back.”
“Understood.”
At the Emperor’s gesture to leave, the Chamberlain retreated backward and exited.
Before the door to the reception room closed, the Emperor’s voice, soothing the sulking 7th Imperial Concubine, was faintly heard.
\ \ \
Jeromian’s laboratory.
Gerald indifferently scanned the messy laboratory.
It was not much different from last time, but there was a pile of white fur in one corner. It was fur he had seen somewhere before.
“What’s that?”
“BaniBani fur.”
“You. Collected. Giant. Rabbit. Fur? Why?”
Gerald corrected himself, speaking slowly, one word at a time.
Jeromian, pretending not to hear him, stroked the Rabbit fur preciously.
“Research material.”
“What kind of research are you trying to do?”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen a normal Rabbit turn into a Monster. I’m trying to figure out how it happened.”
Jeromian pushed up his glasses and his eyes gleamed.
“I see. But can you do that with just fur?”
“Actually, getting blood would be best, but……”
Jeromian trailed off, uncharacteristically.
“But?”
“I’m worried Marin might be uncomfortable. She seems to cherish BaniBani a lot.”
The prickly guy was unexpectedly considerate.
“It’s a Giant Rabbit. Anyway, Marin would allow it. She’d be happy if you could figure out the cause.”
Jeromian’s face brightened. He seemed to really want to do the research in earnest.
“But why did you come? If you bother me again with fireworks or something, I won’t just end it with your fingers this time?”
Gerald got straight to the point with Jeromian, who was quickly turning prickly.
“Can you make something that prevents plants from growing?”
“Why would I make something so useless? I should be making things that make plants grow better.”
“Your ancestor made one, didn’t he?”
At Gerald’s words, curiosity bloomed on Jeromian’s face.
“Who?”
“Someone from about a hundred years ago?”
“How do you know that?”
“From the diary of the head of the family from 100 years ago. Ah, you’re not a Duke, so you can’t read it, can you?”
Gerald slightly raised one corner of his lips.
“Even if you provoke me, I won’t make it for you.”
Jeromian turned his head away with a sneer on his lips.
However, Gerald continued without paying attention.
“Demon Flower. Your ancestor made it so it wouldn’t grow for about a hundred years.”
“Ha, a hundred years? It should be a thousand years.”
Jeromian, who had developed a competitive spirit, first criticized his ancestor.
Why hadn’t he thought of it sooner? Wasn’t that the only Monster that had kept that Duke of the West in check?
He didn’t like the fact that he hadn’t come up with the simple idea of preventing Demon Flowers from growing.
“I’m thinking of digging up and growing one Demon Flower before getting rid of them all.”
“You crazy bastard, you’re really good at doing crazy things.”
Jeromian shook his head.
“I need the poison from that flower. I want you to research that poison too.”
“You crazy bastard, you’re really good at tempting people.”
“I’m asking you.”
Gerald slightly lowered his head in a serious manner.
Jeromian was startled by the sight. It was the first time he had asked him so seriously, except for when he went to save Marin.
“You crazy bastard, you’re really good at asking for favors. Okay, get lost. I need to contact the North for the first time in a while.”
Jeromian waved his hand, deliberately grumbling more.
Even though he acted so prickly, there was no one who helped him as well as Jeromian, so Gerald quickly disappeared as he wished.
\ \ *
A large treehouse was built next to the Knights Order’s dormitory in the Duke’s estate. The treehouse was surrounded by a green lawn.
Unlike the shouts of the knights pouring out of the training ground, the peaceful treehouse space stood out as heterogeneous.
“Ugh.”
Knight Henders, who had been dozing off, let out a groan-like scream and jerked his head up when his side was poked.
“Hey, are you sleeping?”
“I wasn’t sleeping.”
Henders said to his colleague standing next to him, pretending to be fine.
“I get a throbbing pain in my thigh just looking at that thing.”
His colleague ‘slapped’ his sturdy thigh. He had almost had his leg cut off by BaniBani’s teeth during the desert battle.
Henders smiled bitterly as he looked at his leg.
He himself had been scratched on the back during the battle with BaniBani. He was lucky to have escaped quickly, or his body would have been torn apart.
These days, the Knights Order had been on high alert for several days, taking turns standing guard. The reason was rolling around right in front of them.
That white fur ball was lounging around in a peaceful space.
BaniBani.
The Monster BaniBani, which they often caught and killed in the desert, was leisurely eating grilled meat (the highest quality meat that even they couldn’t easily eat) or lounging around right next to their dormitory.
