Chapter 4

Translated by XyeHeart Edited by XyeHeart

The road to Dustin Estate with Kiyan was never smooth. It was not easy to avoid a chase for assassination that did not reveal its existence.

“We’ll be resting here today.”

Far from a small inn, on the way to a deserted mountain path, Kiyan led her to a wooded and grassy place and stopped at one point. Whether it was his place of residence when he traveled to and from Dustin Estate, Kiyan tore through the bushes and revealed a tiny cave entrance.

‘ It has the appearance of a palace. ’

It couldn’t compete with a magnificent palace, but compared to the bed on the street, which was literally surrounded by rocks and trees, the cave was no less than a palace for her.

Meriel smiled at the prospect of Kiyan sleeping more easily after such a long period and followed Kiyan inside the cave.

Kiyan was, as Meriel guessed, a confidant of the Grand Duke Dustin.

Kiyan, who came into the cave to sleep, said, “Whenever I go between the capital and the countryside, this is one of the places where I always stop to sleep.”

In addition, he plays a role in information transmission while frequently traveling between the capital and the countryside.

“We deal with those who pose a threat to the Dustin Estate.”

“If you’re close to him…Have you ever seen … that person?”

“Do you mean the Grand Duke?”

“Yes.”

“What piques your interest? Do you want to know if the monster rumor is true?”

Meriel winced.

She was certainly perplexed. She was bringing him a marriage proposal, but he was a man full of speculation.

There was a speculation that his face was a monster, that he was cursed, and that he was the subject of a slew of negative rumors.

“Why is he called the Monster Grand Duke?”

No one can, however, confirm they saw him. There were simply many speculations that they were correct.

The terrifying monster that lives on the Dustin Estate that isn’t greedy in the least.

Using him as a haven was a wise option on her part, but it wasn’t ideal if he was a true demon.

Isn’t it pointless for her to go there to live and die?

“He must be because he’s a monster.”

“Have you ever seen him up close and personal? How did you figure that out?”

It’s because it’s a non-persuasive response. Rather than a compelling response, Meriel breathed a sigh of relief.

Before meeting the Grand Duke, she didn’t want to know too much about him. She wanted to see for herself whether or not he was a monster.

‘ I have to marry you even if you’re a monster .’ she thought.

There was no getting out. The Grand Duke, the emperor’s most feared being, was Meriel’s only hope, light, and way of living.

“What if he is a true monster?”

“Is he capable of eating humans?”

“……No.”

“Is he a man who kills innocent people?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Doesn’t he turn a blind eye to those in need?”

“To a certain extent, I believe so.”

“Then everything will be fine.”

Sweeping down the chilly night air, Meriel examined her various colored boots. Kiyan inquired in response to her exuberant response.

“What exactly is ‘everything will be fine’?”

“I can live.”

“What?” Kiyan’s eyes were clouded with confusion.

“Isn’t he a man who doesn’t eat people, doesn’t kill innocent people, and doesn’t, to some extent, turn a blind eye to those in need? I still have a chance as long as I don’t die.”

“What chance?”

“Living.”

Kiyan, who was staring at Meriel, made eye contact with her. His eyes were filled with questions.

He was about to open his mouth and ask a question, but he didn’t say anything. She soon closed her eyes, as if she was deep in thought about something.

“It is good to be alive.” Meriel shut her eyes and muttered to herself, as if she were alone.

Her words filled him with loneliness. The cold of the night felt even chillier. Meriel was exposed to the cold because she was dressed in a robe. He couldn’t, however, start a fire in a small cave.

“May I sleep next to you?” Meriel asked, surprising him.

“Huh?”

“It’s far too cold.”

“No, you can’t.”

“I’m freezing.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not freezing to death.”

“How do you know my body? You might be fine, but I could freeze to death.”

Meriel clutched her robe tightly. She sighed loudly, shivered, and looked at Kiyan with a sulky expression. After a series of sighs, he took off his robe as if he had no other choice.

“Use this to cover yourself up.”

“Then you’ll freeze to death.”

“I don’t freeze to death easily.”

“It would be ideal if we could just sleep next to each other.”

“We can’t do that.”

Meriel snatched his robe and waited for him to make his next move. With a big frown, he agonized. He appeared to be unsure of how to respond.

“Princess,… are you a fool?”

“Yes”

When Meriel responded with a shrug, Kiyan became even more grumpy.

“But why were you in the mercenary guild?” Meriel, who couldn’t sleep, spoke to Kiyan again.

He sighed and shifted his gaze away from her, breathing another small sigh and ignoring her.

Meriel muttered lowly, “He must have a habit of sighing.”

“You can only enter Dustin Estate if you are accompanied by knights or mercenaries. It’s a place you can’t go by yourself. You don’t have to hire mercenaries if you’re accompanied by a knight, so isn’t your presence a waste of time at the guild? It doesn’t matter how many knights there are as long as they aren’t Dustin’s enemies.”, Kiyan explained.

“Oh.” Meriel nodded, as if she understood.

Those who accompanied the knights were naturally aristocrats, and they were not a problem because those who accompanied the knights proudly sought the Dustin Estate with justification. Those who are unsure hire mercenaries to accompany them to Dustin Estate. Kiyan worked in the mercenary guild to weed out such people.

“Did you play the fool on purpose?”

Meriel, who had been contemplating Kiyan’s actions, smiled happily as he spoke to her first.

It was because she couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d had a proper conversation with someone.

“Not from the beginning.”

“So, when did you start behaving foolishly?”

“Three years ago.”

Meriel became a possessed princess three years ago. She told him her pre-planned stories and analyzed his responses to see if he believed them.

“When I fell into the lake, I almost drowned. That’s when I came to my senses.”

“Then why are you still pretending to be a fool?”

“Because I want to live.”

Kiyan frowned as she replied to his question. He didn’t seem to like what she said about wanting to live from the moment they met.

“The Imperial Palace would be safer than anywhere else.”

“It could be the most dangerous place for some people.”

Kiyan bowed again, this time with a puzzled look at Meriel’s uninterested expression.

Meriel had no idea what feelings he was experiencing. Meriel, on the other hand, is unconcerned.

‘He is a man who genuinely cares about others.’ she silently thought.

It wasn’t too bad, so Meriel ignored how he felt. Time passed without anyone saying anything.

The warmth gradually spread to her body, and the loneliness set in. She had built her physical strength by running around the Imperial Palace, but walking on a strange path had depleted her physical strength beyond belief.

Meriel quickly fell asleep, using her backpack as a pillow.

The next day, the savory smell tickled the tip of Meriel’s nose. When she opened her eyes, she saw Kian making breakfast with a small fire.

She must have gotten more sleep than he did, but she rubbed her sleepy eyes, thinking it was pointless.

“It smells delicious.”

With disheveled hair, she approached the spot where he was making soup. With sleepy eyes, she sniffed.

“……Are you sure you’re pretending to be a fool?”

“Huh… Why?”

“Nothing.”

“I’m hungry……”

“Wait here.”

Meriel had gotten a lot of rest in the morning. Nobody woke her up in the imperial palace. She awoke late, napped, and slept so much that she fell asleep at a set time. She was especially shaky in the morning. She was a lady who yawned and spoke in long sentences.

Kiyan coughed and handed over a wet towel in front of Meriel.

“Wipe this across your face to wake yourself up.”

“Okay. I want some soup.”

“Later, after you’ve wiped and awoken”

Meriel smiled as she wiped her eyes with a wet towel like a cat washing its face.

“Now, give it to me.”

As she spoke, Kiyan bowed his head immediately and held out his hands. Meriel looked up at Kiyan, who was leaning over with his ears red.

“Wasn’t it freezing yesterday?”

“No.”

“Maybe you caught a cold.”

“I don’t get that kind of thing.”

“But your ears are red.”

“Ahm..this is….It’s not.”

Kiyan dodged the question by awkwardly covering his ears. He felt embarrassed as Meriel blinked and stared at him.

“You need to eat a lot because you have to walk until nightfall.”

“I’m good at that kind of thing.” Meriel, who was being served soup in a large bowl, stated confidently.

Eating all three meals a day was akin to telling the assassins, ‘ Please catch me! ’

He was careful to make a fire, so she didn’t know that it would be difficult to even eat soup like this in the future.

‘It’s so delicious,’ she thought with delight.

It was better than any other dish she’d had in the palace. It’s just a simple soup with few solid ingredients, but Meriel was delighted by the warmth in her stomach.

Despite his unusual shyness, Meriel openly praised and thumbed him up.

“You can get married…”

Kiyan’s face wrinkled as he heard Meriel’s gleeful words, but she didn’t stop praising him.

“Oh! It’s a compliment!…if only I could be the bride….It’s really delicious!”

“Why…”

“What?”

“Why do you believe you can’t be the bride?”

Kiyan, the one who posed the question, had a completely different expression than his red-tinted ears.

She could sense an emotion she couldn’t put her finger on in his calm, subdued eyes.

“Don’t you like it?,” he continued.

Meriel got a strange vibe from him. Surprisingly, she responded quickly because his difficult-to-understand feelings were not hostile.

“It’s not that I don’t like it, I just can’t.” She responded hesitantly.

“Why?”

“Someone else might want to be your bride.”

The hot, sullen vibe she got from him vanished in an instant.

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