Chapter 142. I hope His Majesty’s curiosity has been resolved. 2021.06.12.
I don’t know where that courage came from. Maybe it’s because Duke Donovan doesn’t recognize me. After all, the current me is not Mabel.
‘The duke and I are just strangers and passers-by.’
A girl of about fourteen with different hair and eye colors. So it was clear that if it wasn’t now, this opportunity would never come again.
“It will only take a moment…”
“…”
“Can’t I?”
I looked up at Duke Donovan as earnestly as I could. When I was Mabel, I had never asked for something like this before, so it was awkward.
“I was waiting for my brothers. There is still a lot of time until we come… Oh, it’s okay if you’re busy!”
I quickly waved my hand and took a step back. At the moment, I gasped at the hem of Duke Donovan’s crumpled clothes because of me, but the duke replied briefly, “It’s okay.”
‘I can’t help it if I get rejected.’
It was when I was thinking so.
“There is a cafe that I often go to nearby. Would you like to go?”
“…!”
I nodded vigorously. . . . I chased after the duke. Then he glanced back.
‘Oscar and Aidan will follow suit.’
I felt guilty for being late for dinner, but I thought it would be okay since we weren’t going to talk for that long. The cafe that Duke Donovan guided us to was not crowded. We sat by the window on the second floor and each ordered a drink.
“Coffee, please.”
“Me too.”
Then the Duke turned to me.
“I would use it.”
“are you okay!”
For some reason, the expression of the duke looking at me was strange. I guess I didn’t come to like coffee. There are several misunderstandings people have about me, and one of them is that I like sweet things. But it wasn’t. I just liked good things.
‘Coffee is divine water.’
When I couldn’t take a break from my part-time job even when I was drowsy, what saved me was 80% coffee. The Duke, who quietly put down the steaming cup, asked me.
“That’s why I was waiting for my brothers.”
“yes. But I guess I went back first.”
I laughed awkwardly thinking of Oscar and Aidan, who were watching me from somewhere. I was a little worried that the two would quarrel in an invisible place. There was something curious about the duke, but he was hesitant to speak first. It was while hesitatingly looking at the Duke.
“You seem to have something you want to ask me.”
omg.
“Are you noticed?”
“many.”
“Actually, a passer-by saw me earlier and mistook me for someone else. I was curious about what kind of person he was, so I wanted to ask him.”
I already knew who I was mistaken for. The duke probably saw me now and thought of his mother, who was the daughter of the Gardenia family.
‘okay. Actually, I wanted to hear about my mother.’
Once upon a time, my grandfather told me a story about my mother and the Duke of Donovan. The two people who interacted with each other and were also the empress at the same time. I always wondered what kind of person Duke Donovan thought his mother was.
“But it’s a personal story, so it’s okay if you don’t tell me, passer-by.”
“There is nothing too difficult.”
After taking a sip of the steaming coffee, the duke calmly opened his mouth.
“She was small and delicate, just like you. It was so small that sometimes I missed it even though it was right in front of my eyes.”
“I must have been a short person.”
“I was bigger than that.”
At the Duke’s words, I silently nodded. Duke Donovan was tall, so anyone who wasn’t tall would feel small.
“I’m timid, but I’m the kind of person who likes taking on challenges, so I always couldn’t understand. Why do you recklessly bump into each other while crying?”
“It’s better to do something and regret it than to do nothing and regret it.”
At my words, the duke smiled and rested his chin.
“okay. She said that too. like you.”
The duke was looking at someone else’s face through my face. I felt strange whenever people looked at me and thought of my mother. I had never seen her before, but for some reason I thought that we were connected.
“Who were you?”
“A person stronger than anyone else.”
“A man stronger than anyone…”
repeated Duke Donovan’s words. Everyone agrees that Mom was a really good person. And that love has been passed on to me. The deep affection you can receive because you are your mother’s daughter. It was like I was indebted to my mother from the time I was born. It was the same with Duke Donovan. Maybe it’s because of my mom that the duke is good to me.
“May I ask what your relationship is like with him?”
At my question, the duke’s eyes sank even darker than before.
“well. I can’t tell you because I never got an answer from her.”
His expression was the same as usual, but for some reason, seeing Duke Donovan made my heart ache. So I couldn’t ask more. Silence fell between the two of us, and the Duke was the first to speak.
“You look a lot like someone I know.”
“Is that a different person from the one you were talking about?”
“okay.”
“What kind of person are you?”
Green eyes resembling Oscar stared intently at me.
“He is a fair man. I tend to stick to the same attitude towards everyone.”
Is it someone I know? My head raced furiously, making inferences based on the Duke’s words.
“And you seem unsure of yourself. It would be nice to lower the standards a little more.”
It sounded like you knew the person well.
“I consider myself to be generous with others and strict with myself.”
“Ugh. I feel like someone who lives a really tired life for some reason.”
“If you think so, then so be it.”
Duke Donovan raised the corners of his mouth, as if someone suddenly remembered an interesting story. Then he looked carefully at my face.
“I think he will probably become like you when he grows up.”
‘no way…?’
Only then did I realize that the ‘person I knew’ the duke was talking about was ‘Emperor Mabel’.
‘Have I been living a tired life?’
***
As we talked, time flew by. Thinking that Oscar and Aidan would be waiting, Mabel, impatient, glanced at Pacifica’s face.
“By the way, passer-by, why did you come to this area?”
“I heard that a kidnapping case has been taking place around here recently, so I am looking around.”
“Abduction case?”
Even though Mabel was the head of the Information Guild, there was no report on it. Somehow, my pride was hurt.
“If it’s the first time you hear it, it’s natural. Mainly because children from the slums disappeared and the fact-finding was delayed.”
“If it’s that important, shouldn’t you tell me?”
“hmm. I guess it doesn’t matter.”
Due to Duke Donovan’s personality, he wouldn’t say such an important thing to someone he’d never seen today, but it was really surprising.
‘Or that he resembles his mother and makes his heart weak.’
Pacifica, who checked the time, asked Mabel.
“A lot of time has passed, so shouldn’t we just go? It looks like your brothers are waiting.”
“ah. I took a lot of your time. It was a sudden request, but thank you for saying this.”
Mabel, who glanced at Pacifica’s expression, secretly brought out the bill.
“So let me pay for the coffee!”
Pasifika thought of someone again as she watched the back of the girl who was going down the hill holding the bill. Cyana Gardenia. She was an innocent lady with a bright smile. For unknown reasons, Cyana had a deep crush on Pacifica herself and even chased after her. He was not interested in the opposite sex, and he had a personality that could not get out of his mind when he was immersed in one thing. That is, he paid no attention to things he was not interested in. The Marquis of Gardenia’s cheapness and indifferent personality overlapped, and even at that age, Siana did not know the face of the emperor who was said to be handsome. As it turns out, Sianna, who learned that the person she was dating was the emperor, knocked on the door of the Donovan family with a contemplative face.
“Pasifica. I have no intention of betraying you.”
“I don’t consider it a betrayal.”
“How can I take your place…”
“It’s not my place.”
At the time, Pasifika had returned to the Donovan family after an agreed divorce with Esteban. At that time, the fortune tellers spread all sorts of false rumors about Pacifica’s actions. Unfounded rumors floated around. In fact, Pacifica Donovan was abandoned by the emperor because she was pregnant with someone else’s child. Or the emperor, fed up with her indifferent disposition, kicked her out. Finally, the emperor had a lover, and Pacifica Donovan withdrew himself. None of those rumors were true. Esteban and Pacifica had a secret of marriage that only they knew. They were in a contract marriage before it was an arranged marriage. It was a contract marriage under the condition that they divorced if they gave birth to a boy for their own interests. There was nothing wrong with the divorce because they had no feelings for each other. But I didn’t know that the emperor and Shiana would fall in love. Esteban went mad when Cyana turned away from him. He threw away his pride and came to visit Pacifica and knelt down.
“As you wish, I will support you so that you can rightfully occupy the duchy. So… please help me to change Siana’s heart.”
“Then would it be all right if I disclosed my prenuptial agreement with Her Majesty?”
“It doesn’t matter. If Shiana accepts me.”
As Esteban wished, Siana finally accepted his marriage proposal. But I couldn’t completely let go of the guilt. Feeling sorry for Pacifica, Ciana gave Oscar a lot of love. Pasifika, with her indifferent and stern temperament, was given inexpressible affection by Ciana instead. Pacifica remembered a girl with silver hair whom she met by chance.
‘I hope His Majesty’s curiosity has been answered.’
Pasifika emptied the cooled coffee cup to the end.
***
Sanctuary. It was a holy place where Abelardo’s purest divine power was condensed. It was said to be the place where the god Ades first descended to earth and took his first steps. Those who could enter the sanctuary were limited. The only ones who could enter were Michael, the god-king of Abelardo, the 12 elders of the temple, and the seed of God, the owner of the oracle. After the dawn prayer, Michael and the 12 elders entered the sanctuary and gazed at the spring of God. Beneath it were the essences that the God King and Mabel had collected from searching the continent.
“hmm. It’s still there.”
The elder Clement agreed with Michael’s words.
“Every time I look at it, that creeping black smoke makes me feel bad.”
Among the many essences, only two remained unpurified and exhaled black smoke. Those two essences were obtained by Mabel from the auction house and from Mrs. Deverill.
‘There is a commonality that the Emperor Devlin tried to take it by moving himself.’
They haven’t been cleaned up in months. Among the 12 elders, there was one who stared at the God King who was still looking at the essence. Permeating among the elders, he smiled meaningfully.
***
Time flies like a lightning bolt and we are already at the end of December. As I was hanging on the balcony and looking out the snowy window, Emily, who was reading a book, said a word.
“Then Mabel caught a cold.”
“It’s okay Emily.”
“You’re fine, but His Majesty won’t be all right?”
At Emily’s subtle threat, I returned to my room in silence. The temperature maintenance magic made the room very warm. Even my birthday is now only a month and a few days away. Dad was in the middle of roasting people, saying that he would have to hold my birthday party in a big way because he was excited about the world.
“Does Mabel like eyes?”
“It’s fine now. I didn’t like it before.”
“huh? Why didn’t you like it before?”
Emily’s question made me ponder. Still, perhaps because I had been living in this world for several years, there were times when my previous life seemed far away like a dream. More vivid dreams than usual from sleeping too deeply. I often fell in the snow while going downstairs from the rooftop because of my part-time job from dawn. So I hated snowy days.
“just. Is it easy to fall if it is slippery?”
“Was that the only reason?”
“It hurts when you fall. But sister. How did Prince Javier’s funeral go?”
Duke Javier’s disappearance lasted for a long time, and he was eventually treated as dead, and a funeral was held yesterday. The remaining vacant duchy will now be decided by a competition between the two successors. Actually, as the person who kidnapped Duke Javier, it was a bit of a prickly question for me to ask.
“I just got through it. I feel bad.”
“You’re not feeling well…?”
My expression darkened as my conscience pricked Emily.
“What are you thinking? It means that I feel bad because I should have sent him to an island after being deprived of his title. Because that human being died through dukes to the end.”
“iced coffee.”
I have regained my conscience. Emily immersed herself in reading again. It was when I was sitting in front of the fireplace and staring blankly at the burning flames. Jiing-. The communication magic tool vibrated for a long time. Casey added the ability to communicate via text in case we couldn’t communicate.
[Emergency.]
‘Emergency?’
Letters appeared and then disappeared. And it came to mind again. It was a bit longer this time.
[The Board of Audit and Inspection members stormed into the guild headquarters, saying they would search the mansion for a tax audit!]
A sudden search of the mansion? It was strange. Our guild did not pay enough taxes to conduct a tax investigation. So it went through without any problems until last year. If it’s a mansion search…
‘Rabid Pennant and Duke Javier!’
Thinking of the two people in the dungeon made me dizzy. If the auditors find them -.
‘no. calm down.’
I calmed down my excitement. It wasn’t long before a plan came into my mind. I don’t know who came up with such a cunning plan, but it worked out rather well. Perhaps this time, he might be able to get rid of Duke Javier, who was difficult to deal with, and deal a blow to Devlin. It’ll be a bit cumbersome and difficult, though.
“I remembered something to do outside the Hwangseong.”
Emily looked at me curiously as I jumped up.
“What’s your business?”
“A job to grant someone’s earnest wish!” If I do well, I thought I would be able to grant Emily’s wish. To
dare to touch
my guild…
