◈ 165. [Side Story] Serenade (2)
“Your… … Huang family seeds. ask me.”
At the words of the serenade, I opened my mouth. What are you doing?!
‘Oh my gosh! What is this woman saying now!’
I’m a 7-year-old male and female, young lady!
I don’t know if the red dragon is the best in this fantasy world, but yes?! Confucian dragons ate the best in the neighborhood where I used to live! If you use those lines carelessly, you’ll be in big trouble!
In an instant, the amount of cold sweat that welled up on his back doubled.
Sweating profusely, I avoided the earnest gaze of the serenade. Uh uh oh oh so manly! I can’t make eye contact!
And as I averted my gaze, the serenade’s voice suddenly became heavy.
“… It’s always like this, sir.”
“huh?”
“You, a horny man who flirts with women from other aristocrats every single day, for some reason you never hugged me.”
Serenade’s two fists were clenched tightly with her head down.
“No, not just hugging, he hated even making eye contact like now.”
“No, this… .”
Now, this is just because I’m a sookmaek… … .
“Do you hate girls that much?”
“No, it’s not that I hate it… .”
“Because it’s from a lowly merchant family? Buying a place for your fiancée with money? Are you afraid that if you hold it in your arms, it will even smell like iron?”
Something trickled down Serenade’s white cheeks. uh?
It was a transparent drop of water.
Serenade… … therefore… I was crying.
I’m frozen.
Oh dear God! I really don’t have a single bit of knowledge on how to deal with this!
“I didn’t even expect your love from the beginning.”
Serenade looked up at me sobbing, not even thinking about wiping her tears.
“i know. You don’t want to mix noble royal blood with such a low and dirty woman. But even if it’s a contractual relationship, even if it’s a decision made by adults, we’re committed to being married anyway.”
“… .”
“I’m dedicating everything I have to Nang-gun, but why is Nang-gun… … You’re not even giving the girl a straight look, are you?”
I wanted to comfort her, but I couldn’t get the words out easily.
The relationship between Ash and Serenade was a definite stranger’s relationship that I didn’t know about.
Is it okay for me, just a possessed player, to tamper with this relationship?
Wouldn’t that be going back to this person with a bigger wound later?
While hesitating, Serenade turned his head away while wiping away tears.
“I’m tired of begging for your attention and affection like this… .”
“… .”
“I’m sorry, you must have been beating yourself up, whining, whining, and losing your temper again.”
“No, that’s why I… .”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, so I guess I was just excited and my emotions intensified. sorry.”
Breathing in, a true serenade waved.
The captain, who was driving the yacht, turned the bow toward the port.
“It is quite late. No matter how good the security of the imperial capital is, it is dangerous for the imperial family to walk the streets alone. I’ll prepare a wagon, so take a ride back.”
“… .”
“If you need anything, send me a scorpion. The festival is just around the corner, so the ecliptic will be chaotic. For a while, don’t wander around at night like this… … .”
The serenade, which was about to say more, stopped in shock.
“Oh, you hated nagging.”
“… .”
“haha. How. Like this, from one to ten, I wonder if it’s out of line with my Prince’s taste.”
I was silent and the ship did not take long to return to port.
“I’m sorry for being arrogant today, sir.”
Serenade bowed deeply toward me.
“Forget today’s work and relax like before… Please find me when you need money or alcohol.”
“… .”
“Then go in carefully.”
Serenade smiled with tears on her face.
“The girl was happy to be able to meet Mr. Nang.”
***
In the carriage returning to the imperial palace.
I was continually immersed in my thoughts.
The architects and the top line they were trying to find in the ecliptic were secured anyway.
The Winter Silver Merchant, the biggest guild in the Empire, is worth trusting.
Crossroads’ tourism city planning and its own magic stone distribution line will be able to proceed with ease.
but.
‘person.’
An unexpected problem popped up.
‘It’s always difficult for people.’
I had never thought of such a problem at Crossroads.
Because my relationships with almost everyone started from zero and I built up.
Because it was a relationship between ‘I’ and not ‘Ash’.
However, here in New Terra, the ecliptic, all relationships belong to ‘Ash’.
Not only the emperor and the princes, but also the chamberlain, the servants, and even the fiancée I met today. It is a human relationship that Ash has built up and built.
Is it okay if I touch this?
Even if I put my hand on it, can it lead me in the right direction?
Relationships between people are like Jenga puzzles.
It is not to pile up infinitely, but to take out the pillars in between and put them on top.
If you build it as high as possible and then stop it, the relationship will remain stable.
But now I’m wondering if I should get my hands on the precarious Jenga puzzle Ash has been building.
Whether the tower rises or collapses, problems can arise either way.
‘How can I… … .’
I wrapped my head and pondered.
– Why did Nanggun-nim… … You’re not even giving the girl a straight look, are you?
It reminded me of the serenade that she cried out with tears flowing from her silver eyes.
‘After’
is not just a problem with serenade.
I came to the ecliptic and have to keep bumping into Ash’s people. If so, you need to clearly set your stance.
or not touching it at all.
or not… .
‘Everything about Ash… … I’ll carry it.’
I kept my mouth shut.
Anyway, up until now, I had regarded Ash as a stranger. I thought of myself as a separate human being.
Can I accept the lives of others as my own?
Do I really have the will to do so?
It was then.
thud!
Suddenly the carriage stopped.
“huh?”
I looked out the window puzzled.
The imperial palace is not visible. This is a dark back alley. what? Has the wagon broken down?
At that moment, the driver who got off the driver’s seat walked back.
“Hey what… .”
jump!
Before I could ask the coachman anything, he opened the carriage door, grabbed me by the collar, and pulled me outside.
“what-?!”
thrown at the same time
Floating in the air for a moment, I screamed involuntarily.
“Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?! What is it?!”
Kudangtangtang!
Still, I had time to wander around the dungeon and roll around for defense, so I corrected my posture in the air and sat right on the ground. Tadak!
“How dare this arrogant bastard-!”
I stopped talking while shouting and looking ahead.
oh oh oh… … !
In front of me stood a woman in a maid’s uniform with a huge coffin lifted up.
Elise.
Serenade’s subordinate, she was the coachman who brought me to the imperial palace.
And a terrifying speculation was emanating from her whole body.
The materialized momentum created a wind in the area, making the hem of her maid’s dress flutter.
“Your Highness Prince Ash.”
Elise’s pale, dark blue eyes were filled with eerie anticipation.
It was like a sharpened blade.
“You are trash.”
“Yes yes?!”
Unknowingly, I asked in response. Why are you doing this all of a sudden?!
“Since my engagement to you ten years ago, my master has been devoted to you. If you needed money for gambling, he lent it to you, and if you wanted to drink famous wines from all over the world, you presented it. Most of the depravity you do in the ecliptic was not handled by the imperial family, but by our Wintersilver guild with money.”
hard.
Elise’s teeth were savagely ground.
“I hated seeing you like that, but I endured it. It was the wish of the ancestral lord of the upper house to get rid of the stigma of being a lowly merchant family by forming a relationship with the imperial family, and… … .”
Booung-!
Elise aimed the huge coffin she was wearing on her back.
“Because my master, the Serenade Lady, has longed for you.”
“… .”
“But we can’t take it any longer. You only do damage to our upper ranks. Above all, it only hurts my master.”
The anticipation emanating from Elise’s body became clearer.
“To repay the kindness owed to the previous lord of Sangdan, and for the rest of the life of the esteemed master.”
And Elise said.
“You must die here.”
I will kill the imperial family.
He declared that he would fight here.
I didn’t know if this was a twist of loyalty or what, but I hurriedly pulled out the staff from my bosom.
‘Damn it! How do I calm this down?!’
The fact that Elise is an SSR-class character has already been figured out by the mercenary guild. I don’t know, but it must be pretty strong.
‘Let’s subdue it first!’
However, I also defeated many monsters and grew up through hardships in the dungeon under the lake.
You should be able to easily subdue at least an SSR-level character who has lived comfortably in the ecliptic without even having a real fight.
… I thought so.
bang!
Elise drove the coffin she was holding like a blunt weapon into the ground.
I widened my eyes. Eh? what are you doing?
and
“Unfolding the sword.”
At the same time as Elise muttered, the coffin opened left and right.
Cheerureuk-!
And in the coffin, all kinds of swords were stored by type.
bayonet. long sword. dagger. three swords. song too. Park Do. Jangdo. attitude… .
All of them were weapons of at least SR grade or higher.
‘What crazy?!’
Only then did I realize Elise’s true identity, and I opened my mouth wide.
I thought I’d never seen Elise in the game. But no.
The only thing I didn’t recognize was the maid outfit because it was unfamiliar to me.
‘Why is Elizabeth, the undercover prosecutor, here… … ?!’
Among all the swordsman characters appearing in < Protect the Empire >, this monster is by far the strongest.
Sword Undertaker Elizabeth.
In the game, I wore a dark undertaker’s costume and a mortician’s hat, so I didn’t recognize it at all now that I was wearing a maid’s outfit… … !
‘Damn it Lucas! I have to speak straight!’
The natural disaster was not a serenade for the fiancée.
It was Elizabeth, the woman escorting Serenade!
“I will send you without pain.”
While choosing the sword to use at the swordsman, Elizabeth muttered gloomily.
“That’s consideration for the man who could have been your husband.”
Right after that, Elizabeth took out a saw blade with jagged saw blades.
“Oh, this would be nice.”
No, it looks terribly painful, that’s-!
Whether or not I freaked out, Elizabeth drew her serrated sword and charged at me.
It was seriously about to kill me.
