37. Honorary Count Deon Hardt (2)
First of all, I was careful to keep my cheeks from puffing up as much as possible, but in a situation where I would have normally turned away in anger, the Duke managed to greet me with a gentle smile.
“This is your first time meeting face to face like this, right? Nice to meet you, Count Hart. “I’ve heard a lot of rumors.”
“….”
“Count?”
As soon as the duke arrived, Cruel took a step back and his gaze fell on me.
Lord Lien’s face turned blue, and the complexions of the people around him also turned pale.
‘I know, I know.’
I know that a mere honorary count is now daring to chew on the duke’s words!
It won’t work. If I continue like this, I’ll just add one more enemy. Even if it hurts my throat, I have to get over this and answer.
I hurriedly stuffed my mouth full of pudding down my throat.
The moment I forced my neck to move.
“Count niiiiim!!”
“Kuhup!”
It was a great attack.
The half-eaten pudding popped out of my mouth again.
I looked in bewilderment at the red liquid and lumps that had ruined the floor of the banquet hall, and then carefully called out to the person who was clinging to my back.
“Cough…. Her Royal Highness Princess Hwa….”
***
“It’s been a while, Lord Illuster.”
“Yes, Your Highness… But…”
“There hasn’t been much traffic at the imperial palace these days, so it seems to be very busy.”
“I’m sorry. But Your Highness…”
“Or is something going on?”
“No, Your Highness. “That…”
“Ah, I apologize if it was for personal reasons. “Excuse me.”
The princess turns Count Hart’s gaze, and the crown prince turns the Duke’s gaze.
All of this was planned on the spot the moment the duke spoke to Count Hart.
The Duke of Illuster is the head of the noble faction. What good could there be in having a conversation with Count Hart, the emperor’s great sword? There must be a sinister intention.
The crown prince and princess planned to steal Count Hart out of their dark plan.
But it seems like the princess is being overly forceful.
“Your Majesty the Emperor, but you are now Honorary Count Hart…”
“Hmm?”
At that moment, the princess’s screams were heard.
“Aaaah, Count! Blood blood!”
“!?”
At first glance, Count Hart could be heard muttering, ‘No, this is…’, but that voice did not exert any influence and was buried in the commotion.
It’s not just blood, it’s blood in lumps. Who would overlook this?
“Palace! “Good luck!”
The crown prince hurriedly called for the royal doctor and glanced at the princess.
So, be careful when attacking with a direct attack from behind. It has been said repeatedly that Count Hart’s body is like glass due to the Demon King’s curse.
‘I understand your desire to lure Count Hart, but… this was too much.’
With the promise that once this incident was resolved, he would have the princess sit down again and pay attention to her, the crown prince hurriedly approached Deonhardt.
***
“Aaaah, Count! Blood blood!”
“No, this is….”
“Don’t say it.”
It’s not blood, it’s pudding…
Before I could explain, Lord Lien covered my mouth with a handkerchief.
After struggling in embarrassment, I managed to pull her hand away, and with a bewildered expression, I looked at the incredibly refreshing sight seeping out of the handkerchief and then turned my head.
The banquet hall was in chaos.
“Palace! “Good luck!”
Starting with the crown prince calling the court.
“What’s going on?”
Even the fucking emperor.
Even the person following him is clearly General Nemeseus, the commander-in-chief and my superior during the Eight Years’ War. Even though I haven’t seen it in a while, how could I forget that scar across my face?
So, including the damn hero Cruel and Duke Starbe, it was safe to say that I was now attracting the attention of all the big names in the empire.
‘If I really vomited blood, it wouldn’t be a big problem…’
The problem is that this isn’t blood.
I think they think the smell of blood was masked by the perfume that filled the banquet hall, but I don’t know what will happen if they find out the truth.
Even as my heart felt like it was about to stop, the emperor’s mutterings became even worse.
“Is it because of the devil’s curse?”
No, I was never cursed by the devil in the first place.
On the day I returned to the imperial palace carrying the hero’s body, I was so weak that I vomited blood in front of the emperor. Somehow it became known as the devil’s curse and it ended up like this…
‘Oh my god, isn’t that the palace?’
It was fucking ruined.
It really came to the palace.
***
The palace doctor was examining the other person with a rare serious expression.
In fact, it would be more accurate to say that his expression had hardened rather than that he was serious.
After all, His Majesty the Emperor, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Princess, Duke Illuster, the head of the noble faction, General Nemeseus and even the hero Cruel Hart were obsessively watching his every move.
The other patient is even the famous hero Deon Hardt, who has a lot of scary tinnitus.
If something bothers you, your life will not be perfect.
That’s why I’m very nervous and doing a thorough examination with all my might.
‘Why…’
Is there anything wrong?
It’s just that my body is too weak, but there’s really no problem.
Even if blood was vomited, a fishy smell should have remained, but surprisingly, there was no smell of blood.
At first I thought it was covered in perfume. This is a banquet hall filled with the smell of all kinds of perfume.
I thought the strong cherry scent coming from him was also the scent of perfume buried somewhere.
‘But there’s no way your mouth can smell like cherries!’
When I slightly opened my mouth to check whether I had really vomited blood, I was struck by the strong smell of cherries instead of the smell of blood.
There, the palace doctor was confident that Count Hart had not vomited blood.
Then, the problem is the red liquid and lumps that come out of the mouth…
‘It has a cherry scent, so it must be cherry-related.’
Come to think of it, I remember there was cherry pudding among the desserts.
I think I got sick while eating this pudding… I
looked at the red lumps being cleaned up by the attendants with salty eyes, then looked away again.
‘Should I tell you?’
It will only be a matter of time before others notice.
Even if you didn’t notice at first because you were so dazed and the smell of perfume was all around you, in the end, most of the people here had experienced blood.
The tyrant Edoardo Desert, who not only rose to power through rebellion, but also started the Eight Years’ War almost immediately after ascending to the throne; General Nemeseus, who was the commander-in-chief of the Eight Years’ War; and, of course, Cruel, a hero who cannot be separated from battle.
If you are given a little time, you will be able to quickly understand the situation as you have watched it so tiresomely.
That’s why I was seriously thinking about it.
Gong Yi’s eyes involuntarily raised his head and met bright red eyes staring down at him.
‘…Hi!’
That’s clearly a look in your eyes that will kill you if you say anything!
I reflexively took a breath. The expressions of those around him who took it seriously became even darker, but the palace doctor had no time to worry about such things.
Do you lie to His Majesty, or do you tell the truth at the risk of death?
After pondering for a while at the crossroads of life and death, he
said, “You said there was an attack when you came here. “It seems like he was bleeding due to fatigue due to the internal injuries he suffered at that time.”
I closed my eyes tightly and chose life right now.
***
“You said there was an attack when you came here. “It seems like he was bleeding due to fatigue due to the internal injuries he suffered at that time.”
Lived! It seems that my earnest pleading eyes were conveyed.
Although I stuttered a bit, my doctor did a great job.
To be honest, when he closed his eyes tightly, my heart sank because I thought he was telling the truth.
Really, what would have happened if I had told the truth.
He must have felt embarrassed and incurred the wrath of others, but even before that, the emperor’s reaction was unpredictable.
Maybe he tried to kill me for humiliation.
“There is no treatment other than rest, so it is best to rest well…”
“I see.”
I answered calmly and got up from the chair I was sitting on.
It’s finally happening. I thought it was too burdensome. He held out a chair for the patient, saying he should sit down, but who would be able to sit alone in a gathering of royal family members unless their heart was quite strong?
Even the emperor was standing there!
Perhaps, if the emperor had not said it was an order, I would have stood firm until the end and received the examination.
‘Anyway, it seems like it’s been roughly resolved.’
Now I can use this as an excuse to go home. Could it be that they are trying to capture the patient?
He turned towards the emperor. I was about to say that I would just bow down and go back, but unfortunately, my body was more tense than I expected.
It’s so bad that your legs will give out!
Clearly, my heart was bowing to the emperor without any hesitation. Why is my body falling forward?
I cursed under my breath as I felt my body collapsing helplessly.
‘Oh shit.’
You show all sorts of things in front of the emperor. How funny would the people at the banquet look at me?
As I have never been in the social world, this incident will be firmly engraved in their minds.
As an honorary count who fell shamefully in front of the emperor.
‘My social life is ruined.’
With that thought in mind, I stared blankly at the floor getting closer.
──No.
‘It’s not getting closer?’
Did time always flow this slowly?
Oh, is that it? It’s not. The magic light should also bring back memories of the past.
As I was coming up with various nonsense thoughts, it was only after a few more seconds that I realized that someone was holding my arm.
Who is it? Among the people nearby, if there was anyone who could catch me… Is it Lord Lien?
I took my distracted focus, moved my gaze along the hand holding my arm, and opened my mouth.
“Go…”
…No thank you!
The words of gratitude that were coming out of my mouth disappeared the moment I saw the other person’s face.
My eyes, which had been filled with kindness as I had to say thank you, turned cold, and almost immediately, I showed extreme disgust and shook off the hand that was supporting my body.
“….”
“….”
In cold silence, Cruel looks at my hand and me in silence, then takes a step back. I also bit my lip and took a couple of steps back.
I didn’t want to do something like this in front of the emperor, but I can’t help it. Because this was a reflex action.
I fought on the battlefield for eight years and pondered the hatred over and over again.
How could I calmly accept this guy’s touch when the disgust has remained so deeply rooted that it is at the level of an imprint?
──Even if it was for me.
Fortunately, the silence was broken quickly.
“…You seem to be quite unwell. “How about we just go back and rest?”
“I’m sorry.”
I bowed obediently and expressed my respect.
What the emperor said is often a congratulatory command given by the host to the other party at a banquet.
This word, which can be either insulting or considerate depending on how it is used, was considerate to me now.
No matter how I feel about Cruel, the star of this banquet is Cruel, and the host is the imperial family.
As such, my rudeness, which could have easily become a big problem, was disguised as ‘due to being unwell’ and the emperor took the initiative to lightly reprimand me, thereby preventing anyone from openly reprimanding me.
The emperor has definitely surrounded me.
‘Because he is generous to Injae.’
That’s why I feel even more burdened. I’m not the kind of talent you think I am.
I am already afraid of how the emperor will react the moment those expectations disappear like bubbles.
With renewed awareness, I felt like my legs were losing strength again, so I hurriedly walked out of the banquet hall without rejecting the hand of Lord Lien who was supporting me from my side.
I had intentionally forgotten about Cruel.
