CHAPTER 99……………………………………………
“So, what exactly do you want to say in the end?”
“Don’t you know? I’m here to take you back.”
“……?”
He took a step closer.
“I’ve known how you felt about me since we were children.”
“Ah.”
“I’m sorry for pretending not to know. Too many people were watching all this time.”
“…….”
“But now it’s fine. In my private villa, quietly, who would know? Whatever you and I do, no one will know.”
I had no words in response and remained silent.
“Seeing you leave with the prince made me realize. I can’t let another man have you. I love you, Ig.”
“…….”
“I will only look at you, only kiss you, only love you. Come with me.”
When I stayed still, Hubert forced a smile and extended his hand toward me.
He was quick to notice.
My behavior—hardly positive—made his face gradually distort.
“I’ve been by your side since we were children, haven’t I?”
A slightly trembling, pleading voice shook me.
“You’re really cunning, Hubert.”
“What?”
Ah, I wasn’t going to engage…
His selfishness and hypocrisy, pretending to show only his good side, made my anger flare.
I crossed my arms. My rebellious posture made Hubert blink in surprise.
“At least speak honestly. Then I can decide whether to believe you or not. You’ll trap me in a villa and love me your way, but that doesn’t mean you’ll look only at me, does it?”
“They mean the same thing.”
“They can’t mean the same. You’re going to marry someone of high status. Or you’ll look for another priest.”
Hubert shook his head firmly, as if to say “Is that it?”
“I already said, Aris will marry one of her younger relatives.”
“That must be because she’s already tarnished? But what if another priest shows up as a suitor?”
“You’d still be my choice.”
“You just shook your eyes there.”
Hubert’s eyes sharpened. I snickered.
“Just kidding.”
I shrugged casually, making his face go from pale to flushed.
It was obvious he was embarrassed—he wasn’t used to receiving this kind of treatment.
“You’re cruel, Ig.”
Because Hubert shifted, the door wasn’t fully visible.
I don’t know if there are soldiers outside, so I can’t do anything freely.
I had to buy more time.
“Fine. I’ll be honest. I can’t ignore my family.”
But listening to his nonsense was harder than I expected.
“Even so, my feelings for you are sincere. They’re real. You know that, right? You know how well I’ve treated you all this time.”
“…….”
“So come with me.”
I was about to tell him to go away when I noticed shadows flickering on the floor behind him.
The two who had gone hunting had returned.
Hubert hadn’t noticed them yet and urged me.
“Do you really want to live in the land of savages?”
“You mean, do I want to live with a savage?”
“Yes.”
He grinned widely.
“Yes! Of course!”
“…….”
“And you know this well. How well you treated me. So now I want to repay that favor, one last time.”
“What?”
I stepped forward toward the frowning Hubert.
Thunk!
His face snapped aside. Since I hadn’t controlled my strength, it must have hurt quite a bit.
His right cheek turned bright red.
“Hah.”
Hubert chuckled incredulously.
“What are you doing…?”
“Beating isn’t my specialty.”
I muttered, raising my fist again.
“Ugh!”
His face, hit again, went pale.
“You’ll be punished properly.”
“What are you doing?!”
He had bitten his tongue; blood filled the gap in his open mouth.
His cheek swelled like a baked bun. Did he lose a tooth?
“Shut your mouth. You’ll get blood everywhere.”
“This…”
“I’ve wanted to do this for a while. Thanks for coming. Now I can leave relieved.”
I smiled slightly, but Hubert could not speak.
The pain from his swollen cheek and busted mouth must have been intense; cold sweat appeared. I clapped my hands seeing him stagger back.
“Ah! Can’t let this reach the royal court.”
“……?”
As he looked at me in confusion, I struck the back of his neck with the edge of my hand. Harder than when I hit his cheek.
Thunk!
Hubert’s eyes blurred, then closed. His body swayed and collapsed to the floor.
Bang!
Like a sheet of paper.
Even with the thud, that was the thought that came to me.
Maybe it’s because I’m comparing him.
I lifted my head and saw Giovanni standing outside the entrance.
“A strong woman? No, a violent one, isn’t she?”
Kitchef whispered to Giovanni, holding a bird by its neck with an arm as thick as his own.
Lower your voice if you’re whispering.
I almost suspected now that he was doing it on purpose.
“Let’s eat.”
Giovanni said calmly as if nothing had happened.
Outside, Hubert’s servant, tied up near the horse, could be seen.
There were no kingdom soldiers—he had apparently come alone with just his servant. Ridiculous.
Did he think I’d follow him just because he asked?
Inside, unconscious Hubert; in the yard, his servant tied up. Giovanni and Kitchef began preparing the meal calmly.
They lit a fire, roasted the prepared bird, woke Jenny, finished eating, and only then rose leisurely.
The blazing sun had sunk below the horizon, making travel easier.
“Now that we have horses, it’ll be smoother.”
Kitchef patted Hubert’s horse and grinned.
“They’re in good condition.”
We loaded the still-weary Jenny and our luggage onto the horse and prepared to depart.
“Wait.”
Giovanni re-entered the house.
“What is he doing?”
Not long after…
Thunk!
“…….”
“…….”
I caught Kitchef’s gaze briefly, then looked away.
Soon, Giovanni strolled out leisurely.
“Now awake. Next time, knock them out properly.”
“Beating isn’t my specialty.”
“You should learn. It’s useful.”
“I will.”
The horse started walking on the sand.
“It’s a long ride to the empire. Rest whenever you can. Watch out for assassins.”
“…….”
“Sometimes poisonous insects or scorpions might attack, so stay alert.”
“Is this place even livable?”
“Am I not human?”
“You’re technically human, but not really human in behavior. Yet if you must categorize, yes, human.”
“So you want to say I’m not human.”
“When your subordinate is too perceptive, it makes things difficult.”
“You’ll see when it happens.”
“I’ll have to ask Kitchef.”
A scoffing laugh followed.
“Who’s going to teach you?”
“You’ll have no choice but to learn.”
“What are you planning to do now?”
“What do you mean ‘now’? That’s disappointing, Kitchef.”
“Don’t pretend to be a lady now! Creepy!”
Clenching my fist, Kitchef shook his head.
I’ll need to sort the ranks soon.
I glanced down.
A long gray shadow trailed behind our moving group.
I looked straight ahead. The golden horizon, with the sun gone, stretched endlessly.
Behind was Riorca, where I had lived; ahead was the unknown desert I faced for the first time.
I felt the reality of a new beginning.
“Count, we’re almost at the capital.”
Hearing no reply from the carriage, the servant clicked his tongue.
When I had followed the Count to meet someone, I could never have imagined it would go like this.
Under the kingdom’s harsh sun, I sweated and felt dizzy.
By the time I came to, it was midnight. I untied the ropes with a groan and entered—the Count was lying face down on the floor.
When dawn came and his face was visible, the servant was shocked.
My goodness, that handsome face is completely ruined.
He tried to act fine, but it was clear he felt embarrassed whenever addressed.
He rode a horse going, yet returned by carriage—his inner state was transparent.
The servant shook his head with pity, then laughed while stopping the carriage.
Still, it’s funny. To see the perfect Count embarrassed. What on earth happened?
The servant kept glancing curiously at the carriage.
“The atmosphere is strange.”
Hubert muttered, looking around. His bruised face was masked, and the scene would have looked odd—but no one was staring at him.
The city’s air was too chaotic for anyone to pay attention.
“What’s going on?”
The servant called to a passerby, who merely glanced up and down instead of answering.
“Something happened outside, that’s why we’ve only now returned to the capital. This is Count Lorenst.”
The passerby carefully observed Hubert’s mask and, seeing the servant’s emblem, visibly relaxed.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
The servant asked reluctantly.
“Why be so cautious?”
“Don’t ask. We had no choice—every priest collapsed.”
“Excuse me?”
“All of them collapsed.”
“Why?”
“Because they didn’t know. Naturally, chaos followed.”
“When?”
Hubert asked. The servant remained silent. The passerby politely replied after exchanging glances with the servant.
“A week ago, sir.”
“A week ago? That would be when we left the border.”
“Excuse me?”
“No. What’s the condition of the priests now?”
“I don’t know exactly, but they still haven’t gotten up. Only the collapsed priests, though.”
“Not all priests collapsed?”
“No.”
“…Thank you for telling me.”
Hubert signaled the servant, who handed a reward to the passerby.
“Thank you, sir.”
Walking along the road toward the Count’s residence, Hubert observed his surroundings carefully.
“This is unusual.”
The servant glanced around as well.
“I don’t really know… is there another problem?”
“The merchants are packing up.”
The servant saw some merchants taking down stalls marked with the Heren trade emblem and tilted his head.
“Seems normal to me.”
“Yes. I hope it’s just paranoia.”
Hubert’s voice was serious.
“But merchants are the most sensitive to danger, which worries me.”
His cheek throbbed, and he brought a hand to his face.
Feeling the leather mask, he almost muttered a harsh word, uncharacteristically.
Ig… what did you do to me?
Even after more than a week, the pain in his cheek lingered, as did the emotional shock.
Thinking of Igrain, anger flares like fire, then settles like ice.
He’ll probably regret it and return to the kingdom soon.
Thinking of that, I finally felt slightly better.
