TVBDP 16

Chapter 16

“If you have that much interest in me, would you like to have a cup of tea with me?”

Would I look a bit similar to that actor?

Unlike my worry, everyone started to tremble, seemingly having succeeded.

“……”

“Hiiiek! W-We’re leaving!”

“Oh my. Time has already flown like this, hohoho.”

The backs of the young ladies who hurriedly left the shop after rejecting my offer in horror felt truly desperate.

‘Hm. I was rejected.’

Feeling a complicated emotion, I was staring blankly at them running away through the window when a clerk hesitated, approached, and spoke cautiously.

“Umm, please do not be too angry, Princess. Those people are frail people who can’t even use magic.”

“……Haa.”

“I-I apologize! Sob.”

Hey. You crying?

Seeing the clerk suddenly shed tears and run away just because I sighed once was nothing short of absurd.

I felt wronged.

‘I am also very, very frail right now because I can’t use magic!’

And although I was angry at them, I only looked for a long time because I envied young ladies of my age shopping together a little.

‘Though I have no intention of becoming close with kids who backbite me.’

Perhaps because I developed a sense of family bond (?) in my own way after becoming Yvonne, greed arose that having friends too would be nice now.

Coming out to the secular world, worldly greed keeps arising.

‘Let’s not be greedy. All of this is undeserved for me.’

I vowed to quickly return to my safe Argenthose Resort and live a comfortable life grateful for what is given.

Instead of the clerk who ran away to the staff room crying, another clerk attended me.

Together with the clerk whose hands were trembling, I chose lace that would suit Carol.

“Here it is, Princess.”

The clerk presented the gift wrapped with care.

Seeing the prettily wrapped gift box, my mood improved immediately.

Carol would like it very much.

While finding me difficult, she would also say everything she has to say anyway.

“…I will come again.”

“Yes, yup. Th-Thank you.”

Unlike the words, the clerk made an expression telling me never to come again.

If you tell me not to come, I want to come again? Tch.

Coming out with the clerk seeing me off, the escort knight waiting outside was very surprised and opened his eyes wide.

“You’re finished already? Or did something happen…?”

‘Aha.’

Yvonne, who enjoyed shopping excitedly all day using her monstrous stamina if it were shopping.

It must seem strange that I finished shopping so quickly and came out like this.

Pointing to the side of the escort knight who has only a big build but is terribly tactless and only has a glib tongue, I spoke savagely.

“Oh my, Sir. There is a bee here. Shall I remove it for you?”

Thwack.

‘Hm?’

I poked lightly with my finger, but there was a sound of something breaking.

“K-Kuhuk!”

Suddenly, the escort knight folded his body in half as if in pain and groaned.

“P-Please go inside!”

The clerk who came out to see me off freaked out, ran inside, and hurriedly closed the door.

“Does it hurt?”

“Ugh, eup!”

“Hmph hmph.”

When he couldn’t even answer and groaned, I cleared my throat.

And I looked at my hand that attacked the escort knight’s side.

‘I… am amazing? Am I a gold hand (powerful hand)?’

But the escort knight looked extremely in pain to just be admiring, so I managed my expression immediately.

And to hide the embarrassment, I bantered.

“Sir, despite being a knight, you tend to exaggerate pain very severely.”

The escort knight excused himself with an expression of injustice.

“P-Princess, aren’t you strong! Y-You are not an ordinary person! Sob!”

Mm, that is true.

Although Yvonne is a mage, I also know that her basic physical strength is tremendously good.

How hard Yvonne had exercised and managed herself all this time, even though I spent time lazing around, the abs were still there.

‘Wait, hold on. If basic physical strength and motor nerves are this good, isn’t it okay even if I don’t regain magic?’

My head cleared up and I felt good at the hopeful thought flashing through my brain.

Since it turned out like this, shall I change jobs to a physically demanding job instead of wasting talent. Like a knight or something….

Thinking this and that, I clenched and unclenched my fist, but the escort knight, perhaps misunderstanding something firmly, turned pale and moved two steps away from me.

“I won’t do anything.”

“Yes… Please. Do so.”

Looking back at the escort knight who was still shedding a few tears, I clicked my tongue.

‘Huh?’

While walking to the carriage with him, suddenly a spooky feeling brushed past.

Something, should I call it a strange intuition.

‘What is it?’

My gaze went down automatically without realizing it.

Because of the sun floating in the day, my shadow and the escort knight’s shadow were cast on the roadside.

But.

‘What is that strange thing?’

I narrowed my eyes and looked closely.

‘Black… smoke? Fire?’

I became so terrified that my heart sank with a thud.

Because only from my shadow, unpleasant black haze was wavering and rising.

Startled, I instinctively lifted my foot and stomped hard on my shadow.

Squish.

Then, along with a bizarre creaking noise, a terrible voice was heard.

「Kuh-uk!!! As, as expected, a Grand Mage… To die, like, this…」

“What did you say?!”

“What is the matter, Princess?”

The escort knight stopped and looked at me with surprised eyes.

“Pardon? Sir, you didn’t hear any sound?”

“Yes… I didn’t?”

Staring blankly at the escort knight making a puzzled expression, I lowered my gaze to my shadow again.

My shadow had returned to a normal shape before I knew it, and the scary black haze that was clearly visible earlier had completely disappeared.

‘Wh…at?’

It was an illusion? No. Absolutely not.

I racked my brain quickly to grasp the situation.

Just now, something whose identity is unknown appeared here targeting me, but it seems I accidentally (?) stomped it to death.

Goosebumps broke out.

‘What is this. Why did life suddenly become a horror thriller?’

Freaked out, I became scared and ran quickly toward the carriage.

Thanks to Yvonne’s basic physical strength which is fast at running too, I could get into the Argenthose family’s carriage that was far away in an instant.

I shouted urgently.

“Quickly, go back to the townhouse!”

“Yes, yes. Understood, Princess.”

The coachman answered in a puzzled voice but started the carriage quickly.

As the carriage started moving, I rolled my eyes and examined the interior hurriedly.

Magic stones with defensive magic cast on them were embedded here and there as if proving it was a carriage of a mage family.

I was relieved seeing the knights of the Duke Argenthose family following the carriage I rode, but I was still anxious.

“Haa. Just what is it.”

My heart pounded thump thump.

Surely, is there someone taking revenge for Yvonne’s past evil deeds?

I don’t recall the original work saying there was such a person.

‘Is it that I don’t remember.’

Indeed, even if there was a group that hated Yvonne, since the original work focused only on the narrative of the male lead and female lead, such parts wouldn’t appear.

If it were Yvonne, she would have dealt with it in one shot with magic, but right now I am not her.

‘What to do.’

Becoming serious, I leaned my head on the seat backrest and groaned.

On the opposite seat, a few gifts that Duke Argenthose purchased and loaded onto the carriage were piled up.

I lifted both hands and buried my face.

“What matchmaking amidst this. What is this! I have to survive first!”

Thinking that regaining Yvonne’s magic quickly to protect my safety is the priority, I clenched my fists.

I didn’t know it would suddenly become a horror thriller.

The new life I thought was quite decent started to get twisted for some reason.

“Ugh, kuhuk……!”

Cordelia, who was standing in the lush tree garden of the Crown Prince’s Palace, suddenly folded her body in half and let out a painful groan.

She barely grabbed a tree next to her not to collapse, but the tree trunk Cordelia’s hand touched burned black.

Gush.

And red blood flowed out from Cordelia’s mouth.

It was painful to the point of not having the mind to wipe off the blood.

‘My familiar… How could it die from just one such kick?!’

Cold sweat trickled down her fine face.

The death of a familiar inflicts great internal injury on the warlock controlling it.

‘I attached a familiar just in case. How did she notice, just how!’

Cordelia, who was barely calming the pain while gasping for breath, lifted her head sharply as she sensed a presence in the garden.

‘Why at this time of all times!’

Far away, Crown Prince Adrian and Young Duke Varden Argenthose were seen entering the garden together.

Cordelia, who knew Crown Prince Adrian was scheduled to take a walk here today, was waiting to encounter the Crown Prince here on purpose.

She had to completely captivate his heart by contacting Crown Prince Adrian as frequently as possible.

The relationship with Adrian, who didn’t look for her residing in the Crown Prince’s Palace lately, was too anxious.

But she couldn’t show her suspicious true form bleeding like this.

She quickly hid her body behind a large tree in the garden.

And amidst the pain, she gathered magical power to hide her appearance and concealed herself.

The conversation sounds of Adrian and Varden, who walked close to where Cordelia was hiding, began to be heard by her.

“To be this peaceful. Isn’t the peace we protected truly precious, Young Duke.”

“Yes.”

Adrian getting closer was smiling gently, and Varden had a lukewarm face as usual.

‘Varden Argenthose. The blood relative and older brother of that Yvonne Argenthose.’

Although painful, Cordelia swallowed her groan and watched Varden and Adrian quietly.

Adrian, who was talking about this and that useless topic to Varden, brought up the main point naturally.

“Ah, right. Did you hear by any chance? They say the new master of the Iels Townhouse is coming to the capital for the first time.”

When Adrian, handsome like the sun, smiled brightly, it seemed as if even the surroundings shone brightly.

However, Varden felt even lower in mood at such a bright smile of the Crown Prince.

‘Crown Prince… Since rumors spread all over, it must have entered his ears, is he asking while knowing? He is a person whose outside and inside are secretly different.’

Actually, Varden didn’t have much thought about Adrian before participating in the war with Adrian.

An outstanding Sword Master designated as the Crown Prince.

A noble person he must serve as Emperor someday.

He even felt pity for him accepting the obsession of his younger sister running wild like a mad dog.

However, while carrying out operations together with Crown Prince Adrian on the battlefield last time, he had received a chilling feeling several times.

‘As expected, it wasn’t a misunderstanding.’

Varden felt like he could see Adrian’s true colors properly only now.

He felt pity rather for Yvonne who had an unrequited love for a long time for a petty guy who calls him on purpose like this and probes the situation secretly.

‘Yvonne is so heartbroken right now that she is spending time powerlessly at home without even doing building destruction, her only joy… Yet this guy!’

Yvonne’s sorrowful face saying (though Yvonne never said so) it was hard practicing to forget the Crown Prince all this time came to mind.

And simultaneously, as the smile of his mother remaining faintly in his memory and the bright smile of his younger sister resembling her overlapped, his insides twisted more.