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Chapter 10 : Freedom (8)
*****
Arsene rose from his seat with a perfect, alien smile as if it had been created by a machine.
He didn't really get anything from Kai Bellov, but he visited just in case. She doesn't seem to be much help either.
If it were his usual Arsene, he wouldn't have done such an inefficient thing. He must have looked for another way during that time.
But now he was in a state where his rational thinking was paralyzed. The anxiety that boiling somewhere inside kept making him anxious.
Even if it was an inefficient method, he thought it would be safe to check all of them with a feeling of holding straws.
Nervous and anxious. When has he ever felt this way?
He has always thought that there's nothing he can't achieve. So, naturally, he was confident that Regina would come back into his hands. And even now, that thought hasn't changed.
But, why does he feel this way?
Anyway, Arsene thought it would be better to go back to the mansion and receive a report because he doesn't think he'll have any new information even if he kept staying here.
Eventually, he turned around without getting anything, despite the scandal.
"See you next time."
He adjusted his appearance and walked away.
The sight of him leaving the drawing room with a silent, aristocratic gait was like the ending scene seen in a play.
Isota, who had been sitting on the sofa blankly watching the scene for a while, suddenly came to her senses and got up from her seat.
She remembered Regina's last appearance as she was leaving the capital, nervous and afraid. Her face flashed in front of her, worried whether he would come to catch her or if she could get out of Yurdenian.
Is he going to catch her now?
Isota was suddenly angry and shouted,
"Why on earth are you bothering Regina so much? Why do you keep chasing after the kid who ran away because she didn't like you. She hate you, just let her go!"
Arsene was stopped in his seat after what Isota said.
For a moment, she was worried that she was angry at a duke who was much higher than her, but she looked at him in a tense state.
He, who was standing with his back against Isota, slowly turned his head.
And as soon as she met that gaze, she felt as if her breath had stopped.
His purple eyes, which had been cool until now, were glowing coldly. It seemed to be filled with all kinds of negative emotions.
It was her first time seeing it. He had always seen smiling and acting nonchalantly, but she was unfamiliar with him getting angry.
Yes, he was angry. With only the words she spoke out in anger.
It looked dangerous, like cracked ceramics.
Isota instinctively felt a chilling sensation running down the back of her neck. She wanted to get out of this place.
Arsene took a deep breath to control something that he was trying to suppress was about to come up.
His negative emotions were mixed in with the words he spit out.
"Regina ran away because she didn't like me? No. I don't know about anything else, but I can assure you that, Regina doesn't hate me."
He turned around and stood facing her again.
Unknown emotions swirled around him. It was a very unpleasant, terrible feeling.
Regina hates him? That was nonsense. She clearly had a crush on him. It wasn't an illusion.
Even if she was scared of himself at the same time, it wasn't a lie that he dyed the tips of her ears red.
The Marquis Rose daughter can say things like that because she doesn't know much about what happened between them and their relationship. As he thought about that, something that had been bothering him slowly subsided.
Yes, she doesn't know. How close they have become. Isota was not in the airflow that came and went. She had never seen Regina at that moment when her face was bright red and her breath was trembling.
She doesn't even know how much he has in Regina's mind, but he turned a blind eye to it.
He returned to his usual self, as if it was an illusion that he had been acting like a blind person just now.
"Excuse me."
Then he turned around again and walked out of the drawing room. The gentle steps, like flowing water, disappeared beyond the door in an instant.
"......."
Isota, who was looking in the direction where he disappeared with half-stunned look, came to her senses only after Arsene was out of sight.
"..... Are you serious?"
His sudden anger couldn't be explained unless he liked Regina.
She can't believe he got so angry when she told him that Regina didn't like him. Even that Arsene Greroy.
Isota couldn't believe the situation just now, to the point where she wondered if she was hallucinating.
Standing alone in the middle of the drawing room in a dazed mood, she distorted her face when she saw Giles, who could be seen at first glance through the gap of the slightly open door.
Fortunately, the drawing room is soundproof, so he wouldn't have heard the conversation they had, but it was very difficult to keep going back and forth within sight.
But thanks to that, she was able to think calmly again.
'What does it matter whether that bastard likes it or not? Regina says she doesn't like it!'
Regina must have run away for some reason. She didn't know why, but it was clear that it wasn't something light that she would run away like this.
Isota, who strode across the room, went out, opening the door wide. Giles, who was listening from the outside, stiffened in surprise at the rough movement.
"......... "
After glaring at him with an annoyed look for a moment, she walked down the hallway again with a pace that gave little attention to etiquette.
*****
Isota quickly came out of the mansion and headed to the Marquis Bellov's house.
Although it was a hasty visit without prior contact, the Bellov family's butler familiarly guided her to the parlor and called Kai. This was not the first time she had come to visit him like this.
“Isota, I am sure I have said.... "
“Did Duke Greroy come?”
Kai, who entered the living room, sighed and tried to say something to her, but was unable to finish because Isota came in and interrupted him.
It was a very rude behavior that exchanged politeness for something, but because of the content contained in that sentence, that was put aside.
Kai paused for a moment and answered briefly.
"Yes."
Hearing that, Isota slammed the sofa and looked up at him.
“When did he come? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? He just came to me too.”
Kai, who swept his hair with a mixed face sat opposite her. He looked at Isota, who was sitting where Arsene had sat not long ago, and chose what to say to her.
"It was today. There was nothing to tell you. It seemed like he was heading straight to your mansion after leaving from here."
Arsene seemed to be moving very urgently now.
He understands that Misbrunn apparently refused his visit, but somehow the result was overturned within a few days.
Because of that, the date for Arsene to go to Misbrunn was quickly set. The date they suggested was a few days later.
Isota gritted his teeth at his behavior as he insisted on going there.
"How could he persuade Ruairi...."
No matter how stubborn and outgoing he was, there was no way that dealing with the emperor would be easy.
At least this was possible because they had a different vibe than an ordinary emperor and other nobleman.
There was something that came to mind when she thought of that day.
[It seems like he really like it.]
That's what he told her when he met Ruairi. That Arsene seemed to genuinely like Regina.
At the time, Isota snorted and said that His Majesty was good at telling jokes, but when she saw him in person, she felt like she knew why he said that.
While she was briefly recalling the memories of that day, Kai also briefly lost himself in thought.
[It seems like my mother is planning things too. It seemed like she had already sent someone to Misbrun.]
He had a strategy meeting with Isota that day and went to see Logan.
There was a reason why he chose Logan as the person to help him.
On the night of the founding festival where Regina met Logan, there was one more person besides Arsene. It was Kai Bellov.
He followed Regina out because he had a business he had forgotten and witnessed the scene very accidentally. So, this is a scene where it looks like Logan has a crush on Regina.
From then on, he kept an eye on Logan and noticed that he was constantly hovering near Regina.
So he gambled that if he really liked Regina, he would help her escape. And he agreed to help as planned.
However, if there was a problem, it was what he told him that day.
Empress Dowager, Alicia is trying to catch Regina.
Why on earth?
I thought it might be because she was Arsene's fiancee, but would being a fiancee mean anything while she was running away.
He couldn't understand why the empress dowager was doing that, but he didn't think Logan was lying.
After hearing Logan's words, Kai remembered her personality and recent actions. What is she trying to do by capturing Regina? And what effect will that have on Regina.
Logan told him the answer.
[My mother.... She wants Regina's ability]
[Ability?]
Kai narrowed his eyes at hearing the story for the first time.
Logan, who hesitated, found it difficult to explain the 'ability'.
Regina's healing ability, which is said to only appear to priests, has been revealed, and the level of healing is comparable to that of those with initial abilities. That's why empress dowager wanted to take away that ability.
Kai, who had never once thought that she had the ability to heal, was momentarily speechless at the story.
Logan emphasized once again.
[Regina is in danger. My mother is actually a more dangerous person than my older brother.]
Even though she was his own mother, his attitude was firm.
His face scattered like mist as he earnestly said that empress dowager should be stopped. Kai looked at Isota, who was still sitting in the front seat groaning.
'You'd better tell Isota too!'
If she found out, she might make a fuss saying she would go to Misbrunn right away, but if he kept it a secret, there might be even more of an uproar later.
After hesitating, he cautiously opened his mouth.
“Isota. I have something to tell you.”
*****
The sky was clear and the weather was cool. Regina was saying her last goodbyes to Duchess Haynes.
"This is a gift. Its herbal tea, and it works well. You can use it yourself or sell it."
“You know that helping the young lady was simply my greed. It’s okay if you don’t give it to me.”
“Take it. It’s because I wanted to give it to you.”
".....Thank you. I'll use it well."
She handed over the box of special medicine that she had made so far to Iria and smiled with proud face. This eased the burden on her heart a little.
Now that she has achieved her last goal, it was time to leave.
"Then shall we go?"
When she turned her head to look at Cyril, he was looking somewhere and reacted a beat late.
"Oh, yes."
He was strange in the morning, wondering what happened yesterday. She had never thought of it as serious, but she felt particularly distracting .
Regina tilted her head in confusion and then brushed it off. He just seemed to be distracted for a moment.
“Goodbye. I hope you find happiness.”
Duchess Haynes said as she held Regina's hand one last time. After traveling with her for a few days, she felt a little sad because she had become so attached to her.
"I hope everything is fine, ma'am."
After saying her final greetings, Regina quickly got on the horse.
To get here, she took a carriage with Duchess Haynes, but now that they were separated, there was no need to take a carriage. Moreover, since there were only the two of them, Cyril and her, they decided that it would be better to ride a horse.
Cyril tried to help her get on the horse, but he put down his shy hand and got on his own horse.
A tailwind blew. Even though it wasn't ship right now, ssh had a good feeling for some reason.
Regina gathered her flowing black hair into a ponytail. The sunlight broke on her head. The cloak no longer covered her face.
"Let's go."
The horse's hoof lightly kicked the ground.
Anardal was just around the corner. They will probably leave here tomorrow.
*****
End of Volume 2
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