Chapter 49
“And then… the one who appeared at the trial wasn’t Her Highness Princess Gracie. And she insisted she knew nothing about Rubiana, saying she was falsely accused.”
“……”
He hugged his waist nervously, and I reached out to pat his head.
“At the time, I couldn’t believe her. Then Her Highness offered me the position of her guard knight. She said I should stay by her side and watch for myself — to see whether she was really guilty or not. She even said she’d let me monitor her openly.”
“So… did you accept?”
“Yes. Her Highness persuaded His Majesty, and I… I continued to doubt her…”
The hand I had been patting was suddenly caught.
He leaned closer, as if about to kiss me, but instead of kissing, he simply wrapped me tightly in his arms. I patted his back to calm him down, and his ragged breathing slowly steadied.
“Why is Grass acting like that, anyway? After breaking up with Sir Francis, did Lady Rubiana marry David Grass?”
“Yes… right after we separated, actually.”
“Then what happened to the military supplies case?”
“That matter was settled on the condition that I become Her Highness’s bodyguard. His Majesty also agreed to close the investigation in exchange for stripping my title.”
At that, my body tilted faintly, strength draining away.
When I blinked, I realized his large, hot body was leaning over me, his arm tightening around my waist so firmly that breathing became difficult.
“I believe in Your Highness.”
“Why? You shouldn’t trust people so easily.”
“Because I want to. I like you, Your Highness. And now I know — you’re not someone who would do such things to me.”
His hair brushed against my chest, tickling my skin.
When I gently stroked it, he stayed still, quietly accepting the touch.
“What did Lady Keira gain by turning Sir Francis into this?”
“I’m not sure… but it did greatly damage Her Highness Princess Gracie’s reputation. No one at the trial thought it wasn’t her. Even after she later denied it, no one believed her — except His Majesty.”
I suddenly thought of Clayton — the man who said he loved me.
What on earth had he been doing while Gracie was being framed?
“Where was Clayton back then?”
“The Duke of Dubois was away, fighting in another war.”
“And Adrian?”
“At the time, Lord Russell was engaged to Princess Keira.”
Judging from what was said earlier, Adrian seemed to know that the person who testified back then wasn’t actually me.
So… was Princess Gracie not as crazy as people said?
Even with what I know, she’d have every reason to ruin Francis completely. But if that’s true, why is he acting like this toward me now?
“Your Highness… no, Gracie.”
The way he spoke my name — so serious, so raw — made my heart thump hard.
What was this feeling? Was I… scared?
“It’s fine if I’m not the only one for you. Just… please, give me a place by your side.”
“Ah… I…”
He leaned in again, lips nearing mine. His weight pressed down heavily, and the strong scent of alcohol grew dizzyingly thick around us.
“What the—”
The problem was… he passed out right there, collapsing on top of me.
“Sir Francis?”
I smacked his back a few times with my left hand.
He was heavy as hell — and didn’t move an inch.
“Unbelievable.”
I tried pushing him off, but I couldn’t use my right arm. There was nothing I could do.
“Move! I’m going to suffocate under you!”
Even as I squirmed and grunted, his head stayed buried against my chest, his body limp and unmoving.
“Ugh!”
〈Penalty: 35:29
▼ Point deduction (Running event: Dog Days) : +13〉
By some miracle, despite having my chest crushed all night, I must’ve fallen asleep — because when I opened my eyes, the sun was already high.
I had to attend a government meeting later today, so it was time to get up. Fortunately, it was one of those days I was allowed to wake up late, so I managed to calm my panicked heart.
The heavy scent of cologne and alcohol filled the room, and the source of that smell — the man clinging tightly to me — still hadn’t let go.
“You’re still asleep?”
“Gracie.”
Ah. Pretending to sleep, huh? His eyes were closed, but he was awake.
“I’m hungry.”
“Can’t we stay like this just a little longer?”
When he opened his hazy gray eyes, they glittered with a mischievous light.
It almost felt like the morning after something we hadn’t actually done.
“Sir Francis, you’re lying on all my important documents. I’ll have to get new copies later.”
“Yes. A hundred times, a thousand times — I’ll get them for you.”
He buried his face against my shoulder, hugging tighter, and I could barely breathe. Still, the faint scent of freesia coming from him made my chest flutter.
“Then later, sign the documents for me too. My arm hurts, so I can’t do it.”
“Yes.”
“And feed me, too.”
“Pfft… yes, Your Highness.”
His sleepy smile was both lazy and… oddly seductive.
“Is there nothing else you want, Your Highness?”
“Do you want me to ask for more?”
“Yes. I’d be happy if you did. Because if you want something from me, it means you expect something of me — and that’s the happiest thing I could hear.”
I gently patted his back as he clung to me.
The heartbeat I heard wasn’t mine — it was his, pounding loud against my chest.
“I’ll make sure you get your title back, Sir Francis.”
“You don’t have to.”
“No, I will. I’ll clear your name too.”
“Truly, it’s fine. As long as you’ll keep me by your side… that’s enough.”
He was speaking from ignorance, clearly.
But I would return his title — and his honor.
If this was one of Keira’s manipulations, then turning him to my side wasn’t a bad idea either.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“May I… kiss you?”
He brushed my cheek gently as he asked, and I froze for a second.
“No.”
“Ah…”
“You reek of alcohol. Go wash up first.”
“Hahaha. Yes, Your Highness.”
He kissed my eyelids lightly before pulling away.
Meeting Joshua was awkward, but this was the best plan to deal with both him and Clayton at once.
Right after the noon council meeting, we went to inspect the reconstruction work along the Ber River levee.
“I’m glad you spoke to me first.”
I didn’t understand what was so glad-worthy about that.
Still, maybe because of last night’s dream, I couldn’t bring myself to be harsh.
“Hey, Clayton.”
“Yeah?”
“You showed up in my dream last night.”
“Really?”
Why did he look so ridiculously happy hearing that?
His face was glowing — like he’d just been handed the world — and that made it hard to keep talking.
I turned my gaze to the side, thinking it’d be easier if I didn’t look at him, but then I saw Joshua, forcing a polite smile… and that somehow made it even harder.
“Never mind. Let’s talk alone later.”
“Okay. Just the two of us.”
As soon as we arrived at the Ber River, a quest popped up.
〈Quest! Catch the Spy!
Stop the spy trying to sabotage the Ber River levee reconstruction!〉
〈▼ Options:
- Robert
- Azelia
- Mentros〉
Bellerophon, the chief supervisor, wasn’t on the list — so that made it a one-in-three chance.
But maybe I needed to understand the motive first.
Division Commander Robert of the 12th Army.
Azelia, from the Kingdom of Deirid.
And Mentros, the supply officer.
My arm was still heavy — thankfully Joshua was carrying the files for me, not knowing why.
“It’s Sir Robert, isn’t it?”
Joshua said brightly, and somehow, all my irritation melted away.
Fine — if he can’t trust me, then I’ll make him believe.
“I heard Sir Robert Brighton’s mother is a princess of Deirid.”
“Yes, she’s my aunt.”
“So you know him well?”
“Not really. My aunt rarely left her estate. One day she just announced she was getting married — that’s all I remember.”
“Why?”
Joshua’s face turned bright red, his lips twitching awkwardly.
Did I just ask something inappropriate? I replayed my question, but… no, it sounded normal.
“B-Because… she got pregnant before the wedding…”
“Ah… I see.”
Right, Deirid was known for its strict moral standards.
I guess that would be a bit of a scandal.
“What about Azelia? You know her?”
“Ah, yes. She used to be a tax officer.”
Joshua laughed awkwardly. I could feel him fidgeting beside me, licking his lips nervously.
“But I don’t know much about her.”
“Is this the same place we came to last time?”
“Yeah, mutt.”
“Why do you call Sir Francis a dog too, Clayton?”
“Because he looks like one. Doesn’t he look like a greyhound?”
“You kind of look like something too.”
He looked at me expectantly.
“Like what?”
“A wolf.”
“Hahaha!”
Why was that so funny? He laughed loudly, delighted.
“You know what? Even before you lost your memory, you told me I looked like a wolf.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. When we were kids, you said I looked like a rabbit too.”
“A rabbit and a wolf? That’s quite a jump.”
“I was pretty cute when I was little.”
I wanted to tell him how full of himself he sounded — but honestly, with that face, he probably was cute.
“Anyway. If someone’s trying to stop the Ber River levee from being rebuilt… what do you think their motive is?”
