CYGD 25

Chapter 25

“Others would probably think the same. Just take Lady Kassia, for example—she must have been in serious financial trouble by now, maybe even on the verge of giving up everything she’s been doing. But Hestia, you gave her room to breathe again.”

She began listing the people who had received help from me.

She said Erkan might have had to give up his experiments and crafting magical tools due to a lack of materials, but I had solved that problem for him.

It felt like she was exaggerating, but hearing that didn’t make me feel bad.

“Hestia. If that day really comes… if the day comes when we restore the Kingdom of Pelmon…”

Beatrice couldn’t finish the sentence for a while.

It seemed like just imagining it overwhelmed her.

I held her hand and said,

“Then let’s go together. Invite me there when the time comes.”

“Of course, Hestia.”

In the end, Beatrice shed tears.

“I thought it was impossible… but hearing you say it makes me think—why not? Maybe it really could happen.”

“Yeah. I want to see the Kingdom of Pelmon too.”

“This might be a rude question, but I’m curious… Hestia, would you have had these thoughts even if you hadn’t divorced His Majesty the King?”

“The Kingdom of Sedpole has no future, and I keep hoping for an exit somewhere in this darkness. If I hadn’t divorced him, it might have been harder to carry out any plans… but I still would’ve believed the Kingdom of Pelmon needed to be restored.”

Beatrice slowly nodded as if lost in thought.

Even when I was busy with something, I would suddenly feel empty and stare blankly into space.

At first, I didn’t understand why I felt that way, and I was confused.

But eventually, I had to admit—it was because of Luzenvic.

I kept wondering when he would return and kept looking out the window, thinking he might show up.

I tried my best not to let Beatrice notice, thinking she might realize I was waiting for Luzenvic. But seeing her smile quietly at me sometimes, I felt like she already knew.

She would often tell me things I didn’t ask.

Mostly about Luzenvic.

I pretended not to care, but I listened.

And I enjoyed hearing about his childhood through Beatrice’s stories.

“My brother was so obsessed with swordsmanship that people worried about him. Most believed you only needed to learn the basics and then hire a skilled knight. But my brother isn’t the type to quit once he starts something. And he had such talent for it. If he didn’t, maybe he could’ve quit…”

There was a resonance in those words.

Ironically, it seemed like his talent had become shackles for him.

“But thanks to his swordsmanship, I feel relieved. I think he’ll be able to protect you well, Hestia. When I heard that you asked him to be your escort, I thought it was a great idea. It’s the best role he could play here—meaningful, too.”

“Yeah. I’m desperate.”

At that moment, my anxiety was growing, thinking that Rotron might have figured out where I was by now.

After Beatrice left for business at the Kassia trading firm, I was reviewing some of Kassia’s operations alone.

Then I heard a knock.

Thinking it was Beatrice, I casually told her to come in.

But the way the door opened felt different from her, and as I turned my head, Luzenvic walked in.

“Prince Luzenvic!”

Without thinking, I shouted joyfully and then grew flustered by my own reaction.

He stepped forward.

“I’m back.”

His clothes were still dirty.

It seemed he had delivered the dried wyvern straight to Kassia and then immediately came to see me.

“Prince…”

“Ah.”

He noticed I was looking at his clothes and seemed embarrassed.

“I thought I should report to you first.”

“You did well. I was worried. Nothing happened, right?”

“No.”

“Please call me Hestia.”

He looked startled, seemingly unsure about how to address me, so I said it myself.

“Please, do so.”

“But…”

“Then can I call you Luzenvic?”

“…Yes. That’s fine.”

His face turned red as he answered.

Since I wasn’t born and raised here, I didn’t fully understand how much intimacy was implied by calling someone by their name.

Looking at his expression, I began to wonder if I had come on too strong.

Was it like asking for someone’s number right after meeting them?

“Was that too much to ask?”

“No, not at all. Then… I’ll go wash up and change first.”

“Go ahead. Let’s have dinner together later.”

“Understood.”

He left the room still looking awkward.

Almost immediately after he left, Beatrice walked in.

She turned her head as she entered, as if she had just seen him in the hallway.

Apparently, she thought Luzenvic was acting strangely—so much so that she forgot to knock.

“Come in, Beatrice.”

Only after I spoke did she remember she hadn’t knocked and burst into laughter.

“Hestia, what’s wrong with my brother? Why was his face so red?”

“I don’t know either.”

“From his clothes, it looks like he came straight here. I actually saw him at the trading firm. I tried to ask him some things, but he said he was busy and ran off. I thought, what could he be busy with… but now I get it.”

Beatrice chuckled knowingly to herself.

I hadn’t known about what happened at the firm, but learning that Luzenvic had rushed over to see me made me happy.

“The herbs he brought were far better than anything the others had been looking into. The sub-leader was overjoyed. Even Erkan came by and was amazed, wondering where he found such materials. They both seemed like they had a lot to ask him, but he just vanished. Everyone was wondering what happened.”

“Really?”

I pretended to know nothing and replied casually.

Beatrice looked at me with a knowing expression.

“Um… I think we should have dinner a bit earlier today. Luzenvic must be hungry.”

“Luzenvic? You’re calling him that now?”

She grinned, as if everything had already been decided.

“Well… why not?”

“Sure, why not? And he’s calling you Hestia too, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you told anyone else to call you by your name?”

Without needing to think, I answered no.

Only Beatrice and Luzenvic had been allowed.

That was enough to make Beatrice look triumphantly satisfied.

“What should we eat for dinner, Your Highness?”

Watching her beam with happiness, I couldn’t answer properly.

“Just… whatever works.”

Beatrice said she should let the kitchen know there would be one more guest, but it felt like that wasn’t her only reason for leaving.

I imagined her going straight to Luzenvic and interrogating him about what happened.

It wasn’t hard to picture anymore.

Though not much time had passed, she had changed so much.

She was brighter, more energetic, and full of confidence.

Beatrice didn’t appear again until right before dinner.

“I’m really hungry today, Your Highness. I worked a lot too.”

“Yeah, I can imagine.”

When we entered the dining room together, Luzenvic was already waiting.

He had clearly been cleaned up and dressed—probably forced to do so by someone—and looked annoyed by it.

I couldn’t help but smile, thinking it was Beatrice who had picked out his clothes and fixed his hair.

Beatrice awkwardly avoided my eyes, stealing glances at me as if hoping I liked how Luzenvic looked.

“Sir Luzenvic, you look dashing today.”

I said, and Luzenvic gave a slight bow.

He seemed uncomfortable and unhappy with his attire, but he was enduring it.

After a while, Kassia and Erkan arrived as well.

They all seemed to have had a busy day, and the moment they saw Luzenvic, they bombarded him with questions.

Compared to before, when no one had anything to say, Luzenvic now looked much more at ease.

“Your Highness, would you be able to bring back more dried wyvern?”

“How much more do you need?”

“About four times what you brought today…”

Erkan blurted it out and watched Luzenvic’s expression nervously. As his face darkened, Erkan quickly lowered the number to three… then looked ready to lower it even more.

“I don’t think I can get that much. Maybe about the same amount as today.”

“Ahh, even that would be amazing.”

“I’ll look around more, and if I find more, I’ll bring it.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. You don’t know how helpful that is to me. This is a magical formula I absolutely must complete.”

“Understood. I’d be happy to help, even a little. May I ask what kind of magic it is?”

The fact that Luzenvic even asked that question felt like a big step forward.