HRNGDS 92

~Chapter 92~

Elcayan gave Delphina the handkerchief he had taken from her.

“Thank you, Delphina. May I keep it?”

Delphina nodded.

In truth, it was always meant for him anyway, so it had simply found its rightful owner.

Elcayan then asked,
“But why did you need a handkerchief?”

“I had a good use for it.”

Delphina answered with an angelic smile.

At just one word that Delphina wanted to meet, everyone gathered in the Duke’s office.

The Duke and Duchess of Fuat, Jerian, Kassen, and even Ivelina were there.

Layla was too shaken from the incident and could not attend.

Though this was originally a family matter, Delphina asked the Saintess and the High Priest to also attend. Pepper had shrunk into a small bird again and sat on Jerian’s shoulder.

The Duke of Fuat immediately asked when he saw Delphina,
“Delphina, are you all right?”

A normal person would politely answer that they were fine. But Delphina firmly replied,

“I think I was a little shocked.”

She lowered her head deeply. In situations like this, it was best to play up the frailty.

If she said she was fine, it would only benefit Kassen and Ivelina.

“Falling from such a high tower was truly terrifying. I even dreamed a nightmare in that short moment.”

Still bowing her head, Delphina murmured. When she held the handkerchief to her eyes, she looked pitiful, stirring sympathy from everyone around her.

“It was almost a disaster. If Elcayan hadn’t leapt down to save me, and if Pepper hadn’t appeared…”

No one present needed her to finish the sentence to imagine the rest.

Ivelina and Kassen stood quietly in one corner of the room.

Delphina looked at Ivelina.

Ivelina trembled with resentment but, under the people’s harsh stares, she could not say a word. Every time Delphina spoke, the gazes full of blame grew heavier.

Within hours, Ivelina’s complexion had become haggard.

She had never imagined she could be thrown into a dungeon, no matter what mistake she made.

To be treated like a criminal and locked up by common soldiers must have been humiliating.

So Ivelina and Kassen kept their heads bowed like criminals without a voice.

Ivelina spoke weakly,
“It… it may sound like an excuse, but I didn’t mean to go that far.”

“…”

“Really, I couldn’t control my emotions all of a sudden.”

Delphina pulled out her handkerchief.

“Yes, for you it might have been a careless action…”

She pretended to choke up, paused, and then added,

“But because of that thoughtless action, I almost died.”

Delphina tried to summon up sadness. She recalled the bad taste of the food Calix had cooked on the way to the capital, and it made her suddenly miserable.

Having to eat terrible food was truly an unfortunate thing. Thanks to this, her expression now looked utterly pitiful.

“Duke, it’s difficult for me to look at Ivelina. The memory of that moment keeps coming back.”

At this, the Duke of Fuat said in a cold voice,
“Take those two away.”

“F-Father, why me?” Kassen protested.

“Why? You dare ask ‘why’ right now?”

Normally the Duke was gentle with everyone. His sharp tone shocked them all.

“Hurry!”

The knights quickly dragged Ivelina and Kassen out.

As soon as they left, Delphina folded the handkerchief.

Her face turned cold and sharp. The weak, suffering act was completely gone.

Seeing Delphina so suddenly calm, the Duke was startled. Elcayan too looked at her with admiration.

‘Delphina truly is suited to lead the North.’

Her ability to change expression instantly—her skillful acting—looked nothing but admirable. Elcayan’s face turned faintly red.

Jerian, too, was watching her carefully.

The Duke asked cautiously,
“Delphina, did you deliberately make me send those two out?”

“Yes, Your Grace. I had something to tell you, but I didn’t want them to know.”

“You have something to say to us?”

“Yes. But if I had told you not to bring them at all, it would have seemed strange.”

“Then what is it you want to say, Delphina?”

“Don’t you think it’s unnatural that even if Ivelina is hot-tempered, she would go this far?”

The Duke fell into deep thought. He too felt it was strange.

The Ivelina he knew would never do something so reckless, not when she should have known what consequences it would bring.

“That is certainly… suspicious.”

Delphina had already considered this, recalling what Sestia told her about the flaws of black magic.

‘If exposed too often to black magic, one loses control over emotions.’

Even if one wasn’t directly cursed, mere exposure could be harmful.

‘Ivelina was always beside the uncle who used black magic. It makes sense her temper worsened over time.’

The Duke wanted to apologize again. The more he spoke of Ivelina, the heavier his guilt grew.

He was, after all, a man with a conscience. Knowing what his son and would-be daughter-in-law had done, he felt deeply sorry toward Delphina.

“Delphina, I am truly grateful and sorry. I heard you cured Jerian’s illness too. There is no excuse for what Ivelina did to you. I will grant you whatever you wish.”

Delphina shook her head.

It was nice to hear, but as a member of the Magic Department, she couldn’t let wrong logic pass by.

“Jerian was not actually sick, Your Grace.”

“Not sick?”

“Yes. If it had been a real illness, could it have been cured in an instant like this?”

The Duke’s lips tightened.

At the succession ceremony, Jerian had still looked weak, yet in only a few hours, his body had recovered dramatically.

Jerian added,
“That’s right, Father. I can give five reasons why I wasn’t ill. As a student of magic, I feel I must explain this.”

The Duke sighed.
“If there are so many reasons, they must be convincing.”

“Would you like me to explain them?”

“No, enough. I’d rather hear it from Delphina. If I let you explain, I’ll be listening all day.”

Jerian protested,
“But Delphina is busy. She needs to check my magic circle.”

Elcayan finally spoke up,
“She’s busy indeed. You check your own magic circle.”

“What? But if Delphina doesn’t look at it, it means nothing.”

“I said she’s busy.”

Jerian narrowed his eyes. Elcayan stood in front of Delphina protectively.

Delphina herself wasn’t interested in Jerian’s magic circle anyway, so she didn’t deny Elcayan’s words.

She turned back to the Duke.
“I’ll explain. As I said earlier—how does Jerian’s condition look to you now?”

The Duke studied his son.

Jerian could now even run a little. It was simply impossible for someone to recover so quickly.

Unlike before, when only his mouth had energy, now his whole being was full of life.