IATVWAMOLS 105

105. Why Are You Suddenly Jealous?

Kwagwagwang—!

With an eardrum-shattering roar, the research institute building collapsed.

“Take cover!”

“Uwaaah!”

The coachmen and attendants waiting nearby panicked and ran in all directions.

“Hiiik!”

Albert, the chief butler, clung to a knight’s shoulder and covered his head with both arms.

It only took a few seconds.

The outer walls of the building crumbled into nothing, turning the surroundings into utter chaos.

Thick, heavy tree trunks split with cracking sounds, and billowing clouds of pale smoke swallowed the night.

“……”

Perwyn’s cloak flared as he shielded me from the dust and debris.

He tightened his hold around me and sprinted toward the opposite side of the collapsing building.

Thump, thump, thump.

My heart pounded faster—shock, confusion, fear, and tension mixing all at once.

I stared at the pile of rubble forming a mound like a small hill.

If we had been even a little late… we’d have been crushed without a doubt.

The situation didn’t feel real at all. Only the cool night breeze ruffling my hair reminded me this was reality.

“We almost got buried alive.”

Once we were far enough from the blast, Perwyn finally stopped.

Only then did my body, shaken in his arms, find some stability.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. Thank you for saving me.”

Even as I replied, I kept glancing around.

“You’re still as troublesome as ever.”

He smirked, raising one corner of his lips.

Just then, a royal guard who had been surveying the ruins approached.

“Your Highness. We’ve spread out to search the area, but the perpetrator has not been found.”

“What? With all these men, you can’t even catch one person?”

“My apologies. The guards are combing the area thoroughly. We’ll apprehend him soon.”

“Tsk.”

Perwyn frowned deeply.

I carefully spoke up.

“Your Highness, what if we investigate this research facility itself?”

“What?”

“There was a man inside who confronted us. He seemed to be connected to this place, and… he knew the building was about to collapse.”

“……!”

“He said the materials here had already been moved elsewhere. Meaning, there must be more facilities besides this one.”

“Do you remember anything else about him? Where he went?”

“Nothing specific… but it looked like he took his own life.”

The building had collapsed almost the same moment we escaped.

Even as we fled, the man facing off against Cayenne sat unmoving, like a statue.

“I see.”

Perwyn immediately ordered his subordinates to investigate the institution further, just as I suggested.

Then he asked the guard,

“Any casualties?”

“The beasts’ corpses are tangled with the rubble, so it’s hard to estimate accurately. But as for people…”

The guard began giving him a detailed report.

While the two were speaking, I anxiously turned my head, searching.

“Cayenne!”

At once, Perwyn and the guard both stopped talking.

Cayenne, supported by knights, lifted his gaze toward me.

“My lady?”

Seeing his gaunt face, unease welled up inside me.

“Please put me down now, Your Highness.”

I tried to wriggle free from Perwyn’s arms.

“No.”

“What? Why not—”

But Perwyn only held me tighter, ignoring my struggles, and jerked his chin at the guard.

“Take the wounded to the infirmary. I’ll escort the young lady separately—prepare a carriage.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Inside the swaying carriage.

It was only when they boarded that Perwyn finally set her down.

Roselia turned her face to the window, her expression still sulky.

Perwyn looked at her, exasperated.

“Would you relax that expression?”

“……”

His rebuke only deepened her irritation.

She couldn’t shake the worry for Cayenne.

When she heard he hadn’t returned to the lodging, when his telepathy finally reached her, and especially when she saw him half-dead before her—her heart had plummeted straight into the ground.

Roselia toyed with the ring on her finger.

The cold metal biting her skin reminded her of its presence.

There was still so much left unsaid between them—both his night self and his day self.

At first, she tried to run from the strange feelings he stirred. But once he was nearly lost before her eyes, fear and regret overwhelmed her.

She still didn’t know how to resolve their relationship.

But for now, she only wanted him close. That was the only way to feel at ease.

“All this fuss over one servant? You treat me like I’m not even human.”

“What did you just say?”

“You’ve confirmed he’s alive, haven’t you? He’s being treated at the infirmary too. So what’s your problem?”

“Is that really what you want to say right now?”

This insolent…

Roselia let out a hollow laugh.

She thought about snapping back, but even mentioning Cayenne to Perwyn left a bitter taste in her mouth. She swallowed her words.

When she fell silent altogether, Perwyn’s expression turned sour as well.

“Don’t you have more to say to me?”

“?”

“After all, you sent me this letter.”

He waved a letter in front of her eyes.

It was the written accusation against Baron Garret.

“That… was addressed to the Imperial Family, not to you, Your Highness.”

“Wasn’t it meant for me to read?”

A crooked smile tugged at his lips.

He had been drowning in endless work lately.

But when he suddenly paused to breathe, a strange thought arose.

Why has the young lady been so quiet?

Since her last unexpected visit, Roselia hadn’t reached out at all.

He wondered if the young duke was still intercepting her letters.

Then, finally, a reply arrived to the letter he had sent her.

“I am well. Please don’t worry about me.
I will not be attending the concert.”

It was a stiff, formal response.

Receiving it only made his blood boil.

Better no reply at all than this.

It was clear—even if she wasn’t outright cold, she wanted nothing to do with him.

That stung his pride.

“I’m hurt, you know. I rushed here thinking it was urgent.”

“Don’t overthink it. I only asked His Majesty to mediate.”

“Next time, tell me directly. I’ll be faster.”

“……”

Roselia cut him off coldly, but Perwyn didn’t back down.

She gave him a weary look, then changed the subject.

“When will you return to the capital? Tonight?”

“Hard to say. I’d rather settle this before I leave.”

“……Aren’t you busy?”

“Of course I am. I barely have time to breathe. But you’re not the only one troubled by this situation.”

“What do you mean?”

“Count Vermon doesn’t supply weapons to just one client. When a long-time partner suddenly halts all shipments, it causes a mess on our side too.”

He had already received reports: Vermon’s arms business had been taken over by Serteia, and shipments of mana bullets had abruptly ceased.

“At first, I thought Serteia was deliberately trying to spite the Imperial Family. But seeing you, I doubt that’s the case.”

“Of course not.”

Roselia’s face hardened.

She was in just as much of a bind, forced to resolve this crisis.

“Well, if we check the place you mentioned, we’ll start to see the bigger picture.”

Perwyn spoke with a faint smile.

The chain of unexpected events had oddly lightened his mood.

The young lady who once rejected his invitations without hesitation couldn’t avoid him this time.

Of course, Roselia had no interest in whatever scheming lurked in his mind.

I never imagined this mission would drag the Imperial Family into it…

That was all that weighed on her.

She only prayed Perwyn wouldn’t get in her way.

Clatter, clatter—

The carriage rolled forward through the pitch-black night.

Even the jolting of the wheels over rough stones was becoming familiar.

The rhythmic sound of hooves almost lulled the air into calm.

Then, Perwyn’s gaze caught on something in her hand, and his expression hardened.

“…What’s that on your ring finger?”

“Hm? Oh, this.”

Roselia instinctively looked at her left hand.

On her ring finger was the token of her contract with Cayenne—shaped like a ring.

“Just… an accessory.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing for Your Highness to worry about. It doesn’t mean anything.”

She answered curtly, trying to dispel any misunderstanding.

But her dismissive tone only grated on him further.

“You’re saying that ring has no meaning?”

“Yes.”

“Then you won’t mind giving it to me, will you?”

“…What?”

“Why? Do you have a reason you can’t give it to me?”