Chapter: 7
“……”
Perched on the edge of his office desk, Derbel regarded the people standing before him with a crooked, cold gaze.
Lynette Igraine—who hadn’t managed to flee very far and had been caught together with a baby pig—sat primly in her seat, glaring back at him.
That much, he had expected.
What he hadn’t expected was that the knights who had brought her in hadn’t left. Instead, they remained standing, as if guarding Lynette.
“Why are you still here?”
At Derbel’s curt, icy question, the knights flinched.
Meanwhile, the very cause of the commotion—Lynette herself—seemed completely distracted, focused on coaxing the squirming baby pig in her arms.
“So, Duke….”
As Derbel weighed whether he should kill them or spare them with his eyes—
One of the knights stepped forward bravely.
“You aren’t planning to say anything harsh to Her Highness, are you?”
“What?”
As Derbel stared in disbelief at the sudden remark, another knight cautiously added,
“It’s true that Her Highness ran off with the piglet, but it didn’t cause any damage to House Christian, after all.”
“……”
“That’s right, Your Grace. Her Highness has such a kind heart—she was only trying to save a life. So—”
When all three spoke up in turn, Derbel’s face twisted sharply.
“Since when did the guards of Aster start taking on side jobs?”
At his frigid glare, the three men straightened instantly.
“I ordered you to bring the princess here. Did I order you to act as her lawyers?”
“No, sir!”
“Do you think I’m about to devour my beloved fiancée?”
“No, sir!”
“Then what exactly is the problem?”
“…….”
Derbel curled his lips into a smile that lifted only one corner of his mouth—a smile more terrifying than any raised voice.
The knights couldn’t help but tremble. They knew all too well that when Derbel smiled so beautifully, something terrible was about to happen.
We’re dead.
Just as that thought crossed all their minds—
“Why are you bullying the knights when I’m the one at fault?”
Lynette’s voice cut in.
“Lynette.”
Derbel called her softly. As if nothing had happened, the gaze he turned toward her was impossibly gentle.
“How could you possibly be at fault?”
“Then why are you making such a fuss?”
Derbel’s brow twitched at her words.
“A fuss? I was merely startled when you ran off with a pig.”
His eyes flicked toward the knights. The warmth he’d shown Lynette froze into something sharper than frost the moment it brushed past them.
“And I find it irritating that they believe I’d harm the woman I love.”
“They’re only worried about me.”
“Ah. Worried.”
He let out a quiet scoff and rose from the desk. Approaching Lynette, Derbel placed both hands on the armrests of her chair.
Their distance closed more than ever before.
Close enough to notice that, despite the affection in their curved eyes, the cold beneath was unmistakable.
“Do you really think their concern surpasses mine? They disobeyed me under the pretense of protecting you. Shouldn’t they pay a price for that?”
“Then please just let them go, Derbel. They misunderstood, that’s all.”
Lynette smiled brightly as she spoke.
“…….”
After a moment—
Derbel straightened and stepped away from her.
He glanced at the unmoving guards, then returned to his desk.
“You should leave now. Don’t worry about me. I want to be alone with Derbel.”
At Lynette’s words, the knights finally exhaled in relief and withdrew.
Once the door closed behind them, the air grew abruptly cold.
Gone was the affectionate gaze. Derbel looked at Lynette with a chillingly calm expression.
“You really do have a talent for surprising me. You exceeded my expectations.”
Lynette shrugged at his remark. Her casual attitude drew a short, humorless laugh from him.
“Running off with the pig meant for tonight’s banquet wasn’t enough—you even managed to turn my knights to your side?”
“Her name is Françoise. And I didn’t turn them to my side—they were just worried about me.”
“Ah.”
At her correction, Derbel’s lips twisted faintly.
“Fine. Let’s set them aside. What exactly do you think you’re doing with food meant for everyone?”
Lynette looked at him coolly.
She had no intention of handing Françoise over.
“Please spare her.”
“Spare her….”
The rigid line of his mouth softened. With just that subtle change, Derbel’s entire demeanor shifted.
The icy blue of his eyes seemed almost pure now—like a man who would grant any wish his fiancée made.
Rising from the desk, he approached Lynette.
“……!”
Without thinking, Lynette tightened her hold on the piglet and stiffened.
Derbel braced his hands on the armrests again and leaned in until his face was right in front of hers.
So close that each could see their own reflection in the other’s eyes.
“Did you know this, Lynette?”
His low voice sounded unexpectedly sweet.
She forced herself to hold his gaze, trying to calm the pounding of her heart.
“Animals taken to the battlefield are emergency rations. Pets are a luxury.”
“This isn’t a battlefield.”
She frowned slightly.
“And if all animals on the battlefield are emergency rations, then what about horses?”
“They’re an exception. They’re comrades who share life and death.”
His eyes curved softly—then, just as easily, he stepped back, returning to his original place.
As though he hadn’t moved at all.
“Because you ran off with that thing, we lost time to prepare the main dish. Using it for tonight’s banquet is out of the question.”
“Make it out of the question forever. I’m keeping her as a pet.”
“There’s more than one banquet in life, Princess.”
“…….”
Ah, honestly.
A crease formed between Lynette’s brows.
She knew that to anyone who hadn’t heard his peculiar tone, her behavior would seem odd—perhaps even unreasonable. She knew she was being stubborn.
But when he comes at me this hard, it just makes me want to save Françoise out of sheer spite.
Staring him down, Lynette continued,
“Then I suppose I’ll have to lay siege.”
“A siege?”
Gently patting Françoise, she spoke,
“Until you swear you’ll never eat her, I won’t take a single step outside my room.”
And just like he had earlier, she curved her eyes slightly and smiled.
A smile breathtakingly beautiful.
Lynette put her declaration into action immediately.
After saying her piece, she returned to her room at once, locked the door, and barricaded herself inside.
“Maybe that saying really is true.”
“Pardon?”
Lying on the bed, Lynette murmured as she fed the piglet a slice of apple. Emma, her maid, looked at her in confusion.
The piglet, apparently hungry, gobbled it down at once, then stared at Lynette with crumbs dotting its mouth.
“You eat well, don’t you, Françoise? Want another?”
At the look in its eyes—as if it understood—she gave it another apple.
“That’s enough, Your Highness. She’ll gain weight.”
“I’m just repaying a favor, Emma. Françoise helped me.”
“Huh?”
“Thanks to her, I had an excuse to lay siege. I bought myself some time away from the duke.”
She continued solemnly about proper gratitude to benefactors, but Emma—who had served Lynette faithfully since the Holy Kingdom—clearly didn’t share her perspective.
“A siege….”
Emma murmured, troubled.
How had their gentle, delicate princess come to speak like this?
Noticing her concern, Lynette smiled reassuringly.
“It’s fine. It’s not like I’m going to cause an incident.”
You already caused plenty, Emma thought, barely managing to swallow the words and offer an awkward smile.
“This time is necessary for me.”
She didn’t plan to drag things out.
The sooner she acted, the better her chances of searching Derbel’s library and private quarters before he noticed.
With a satisfied expression, Lynette gazed at Françoise, who was busily munching on her apple.
Just then—
“Your Highness!”
A desperate voice called out, accompanied by frantic knocking on the door.
