Chapter 45
Thud.
With a man’s punch, Delkan’s upper body folded in half.
“……”
“You can’t even dodge a punch like that and you call yourself a knight of Bonia? Delkan Mondria. Even if Prince Charles abandoned you, you shouldn’t drag down Bonia’s reputation too.”
It sounded like he was disciplining a subordinate, but since I had seen them since the carriage, I knew.
That was just an excuse to beat him up…!
Unlike me, who was fuming inside, Delkan stood there quietly without resisting once.
“I heard you’ve been out of your mind lately. You’d better get proper training today.”
Three men surrounded Delkan.
They were dressed like ordinary people, but from what they were saying, they seemed to be knights from the Kingdom of Bonia.
They didn’t disguise themselves just to beat up our Delkan, right…? If that’s the case, I won’t let them get away with it.
The knight standing on the left cracked his knuckles menacingly as he walked toward Delkan.
“Let’s start by fixing that face of yours I can’t stand.”
No! Not the face. Not the face…!
I was pressed against the corner at the entrance of the alley, watching what was happening inside, and I shouted urgently.
“Guard! Over here! Several people are bullying one person!”
“W-What?! I’ll go check!”
“Please hurry! They look like trash!”
Kadiyan, who was hiding with me, smoothly played along with my sudden acting.
Looks like Kadiyan can act pretty well too.
Thanks to that, our dramatic lie worked on the Bonia knights.
“Tch. Looks like someone saw.”
“It’ll be annoying if Zendal’s soldiers catch us. Let’s go.”
“You’re lucky.”
Whether they were real knights or not, the men lightly jumped over the wall and escaped the dead-end alley.
“Hmph. Acting cool while running away.”
“Seriously.”
Kadiyan and I stepped into the alley.
I ran to Delkan, who looked battered, and checked his condition.
“Geez, Delkan. What happened to you? Your face… Thankfully they didn’t touch it. If I run into those guys in the imperial palace, I’ll rip their hair out—”
“Lili?”
Delkan widened his eyes in surprise when he saw me angrily rambling, then soon looked resigned.
“There’s no way Lili would be here… Another hallucination.”
“Huh?”
It had only been about three weeks since we last saw each other—what kind of existence had I become to Delkan?
To prove I was real, I waved my hand in front of his eyes, but Delkan still looked like he was staring into another dimension.
Who did this to my friend?
“Delkan, get a hold of yourself.”
“This time the hallucination even talks….”
Delkan muttered with a faint smile, then spoke to me.
“Lili.”
“Hm?”
“Do you like handsome guys?”
He really said something that didn’t need to be asked twice.
As if that wasn’t obvious.
“Uh… yeah, I do.”
“Aren’t I handsome too?”
Wow.
I never expected puppy-like Delkan to attack with his looks.
Maybe he had lost some weight—his slightly angled jawline looked sharper, and his nose bridge, more defined than before, looked sharp enough to cut the air.
His deeper eye sockets gave him a more mature vibe.
His moist gray eyes looked at me faintly.
As I stared at his dangerously charming face, Delkan lowered his head and gave a small laugh.
“Seeing you don’t answer… I guess not.”
It seemed Delkan still didn’t realize he was handsome.
Kadiyan, standing a bit away, muttered under his breath, “The ones who have it are worse.”
I agree with that.
Hey, if you’re not handsome, then the only handsome man left in this world is His Majesty.
“No. You’re handsome.”
“Really…?”
His expression brightened a little, but Delkan still looked down.
Did he get dumped or something…?
No way—did someone reject him because they didn’t like his looks?
Is that why he’s digging such a deep hole about his appearance…!
To restore Delkan’s lost confidence, I started exaggerating loudly.
“Of course! Delkan, if you show your face to a crying kid, they’d stop crying right away. You know kids recognize handsome faces better, right? And if you smile at someone staring at you on the street, they’ll immediately ask you out for tea. I’m telling you, you’re handsome.”
If he’s still depressed after this, I’ll just take him to eat.
Good food is the best cure when you’re feeling down.
I can at least buy Delkan something tasty. Heh heh.
“I…”
Good. Confirmed—we’re going to eat.
Delkan spoke in a heavy voice, like he was confessing.
“After you suddenly disappeared last time, I kept thinking. Why my heart felt so uneasy. Why my head was so full of worries about you.”
“Huh?”
“Even though I thought I wasn’t in my right mind, I was looking for you like crazy.”
…Wait a second.
“When I ran into you again by chance on the street, I was just happy. Before that, it had been so painful. But then… you were with your ex-husband. And I heard he even put you in debt. I couldn’t see him in a good light. So I wanted to pull you away from him, but Lili, you said you liked him. That he was handsome.”
I listened to Delkan nervously, my heart tightening.
This flow, this mood.
It’s not what I think it is, right…?!
“……If that’s what you said, how could I interfere? So I decided not to care, but after that, I don’t even know how time passed. You know, Lili. I—”
That word that starts with “c” and ends with “fess”…!
I wasn’t mentally prepared at all, so I hurried to cut him off.
“Ah, wait, Delkan… I actually—!”
“I’ve been told the date I’m going back.”
He spoke before I could.
“H-Huh?”
“To the Kingdom of Bonia. They said the delegation’s mission is over.”
So all that reminiscing just now was a buildup to make the farewell more emotional…?
I knew it.
Good thing my wild thoughts didn’t come out of my mouth.
I looked away awkwardly for a moment, then looked back at Delkan.
He was smiling gently like usual.
“Delkan, want me to tell you something surprising?”
“?”
“I’m not a hallucination.”
I said it on purpose in a teasing tone.
Delkan’s eyes widened slightly, and a pleasant laugh escaped him.
“Sorry.”
Then he added an excuse.
“When I saw your shocked face earlier, I realized. It’s really Lili.”
“Oh, you figured it out later than I expected…?”
As we joked around, it felt like we had gone back to a few weeks ago.
Delkan really was my friend…
It was sad that Delkan was leaving for Bonia, but the timing was actually good.
It’s not like I often get to come outside the imperial palace.
I’ll pay for Delkan’s farewell party!
“Then tonight, I’ll—”
“Lili, I like you.”
His sudden confession turned me into a statue.
Since I couldn’t even speak from shock, Kadiyan moved instead.
“D-Do knights of Bonia do this to the person who saved them?!”
Kadiyan reacted as if Delkan were some kind of thug.
Anyone might be upset by such a reaction, but…
Delkan, who had dropped the bomb, actually looked relieved.
“I’ll wait for your answer.”
“Wait for what?!”
Kadiyan shouted again.
Then he picked up frozen me in his arms and ran out of the alley.
“I-I must protect the Saint…!”
Over Kadiyan’s shoulder as he ran,
I saw Delkan growing farther away in my shaking view.
Delkan smiled and waved at me.
‘Delkan likes me… Delkan likes me…’
Two days passed like that, but it still didn’t feel real.
Delkan… Delkan likes me!
‘What do I do? What should I do?’
I stared at the bowl of cream soup, lost in thought.
Of all things, the spoon I was holding was the same color as Delkan’s eyes.
“Saint.”
“……”
“Shin Ari.”
“……”
Tap. Tap.
I turned toward the steady tapping sound.
Long, handsome fingers were tapping on the table.
Their owner was…
“Ugh.”
His Majesty, resting his chin on his hand and looking at me.
Ugh. So dazzling…!
His Majesty had returned to blond hair, but I had a problem.
While I was getting used to silver-haired His Majesty, all the immunity I had built up to blond His Majesty got reset.
In other words, my heart raced just from looking at him.
Ever since I came back to the imperial palace, His Majesty had been visiting Prodinta Palace more often.
Two or three times a week, we had lunch or dinner together like this.
‘I just can’t get used to it, no matter how many times I see him…!’
Still, it’s nice being able to see him up close often. Even if it’s a bit hard…!
“You didn’t answer when I called. Are you worried about something?”
“I think a handsome man has entered my life.”
At my serious statement mixed with a sigh, His Majesty let out a small laugh.
“You’re saying the same obvious thing again today….”
“Aah— what should I do? It’s my first time being confessed to by a handsome man like this…!”
“…Confessed?”
I grabbed my head again for the first time in a while.
Ever since Delkan confessed two days ago, my head had been so full of worries it felt like it would explode.
The Bonia delegation would return in five days.
I had to give Delkan my answer by then.
No matter what, Delkan would go back to Bonia. I would stay in Zendal, living while looking at His Majesty’s face.
…Long-distance dating might be okay though.
‘What do you mean okay…!’
I immediately rejected my own thought.
Delkan seemed sincere, and I couldn’t say, “I don’t like you, but I like your face, so let’s date.”
If you play with someone’s sincere feelings, you’ll be punished, Shin Ari. Especially someone as kind as Delkan…!
‘But still. Do you think I’ll ever be romantically involved with a man more handsome than Delkan in my life? I guarantee it—never.’
That was also true.
Ugh. This is cruel.
The moral answer was clear, but kicking away a handsome man who rolled into my life was nearly impossible for me.
That’s why I wanted to cut him off before he could confess…!
“Should I just be honest…?”
“So you’re asking me for romantic advice right now?”
His Majesty’s tone sounded strangely displeased.
Does he not like this topic and I just kept talking without noticing?
“Do you not like this kind of topic?”
“I don’t particularly welcome it.”
I knew it. Feeling guilty for no reason, I said to His Majesty,
“Ugh, sorry. Since I talked about myself this time, Your Majesty can talk to me next time if you have romantic worries! I’m actually good at giving advice about other people’s relationships.”
Even if there’s a beauty in someone else’s relationship, they’re not rolling into my life…!
I grinned.
“We’ll be seeing each other for life, so at least we can share dating advice!”
“…Each other, huh.”
His Majesty slightly lifted one corner of his mouth, looking intrigued.
He somehow looked dangerous, but didn’t I say my immunity was reset?
I couldn’t trust my current sense that thought even a calm His Majesty was dangerous.
With relaxed movements, His Majesty began cutting the meat on his plate.
“Then next time. I’ll ask for your help.”
