I Became the Monster's Bride

No Matter What You Look Like (7)

“No, I’ll take it back to the Palace.”

“What? You’re going to take it back to the Palace? All right, Roelin. What’s the big deal about the withered garland anyway? Just throw it away.”

“Why do you really want to throw it away? It’s my own birthday present after all. Besides, it’s also my first birthday present.”

Roelin instantly covered the flower garland with her arms to protect it as she feared that Kergel might have taken it away. Then, Kergel looked downwards at her as if he was dumbfounded and asked her once again.

“But it’ll definitely wither before it could even reach the Palace.”

“Well… I can just ask Lucy if there’s any way to keep it for a long time.”

Roelin thought about what Kergel had said for a while before she gave a reply. It seemed that she was acting like she would never give up the garland at all cost.

Kergel’s lips as he was looking at her could not hide their joy and began to twitch. Who wouldn’t be happy to see that someone was cherishing what they had given as a gift like this?

“I’ll give you better things when we get back anyway. And next year, we’re definitely going to have a proper, really big birthday party.”

However, Kergel turned his head away like that since he was embarrassed to show that he had such a happy look on his face. Then, Roelin glanced at him before she eventually nodded with a gentle smile.

“Yes, let us do that.”

She then looked at the sky beyond the horizon of the forest. She had missed the Imperial Palace so much.

“I can’t wait to go back to our home.”

Roelin muttered while leaning against Kergel’s chest. ‘Our home’. Kergel was somehow tickled by her words, but he couldn’t say anything in response.

Instead, his steps had just gotten a little faster.

And as soon as they left the forest, the knights who had already prepared themselves to start a move again greeted them at once.

“The Empress’s chair is still in that forest. Go and bring it over. Then, we can proceed right away.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The knight responded as he bowed his head. At the same time, a soldier had quickly entered the forest. Then, another soldier came up and approached while bringing over Kergel’s horse. But right after he shook his head, Kergel opened his mouth.

“I’ll be taking the carriage back to the Palace, so make sure you are informed of that.”

“What?”

Carriage! A carriage?! Upon hearing that, the eyes of all those knights and soldiers widened at the same time.

Wasn’t it their own Emperor the one who once had broken the window without any hesitation or even stabbed that one side of the carriage wall itself as he said that everything felt utterly frustrating inside?

Nevertheless, despite their obvious surprise, Kergel just calmly hugged Roelin and proceeded over to the carriage in return.

* * *

“Fail! How could I have failed at all? It was a double trap!”

Lenoff shouted as he slammed his arm against the armrest. But his henchman could only bow his head in response.

“This was something that should have never failed—something that could have never even failed at all.”

It was a double trap for perfection. Poison as well as the assassins too. However, both of those traps had been completely avoided.

A girl who was nothing but a mere fake.

He felt a deep sense of contempt as if the girl who had just returned to Seroif could have been laughing at him. His anger was bound to grow that much, of course.

Lenoff’s blue eyes flashed coldly. As his wrath poured out, the henchman bowed his head deeply as he flinched.

“I—I apologize, Your Highness. However, an irrepressible force had intervened…”

“An irrepressible force? Do you intend to avoid punishment simply by making such excuses like that? No matter how great the Empire is, the power of the Empire could not have reached over there! The only ones who followed her were the ones who had been escorting her anyway! Didn’t you send out the assassins in consideration of that very fact?”

“Please relieve your anger, Your Highness.”

At that time, the Duke of Deberton, who was merely sitting all silent from before, opened his mouth. Lenoff then stared at his maternal grandfather before he rebuked him in return.

“Do I look like I’m just going to relieve my anger right now? Everything is all messed up! I’m sure that you now have doubts about what would eventually happen if the Emperor of Seroif realized about all that we’ve done or the fact that we tried to kill the girl—apart from everything else.”

“There is no evidence, Your Grace. It’s just a matter of testament. As far as we know, none of the assassins have survived. In other words, there are, in fact, no witnesses at all. The same goes for using poison as well. There’s no evidence in the first place, is there?”

“Still, couldn’t the necklace that had been given to the girl be a part of the evidence then? And if she were to testify about the tea which she drank over here……”

“Even so, it was just a rather ‘unfortunate coincidence’ for us. Therefore, you can simply insist on that. There were two things—not the poison—that just happened to overlap with each other and somehow became unsavory.”

The Duke of Deberton continued calmly against Lenoff. Lenoff then breathed out as he could finally feel that his anger had abated at least a little.

It was just then when the Chief Chamberlain, who had been away for quite a while, entered with a firm expression before he immediately gave a bow to express his courtesy and began to open his mouth at once.

“Your Highness, the Knights Commander has requested an audience.”

“Is the Knights Commander back already? Then, tell him to come in.”

Lenoff responded quickly to Chief Chamberlain’s words. The Duke of Deberton instantly turned towards the door and waited for the Knights Commander to come in as well.