Lilian of Turin

“Yes?”

This man?

Dunkel, who was casually holding one of the arms of the Grand Duke, was silently astonished. Lilian took advantage of that gap and sternly commanded him.

“Hurry! I don’t know the circumstances, but looking at His Highness, it’s clear that there’s an urgent matter to fight for time.”

“Ah, yes!”

It was a command that wasn’t like the young lady who was always weak. Dunkel was overwhelmed by the urgent situation and unexpected pressure, and without realizing it, hurriedly drove the unidentified man into the carriage.

As if it had been prepared in advance, the seat across from Lily was covered with a soft rug.

It wasn’t strange. Because Cedric had instructed Lilian to decorate the inside of her carriage as if it were a bed so that she could rest when she was tired.

“Close the door. Let’s regroup and set off.”

“Y…Yes, sir.”

In the blink of an eye, Dunkel answered like with the Lord. The door was then closed.

“Miss.”

Rita quietly called out to Lilian. Her gaze demanded an explanation.

“This…”

At first, Lilian had made up a plausible story. But the moment her eyes met with Rita’s, the thought crossed her mind that she didn’t have to lie.

“…ask for an explanation now and I’ll give you a plausible story. Do you want to hear it?”

Clever Rita immediately understood the meaning of the question.

‘Would you be relieved to hear the lie, or would you follow without asking?’

To expand the scope a little more, it was also a question that defined whether or not Rita was fully Lilian’s person.

Rita’s answer was this.

“…I won’t hear it.”

“Good.”

There was no time to cmmemorate the oath of allegiance as they were carrying a fainted man in the carriage. Fortunately, neither Rita nor Lily were people who dwell on such trifles.

“Didn’t the temperature drop?”

“I’ll find something to wipe him with.”

While Rita was rummaging through a pile of blankets, Lilian unknowingly put her hand on Damian’s cheek.

She was in the middle of taking his temperature.

“!”

Damian unconsciously rested his cold cheek on Lilian’s hand, probably because something warm had touched him. It didn’t seem like he was conscious.

“Miss?”

Despite Rita’s questioning, Lilian couldn’t shake off Damian. His face, as if hugging the palm of her hand…was strangely cute.

If she had to compare it, it was similar to how she felt when a cat she met on the street was too friendly and couldn’t leave.

“He must be very cold.”

If he had been conscious, she would have cut it short…Rita decided to withhold judgment for now.

“I’ll wipe him off, so please step back.”

“Mm.”

Then, the man who had been lying down suddenly opened his eyes. At the same time…

“Ah.”

Her wrist was grabbed.

“Mi…”

Shh. Lilian quieted Rita with her eyes. And she calmly asked.

“Your Highness, are you awake?”

“…you, are…”

“Please relax. I am Lilian Islar of Turin.”

Damian seemed to be trying to understand the explanation, but his narrow eyes were still cloudy.

‘He had no choice but to be like that.’

The ancient weapon used by the imperial family to subdue Damian was the kind that attacked the mind, not the body.

Due to the damage received at this time, Damian’s soul’s defense was cracked, and over time, he went completely insane and used Lilian’s suicide as the catalyst.

“Your Highness, now…”

Then there was a sudden jolt and the carriage stopped.

The sound of rain falling in and the sound of someone arguing began to mix.

‘This.’

It seemed that she was caught in a checkpoint or he was tracked.

It was an unexpected situation, but Lilian was prepared for this situation.

There seemed to be no more time to explain the situation.

“Your Highness, I’m really ashamed and embarrassed to meet you like this for the first time, but how far are you willing to risk your life?”

“…?”

Lilian’s gaze pointed downward. There, a full skirt covered the floor of the carriage, like wrinkled cake wrappers stacked on top of each other.

Damian’s gaze narrowed, but Lilian couldn’t tell if he really understood her words. Meanwhile, it was getting louder and louder outside.

‘It can’t be helped.’

“Then, the situation is not going well, so I’ll understand that you agreed and proceed.”

***

Moments later, Dunkel’s finger struck the window again.

“My Lady, this is the security forces. They’re requesting an inspection.”

During this time, the rain had stopped and security forces stood behind Dunkel with hard expressions. There were five people.

Lilian could see them all, but thanks to the curtains on the carriage window, they could only see Lilian’s face below her nose from the outside.

Before answering, Lilian slowly let out the medicinal smoke from the pipe that she inhaled through her lips. Then she opened her mouth only when the white smoke melted into the thin raindrops and disappeared.

“Interesting. Didn’t they see the Turin coat of arms on my carriage?”

The knights of Turin were a little surprised by the arrogant tone they heard.

“This is normal inspection procedure.”

The man, who seemed to be the head of the security forces, said. She was merely a single woman.

Dunkel’s eyebrows twisted at the rudeness of not conveying words through the escort knight. Lilian held up her hand to hold back his wrath.

The knight continued.

“This is the Cantacun Islands. We are carrying out the Emperor’s will. Please open the carriage.”

“I see.”

Lilian calmly accepted the words.

“His Majesty ordered, at this hour, to search the inside of Turin’s carriage, which was not even opened at the checkpoint. It’s very interesting.”

The security forces’ eyebrows twitched. They thought that since she was an ignorant young lady, if they directly threatened her without going through the knight, she would lose her temper in no time.

“Did you at least bring a power of attorney with you, knight?”

Judging from her tone and behavior, she seemed like a noble lady who had reigned as the hostess of a family for about 30 years.

‘I can’t.’

The knight, who had been pushed back from the momentum, groped the inside of his coat with his hand. Then he showed the badge engraved with gold eagle’s wings.

Dunkel recognized it.

“Capital Defense Knights…”

This order of knights, who protect the capital of His Majesty, had unrestricted authority.

Putting the badge back, the knight urged again.

“Please open the door, my lady. Otherwise, we will open it.”

It was a benevolent attitude that he would at least give her a choice. Instead of pointing out the arrogance, Lilian ordered, “Open the door”.

Sir Dunkel opened the door while watching the knight with fearsome eyes.

He’s uneasy about the existence of the Grand Duke in the carriage…

‘Anyway, Lady Lily told me to open it so she must have a plan.’

The loyal knight came to trust Lilian in a very short time.

The Emperor’s knight ignored Dunkel’s hostility and just stared at the open carriage door expressionlessly.

Soon, the door opened. Inside, only Lily, who had already spread her skirt wide, and Rita, who waited on her, were sitting inside.

As if to let him see, Lilian stared at him, put the pipe to her lips and let out a breath.

Whoo.

The smell of burning firewood in the misty rain forest spread thickly.

The knight thought that it was strangely decadent to do that with a plain and innocent scholar-like face.

‘The figure of her leaning weakly inside the carriage resembling a bed, holding a thin, white pipe just like her fingers…’

It almost seemed like they had entered the bedroom of a woman who had just woken up.

The knight’s face suddenly turend red at the shameless thought that suddenly came to his mind. He nodded then cleared his throat gently, as if he had completely forgotten his rude attitude from just moments ago.

“I got a report that there are vagabonds roaming around here. Please forgive the rudeness.”

“I understand that you work hard day and night. It’s just a little cold…”

Lilian shrugged her shoulders slightly, revealing her bare skin.

The knight’s face was now inconceivably red.

“Ah, in any case, I had been rude, my Lady. Then.”

Bang! The door closed. Soon after, the carriage started to depart.

“Huu.”

Lilian was amazed.

“I never thought he would leave so easily. He was more polite than I thought.”

“My lady…no, nothing.”

Rita shook her head in astonishment. Her young lady didn’t even know that she used a beauty trap.

‘Is she innocent or skilled?’

She couldn’t figure it out.

In any case, since they passed the checkpoint safely, there was no need to keep the embarrassing appearance of hiding a man under the width of her skirt.

With Rita’s help, the cloud-like hem of her skirt was removed, revealing the Grand Duke’s pure white face. He seemed to have lost consciousness again, with his eyes closed.

Was it because of the relief of having succeeded once? It was only then that Lilian was able to properly examine Damian’s face.

He was a very beautiful man, even in his distraught form. Slender cheeks with double eyelids, glittering platinum hair scattered over a statuesque white face.

In spite of his tall and well-toned physique, he seemed more of a beauty than a handsome man because of his delicate face and pitiful corners.

He wasn’t even an ordinary beauty. Even with his eyes closed, he was a great beauty, as if everything around him was bright.

‘A man of great beauty…I mean, can a person be like this?’

It was a beauty that could be talked about as a beauty even in the most boring history books in the world.