Grand Duke, I Like You, But Please Die! - Chapter 22

“The mountain path is rough, so you will have to walk up from here.”

As soon as the door opened, Kaiel got off the carriage and held his forehead.

“My head is about to burst.”

“Your Grace…?”

Ian asked, his face turning pale.

“Did the ride discomfort you?”

“No.”

Following Kaiel’s gaze, Ian’s head turned towards Delia.

“Aha.”

Ian nodded, understanding what he meant. We have another round to go.

After Delia also got off the carriage, Ian bowed.

“Please be careful.”

He was curious why someone as high-ranking as a grand duke would come directly to this mountain but didn’t ask.

“Miss, please be careful.”

Ian, who had separately urged her to be careful, took a few steps back and watched them.

He would have been worried if Delia were alone, but he felt reassured with the Grand Duke accompanying her.

Leaving Ian at the entrance of the mountain, Delia and Kaiel began walking towards Fourpeak Mountain.

“Keep up, Kaiel!”

Delia pushed through the bushes and trees with her small body. When she encountered slightly taller bushes, she was completely hidden.

While she moved her feet diligently, almost running, Kaiel didn’t speed up much. Even so, there was little difference between them.

Soon, Delia, whose stamina was the first to run out, stopped in her tracks.

“Shall we take a.. short… break?”

Just as Delia, who looked desperate for rest, was about to turn around, her foot got caught on a hard tree root beside her foot, causing her to stagger and slide backward.

Fortunately, she managed to regain her balance and didn’t fall, but the problem was that her legs gained speed on the steep slope. She started to run backward, unable to stop.

“Catch me! Catch…”

As she urgently shouted, her back suddenly landed in a firm embrace.

Thanks to Kaiel, who was following behind her and stood firm, Delia avoided rolling down the mountain.

“Be careful.”

Kaiel grabbed her shoulders and moved her away from his body.

Delia, who had been too shocked to speak, finally found her voice.

“I almost died…”

“You won’t die.”

It was just a casual remark, but he was right. And it reassured her. Delia reminded herself that she had the power of immortality.

‘Right, I’m immortal, huh? It’s not me who will die, but Kaiel…’

Delia shook her head to clear her mind. They would soon reach the place where the herbs grew.

Kaiel, looking down at her, spoke indifferently.

“It’ll be troublesome if you get hurt.”

“Okay, okay! I’ll be careful.”

It was then that a hand suddenly appeared in front of her eyes.

“Hold on.”

Delia couldn’t believe her eyes.

No matter how much she looked, it was indeed Kaiel’s hand reaching out to her. His large, long hand.

Her eyes and mouth went through several stages of widening.

‘Kaiel… that Kaiel is offering his hand to me!’

Delia stared at the hand without daring to grab it.

As she stood still like a statue, Kaiel looked around and said,

“If you don’t want to, you can grab a branch…”

“Nooo! It’s fine! Totally!”

Afraid he might withdraw his hand, Delia hurriedly grabbed it with both hands.

“Let’s go.”

The steep path continued, but since Kaiel was practically pulling her along, Delia reached their destination without much effort.

“It’s here. I’m pretty sure.”

As soon as she spoke, Kaiel let go of her hand and began to carefully observe the surroundings.

Unlike the very cold Tranade, the weather in Sheriton was relatively mild, so fortunately, the Fourpeak Mountain, which spanned both regions, wasn’t covered in snow.

There were thick and large trees, but the gaps between them were wide, allowing various plants to grow densely in the open spaces.

After looking around at the similar-looking plants, he turned to Delia again.

“Are you going to find it by smell this time too?”

He belived that she really has a dog’s nose, and she couldn’t argue so she nodded reluctantly.

“Wait here.”

Delia sniffed around for the herbs. Of course, it was her eyes, not her nose, that found the herbs.

Focusing on the base of the tree trunks, she moved around until she stopped in one spot.

A plant with a flower that looked like a white paper doll was hiding under a tree, fluttering in the wind.

‘Found it.’

Delia let out a small sigh of relief. If she hadn’t set the herb’s appearance to be unique, she might have had to pick every single plant in this mountain.

“Here, here!”

Delia waved her arm and called Kaiel. When he came closer, she squatted down and pointed at the plant.

“Look. You need to find a plant with a white flower that looks like a chubby stick figure.”

“…What’s a stick figure?”

“It’s something that looks like this.”

Delia carefully began to dig out the soil around the plant.

“You need to pull it out with the root. Every part of it has good medicinal properties.”

As she spoke, her long hair kept falling over her shoulder and obstructing her view. It even touched the ground and got dirty, but Delia didn’t care at all.

“Pull it out as gently as you can…”

Just as she was about to pull out the plant, the red hair that was blocking her view was suddenly lifted away. Kaiel had gathered her hair and lifted it slightly.

Delia shivered, feeling the sudden chill on her neck.

“Kaiel? What are you doing?”

“Your hair. …It’s distracting.”

Realizing he was helping her, Delia burst into a bright smile.

“Since when did you have such good manners?”

He frowned slightly but didn’t let go of her hair.

Delia turned back to the plant, grabbed the base, and pulled it out. The thin roots clinging to the soil made a rustling sound as they came free.

She carefully shook off the remaining soil from the roots and held up the plant.

“See? This is how you do it.”

When she stood up, Kaiel released her hair.

“Now you go find some too, Kaiel!”

Then, as if she had a sudden good idea, she called him back.

“Oh, Kaiel! How about we have a contest to see who can find more?”

“…That’s childish.”

“Are you afraid you’ll lose?”

“……”

Kaiel looked at Delia silently, then turned around and walked away.

‘I guess he isn’t interested in a contest…’

Delia also started focusing on finding more herbs. After digging several times, the hem of her skirt was dirty with stains.

Her hands, scratched and bruised from digging with her bare hands, were also in bad shape. But Delia was too absorbed in finding the herbs to care about such things.

‘Now I understand why people go foraging in the spring. It’s surprisingly fun.’

After digging up three or four more herbs, Delia stood up.

She stretched her stiff back and counted the herbs she had collected. Excluding the ones that broke while pulling them out, she had six.

Feeling satisfied, she looked back.

“Kaiel! I already have six! How many do you…”

She almost dropped all the herbs she was holding. Kaiel was holding a bundle of herbs that seemed at least several times more than hers.

He calmly counted the pile of herbs and looked up.

“Fifteen.”

Kaiel, who had spoken nonchalantly, approached and handed her all the herbs he was holding.

“I won.”

Alternating her gaze between the herbs in her hands and Kaiel, Delia couldn’t help but laugh.

“If you pick that many, they’ll all be gone soon!”

“…We need to make sure this herb is never used.”

Kaiel’s serious response to her light-hearted joke made Delia feel awkward, and she waved her hand.

“Oh, come on. It was just a joke.”

“I hate jokes.”

He brushed off the dirt from his hands. Unlike Delia, whose clothes and hair were a mess with dirt, he was still spotless.

Delia put the herbs in the basket she had brought.

Thanks to Kaiel, who had picked more than expected, they had more than enough herbs.

She looked down at the basket with a satisfied expression.

“This should be enough.”

Swinging the basket back and forth, Delia quickened her steps.

She wanted to return to the castle quickly to start researching the antidote. She wanted to cure Lady Langte and see Kaiel happy. She forced herself to stop thinking about what would come after that.

It was then that Kaiel blocked her path.

“Wait.”

With his broad chest, he completely obstructed her view like a giant boulder.

Delia tried to step back to see something, but he grabbed her waist, preventing her from moving.

“Stay still.”

His eyes, which were usually cold and sharp, now looked especially like a predator searching for prey.

Quiet, yet coldly overwhelming, like the eye of a storm.

“Someone’s following us.”

Realizing the situation, Delia gently pushed against his chest.

“I’m fine.”

But instead of being pushed away, he pulled her closer.

“It’s dangerous. Stay still.”

Despite his words, Delia forced herself free from his grip.

She really had to force herself free.

She wanted to stay in his broad embrace, but given the current situation, she couldn’t.

If he got hurt protecting her, it would be a disaster. She would fail her mission to kill him, and the system might take some terrifying measures.

It was much more efficient and less risky for her to protect him.