Chapter 8. From Winter to Spring (3)

I clutched his arm and asked. Judging by the words alone, it sure sounded like one… I lowered my gaze shyly and asked. Kyle then held my shoulders, gently pulled me from his embrace, and said firmly:

“No, it’s a proposal. Marry me.”

Then he kissed me again. I could feel the soft warmth of his lips. More than that, I was stunned—who proposes by saying “Marry me” so boldly instead of asking, “Will you marry me?” Of course, it’s Kyle. So assertive and unpredictable… but in the end, I probably have no choice but to say yes.

“Ahem, terribly sorry to interrupt at such a good moment! But if I don’t escort you now, I might lose my head…”

Gasp! Right—the knight! I quickly pulled away from Kyle. How embarrassing… I’d been so caught up in the moment, I completely forgot he was there! As I stood there flustered, Kyle glared at the knight with irritation and said—

“Then go fly.”

“Kailon-sama!”

In the end, Kyle pouted and followed the knight. As he left, saying he’d be back soon, I fanned my burning cheeks while watching his retreating figure. Goodness… Why is it so hot, even though it’s winter?

***

After sending Kyle off, I went to where the knights were gathered. As a victim in the Seria case, I had to give several statements, so I was held there for quite a while. I also ended up submitting the communicator that the Duchess had given me as evidence.

“Gasp—this is one of the extremely rare limited-edition communicators in the Empire!”

The knight receiving the evidence turned pale and very carefully placed the communicator in a box. Hmm, seeing how shaken he looks, I guess it’s even more valuable than I thought. Duchess… giving me such an over-the-top gift—what am I supposed to do with that? I honestly wanted to protest.

“That concludes today’s testimony. Let’s continue tomorrow.”

“Wha… tomorrow too?”

Even after talking for hours, they still had more to ask? I hid my exhaustion and gave a vague nod. Then, wanting to rest as soon as possible, I quickly stood up from my seat. These knights… their stamina really is something else. Admiring their physical endurance, I headed to the room where Alec was.

“Let’s go, Tosoon!”

I brought a flower and the adorable Tosoon along to visit Alec, who had been bitten on the arm and injured by Tosoon.

Knock knock.

I knocked on the door a couple of times before flinging it open. Between Alec and me, things like “Can I come in?” weren’t necessary. At least, that’s how I saw it…

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Oh… Radel.”

Seeing Alec lying weakly on the bed made my heart ache. Ugh, poor Alec—bitten by Tosoon, the invincible rabbit. I remembered Tosoon biting down and taking out a monster in one go, and the memory alone made me shudder. He’s so cute now, but honestly, he’s more reliable than most monsters.

“I brought flowers and Tosoon as a get-well gift.”

“…Tosoon?”

Alec peeked his head up and looked at Tosoon, who was nestled in my arms. And then he screamed. The sound was so loud it echoed through the room, and I instinctively covered my ears. Whoa, that was impressive.

“You’re still not over your fear of Tosoon?”

“Kkyung?”

Feeling concerned for Alec’s mental and emotional state, I tried to move Tosoon somewhere out of sight—but the cute rabbit monster slipped out of my arms on his own and hopped straight up onto the bed.

“Kkyuuung!”

“Eek!”

“Kkyuuuung!”

“Eeeek!”

Tosoon approached with a flower in its mouth, acting all cute, but Alec freaked out and scrambled to get away. Oh dear, I didn’t expect anyone to dislike such an adorable Tosoon… Seeing Alec nearly pass out, I scooped Tosoon back into my arms. Hmm, this won’t work. I guess they’ll need more time to get used to each other.

“Then rest well.”

“Why did you even come here…?”

“Hmm, to visit!”

I replied cheerfully to Alec’s question with a smile. Of course I came to check on him! Alec looked a bit flustered at my enthusiastic answer, then quietly lay back down and closed his eyes. Oh dear, he must be really tired. Before leaving his room, I turned off the lights.

‘Since he’s already having such a hard time, I shouldn’t bring up Seria.’

It hurt to think about telling Alec the truth, especially since he’d watched over Seria so earnestly. How much of a shock would it be for him…? He’d hear the rumors soon enough anyway, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say it. So I simply walked the quiet corridor in silence.

The next day, I headed to the room where the knights were gathered to finish the rest of my testimony. Kyle had already gone to the Imperial Palace, Aren was busy working in the Mage Tower, and Alec had been sent home due to his injury. Dia and Huan had gone off to the wastelands behind the Mage Tower for sword training amidst all the chaos. On the third day of the field trip, the only person I ended up seeing was the Crown Prince, who was handling official duties.

When he saw me, he clapped out of nowhere, saying I had done something truly impressive—and then delivered a truly shocking piece of news.

“When we looked into Marquis Edwin’s background, it was outrageous. Child molestation, dozens of women he’s laid hands on… and he was even planning a kidnapping. And in the midst of all these crimes, he hired assassins at Seria’s request? The man’s insane.”

The Crown Prince muttered his honest thoughts, then turned to me and asked how I wanted him punished. Hmm, is it normal to let the victim decide the punishment? I answered the Crown Prince’s question without hesitation.

“Execution.”

“Alright, then we’ll go with that.”

“Wait just a minute! The trial hasn’t even happened yet!”

The aide, who had been watching the Crown Prince and me decide the punishment on our own, shouted in disbelief. Ouch, my ears.

“Ahem. He’ll be immediately investigated on attempted murder charges, and the trial will proceed soon, so please be patient even if it feels slow.”

The aide cleared his throat and then tried to calm me down. I nodded roughly in response. Honestly, I didn’t care about the details—as long as Marquis Edwin was properly punished.

As I looked down, disinterested, a thought suddenly came to mind and I asked the Crown Prince a question.

“The marquis aside, what’s going to happen to Seria?”

“…Seria, huh?”

At the mention of Seria, the Crown Prince’s expression changed. Unlike before, his eyes were serious. Seeing that look made me nervous—could he possibly still have feelings for Seria? I stared blankly into his blue eyes. In them, I saw a clear, unwavering gaze.

“Execution, for the crime of attempting to harm a noble.”

“What?”

“…Or she’ll be exiled from the Empire.”

It seemed the Crown Prince had finally let go of Seria. Things had started to unravel between them back at the Goddess’s banquet, and now he had clearly severed any feelings he had. Watching Eden speak so indifferently, I let out a soft chuckle.

“You’re being pretty firm about this.”

“If you commit a crime, you should pay the price.”

Eden smiled deeply in return. Hmm, at first, I thought he was just an arrogant, rude Crown Prince, but now… his personality has improved a bit—just a little.

“Well then, shall we get back to your testimony?”

“…Can’t you just let me go for today?”

So many things had happened all at once, I was absolutely exhausted. I let my body droop with fatigue and pleaded, but Eden just smiled slightly and told me not to even dream of it. I take back what I said about his personality improving.

And so, grumbling all the while, I was stuck spending the last day of the field trip with the Crown Prince.

What kind of field trip is this?!

***

One day, not long before the trial date for Seria and the Marquis, I was spending a peaceful day at the academy.

“Kailon seems really busy with subjugating monsters.”

After morning classes, I was sitting in the academy garden with Dia and Huan, eating lunch. Unfortunately, Alec was still resting at home due to lingering effects from his arm injury. Poor Alec… he used to love tomato sandwiches so much…

As I thought about dropping by Alec’s house later, I took a bite of my sandwich. Yum. It’s good. Nom nom.

“Kyle… must be busy.”

“Cheer up.”

Dia patted my back and tried to feed me the sandwich more enthusiastically. As I chewed, I suddenly felt someone’s gaze. I turned my head to find Huan glaring at me. What now?

“Huan, what is it?”

“…Nothing.”

Hmm. Huan’s been acting a bit strange lately. He keeps staring at me like he has something to say, but when I ask, he quickly looks away and pretends it’s nothing. It’s kind of frustrating. Whenever I try to ask what’s going on, that’s the reaction I get… Just what’s the issue?

“Anyway, did you see Seria?”

“Ah, yeah… I went for a visit.”

A few days ago. I had gone all the way to the prison to visit her, wanting to see Seria one last time. I was curious about how she would end, and I wanted to resolve the questions lingering in my mind…

“What face do you have, showing up here? Did you come to laugh at how pathetic I’ve become? I lost everything because of you! Just wait until I get out of here—I’ll make you pay!”

Seria bared her teeth and snarled at me. I looked down at her coldly and sneered. It was honestly amazing how much a person could change. I could still remember how she first appeared—pretending to be a victim, tears welling up in her eyes. And now? It felt like I was the one who should be crying instead.

Seria rattled the iron bars violently and threatened me, while the knight beside her looked nervously between us.

“Don’t you think this is just karma? Have you ever considered how many people you’ve hurt with your shallow acting and lies? Ah, no, of course you haven’t. You’re far too selfish for that.”

I think that’s roughly what I said, though I can’t remember exactly. I was too angry watching Seria, who still hadn’t realized her own wrongdoings and was throwing a tantrum, so I just lashed out.

What expression did she make when I said that…? Right, she was staring at me like she wanted to tear me apart.

“You damn b*tch! Don’t think this is the end! I will kill you, no matter what!”

Seria bit her lips so hard they bled and screamed like a madwoman. In the end, the knights had to rush in and restrain her.

It was pitiful, really. That once-beautiful, delicate Seria had completely fallen apart.

“Well then, goodbye. I’ll be looking forward to the trial verdict.”

I gave Seria a final parting line and quickly left. I hadn’t asked her any of the important questions—I’d just wasted time with a pointless clash. What a waste. How could someone be so good at making people angry?

I bit my lip lightly and glanced back. Seria was still there, raging like a lunatic.

I gave Seria my final words and hurriedly left. In the end, I hadn’t asked her any of the important questions—I’d just wasted time in a pointless war of nerves. What a waste. How can someone be so good at getting under my skin?

I bit my lip lightly, then turned back to look. Seria was still thrashing around like a madwoman.

Is that the last sight I’ll have of the heroine?

For some reason, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be.

“She said she’d kill me.”

“Hah, she still hasn’t come to her senses.”