Please Don’t Let Go Of That Leash - Chapter 5 - Eden’s Regret (Part 2)
Chapter 5 – Eden’s Regret (Part 2)
“Rune! Kahin!”
Seeing the two entering the parlor room, Ria quickly stood up and approached. Their kind gazes turned to her.
“Ria, are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine. I was worried when you disappeared without a word, sorry.”
“As long as you’re okay. His Highness explained the reason. I’m sorry we left you alone.”
“No, I should have been more careful. But thanks to Cherta, nothing happened, so I’m relieved…”
‘Was it really relief?’
It was fortunate not to meet that man with a bad feeling, but thinking about the night with Cherta, it didn’t seem so fortunate. She felt awkward in front of the three men.
Cherta said they would easily accept it, knowing the myth, but Ria, having lived in a world without polygamy, always felt uneasy at times like this.
Seeing her hesitate and look awkward, the two men softened their smiles even more.
“Ria, it’s okay. We don’t need to worry. Your choice comes first.”
“You may do as you wish, My Lady.”
She was grateful for their always considerate hearts. Feeling more sorry because of it, but knowing that if she showed it, they would be harder on themselves, Ria nodded and smiled in return.
“But where is Eden?”
She suddenly realized Eden was not around and looked around, puzzled. The Eden she knew would have already been fussing over her, asking if she was okay, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“There are a lot of overdue tasks and sudden assignments, so he couldn’t come. He asked me to convey his apologies.”
“Oh…”
Nodding in understanding, Ria still felt a bit disappointed. No matter how busy he was, he always found time to visit her, and this time he didn’t, which made her feel a bit sad. However, not wanting to bother him further, she tried not to show it.
Rune remembered what Eden had told him while looking at Ria.
When the Crown Prince summoned them to meet Ria, he stood there, frozen with a troubled expression, and said,
‘What right do I have to ask Ria if she’s okay?’
Although Eden clearly wanted to check on her himself, he didn’t move, guilt written all over his face. Rune couldn’t say anything to him, knowing that no matter what he said, Eden wouldn’t change his mind.
“Just wait a little longer, Ria.”
All he could do was convey such words to Ria.
After that, they talked about Cherta’s pledge of obedience to Ria and her residence issue.
“Ria, can you stay in the palace for a few days?”
“Here?”
“Yes. Because of the tasks His Majesty assigned me, I won’t be able to return to the mansion for a while. Kahin is here too, but leaving you alone in the mansion worries me.”
“The palace is the safest place.”
“Then Ria will stay with me for a while.”
‘So that’s why Omur Peune’s tasks were all assigned to us.’
Rune and Kahin clicked their tongues at Cherta’s brazen words while persuading Ria.
That dawn, the Crown Prince had planned to falsely accuse Omur Peune of serious crimes like assault and attempted murder in addition to using the wrong drugs at the imperial banquet.
But upon investigating Omur’s background, they found he had actually committed such acts, silencing commoners after raping them. He was already a criminal.
The reason these crimes hadn’t come to light was that his victims were commoners, not nobles. Without Ria’s incident, these crimes might never have been exposed.
They changed the crimes to those against nobles, making the charges more severe. They planned to use these charges to pressure the Peune family. As a powerless provincial noble family, they would be greatly affected by this punishment. The idea was to force them to excommunicate him, and they would help by arranging for his exile from the empire.
Of course, this was a lie. They planned to fake his exile and torment him to death.
Considering their power, they could have simply captured and punished him without any issues. But they went through this troublesome process for Ria. She must not find out what they had done.
Because of this, the workload increased, including paperwork and staging a fake exile.
Cherta pushed all of this onto Rune and Eden to increase his time with Ria. As expected, they couldn’t refuse since it was the Crown Prince’s order.
However, they were smart too. Rune attached Kahin to Ria’s side as a condition for handling all the work, ensuring she wouldn’t be left alone with the Crown Prince.
“Kahin will be your guard as before while you’re in the palace.”
Though it felt like entrusting a cat with a fish, it was a necessary measure.
***
The only ones who knew Ria was staying in the palace were the four men, the Emperor, and the Empress. Given the heightened interest of the nobles in her, secrecy was essential for her safety.
The real reason was to completely isolate her from the outside world, preventing any news about Omur from reaching her.
Thus, five days into her stay at the palace, her activity was still confined to the Crown Prince’s quarters.
Fortunately, since arriving in this world, she had always stayed within the Astina mansion, making the current situation feel familiar rather than stifling. The initial relief they felt seeing her unbothered turned into a realization not long ago.
Accepting a near-imprisonment situation so easily was a comfort to their guilty hearts, a fact they couldn’t deny. However, trying to be somewhat ethical towards her, they also felt sorry, especially after seeing how much she enjoyed her rare outing.
What should they do? They pondered daily, sending her flowers and sweet desserts she liked. The official reason wasn’t entirely false, so their options were limited. They decided not to block her contact with Marchioness Serena Rosevita.
“Kahin, look! Serena invited me to her mansion next week!”
Seeing her so happy about the invitation from Marchioness Rosevita, Kahin felt a pang of conscience.
“Are you that happy?”
“Yes, very much. She’s the first friend I’ve made since coming here.”
Her cheeks blushed slightly, and her bright smile was so lovely that it made his heart ache. The magic potion she took to change her appearance made her hair a soft pink, reminding him of the beautifully blooming flowers in the garden they had seen together.
“Do you know what kind of gift Serena would like?”
“I’ll find out.”
“Thank you.”
She nodded and carefully put the invitation letter back in the envelope, then stood up and stretched.
“Staying indoors all the time makes me feel sluggish.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that…”
Her eyes, which had been gently curved in a smile, drooped down. Feeling even more guilty, Kahin immediately apologized, causing Ria to look visibly flustered.
She had only meant that she wanted to move her body a bit. Ah, except for sleeping. She had just managed to avoid sharing a bedroom with Cherta, who had begged her, to get a separate room instead. Staying together too long would inevitably lead to another entanglement.
“Um, is there any simple exercise I can do?”
“Exercise, you say?”
“Yes. At the mansion, I at least took walks, but I can’t even do that here.”
Kahin seriously observed the young lady before him. Her arms, which looked half the size of his, made him doubt if she could even hold a sword, and her soft body, lacking any noticeable muscles, seemed likely to suffer with any exertion.
Noticing his increasingly troubled green eyes, Ria stepped closer, placing her hands on her hips and speaking confidently.
“Kahin, I may look like this, but I’m a healthy person, you know? I used to lift heavy things and tried to exercise regularly, and anyway! I’m not as weak as you think.”
“…Is that so?”
Her small stature, barely reaching his chest, and her petite body that fit snugly in his arms made her words seem unreliable.
“Yes. So, please teach me some stretching or simple exercises. I can’t do the serious training you knights do, but I can handle things ordinary people do.”
The problem was that he couldn’t refuse her request. Sighing, he began teaching her some simple indoor stretches.
But a few minutes later,
“Haah, gasp. Wait a minute… Kahin, let’s rest for a bit.”
Ria had to admit her poor physical condition.