Chapter 92

Even after making a promise to be together for the rest of their lives, the two of them only came out of the secret garden after a long time.

It was late at night when the moon rose in mid-sky. They ambled slowly toward the annex while holding hands. Like a child, she lightly shook her right hand, which was clasped with Seth, and stretched out her left arm in front of her eyes.

As the two rings on her fingers came into her eyes, Min-ha uttered with a happy smile.

“So, is this ruby ​​ring your mother’s ring?”

“Yes. It was said that it was a proposal ring that my father had saved up for a long time to propose to my mother.”

“Wow… Can I wear a ring like that?”

“What are you saying? Who else would receive this ring other than you?”

“Well, I’m the only one.”

Seeing her speak triumphantly as she rolled up her ring-wearing hand, Seth smiled lowly and squeezed her hands tighter. The next moment, Min-ha moved to the side and got close enough to his shoulders and faced each other.

Seth asked, leaning his head lightly on her head, who had come closer to him.

“Are you cold?”

“No, I just want to be closer.”

Slowing down her pace, she moved closer to him. It was because she wanted to walk together a little longer while talking about trivial things like this. Perhaps because he noticed her mind, Seth’s stride seemed to have slowed down as well. Her heart fluttered anew at his trivial consideration.

As they walked while feeling the warm body temperature touching each other, the two of them eventually arrived in front of the annex before they knew it.

Min-ha glanced up at Seth, who was standing in front of a sparsely lit annex by the window.

“Sleep well. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes. Sleep well, too.”

“…Then, I will go.”

“….”

After straightening her crumpled sleeves, he brushed her hair that was tucked behind her ears one more time before kissing her cheek briefly and slowly turning his back. At the same time, Min-ha was gazing at Seth’s back as he slowly walked toward the eastern annex with a gaze full of regret.

‘Well, it was a pity to let him go like this. At least for today, I didn’t want to part ways like this…’

Because of that, she hesitated as she stared at his back, which was gradually moving away from her. Soon, Min-ha bit her lip once and called for him.

“…Hey, Seth!”

Then, as if he had waited, Seth stopped and glanced back at her. Hurriedly approached him, who stopped a short distance away, she carefully grabbed his wrist.

“It’s a pity to part ways like this… don’t you think so?”

“….”

“So…”

Would you like to sleep in the annex today? As she was about to ask that…

“Your Excellency! Where are you, Your Excellency?!”

From the eastern annex, on the road leading to the annex, Lancelot’s shouts were heard calling Seth.

At first glance, the footsteps of the knights running along with Lancelot’s urgent voice seemed to number in the dozens. Seeing Min-ha stiffened at the sound, Seth, as if to reassure her, embraced her by the shoulder and shouted in the direction where the voice came from.

“Sir Lancelot, I’m here!”

“Your Excellency, you were here…!”

“What’s going on?”

As if in response to his voice, there was a quick running sound before Lancelot and the Persen Knights knelt in front of him with urgent faces and bowed.

Unlike usual, Lancelot, completely armed with armor all over his body, breathed heavily while holding a sword in one hand and opened his mouth with a firm expression.

“A little while ago, Sir Agravein, who guards the outskirts of Persen Castle, sent me a letter. Right now, the Emperor’s immediate troops, including the imperial guard, are rapidly advancing towards this place!”

“…The Emperor’s immediate troops? What’s the reason?”

“He couldn’t tell me the reason, but Sir Agravein sent a letter with the Emperor’s seal on it… The letter said that if we don’t open the path to Persen Castle and into the mansion, we’ll be punished as a crime equivalent to treason.”

“If we don’t cooperate, it’d be treason? I wonder why the Emperor sent troops to my mansion at this ambitious hour, even with such a grandiose cause.”

“…It seems that Sir Agravein also asked about that, but the Captain of the imperial guard only repeatedly said that he couldn’t tell you because it was an urgent matter and recklessly demanded that the castle gate be opened.”

“So, where are they now?”

“Sir Agravein’s letter arrived about 30 minutes ago, so I’m guessing they should’ve arrived in front of the mansion by now.”

Seth’s expression hardened at Lancelot’s report that followed. Meanwhile, Min-ha’s expression, who was standing next to him, couldn’t help but become serious as he didn’t even look like the person who had just smiled kindly at her before.

‘What’s going on? What did he mean by treason… and why did the Emperor send his troops at this time?’

The fact that they ordered the castle gate to be opened at this late hour was also unusual, seemingly that the situation esd serious. As she thought that, Min-ha put strength on Seth’s wrist that she was holding without realizing it, feeling the growing anxiety in her heart.

When he turned back to her, Seth patted her delicate shoulder and parted his lips.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be a big deal.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes, so you should go to the annex and rest.”

“But, what about you?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Min-ha couldn’t hide her uneasiness despite his kind words of reassurance.

All she had to do now was to trust Seth and go back to the annex calmly as he said, knowing that it was for her though she kept feeling anxious. Somehow, it seemed that she wouldn’t be able to sit still even after returning to the annex.

When Min-ha couldn’t take a single step, Seth shook his head resolutely at her and gently pushed her hand away from him before uttering to Lancelot and the Persen knights.

“I’ll have to go see it myself. Where are the other knights?”

“Except for the knights who went outside, all the knights currently in the castle have been summoned in front of the mansion.”

“I see. Lead the way, Sir Lancelot. We’re going right now.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

At his command, Lancelot and the other Persen knights stood up and lined up in front of him, and Seth quickly stepped in front of them.

And, the moment he was about to move…

“What the hell are you doing?! Stop right now! Even if you’re the Captain of the Emperor’s guard, you can’t go any further!”

“Impudent. How dare you stop me, the Captain of His Majesty’s Guard, Count Oliver Vanadis, despite being a duke’s knight?”

“….!”

In the distance, they could hear the sound of horses’ hooves approaching the annex and the shouts of angry people blocking them.

When Min-ha realized that the first angry voice he heard was Gawin’s, her eyes trembled in surprise, and her body shrank. At the same time, Seth quickly blocked her and spoke to the Persen knights standing next to him.

“You guys take the Duchess to the annex right now. I’ll deal with Count Vanadis.”

“Oh, I don’t think so?”

At his command, Lancelot and other Persen knights surrounded the two and formed a defensive formation while Min-ha turned her head to follow the sarcastic voice she heard.

What caught her eye was a sharp-looking man with dark brown hair.

Oliver Vanadis, the man wearing armor decorated with silver chains and a red cape embroidered with golden lions, looked intrigued as soon as Min-ha’s eyes met his. He roughly shoved the chest of Gawin, who was standing in front of him, and laughed leisurely before stopping three or four steps away from her.

“Are you here, Duchess Person? I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

“How rude, Count Vanadis. Don’t you have any manners?”

Seth swiftly blocked him from taking a step closer after giving a somewhat sarcastic greeting.

Oliver laughed at the sight as Seth was still glaring at him with a stern expression. Looking at them like that, she felt like their swords would be exchanged at any moment. So, as if to stop them, Min-ha patted Seth on the shoulder and stepped aside slightly to stand beside him instead.

“It’s okay, Seth… Why were you looking for me?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? Wouldn’t you know better than anyone how much trouble is happening in the Imperial Palace right now?”

“…Wait, what do you mean by that?”

When she asked, taken aback by Oliver’s muttering of incomprehensible words, his smirking expression turned cold, and he asked in a meaningful voice.

“…Are you going to pretend you don’t know until the end?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I see. It seems that the Duchess is saying she doesn’t know until the end, so I’ll tell you. It’ll take two days to send you to the Imperial Palace.”

“Escort*, what are you…!”
[ T/N: The author used the word, ‘’, which is specifically meant for escorting a criminal into custody. ]

“What are you guys doing?! Arrest this witch immediately!”

“Yes, Captain!”

Oliver, who was repeating only incomprehensible words, lightly flicked his fingertips and ordered Min-ha to be captured. Shortly before that order, dozens of knights dressed in the same outfit as him drew their swords and ran towards her from the side of the road where he had walked out.

At the same time, Gawin, who had been pushed aside because of Oliver a moment ago, hurriedly took out the sword he was wearing around his waist and shouted.

“D*mn it, stop it now!”

“Surround the Duchess right now!”

Starting with that shout, Lancelot and the Persen Knights drew their swords toward the imperial army. Concurrently, Seth, who blocked Min-Ha’s way, shouted at Oliver.

“Return your troops immediately, Captain Oliver Vanadis. How dare you insult the Duchess as a witch, is it not enough to bring an army to the Duchy of Persen? Do you wish to die?”

“Does your Excellency dare to disobey the Emperor’s orders? Get a hold of yourself! The woman standing next to you now isn’t Duchess Minase Persen, but a witch who tried to poison the sons of Grand Duchess Blaine and their mother!”

“…What?”

The moment Min-ha heard Oliver’s angry voice, she felt her mind go blank.

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