Chapter 83 : Confession…?

“……Thank you for earlier.”

Karina responded with a smile to the greeting I gave as soon as we left the separate palace.

“Don’t mention it.

just didn’t want to see a bird that could fly higher get its feet tied by the circumstances.”

Ah.

“Still, wouldn’t it have been more helpful to the prince and the Grand Princess if I had joined you?”

“I know your dream, so how could I pretend not to?

And those two will do just fine without your help.”

Karina chuckled and shook her head.

‘My dream…….’

A free life. A life like a human being.

I was grateful that she still remembered the story I had briefly told her when I left Drasen, but.

“I may be a knight who serves the Grand Princess, but I have other dreams too.

That’s why I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

Once you’re charmed by our Grand Princess, you’ll be tied down in the blink of an eye. Like me.”

The story that came out with a bitter smile couldn't help but bother me a little.

“Hm? Are you by any chance uncomfortable with your current position?”

“No, it’s not that. I’m by the Grand Princess’s side to chase that dream.

Thanks to her, I even received this wonderful armor.

It’s a gift that’s ‘still’ beyond my station.”

At those words, I found myself staring at Karina’s armor again.

Up close, I could faintly feel mana from it.

No way.

“An artifact……?”

“It doesn’t contain Spirit Arts.

But the material itself is special and contains mana, so you can’t quite call it ordinary armor either.”

“Ah…….”

Most full-body armor was a precious item made to order, but among them, an armor like the one Karina was wearing, imbued with special metal or energy, would be priceless.

“……It must mean the Grand Princess cherishes you that much.”

“That’s right. It’s also to put me in her debt in case I ever leave.”

“……You’re leaving?”

“As I said, I have a dream too.

I’m working hard towards it right now.

Of course, I also have the goal of repaying my debt to Trian and the Grand Princess.”

Karina’s smiling face looked particularly beautiful, and for a moment, I was dazed.

When our eyes met, her expression suddenly hardened.

On top of that.

“Ah, of course, that dream doesn’t include things like marriage or dating.”

……Huh?

‘W-who said anything?’

She added a strange comment without being asked.

The atmosphere had been harmonious just a moment ago, but her gaze had suddenly turned cold.

Thanks to that, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.

‘I’ve felt this way before…….’

When was it……?

Since it didn't come to mind right away, it probably wasn't a memory from this life.

Perhaps in my past life…….

Ah!

- Oppa. I know how you feel, but I’m uncomfortable.

- W-what? What did I do?

That miserable feeling of being rejected before I even confessed…….

“Gasp!?”

Startled by the delayed realization, I looked at Karina, but all I could see was the back of her head as she had already turned away.

Then came her cold voice.

“So, what I mean is, you don’t have to answer the Grand Princess’s jokes so seriously.”

“Ah, no, that’s…….”

“It’s the same when someone other than the Grand Princess asks.

Everyone knows it’s just a groundless rumor anyway.”

For some reason, she seemed to get angrier as she spoke.

“Uh…….”

Why is she acting like this?

What am I supposed to say here?

‘No, maybe she heard what I said to Orlando earlier? No way…….’

Even if she was upset about that.

What if I said, honestly, it’s not that I’m not interested in you, I just answered that way because of the situation……?

‘Ugh…….’

……Even if I were a woman, I think I’d slap myself.

No, before that, it’s just too weird for me to be making excuses with all my might in this situation.

‘It’s not like we’re actually in a relationship or anything…….’

My mind became chaotic, and for some reason, my words got stuck, and my chest felt tight.

So, in the end, what came out was.

“……Yes.”

Only a one-word answer that even I thought was pathetic.

- Ugh, you frustrating person.

That’s why you’ve been single since birth.

The voice of one of my few friends from my past life seemed to echo like a hallucination.

But Muno couldn't find the right words to say.

More than anything, he lacked confidence.

The confidence that the thoughts currently floating in his head were not just his own delusions.

So.

Whatever it was.

“……I’ll support that dream.”

That was all he could say.

“Yes, thank you.”

Was it just my imagination that Karina’s words and expression seemed awkward as she turned back to meet my eyes and greet me?

‘No, this isn’t it…….’

I still didn’t know much about women, but for some reason, I felt like I knew one thing.

If I let this moment pass just like this, the psychological distance between us right now would never be bridged.

No, more than that.

‘I want to live differently from my past life.

Even if it’s from the small things.’

Was it because of that single-minded determination?

My mouth moved on its own again.

“Still, it’s a fact that you are charming, Sir Karina.

No, that you are.”

“……Pardon? S-suddenly……!?”

I couldn't tell if Karina’s reddened face was from anger or embarrassment.

But since I’ve already started.

“W-we don’t know each other well, and we don’t have a very deep relationship, so I’m cautious about saying this, but if you’re giving up other things for your dream, I wanted to say you don’t have to.”

“What does that mean…….”

“I’ve tried that, and there was nothing left.”

I could see confusion spreading across Karina’s flushed face.

To be honest, I didn't know what I was saying either.

“So if you want to date, then date, and if you want to get married, then get married.

I don’t know if you really don’t want to, but giving up on your feelings just because of a dream is not a very good choice.”

“That, that’s…….”

The last part, at least, was sincere.

To live looking only at a vague future and then suddenly face the end of one’s life, there was nothing more unfair and infuriating.

……I knew that very well.

But after blurting it all out, the atmosphere had become very awkward.

“…….”

“…….”

We were just looking at the ground and the empty air for no reason.

I could feel my own face getting hot, and when I glanced sideways, I saw that Karina’s face was also bright red.

After a moment of silence.

“Am, am I really charming……?”

A very small, crawling voice came from the bowed head of Karina.

“Of course. Absolutely.”

Unlike the calm reply that came out.

‘W-what do I do now!?’

The single-since-birth person inside was screaming.

But then.

“You insignificant things, you’re making my eyes rot as a pair.

My god, how pathetic……”

A very grating voice was heard.

“Which bastard……!”

“Which crazy bastard……!”

I turned around reflexively and yelled, and I saw Karina, who had shouted similarly, letting out a hollow laugh.

When our eyes met, a chuckle escaped.

Thanks to that (?), I felt the awkward atmosphere vanish in an instant.

“Let’s deal with that first, shall we?”

“Ah, but that’s a piece of shit……”

“Shit?”

“There are things like that.

Things you have to avoid because they’re dirty.”

The two young knights, currently considered the strongest in the kingdom, glared at the person who had picked a fight with them at the same time.

At their gazes, the ugly young man actually raised the corners of his mouth and lifted his chin.

“What was that, just now? Did you dare say that to me?”

An attitude of utmost arrogance.

On top of that.

“You all heard that, right?

Those bastards dared to curse at me?”

As if he had forgotten what he himself had said, the man with curly blond hair who was grinning while seeking agreement from his escort knights was extremely unpleasant to look at.

“What’s with that loser?”

I said it loud enough for the loser to hear, but the reply came from beside me.

“Teron Aslan.

The black sheep of the Aslan Ducal family.

There were talks of marriage with the Grand Princess at one point.”

“Ah…….”

“He’s an idiot.

He doesn’t even know he’s a disposable pawn.”

“Come to think of it…….”

It was a story I had heard from Orlando.

“Aslan is on the 1st Prince’s side.

Let’s not deal with him.

If you touch him, you’ll get shit on you.”

Karina tried to ignore him, but.

“What are you whispering about?

Did the skinny bitch who acted like a mute all this time finally open her mouth in front of the idiot she’s in love with?”

At the insult that followed, she whirled back towards him.

Before Muno, who saw Karina’s distorted expression, could stop her.

“What did you just babble, you bastard whose face looks like it was halfway ground on the floor?!”

A roar mixed with a ferocious killing intent that made not only Teron Aslan but also him flinch erupted.

‘Oh my…….’

The rumors about the Knight of the Gale’s personality briefly came to mind, but.

“You said not to deal with him……?”

Karina made a face of regret at her reflexive retort.

But by then, the black sheep was already licking his lips as if he had caught her.

“Oh~ yeah.

Right, the ‘escort knight of the Trian Grand Princess’ dared to pick a fight with ‘me, Teron Aslan’?”

Where on earth does that confidence come from?

Feeling a sense of disgust as if he were looking at actual shit, Muno instinctively responded to the man without a moment’s thought.

“Do you have no brain?

You’re the one who picked the fight first, you black sheep of Aslan.”

“W-what did you say?!”

His flustered state was a sight to behold, but.

More than the man’s reaction, Karina flinching and looking at me at those words bothered me more.

‘She started it first.’

I laughed inwardly, but first, I had to clean up the shit in front of me.

“I heard that since Aslan has been in a bit of trouble lately, they let a dog that bites anyone loose in the royal palace……”

“Ha?”

“……so that if it gets beaten to death by someone, they can use it as an excuse to change the subject.

But no matter how I look at it, that dog doesn’t seem to know its own situation?”

Before coming to the separate palace, I heard it from Orlando.

The story that as the news about the ‘Veil’ spread, the royal family was also paying attention to the trouble with Aslan that had happened in Trian.

I threw out that information naturally.

Hearing those words, Teron Aslan’s face flushed red.

“You, you, you little brat……”

“Who are you calling a brat, for goodness sake.

An idiot who hasn't even awakened.”

“You, an adopted son of a lowly baronial family……!”

Heh.

Just as Muno was about to move upon hearing the man's nonsense, Karina grabbed his wrist from the side.

“I told you. Aslan is on the 1st Prince’s side.

If you cause a disturbance before the contest of virtue……”

“Have you forgotten? I don’t know how others see it, but I’m still unaffiliated.

Officially.”

“Ah…….”

Even if others saw it as a transparent deception, the royal events were the kingdom’s records, and so the official stance was important.

The so-called justification.

The moment a strange smile crossed Karina’s face, she let go of his arm, and Muno walked towards the ‘shit’ without hesitation.

I was grateful that she had helped me escape the unmanageably awkward atmosphere, but that was that.

“……You don’t recognize a noble bloodline!

What are you doing! Make him kneel!”

Heh.

Thud, thud.

“This is great. I’ve always hated people like you.”

The closer he got, the more the idiot raised his voice and urged the surrounding escort knights.

“What are you doing!?”

“Young Master…….”

“That man is the Black Knight……”

“He’s difficult for us to handle……”

“What are you saying, the knights of the great Aslan!

Have you lost your minds!? Make that bastard kneel right now!!”

It wasn't simply that he was trying to show off in front of Karina.

‘Pathetic. So pathetic.’

A bastard who can’t do anything with his own strength, but acts like he’s something and throws a tantrum.

The only thing he can boast about is his family, and thanks to that family, he doesn't pay for his sins.

Teron Aslan in front of him was the worst kind of thug that not only the current Muno but also Han Munho of his past life utterly despised.

The only difference between then and now was.

“Shut your mouth tight.”

“How dare you……!”

Crack!

“……Keck!?”

That he now had the power to beat the shit out of that thug without any repercussions.