Became the Escort Knight of the Villain in the Romance Novel

51 – Breaking Engagement Carefully (1)

When you close your eyes, you start to become sensitive to everything with the opening of new senses.

The senses of hearing, smell, and touch are opened after the eyesight is blocked.

I didn’t need taste to fight, so I just focused on those four senses.

Ahhh, step on your feet and listen to the sound of the ground shaking. Smell the scent of the oil applied while polishing the sword.

Before long, the sword swings, and he feels a sharp wind blowing through him.

Through him, I was able to figure out the path of the sword even though I had no vision.

I didn’t have to show a lot of movement.

The wind I felt on my right shoulder informed me that a sword was flying towards my face.

As I turned my head slightly, I heard the sound of a sword passing nearby.

I twist my ankle, just one step. The distance to get closer to the person who wields the sword.

As I raised my wrist, I heard the sound of the sword floating in the air as it touched the arm of the one who wielded the sword.

Got it. As I smiled at the thought, a dejected laughing voice came from in front of me.

“Damn it. I lost Now, even if I close my eyes, I won’t win.”

“…I almost got my throat blown off. What if they aim for your face?”

“Because I thought you would avoid it. I thought I was a genius, but being in front of you makes me humble myself.”

I never thought I would hear something like this from the crown prince.

When I carefully removed the cloth covering my eyes, I saw the prince’s face looking at me with a slightly depressed expression.

The first time we put our swords together, we were quite equal, but now we see a clear difference, so I was quite proud.

3 Years.

Although he hadn’t reached the level of being a master, he clearly sensed that there wasn’t much left to reach that level.

Perhaps it will be reached in a few months. Sir Theorard, the commander of the knights, admired my skills,

It was clear that if one more year passed like this, we would be able to fully prepare for unexpected situations.

‘…One year left.’

There is still one year until the original Yeoju appears.

A lot of things have changed in her, and she focused on raising Irene’s power enough to be prepared for her appearance.

Even so, we can’t be relieved. So, for three years, I spent time handling the sword with the crown prince,

The corner of his mouth twitched at the fact that his skills had advanced enough to easily defeat even a talented person called the crown prince.

However, the thoughts quickly dissipated.

It was because Irene’s voice lingered in her head, and she immediately remembered what she had asked me to do.

-Today, let’s listen a little earlier. Also, don’t stay in the imperial palace until the sun goes down.

I opened my mouth while looking at the prince at that thought, and soon he smiled and stared at me.

“Anyway, I think I need to look back now.”

“…Well. Didn’t the gongnyeo look after her? Because it keeps asking me what to do, it’s not bothersome at all.”

“Doesn’t the lady care about me quite a bit?”

Then the prince, who had heard my words, replied with a frown on his face.

“Even if I save it, it’s a problem because I care too much. You are the one who asked me, so why should I feel the discomfort?”

“…For that part, I apologize on behalf of you.”

“All right. Thanks to you, my skills have improved, and I am the same. Of course, I’m a bit intimidated in front of you, but I’ll show you the victory one day.”

The prince…Wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Although he had a strong sense of humor and was unexpectedly greedy, he could not be said to have a bad temper.

He knew how to make cool-headed judgments, and he had a good understanding of the national situation, as if to prove that he would later become an emperor.

I can’t deny that the reason he’s so friendly towards me is because of what I’ve been doing for the past three years.

As he touched the golden medal hanging on his chest, the prince saw it and smiled.

A medal that gives one petal for each Warlock defeated.

A medal that had three petals attached to it at first had over 10 petals attached to it before I knew it.

“The flowers are in full bloom before I knew it.”

“Because the number of warlocks is increasing. You can’t even compare it to when it first appeared. It rarely appears in the dukedom…But there are still cases where it openly appears in the territories of the 5 families.”

“They say the name of their group is Extinction. It’s quite a headache dealing with them. Now, they spread their name and are doing their activities properly. The Imperial Knights sometimes come forward, but even then, it’s quite difficult to deal with them all.”

At those words, I smiled bitterly once.

It was inevitable that the number of warlocks would increase as we got closer to the time of the original work.

Isn’t it the winter of this year that extinction begins to function properly?

If you’re going to take them all out, you’ll need to find a bunch that are starting to sprout before then, but

3 Years have passed since the investigation into the 5 families secretly began, but no evidence has yet been found.

We are dealing with those who show up from time to time,

The black magician proliferating like a cockroach was quite a headache from the point of view of the empire.

Didn’t Azest Merwin, the great wizard of the empire, go into seclusion to deal with the warlock?

“…First of all, we’ll have to wait and see. Can’t you do something right now?”

“I know. I’m just saying this because I’m frustrated.”

After saying that, the prince threw his sword into a corner and sighed quietly.

Recently, there are a lot of worries about the succession to the throne.

He thought that he, who was born with the only deficit, did not have many problems to worry about.

It seemed that there were various problems that I didn’t know about.

Soon, when his red eyes met mine, I quickly opened my mouth, predicting what he would say.

“No.”

“…Do you know what I’m going to say and answer that?”

“You were thinking of asking me to join the Imperial Knights.”

“Damn it. Can’t you come once? How solid would my position be if there were two talents who would reach the Master? When I become the emperor, I plan to send you to Julis, but can’t you come just once?”

“Because Sir Chris is about to retire. Until he says she hates me… He’ll probably stick around.”

Did Sir Chris say he was preparing for retirement?

I was probably the only knight who would stay by Irene’s side all the time, unless she sought a new escort after Sir Chris.

In the first place, I wasn’t too interested in joining the Imperial Knights.

When I smiled awkwardly, the prince looked at me with a sad expression and stretched out his hand.

What he held in his hand was a piece of paper that he had been looking at until he got tired of it.

The paper, which was elongated like an amulet, had the imperial mark and the crown prince’s seal stamped on it.

Let’s accept the certificate to teleport to the gate in the duchy.

The prince looked at me with a smile as if he was dumbfounded.

“Now you just take it lightly. At first, he was shocked and didn’t know what to do.”

“Three years, isn’t it? It’s time to get used to it.”

“…From next time, come by carriage.”

The expression on the face of the prince who said that was very serious, so I stared at him and then laughed.

#

“Knight!”

As soon as I came out of the gate, I was surprised to see Lopena.

She never thought she’d be waiting here,

When I opened my eyes wide in surprise, the guy who saw that figure came towards me with a smile.

“You came a little early today? If it was the same as before, you would only come when it was getting dark.”

“Because the lady told me to come a little earlier. But, why are you here?”

“The lady told me to bring the driver. I have something to tell you.”

Was it that urgent?

However, seeing that he didn’t come in person, it could be that he just didn’t like being with the prince.

For some reason, Irene didn’t like me being out there for too long.

I stroked Pena’s head like a habit for a moment, and then, in surprise, I removed her hand, and he frowned and tapped my side.

“I am not a child, and I will always be like that. I am 18 now.”

“Anything like that…no. Oh, it hurts.”

“I told you that if you make fun of people because they are short, you can’t use them!”

Three years have passed, but not much has changed in Lopena.

Her height was still short, and the fact that her hair was untied long, unlike before, when her hair was tied behind her back, might have made a difference.

Then, as she smiled while looking at Fena, the guy who turned her head around began pouting her lips.

I wonder if it was a pity that she was only teasing her when she came out at her best.

It was funny that he was wearing the necklace I gave him on such a topic.

I was so well-kept that when I touched the strap of a necklace that was still unblemished, Lopena looked at me in amazement and raised her eyebrows.

“Why do you keep doing this?”

“Just.”

Although she kept her mind clear of her past, she couldn’t help but think of her brother whenever she saw Lopena.

What she does is very similar, how could she not recall it.

It might be because of those memories that she wants to play pranks when she sees Pena.

Maybe, she just wants to tease me.

“What are you doing, young lady?”

When I asked that question, Lopena smiled and narrowed her eyes, then she stared at me.

As if to sneer, she presses her finger down the forehead of the guy who laughs badly, and Pena hurriedly opens her mouth.

“Why are you making that face?”

“But what if I press my forehead like that? What is it, she’s doing what she always does. This is always the time to ‘do it’.”

“…Have you accumulated a lot this time too?”

“I can’t even imagine. What the hell are you doing outside? It’s like secretly with the young girls-“

Just-

Sounds nonsense. She slapped the beetle lightly, and as she glanced at me for a moment, Ropena patted her head and bit her mouth shut.

When I saw the gray smoke rising in the distance, and the smoke that was clearly rising from within the duke’s residence, I naturally frowned.

I thought I had been careful with my behavior lately, but I was told that I had increased despite that.

Maybe she knew why Irene would tell me to come back soon.

As soon as I entered the duke’s residence, the captain of the guard who found me smiled bitterly and looked away.

I was able to get a sense of how Irene was feeling from his expression of sympathy, as if he felt sorry for me.

It’s been a while since I mumbled curse words inside,

As I approached the garden, where the smell of burning was shaking, I noticed a woman standing in front of a flame.

“…Lady, I’m here.”

“It comes very quickly.”

I hesitated at the cold voice of hers, and then turned her head and her face came into view.

Completely matured face unlike three years ago.

If the past was like a flower in full bloom, now she can be said to have fully bloomed and spread beauty.

When the cold blue eyes stare at me,

She started coming slowly towards me, tucking her white hair behind her.

She still seemed to resemble winter.

Although, like the girl I remember in her novels, she is cold to anyone,

She wasn’t enough to be called a villainess, but the atmosphere around her was still very cold.

As soon as the warm wind of her spring touches her, she turns cold and disperses.

The flowers that were in full bloom in her garden shudder at her approach,

Around the time when the rising grass feels like it is gradually withering away.

She approached me before I knew it and raised her finger and stabbed her in the chest.

Cook.

As I trembled at her finger that stabbed her chest, Irene came closer to her and slowly kissed her lips.

“You know what that is?”

“…Yes.”

Irene’s recent behavior has something to do with me.

Isn’t it because the number of letters from young ladies who come to me every day has increased so much?

At first she just collected them and threw them away,

Now, when the number started to increase, Irene started burning them herself.

He said it was a kind of warning not to send something like this again.

“But I feel unfair. I do not receive it because I want to receive it, but it is sent from there.”

“If I hadn’t played the piano at the ball the other day, the letters would have dwindled and there wouldn’t have been any more. In fact, it was getting smaller and smaller. And yet, who was it that played when I said it was better not to?”

“…I am.”

However, how could I refuse what the prince asked me to do?

How many people would refuse a request made by the crown prince face to face?

As I put on an unfair expression, Irene smiled and stabbed me in the chest before opening her mouth again.

“If anyone sees it, they’ll think it’s the Imperial Knights. Evan, whose knight is Evan?”

“…This is the lady’s escort knight.”

Cook-Cook.

The intensity of her stabbing grew stronger, and Irene let out a sigh as she frowned slightly.

As if she didn’t like her, she narrowed her eyes and glanced at me for a moment.

Irene, who had fallen in front of me, quietly continued her words.

“I want her to focus a little on her own duty. You’re sharpening your sword with the prince. Even so, isn’t there any reason for you to play the piano at the ball?”

“…I will take care of myself.”

As I said that, Irene lowered her head, and Irene glanced at me and shook her head with a bitter smile.

However, I couldn’t help but feel unfair. Isn’t that what I want to do?

In an atmosphere that becomes chilly like a cold wind,

She raised her head at the sudden feeling of the touch on her cheek, and she saw Irene’s face right in front of her nose.

Ah-

And then my breathing stops. Her vision is scattered by the strong scent of roses blowing into her nostrils.

With eyes bluer than any sapphire, the sound of the necklace he had given her as a gift one day rang in his ears.

There are innumerable things in this world that do not change, but if I were to add one to them, it would be her beauty.

When you face a radiant face that has not changed in the slightest and cannot be seen anywhere else in the world.

I just blankly stared at that face with my lips open.

The lips spread like red petals open slightly.

And in the meantime, a soft voice that made me drowsy just by listening to it began to leak out.

“…Isn’t that offended?”

Because it was so close that a breath could touch it, and the touch on the cheek was definitely Irene’s hand.

I have given up on understanding this situation. My mind went blank and my thoughts soon scattered,

In the end, all I could do was focus on the voice in my ear.

“……”

When I didn’t say anything, Irene’s eyes widened as she saw me.

Like a rippling lake, like the shore of a lake illuminated by the moon I saw that day.

Those sparkling eyes soon disappeared under her eyelids, and Irene’s mouth opened slowly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I just got a little emotional.”

As if she was really sorry, Irene’s eyes trembled as she said that to me.

Seeing that expression, she couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

How could I say anything to Irene with a face like this.

It wasn’t like that before, but now, every now and then, when she sees her with this expression, she can’t help but laugh it off.

As I removed her hand from her cheek and smiled lightly,

Irene still stared at me with her eyebrows drooping apologetically.

“It’s okay. Even though the lady said so, I did it, so it can be said that it was my fault to some extent.”

“When you feel like that, I want you to think a little about how I feel.”

“How do you feel…?”

Are you talking about being angry?

As I tilted her head with a puzzled expression, Irene clicked her tongue and glanced at me.

“Tsk.”

Why do my moods fluctuate so quickly these days?

Her being with her wasn’t bad though. It seemed like I was getting exhausted trying to match these things one by one.

She glared at me for a while, and then her expression relaxed and she quietly began to open her mouth.

“…Anyway, I have something to tell you, so come with me.”

“If you want to talk about it, maybe-“

“It’s a story related to Roman.”

Roman, I narrowed my eyes at that word I hadn’t heard in quite a while.