As far as the white lace socks in my shoes, which I thankfully didn’t take off… Not only did I dare bring the Duke to his knees, but I placed my foot on his hand!
This, this wasn’t appropriate!
I looked down at him with an uneasy expression.
“Your Excellency the Duke shouldn’t do this….”
I awkwardly shivered, but unlike my shivering self, the Duke skillfully rubbed the base of my right leg. My painfully swollen and sore foot instantly relaxed.
‘I shouldn’t be doing this, but it feels so good!’
I don’t know if it was the contact between the imprint and my skin or just the skillful foot massage, but my whole body felt like it was slowly unwinding. When he had carefully lowered my feet to the floor, he spoke softly.
“Did you want a knight?”
I replied, subconsciously stroking his hair gently as he knelt still on the floor.
“…Yes, because it’s nice to have someone who can protect me! Still, it’s all thanks to you, Duke, that I have a knight.”
As he said it, I shuddered for a moment.
Not because of the intensity of his gaze as he looked up at me without blinking. It was because I realized in hindsight that I had unconsciously ruffled his silky hair.
My hand stiffened hastily.
Why did I run my hand through the Duke’s hair? That’s strange. Why did I do it as if it was natural…?
Unaware of my confusion, he lowered his eyelashes and spoke soothingly.
“Please stroke it more.”
“…”
He squinted again, looking up at me provocatively with a sly gaze.
“It feels good.”
“ Yeah…?”
His expression now was similar to the one he’d had earlier when I’d told him about Cassian.
“So trust me now, Astel, not him.”
No, a little more?
“I am your special imprint, so it is possible, isn’t it?”
The softened corners of his lips arced into a half-moon shape.
My gaze fell on moist lips, and I saw the tip of his tongue gently brush against them.
It felt like a foreshadowing of a kiss.
I was convinced. The Duke indeed seems to be a fierce beast…
When I didn’t answer, he asked again, this time in a quiet whisper.
“We’re special, aren’t we?”
A question that sounded sarcastic to anyone who heard it.
For some reason, the Duke’s expression was no longer indifferent or cold.
He was cold, exactly, but it didn’t feel cold. He’s always been warm and friendly to me, but lately he’s been even more so.
Perhaps it was since the arrival of Rune, or perhaps it was…
“Ah… tha— that’s special! Of course, I’ll be nicer to you from now on.”
I stammered out the words.
Then he smiled, “This is to commemorate our first dance together. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to give it to you right away.”
He pulled something out of the outer pocket of his coat that held his hackles.
“A gift.”
It was a small, white thing, not even wrapped.
I scratched my head. If the Duke was going to choose someone’s gift, I’d expect it to be something expensive and ready-made, but what I had in my hand was…
‘…An old flower pin?’
A crude flower decoration dangled from the end of an old, white thread pin.
But it was so well cared for and shiny that from a distance, it could be considered a pretty accessory.
So far, it was a small and unassuming gift on the Duke’s level.
But strangely, his hand trembled more than ever as he handed me the pin.
“I thought it was time to give it to you.”
The Duke’s eyes sparkled with even more intensity than before.
What was that thing called… His fur stood on end, his tail perked up…
‘The Duke, a puppy!’
…To borrow Rune’s phrase, yes, it was like a puppy.
I cautiously accepted the pin. Then, without looking in the mirror, I stuck it in my hair with a rough gut feeling.
“I think it’s a very meaningful gift, thank you.”
The Duke, who had been staring at me, whispered low, “It’s beautiful.”
“Ah…”
“From the bottom of my heart.”
At his words, I pulled the corners of my lips up further into a smile. I didn’t want him to know that my ears were hot.
My head throbbed, probably from lack of sleep last night. I pressed my temples together and forced an embarrassed smile.
But the headaches didn’t end there.
Flashes of crimson light dominated my vision, like flashes of carnelian, and then disappeared just as quickly.
I heard tinnitus for a moment, followed by a lingering ringing in my ears.
— ‘Hey, you know what, do you think we can get out of here?’
— ‘I, I don’t know.’
The voices of my childhood self and the strange boy overlapped.
I stroked the Duke’s hair a few more times, carefully, distracted by the sound. I felt his body stiffen, his heart beat faster.
But I couldn’t stop the voice in my head from continuing to speak to me.
— ‘Please remember me.’
With those words, the Duke I was gazing at, and the interior of the castle vanished into the inky darkness.
Instead, a giant figure dominated my vision.
A disheveled, disorganized, bloodied child reaching out to me.
— ‘I’ll definitely…. Come find you.’
The child staggered closer to me, and my young voice spoke again.
— ‘If you take me, you might get killed.’
— ‘I don’t care!’
— ‘What?’
— ‘I don’t care if I die, I’m going to save you, so please, just wait.’
Save what? Who’s going to die? I frowned at the elusive mystery of the vision.
But by the time I could think straight and reconsider, both the vision and the voices had vanished in a flash.
‘What the hell happened?’
The Duke whispered in my ear as he looked at me in confusion.
‘You have a bad complexion, so let’s go home.’
I paused for a moment at his words. My ears flared with heat and his lips brushed against mine.
For some reason, Lately, there’s been more contact with him than necessary…
It’s strange how just touching him makes me feel so elated.
I walked back to the Delphinium Room from the balcony of the hall with a trembling heart.
With a closed door behind me, I take a few deep breaths.
‘This is weird.’
I concluded that everything around me was very strange. I kept hearing strange voices and seeing things as if I had been ill for some time.
When I suddenly collapsed, I thought I was having delirium due to a cold.
Today, I was just talking to the Duke facing him, but what a strange dream…
As I was frowning and thinking about it, I heard the sound of a baby’s laughter, accompanied by the sound of ‘popup’.
I rushed into the room, wondering if something had happened, but the baby’s face remained still.
Nevertheless, I could see his chubby cheeks, as if he had been eating well lately.
“Rune!”
“Mommy!”
Rune turned around at the sound of my call, finding me, and waved happily.
In his hand was my diary.
It’s not like he can read, but it would be very unfortunate for him to see my diary.
“Twinkle, twinkling!!”
“You shouldn’t be holding that, Rune.”
“It’s shiny!”
What did that mean?
I quickly walked to the alarm and grabbed the diary.
And I soon realized why Rune had spoken.
The diary was shimmering and glowing on the inside.
[I’m in a deep cave, picking raspberries for a stupid idiot. When will I get back? My brother will be worried.]
Deep in a cave, an idiot, or a raspberry?
The words were unclear. There was a flash of white light and then it was gone again.
I fiddled with the diary, hastily recalling the contents and jotting them down beside me.
‘I think this diary is definitely an artifact, as Warret said.’
By its very nature, a diary was a memory artifact.
But why did it come to mind at this point? I pondered and searched through the diary fruitlessly.
Suddenly, Rune, who was now close beside me, spoke aloud, “Like Princess.”
I giggled, hugged Rune tightly, and whispered in his ear.
“I’m not a princess.”
“I’m right Pwincess, Duke said Astel is Pwincess!”
It was unlikely that the Duke had really said that. Children tend to distort their memories as they please.
But it was strangely embarrassing.
“Aste, Duke I like it.” (I like Duke and Astel)
“… I, I like him. I respect him.”
“Duke ,too, like Aste.” (Duke also likes Astel)
“You… You can’t go around saying that!”
I glared at Rune, running a cold hand across my reddened face.
More than that, Rune’s interruption almost made me forget what I needed to do.
The sooner I could see Warret again, the better.
Not only to deliver the results of the analysis of the medal artifact he’d entrusted to me last time, but also to investigate this highly suspicious artifact that had been masquerading as an ordinary diary until now.
Meanwhile, inside the town of Delang Lucia.
Hawthorne, the Duke of Anais’s physician, sat at a round table with the village elders playing cards.
These elders were seemingly ordinary men, but brilliant scholars in their respective fields.
Of course, now they were playing cards, not actual stakes…
“Shuffling!”
They were betting money, which was practically gambling.
One of the elders slammed his hand to the floor, grinding his teeth.
“You old men, all you do is eat and play cards!”
“Yeah, it’s the only thing to do in this village.”
The three men around the table chuckled.
Just as the head physician had made a name for himself treating the Duke of Anais, they were also known outside the village as respected experts.
“I’m sure we can find a good deal.”
The grizzled elders chuckled.
Squeezed in between them, Hawthorne, who had been mulling over his defeat, rubbed his mustache, which had been shaved less often lately.
‘Now that we’re in a better mood, let’s impart some knowledge.’
Getting ripped off by these gnat-like elders was one step forward, two steps back!
The purpose was to gain information about the lost ancient magic.
Regaining his composure, he looked at the elders with childlike excitement in his eyes as he collected the money and spoke sternly.
“Do you all know the ancient magic called imprinting?”
As far as the white lace socks in my shoes, which I thankfully didn’t take off… Not only did I dare bring the Duke to his knees, but I placed my foot on his hand!
This, this wasn’t appropriate!
I looked down at him with an uneasy expression.
“Your Excellency the Duke shouldn’t do this….”
I awkwardly shivered, but unlike my shivering self, the Duke skillfully rubbed the base of my right leg. My painfully swollen and sore foot instantly relaxed.
‘I shouldn’t be doing this, but it feels so good!’
I don’t know if it was the contact between the imprint and my skin or just the skillful foot massage, but my whole body felt like it was slowly unwinding. When he had carefully lowered my feet to the floor, he spoke softly.
“Did you want a knight?”
I replied, subconsciously stroking his hair gently as he knelt still on the floor.
“…Yes, because it’s nice to have someone who can protect me! Still, it’s all thanks to you, Duke, that I have a knight.”
As he said it, I shuddered for a moment.
Not because of the intensity of his gaze as he looked up at me without blinking. It was because I realized in hindsight that I had unconsciously ruffled his silky hair.
My hand stiffened hastily.
Why did I run my hand through the Duke’s hair? That’s strange. Why did I do it as if it was natural…?
Unaware of my confusion, he lowered his eyelashes and spoke soothingly.
“Please stroke it more.”
“…”
He squinted again, looking up at me provocatively with a sly gaze.
“It feels good.”
“ Yeah…?”
His expression now was similar to the one he’d had earlier when I’d told him about Cassian.
“So trust me now, Astel, not him.”
No, a little more?
“I am your special imprint, so it is possible, isn’t it?”
The softened corners of his lips arced into a half-moon shape.
My gaze fell on moist lips, and I saw the tip of his tongue gently brush against them.
It felt like a foreshadowing of a kiss.
I was convinced. The Duke indeed seems to be a fierce beast…
When I didn’t answer, he asked again, this time in a quiet whisper.
“We’re special, aren’t we?”
A question that sounded sarcastic to anyone who heard it.
For some reason, the Duke’s expression was no longer indifferent or cold.
He was cold, exactly, but it didn’t feel cold. He’s always been warm and friendly to me, but lately he’s been even more so.
Perhaps it was since the arrival of Rune, or perhaps it was…
“Ah… tha— that’s special! Of course, I’ll be nicer to you from now on.”
I stammered out the words.
Then he smiled, “This is to commemorate our first dance together. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to give it to you right away.”
He pulled something out of the outer pocket of his coat that held his hackles.
“A gift.”
It was a small, white thing, not even wrapped.
I scratched my head. If the Duke was going to choose someone’s gift, I’d expect it to be something expensive and ready-made, but what I had in my hand was…
‘…An old flower pin?’
A crude flower decoration dangled from the end of an old, white thread pin.
But it was so well cared for and shiny that from a distance, it could be considered a pretty accessory.
So far, it was a small and unassuming gift on the Duke’s level.
But strangely, his hand trembled more than ever as he handed me the pin.
“I thought it was time to give it to you.”
The Duke’s eyes sparkled with even more intensity than before.
What was that thing called… His fur stood on end, his tail perked up…
‘The Duke, a puppy!’
…To borrow Rune’s phrase, yes, it was like a puppy.
I cautiously accepted the pin. Then, without looking in the mirror, I stuck it in my hair with a rough gut feeling.
“I think it’s a very meaningful gift, thank you.”
The Duke, who had been staring at me, whispered low, “It’s beautiful.”
“Ah…”
“From the bottom of my heart.”
At his words, I pulled the corners of my lips up further into a smile. I didn’t want him to know that my ears were hot.
My head throbbed, probably from lack of sleep last night. I pressed my temples together and forced an embarrassed smile.
But the headaches didn’t end there.
Flashes of crimson light dominated my vision, like flashes of carnelian, and then disappeared just as quickly.
I heard tinnitus for a moment, followed by a lingering ringing in my ears.
— ‘Hey, you know what, do you think we can get out of here?’
— ‘I, I don’t know.’
The voices of my childhood self and the strange boy overlapped.
I stroked the Duke’s hair a few more times, carefully, distracted by the sound. I felt his body stiffen, his heart beat faster.
But I couldn’t stop the voice in my head from continuing to speak to me.
— ‘Please remember me.’
With those words, the Duke I was gazing at, and the interior of the castle vanished into the inky darkness.
Instead, a giant figure dominated my vision.
A disheveled, disorganized, bloodied child reaching out to me.
— ‘I’ll definitely…. Come find you.’
The child staggered closer to me, and my young voice spoke again.
— ‘If you take me, you might get killed.’
— ‘I don’t care!’
— ‘What?’
— ‘I don’t care if I die, I’m going to save you, so please, just wait.’
Save what? Who’s going to die? I frowned at the elusive mystery of the vision.
But by the time I could think straight and reconsider, both the vision and the voices had vanished in a flash.
‘What the hell happened?’
The Duke whispered in my ear as he looked at me in confusion.
‘You have a bad complexion, so let’s go home.’
I paused for a moment at his words. My ears flared with heat and his lips brushed against mine.
For some reason, Lately, there’s been more contact with him than necessary…
It’s strange how just touching him makes me feel so elated.
I walked back to the Delphinium Room from the balcony of the hall with a trembling heart.
With a closed door behind me, I take a few deep breaths.
‘This is weird.’
I concluded that everything around me was very strange. I kept hearing strange voices and seeing things as if I had been ill for some time.
When I suddenly collapsed, I thought I was having delirium due to a cold.
Today, I was just talking to the Duke facing him, but what a strange dream…
As I was frowning and thinking about it, I heard the sound of a baby’s laughter, accompanied by the sound of ‘popup’.
I rushed into the room, wondering if something had happened, but the baby’s face remained still.
Nevertheless, I could see his chubby cheeks, as if he had been eating well lately.
“Rune!”
“Mommy!”
Rune turned around at the sound of my call, finding me, and waved happily.
In his hand was my diary.
It’s not like he can read, but it would be very unfortunate for him to see my diary.
“Twinkle, twinkling!!”
“You shouldn’t be holding that, Rune.”
“It’s shiny!”
What did that mean?
I quickly walked to the alarm and grabbed the diary.
And I soon realized why Rune had spoken.
The diary was shimmering and glowing on the inside.
[I’m in a deep cave, picking raspberries for a stupid idiot. When will I get back? My brother will be worried.]
Deep in a cave, an idiot, or a raspberry?
The words were unclear. There was a flash of white light and then it was gone again.
I fiddled with the diary, hastily recalling the contents and jotting them down beside me.
‘I think this diary is definitely an artifact, as Warret said.’
By its very nature, a diary was a memory artifact.
But why did it come to mind at this point? I pondered and searched through the diary fruitlessly.
Suddenly, Rune, who was now close beside me, spoke aloud, “Like Princess.”
I giggled, hugged Rune tightly, and whispered in his ear.
“I’m not a princess.”
“I’m right Pwincess, Duke said Astel is Pwincess!”
It was unlikely that the Duke had really said that. Children tend to distort their memories as they please.
But it was strangely embarrassing.
“Aste, Duke I like it.” (I like Duke and Astel)
“… I, I like him. I respect him.”
“Duke ,too, like Aste.” (Duke also likes Astel)
“You… You can’t go around saying that!”
I glared at Rune, running a cold hand across my reddened face.
More than that, Rune’s interruption almost made me forget what I needed to do.
The sooner I could see Warret again, the better.
Not only to deliver the results of the analysis of the medal artifact he’d entrusted to me last time, but also to investigate this highly suspicious artifact that had been masquerading as an ordinary diary until now.
Meanwhile, inside the town of Delang Lucia.
Hawthorne, the Duke of Anais’s physician, sat at a round table with the village elders playing cards.
These elders were seemingly ordinary men, but brilliant scholars in their respective fields.
Of course, now they were playing cards, not actual stakes…
“Shuffling!”
They were betting money, which was practically gambling.
One of the elders slammed his hand to the floor, grinding his teeth.
“You old men, all you do is eat and play cards!”
“Yeah, it’s the only thing to do in this village.”
The three men around the table chuckled.
Just as the head physician had made a name for himself treating the Duke of Anais, they were also known outside the village as respected experts.
“I’m sure we can find a good deal.”
The grizzled elders chuckled.
Squeezed in between them, Hawthorne, who had been mulling over his defeat, rubbed his mustache, which had been shaved less often lately.
‘Now that we’re in a better mood, let’s impart some knowledge.’
Getting ripped off by these gnat-like elders was one step forward, two steps back!
The purpose was to gain information about the lost ancient magic.
Regaining his composure, he looked at the elders with childlike excitement in his eyes as he collected the money and spoke sternly.
“Do you all know the ancient magic called imprinting?”
