Don’t Concern Yourself With That Book

1. 1. The Founding Festival I

The outing I had promised to go on with Soricks was tomorrow. Tomorrow, I will be heading out of the palace.

What happened during the Founding Festival? Rusbella would meet Castor and make wonderful memories. And afterward, his fiancee appears?

Then…

It was a little strange how I managed to remember the details of the original novel so clearly.

I remembered reading the <Light of Rusbella> several times.

Come to think of it, the first time I came across the novel was when I was 11 years old and it was way before I could remember anything else. Usually, childhood memories fade away. Who could remember their childhood in detail.

Was this my ‘buff’? If this was really my ‘buff’, it was a really trivial and insignificant one. It might be insignificant but I could not deny that it was still good fortune. Instead of that, could I get something great so that Castor would not ignore me like I was some gum on the asphalt?

I should stop thinking about such useless things and turn my thoughts to something more productive.

“Even though the Empire will be going to ruin, there’s still 3 more years.”

I recalled the contents of the original novel.

The Empire collapsed during Castor’s reign. Of course, that was the result of an excessive number of wars.

But if I thought about it a little further, it did not make sense.

They were a powerful country. But it was destroyed because of a single moment in time? The Empire was sustained by the might of the Emperor. And Castor was one of the most powerful heirs in history. If he was the Emperor, the Empire would be having good harvest all year round. Such a powerful country would not perish easily.

So if it was ruined, what I was saying was that there was another reason.

Either he had inherited an Empire that was already a mess and the collapse had nothing to do with him or other factors had intervened in the collapse…

“Urgh, my head…”

My head started to hurt again. It was not like my head was an engine going on overload… It felt like my headaches were becoming so frequent. And the pain seemed to be getting more severe.

Should I talk to Amor and get something to help me control this headache?

“Princess!”

I came to my senses before raising my head.

“Hernan?”

“Are you alright!”

He wiped off the cold sweat that was dripping down my cheek and looked forward with an anxious expression on his face.

“I’m alright but why are you…”

I shifted my gaze. Only Hernan and I were present in the office. It seemed like Granius and Penne had left for the Conference room without me knowing

“Ah, I asked you something obvious.”

“…..”

“You’re my ‘guard’.”

Right… I had to pay attention to not only what was in the original novel but also my safety.

Screw it, if only I could split my body into two and make a doppelganger of myself.

“Are you going to work with that body?”

“Duke. Get away from me. You’re blocking the light.”

“…..”

I needed to get my senses together quickly but I could not seem to concentrate.

“Hernandez, like me, is the only templar left of his kind in this world.”

“Duke.”

I could not stand it anymore and called for him.

“Duke, why don’t you talk about yourself?”

“… Are you talking to me?”

“I literally am.”

It looked like he did not know why I was suddenly talking about this. His sky blue eyes that were fixed onto me were beautiful .

“You told me to use you.”

“… Yes. I did.”

Blinking like that made him look innocent.

“If you really want to be used, shouldn’t I ask you about this or that? That’s what you should do if you want me to believe you.”

As he grew more beautiful, the harsher my voice became.

“… Perhaps. Are you angry because I didn’t tell you what god I was serving as a templar?”

“That’s right, I’m angry. You’ve always been meddling in what I do but you’ve never talked about yourself, duke. Leaving me with a terrible taste in my mouth.”

Hernan erased his smile before staring at me.

“Have you ever been curious about me?”

There was a distinct difference in Hernan when he was smiling and not smiling and I was never made more painfully aware of this difference than at this moment.

“Not about my secrets but about me.”

I did not answer. And as for how he felt about my reaction, he slowly smiled.

“My apologies for not telling you. I thought you would know for sure.”

“What are you talking about? Of course, I wouldn’t know.”

To be honest, what did I know about Hernan?

I saw Hernan for the first time the day I met Castor. I had never talked about him, let alone touch him.

I did not know until I started working for the administration but he was a really amazing man.

‘Duke Hernan von Develo’ was admired not only by the maids working around him but also the women working as officials. Because on top of his status, he was also beautiful.

He was also the object of envy from the knights. Not only was he an excellent swordsman, he also served as an excellent role model. He was not someone anyone could just meet of their own accord.

I had seen it so many times but I wanted to see it clearer. Come to think of it, was he not the tyrant’s only friend and the only one who understood him in the original novel?

And all this time, I had treated this person as a mere fly.

I looked at him again.

“Yes, now I know.”

He slowly lowered his head before his smile faded.

“You really didn’t have a shred of interest in me.”

He had a knack for forcing other people to swallow their words.

“What are you curious about? I’ll tell you anything.”

Hernan quickly flashed a clear smile again.

“… Duke, are you free today?”

As if he was excited just to talk to me, he whipped his head around, looking very happy.

“I’m actually busy. I have to go somewhere but I don’t want to.”

His smile was blinding as it glowed under the white natural lighting of the room. His face could have made record breaking sales if placed on a commercial for a sports drink.

“But you need to…”

… Could he please stop looking at me like he was some puppy?

Apart from what I feel about him, whenever I look at him, I feel weak.

Honestly, that smile of his was a cheat. But still, I could not look away. When I turned my head towards him, our eyes met.

“What’s keeping you busy?”

“Do you know about the disappearances in the capital? Part of the work has now fallen under my jurisdiction.”

Just when I found out about it. Eventually, even the duke was forced to come forward just to catch the culprit. It was strange how the 2nd Prince and now Hernan still could not catch him.

In the <Light of Rusbella>, the Founding Festival went on smoothly. It must have been because of his unseen efforts.

That was the truth. Any story did not just revolve around the main character.

People whose names would never be known. They were all part of the story.

“Are you strong? Brother told me that the duke was strong.”

“Are you talking about the 4th Prince? Hahaha. I’m not that exemplary of a templar. I’m not good enough.”

“Liar, there’s no way you became the Crown Prince’s guardian with poor talent.”

“Well, to Castor, he prioritises people he favours rather than people with talent.”

That was the first time Hernan called Castor by his name in front of me. But he did not seem to realise it.

For some reason, it was strange to see someone other than myself call the tyrant by his name out loud.

“… Cas, I mean, the Crown Prince, are you close to my brother? No, of course, you’re close.”

He smiled wordlessly.

Instead of asking questions that would not be answered, I just asked what I was curious about.

“I heard that there were rumours of there being a huge fight between His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince.”

”Is the rumour of the Crown Prince and our father cutting ties, true?”

“… The rumours are exaggerated but it’s true. It’s not uncommon. His Highness and His Majesty have not been on good terms for a long time.”

“Then, why Castor… Why is brother the Crown Prince? By placing him in that position, father must have been certain to make him the successor.”

Even though he was acting out of the Emperor’s sight, he was still only the Crown Prince.

“There’s another prince with [The Power of the Lord].”

Although I have never seen his face, the 5th Prince was also the heir to the Lord of the Gods. And he supported the 2nd Prince Julian.

“Of course, his powers are weaker than the Crown Prince’s. But if father preferred the 2nd Prince, wouldn’t it be better for him to be in the Crown Prince position? He could always place the 5th Prince in charge of the temple matters and the 2nd Prince in charge of politics.”

“Yes. That would be the best choice the 2nd Prince can make considering how he is not a templar.”

“Yeah.”

Castor was the main character so, of course, he was strong. It must not be easy for him to take the lessons suited for the heir. Still, it was strange that he was able to keep his position when he had not been on good terms with the Emperor for a while.

“There are some rules for succession that even the Emperor can’t do anything about.”

“And what’s that?”

“The strongest successor becomes the Emperor. And that’s absolute.”

Absolute. Was it because the <Light of Rusbella> guaranteed Castor’s place?

Hernan spoke.

“His mighty strength negates his negative points. ‘Once’, there was a time the Curules had tremendous support for Castor. Even back then, His Majesty did not like His Highness but he could not ignore the will of all the templars. It’s hard for you to tell, princess, because you aren’t a templar, but Castor is so powerful no one can go against him.”

I caught his subtle nuances.

“Once? You mean not now?”

“Yes.”

Just then, the door opened. Grabbing the doorknob, Penne, who had just entered the room, hesitated.

“Oh dear.”

His surprised gaze alternated between me and Hernan.

“Am I maybe interrupting your fun?”

“No.”

I replied immediately. However, Penne seemed to have guessed everything that had happened just by staring at Hernan who was kneeling on the floor and holding my hand.

“I’ve already made up my mind.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, princess. I’m a man who can read the room.”

Read what room? No.

“It’s not what you think. Hernan, you tell him too.”

Why were Penne and Fleon making this out to be some ridiculous misunderstanding? I really did not know. Did I do something? I could swear on the River Styx that I did not do anything.

Honestly, this was Hernan’s fault.

His gaze was creating an atmosphere filled with delusions in this administration.

Those who knew I was the princess would think ‘Our princess is heading to a good place’ while those who did not know my real identity here would think ‘The girl the Aediles brought now has a chance to turn her life around’.

“Well, have a good time. Huhu, the meddler is leaving now. Oh, by the way, the Aedile won’t be back till late rthis evening!”

“Wait, hold on!”

Bang! Penne left the room again even though I told him it was fine.

… I don’t even know where to start to correct that misunderstanding.

“I’m talking about the Duke. He’s different from the Crown Prince.”

Strangely, everyone other than me loves Hernan.

Even though Granius knew he was the Crown Prince’s man, he still let Hernan in. Soricks and his patrol troops have long been inspired by Hernan’s skills and even the fastidious Penne.

What did they see in him?

What was the difference between what they see in him and what I see?

“Hernan?”

“Yes?”

“What are your charms?”

“… What?”

“Do you want to marry me?”

T/N:

I said friday so sorry i was 2 days late. T.T