RODH Chapter 86

86.

Did he remember everything?

But I felt no emotion at all.

From the moment I decided to break off my engagement with Seor, the memories of loving him had slowly faded away.

All I could do was laugh hollowly.

Seor, with reddened eyes, asked,

“What is so funny? Do you enjoy shaking the Crown Prince of the Empire?”

“Yes. It is a little amusing. I have come to realize just how weak Your Highness truly is, to be swayed by something like this.”

“Ian Pearl Ruben.”

The threatening voice held no strength.

It must have been a surprise.

I hadn’t expected myself to end up in a formal relationship with Nevan either.

So I decided to tell Seor what he was missing.

“There is something Your Highness does not know.”

“…And what is that?”

“Four years ago, perhaps. That was when I began sending Your Highness bouquets of flowers. At the time, I foolishly believed that the grandest gift was the best gift. Instead of scolding my foolishness, you ignored me.”

“I am sorry, Ian, I…”

Looking straight into his wavering golden eyes, I spoke clearly.

“But that foolishness was still me. The person you claim to love now is not the only me.”

“No, Ian. Even then, I loved—”

I lifted the corner of my mouth in a crooked smile.

“Are you about to say you loved me back then? At that time, I was more miserable than anyone. Every night before bed, I wondered if tomorrow Your Highness might smile at me, or if you might like my gift.”

“Ian, I…”

“There is no need for more words. Please leave. I have not even washed yet.”

Seor left in the most pitiful state a man could show.

I sat down on the sofa and rubbed my aching head.

The moment he was gone, Bain entered and checked on me.

“My lord, are you all right? Did His Imperial Highness say something strange again?”

“He proposed.”

“I knew it… wait, wh-what?”

“He proposed, Seor did.”

“Th-then what happens now? Will you also become consort to His Imperial Highness—”

Smack!

I struck Bain on the head for spouting nonsense.

“Ow!”

“Instead of saying foolish things, bring me breakfast. I’m going to see His Grace.”

“I brought it already. Then… you’re still in a relationship with His Grace, right?”

“You really do have a lot of interest in other people’s romances.”

“Well, other people’s romances are always the most interesting.”

“Bain.”

“Forgive me, young master.”

I had no appetite, but I forced myself to swallow down breakfast.

Because of Nevan’s words.

‘The North remains below freezing at all times, so if you skip meals, you will lose body heat quickly. Please take care to eat well.’

Warmth filled me at the thought of Nevan’s care.

“Now that I’ve eaten, shall we go?”

With Bain trailing me like a tail, I headed to Nevan’s office.

When I opened the door, retainers assembled in a search party crowded the place.

With all their eyes on me, the pressure was suffocating.

Awkwardly, I said,

“I must have come at a busy time.”

Luke boomed cheerfully in reply.

“Not busy at all. The meeting just ended!”

“It hasn’t ended yet,” Klain muttered.

Luke glared at him and then guided me somewhere.

Amidst the burly men, Nevan stood.

He was like a delicate flower blooming among thorns.

The moment our eyes met, he gave me a soft, melting smile.

From the very morning, my heart was put under strain.

The knights who saw it gasped and whispered,

“I have never seen His Grace smile like that before.”

“Nor have I. It’s the first time.”

“He never smiles… truly remarkable, Lord Ruben.”

Remarkable? For what?

And why were they saying this to me?

Still bewildered, I saw Nevan take a step forward and greet me.

“Good morning.”

“Yes. Did you sleep well?”

Nevan nodded lightly.

He looked like a child who obediently listened to adults—so much that I wanted to pat him.

But there were too many eyes watching. Damn it.

“Yesterday, Lady Anna Tuhatla mentioned a place. I intend to go there. Will you join me?”

My parents’ warning against dangerous matters surfaced in my mind, but this was not a monster hunt—just an inspection.

‘Besides, Alex has already been captured…’

Once the matter of the monuments was resolved, Anna Tuhatla would regain her full power.

I accepted Nevan’s invitation.

But the journey was far from peaceful.

“Let’s go together, Ian!”

“Lord Ian, that way is dangerous.”

Why were those two tagging along?

My ideal date was completely ruined.

And it was all thanks to a meddling lizard and a quietly lurking sorcerer.

* * *

Seor, dismissed like a defeated soldier, walked the corridor in loneliness.

The halls of the grand duke’s estate felt colder than usual today.

When he returned to his room, an unexpected guest awaited him.

It was Lucian.

He sat perched on the sofa as if it were his own home.

“Crown Prince, have you come to pick a fight with me?”

“Whoa, whoa. Relax. What good would it do for two men in the same situation to fight?”

“The same situation?”

Seor frowned.

Lucian shrugged as if it were nothing.

“To win Ian’s heart, you have to work hard—as a consort.”

“Ha. Do you think I’ll be content with being a consort?”

Seor flared in anger.

But Lucian said that, when you thought about it, being a consort wasn’t such a bad position.

“You know Ian is stubborn, but you also know he’s softer than he looks, don’t you?”

Seor nodded.

Even though he’d followed him around like a shadow, all Ian ever showed was a sulky face that asked why he had come.

If Ian had truly hated him, he would have ended it directly.

“So, do you have an alternative?”

“Put Ian in your debt. He’s soft. If you do that, he won’t be able to cast us aside.”

“You really think such a method will work?”

“Do you have any other plan?”

As Lucian said, there was no clear way out.

For Seor, the Empire’s little sun, it was hard to accept that he might have to settle for the role of consort.

He even wished someone would strike the back of his head and tell him it was all just a dream.

But reality was always cruel.

“I’ll be going now. Little sun of the Empire, think it over carefully.”

Seor considered chasing after Ian, but in the end decided it was better to remain here.

That way, perhaps Ian might feel some pity for him.

Of course, Ian wasn’t thinking about Seor at all.

Trailing behind him were Lucian and Alvis, and he warned them,

“This is the grand duke’s domain. Mind your behavior.”

“Yes, yes, understood.”

“Yes, Lord Ian.”

They spoke obediently enough.

Ian looked toward Nevan, walking ahead.

If possible, he wanted to ride together with him.

But putting aside that longing, he followed along.

Soon the knights waved their arms as though they had discovered something.

That was when Anna Tuhatla suddenly appeared.

Alvis reflexively began casting, but Anna Tuhatla easily shattered the mana trap.

“Who dares play tricks on me… Hm? Are you not the disciple of the Tower Lord?”

“You know me?”

“Of course. Your master called me the guest of frost. Do you not remember?”

“Ah… it is an honor to meet you, Lady Anna Tuhatla.”

Alvis bowed his head. Anna Tuhatla circled once through the air and then flew toward the monument.

For a brief moment, Ian saw genuine fear on Alvis’s face.

It meant that Anna Tuhatla’s very existence was so immense that even a mana master could not handle it.

Thinking again how much of the world remained unknown, Ian frowned as he looked at the monument, surrounded by something.

Dismounting from his horse, he asked,

“What is all this?”

A sticky substance with a reddish tinge coated parts of the monument.

Nevan, unafraid, touched the viscous fluid and said,

“It’s slime residue.”

“Why would slime fluid be here…”

“Those creatures must have been playing tricks! There should be a magic circle underneath.”

The knights scraped off the slime’s fluid, and soon after, Alvis uncovered a magic circle.

“Uncasting.”

At the spoken word, the circle flared up and turned to ash.

In that moment, the air shimmered.

Anna Tuhatla’s body had grown slightly larger.

“Hmph. Still not enough. There are four more places like this. Find them quickly, Grand Duke. My patience is not long.”

“Understood.”

Even as Nevan listened to Anna Tuhatla, he kept an eye on Ian.

As expected, Ian stumbled on a stone buried in the half-melted snow and nearly fell.

“Ugh!”

“Are you all right?”

Ian clutched Nevan’s waist awkwardly, then quickly stood.

He could feel all the eyes on him.

“Forgive me. I wasn’t watching the ground…”

He hurriedly defended himself, insisting it wasn’t intentional, when Nevan slipped off his glove and stroked his cheek.

“Your face is cold.”

Then he told Klain to bring “that.”

Without a word, Klain retrieved something from the pouch hanging at the saddle.

As soon as Nevan received it, he wrapped it around Ian’s neck.

It was a scarf woven from rabbit fur.

Ian buried his face in it so deeply that he could hardly breathe and tugged at the end of the fur bundle.

At the same time, his hand brushed against Nevan’s.

It didn’t spark like before, but an indescribable current flowed between them.

In a voice only Nevan could hear, Ian whispered,

“May I come to your office tonight?”