“How do you…!” In the end, Devina forced herself to drop her gaze that had been fixed on him. She didn’t think she could face that devil-like man any longer.
“Is that all your business? Uhm, I hope that maid didn’t go far.”
He ordered the servant, who had rung his bell, to find the maid, who had indeed left a moment ago. So, it also meant that Devina should disappear from this place immediately.
“Excuse me, Your Majesty, the Duke of Sheridan has arrived.”
“Brother? I don’t think I was contacted in advance.”
“He says he has something to convey according to royal regulations. He says he will wait as long as you want. What should I do?”
“Ah, really.” Lysander watched the rolling rose on the ground with a hint of regret, then shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t help it. Should I hear what words will turn my stomach this time? Oh, shall we meet together?” He approached Devina with light steps and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Hmm? I guess you also have something you want to ask my brother for.”
“W, what do you…” Devina tried to twist her body to escape from him, but instead, she was even more forcefully confined.
“Now it seems like my mother is starting to look at me with her strange eyes. Ask my older brother to help her continue the royal lineage. Oh, right! That sounds fun. Hmm?”
“….!”
“If it continues like this, there’s a risk of being kicked out. Surely, a man who claims to be a prince wouldn’t pretend to be oblivious to a lady’s distress, right? It’s not that difficult.”
“A, are you crazy…? H, how could you say that…!”
Devina protested by pushing his shoulder away, but the relentless touch never let her go. The eyes forcibly brought right in front of the face widened, resembling those of a crazed person. Besides…
‘H, he’s even smiling!’
What should she do with this crazy man?
He must have really wanted to see Devina begging Max. How can that be?
Devina seemed on the verge of tears, overwhelmed by fear and shame.
“Please… stop it. That…”
“What is this? How boring.” He finally let Devina go.
Not wanting to stay here any longer, Devina turned her body without properly giving the necessary greetings. How could he say something like that? It’s not enough to become her husband and pretend not to know Devina’s earnestness every time…
Devina opened her door, wiping away her overflowing tears with the back of her hand.
And just in time. No, would the word ‘of all people’ be better suited?
Maximilian was at the door. With that calm look that hasn’t changed in a very long time.
“….” Looking up from a nearby place, he seemed slightly more flustered than usual.
Maybe it’s because Devina suddenly appeared and was shedding tears? In any case, she was glad that she was still influencing Maximilian. If Brielle Sheridan was the one who ‘married as if escaping,’ Devina Saphers was the one who ‘made him escape.’ It wasn’t difficult to guess which one held more weight in his mind.
“Are you okay?”
Although Devina’s wounds were deep and he usually treated her coldly, on days like these, he always asked her how she was doing in a friendly way. This was clear just by looking at Maximilian’s attitude. That Devina’s place in his heart is not small.
“…I’m sorry.” Devina wiped her eyes again and forced her smile. “Please go in first.”
When she gave her way, Maximilian accepted the favor by nodding his head.
“Thank you. Excuse me.”
As he calmly walked past her, Maximilian’s collar lightly brushed her arm. On any other day, it was a light brushing that she wouldn’t have felt at all… Is it because of what happened a little while ago?
Devina was caught up in a strange idea as she stared down where she had touched him.
Maybe he touched her arm on purpose.
It bothered him that she looked sad somewhere.
‘No, it’s a mistake. It can’t be…’
Despite her attempts to shake off her thoughts, her heart began to beat abnormally fast. It was as if she expected something from Maximilian.
Devina naturally turned to look at him.
However, somehow what came into her view was Lysander, who was laughing, saying it’s so amusing that he could die. He said the crude suggestion from just a moment ago with just the movement of his mouth. Ask Maximilian for a favor.
‘…Ah, I guess I’d rather do that.’
Having felt that way for a moment, Devina was startled and quickly looked away. What a crazy idea she was thinking.
‘But the fact that he is a royal child is the same… Oh my, I’m crazy.’
After living with that crazy husband of hers, something must have happened to her too. Seeing her start to really seriously consider this crazy idea.
‘But like this… it’s better than being driven away from the queen’s position.’
Even if she is not being kicked out, the position of a childless queen is nothing more than a mere scarecrow. In that situation, on the day a new concubine enters and gives birth to a child…
‘I don’t even want to think about it.’
Devina suddenly realized that she had been standing blankly for too long, holding the doorknob. She bowed her head slightly towards Maximilian and Lysander and left the office.
She wasn’t in a hurry.
Because she didn’t want to seem like someone who was running away.
“So, what’s going on? Well, there aren’t actually many things that must be said according to regulations, but you know.”
Lysander asked for the main point first.
Now that she thinks about it, what is happening? Devina also felt a little curious.
Maybe divorce?
“My wife, Brielle Sheridan, is pregnant.”
Thud!
She was startled and closed the door so hard that it made a loud noise.
“Oh, so that means you have a royal child?” Lysander could be heard shouting loudly from beyond the closed door.
So this is…It was clear that he was saying this to hurt Devina.
She returned to her room quickly. The maids chattered away, but not a single word entered her ears.
“Everyone get out! Get out!”
She screamed and sounded like a child. Even though they would report this incident to the Queen later, it didn’t matter for now.
‘It’s a lie, it doesn’t make sense.’
Maximilian was really living with that woman as if he were her husband? The two…spend the night together?
She couldn’t believe it at all.
Isn’t she a maid at best?
It was a term referring to the same vulgar lineage as that lowly woman seen in the office a while ago. Noble men playing around with lowly ones for amusement…
How could… a woman like that give birth to a royal child?
Even before Devina.
‘That woman must be lying. Anyway, there’s no way Max would make that mistake.’
As she was shaking her hair messily on the pillow, one of the maids who had not yet moved away placed something next to her.
Only after Debina was completely left alone in her room did she manage to get up. And when she looked at what her maid had left behind….There was a letter lying there.
Although the sender was not written, it was not difficult to recognize the owner of the font.
It was clearly the handwriting of her father, the Count Bexley.
The messenger who came from the hometown handed this over and left.
“….”
What kind of nagging message is written?
Devina hesitated for a moment, then she slowly opened it.
* * *
After the weekend, the monastery returned to normal life.
Clarisse received some good news, her early morning cleaning routine ended today. She and her friends swore in front of the priest, saying, ‘We will never engage in betting on grades again.’ After that, they were able to escape from that dreadful punishment.
After morning exercise and meal. After taking her studying supplies from her room and coming out into the hallway, she encountered an unexpected person.
It was Abington Belleville.
It seemed like he was waiting in front of it until Clarisse came out.
“….?”
Today again, he was holding out a basket of yellow tangerines to Clarisse with a look of humiliation on his face.
“The priest.”
“…Did you ask me to pass it on?”
“No, it was given to me. It’s mine!”
“Ah, did you enjoy your meal?”
“Hiik! I mean take it!”
“….”
Clarisse quite likes tangerines, but for some reason she didn’t want to receive what Abington was giving her.
It felt uncomfortable.
Moreover, Abington was occasionally gulping while looking at the basket of tangerines.
“Don’t you want to eat it?”
“That, I, I want to eat it but! Whoo… It’s about being patient. B, because… we’re friends! Argh! I told you, damn it!”
“….”
Clarisse looked at him with cloudy eyes and then turned around. For some reason, she felt like eating those tangerines would be harmful to her health.
“Accept my token of friendship right now! Take it!”
Not embarrassed, he started following behind Clarisse, who was being openly stared at by other exam-takers, and began offering a basket of tangerines.
Clarisse, unable to bear it any longer, stopped and looked back at him.
He smiled happily and quickly held out the tangerine again, and Clarisse lifted her head close to him and made as grim an expression as possible.
“I will never accept it! Go away! Ah really!”
“If you give them food, doesn’t that… make them friends? No…?”
In response to him muttering to himself alone, Clarisse chose not to reply and continued towards the stairs.
Still, for some reason, she was worried, so she turned around and saw Abington still frozen in the position with the basket out.
There were several test takers passing by, but no one spoke to him.
No, there were only those who secretly frowned.
“Coh. (If you think that’s pitiful, you lose.)”
Clarisse was startled when she heard the soft muttered words hidden in her hair, shook her head and quickly went down the stairs.
“I don’t feel sorry. I don’t feel sorry at all…”
“How do you…!” In the end, Devina forced herself to drop her gaze that had been fixed on him. She didn’t think she could face that devil-like man any longer.
“Is that all your business? Uhm, I hope that maid didn’t go far.”
He ordered the servant, who had rung his bell, to find the maid, who had indeed left a moment ago. So, it also meant that Devina should disappear from this place immediately.
“Excuse me, Your Majesty, the Duke of Sheridan has arrived.”
“Brother? I don’t think I was contacted in advance.”
“He says he has something to convey according to royal regulations. He says he will wait as long as you want. What should I do?”
“Ah, really.” Lysander watched the rolling rose on the ground with a hint of regret, then shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t help it. Should I hear what words will turn my stomach this time? Oh, shall we meet together?” He approached Devina with light steps and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Hmm? I guess you also have something you want to ask my brother for.”
“W, what do you…” Devina tried to twist her body to escape from him, but instead, she was even more forcefully confined.
“Now it seems like my mother is starting to look at me with her strange eyes. Ask my older brother to help her continue the royal lineage. Oh, right! That sounds fun. Hmm?”
“….!”
“If it continues like this, there’s a risk of being kicked out. Surely, a man who claims to be a prince wouldn’t pretend to be oblivious to a lady’s distress, right? It’s not that difficult.”
“A, are you crazy…? H, how could you say that…!”
Devina protested by pushing his shoulder away, but the relentless touch never let her go. The eyes forcibly brought right in front of the face widened, resembling those of a crazed person. Besides…
‘H, he’s even smiling!’
What should she do with this crazy man?
He must have really wanted to see Devina begging Max. How can that be?
Devina seemed on the verge of tears, overwhelmed by fear and shame.
“Please… stop it. That…”
“What is this? How boring.” He finally let Devina go.
Not wanting to stay here any longer, Devina turned her body without properly giving the necessary greetings. How could he say something like that? It’s not enough to become her husband and pretend not to know Devina’s earnestness every time…
Devina opened her door, wiping away her overflowing tears with the back of her hand.
And just in time. No, would the word ‘of all people’ be better suited?
Maximilian was at the door. With that calm look that hasn’t changed in a very long time.
“….” Looking up from a nearby place, he seemed slightly more flustered than usual.
Maybe it’s because Devina suddenly appeared and was shedding tears? In any case, she was glad that she was still influencing Maximilian. If Brielle Sheridan was the one who ‘married as if escaping,’ Devina Saphers was the one who ‘made him escape.’ It wasn’t difficult to guess which one held more weight in his mind.
“Are you okay?”
Although Devina’s wounds were deep and he usually treated her coldly, on days like these, he always asked her how she was doing in a friendly way. This was clear just by looking at Maximilian’s attitude. That Devina’s place in his heart is not small.
“…I’m sorry.” Devina wiped her eyes again and forced her smile. “Please go in first.”
When she gave her way, Maximilian accepted the favor by nodding his head.
“Thank you. Excuse me.”
As he calmly walked past her, Maximilian’s collar lightly brushed her arm. On any other day, it was a light brushing that she wouldn’t have felt at all… Is it because of what happened a little while ago?
Devina was caught up in a strange idea as she stared down where she had touched him.
Maybe he touched her arm on purpose.
It bothered him that she looked sad somewhere.
‘No, it’s a mistake. It can’t be…’
Despite her attempts to shake off her thoughts, her heart began to beat abnormally fast. It was as if she expected something from Maximilian.
Devina naturally turned to look at him.
However, somehow what came into her view was Lysander, who was laughing, saying it’s so amusing that he could die. He said the crude suggestion from just a moment ago with just the movement of his mouth. Ask Maximilian for a favor.
‘…Ah, I guess I’d rather do that.’
Having felt that way for a moment, Devina was startled and quickly looked away. What a crazy idea she was thinking.
‘But the fact that he is a royal child is the same… Oh my, I’m crazy.’
After living with that crazy husband of hers, something must have happened to her too. Seeing her start to really seriously consider this crazy idea.
‘But like this… it’s better than being driven away from the queen’s position.’
Even if she is not being kicked out, the position of a childless queen is nothing more than a mere scarecrow. In that situation, on the day a new concubine enters and gives birth to a child…
‘I don’t even want to think about it.’
Devina suddenly realized that she had been standing blankly for too long, holding the doorknob. She bowed her head slightly towards Maximilian and Lysander and left the office.
She wasn’t in a hurry.
Because she didn’t want to seem like someone who was running away.
“So, what’s going on? Well, there aren’t actually many things that must be said according to regulations, but you know.”
Lysander asked for the main point first.
Now that she thinks about it, what is happening? Devina also felt a little curious.
Maybe divorce?
“My wife, Brielle Sheridan, is pregnant.”
Thud!
She was startled and closed the door so hard that it made a loud noise.
“Oh, so that means you have a royal child?” Lysander could be heard shouting loudly from beyond the closed door.
So this is…It was clear that he was saying this to hurt Devina.
She returned to her room quickly. The maids chattered away, but not a single word entered her ears.
“Everyone get out! Get out!”
She screamed and sounded like a child. Even though they would report this incident to the Queen later, it didn’t matter for now.
‘It’s a lie, it doesn’t make sense.’
Maximilian was really living with that woman as if he were her husband? The two…spend the night together?
She couldn’t believe it at all.
Isn’t she a maid at best?
It was a term referring to the same vulgar lineage as that lowly woman seen in the office a while ago. Noble men playing around with lowly ones for amusement…
How could… a woman like that give birth to a royal child?
Even before Devina.
‘That woman must be lying. Anyway, there’s no way Max would make that mistake.’
As she was shaking her hair messily on the pillow, one of the maids who had not yet moved away placed something next to her.
Only after Debina was completely left alone in her room did she manage to get up. And when she looked at what her maid had left behind….There was a letter lying there.
Although the sender was not written, it was not difficult to recognize the owner of the font.
It was clearly the handwriting of her father, the Count Bexley.
The messenger who came from the hometown handed this over and left.
“….”
What kind of nagging message is written?
Devina hesitated for a moment, then she slowly opened it.
* * *
After the weekend, the monastery returned to normal life.
Clarisse received some good news, her early morning cleaning routine ended today. She and her friends swore in front of the priest, saying, ‘We will never engage in betting on grades again.’ After that, they were able to escape from that dreadful punishment.
After morning exercise and meal. After taking her studying supplies from her room and coming out into the hallway, she encountered an unexpected person.
It was Abington Belleville.
It seemed like he was waiting in front of it until Clarisse came out.
“….?”
Today again, he was holding out a basket of yellow tangerines to Clarisse with a look of humiliation on his face.
“The priest.”
“…Did you ask me to pass it on?”
“No, it was given to me. It’s mine!”
“Ah, did you enjoy your meal?”
“Hiik! I mean take it!”
“….”
Clarisse quite likes tangerines, but for some reason she didn’t want to receive what Abington was giving her.
It felt uncomfortable.
Moreover, Abington was occasionally gulping while looking at the basket of tangerines.
“Don’t you want to eat it?”
“That, I, I want to eat it but! Whoo… It’s about being patient. B, because… we’re friends! Argh! I told you, damn it!”
“….”
Clarisse looked at him with cloudy eyes and then turned around. For some reason, she felt like eating those tangerines would be harmful to her health.
“Accept my token of friendship right now! Take it!”
Not embarrassed, he started following behind Clarisse, who was being openly stared at by other exam-takers, and began offering a basket of tangerines.
Clarisse, unable to bear it any longer, stopped and looked back at him.
He smiled happily and quickly held out the tangerine again, and Clarisse lifted her head close to him and made as grim an expression as possible.
“I will never accept it! Go away! Ah really!”
“If you give them food, doesn’t that… make them friends? No…?”
In response to him muttering to himself alone, Clarisse chose not to reply and continued towards the stairs.
Still, for some reason, she was worried, so she turned around and saw Abington still frozen in the position with the basket out.
There were several test takers passing by, but no one spoke to him.
No, there were only those who secretly frowned.
“Coh. (If you think that’s pitiful, you lose.)”
Clarisse was startled when she heard the soft muttered words hidden in her hair, shook her head and quickly went down the stairs.
“I don’t feel sorry. I don’t feel sorry at all…”
