Episode 25

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Soon after, another bunch of flowers arrived at Palmaril mansion with the marriage proposal. Sebastian and Eva were in an uproar.

“Oh my god, was it real?”

“Oh, my! What should we do?”

Eva and Sebastian had their mouths literally wide open. The whole world looked beautiful.

Then Sebastian suddenly had a good idea.

“This is enough to compete with Count Pasquier.”

“What do you mean?”

Eva asked.

“How much money did Count Pasquier offer you?”

“Two thousand ducats and five hundred florins.”

Obviously, until a few days ago, he was intending to sell Christa for that amount of money. But now things have changed.

“How can Argonod not have that much money?”

“Then?”

“We need to raise our prices. Yeah, we’ll have to get at least 5,000, or 8,000 ducats.”

Eva’s eyes widened.

“8,000…”

With that amount of money, they could make a profit even if they played and ate for the rest of their lives. But at the same time, there was something on their minds.

“But what if he finds out that she’s an illegitimate daughter?”

If something goes wrong, he could break off the engagement and file for damages.

“By the way, I think we underestimated her more than we thought.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Sebastian grabbed the papers from the Duke. Eva read it quickly.

“Do you see this?”

Sebastian pointed to a passage.

“Pregnancy, responsibility? How could she……. Ah!”

“As you can see, she must have tricked the Duke somehow. I heard that a quiet cat climbed up to the stove first, and she has a talent we didn’t expect.”

Eva’s face was full of smiles.

“But I’ll have to bribe a doctor just in case!”

“I should also find out what their relationship is like through Andrei. This marriage is so suspicious, by the way. If the contract is broken, shouldn’t she marry Count Pasquier right away?”

“It’s always smart to have insurance.”

Eva gave an insidious laugh.

“So where is she and what the hell is she doing?”

“I heard that she had something to do with the Knights Templar today.”

??

The war was over, but the duty of the Knights was not. They had to meet several times a week and today was the day.

Christa went to the Knights’ office with great tension. She went to the Golden Repair Knights to which she belonged to previously. They were also the one who held her into custody when she went wild during her previous life.

No one could have known of her return to the past. However, all of the people she met while passing through the hallway were her colleagues whom she fought with on the battlefield.

“Hu…”

She couldn’t get rid of her discomfort. Some of her acquaintances passed by and greeted Christa. She was glad to see them, too. Her head that fell on the floor and rolled around was completely attached. She felt grateful for the sight of people moving around and sharing silly jokes.

The Knights’ office looked the same as usual.

“Tenth Knight Palmaril.”

“Ah, yes!”

Today, however, Deputy Chief of Staff Ivar called Christa with a stiff face. It was not a common occurrence

Thinking about Ivar’s last expression, it was like a dream to be facing him like this.

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

The sharp remark made her heart drop to the floor, but she didn’t let it show on her expression.

“………It’s nothing.”

Not yet, it hasn’t happened yet. He’s not dead. She hasn’t killed him yet.

“If you’re not feeling well, go to the Awakening Medical Center.”

“I’m all right.”

The deputy chief of staff, Ivar, loosened his usual solemn expression. Recently he got married and started a family, and Christa, who was about the same age as his wife, was a bothersome subordinate.

“Yes, calling you like this today is…….”

Today, Ivar was talkative, unlike usual. There was a lot of tension in his voice.

“It’s because there’s a guest who came for you.”

“Me?”

“Go to the VIP room.”

It was not common for Christa to have visitors, let alone a VIP.

“By any chance… no, never mind.”

“I understand.”

She didn’t like it, but it was something she would soon find out anyway. Christa rolled her feet in salute.

She headed straight for the VIP room. She felt the tension all around it. When she knocked, a presence was felt inside.

“Come in.”

It’s the voice of a young man.

“I heard you had business with me. Excuse me.”

There was a guest waiting for her in the VIP room. He was a handsome man with platinum blonde hair and green eyes like peridots, shining brightly.

It was Prince Elio Casidenia, a very prominent man who even Christa, who was ignorant of the world, knew well.

“Are you the Tenth Knight Christa Palmaril?”

“Yes, I am.”

Elio laughed as she saluted stiffly with tension.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about. I came here to talk to you today.”

The crown prince suddenly came to her without an attendant. Why the hell?

Eilio looked at Christa Palmarill still. Standing at attention, she didn’t budge. She just stood tall and waited because she wasn’t asked to sit down. It was also possible for her to stand all day if Elio wanted to.

Elio’s eyes scan her as if searching. There was a sticky and humid energy in his intense eyes. Christa had no choice but to endure silently.

“…….”

“…….”

After a long silence, Elio spoke.

“Tenth Knight Crista’s Palmaril?”

“Yes!”

Christa took a half step forward and stood in a relaxed position. Then Elio rose from his seat and slowly approached Christa. As their distance gets closer, Christa’s tension rises.

Elio’s eyes were like a snake’s. He was looking at Christa as if he was about to eat her like a predator searching for food.

At that moment, Elio’s hand suddenly reached out. He smelled like moss. His long white fingers slowly swept down Christa’s cheek. She got goosebumps at the place where he touched.

“You have good skin.”

His hands slowly turned to her carelessly tied hair.

“Is this your natural hair color?”

“What?”

It was such a sudden and incomprehensible question. The other person’s status was too high to shake off immediately.

Before answering anything, Elio quickly pulled out. Christa’s situation itself was not well received.

“Yes.”

It was a rather unpleasant answer, but Elio’s mouth slowly arced when he heard her. But his eyes were still cold.

“You don’t have to be so nervous. Do you like violets?”

“What?”

From earlier on, Christa had parrot the same thing over and over again. She couldn’t figure out the flow of this conversation at all.

“I prepared a special tea. Come here and have some.”

Elio allowed Christa to sit down. Only then was she able to sit down.

He poured tea into her teacup. The strong scent of flowers stimulated her sense of smell to the point of a headache.

“Thank you.”

“I heard you’re about to marry the Duke.”

“……Yes.”

“When did you start to have that kind of relationship with the Duke?”

What was felt in the Crown Prince’s question was blatant rejection. However, no matter how much the other person was the crown prince, this was her private life.

“I have no obligation to answer.”

Then it felt like Elio’s eyes became darker. His eyes resembling a peridot became thick like greenery contained in a deep forest. Looking at it, she could feel her whole body straightening up.

“Did you know, Knight Palmaril? The duke was originally discussing a political marriage with the princess, but you, who suddenly appeared, intervened between the imperial family and the Argonod family.”

His eyes were clearly filled with contempt. Christa couldn’t stand the glare and bowed her head quietly. When she clenched her fist, she felt her nails digging into her palm.

“So now you understand why I came here.”

“…….”

She couldn’t answer any more because she was speechless. Elio tilted the teacup gracefully.

“Do you need money? I did some research here too. Your family is not rich.”

“…….”

“Originally, you were discussing marriage with Count Pasquier, right?”

Whatever she says now will sound like a lame excuse. Christa felt very shabby about herself.

“When I heard that you seduced the Duke of Argonod, I wondered what kind of exceptional woman you were, but you turned out to be a woman in desperate need of money, who couldn’t even answer properly.”

His words pierced her heart like a sharp arrow. Elio’s accusation was justified. It is also undeniable that she aimed for the Duke who is already in talks of marriage with the imperial princess.