Chapter 90: I Stole Yeoju's First Love
The knights suddenly drew their swords and charged at me.
Pio, who had been in my arms, quickly leaped out and struck the knight's body.
Though his small, fluffy paws seemed weak, the knight fell like a doll.
Another knight pushed Marco, who was blocking him, and swung his sword at me.
The knight who had just been knocked away also staggered to his feet and lunged at Pio again.
"Ah, it seems they're possessed by a ghost!"
[They must have been affected by the distorted magic!]
Two voices rang out simultaneously.
The movements of the possessed knights were clumsy, but they attacked more aggressively than usual.
Knowing that the knights were not in their right minds, Marco and Pio could only try to block them.
"Princess, we'll hold them off, so please go and get help...!"
One of the knights collided with Marco, who couldn't finish his sentence.
Marco's body slumped to the ground.
The bloodshot eyes of the possessed knight turned towards me.
As if he had found his next prey.
At that moment, Pio, who had returned to his original form, collided with the knight.
The knight dropped his sword, spat out blood, and fell to the ground.
Turning his body, Pio saw another knight lying behind him.
"Yes, I'm fine... except for being a bit startled. But didn't you say humans can't be affected by distorted magic?"
[These two seem to have been greatly affected because they can handle sword auras.]
Sword auras are also a form of magic.
[It seems the more skilled one is at handling magic, the more they are affected.]
"Then, won't mages also be affected?"
Pio, who had twitched his ears, returned to his original form.
He walked briskly to me and collapsed.
At that moment, footsteps and a voice came from behind.
I picked up Pio, who was pretending to be unconscious, and quickly turned around.
An unexpected person appeared.
"Princess, are you alright?"
With his help, we were able to bring Marco and the knights out of the cave.
Just in case, we also took Marco and the others out of the island.
Back at the lodging, we tied the knights to their beds as a precaution.
"The two of them seem to have no other abnormalities."
The doctor, hastily summoned by the Duke, informed me of their condition.
When we came out of the knights' room, Lily was waiting for me, holding Pio.
I had told Lily that the knights were caught by Marco and Pio.
Perhaps because of this, Lily's trust in Pio seemed immense.
"How are the two of them?"
"They seem to be physically fine. Let's go upstairs now."
I didn't want to linger here and risk running into someone I didn't want to see.
However, in the corridor, Andrew was talking to Marco.
'Are they acquaintances?'
I looked back and forth between the two with a puzzled expression.
Upon noticing me, Andrew approached with a worried look and asked,
Of course, he could ask since he had helped us.
Lily, who had been listening quietly, was fuming but kept her mouth shut.
"It seems they're not in any danger. Thank you for your help, Your Grace."
"Since the Duke is here, there's nothing to worry about. Don't worry, Princess..."
I glared at Marco, who was chattering away excitedly.
Fortunately, he seemed to notice and shut his mouth, looking around cautiously.
"We can handle the rest, so you don't need to worry about it anymore."
"You don't have to draw the line like that. I came here because Marco, my comrade, asked me to."
Andrew smiled casually and spoke, which seemed very different from the Andrew I knew.
The clumsy and awkward viscount's Andrew was gone, replaced by a perfectly noble appearance.
For some reason, I felt embarrassed by my own reaction of trying to reject him.
"You don't have to do that. The Pionia Dukedom will take care of this matter."
Marco, who was becoming increasingly annoying, looked around nervously.
"Just because you helped us, why should I care about your reputation? I'm not going to neglect the village, and I'll handle it myself, so don't worry."
"You'll neglect it again, won't you!"
"This man, do you know who he is and act so insolently!"
Lily, who had been listening quietly, pushed Marco away in anger.
"And our lady can handle this without his help, so stop talking nonsense and leave quietly. You brought us to such a dangerous place without knowing what it was."
Lily's words darkened Marco's face.
Indeed, he had almost caused a disaster by believing it was just a ghost possession.
"If this were the capital, you might already be facing charges of attempting to assassinate the princess, and your head could be on the line."
I raised my hand to calm Lily, who was getting agitated.
"I understand your concern, but it's not a ghost. It's something else."
"Do you know the reason?"
"Not entirely, but it seems to be a winter seasonal stone mine."
Marco's mouth dropped open at my words.
He must have heard about the rarity of seasonal stones.
The presence of such a mine near the village could be a significant benefit.
It would provide an opportunity to increase their income.
"Soon, the dukedom will send knights to guard the cave. Keep this matter confidential. If it leaks, you'll really have to worry about your head."
Marco still looked confused but seemed to understand.
I dismissed him and lay down on the bed.
I was exhausted from everything.
A few days later, the knights sent by the dukedom began guarding the cave.
I only assigned knights who didn't know how to use sword auras, those with exceptional physical strength.
Pio and I started discussing how to deal with the distorted magic.
"Then, there might be problems in other seasonal stone mines too."
There were only a few mines in the entire country.
And most of them were owned by the royal family.
'But I haven't heard of any problems.'
There might be other methods, or perhaps this mine is special.
"Lady, Duke Gloucester is here to see you."
Lily, with an unhappy look, informed me of Andrew's visit.
He had been visiting me several times a day since that day.
"Tell him I'm not feeling well."
"I already did, but he insists he has something important to say and won't leave."
"Then, ask him to send a letter."
As soon as I finished speaking, Lily pulled out a letter from her bosom and handed it to me.
Andrew knew me too well, to the point of being creepy.
I sighed and tore open his letter.
[I have something to tell you about the mine. I'll wait for you at the beach where we met.]
I crumpled the letter at the mention of the mine.
I knew who must have told him.
It must have been that damn Marco.
Suppressing the urge to strangle him, I folded the letter and threw it in the trash.
'Whether he waits or not, it's none of my business.'
I had never said I would go.
A refreshing summer rain was pouring outside the window.
Despite everyone being asleep, I couldn't easily fall asleep.
I got out of bed and checked on Pio, who was sleeping quietly on a cushion in the corner of the room.
I then went to the terrace and looked out at the beach through the glass door.
The beach was lined with benches and streetlights, making the spot where we agreed to meet clearly visible.
And there was someone standing there.
I quickly grabbed an umbrella and went down to the lobby, exiting through the back door.
My steps quickened as I headed towards the beach.
The man stood in the rain, which was pouring down so heavily that it was hard to see.
"What are you doing here, anyway!"
The man, who had been looking down, raised his head.
A smile spread across Andrew's face, which had looked like it was about to crumble.