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Episode 14: The Villainess Returns (VIII)
<Get out.>
The black hawk spoke bluntly without even opening his eyes. I seemed to be treated like a maid who had accidentally stepped in.
I silently watched Hou. I was a little sad that he couldn’t move, unable to even flap his wings.
In my memory, this black hawk was a wonderful beast with flashing yellow eyes, flying brilliantly over the Duchy of Prelai. Around the age of six, I desperately wished, ‘I want to meet a bird summon like that too.’
I really felt that way back then. ‘Is that why my so-called summon is also a bird?’
However, that great pet was drooping, without the strength to even lift his eyelids.
My heart ached just watching that scene, so I couldn’t even guess what my grandfather must be feeling.
First, I introduced myself in a friendly manner.
“Where are you arrogantly ordering the youngest princess of Prelai to get out of?”
And I confidently rolled up my sleeves, declaring,
“I will fix you. Please cooperate a little.”
<Bullshit.>
There was no hope in Hou’s plaintive voice.
<Medicine has no effect on summoned beasts. Don’t bother and get out.>
“I am not a doctor?”
Hou didn’t even answer and kept his mouth shut and his eyes closed. What an annoying face.
With a flick of my hand, the spy maid quickly began unpacking.
I took a cup of coffee and sat down.
“Spy.”
Looking into the eyes of the spy maid, I said.
“Two hours from now.”
The spy maid was restless from the moment she entered the greenhouse. Still, she did not disobey my order.
She stared at my serious eyes and swallowed dry saliva.
I firmly commanded.
“No one is allowed into the greenhouse for two hours. I need to concentrate.”
Then, with my glasses on, I unfolded the parchment.
─➽⊰
In Seukali’s office at the Prelai’s residence.
“So… She left in the morning?”
Seukali woke up a long time ago.
He had heard about Kiana’s whereabouts, along with the bad news that the maid who had attempted the assassination the day before committed suicide during interrogation.
The spy maid attached to Kiana hadn’t come by, so it was likely she was still by her side. The head maid reported in person, but of course, all she could convey was the fragmentary information that Kiana went out in the morning.
Actually, Seukali thought that Kiana would come looking for him right away. But she had left early in the morning and hadn’t returned.
“Is Duke Prelai’s residence such an uncomfortable place?”
“…What?”
“Kiana and Melissa and Joshua… Everyone is so anxious to get out.”
Seukali touched his forehead lightly as if he was troubled.
The head maid sighed, sadness tinting her face.
Even after Kiana left for the academy, the duchy wasn’t very peaceful. It was because there was Joshua, who was more troublesome.
“Unless my head is broken somewhere, I will never step foot in this confined house again.”
It was to the point that no one at the ducal residence could catch and stop the committed steps he had taken to finally move away from home.
The figure wearing a jacket with the logo of a famous designer was still vivid in Seukali’s mind.
He never looked back…
The butler almost murmured, ‘If this Julius dies, will you come to the funeral…’
Seukali thought it would be difficult to look at Joshua’s face for the time being.
He squeezed his tired eyes and murmured painfully.
“Only those who have raised wayward adolescents can understand me.”
The head maid bowed deeply and blinked a few times before cautiously replying.
“Hmm… I’ve been through the adolescence of my children, so I know roughly…”
Seukali looked at the head maid, his expression indicating for her to say it.
The head maid calmly followed with,
“I don’t think a heart that isn’t expressed can be conveyed. Even if you think, ‘This is enough, you know everything’, in the end, not knowing everything is human.”
“Hmm.”
“Even if it’s a bit embarrassing, why don’t the duke say clearly how much you care for the princess?”
At the head maid’s heartfelt words, Seukali slowly stroked his chin with a thoughtful face.
“…Is it.”
‘Well, I’ve heard a lot that I’m overly reticent.’
‘Is that why my feelings aren’t conveyed well?’
Come to think of it, he only wanted his grandsons and granddaughters to change, but he never seemed to think he had to change.
In that sense, the head maid’s advice was quite to Seukali’s liking.
“Okay. I think… I must change.”
The head maid responded carefully, perhaps she wanted to comfort Seukali.
“Princess Kiana abruptly returned one day. Even Prince Joshua might come suddenly like a lie after a long time has passed.”
It was then. The butler entered with a frantic knock.
“Duke!”
And urgently reported.
“Prince Joshua just came to the residence!”
For a moment there was silence in the office.
Even the jaw of the head maid, who had just said, ‘Prince Joshua might return someday too’, dropped wide open.
Only after a while did Seukali react. He snorted, then muttered as if it was absurd.
“I guess my second grandson’s head broke a lot sooner than I thought?”
Seukali, who kept his composure as usual, suddenly recalled the head maid’s advice.
Of expressing how much he thought of his family.
‘Express, express…’
With a hardened face, Seukali nodded.
“…It’s good. I should practice with Joshua beforehand.”
─➽⊰
Joshua was sitting in Seukali’s office with the most awkward face.
“What is going on?”
Staring at Joshua, Seukali asked sarcastically.
“You didn’t leave quietly like Kiana, but ran off while showing off, so why did you crawl back in?”
“That…”
“You didn’t go away to study like Kiana, you bought a mansion under my nose and pretty much advertised it all over the capital, saying, ‘I’m of the Prelai family.’”
“Um, that…”
“I tried to be nice to you until the end. It’s still the same today. I’ve left your room in this mansion as it is, and the budget has always been allocated!”
“…Ha, Grandpa?”
“You’re a very messed up grandson who always thought only of what his parents had done for him and didn’t care for this old man! I’m fair even to such a child!”
Joshua blinked, terribly puzzled.
“Grandpa, why are you suddenly saying so much… There’s also civility which you have never shown before…”
“What civility, it’s an expression of the heart!”
“…….”
Joshua sighed and said,
“Anyway, it’s about Kiana, she’s a bit strange.”
“That’s a relief.”
Seukali replied bluntly.
“If it feels normal in your eyes, that is more of a problem.”
“First of all, it’s not normal. But still…”
Joshua stated with a straight face.
“She is just too skinny. Any designer would freak out.”
At that, Seukali immediately nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Her complexion is too pale. It doesn’t look healthy at all.”
The two remained silent as they discussed Kiana’s condition.
After a while, Seukali asked sullenly.
“But is that really what you came for? Since when did you worry about her…”
“Grandpa was rejected by Kiana, right? Why are you picking a fight with me?”
It was then. The butler rushed into the office after suddenly receiving a report.
“Duke!”
Huffing and puffing, he looked at Joshua and murmured in surprise.
“Oh my God, Prince Joshua… Is your head okay? Are you seriously hurt?”
“…Why don’t you talk about what you’re here for.”
“Right! That, that!”
With worry evident on his face, the butler exclaimed.
“Princess Kiana has entered the greenhouse! We figured it out too late, so it’s already been quite a while!”
“The greenhouse? No, why is she there…!”
Panic flashed across Seukali’s face, which was as heavy as a huge mountain.
He lost his composure and shouted.
“What about the maid attached to her!”
“She made no report, maybe they’re in cahoots!”
Joshua stared at his grandfather in bewilderment.
‘If Grandpa is this worked up, I don’t know why, but it isn’t normal.’
‘Is there any hidden treasure in the greenhouse?’
But for him to lose his composure and panic like that…
Joshua knew instinctively that he had to stick around.
“E-Even now the door is locked… He’s said to be in a very dire condition!”
At the words of the butler, Seukali jumped up.
In the greenhouse, there was his pet, Hou, whose condition was getting worse day by day.
He couldn’t figure out why Kiana went to the greenhouse and locked the door. So she couldn’t help but be momentarily taken aback.
‘Hou!’
Hou was in a state of considerable weakness after absorbing the terrible poison six years ago. Even so, he said that it was his master’s order, and he did not resent him in the slightest.
To begin with, they had a special bond, but since six years ago, Hou had become an even bigger presence to Seukali.
“Grandpa! Calm down for a moment!”
“Can you keep your cool even if it’s your pet?”
“Of course not.”
Joshua’s reply was immediate.
“I’ll tell you this because it’s not my business, but I would have already run. Well, I’m actually kind of surprised that you can afford to stay here and look at me.”
At Joshua’s words, Seukali got up from his seat and ran towards the greenhouse. He trusted that Kiana wouldn’t do anything, but he couldn’t stay still. Joshua immediately followed.