I swallowed this word and waited quietly for the manâs next word.
âI didnât want to ruin your birthday celebration.â
âWho are you?â
âThey must have kidnapped you in order to call me out so fearlessly.â
âWho kidnapped me?â
âItâs the first time youâve been congratulated by so many people, right?â
The man was only saying what he wanted to say, as if he didnât want to answer me. I remained silent, staring at the man as he awkwardly stood up.
âYour father doesnât appear to be aware that the blessing becomes weaker on your birthday, does he?â
âWhat?â
âI didnât realize how simple it was to break in when there were so many people here.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âWhy were you born into this family?â
I hated mixing words with this guy, but he was giving me some really significant pieces of the puzzle right now, and it was obvious that the blessing he was talking about is the blessing of the demon that had been passed down from generation to generation in Conler.
But my pride was hurt to ask again.
âI came because I thought it would be hard if useless things showed up and ruined your party,â
Donât you know, you showing up ruins it even more? If you donât know, I really want to let you know. But thereâs no need to provoke you. I think youâll get mad if I say this.
âIf they get angry and kill you because of your temper, isnât it a problem?â
âWhat?â
He said it in such a harsh way that it overshadowed my earlier declaration that I didnât want to provoke him. My personality isnât all that bad, in my opinion.
The manâs smile remained constant, perhaps because he wasnât in a bad mood. It was quite unexpected.
âBecause you tend to be too obsessed with life.â
It was a strange word. I grimaced. With his index finger, the man lightly tapped my cheek.
After he touched my cheek, I wiped it. When he saw my reaction, the man laughed as if he was amazed.
âBut I didnât know it would be filled up like this.â
The manâs attention returned to my wrist. It was clear that Rexâs bracelet was bothering him. Instinctively, I wrapped my bracelet.
âThe Conlers are indeed troublesome, with Estin being the worst.â
As he looked at me, the man spoke seriously.
âIâm always by your side, Mary.
âDonât be there. It is unpleasant.â
âYou got dumped.â
âI didnât get dumped.â
âSee you next time.â
âWhy me?â
âIf you grow up a little bit, youâll be engaged to me, not Demimore.â
âI donât want to.â
Despite my feistiness, the man kept responding indifferently. The man was certainly attractive, but for some reason I didnât warm up to him. Of course, Iâm not the type of moron who enjoys everything attractive or attractive-looking. In any case, even if your face isnât attractive, it must exude positivity. I donât dislike it; Iâm just not a fan.
âItâs not yet time, Mary, so Iâll be back.â
âDonât come even when the time is right.â
âOh, the castle of Conler is so uncomfortable.â
The man gave me a wink before vanishing. I stared blankly at the scene, recalling the manâs last words. He described Conlerâs castle as âuncomfortable.â That implies that this is Conlerâs castle. I made the decision to leave this space.
âOh, the window.â
The ground seemed far away as I peered out the window. It was obvious that this was the room on top of the castle. I exhaled a long sigh. How will I go down there?
âMary!â
I was leaning against the wall because I wanted to rest a little longer before getting down when the door to the room I was in flew open. Grand Duke Estin was there, as well as Lucas carrying Rex. I crouched down before hazily rising. So the man disappeared because he knew Grand Duke Estin was on his way.
âAre you alright?â
Grand Duke Estin asked while grabbing my arms. Despite how excellent it was, I felt awkward. My arms ache. Grand Duke Estin gave me a conflicted look as I cautiously nodded. Dad, Iâm sorry. Your only daughter is kidnapped every time.
You must have ran up to the tower, but you donât appear to be at all exhausted. Particularly Lucas, who was carrying Rex on his back.
âThatâs a relief, sister.â
âMaster Rex made it easy for us to locate the lady.â
Lucas said, placing his hand on Rexâs shoulder. How on earth? I stared at Rex with surprise as he spoke, awkwardly wriggling his hands.
âAs I mentioned earlier when I gave you a gift, I infused the bracelet with a tiny bit of my mana so I was able track it.â
âAh, I seeâŠâŠ.â
The man was leery of the bracelet Rex gave me because of that.
âI apologize if I offended you.â
âOh, no! Thanks to you, you were able to come to my rescue so quickly.â
When I stared blankly at the bracelet, Rex sobbed again.
The bracelet appears to be the reason the man left so quickly.
By the way, Rex is way too sweet. He is probably a child who is concerned about other peopleâs feet, even if that nsomeone purposefully extended his leg for him to step on. I smiled as tenderly as I could and patted the bracelet Rex gave me dearly.
âItâs fine, Rex. Thank you. Iâm proud of you.â
âWell, Mr. Logan came up with the idea.â
Grand Duke Estin raised an eyebrow when Loganâs name was mentioned. He didnât interact with Logan in any significant way. If Logan knew Rex had claimed it was his idea, he would be shocked.
âHe is a better teacher than I had expected.â
âAll because of my connections,â
Lucas stepped in in a playful tone, slightly hitting Grand Duke Estin in the back of the head and laughing. I could see why Grand Duke Estin took Lucas. Certainly, Lucas was a person who had the talent to make even the most serious atmosphere playful.
âSo did you see the face of the kidnapper?â
ââŠâŠYes.â
I nodded carefully and all three menâs eyes turned to me. Grand Duke Estin asked about his appearance in detail.
âIt was a man with purple hair and eyes,â
âYou are good at drawing, so you can draw it yourself.â
âThatâs right! You can draw it yourself.â
I shook my head violently. I definitely painted a human sketch before and they mistook it for a demon. I cannot confuse the investigation.
Instead, I decided to throw out the most important keywords.
âHe said he was the God of the underworld.â
âGod of the underworld?â
Grand Duke Estin and Lucas made eye contact. They looked puzzled as if it were an unfamiliar word. I thought Grand Duke Estin and Lucas might know something, but looking at their expressions it was clear that there was not much known about the underworld.
âTeacher Logan may know.â
âYes, I should ask Logan.â
Yeah, Logan is studying the underworld. Grand Duke Estin checked my body again if I was hurt.
âItâs hard.â
âWhat?â
âI donât know why unexpected things keep happening to you.â
Rattle~
I felt my heart pounding at the words of Grand Duke Estin. Of course, I know that heâs saying this out of concern for me. Heâs probably saying this because I was kidnapped even inside the castle. I understand it in my head, butâŠâŠ.
I donât know what would happen if Grand Duke Estin gets tired of these situations. What if this situation repeats and continues and he begins to get tired of me? Isnât this troublesome?
Concerning the original story, which I frequently dreamed about, I was anxious. There was no guarantee that it would proceed as the original, but there was also no assurance that it would not.
I believed that Demimore and I were on good terms, but as soon as he found out about the engagement, he informed me that he didnât want to get engaged.
Therefore, I made the decision not to discuss the underworld saint or the engagement I had previously heard about. Iâm not certain if he is the underworldâs god, and I was a little concerned about Grand Duke Estin Estinâs reaction if he learned that I was referred to as the underworldâs saint.
âGet on my back.â
âWhat?â
I was lost in thought, and suddenly Grand Duke Estin showed his back and sat down in front of me. No, you already checked that I was okay, but you still want me to carry on your back.
âCome on.â
I was hesitating in the back when Grand Duke Estin insisted. Perhaps if I didnât get carried on his back, I would face it all day, so I carefully climb on his back but Iâm really fine. I made eye contact with Rex as I climbed Grand Duke Estinâs back. He smiled slightly at me.
I remembered Rex, who refused when I asked him to get on my back during the picnic. At that time, I was just sad because I wasnât able to carry him on my back, but after being in his situation. I think I understand Rex a little bit..âŠ.
Iâm sorry, Rex. You must have been really embarrassed. Still, he came here riding Lucasâs back.
âIâm sorry.â
I was at the back of Grand Duke Estin when suddenly he apologized in a low voice. I could see why he was saying sorry to me, so I replied cautiously.
âI heard you cast a spell on me.â
âThatâs why he couldnât take Miss Mary far away.â
Oh, so thatâs why Iâm still here at Conler Castle.
He nodded at Lucasâ explanation. Somehow I felt fortunate not to see the face of Grand Duke Estin.
âI thought it was a needless worry. I apologize for being arrogant. I thought nothing would happen on your supposed happiest day. This wonât happen again.â
At the words of Grand Duke Estin, I hugged his neck a little tighter without replying. I felt sorry again when I heard the apology. It felt like Grand Duke Estin was caught up in these things because of me. The work of the imperial family must be making him busy, too.
âHe must have been acting as the god of the underworld.â
âWhat a disgrace.â
Is it because I feel relieved or because Iâm shaking at the constant speed while going down the stairs? I had a vague sense of drowsiness. In the meantime, I thought vaguely while listening to the conversation between Grand Estin and Lucas.
What if heâs not acting as the God of the underworldâŠâŠ?
What If heâs really a god, what should we do then?