Chapter 134 – What seemed to have changed had not changed (4)

The Marquis of Westin began to speak thoughtlessly. It was just a groundless accusation.

But Richard stiffened up.

Everything that the Marquis Westin had said was true.

“…you’re crossing the line. Of course, that can’t be true.”

“We'll find out in the trial.”

“Are you going to file for a breakup trial?”

Richard was surprised. In any case, the Marquis of Westin wouldn’t have applied for a divorce trial.

Besides, it wasn't really about the evidence. The fact that Richard still had an advantage hadn't changed.

Richard had just regained his composure when the Marquis of Westin continued.

“No, I’m going to file for a demon trial!”

“……”

“I’ll say that you colluded a demon to deceive my daughter and manipulate me!”

The Marquis continued to speak, “I'll file for a trial right now!”

“W-wait. Wait a minute!”

Richard stopped the Marquis of Westin in a hurry.

‘I shouldn't have said that. I need to respond calmly.'

Richard thought so, but his body moved first.

He’d be completely done for if the Marquis of Westin really applied for the trial.

“What are you thinking about? Did you really join hands with them?”

“Of course not. I was just surprised to hear that ridiculous accusation.”

Richard tried to calm down, but Marquis Westin narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

The Marquis wasn't as smart as Richard, but he had been the leader of the Westin family for a long time so was very experienced.

He had detected a subtle change in Richard's expression.

There must be something.

Although the Marquis had said that, he didn’t really intend to apply for a trial.

Times had changed.

Filing for a demon trial was not easy as before.

He could lose his life in the process if his accusation was wrong.

He wanted to threaten Richard into ending the engagement, taking advantage of the fact that he would be at a disadvantage if he were on a demon trial thanks to his Roum lineage.

However, Marquis Westin changed his mind when he saw Richard's reaction.

‘He's got something to hide.'

If it was true that Richard used black magic, then this was a huge opportunity.

Come to think of it, Richard’s expression had changed when he brought up the story of the Duchess and Neon.

If it was true that he killed them using black magic…

A corner of Marquis Westin’s mouth raised up.

If he revealed the truth about the Duke of Cassil from seven years ago, he could earn Tenstheon’s trust and he’d be able to regain his family glory.

“Let's find the truth out in court.”

The Marquis of Westin headed to the door with an arrogant smile.

As soon as he grabbed the door handle, he felt something behind him.

The Marquis fell down on the spot before he could even look back.

The blood spread gradually, staining the marble floor.

Richard looked down at the Marquis coldly.There was one thing Richard had regretted over the past seven years.

Frank, if he had taken care of that moron sooner, the Cassil family wouldn't have fallen like this.

The root of the problem had to be removed quickly and it’d be too late the moment he didn’t take action immediately.

Richard put the bronze sculpture he used to attack the Marquis down and confirmed that he was dead.

There was nothing to panic about. He was going to kill him after he got married anyway.

It's just that the time had come a little earlier.

Richard would lock the door first, and then call Connin and Karan to take care of it.

Richard tried to lock the door, but it opened before he could do that. Sophia came inside.

“Sophia…”

“What happened? I was worried…”

“L-Let's get out of here first.”

Richard said as he hid his hands that were stained with blood behind him. Sophia hadn't seen the Marquis yet.

They had to get out of this room. However, Sophia noticed that he was hiding his hands.

“Richard, isn't that blood?”

“Let's get out.”

“What happened…Aah!”

Sophia discovered the Marquis' body lying on the ground when she moved closer to look at Richard's hands and screamed.

Richard gritted his teeth. It was the worst case scenario.

***

After the Founding Festival, Diana returned to the academy.

I also chose a new maid and returned to my daily life, busying myself with finding out what had happened over the 7 years that I wasn’t here.

I realized every morning that it was really not a dream because Blake's face was the first thing I saw when I woke up. That made me so happy.

We had the Forens Palace and Sephia Palace, but we usually stayed in Amoria Palace.

The servants did not enter the Amoria Palace unless they really needed to.

This was our own secret space, and we could recall all the memories we made here clearly. So it was more comfortable for us to stay here.

A thousand years ago I was locked in this exact place. It was a terrible memory, but staying here didn't particularly remind me of that or bother me in any way.

It was all thanks to the memories I had with Blake.

We spent every day surrounded by happiness, but today was somewhat different.

“I’m going to the Phillion Palace.”

I said to Blake as we lay in bed.

Today, I was going to go to the Phillion Palace to meet father and speak to Sir Collin.

Asking Collin and Chelsea about what had happened over the past seven years would be the quickest way to find out what really happened.

Most of the time other people wouldn’t tell me all the facts honestly because they were being considerate of me.

As I was going to leave, Blake grabbed my hand.

“Ancia, I'm so tired that I can’t move. Are you going to leave me alone…?”

When he lowered his eyes, I noticed his long lashes.

He looked so innocent everytime he did that, but Ancia saw through him this time.

“You deserve it.”

Tenstheon wanted to establish a group of knights for me. However, I asked him to postpone that till next year.

I wanted to wait until Diana graduated.

Father accepted my request, and for the time being, only some knights were arranged to escort me.

I was worried that the knights would be reluctant, but unexpectedly, they all eagerly clamored to get the job.

They even competed to become my exclusive escort.

Finally, it was decided that a battle would be arranged among the knights and the winner would become my exclusive escort.

But unexpectedly, Blake also participated in the battle.

And the result was…

Chelsea, who had watched the match, said with a pale face.

According to her, Blake had defeated the knights in an instant.

I didn't see the match in person, but I had a rough idea of the events that transpired since I’d already seen Blake beat Jayden, who was considered one of the best among the knights, with a single move.

However, it was ridiculous to see Blake saying he was tired when he’d beaten all the knights just like that.

“You shouldn't have fought the knights!”

Blake murmured softly in response. “But I healed them all,” He said as if he had been wrongly accused.

No, he hit them deliberately and then healed them?

“I'm giving you a pill.”

“I had no other choice if I wanted to make sure they had the ability to protect you.”

He glanced up at me slightly with those pitiful eyes.

“But what if you win the escort battle?”

“As expected, I’m the only one who’s capable of escorting you,”

“Huh?”

“I'll be your escort!”

“…is that why you did it?”

There had never been a precedent of the Crown Prince escorting the Crown Princess in all of the Empire’s history, but Blake seemed to be serious about it.

“I can't leave my wife to those who can't even beat me.”

“Blake.”

“You know I don't like to fight. I was just worried about my wife, so I couldn't help but participate.”

That's right. Blake didn't even like ordinary snowball fights, so he had always been beaten by Diana before.

“I'm really worried about you.”

Blake clasped my hand. The matching rings on our fingers glistened in the sunlight.

Ser had left my wedding ring intact.

Blake bought me a new ring in the square, but I still chose to wear the former one.

Although the ring had been damaged a lot after seven years, it looked as good as new after it was repaired.

“Blake, are you really that tired?”

“Yes, my legs hurt and I can't walk.”

Ahh…what to do? I found him to be really cute when he was helpless like this.

“Then, I'll heal you.”

“I think I’d feel better if you stayed next to me.”

Blake didn’t want to stay away from me for even a second.

I appreciated and understood his concern for me, but things couldn’t continue like this.

“Blake, let me teach you some magic.”

“Magic?”

“Yes.”

After Ser was sealed, the magic of light disappeared from the Empire.

When the magic of light disappeared, the mages of light naturally lost their power.

Over a thousand years, only books about the disappearance of light magic could be found but there was no information about the magic itself left.

Of course, people still developed magical tools made from mana stones of light, but the magic of light was close to being lost entirely.

When the Cassils caused that incident in the ballroom seven years ago, Blake had healed their wounds.

He had never studied the magic of light but he could instinctively see the flow of mana and even use healing magic.

Blake had a natural talent for it. If he learned it properly, his skills would definitely improve.

“How do you know the magic of light?”

“I learned about it when I entered the Door of Darkness.”

I couldn't tell him about my past life, so I made up an excuse.

But Blake's expression darkened instantly at the mere mention of that time.

He grabbed my shoulders.

“Teach me. I'd like to learn everything I can to protect my wife.”

“Okay.”

I clasped his hands tightly.

“The first thing I want to teach you is how to feel another person's heart, so that we can feel each other's presence no matter where we are.”

The transparent light from my hand passed on to Blake’s hand.