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“Since I cannot see Your Highness during the public prayer service, I thought I should visit once before then. Let’s see, now… I should head back in about three minutes.”
“Three minutes? That’s not much time left. Hmm, alright.”
I stretched my body fully to energize myself. Since we’ve already met, I might as well show off the strength I’ve been honing over the past few days.
I strode up behind Valentin and gave his back a few hearty pats.
“Here. Hop on, Valentin.”
After making eye contact, I bent my knees and presented my back.
“…….”
“…….”
“What are you doing? I said hop on!”
I glared at him, signaling for him to move quickly, but Valentin remained motionless, his eyes clouded with deep thought.
“Hurry!”
“No matter how much I think about it, I can't find a reasonable answer. By any chance… did you make a bet with Chenko regarding me?”
“What bet? I’m just trying to carry you to the carriage. I’ve even been building muscle for the past fifteen days just for today. Hurry up and get on.”
“I don’t think you’ve fully grasped the difference in height between us yet… It won’t work.”
“It will.”
“It won’t.”
“I said it will!”
After a period of silence, an overwhelming weight suddenly crashed onto my back. Ugh, I can't breathe.
“Wa-wait a second.”
A small laugh was heard.
“Already? Let’s get moving. I am a man who must return to the holy hall now.”
“A-alright, just put a little less weight on me. I think I can manage if you just drape yourself over me.”
“Drape? I suppose my dignity as a gentleman ends here.”
Despite saying that, Valentin did not pull his body away from me. After shifting around, the most comfortable position I could find was supporting one of Valentin's arms.
Can I even call this carrying him? Mmm, well… it’s at least helping him walk.
Panting and struggling, I made my way down the stairs, exited the castle, and arrived in front of the carriage. Valentin, who hadn't stopped smiling the whole time as if something was incredibly amusing, finally stood fully on his own two feet and asked.
“So, what exactly was the intention behind this adorable assistance?”
“How was it? Uncomfortable?”
“No. It was so ecstatic and comfortable, as if I were lying on a cloud. I almost fell asleep for a moment.”
Look at him teasing me. I felt like I could have done it if I just tried a little harder… Ahem. I cleared my throat loudly before answering.
“I’m tall, so if I build a bit more muscle, I can carry you.”
Valentin looked at me with eyes that seemed to ask, ‘What kind of accident is he planning now?’, yet he listened quietly.
“Just tell me whenever you want to be carried. I’ll prepare even harder… and next time, I’ll give you a princess carry.”
I consciously lifted my head to avoid looking down at Valentin's feet. I shrugged my shoulders with an even larger gesture to avoid thinking about his occasional limp.
“Just say the word for anything else besides being carried. You know I like you a lot, right? So if it’s you… you can use me. Like I told you last time, like a fighter from the Colosseum.”
I rolled my tongue, wondering what else to say, but once I conveyed my honest feelings without embellishment, no other words came to mind.
I always feel like I overthink things in front of Valentin, so while the time we spend together is happy, it’s also a bit… exhausting, I suppose.
Without meeting Valentin's eyes, I pulled out a letter.
“This is my reply. Well then… I’ll be staying quietly in the Imperial Palace, so I'll see you after the public prayer service.”
I returned to my room a step ahead of Valentin's departure.
And just as I had vowed, I intended to stay quietly in the Imperial Palace, but…
“Mmmgh!”
As I sat up with a long stretch, a grey shadow rose against the orange lamplight that dimly filled one wall. I stared at the shadow stretching out as if my back were about to snap, then slowly lowered my arms.
Let’s see, what time is it now… 1 AM?
“Huh. It’s not 11 PM, but 1 AM?”
No wonder I felt so sleepy I was losing my mind.
For someone like me, who consistently falls asleep before midnight, staying awake until dawn was something that hadn't happened in years.
‘I never thought the day would come where I’d postpone sleep because I was so absorbed in a book.’
With a sigh, I closed the cover of the ancient book I had been staring at tediously for the past five hours.
Damn Tiemut language.
After hearing Valentin's story, it was a good thing that I finally opened the ancient book <Diary of Roo>, which I had been putting off for weeks (yes, that same book wrapped in chains).
The problem started right there.
This worn-out diary was filled with the Tiemut language, which I had particularly hated learning since childhood because the characters were ugly. Thanks to that, I continued translating with a Tiemut dictionary by my side… and within a few days, I faced the second problem.
‘This old man talks way too much.’
What kind of person writes three pages of a diary every single day?
Is he insane? While I wanted to respect his talkativeness, my motivation plummeted whenever I had to translate sentences like, ‘I washed my underwear anew today for the prayer, and to overcome my jinx, I beat them with a laundry club more than thirty times.’
Furthermore, Roo was well-versed in vocabulary and the use of idioms, so even I, who rarely forget a word once I've seen it, had to look at the dictionary every time or struggle with expressions that made no sense.
‘As expected, I shouldn't be reckless; I should just borrow a translated version.’
But was there a translated version in the Imperial Palace? I think I dragged the original here because there wasn't one…
Since it was on my mind, I left the room.
The dawn corridor, with the curtains perfectly drawn, was dark and gloomy, but equally familiar. After nearly slipping on the stairs while letting out a wide yawn, I continued walking slowly and stealthily.
“It’s a bit cold.”
Was the dawn of a spring day always this cold?
I looked at my hand holding the lamp, which was trembling, and changed direction. Tatyana's bedroom is nearby, so I should sneak in and borrow a shawl or something.
But I’ve come too far to go back to my room, so it's too much troubl—
“Aren't you trusting him too blindly?”
A voice rang out clearly through the darkness.
“…Tanya?”
I quickly moved my steps and stood before Tatyana's bedroom.
‘Is there someone else inside?’
Even when I pressed my ear against the door, I could only hear a faint humming; I couldn't hear properly. It seemed like a voice shouting in a fit of anger was heard only for a brief moment.
‘…It could be her fiancé. It’s a private matter, so let’s not eavesdrop.’
As if, I flew toward the door on the right side of the bedroom more nimbly than ever and opened it carefully.
Usually, the owner of the bedroom uses the bedroom door, and guests meet the owner through the drawing room next to the bedroom. What does this mean? It means that if you enter through the drawing room, your presence is well-hidden.
“Whew.”
I turned off the lamp.
I crawled toward the passage leading to the bedroom. Along with a dim light, Tatyana's voice drifted over.
“My mind is made up. The answer for this public prayer service is cancellation.”
Canceling a public prayer service with only a week left? As I sat leaning against the wall and listened intently, I heard a story I had never expected.
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