Chapter 70 is here!
Anyway, here"s chapter 70, I hope you"ll enjoy it!
(This chapter is part of a double release, you can read chapter 71 right after this one)
Chapter 70
【"Wait! Why are you following us here?"】
Frigga entered Lunaria"s room along with Kurats like it was the most natural thing in the world, and calmly answered Lunaria"s question.
【"Anywhere sir Kurats goes, I"ll go with him. After all, we"re comrade in arms; we have entrusted our lives to each other."】
【"――Kurats, looks like you really get along with her, don"t you?"】
【"Well, things happened, and this is how it ended up between us. It couldn"t be helped."】
【"I wonder how well that line will go with miss Cornelia."】
【"S-s-s-sister?! Why are you here?"】
【"I became very close with her while you weren"t here. I called her beforehand so we could celebrate your return today."】
Kurats felt chills down his spine.
These chills were coming from a fear that had been carved inside him on a genetic level.
【"Even since you were kid, you"ve always let yourself get carried away the second you found yourself alone, haven"t you?"】
【"S-sister!"】
【"Yaaaaaaaaah!"】
【"Ugggh!"】
Kurats" body could repel literal steel, but he could not escape from what was deeply carved into his mind.
The moment Corrnelia"s kick reached his tender spot, he screamed helplessly, becoming teary-eyed in his agony.
『Nooooooooo! N-not the family jewels! Not again!!』
The one who took the most damage was actually Bernst, but for him, that was better kept secret.
【"I see you"ve got your hands on the princesses of two countries. But Kurats, you do realize the princesses aren"t Dorothee and Merga, right?"】
【"Dorothee and Merga? Who are they?"】
【"Sister, please don"t say more!"】
【"Let"s just say our neighborhood had a full course of romance and Kurats kept the crumbs for his "personal" moments."】
【"AAAAAAAh!"】
The invisible impact made Kurats collapse to the ground, feeling like tearing out his on throat.
『S-STOP THIS! I"m going to get enraged again!』
(I understand how you feel, but please just wait for now!)
Unexpectedly, the one that put a stop to Kurats" suffering was Lunaria.
【"…I think we"ve probably teased him enough. He was out there putting his life on the line for my sake, after all. I"ll let you two talk alone, between siblings."】
Then, Lunaria left the room and urged Frigga, whose interest had been picked by Kurats" "inclinations", to follow her.
【"Miss Frigga, come with me. I need to speak to you about what"s to come in our common future."】
【"…Could you be more specific?"】
【"Well, let"s just say that if you have Kurats" best interest in mind, your cooperation would be welcome here."】
【"If that"s the reason, then it can"t be helped. "】
Much to their surprise, Kurats and Cornelia were suddenly left all by themselves in the room.
【"…Weird, what was that about?"】
As Kurats muttered so, his eyes met with Cornelia"s, prompting a strange reaction from her. She became red up to her neck and very quickly looked away.
【"Sister?"】
【"D-don"t look this way! Just give me 5 minutes!"】
【"5 minutes is way too long…"】
【"Then just 40 seconds, okay?!"】
Cornelia bent her back and kept breathing in and out.
This was the first time Kurats had ever seen Cornelia act so strange.
『I don"t think there is anything strange about it…』
(Do you know what"s going on with her?)
『I suppose I"ll show her a little bit of sympathy. From this point on, I"ll cut our connection. I won"t be able to see or hear anything so… just do your best.』
(W-w-what do you mean?!)
Kurats" question stayed unanswered. It seemed like Bernst had already sealed his consciousness.
Like she had made up her mind about something, Cornelia turned towards Kurats, and looked at him defiantly.
【"You think I haven"t heard that you went to Lapland all by yourself?"】
【"―― Sorry, I didn"t want to worry you."】
All Kurats had said to her was that he was going to a foreign country as a messenger under the orders of the king.
【"When princess Lunaria told me about what you went to do, I felt like my heart was about to stop!"】
The serious expression on Cornelia"s face did not hold for long, it was quickly covered by an overflowing fountain of tears.
【"After you left, princess Lunaria called me to the capital because she was worried about leaving me all by myself at home. That"s when I first heard that you went to save Lapland… The princess just wanted to apologize, saying it was her fault that you went there, but all I could think of was…"】
Even knowing how absurd Kurats" strength was, his mission seemed too reckless.
Cornelia was well aware that Kurats, who could easily slaughter a red-eyed bear, had the strength of an army of about 1000 men. Even so, she could not feel at ease.
After being invited to the capital, she had spent almost all of her time praying for Kurats" safety.
【"I"m sorry for worrying you. But there is no way that I"d be injured by something like this!"】
Truthfully, there had been some moments when his life had been truly in danger, but Kurats did not say that.
Instead, he stuck out his chest to show how safe and strong he was, hoping he wouldn"t be found out.
Even so, Cornelia jumped to his chest like she was about to attack him. Perhaps she had instinctively guessed the truth.
【"…Idiot!"】
When her body hit his chest, Cornelia started sobbing and trembling from her shoulders.
Kurats put his rea.s.suring hand on her back, and closely pulled her thin body into his embrace.
He felt like her limbs could break from his strength, yet he also felt like her skin was so soft that his hands would melt inside.
As she trembled in his arms, Kurats could smell a perfume-like aroma of citrus rising from her hair.
This already gave him a very hard time calming his mind, and as if that wasn"t enough, Cornelia silently stayed in this posture for 5 whole torturous minutes.
【"After princess Lunaria called me to the capital, we had a talk together."】
【"Hmm?"】
While still clinging to Kurats, Cornelia finally started talking. However, she kept her eyes closed so that she wouldn"t meet his gaze.
【"She said that his majesty is thinking of making you her husband. She also said that if it"s with you, she"s willing to get married."】
【"Huh?"】