Chapter 1 part 2

“I told you it’s not like that. Besides, my fiance is Captain Jullius.”

“… well, that’s true, but…”

She answered disgruntledly. This rascal, what’s wrong with my fiance anyway? The prince title might be just the right thing to entice women, but not for me, okay? Frankly speaking, in terms of personality, isn’t Captain Jullius much better? I used to be the most handsome person in the past, but Captain’s ability is slightly better than mine and that’s how we complemented each other. On the contrary adjutant Sieg told me either this one or that one are unsuitable for one another. And I know he’s much clever than the two of us, but it’s actually his minus point! I would hate it if I had such a nag, picky person and the like as my fiance!

As expected, my Jullius… is the best. Hmph hmph.

“Let’s go down now.”

Said Ortzen, as he received a luggage from Sofia.

“Don’t you still have to tell Sir Siegfred about the fact that Miss Epheria and Captain Jullius will be living together?”

“Li, living together?!”

Sofia looked at Ortzen in surprise, and soon after turned her eyes towards me.

“Miss! What do you mean by living together? It’s too early for that!”

“Why?”

“That’s–“

“We’re engaged so there’s nothing that can’t be done.”

Ortzen put on a straight face and stepped in.

“They’ve already slept together, so it’s nothing new.”

“That, I’ve heard that all they did was nothing but slept!”

“Isn’t that still sleeping together anyway?”

(TN: fyi Ortzen used the term of sleep as in ‘sharing a bed’, while Sofia said ‘sleep’ as in its literal meaning. People would still just take it as they had s*x even tho the word she used was normal sleep. That’s why Ortzen basically said it’s all the same lmao.)

“B,but….”

These guys… especially Sofia, what’s wrong with her? It was just giving out a room but she’s overreacting. Perhaps, she disliked Captain Jullius a lot more than I thought she was….

“Sofia.”

“… yes, Miss.”

“Captain Jullius is a good person. Don’t be so mean.”

“…. yes.”

Sofia answered sullenly. Uhm, I knew Captain Jullius didn’t leave a good impression on ordinary women, but if possible, I wish they’d get along well. I guess it’s going to be difficult.

Once we stepped out of the building, there was a big stylish carriage pulled by four horses. Adjutant Sieg, -who stood next to the carriage-, against all expectations, easily gave his consent for Captain Jullius to live together with me. Not long after, Captain Jullius came down with his luggage and the carriage set off for the new home.

“Because it’s hard to find trustworthy people in short time, we ended up getting a mansion that is smaller than expected.”

Said adjutant Sieg who was sitting across of me. Captain Jullius was riding on Blackie, while I had Sofia to sit at the coach-box. Because she might listen to some conversations that she shouldn’t have heard if she stayed with me. …I would have to tell Sofia about the truth someday. I should look for an opportunity, maybe in one of these days.

“The more people there are, the more likely that words will leak out. Even so, more than half of the buildings are empty.”

“So you’re saying that we should only talk about crucial things inside the Special Task Squad’s headquarters? And not even going to have a confidential meeting in the mansion?”

“Not exactly so, but there’s a possibility someone might accidentally spill the beans. I’m referring to you in particular, Miss. Sir Rizar is a man of few words, so he’s better than you.”

“… But no one has ever found out the fact that I’m Roel as well as a sacrifice throughout my stay in the Count’s residence though?”

“That’s because you lived in a secluded pavilion with only one maid.”

“I also hid it well even when I stayed inside the Special Task Squad’s headquarters! There’s also Ortzen who didn’t know about it.”

“That’s truly unexpected–, no, alright, you’ve done a good job.”

“However, there is a big difference in pressure between having someone to share a secret with and not having one. If you start having a thought where you think that there’re many people in the know, it’s very likely your mouth becomes lighter.”

(T/N: 입이 가볍다 is a Korean idiom (lit. meaning: light mouth) that’s used to call someone who tells others’ secrets easily/can’t keep a secret)

“Thus, by telling someone ‘I’ll only tell this to you’ or something along the lines, the rumors then begin to spread.”

So it’s like that. Then again, there were times when many ladies whispered similar contents in my ears while also saying, ‘I only tell Lord Roel’.

“First of all, I’ll try to bring in as many heavy-mouthed people as I can, but please watch your mouth too. We should set a rule where the employees shouldn’t look for Miss if not neccessary. Other than that, one Sofia should be enough to serve you on basic needs.”

(T/N: as you can already guess, heavy mouth is the opposite Korean idiom for light mouth)

“I’m also more comfortable to have only a few people serving me. Please give Sofia a generous salary.”

We haven’t talk much, but soon the carriage stopped for a moment before passing through the main gate and entered the mansion. He did said he’s going to prepare a mansion close to the Imperial Palace area, but it turned out to be really close.

As I alighted from the carriage, the elegant grey-blueish brick main building of the mansion came into sight and I could sense a trace of time from it. Most of the residences around the Imperial Palace were old buildings. The nobles, -other than thinking about the risk of collapse-, were proud of the buildings that had long existed along with the history of the Empire, so they preserved them by doing some minor repairs and kept them untouched as much as possible.

“Wasn’t there anyone living here?”

Adjutant Sieg answered my question nonchalantly.

“They’ve moved out.”

“Where to?”

“I think they moved to somewhere near the outskirts, but the place isn’t that far from here.”

Umm, he kicked them out peacefully, didn’t he? Anyway, the mansion has a splendid building which exuded a beautiful antique vibe. I also quite like how the walls were covered with ivy. At that moment, two maids and a servant came out of the building and approached us at a fast pace. They bowed politely to us, or to be exact, to adjutant Sieg. No matter how it looks, it looks like the master of the house is adjutant Sieg, not me.

“Move the luggage.”

“Yes.”

The employees carried out adjutant Sieg’s order and proceeded to unload the carriage. Captain Jullius handed Blackie’s reins over to the groom then he came up to me. I held his hand and looked at adjutant Sieg.

“Can I look around the mansion?”

“Please do. On that note, Miss’ bedroom is in the middle of the third floor.”

“Let’s go, Captain.”

I brought Captain Jullius with me and returned to the side of the main building. As long as there’s an empty space to do exercise, that would be great.

“Ok.”

We walked for quite a while and reached the rear of the mansion where there was a fairly large pond. In the middle of it, we could see an artificial island that’s enclosed by low white stone walls and a willow tree with its drooping branches there. Judging from the size of the tree, it looks like the pond was build quite a long time ago. There’s also a pretty white swing under the willow tree. I guess there must have been a little girl among the former residents.

(T/N: i don’t think by digging up a small piece of land to make a pond and left a portion of land in the middle of it, means that you just made an artificial island. But anyway, the author used the term ‘artificial island’ so I’ll just stick with that. Just so you know, it’s not a mistranslation.)

“Captain–, no, Jullius. Do you like the pond?”

He nodded briefly in response to my question.

“I like water.”

“I also quite like it. I’m not good at swimming though. Even so, I used to catch quite a lot of snakeheads in the past, and it was fun.”

It’s boring to just cast a fishing rod and sat still absent-mindedly, but it’s fun to run around with a harpoon. But we can’t do such a thing in this pond.

“Let’s take a look over there.”

I let go of Captain Jullius’ hand and leaped across the stepping-stones to the artificial island. A white stone bridge was also build on the other side of the stepping-stones. Beyond that, a refined seperate building could be seen. I don’t think adjutant Sieg will let Captain stay in the main building, but I can give him that separate building. Above all, it’s the closest to the main building.

‘There are quite a few fishes.’

Below the clear stagnant water surface, I could see a few fairly large carp. In addition, there’re also some little fish which name I didn’t know of and a pair of turtles as big as a person’s palm. After looking into the pond for a while, I plopped down on the swing under the shade tree. Captain Jullius also came to the artificial island and sat next to me. The swing chair was slightly squeaking and the willow leaves fluttering in the wind. Perhaps because of the water, it’s pretty cool here.

“I’ll be in your care from now on. So, I mean, until we both have someone we love.”

If one of us is dating someone else, we’re going to annul the engagement and stop living together. I think I’ll be very sad when the time comes, hmm. Captain Jullius, who just sat there without giving any response, finally opened his mouth after a good while.

“I–“

There he goes, hesitating again and again. I was about to rush him to just say it out loud, but I decided to wait for him calmly. Ortzen told me to tame him by giving him a lot of affection, so I should refrain myself from using harsh tone as much as possible.

“I, if I were to end up loving someone, so…..”

He paused again for a moment then continued.

“I wish the person I love would be Roel.”

“… what?”

Uh… me? The slightly frightened pale grey eyes were staring at me.

“… can’t I?”

“You can do that! There’s nothing that can’t be done.”

“Then I’d like for that to happen.”

“Uh, um, yes. Actually, it’s the same for me too.”

I said hurriedly as if I were being chased by something.

“If I were to love someone, I wish that person would be Captain Jullius!”

“… without ‘Captain’.”

“Oops, yes, Jullius.”

If I were to fall in love, I prefer Captain Jullius who is many times better than any other weird men. Honestly, that’s because I’m sure most noblemen will get on my nerves. Moreover, I can’t easily reveal my identity to others. So for now, Captain Jullius is the best candidate to go out with. Then again, falling in love is something that happens unexpectedly but…

“… I’m glad you said so.”

“So am I.”

“What should I do to love you, Roel?”

“I don’t know….”

Hmm, There were a lot of people who said they loved me but…

“First of all, isn’t it started from being attracted to my appearance?”

“Appearance?”

“Yes. Most of the ladies who sent me love letters, took a liking to my appearance. The same goes for the High Priest.”

Especially when it comes to love at first sight, it’s almost because of one’s appearance.

“But frankly speaking, we’re both a bit inferior compared to my previous self and the High Priest.”

While Silla Epheria is also quite a beauty, Captain Jullius also falls under handsome category, but compared to me and the High Priest, they’re still not up to par. So it would be unreasonable to fall in love just by looking at one’s face.

“I think you’re pretty though.”

“Eii, but still, I’m not half as good as the High Priest. Anyway, it doesn’t matter even if you’re not completely beautiful or handsome, because that’s how love is. There will be other factors.”

“Like what?”

“Umm, so….”

What else are there?