Dion was planning to coordinate the schedule as well during the meal, so he shared the table. The three of them sat around the breakfast prepared by the owner with simple bread, fruit, and beef jerky in the middle.
“Here.”
As Kalcion cut the bread with his hands, he applied butter, peeled the fruit and splitted the beef jerky before feeding it to Selina. Some were placed on a plate in front of her, while others were intended to be put directly into her mouth.
Dion calmly took his share and ate.
Among them, Selina couldn't tell whether she was taking it to her mouth or putting it on her face.
“I will eat on my own. With my own hands…”
Dion, who continued to eat as if reading a book in the middle of a storm, put down the bread and calmly warned.
“Do what you do.”
Selina bit her lip.
Was he doing this because he couldn't do what he wanted to do?
She couldn’t act like she didn't know Kalcion's heart, and pretend to be a lover naturally like before. Whenever he did something, her heart jumped. She was in the worst condition, unable to pretend to be calm.
It was the first time in her life that her facial muscles had been so out of control. No matter how sad she was, she could hold back tears, and even when she wanted to laugh, she could weep.
For Selina, her acting was as free as breathing. It wasn't that she couldn't do it from the beginning though it was even more crazy that she suddenly stopped doing things that had just been working fine.
As he stared at Selina's face, red and purplish alone before turning towards Kalcion's face, his mouth curved high. In the end, Dion decided to just focus on his own meal. Shouldn't Selina, a commoner, had grasped it when the Duke confronted her openly like that?
Dion, who did not know that Selina came from another world, could hardly understand her.
‘Ah, is this a trick too?’
A hypothesis flashed through his mind.
If she just comes over, she might seem too easy, so maybe it was a trick to make sure he won her heart a little more. If it was Selina that was stuck in Dion's head, she was a great enough person to do that.
The knife-like attitude of distinction from their first meeting left a shock in Dion's mind throughout.
Honestly, as a girl picked up from the mountain, it was easy. Although she was a key figure in the operation, he thought there was no need to treat a woman who would be used and discarded properly though he was afraid of her.
Selina had an innate power, regardless of the authority Kalcion gave her.
‘…At this rate, she'll be able to sit in the Duchess's seat.’
She would do it even if Mrs. Janet or whoever stood in her way. Dion came to a conclusion by spreading his imagination alone.
Let's just do well.
Until now, he thought of her as operational personnel and treated her politely only as much as was necessary, but from now on, he needed to be overly polite.
“If you are uncomfortable, I will go out and have a meal separately.”
Kalcion's astounding eyes toward Dion, who jumped up without hearing an answer.
“We need to adjust our schedule.”
“I will do as Your Excellency commands.”
“Are you not going to report?”
“I’ll give it to you separately.”
Rarely had Kalcion ever said so much about work. Once he said it, it was carried out, and needless to say, he has been doing his best. He glared at Dion, reflecting on whether he had lost his discipline or what had happened to cause him to lose his discipline.
Nonetheless, Dion's eyes were on Selina. Naturally, Kalcion's eyes also turned to her as well.
“…Why me? Are you leaving because of me?”
Selina asked shyly.
“What are you talking about?”
“What are you talking about?”
The two jumped at the same time.
By Selina's standards, both of them were strange. Why were they suddenly like this while eating? Since she couldn't keep up with the atmosphere, she just tilted her head and just started tidying up.
“I will eat my own meal. So, here, you two can talk. Start.”
At her command, Kalcion and Dion immediately turned their heads toward each other and opened their mouths, like puppets under a spell.
The most powerful person in the current situation was Selina.
Dion was a human specialized in the command system. He immediately followed her orders.
“If we run until evening, we can expect to meet the advance party in the next town.”
“Where to change horses in the middle?”
“There are two. I have sent them a message to be prepared.”
“Immediately after passing by, control all roads.”
When they went to work, only unnecessary words were exchanged. There were no adjectives or adverbs at all, and the sentences focused on listing events without expressing emotions.
Selina was then able to resume her meal in peace.
“Ah.”
As she concentrated on the conversation, she dropped a piece of fruit the size of her fingernail. However, before the fruit reached the floor, it instantly landed in Kalcion’s outstretched palm.
“Report of the border relocation results should be sent directly to Silenza.”
He continued what he was saying and put the fruit he had caught into her mouth.
Selina lingered, then opened her mouth and ate it. Seeing that, Kalcion met her eyes and gave her a satisfied smile. Then, his eyes went straight back to Dion, but the warm glow remained on Selina's face.
“Oh, it's hot since morning.”
She finally got up from her seat and opened the window. Far from being hot, the cool air, not much different from the night, rushed into the room.
“….”
In an instant, her face cooled.
“Oh, am I the only one like this?”
Selina said that this was the moment when her acting skills were needed, and she fanned her hand, pretending not to know the bizarre atmosphere. After a short meeting, Dion quickly left, saying he would finish the preparations for their departure.
“Are we also moving in a hurry today?”
“It should be. If we run until evening, we will still be able to sleep in decent accommodation tonight.”
“We must hurry.”
Instead of replying to her words, Kalcion only smiled bitterly.
A moment later, Selina realized that he was not in a position to just rush. While there was no room to be attacked by the Crown Prince now, he couldn't stand still as he had to hasten his return in order to prepare for an attack.
Kalcion, Duke Renbird, had to do that.
However, the man Kalcion must let her go as soon as he arrived in Silenza. Now that he had just confessed his love, it must be difficult for him to do so willingly.
As a duke, as a man…
He had to make a choice either way.
Selina had never been in love. She had never sent her love and she hadn't experienced firsthand how painful it was. Still, just as her heart connected with Kalcion, her heart ached as she remembered his pain.
That was why all she wanted to do was ease the burden on him.
“Adventures are good, but it seems that the habit of living a good life cannot be given to others. I want to quickly rest in a comfortable bed.”
Even if it was in the direction of rejecting Kalcion's heart. Unless she was determined to remain in this world, it was crueler for her to be aware of his heart.
“Yes. Let’s rush.”
Despite the roundabout refusal, Kalcion responded without showing any sign of dislike.
Selina's heart grew more uncomfortable.
* * *
Fortunately, while riding the horse, she had no time to think. Horses were living creatures and could stumble and slip. At that time, she had to focus on giving strength to her body so that she doesn't fall.
In the face of immediate life-threatening matters, her heart did not have a chance to come out.
At each intermediate point where they changed horses, Kalcion gave separate military instructions and checked this and that with his eyes. Selina, who had nothing to do with it, took a break watching it from a distance.
She didn't even get a chance to have a few words with Kalcion until sunset when they arrived at the village. She knew with her own eyes that, of course, he had no choice but to do so.
Her body felt very heavy, probably because she was in a bad mood.
Thankfully, she was fortunate to get to town before she got any heavier.
The advance party, which had received a message in advance, was waiting in front of the village. The instructions not to make a fuss were also included, so the whole village didn't come out to meet them like before.
An elderly woman who seemed to be the village representative and two young people were the only members.
“Welcome. I will serve you with all my heart, even if it is a humble village.”
Her words were greeted with a simple nod of his head. As soon as Kalcion dismounted from his horse, the waiting crowds approached him.
“I have something to report.”
He took care of her before moving with them.
“You will be very tired from moving too much. Go in first and rest.”
The maids who had been with her since the mansion moved quickly, even with short orders.
“The bath water is prepared in advance, so all you have to do is go in.”
“By the way, what happened to this outfit?”
It had only been one day, but the chatter of the maids following along made her ears sting as if it had been a long time. It must be because of fatigue that her nerves were scratched by their familiar chatter.
As she entered the quarters with the maids, she saw Mrs. Janet, who was among the people who met her, following Kalcion. She didn’t even look at Selina.
Well, she would have been more offended if Mrs. Janet had come and talked to her.
It was unpleasant even if she ignored her and left it alone, and it was unpleasant even if she comes and talked to her… Just Mrs. Janet’s existence itself was unpleasant.
‘I must be really tired right now.'
Originally, she was not the type of person who paid so much attention to others and struggled with them. Thinking that it must be because her body and mind were both heavy, Selina hurried her steps inside.
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