Chapter 81: Talk to Me

I was kidnapped in broad daylight.

I’ve heard of being stabbed in the back with your eyes wide open, but being put on a horse while fully conscious was something else entirely.

‘Wow, really. How am I going to deal with the aftermath?’

As Friedrich galloped madly, the surroundings passed by like flipping pages of a book.

In the distance, the downtown area of the duchy where the eve festival was being held to coincide with the Founding Festival in the imperial capital began to appear like ant antennae.

Lucas’s voice came from behind me.

“I’ll say it again, this isn’t kidnapping.”

“You’re speaking crooked words with a straight mouth. Turn the horse around quickly!”

“No. Hiya!!”

Lucas kicked Friedrich’s belly to spur him on faster. The headwind hitting my cheeks grew stronger. My loose hair kept getting into my mouth as it whipped in the wind.

“Ah… stop! Stop the horse!”

I grabbed the reins in Lucas’s hands.

“Hey, stay still! It’s dangerous!”

I tried to snatch the reins from Lucas’s hands to stop Friedrich. Though I knew it was dangerous, my anxiety about Xavier worrying about my whereabouts made me more desperate.

I tensed my gluteal muscles trying to maintain some distance from Lucas who was pressed against me from behind.

To think I’m doing kegel exercises I never do normally while on horseback. My buttocks that Maya had carefully massaged were starting to ache.

‘We can’t go any further!’

I twisted my body, trying with all my might to stop the horse.

“Stop this! It’s dangerous! The scent is already too strong, if you keep doing this…”

“What did you say?”

The wind was so loud in my ears that I couldn’t hear Lucas’s words clearly.

“I can’t control myself…”

“Mania?”

“…Never mind. Whoa whoa!”

Lucas, who had been answering curtly, suddenly stopped the horse. His hot breath on my nape made the back of my head feel hot.

He must be very angry because I was being difficult. No, who’s the one who should be angry here!

Friedrich raised his front hooves high and snorted. Still seeming excited, he made a whinnying sound and finally came to a stop after making a wide turn with us on his back.

“Good job, Friedrich.”

I combed through the horse’s wind-tangled mane with my fingers and turned my head to glare at Lucas. He flinched and raised both palms.

“Easy now.”

“Are you talking to me?”

“Well, I’m telling you to calm down.”

Lucas, whose neck had turned red, smiled broadly. Two dimples appeared deeply in his cheeks.

“Hmph.”

Though I flinched slightly at his charming aegyo, I pretended not to notice and quickly dismounted to head back the way we came.

“Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“Walking?”

I glared at Lucas again. He followed closely behind me while leading Friedrich by the reins, then hesitated and took a step back.

“Who’s fault is it that I have to walk?”

“Sorry.”

“……”

His apology was lightning fast. It left me speechless.

As I tried to ignore him and continue on my way, Lucas quickly ran in front of me and blocked my path with his arms spread wide.

“Goddess, no, Duchess. I’m sorry for bringing you here by force.”

“You know you’re sorry. The future of Moirai looks bright, doesn’t it?”

I tried to walk past Lucas. But he grabbed my arm.

“Wait, just talk with me for a moment.”

“!”

Raccoon ears suddenly perked up above his platinum blonde hair.

“Ugh.”

He got me! He knows I’m weak to cute things!

I forgot that unlike other beastmen, the royal family can control their transformation at will.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“If you listen to what I have to say, I’ll take you back. It’ll only take a moment.”

I couldn’t refuse him as he looked down at me with drooping eyebrows and a sorrowful expression. Though I had declared I would walk back, honestly it wasn’t a walkable distance to the mansion.

The setting sun on the horizon dyed his white shirt, yellow cardigan, and face in red hues.

They say it’s the time between dog and wolf, and indeed I couldn’t tell if that face belonged to a puppy or a wolf.

‘That cute face is quite the weapon.’

“Sigh, what is it?”

I shook off Lucas’s hand that was holding my arm.

“Thank you!”

Lucas smiled brightly as he took off his yellow cardigan and spread it on the ground. He patted the fabric, gesturing for me to sit.

“Sit, don’t worry about the clothes.”

I hesitated before sitting down. Lucas sat a hand’s width away from me. As the sunset fell, our shadows stretched long where we sat.

Friedrich was grazing a short distance away. Occasionally blinking his round eyes at us, he didn’t seem to have any intention of running away.

Lucas’s gaze was fixed on Friedrich.

Though I was also looking at Friedrich, all my attention was on the raccoon ears twitching this way and that beside me.

“I meant what I said earlier.”

Lucas turned to look at me.

‘I like you, Duchess.’

‘I really really like you. It was love at first sight.’

My face turned red remembering his words from before. His confession had been direct and uninhibited.

To think that the Beast Kingdom’s crown prince, who was antagonistic to Saintess Rosetta in the original story, would now confess to me who became the Saintess in this life. It felt really strange.

“If you don’t want to be wife number 1, you can be my lover. Hmm?”

He swayed my clothes hem left and right with his hand while checking my reaction with an “Hmm?”

‘What if it had been Xavier confessing instead of Lucas?’

If Xavier had confessed like this, I would have answered without a moment’s hesitation.

Though I felt sorry for the person in front of me, that was my honest feeling.

Our situation was too unusual to say Xavier liked me just because he kissed me and showed physical affection. And the thought that he might get hurt after confessing made me afraid.

Lucas watched me lost in thought and asked with a genuinely puzzled expression.

“Why can’t it be me?”

“I’ve only known Your Highness for a few days. And I’ve never considered polygamy.”

“Well, we can get to know each other gradually. And what’s wrong with polygamy?”

“I am the Duchess of Auguste.”

It pains me just to say it.

“Then how about being the Crown Princess instead of a Duchess?”

“!”

I opened my mouth to say something to Lucas who kept making these joke-like remarks. But I was struck speechless by those obsidian eyes of unfathomable depth.

“I’ll be honest. I need you.”

His eyes were more serious than ever before.

“My people are turning into beasts. The royal family like myself are fine, but they’re different. Because the Empire controls holy power, we have no choice but to buy it at high prices. Even if we’re lucky enough to obtain holy power, every night the homes are filled with the groans of suffering people.”

“Ah…”

“Moreover, the holy power stored in the national treasury will run out this year. In this situation, if a plague were to break out, Moirai would be filled with nothing but beasts.”

I wasn’t unaware of this.

I had indirectly experienced the beastmen’s suffering through Xavier and Richard. That’s why I was trying to establish the holy power storage system.

Right, Lucas must be clinging to me because I’m the Saintess.

A self-deprecating, bitter expression came over my face involuntarily. Seeing my expression, Lucas frowned as if he didn’t like it and said:

“I’m not done speaking.”

“What?”

“That’s not all. I don’t like you because you’re the Saintess. Though I do need you…”

Lucas took a short breath. His serious black eyes met mine.

“I just like you. That comes first.”

“……!”

His clear and refreshing confession felt like a blow to the head.

How could he be so honest?

I envied Lucas who could convey his feelings exactly as they were without hesitation.

“I’ll let you live in luxury for the rest of your life. If my heart isn’t enough, I can give you jewels, dresses, everything.”

“Your Highness.”

“If you want, I’ll even conquer the Empire and offer it to you.”

My heart fluttered. Lucas was saying the words I wanted to hear from Xavier.

Actually, when Lucas confessed to me in the garden, there was one answer I hesitated to give.

I couldn’t say it then because I was embarrassed and worried about hurting him, but at this point, it seemed I needed to speak those words.

Looking into his firm obsidian eyes, I painfully answered,

“I love Xavier. I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

His black eyes wavered.

Even he, who had been uninhibited in his actions until now, opened and closed his mouth. He couldn’t properly continue speaking.

Suddenly Lucas smiled mischievously and exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders.

“Am I being rejected again? Twice in one day – that’s a record.”

And yet he laughs.

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, I honestly don’t understand why polygamy won’t work, but I understand your feelings.”

“Thank you.”

I slightly bowed my head as I couldn’t properly look at Lucas’s face. I could feel his gaze looking down at me.

That’s when Lucas suddenly stood up and stretched one hand high above his head.

“Alright! Then I just need to make you love me more than Xavier.”

“What?”

I stared blankly at Lucas in bewilderment. This crazy person! I let my guard down and got blindsided again.

“No, how did the conversation turn to that? You just said you understood my feelings…”

“So you want to live with the person you love, right? Then I just need to become that person.”

My knees went weak. It was my complete defeat for underestimating Lucas.

I even said things I couldn’t say to Xavier because I felt bad about rejecting him!

I buried my face against my knees pulled up to my chest in embarrassment.

“Aaagh!”

“What’s wrong? Something making you angry?”

“Huh.”

When I lifted my head to glare at him, he smiled brightly. His raccoon ears moved this way and that as if keeping rhythm.

“Put those ears away! They’re distracting!”

“Why are you attacking my cute ears?”

Sister Amin tipped me off that the Saintess likes these, but it was all lies. I should have shown my tail too, he said as he quickly hid his ears.

Shouldn’t he be despairing after being rejected, or wanting to leave from embarrassment?

But instead, Lucas was being even more clingy with me. The psychological pressure felt like it was crushing my solar plexus.

‘That dream wasn’t for nothing.’

Sigh, how am I going to shake him off again?

“Oh!”

While I was floundering in despair, Lucas pointed to one direction.

“Caught.”

My head slowly turned that way.

In the distance, Xavier was galloping towards us on horseback, whipping madly.

Like the grim reaper himself.