I Thought I Was the Monster Duke's Fake Tranquilizer - Chapter 25
And once she had grown accustomed to it, the terror had faded, and she had actually wanted to look around and enjoy the scenery as they flew.
“Erm, Your Grace.”
“…”
“My neck is a little…”
“Shh.”
He had whispered that, and then, as if soothing a child, he had pressed her face even more snugly into his chest.
‘And why did he keep fiddling with my cheek?’
As if testing something, he kept kneading her cheek, almost as though checking whether she might get presumptuous again and throw her arms around his head.
Every time he did, Lucy had no choice but to bury her face even deeper into Edward’s chest.
As a result, the ducal crest engraved on his armor had imprinted itself vividly on her cheek, just like when she’d first woken up.
And her neck, held bowed the entire time, ached terribly.
‘Still, it’s a relief.’
They had evaded the temple. And that man…
‘…Seems intent on taking me to the duchy.’
The way he had departed the moment she’d asked was proof enough.
And above all, the moment Edward had first pressed down on her head and buried it against his chest.
Crack.
Against the nape of her neck, where his hand had touched, something small and crystalline had shattered with a sound.
Simultaneously, she’d felt something that had been connected to her all this time snap.
Given how oddly refreshed she’d felt in that instant…
‘He likely destroyed the tracking spell the temple had placed on me.’
Lucy shuddered, realizing her guess about the tracking spell had been correct.
Then, she quietly lifted her head and took in her surroundings.
Chirp, chirp.
Small birds flitted over the roof of a fine inn.
The sky, once blue, was now beginning to stain itself red.
“The gates are closed for today! Come back tomorrow!”
“Order! Maintain order!”
Beyond the walls, people clamored to pass through the gate.
They were people trying to cross the gate leading north.
Beyond this point, further upward, lay the vast territory of Thesseron.
A territory vaster than any land held by the imperial familyâThesseron, with its rich, fertile soil and barren wilds alike.
And somewhere far to the north, so the stories went, stood the ducal castle of Thesseron.
‘Maybe it’ll feel something like a northern grand ducal castle?’
…Though the lord of that castle looked more like a philandering blond crown prince.
Lucy stole a glance at Edward, who was in conversation at the counter.
“Oh my, yes. The inn has been completely vacated. For His Grace, the Duke of Thesseron, we naturally must offer all the rooms.”
The innkeeper, who had been in a state of utter panic from the moment they’d landed in the courtyard, had done nothing but bow and scrape ever since.
As if it were some great honor to his family, he had been prostrating himself in a daze. And now, without even being asked, he had driven out all the other guests and was acting like this.
The golden wings. The armor stamped with the ducal crest.
And above all, it seemed he had recognized Edward as Edward from his beautiful face alone.
‘Famous is famous, I see.’
The innkeeper wasn’t the only one.
“Is that him? The hero duke?”
“I’ve never seen an incarnation before…”
“I love you, Your Grace!”
The guests who had been chased out to accommodate him, and even the people passing through the gate, had crowded against the inn’s walls, stealing glimpses of Edward.
As if they’d long forgotten any anger at being turned out, many of them stood there with their mouths hanging open, spellbound, every time Edward, who had removed his helm, casually glanced their way.
Somehow, the crowd seemed to be growing larger.
‘This is a little overwhelming.’
As it happened, being part of his traveling party had turned Lucy into a quiet spectacle as well.
“What’s with that woman?”
“Perhaps a maid?”
“Could he have picked up a vagrant?”
…In an instant, she felt like a monkey at the zoo.
‘Honestly, he should at least cover his face when he’s out.’
Wasn’t his absurdly handsome face the reason more people kept flocking to him?
Lucy was grumbling to herself, glaring sidelong at that unfairly good-looking face, whenâ
Flick.
Edward stepped into the inn and shot a glance toward Lucy.
“…Yeees!”
“Hey! Wait!”
“Don’t close it!”
“I love you, Your Grace!”
Lucy dashed over and slammed the inn door shut, cutting off the crowd’s stares.
Then, trotting after Edward, she clasped her hands together like a sycophant and whispered,
“Um, Your Grace. There’s something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“Why are we stopping to rest?”
There was a reason she asked.
Honestly, she had never expected they would reach the gate so quickly.
If they had taken a carriage from the capital, it would have been a journey of several days.
‘And yet he covered it in a matter of hours.’
If they had flown just a day or two more, they could have arrived at the ducal castle of Thesseron in no time.
There was no need to stop and draw attention in such a crowded place.
And even though the spell had been severed, what if the temple caught their scent and came chasing?
‘The sooner we get to the north, the safer we’ll be.’
Lucy was rolling her eyes anxiously whenâ
Edward let out a scoff.
“Why don’t you take a look at your own condition before you speak.”
