Ran woke up in the cool air. Ran smiled and opened her arms without opening her eyes when he touched the scar on her neck carefully.
Then Eustaf whispered, hugging her half-as if she was lying on the bed.
"Do you open your arms without checking who it is?"
Ran opened her eyes pretending to be surprised at the words.
"Huh? Was it Eus?"
Eustaf's eyes narrowed. Ran dodged his gaze and spoke seriously.
"Oh, yeah. Of course it's Eustaf. Welcome. Have you been?"
"Is anyone else waiting for me?"
Ran grinned.
"There's no way he's here besides Eustaf."
Her fingers scattered Eustaf's face and burst into laughter when she found his forehead wrinkled.
"Eus, you're not really mad, are you?"
"No, but just imagining it makes me angry."
He said so and groped Ran carefully.
"I heard from the therapist. Are you all right? They shouldn't have done this for you."
"Eustaf would have been even angrier if they hadn't come and woke me up."
Ran said so, pulling his arm and pillow.
"How's Eustaf doing? Are you all right?"
"That's a mosquito bite."
"If a mosquito does, I'll have to fight it with a knife."
Then, while putting his hands and fingers together, Ran looked into his hands with a scratch.
"Blue ring!"
"Yes."
"How did you find it? What? Did you search the river?"
"If you throw it away one more time, you'll go after it. It's back with the words"
"Really?"
"No."
At Eustaf's words, Ran looked at him blankly, and Eustaf, who saw her face in the dark, smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Blue ring is bound to return to Lazia's Patriarch wherever it goes. I don't know how or how. It was on my room table."
Ran said with a sigh of relief.
"Then it would've been nice if you told me beforehand! I was really worried."
What if you become a Patriarch who lost his blue ring because of me, so what if you get criticized?
When Ran grumbled her worries, Eustaf whispered.
"Then Ran can take me and run away."
Ran giggled at the words.
"I know. Then we can run away together."
She turned around and dug into it. I want to stay closer. Eustaf just washed up and smelled faintly like soap.
Ran mumblingly asked.
"How's work? How's it going?"
Eustaf swept her hair down and answered quietly, "Yes."
"What happened?"
Eustaf hesitated to speak.
I didn't want to tell Ran all of his brutal actions. I was afraid of what she would think of it. Eustaf carefully chose only the parts that he could talk about.
"For now, the sorcerer has been spared."
"A sorcerer·······?"
"Yes, he acknowledge that the Empress has blurred her spirit."
"He really did. I thought the Empress was weird somewhere."
"Yes, the magic of manipulating a person's mind is taboo. But I can't believe he did that."
For a moment, Eustaf shut his mouth and opened it.
"He can't escape death. He's a traitor, and he can't ask for generosity."
"Traitor?"
"Yes. Did you know that there was a kingdom before the empire was founded?"
"Oh, I know. The Kingdom of Traban? Even now, I heard that there is a group that claims independence from the empire by saying that they are descendants of the kingdom."
Eustaf nodded at Ran's words.
"Yes, it was the same this time."
Eustaf briefly recalled what he had said with malice. Before that country, Lazia was also a Duchy of the kingdom.
'A traitor who surrendered without fighting for the kingdom?'
It's already 300 years ago.
Such words did not touch my heart. Rather, it was surprising that Eustaf had such a grudge for 300 years vividly.
'And let out the sound of what's going on.'
Eustaf slightly narrowed the eyebrows.
- I'll take your precious things away, too.
He was caught and stuck, but the sorcerer said such a thing. Of course, the curse of the loser was familiar. But. How should I put it's.
'I think I can say it's a certain voice.'
Then Ran's voice broke his mind.
"Well, what about Olivia-?"
When Ran asked carefully, Eustaf gave a rare vague answer, "Well."
Ran looked at him with rabbit eyes in surprise.
"She's not dead?"
"Would it have been better to kill her?"
"No, it's not ·····."
Eustaf kissed Ran on the forehead and said.
"There's nothing more to worry about."
She gave Olivia the hospitality she had prepared for Ran.
Eustaf only said that he didn't kill because he didn't want to tell Ran about the process.
"Yes."
Ran nodded and yawned quietly. Eustaf said, raising himself.
"Go to sleep."
Before pulling out the arm he had given me, Ran grabbed his arm and said.
"Can't you sleep with me?"
There's not much time left until the full moon rises, and I want to be with you.
"...Ran"
Like a moan, he uttered her name, so Ran said, "No?" and stretched his tongue again. Eustaf sighed violently and said.
"I don't want to hurt Ran, on a rocking boat like this, in a small bed, not get married."
Ran blinked her eyes.
"I'm just-"
"I've already been tempted to sleep."
Then he left his seat and Ran shouted "Eus-Eus" as he got up. It was a childlike whining, begging completely differently than usual.
There's no way you can resist it.
Eustaf groaned and stood there, lying on the bed, giving her a pillow of arms.
"Until Ran falls asleep."
"Yes."
With a smile, she hugged him tightly and Eustaf swallowed a sigh. What more can he say when she embraces him like a big doll she loves the most?
The fact that Ran wanted to sleep with him - I was happy to feel perfectly safe next to me, and at the same time ······.
'Can't we move the marriage forward?'
Eustaf closed his eyes with such thoughts.
It would have been a night when I couldn't fall asleep anyway.
*******
When he rode a boat up the lake and drove back from the hunting ground to the green arch, Ran was desperate for a break.
No matter how luxurious it is, traveling is a journey, and a carriage is a carriage.
However, when I saw Sina running out with tears, I thought of resting.
"Ran Unnie!"
Screaming back, Sina pulled Ran into her arms, and Ran swallowed her scream. Sina was surprised and asked, her hands off.
"Are, Are you hurt? Are you all right?"
"It's all right."
Ran smiled and said, but she was pale and Sina was at a loss. Eustaf said to Ran after seeing Sina once with a disapproving face.
"Let's go in and talk."
"Yes."
Ran nodded and reached out to Sina. Sina grabbed her hand and slowly followed her inside, feeling the tears pouring down again.
Ran fully understood Sina's anxiety. Of course she was worried about herself, but what would happen to her in this world if she disappeared? Some might have worried that she would be kicked out of the duke.
'Oh, my God. After I go.'
If Sina is left alone ·····.
Ran got confused.
I don't want to leave Eustaf, Sina or Lumiere behind. However, she has to fly up.
Seeing Ran limping along, Sina wiped away her tears and asked.
"Did you hurt your leg?"
"Yes, ahh!"
The last scream came from the unwatched Eustaf holding her. Sina and Ran automatically put their hands down.
"Let's go up and talk."
Then Eustaf began to stride, and Sina followed suit, feeling a little depressed.
Lumiere told Sina that.
"It's all right."
Sina looked back at Lumiere. Lumie smiled bitterly.
Seeing Sina standing with Ran, his mind was complicated.
If it was him in the past, he would have run to Ran without looking back even after Sina caught him or not.
And I would have had to.
At least let Eustaf go to save Ran ·····.
However, when I saw Sina's eyes full of fear and fear, I couldn't run away from her.
"You did your best."
Lumiere said so and patted Sina's shoulder lightly.
Yeah, she did her best.
Then what about me?
"Sina?"
From the top of the stairs, Ran called her and Sina quickly ran up the stairs. Then Lumiere followed with heavy steps.
*******
Ran lay in bed and put a wet blanket on her, and she said to Kara and Soda, who were shaking Ran like a mother bird, several times that she was okay, and repeated the same thing to Sina.
"It's really okay. And I'm grateful. You said you came after me."
"No, I wish I were stronger."
Sina shook her head and said, and Ran burst into laughter. In case Ran laughed there, Sina opened her mouth, and Ran giggled and said.
"Are you going to defeat all the villains there and save me? Thank you for your heart, but I don't want you to go that far."
Sina puffed her cheeks at the words.
"You don't think I can do it?"
"Yes, and I don't want to do that. You're going back, aren't you?"
Ran spoke softly and caressed Sina's round cheek.
"But you shouldn't do that."
At the words, Sina said, "Unnie-" and then buried her face on Ran's blanket.
"Why are you so nice? What?"
Ran smiled and stroked Sina's hair. The good black hair brought a strange perfume.
'Cause people here have different hair.'
Eustaf had black hair, but it was different from Sina. Ran looked up and looked at Lumiere, thinking, "Be cute."
It was to seek his consent. However, Lumié's expression was unexpectedly dark, so Ran was embarrassed.
"Lumie?"
At her call, Lumiere replied, changing her expression brightly.
"Yes, Master."
Ran had a subtle look and Lumie asked anxiously.
"Is it bad?"
"No, that's not true. ······."
While thinking about it, Ran shook her head. If she doesn't want to talk, she doesn't have to dig.
'You don't have to tell me everything.'
Ran thought so and patted Sina.
"I'm fine now. Tell me about Sina. So? What happened? And what about Lize - Marchioness Cyrus? How's the Empress?"
Sina said with a long and generous breath, calming her trembling voice.
"I followed Unnie right away, so I don't know, but the Empress said Unnie wanted to take a walk alone."
"Me?"
"Yeah. So I said no, and I followed you. After that, the Marchioness of Cyrus contacted me separately."
Jalin, who thought the condition of the Empress was strange, said she would return to the palace immediately after seeing confusion in her memory.
The party was in chaos.
The ladies continued to fan and carry cold drinks, saying, "Is Empress Dowager all right?"
The Empress said, shaking her head,
"I'm sorry this is the end of the party, but you should enjoy it more."
"No, Your Majesty, how can we play with you when you don't have a good appearance? Let's go back together."
Everyone nodded and agreed with the Duchess of Usla.
Everyone called in the carriage and the party ended as it was.
Elise asked, "What about Count Romia?" and the Empress said, "Let the knights find her."
Elisw was so angry that Eustaf and Lumiere arrived as he said he would go and look for it himself.
"That's why I and the Lord went to find you."
Lumiere finished and Ran nodded, "I see."
I was so busy on the ship that I didn't even know what was what.
I just woke up so sick that someone was holding onto me, and I felt like I was it a ship? A river? Eus?
It was just that kind of confusing feeling.
"I heard it was easy to find me because of Sina. Thank you."
Sina shook her head and said.
"If it weren't for me, I would have gone to Lumie to save Unnie, and maybe it wouldn't have happened."
"Going to Lumie?"
With a curious face, Ran looked at Sinah and looked at Lumie. A smile faded slightly from his face, and soon he grinned and said.
"But I can't leave Miss Sina there."
"Of course."
Ran nodded.
"Then you would have been scolded by me."
Lumie laughed helplessly at Ran's eyes.
"What did I say?"
Sina laughed again with wet eyes at his words.
"That's true."
Kara clapped her hands and said.
"Now, everybody out of the way. She needs a break."
The two left Ran's room after being pushed back. Sina asked Lumie cautiously.
"Are you all right?"
Flinching, Lumiere said, "What?" and asked sharply without realizing it. I felt a sharp edge in his words, so Sina poked her eyes, but she spoke softly.
"As expected, you're offended."
"So what."
"Ran Unnie said you didn't have to come."
Her face became gloomy as she spoke. Lumiere breathed and said.
"No, it didn't hurt me."
After talking, Lumiere burst into laughter.
"Yeah, that could have hurt you."
"What? Are you okay?"
Sina crossed her arms.
"I was worried for no reason. Then what's the matter?"
Lumiere tilted his head for a while at Sina's words and said.
"Unbelievable."
"What?"
"I took care of Master without you."
Sina opened her eyes wide, and Lumiere peered into her black eyes. From his scarlet eyes, Sina turned her eyes first. Her cheeks were a little red.
She was mouthing as if to say something, and Sina looked up as if she had made up her mind and looked at Lumiere.
"It's okay if it's my second time."
Lumiere wouldn't have been this surprised if someone said, "I have wings."
"What?"
I asked again without realizing it, but Sina coughed in vain.
"I'm fine with that."
When he looked down at her confusedly, not knowing what to answer, Sina smiled awkwardly and shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm just saying, yes. It doesn't mean much. So what happened after you found her? Can you tell me?"
Sina turned away, and Lumiere looked at her for a while and nodded.