Chapter 172

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Where Kyle gets a clue and goes to visit Andrei, while Tara has her birthday coming up.

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Episode 172. About 10 months (49) Instead, her name unconsciously came out of his mouth. “Tara.” As soon as he heard the name, it was engraved in his mind again. And so, the name echoed endlessly in his head. He pondered about this dilemma as he looked up at the black sky. She was the only one on who all the methods he’d ever chosen didn’t work. It was an actual challenge. [Your Highness?] Her curious face, hugging her files close to her chest and often following him. [Your Highness?] He held her in his arms inside the cave and she looked at him with a bashful smile, but her bold face soon took over and she disappeared in an instant. “… You’re crazy.”

Now, he was accustomed to taking a cold shower and changing into riding clothes. He raced through the wide archery field behind the palace for an hour, pushing his horse to the end.

It was only when Tourezil became too hard to handle that Kyle pulled the reins. It was then that he felt the hole in his chest. As he handed the warhorse over to the stable keeper, the shrill neigh of a horse causing a disturbance pierced Kyle’s ear. “Is that the new horse you’re training?” “Yes, it’s a horse specially brought from the ranch sponsored by the 1st Prince, but I’m not able to get him used to me.” “It’s a warm-blooded breed. A horse that doesn’t change owners easily." "Yes. It’s a rather rare horse who feels burdened by excessive kindness and affection. So, the first few months of training are the toughest, as the owners of these horses have to work slowly and gradually get acquainted over quite a long time.” “It’s a great horse who has a deep connection with the owner he’s built trust with.” “Yes, Your Highness. But now the 1st Prince is out of the palace, so what should I do…?” “Relocate it to the First Prince’s residence. That’ll benefit the horse." "Yes, Your Highness, I will.” After patting the back of his horse several times, Kyle went to the palace. Then, at some point, he stood still. "… Is that it?" The stable keeper's words suddenly flashed across his mind. [Feels burdened by excessive kindness and affection… Slowly and gradually get acquainted over quite a long time…]

"Oh, my… I was stupid." At last, the fog dissipated from his mind. Kyle, who finally had an idea, smiled for the first time in a few days. *** Count Elias’ front door had been crowded since morning. “Beth, next Tuesday and Wednesday I’ll visit the Stuart Street right after work. I know.”

“Yes. Yes? Is it Duchess Stuart?”

“Yes, it’s hard to meet for an entire day once a month, so we decided to see each other two days for 4 hours. Ugh, I’m so busy.” “I know. There are few ladies in the empire who are as busy as you. Cheer up, Miss. Ah… By the way, you know that next Sunday is your birthday, right?” "Birthday?" I was about the enter the carriage, but I blankly looked at Beth as if I heard a word I’ve never heard before. “You forget about it, since you haven’t had a proper birthday in a long time… Miss, this time, the Count said we should celebrate it properly. That’s why he asked me to tell you to attend the family dinner this Saturday evening, to talk about your birthday.” “…” My birthday… January 29th was Tara Elias’ birthday, so it was my birthday. My first birthday after transmigrating. It was awkward and weird. Unfortunately, my birthday reminded me of Brandon's gift. However, it was heartbreaking to hear that Father had mentioned such a birthday himself. Now that Tara and Yeonwoo were mixed, I felt Tara’s remorse.

“… My Lady, are you crying?" I quickly wiped the corners of my eyes. "Uh! No. Why would I cry?" “Don’t cry, Miss, if you cry, I’m sad too…!” "Stop! Beth, I'm not crying." I smiled and stopped Beth from getting too long-winded and hurried into the carriage to get to work. “About Saturday’s dinner, tell Father I got it. See you later, Beth." "Yes, Miss, is there anything you want for dinner? I'll prepare it in advance." This was Beth’s way of comforting me. On days when I was exhausted or having a hard time, I always asked what was for dinner, and she prepared a hearty meal with my favourite food. Sometimes, I helped with cooking, but I stopped since I only made it worse. "Yes, beef." "Again?" "Yes. See you later." "And then the cow…" I couldn't hear the ending, but I understood what it meant and laughed brightly. After waving back to Beth, I moved away from the window and sat down on the couch.

Here, either one’s 18th, 19th, or 20th birthdays was chosen and celebrated with grandeur. I remember seeing in my past workplace that it’s usually linked to a social debut, so a birthday could be used to expand my position in the social world. But I hadn’t debuted in society yet and I didn’t know anyone around my age, so I wanted to spend my birthday, which reminded me of Brandon, without any fuss. I just wanted to share my birthday cake with my Mother and Father, Beth, Bernard, Aria, Chloe and have a conversation. "Hmm, I want to keep it simple..." *** Drunken Dragon. It was just 8 in the morning. A few days ago, Andrei sent an answer to the inquiry, a reference for safety, saying that he could come at any time between 8 AM and 6 PM. But he never imagined that he’d come right at 8 AM. The Second Prince himself. "What's going on?" Andrei was quite surprised. No matter what he did so far, the Second Prince never came looking for him. Even during the Sorbonne Wine incident and the Military Secrets Leaks case, his subordinates came, but he never came himself. So, he was expecting his subordinates to come for this witness investigation as well. Andrei felt his heart beating faster and faster. He was always watching from afar, speculating and gathering information about the Second Prince’s course and what lies in that course. The archives behind the warehouse were overflowing with useless data about Prince Kyle, but he was the Second Prince, whom had few key and important information of. It was an opportunity to see what kind of person he was and whether he was the person Andrei thought he was, or if he overestimated him.

"Oh… I’m nervous.” Assistant Curtison's eyes widened. "Yes…?” “Hehe. The subject I’ve been studying all this time, that sassy Second Prince, came to visit Andrei himself! And this early as well. It’s proof that he misses me so much. Hehehe. Isn’t that right, Curtison?” “Ahaha. Yes. That's right, sir." “If I knew this would happen, I would’ve worn something more dazzling. How unfortunate." But Curtison’s view, Andrei's clothes were already dazzling, and his eyes were cold. Curtison held back the urge to say that he frowned every time he looked at him. The oriental silk long jacket was divided into two parts blue and red, and diamond gold leaves were plastered all over the jacket, making it look like a famous salon wallpaper at first sight. In addition, he wore large and colourful rings on all his fingers. Fortunately, the earrings were smaller than usual, and his makeup was light. “Ahaha, it’s dazzling enough, sir.”

Andrei couldn't control the excitement that rose from the depths of his body. Just the thought that Prince Kyle had travelled all the way here to meet him made his heart swell.

"Hehe. Now all we have to do is meet the Emperor? Hee-hee." When he heard the sound of people approaching, Andrei quickly smoothed over his expression. He clenched his mouth tightly, wanting to give the impression that he was solemn, benevolent, and transcendent. The basement door opened and Andrei, who was trying to exude a more solemn and serious atmosphere than ever, slowly rose from his eat. “I greet the future of the Empire. Andrei Pitt, a faithful citizen of the Empire.” Cezanne Miller put down two glasses of mango juice with a stiff face and left with Curtison. The two Phoenix knights who followed Kyle closed the door. Perhaps Curtison and the knights were waiting outside the door. “A faithful citizen… Did the Lord give himself such a title?” Andrei paused for a moment, holding the Prince’s right hand, which he had extended, with both hands. The Prince’s words were confusing, it was as if he was asking a question. Something was about to rise from the bottom of his chest, but it was still insignificant, so even Andrei himself could not accurately name what the feeling was. “Haha. I want to be faithful. It’s an honour to meet you in person. I didn’t expect that you would come. Why didn’t you send your men…?” “Well… You’re such a famous person that I wanted to see you in person, especially since you’re my Aide's mentor.” "And…?” “I was very curious about your talents. That’s a big reason. Let’s sit down." The Prince’s words and deeds, a mix of slander and respect, re-ignited Andrei’s bad mood. ‘Why does it feel like I’m constantly bending over backwards? Hmm. What a Prince…’ The Second Prince offered the front seat to Andrei, as if it were his chair. But it looked so natural. "Hahaha, it's true that I'm a little talented. Hahahahaha.” The Prince remained expressionless whether he laughed or not. People who saw Andrei for the first time usually frowned at his appearance, but the 2nd Prince had no such expression at all. Of course, he didn't even laugh with him. ‘You can’t ignore something just because you looked at it from the outside, so that's acceptable.’ Andrei smiled blankly, then sat down and tilted his head. It was because he was strangely unfamiliar with smiling in a situation where he didn’t have to laugh. As soon as they sat down, the Second Prince went straight to the point. "Did you hint to Tara Elias that there would be an assassination attempt at the Winter Forest Hunting Contest, Sir?" Andrei slowly took a sip of mango juice to find the right response to the question that came straight at him. “… I ask you to be careful." For some reason, as soon as Prince Kyle came in, it felt like he had lost control. “I’ll listen closely.” The Second Prince crossed his legs and leaned his upper body against the chair like he was ready to listen. It was as if Andrei had visited the Second Prince’s place as a guest.

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