Received the Obsession of a Chaste Dark Lord - Chapter 23

After making up for a few hours of insufficient sleep, I went out on the streets again with Leoprick.

Darkness was already slowly descending upon the streets where the sun had set.

He and I decided to take the minimum number of personnel, have dinner, and return.

It seemed like nothing could happen during a mere dinner, but it was a decision made because most of the knights had gone to Waynes Castle.

Still, I thought it would be fine since Leoprick was with me, of all people.

After all, he was a quite renowned swordsman, and they said his skills were good enough that he didn’t need a separate escort when traveling alone.

Of course, that was just a story from my memories before the regression.

I didn’t know how well he actually wielded a sword because I had never seen it.

Whenever I had a schedule to accompany him, a large number of escorts always followed, and I had never seen him draw the sword he carried at his waist, whether it was for ceremonial use or something else.

I only knew that he was a swordsman with quite decent skills through information Betty had heard from somewhere, as always.

Without any tension, I followed him to the restaurant closest to our accommodation.

“Will it really be alright? I think we could wait a bit and then go.”

However, unlike me, Leoprick kept asking various questions with an anxious face the whole time.

Whether it would really be okay without an escort, whether it would be okay to only take Betty as the servant, whether it would be okay if the others who went on errands didn’t return, and so on.

To the point where it seemed I was being overly careless for thinking we should hurry and just eat before coming back.

“I’m really fine, Your Highness.”

“But…”

“I’m not sure what you’re worried about, but the public order here is relatively well-maintained, and it’s not a big deal to just have dinner and come back. The more servants we take with us, the more we’ll stand out to people.”

That’s not what you wanted when you came here, right?

When I asked indifferently, he moved his lips for a moment and then quickly bowed his head.

“You’re right. I keep worrying unnecessarily.”

What is he so worried about?

With a face that had regained composure, he apologized for making me uneasy.

Well, it wasn’t something he had to apologize for…

I shook my head, saying it was okay.

“It’ll be fine if we hurry, have dinner, and come back.””Yes. We should make sure not to go anywhere else.”

Leoprick nodded and smiled slightly.

Those words sounded like he had originally intended to go somewhere else after the meal.

Feeling somewhat unsatisfied, I tried to ask something more, but I had to close my mouth again because he walked ahead of me.

“Mella, let’s go quickly.”

A few steps away, Leoprick turned around and gestured for me to come closer.

Erasing the unsatisfactory feeling that had come to mind earlier, I followed behind him with his face that had quickly become peaceful.

Thinking what could possibly happen.

And the moment I thought that was my misjudgment was right after finishing dinner.

The meal was impeccable.

As expected of local recommendations, it was different in both quality and quantity from those restaurants that were just famous and expensive for no reason.

After finishing the meal satisfactorily, thinking that all the boutique employees had useful information, it happened.

“Mella. Did you hear there’s a festival in town today?”

“A festival?”

“Yes. This place is a trade city, isn’t it? So they hold a festival every quarter to pray for the safe return of those who have gone out to sea.”

“That… would consume quite a lot of budget.”

Perhaps because I’ve lived my whole life handling money, worries about the budget came first before anything else at the mention of a festival.

Moreover, to accommodate this many people in a city that’s not even a mid-sized city but belongs to a large city…

But as if reading my thoughts, Leoprick smiled brightly and solved my concern with a single sentence.

“They collect a lot of taxes since it’s a big city. And fortunately, the merchant groups and businesses that have entered here are all exemplary taxpayers.”

And if it’s not such a place, they cannot enter and do business in this city.

With his light addition, I could understand how festivals could be held so frequently in such a large city.

They have made it possible to hold festivals by law.

“So that’s why they say you need to be spotless to enter Waynes.”

“Well, it should actually be the same for any city, but they can’t always do that.”

When expanding a business in the empire, the first place to be considered is Waynes, but it is also the most difficult place to enter.

They cannot block every merchant group or business entering other small cities one by one, but at least they are trying not to leave Waynes like that, according to Leoprick’s explanation.

“There was a reason you chose this place for our honeymoon.”

And amusingly, the first thing I thought after hearing that story was that he indeed had a reason to come here.

Even if he said in words that there was more to see in Waynes, his role couldn’t be ignored in the end.

“I actually hesitated whether to bring up the festival story because I was afraid you would talk about that.”

“Are you saying I’m misunderstanding?”

“You don’t know the complete truth, do you?”

Leoprick raised his glass of water with a slightly teasing smile.

He said something and showed something.

So is he telling me to believe what he said when he first came here?

“You know better than me that what happened yesterday was really not planned at all, don’t you?”

“And I also know that you didn’t intend it a little.”

When I shrugged, he made a slightly unfair face.

As if he really didn’t intend it, and as if I didn’t understand his heart.

“It’s true, Mella. What do I have to do to make you believe that I had no intention of working here at all?”

“Should I have to believe that? And I know, and Leo knows, that you can’t help it given your current position, so I’m not sure if it’s something that needs to be proven.”

“It’s important to me. That you believe in me.”

As I watched his face, thinking if it was really that important, I realized that he had been rapidly changing his expressions.

It was both amazing and a little unfamiliar to see him using such diverse expressions when he had always maintained a solemn and serious expression at the imperial palace.

I wiped my mouth with a napkin, casually passing over the fact I had just discovered.

“So you’re saying you want to go see that festival, Your Highness?”

“No, I’m not saying I want to go.”

“Let’s go, then. It’s not like something will happen if we go.”

“Wait, Mella…”

Leoprick raised one hand to press firmly on his temples, then let out a sigh.

I put down the napkin and immediately got up from my seat.

It doesn’t really matter why he wanted to bring me here.

Whatever his true intentions were for coming here, I had achieved my purpose here.

The schedule after this is just something to follow along with.

As long as it doesn’t delay the schedule to the point where I can’t attend Lady Perje’s banquet.

“We should go before it gets too late.”

“But wouldn’t it be better to wait a bit? The knights will be back soon.”

“Wouldn’t it be alright? This is Waynes, and we’re just ordinary tourists.”

Waynes has public order as good as the capital.

There’s no way they would hold a festival without preparations for a large gathering of people.

I reiterated my position that there was no need to take many people.

“The more people we take, the more attention we’ll draw. But we can’t neglect safety, so it’s best to go for just a short while.”

“If you say so… Alright. But in return, you must stay as close to me as possible.”

“Yes, I will.”

Leoprick got up from his seat, removing the dissatisfied look from earlier.

Then he approached me as I tried to lead the way and held out his hand.

Thinking he meant to escort me, I took his hand without a second thought.

But he interlaced his fingers with mine, gripping my hand firmly.

“I thought this would be the best way not to lose you.”

Looking up at his low voice, his earlobes were red for some reason.

I felt like my face was heating up for no reason too.

The restaurant where we ate was a bit far from where the festival was being held.

He held my hand tightly from the moment we left the restaurant until we arrived at the festival venue, no, even after arriving, he didn’t let go.

All the while, he acted like someone who was excited about something, like someone who had something pleasant going on.

Not only I, but even Betty made a startled expression at his behavior.

Of course, Betty’s face was more surprised than startled.

“It’s truly amazing, Madam. I never thought His Imperial Highness would go that far…”

“What do you mean by ‘that far’?”

It was a conversation that started while he was away for a moment, saying he had a report to receive.

A conversation that began with my sigh, not understanding why that person was acting like that.

For some reason, Betty’s eyes sparkled as she continued, as if it was really incredible.

“Just holding your hand, Madam, he looks so happy he doesn’t know what to do with himself, ‘that far’.”

“That’s how it looks to you?”

“If not, what is it? Even Toby, who’s never had a romance in his life, would know. How much the Count, no, His Excellency likes you right now.”