I Didn’t Save You To Get Proposed To - Chapter 56

“Unconditionally?”

“Yes. My nickname is ‘Society’s Favorite’.”

“What if you can’t?”

“That won’t be. If I can’t, I’ll even run around naked in the middle of the capital.”

It wasn’t a sight I wanted to see very much, but I wanted to trust him because he showed such confidence.

‘I have to ask him to dispel the rumors of Elsia being a saint.’

I smiled and held out my hand.

So our bet was settled.

***

“Horse, prepare the horse.”

After receiving a letter from Irene late at night, Ridan hurriedly prepared to go out.

It was said that Elsia would arrive at Berti Forest tomorrow.

To make matters worse, a letter from Elsia long ago from the Marquis’s dominion also arrived around the same time. She said that she would want to meet him when she goes up to the capital.

It was clear that she had left before the letter arrived, in which he had sent that he wanted to go to the Marquis’ dominion. The Marquis’ dominion was terribly far from the capital.

“Duke? In the middle of the night?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll prepare a carriage. You don’t even like horseback riding.”

“The carriage is slow. I’ll go for the shortest distance, so get ready.”

“Then we have to cross the forest…”

“I don’t care.”

Ridan answered briefly and grabbed the horse’s reins.

Surprised by Ridan’s sudden action, the butler stood blankly for a while, seeing the master’s expression full of agitation and anticipation as he left without hesitation.

***

We arrived at Berti Forest when most of the people had gone hunting after an early lunch.

“Elsia!”

When I reached the place where luxurious barracks were lined up, Irene ran from somewhere and hugged me.

“Oh my God, it’s been a while. Why did you get so pretty?”

“The Marquis’ dominion has such a good atmosphere and the water is very good… Irene, it’s been a long time.”

Irene was so excited that she ran all over the place, belatedly found Ixion behind me, and she hurriedly let me go.

“Greetings Third Prince Ixion Eastheim. Have you been well?”

“I didn’t know Lady was so close with Elsia.”

“We’re very close. Me and Duke Ridan Roziad used to visit Elsia often, so it was when Elsia was in the Imperial Palace.”

“…Ridan Roziad?”

“Yes. Still, when I told him that Elsia was here, he said he was coming right away.”

I was surprised by Irene’s words and asked a question.

“Ridan is coming? Because of me?”

“Yes. I heard that bookworm, who hates moving because of you, left late at night. Wouldn’t he be coming now? Let’s go into the details inside. Oh my! Wizard Niel is here too.”

Niel got off the wagon.

Before I knew it, he was putting on crutches made by the knights, and he was showing a pitiful expression as much as possible.

“You must have been seriously injured!”

In fact, Niel had many deep wounds, but none of his bones were broken or ligaments stretched, so he didn’t need to use crutches.

However, he decided to use ‘decorative’ crutches to avoid people bothering him and taking him to the hunting grounds by asking him to use magic in a hunting contest.

I didn’t want to go to the hunting grounds, so I had nothing to say to him, who confidently said that he would just stay in the barracks and flirt with other noble ladies.

“Yes, Princess. I was very hurt.”

Niel sighed with a very pitiful expression on his face.

“Are you going to visit me later?”

“If the wizard asks all the young ladies like that with that look on his face… I think we’ll have to wait in line to visit the infirmary.”

“As expected, it is not easy as well.”

Niel sighed artificially.

Still, Irene smiled as if she didn’t hate it and told Ixion again.

“The Emperor has gone to the hunting grounds now. I think he will come back only after the sun goes down.”

“I must have sent a messenger saying I was arriving this morning.”

“Yes, I know he got that message.”

Ixion didn’t say anything, but I was almost upset.

I couldn’t figure out how someone had called Ixion to clean up, and when Ixion arrived he went to leave for the hunt.

No, even if his son would come without a call, so why didn’t he go hunting a little later….

“How about the Prince go out hunting until the Emperor returns?”

Irene quietly crossed her arms and asked.

It was an unspoken expression to let Ixion go and play.

But Ixion shook his head at once.

“He said it’s urgent, and I don’t have a lot of time either. I don’t have time to waste on trivial things.”

Ixion, who dismissed the week-long hunting contest as ‘nothing’, called Isis again to see if it was tired from the long journey.

“At least, I should have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor right away. Thanks for letting me know, Princess Jeffreys.”

“Oh, wait a minute. Now? You don’t even know where he is in this wide hunting ground?”

“I just have to find him.”

“Of course… it’s not that I don’t believe in the Prince’s monster-like abilities…”

Irene blinked her eyes and said quickly.

“His Majesty said that he would see the Prince and Elsia together.”

“What?”

“This morning, when I went to see the Empress, the Emperor was also there. Anyway, he asked about when the Prince who came today would arrive, and he said that he would also see Elsia.”

“Me… why?”

“It’s understandable that he wanted to see you, well. There are rumors of you being a saint in the southern region, and he may think that you are the future daughter-in-law because you are coming with the Prince…”

Saying ‘future daughter-in-law’, Irene secretly looked at me.

It seemed that he was anxious to know what happened between me and Ixion.

In fact, it could have been something everyone in the capital was wondering about.

“Then I’ll come with you, Prince.”

Anyway, the reason I came to the hunting competition was to personally meet the Emperor.

I thought I should meet the Emperor at the hunting ground right now, found out why he called Ixion, and I had to move quickly to the Imperial Palace.

Even if I was here, I would only be the main character of gossip, and there was a high possibility that I would lose my bet with Aiden.

Besides, my falling was progressing differently day by day.

There was no need to waste time here.

Looking for the Emperor in this wide hunting ground. Of course, I believed that Ixion would do it well.

‘No, I believe in Isis….’

I looked at the clever black horse and thought.

“I’m pretty good at riding, too. We can greet together.”

“What are you talking about, Elsia? You’re going to ride a horse as soon as you arrive? That…… Oh my! What is this?”

While Irene was making a fuss, she found White under my feet and jumped.

“Mah.”

I hugged White and laughed awkwardly.

“Um…my….. pet.”

“Is this the first time I’ve seen something like this?”

“It used to be a monster.”

“What?”

“It doesn’t attack people anymore… But if you touch it, it might bite.”

“A monster… that has become so cute and gentle? Are you really a saint?”

Irene looked at White as if it was ridiculous.

“I don’t think I’m a saint, and I don’t know why it became like this. Now, I’m going to go to the Imperial Palace library to find some books.”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a monster. It’s the cutest thing in the world.”

“Because it ‘used to be’ a monster.”

“Mah.”

White wept dissatisfied.

Irene couldn’t take her eyes off White for a while before she looked at me with twinkling eyes.

“Anyway, if you’re in a hurry, go see the Emperor first. We can solve it together after Ridan arrives. But…”

“But?”

“You’re not going to ride a horse in that outfit, are you?”

I came in a carriage, so I was dressed in a dull dress, although not flashy.

“Ah, I brought my riding clothes. I have to change.”

“Come to my barracks!”

Irene said with a bright expression on her face.

“There’s something called ‘hunting clothes’ which I’m looking at as a new business item these days. It’s similar to riding clothes, but it’s much more comfortable and nice.”

I nodded my head bewildered.

***

The hunting clothes Irene gave me were definitely quite comfortable to move around and looked good in many ways.

At the same time, I was pretty well dressed, so I looked at myself in front of the mirror.

“Wow, this is so pretty and comfortable.”

With sincere admiration, I gave Irene a thumbs up.

“I think this business will go well.”

“It’s not even…”

Irene ponytailed my hair up high and said somberly.

“It’s pretty and comfortable, but there’s something missing from the story.”

“Yes?”

“If you want to make a new trend in the noble families, there must be something like a ‘fun story’. That’s how people get curious. I thought that a hidden hunting genius would come out, but there’s no hope yet.”

“What can I do, Irene?”

I replied with a smile.

“I’m not very good at hunting either. I’m not good at swords, and I’m not good at bows, so I don’t think I’ll get good results if I put them on…”

“I don’t expect that from you. Just by looking at it, it’s not a hand to hold a weapon…”

Irene shrugged her shoulders.

“But it’s my pleasure to dress you up and give you a gift like this.”

“Gift?”

“You seem to like it? It’s yours. I can give as much as you want now. Because I’m free, and we’re out of the Imperial Palace.”

“No, Irene. Just looking at this, it was made with great care, and it must be quite expensive…”

“It’s a ready-made product. It’s not that expensive. So, if you wear it prettily, that’s all I need.”

Irene tilted her head and handed me a slightly transformed ornate silk pouch.

“White may fall off when riding a horse, so put it here and fasten it to your waist. I put a pin in the back. Actually, it was made for snacks, but…”

“Thank you. Still, White doesn’t want to get separated from me.”

“Mah.”

I hugged White and grinned.

“Now, Prince Ixion seems to be in a hurry… but still ,meet Ridan. He’s here because of you.”

“Oh really?”

“After hearing about your sainthood, he said he must meet you. You don’t know, but Ridan is a theologian.”

As I was stroking White, I was startled.

“…theologian?”

“Yes. The one thing he looks into every day is theology. Probably no one on this continent has dug into theology as much as he did.”

It was unexpected to have such an expert so close.