Dalia had a hunch. This is her only chance to reveal her ability to Cedric and purify him. So, without a second thought, she took off the ring.
“Sir Cedric, are you feeling tired or have a headache lately?”
Cedric was leaning on the sofa, resting his chin lazily, as if the aftereffects of the battle had not completely gone yet.
In the aftermath of the magic, his hair disheveled and his front button was also undone, making it visible for others to see. He smiled with a long blink.
“I’m having a hard time in the morning these days…….”
As expected, now is the right time.
Dalia’s hands were already flinching.
Cedric smiled and grabbed Dalia. And he looked at Dalia, gently folding the corners of his eyes.
“So why did you take off your ring?”
“That’s……”
Now it’s finally time to get to the point. Dalia’s heart was pounding.
“Sir Cedric, I…… Sir Cedric asked me what it would be like to be in th, th, that relationship with me right?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“To do that, you have to know me well first, right?”
“…… Yeah, that’s true.”
“I actually have a secret.”
Actually it’s not just one, but we have to start with one step at a time.
Cedric tilted his head.
“What is it?”
Dalia wanted to show through actions instead of words. She also sat down on the long sofa where Cedric was sitting.
Cedric visibly flinched. He put down his hand on his chin and turned to look at Dalia.
Dalia did not miss any moment, she pulled his hands and placed them on top of her lap. Cedric stared at Dalia’s knee, and spoke in a more subdued voice than before.
“Dalia, if you come out so aggressively, my heart is not ready yet……”
Dalia didn’t care, she reached out and clasped Cedric’s hands tightly.
There was a moment of silence between the two.
She felt it when purifying Meldon in the past, but it was hard to know whether the purification was going well or not when there’s no numerical value popping up. However……
‘……Why isn’t he responding? Is it not working well?’
Dalia glanced up and examined Cedric’s expression.
He was looking at his hand that Dalia was holding with frightening chilly eyes.
But for a moment, Cedric grabbed and pulled one of Dalia’s hands. And without any time to stop him, he put Dalia’s hand on his cheek.
His long eyelashes fluttered as he closed his eyes. He let out a small groan of pain as he repeatedly rubbed his cheek against her hand.
Dalia felt strange again. Cedric’s atmosphere right now was really, really dangerous.
“……Ha.”
Then he let out a small sigh and let go of Dalia’s hand.
He put his hands on his eyes and let out a long sigh. Then he motioned her to get away from him. Dalia blinked her eyes in bewilderment at the unexpected reaction.
“Is it not working?”
“……No. I think I’ll want to kiss you more.”
Dalia stood in a daze, not knowing how to react, then stepped back little by little as Cedric said, with her face reddened.
Then she opened her arms awkwardly.
Cedric looked at Dalia as if he really didn’t understand what she meant. She stuttered.
“I can’t give you a kiss yet, but……as for hugs……”
“Ah.”
Immediately, Cedric’s eyes changed.
Without giving Dalia time to say anything, he wrapped his hands around her waist in an instant, lifted her up and sat her on his lap.
He then buried his head in her exposed neck, and let out a breath.
Dalia, who had thought that the hugging would be like with the Emperor at best, felt that her head had turned white in bewilderment.
However, Cedric’s chin was clinging to her so desperately, so she just put her hand on his back, thinking that he should be purified first.
Cedric calmed down after a while and sat the bright red face Dalia by his side. Then he buried his face in his hands again.
A lower voice than usual came out between the hands.
“…… I see, so that is your ability.”
“…….”
“No wonder my father kept trying to connect with you…….”
“……You didn’t know?”
She thought that he knew because he held Dalia’s hand the other day.
“Of course this is the first time I heard of this.”
“But last time…….”
“Ah, that time.”
Cedric immediately understood what she was saying.
“It just seems like you’re about to fall…….”
He let out another long sigh.
As the heat slowly subsided, Dalia became a bit sullen. Because he doesn’t seem to like it as much as she had thought.
She took the ring, put it back on, and said awkwardly.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“……No, I’m sorry. I was just upset. There are still so many people who are after you…….”
Cedric looked at Dalia after wiping his face for a while.
His eyes were as serious as ever.
“Dalia, I’d like to ask you to do me a favor.”
Originally, such a request was never to be accepted before hearing its contents, but Cedric’s expression was so serious that she could not help it. She nodded her head.
“……Sure.”
“If you change your mind……Or even if you decide not to be my lover because it’s hard to decide, let me continue to protect you.”
“Ah……”
“I’m saying this because you look like you’re in so much danger. I can’t help it if you refuse…….”
“…….”
There was no reason to hesitate any longer.
Dalia nodded hastily and took Cedric’s hand. Cedric panicked again and tried to pull his hand, but quickly calmed down when there was no energy.
Only then did he smile and tell Dalia what she had been expecting.
“Thank you, Dalia. That’s a great ability. It’s only for a moment, but I can’t even imagine……it meant the world to me.”
Dalia was relieved too. Cedric also regained his composure.
She looked at him and thought.
‘I was actually thinking that I would slowly give my answer.’
Hearing the matter of becoming a couple, she remembered she hadn’t given an answer yet.
She still had some hesitation.
Is this really a choice without regrets? What if she crosses an irreversible river?
Cedric watched her quietly. Then he smiled.
“Dalia, are you going to answer that question from the other day?”
Dalia, who was lost in thought, looked at Cedric in surprise.
“You don’t have to force yourself to answer.”
“That’s……”
“I want you to tell me when you are sure.”
He spoke so gently that she couldn’t say more.
Dalia also knew. That she’s not fully prepared yet.
She nodded cautiously.
“As soon as possible…….”
“Okay, all right.”
Cedric said nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened.
“Anyway, it’s a little unfair. I didn’t fall in love because of this, but to think I had to pay attention to the people that fell for you because of this.”
“…….”
“The reason Aceras is strangely obsessed with you is because he knew of your ability. I thought they were hiding something only from me during the meeting…….”
Cedric frowned and roughly brushed his hair.
‘…… Come to think of it, Sir Cedric doesn’t even know my ability and how until now……?’
Dalia asked cautiously.
“Then why did you think Aceras was doing this to me?”
“I just thought he fell in love at first sight. Just like me.”
“…….”
“Because you can do that.”
It seemed that he never suspected that there might be other reasons for his obsession with Dalia.
She smiled out of embarrassment.
“Sir Cedric is special.”
It meant that he didn’t fall in love at first sight like Cedric, but it sounded strange after she said it.
Cedric smiled as well.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“……Ah”
“Thank you for telling me the secret. It must have been an important matter.”
Dalia nodded. And then she told him what she heard from the Emperor. Her ability is influenced by her favorability toward the purification opponent.
Cedric listened to what she said with a serious expression and immediately made the point.
“Then your power will not work on Aceras.”
“Yes, maybe.”
“If he knew that, he would feel like the only rope he had been hanging on so far had collapsed. Absurdly.”
“…….”
“He’s after you now, so……they’re preparing holy power bombs to destroy the Empire.”
Dalia recalled what she had just heard from Kelsion and felt dizzy.
She understood why Kelsion had kept his mouth shut on this matter to the end.
It was because of an excessively large sense of guilt.
The end of the original Aceras route only states that a war will break out, but it does not describe exactly what happens.
It seemed that what filled that void was the ‘holy power terrorism’ that Kelsion had just spoken about.
‘Just what in the world happened to the Frederic Empire after that ending……?’
The mere thought of it made her dizzy.
“……Goodness, a war. It’s so unrealistic. I hope this will be my last time with him.”
Cedric’s eyes sank slightly. If Kelsion’s words are true, this will be a major event unprecedented in the history of the Imperial family.
“I’ll borrow my father’s subordinate and talk to him too.”
Dalia hesitated for a moment and then said.
“…… We need another person.”
She leaned over to Cedric and said seriously. Cedric could not hold on to that gaze for long and was quickly captured.
“Who is it?”
“Regarding this matter, Duke Blueport will be the biggest key right now. I want you to believe what he says.”
‘To prevent this war, we need Mr. Lewayne’s help.’
Dalia had a hunch when she heard Kelsion. Without Lewayne, who knows the future, this fight will come at great cost.
