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nChapter 72

n‘I have to tell him when it’s twelve o’clock.’

nAria gave a long yawn and got her body up.

nShe had a hard time waking up late into the night because she was young. But after desperately persevering, the time was approaching.

nShe went to Lloyd’s room with a box of cake, candles, and matches.

n‘Well, about three minutes left.’

nAria checked the wall clock near Lloyd’s room. And it was when she lit the fire with matches.

nSuddenly the door swung open.

n“……what are you doing.””

n“…..”

nWhy did he open the door?

nLloyd felt the presence standing in front of the door, and as he opened the door, he was bewildered to see Aria burning a match.

n“Playing with fire?”

nLooks like that. Aria was stunned by the conclusion Lloyd had reached.

nWhy is the wife playing with fire in front of her husband’s bedroom?

n‘The surprise is gone…….’

nAria looked at the grandfather clock. It was still two minutes ahead of the hour.

nAlthough she was caught, she stubbornly took the cake out of the box and lit the candle.

nAnd she held it towards Lloyd.

n– Happy Birthday!

nBirthday.

nThen Lloyd remembered that New Year’s Day was the day he was born.

nHe gently wrinkled his brow. Even if it was the birthday that Aria and no one else, took care of, he couldn’t pretend to be happy.

nHis lips hardened.

nBecause he never thought that it was never a curse that he was born in this world.

n“I’m sorry I couldn’t be happy.”

nLloyd told Aria, who would probably be disappointed with his reaction.

nBut as if she knew how to react, she said as she placed the cake in his arms.

n– At least for me, you’re a blessing.

n“……”

n– I want to say, I will try my best to make Lloyd feel like a blessing too. Because you said you didn’t want to burden me.

nWhat should she say?

nAria, who had been thinking for a while, rounded her eyes and smiled naturally.

n– Let’s make it together. As a blessing.

nThe bell rang announcing the hour.

nRing, ring, ring.

nIt was the moment Lloyd first recognized his own birthday since he was born.

n***

nSpring Summer Fall Winter.

nAfter several seasons, spring has come again.

nAria welcomed spring at the age of 14.

n***

n“He’s starting not to get in touch…”

nVeronica tilted her head. Then, her fine blonde hair flowed down like a wave.

nShe tapped the communication device on her desk with her finger.

n“It’s amazing. There must be something in the Devil’s Castle that made you lose your mind.”

nShe thought she was enough to captivate him.

nVeronica smirked at the vain laughter, then she smashed the communication tool by throwing it against the wall.

n“This punk!”

nOriginally made unbreakable, the magic ball bounced off the wall and rolled over the floor back to her feet.

nShe couldn’t stand her anger and let out a wheezing breath.

n‘I made a mistake.’

nIt would be the end of the story when she picked up a dog that had been wandering around unsettled and put him into perfect obedience.

nSuch a simple task.

n“Damn it, I shouldn’t have sent you to Valentine.”

nGabriel should have felt a deeper sense of loneliness, despair and disillusionment in the Devil’s Castle. In total isolation, he should have considered only Veronica as his savior.

nBut in the last step, someone dared to intercept her loyal dog.

n“Without that dog, my plan is…”

nDoes it completely fail?

nShould she rebuild it?

nWas this a goal that can be achieved without the dog?

nNervously biting her nails, Veronica stopped doing what she was doing.

n“No.”

nThis is how life was with its original will.

nNot moving as she wished. Not knowing when and where its going, and it’s easy to get upset if they don’t manage it consistently.

n‘There is nothing to be agitated about.’

nIt’s just a natural process.

nDogs also forget their previous owners when they change owners and serve the new owner who gives them food without hesitation.

n‘Hmm.’

nVeronica looked around.

nShe then found several plaques of appreciation lined up in a row at the top of her bookshelf.

nIt was a plaque of appreciation given to the priests and saints who performed the most volunteer work that year in the Papal Palace.

nVeronica never missed a plaque of appreciation since she became a saint.

n‘That’s right.’

nShe picked up one of the crystal plaques of appreciation and slammed it in her face.

nMany times, many times.

n“Phuh.”

nVeronica spat the pool of blood out of her mouth and then rubbed it roughly with her hand, spreading it across her lips.

nThen, after picking up the communication sphere that had fallen on the floor, she immediately contacted Gabriel.

n– Saint?

n“Sir Knight…”

nHer tears fell as if it had waited.

n***

nSwish, swish.

nIn the silence, the sound of turning the papers at an accurate speed, like a pendulum, echoed.

nOn the black wooden desk, books and documents were piled up like a mountain.

n“….”

nAria didn’t read a book, but stared at Lloyd sitting opposite her.

nThe man sitting with his back against the pouring sunlight seemed to wander between the vague line of a boy and a young man.

n‘It’s dazzling.’

nAria frowned.

nThen, his hand, which had been filling the parchment without stopping, stopped abruptly.

nLloyd looked up. His dark eyes, which were deeper than when he was young, were revealed under the long eyelashes.

n“What.”

nLloyd asked, covering the beam of light that had penetrated the window with his wide back.

nAria, whose glare had improved even more, opened her eyes properly this time.

n“It’s just that Lloyd suddenly seems to have grown up alone.”

n“If you’re 18, you’re an adult.”

nAlthough he still had two years left before his coming-of-age ceremony.

nThe Fineta Empire was particularly strict, but in other countries, he was already of an age that was recognized as an adult.

n“But not yet.”

nAria said with all her might. She somehow couldn’t admit that Lloyd had grown up.

nAria’s efforts to grow up quickly were overshadowed, but he also grew so much that he was ahead of her.

n“Right, it’s not like that.”

nThe boy, no, young man Lloyd answered silently without any reaction.

nCompared to the time when he cried ‘I’m not a kid!’, he has grown so much that she couldn’t recognize it.

nAria muttered sullenly.

n“You’re not cute.”

n“…sorry about that.”

nLook at that. He didn’t make a fuss like before.

nHe just turned his back to the light like a halo and smiled a little bit like a frown. His calm and serene demeanor, not as violent as before, made him look decadent again.

n‘I can’t make eye contact for a long time these days.’

nShe can’t even make fun of him. If that’s the case, she thought she was going to get beaten up again.

nAria had no choice but to avoid Lloyd’s gaze, who was staring at her sternly.

nShe had never been like this. She was strangely awkward and shy.

n“It’s strange…”

nHe murmured.

nAria thought he had just heard her thought, and she was stabbed and trembled.

nBut Lloyd’s eyes were on her papers, not hers.

nEmbarrassed, she wiggled her fingers for nothing, and asked.

n“What?”

n“Diamont market price is booming.”

nDiamont.

nIt was the only material for mana stones. It was a business almost monopolized by Valentine, who had the purest diamont mine.

nIt was also the main source of income.

n“Suddenly? Did you reduce the supply?”

n“No way.”

nThat means external factors acted…

nIt was not that there was no place other than the Valentine that supplied diamont. However, it could not match the quality or quantity of supply.

n“Then the other diamont mine owners have cut supply or there is a problem with the distributor.”

n“The probability of the former being extremely low. Unless it’s a Valentine’s diamont, it’s not traded at the highest price.”

n“Then the latter?”

nIf there was a problem with the distributor, it meant that either the ruling management or one of the families they were dealing with was stealing the diamont.

n“It’s embezzlement… I couldn’t even imagine.”

nLloyd whispered lowly. And he smiled.

n“I think we need a major change.”

nIt was completely different from the smile that has its freshness towards Aria. It was an arrogant yet fully ripened smile, with a subtle color that spreads like a fragrance.

nIt’s not good for the heart.

nAria turned her gaze away from Lloyd as if on fire.

n‘It’s really unimaginable.’

nWho would have known that someone with a gut protruding out of their stomach would dare to rob Valentine’s resources?

nAria felt uncomfortable.

n‘Is there still someone who can go against Valentine’s planting?’

nSeeing an example of Viscount Cavendy and Count Beaufort? Is there any in both Empires, that even the Emperor and the Pope, won’t touch Valentine recklessly?

nValentine, who cleared the gutter and became the number one villain?

nIf they have the courage to do that, they’ll be a warrior, so why are they embezzling?

n‘It must be either a real idiot or up to something.’

nThe former is good, but the latter…….

neffe’s note:

nthe ‘diamont’ is not a typo, the raw uses the word 다이몬트 which ends with the t letter, so that’s why i’m keeping it as diamont for now and see if there’s any change in the future! hehe <3

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