Chapter 128 - You liked it…?

“Iz, what’s wrong…?”

There was no response for a while.

As I leaned forward to get a better look at his expression, he finally spoke again.

“After being coddled for so long, I thought I could do anything I wanted.”

“What do you mean?”

“But when it really matters… This damn surname and reputation is useless. Especially when the other person is the Pope’s son.”

“…”

“I’ve thought about killing him hundreds of times in my head, but in reality, there’s nothing I can do. All I can do is lean on a useless outsider… I never thought I’d be so powerless.”

His despondent, mournful tone was so pitiful it made my heart race.

Ah… Izek seemed to have never pushed aside the issue related to Cesare even once.

He had been tormented by constantly reliving everything that happened during the festival.

I had already told him it wasn’t his fault.

Yet, he still suffered from a painful sense of guilt.

He was writhing in self-blame and harbouring an incomprehensible anger.

I moved closer to him and gently stroked his broad shoulders.

“Izek… I told you not to do that. This is something that started long before I met you, and you’re struggling because you’re thinking about him…”

“I should have killed him back then.”

“What about me? Even if it wasn’t for my father, I would have stopped you. Of course, it would have been great if that b*stard just dropped dead, but killing him wouldn’t have solved everything.”

As I spoke cautiously, his red eyes flickered with a strange light.

“I’ve never been envious of power or coveted it even once…”

Hmm?

“I thought just the name of Omerta was enough… but now I know that it’s not sufficient. At this point, it might be better to…”

I wonder what unexpected glint flashed in his eyes just now.

Ambition? Lust for power?

No, it was something much more profound.

Despite the heat emanating from the dragon, my throat felt cold.

What could he be thinking about right now?

But before I could say anything, Izek blinked a few times and quickly erased his expression, smirking at me.

“You’re not going to give me that expression just because your husband is a little jealous, are you?”

“What expression am I giving you?”

“A foolish expression.”

“You’re the one who said something foolish first!”

“Did I? Sorry, I’ve been preoccupied with some ridiculous things lately. I thought I could use a hug to calm down.”

As he shrugged his shoulders, there was no trace of the strange unease from earlier in my husband’s demeanor.

Was everything really okay?

Or was he just trying not to worry me?

Anyway, I didn’t feel like returning to the previous topic, so I pretended to glare at him and pressed my palm against his armor.

I didn’t want to hit him because my hand would hurt more.

“Why do you keep touching it like that? You’re just getting your hands dirty.”

“It’s fascinating, that’s why.”

“What’s so fascinating about it?”

“Let’s start with the color first. Usually, if it’s a knight’s armor, it’s made in bright colors. Like white or silver, it gives off a holy and just feeling when you look at it. The round table? The knights also wore silver armor.”

“Well, we’re a bit different. We’ve been wearing pants since the founding, so that we can’t reveal our crotch area, which makes us uncomfortable. Do you not like it?”

“Ahaha, no. Actually, it’s even cooler because it’s not typical paladin armor. Still, not as fancy as what you wore at the party on the day we became a real couple.”

Lost in thought as I reminisced about the past, it took me a while to realize what I had just said.

As I lifted my head in belated realization, my husband was already giving me a perplexed expression.

“You liked it…?”

“Well, it’s not that I liked it, but it wasn’t bad…”

“You just said it was cooler than this armor. Is that your style?”

What style! I don’t have such a lewd taste!

Oh, my face is turning red.

What on earth possessed me to say such nonsense?

“If you want, I can wear it again. I’ll wear it as my party outfit from now on. Everyone will think I’ve been working hard…”

“That’s not allowed!”

As I yelled, he flinched and his eyes widened in surprise.

He must be crazy!

“Oh, I was startled. Why not? You said it was your taste.”

“What taste…! No, everyone keeps staring at you when you wear it, even more so than usual! What kind of clothes are made like that! Is it really something you wear while working?”

“What? It’s a uniform with an important story behind it. The Longinus Knights, who carry out missions under the king’s secret orders…”

“What mission?”

“Oh…? That’s classified information….”

“Ha! Just how secretive is this mission that such clothes are essential?”

“Well… It’s much lighter than armor, so it allows for faster movement and has a smaller surface area, making it less detectable. It also doesn’t get as wet in the rain or snow, and you can immediately tell if you’ve been injured… Plus, people from other countries or those who don’t know may just assume you’re a lost foreigner and let their guard down, making it easy to deceive.”

“….It’s definitely not the kind of clothing you’d wear in the northern region. But even so, you shouldn’t wear it casually! Wear it only when you’re with me! I don’t know if the person who designed it was a pervert or if the kings throughout the generations were perverts too.”

As I spoke disdainfully, there was a moment of silence.

When the excitement subsided, and my senses returned, the protagonist, the top paladin of the northern region, stood before me. He looked no different from those monsters.

Come to think of it, I might have insulted even the lords of the northern region just now.

Oh my, what am I going to do?

I showed an overly aggressive attitude.

I struggled to find the words to salvage the situation.

As I awkwardly averted my gaze, I noticed the dragon, Popo and the griffin, staring at me with half-opened mouths, hugging each other tightly.

Wait, aren’t you guys these scary creatures? Why do you look like you’re scared?

Suddenly, I stopped hitting his back and quickly sat back.

“Ah, I don’t know anymore! Do whatever you want!”

And then he started laughing until he ran out of breath. He found me quite amusing.

At that moment, my husband, who had been shaking in laughter, suddenly stood up straight and grabbed me with both arms.

He held me tightly and kissed me on the cheek, which was burning with anger.

“Okay, I won’t do it. Only when we’re alone.”

“Really?”

“Really”

What is wrong with this man? The more he does things, the more…

“Excuse me, sir?”

“What is it?”

“The leader says we should leave for the day. The sun is about to set, and your wife…”

“Okay.”

It was a disappointing feeling to have my arms released slowly.

I stood up, holding my husband’s hand, and saw Ivan and Andymion standing near the entrance of the hideout.

I expected to see a troubled expression, but why did they look so stunned?

They seem surprised, bitter and strange.

Anyway, after saying goodbye to the dragon, we all left the cave.

Sure enough, the sun was setting.

The warm, fiery red sunset illuminated the entire valley of the Rom Cave and the surrounding frost forest in such a beautiful way that it was breathtaking.

And the sight of young knights walking down the road in groups of three or five, bathed in that light, was nothing short of a picture-perfect landscape.

It was almost a shame to see it alone.

“Why does that guy keep following us?”

“Po, po, po, po…”

“Iz, wait a minute…”

I wonder if something was happening again.

It seemed like a serious matter, judging from Andymion’s serious expression.

While the knights were whispering to each other for a moment, I enjoyed the blue frost flowers with Popo at a point away from them.

“Po, po.”

“Popo, you have snow in your eyes.”

“Po, po, po.”

Popo, who was playing around by jumping into and out of the bushes, looked very happy.

The scared look from earlier was gone and suddenly it seemed to be in a very good mood.

“Popo is so random.”

I murmured, watching Popo’s gestures, which had come close to me.

Its demeanor with its arms linked was nothing short of a flower blooming under the sunset.

So how did it feel spending time with my husband?

“It’s quite cute, isn’t it?”

“No, not at all. Right now, it’s pretending to be innocent, but as soon as my lady isn’t around, it shows its true colors. Because you keep watching, it won’t do anything… Oh, isn’t the Gonfalonier here? I didn’t get to meet him in private, and Iz didn’t say anything, so I’ve been staying put…”