I Will Seduce The Northern Duke

“Spiteful guy.”

It was Selina’s impression.

The knife wound on the Crown Prince should not have healed yet.

Despite this, in a remarkably short time, he managed to gather the troops and set off. Upon arrival, the battle ensued after a long and exhausting journey. It was a testament to his unwavering willpower, exceeding the limits of his physical stamina.

While it might have been impressive if he were the main character, the Crown Prince was a villain, which brought a chuckle to Selina’s face. It seemed that villains always possessed an indomitable spirit.

She couldn’t fathom the Crown Prince’s motivations.

Even though she knew he harbored an old inferiority complex, to go to such extreme lengths… was it really necessary?

“Because of his delusions, if he thinks we’re even a little bit stronger than he is, he can’t sleep until he gets rid of us.”

Kalcion explained it very easily.

“That’s not being spiteful. He is crazy.”

“I’m going to deal with him the same whether he’s spiteful or crazy, but do you even need to think about him?”

“…Huh?”

Selina only understood Kalcion’s words a moment later.

It was jealousy.

He was telling her not to think of other men in front of him. She forgot that Kalcion was also a crazy person in a different sense. As she thought so, Selina quickly changed the subject before he got even more crazy and started something in broad daylight.

“Have the other lords’ soldiers gathered yet?”

“Not yet.”

“I thought the Roseline family would be the first to rise up, but they seem to be quiet.”

She spontaneously memorized the map when she studied Songtullek’s records. The estate of Marquisate Thiolan was located halfway between Renbird and Mion. If they were determined to send troops, they would have arrived at Renbird before the Crown Prince. Especially now that she was charges of killing Rosalyn were overturned.

The enemy who killed his daughter was lurking in Renbird but still hesitating… it was hard to understand.

“It must be too complicated for him to think about. Rosalyn may be the favorite daughter, but he won’t be willing to go down a dangerous path that could lead to ruin because of an already dead daughter.”

Going to war with Renbird means taking the risk of falling into ruin.

“Was the Crown Prince not capable of such calculations?”

“It must be because he is convinced that he has the upper hand in terms of justification or skill, so he is recklessly attacking us like that.”

‘Anyway, that punk with the prince syndrome…’

She muttered before shyly shutting her mouth, realizing that he was a real prince. The fact that the other nobles around them, excluding the Crown Prince, had a cold grip on reality made the situation interesting.

“The nobles must be thinking of betraying the Crown Prince, right?”

“Since the Crown Prince is not a stable ally, that possibility remains open.”

The saying that there were no eternal allies or enemies had been applied in reality.

“If he puts troops on the border and takes time, it’s okay to deal with them with plenty of time, but we can’t condone dragging them across the border. We will leave immediately as soon as the preparation is over.”

Soon, the real war would begin.

Selina also made up her mind.

“If I practiced for a few more days, it wouldn’t make much of a difference though I’ll have to work hard, at least in the morning training.”

“What?”

Kalcion gazed at her with his head tilted like he had heard some unexpected words.

“What?”

Selina followed suit and tilted her head as he questioned again.

“Why?”

“Why? Even if I don’t fight in front, it’s a battlefield. Even if training to run away…”

“Why are you thinking of coming to that dangerous battlefield?”

“Huh…”

The two people’s lost eyes met. It was the first time that their opinions completely contradicted each other.

Selina crossed her arms and took a stubborn stance.

“No, think carefully. I am a queen in name, so it should make sense to deal with the war on my own?”

“No. Where is the need for the king to go out and fight? The servants underneath will do the fighting. I will fight for you, so all you have to do is receive the news of victory here. There’s no reason to go to a dangerous battlefield.”

She thought that she would have to ride the beast and go to the battlefield herself, but after hearing Kalcion’s words, she felt the same way.

It was not like she was the founding king who raised her sword and established the country with outstanding prowess. Since she was a symbolic queen who had been given the title of Goddess, Selina was just fine with receiving the victories he would bring.

However, she shook her head.

“Don’t you think it’s more dangerous to stay in a castle without Kalcion? It would be safer next to Kalcion than anywhere else in the world.”

“I can’t have you next to me while the battle is going on.”

“It’s okay because I will be with the beast for that short amount of time. You can see clearly, too.”

“Although that’s true, the battlefield is a place full of variables where you don’t know what will happen or when.”

Kalcion was also shaking inside.

Common sense would tell him to leave her behind, but he didn’t want to be separated from her. In addition, Selina insisted on going with him.

“And I would have gone back if I was going to stay away, why would I stay here?”

“That’s true.”

He nodded his head in strong agreement.

She thought she would face a stronger backlash, but Selina continued her persuasion while being bewildered by Kalcion’s permission.

“If we live in different places, doing our own thing and not being able to see each other’s faces, what’s the difference between living in this world and living in the other world? Living life in each world puts a letter in a glass jar once a month and throws it over, like living with a pen pal.”

“That’s right.”

“Say something while we’re arguing!”

Stunned at his constant agreement, Selina screamed.

“It’s because your words are so accurate.”

What about her, then? She realized Kalcion’s changed attitude.

“So, you’re saying I can come with you, right? I told you that I will never be separated from Kalcion as long as I am in this world.”

“Everything you say is absolutely right. I didn’t think it through. I didn’t think that not being separated from you even for a second would be a way to take responsibility for you.”

Kalcion was happily defeated. Even after losing, he was so happy.

“You should never get separated from me.”

With his promise, she smiled and climbed onto his lap. In the meanwhile, Kalcion reflected on his own brief thoughts once again as he naturally put his lips on hers and hugged Selina’s body as she hugged his neck.

How did he ever think of leaving this sweetness behind?

* * *

As he said, the preparations were completed in a very short time, and all that was left was to depart. However, on the day of departure, a difference of opinion arose again.

“Eh? Wait. Are you just running straight from the castle gate like this? What about the ceremony?”

Selina scratched the beast’s mane and then looked back at Kalcion.

“Huh?”

Similarly, Kalcion, who had been stroking his horse’s mane, looked back at her with bewildered eyes.

“Don’t you do something like this when you go to war? Draw a sword in front and make a speech, at least to rally morale and to relieve the people’s anxiety.”

Kalcion shyly averted his eyes at Selina’s question.

“What? No? Is it weird to do that here?”

Dion, who couldn’t bear to see it, stepped out.

“Well, it was omitted.”

“…Yes?”

“He’s saying why does he have to do that…”

“….”

“The ancestors were like that…”

These days, Kalcion had become more sociable, but only around her, so Selina had forgotten about it.

That was how the family in the North used to be—a lineage that hated to even meet people. Kalcion used to rush back to the North right after attending mandatory events as if he was reluctantly dragged into the capital’s social circle, where only a select few were invited.

He wasn’t the type to step out and face a crowd willingly. If it were necessary, he would do it, but such occasions were rare.

Until now, he remained undefeated, easily conquering any battle he faced.

“In fact, there has never been a case where news of the war spread first like now. It was omitted because we’ve never moved a large enough number of people to boost morale.”

“Is it okay to omit it this time, too?”

Dion hesitantly stepped back.

“That… I don’t think that’s a matter for me to judge.”

With the Crown Prince personally leading the army’s attack, Selina and Kalcion were labeled as criminals and fled. Furthermore, they had disappeared even before the war began.

The people were anxious.

However, it wasn’t easy to claim that they have to do it just because it was necessary. After all, with Kalcion wielding his sword, the war would likely end swiftly. There was no point in compelling others to do something they were reluctant to do, trying to boost the people’s morale through their presence.

“It’s okay if you do it. It’s also okay if you don’t…”

Even Dion had a lukewarm attitude, so Selina nodded. She was well aware of the acting ability of the person who had to step forward. He would just be irresponsibly passing the matter over, saying, ‘Do your best.’

“Alright.”

“Yes. It’s not much different from before. We just have to go and get the Crown Prince.”

“Oh, are you going to catch him?”

Both of them agreed to remove his X, but they did not discuss it after that. Winning the fight against the Crown Prince was a given, so that was all thethoughtnk about.

“If we just kill him, there will be a justification problem, so we should catch him and negotiate with the royal family.”

Even though it was refreshing to kill him, he was a prince of a country. It meant that too much was at stake despite his pitiful life.

Selina nodded at Kalcion’s cool and rational judgment.

“But.”

At that time, he looked into the distance and muttered to himself.

“Anything can happen on the battlefield.”

“….?!”

Selina looked back at Kalcion with an angry face. Although it was not revealed on the surface, he had an old grudge against the Crown Prince. It felt like his coolness and rationality seemed to have been lost a long time ago…

Words that have already been said were not repeated.