IQBTMLR ✔

Chapter 56

It was the day for me to enter the palace. I was busy in the morning getting ready and when I was about to leave, an unexpected guest arrived. 

"Huh? Ian?" 

Everyone in the Rainfield mansion was surprised. I also didn't know what to say, so I just stared blankly at his red eyes. 

'Are you interested in your appearance these days?' I tilted my head to the side as I saw Ian, who couldn't look better. 

Of course, what I was more curious about was why he was here. 

"What brings you here?" Anyways, Aaron, who was closest to him, asked, and he answered casually. 

"To escort Annabelle Rainfield." 

"Me? Why? Are you crazy?" I was dumbfounded and blinked. 

"You don't know the meaning of escort?" If I were a man, I wouldn't escort someone who used to put a sword behind my back every day. Not only me but also Aaron looked surprised, but Ian spoke calmly as if he had expected the reaction. 

"You've never been to the imperial palace." 

"But that's..."

"You were going to go alone without knowing the entrance procedures, geography, or etiquette?" (pr/n: Ian worked on that excuse all night)

I was speechless because he was right.

I had lived as I pleased so far, so I had never considered such details.

The black market was the same, and I was healthy, so I just went into it roughly, but this time I thought about it, the place was the imperial palace.

"Well, okay." So I nodded and added. "Since I can't be a nuisance to Prince Robert." Ian couldn't have made this decision in consideration of me. 

"As expected, you're a model student in everything." Aaron clapped and laughed.

"This cool-headedness that excludes personal emotions from public affairs, so it wasn't fun this time either."

Ian ignored Aaron's words and told me. "We can go together in Duke Wade's carriage." 

"Well, okay." If it was Duke Wade's carriage, it was used to ride quite often. 

"Uh... This..." Ian crossed his arms and sighed. "Today, my father went out to the Duchy with his vassals, and this was the only carriage left."

 "Well..." 

"It's the carriage that father and mother used when they go on dates."

•••
The carriage was very spacious, but it was decorated with all kinds of flowers, and the seats were discretely narrow.

Besides, there was a blackout curtain outside the window, so I couldn't see outside.
As soon as we took our seats, the carriage left for the Imperial Palace.

I couldn't even ask to look out the window because I didn't want to bring up the subject of the carriage, so I sat awkwardly.

Since we were sitting next to each other, our knees gently bumped into each other, and each time we moved, our legs collided again.

'Too close.'

Even after counting the number of flowers on the carriage there was nowhere to turn.
I finally tried joking.

"Ahaha. If I came at you with a sword here, I guess you wouldn't be able to go anywhere in a carriage like this."

"You must be... Aren't you looking forward to it?" Ian flinched with a rarely stabbed expression. I narrowed my eyes and said.