Dangerous Fiancee

Chapter 144

Strut, strut.

There was clearly heard the sound of something hard and pointed tapping the floor. It was a noise that he could not ignore even though he was full of passionate feelings.

Kling instinctively shut up and stood up. Eckart also grabbed the Kimmel ring and snapped his finger once.

Snap!

A cheerful sound rang in the room.

Curtis revealed his position without delay. Near the small entrance on the second floor and the bookshelf, his white Eluang Knights uniform fluttered.

"... Sir Curtis?"

Duke Kling narrowed his eyes and confirmed the identity of the knight.

But the strutting sound did not stop. That meant that the owner of this strange sound was not Curtis.

Eckart intuitively sensed who it was. He quickly gauged the source of the sound.

The owner of the sound was the one who was allowed to enter his palace freely at any time without his approval, someone he was close to or harmless to Curtis, who, in turn, wouldn't bother to stop when he knew that her visit was not authorized in advance, and the one who knew she was an unwelcome visitor but didn't reveal her identity first even at this moment...

"...Marianne."

Eckart spoke aloud with a deep sigh. Soon, a splendid dress pushed Curtis out of the way and stopped before him.

It was Marianne.

* * *

Eckart's study was calm. There was some dust and the peculiar smell of books wafting through the high bookshelves like the alpine ridges.

With the setting sun covering the shade of the bookshelves, Marianne was walking cautiously. To muffle her stepping as much as she could, she even wrapped his skirt with her hands and held her heels slightly.

It was a place she visited to see Eckart several times, but she had never walked up to the second floor. She glanced around her familiar and strange surroundings quickly. And then she picked one decent place. It was a blind spot downstairs, where she could see half the place below the railing when she stood at an angle.

"So... Please make my daughter stay away from the fight."

Her father's voice, which she could hardly hear clearly outside the door, was much clearer here.

Marianne grabbed her lips and leaned her head slightly.

Eckart was sitting at his desk as always. Under him, Kling was kneeling with his head down.

Combining what he said earlier, she guessed that he was apparently requesting the emperor to exclude her from the ongoing scheme.

"Duke, do you know how selfish your request is?"

"I know. I'm a cunning and shameless man, so I have nothing to say even if you blame me for seeking my own private interests."

"I think it's very contradictory for you to say it when you know my point."

"But Your Majesty, you will need me more from now on. Only when I stay beside you on the pretext of keeping my good conscience, you can fight your opponents."

Both of them exchanged sharp words. Neither of them made a loud noise, but given the meaning of their words, it looked like they were pointing their swords at each other.

Marianne barely breathed back a long sigh. She just felt stuffy and frustrated.

The pain was part of the price she had to pay. She knew why her father was kneeling there and how Eckart would feel while listening to him.