Chapter 89

Turning the corner, Carinne collided with someone running from the opposite direction, landing hard on her rear. Before she could comprehend who it was that she had run into, she felt strong arms wrap around her. Though his coat dragged on the dirt, he paid it no mind.

The person who had held her in his arms and nuzzled his head against hers soon pushed her away to check her condition. Carinne watched in a daze as her arms and legs were lifted.

After finishing his examination, he realized that she was unharmed and held her head tightly.

“Ah, Princess, thank goodness. I’m truly relieved…”

“Archen?”

Hearing the familiar voice, she finally came to her senses.

Carinne lifted her head and pushed his chest where they were touching. Archen’s face appeared before her. He didn’t seem to be in pain or unwell. Holding onto her shoulders, he was the picture of health.

“Are you alright?”

Instead, he was the one worried about her.

His elegant and clear voice trembled with anxiety. Though her rear stung with pain, she was more overjoyed that he was safe. She couldn’t be happier that he was with her, healthy and sound.

“I’m fine. You’re unharmed too, Archen…”

Carinne caressed his cheek with her hand. Seeing him worry about her, she understood the situation roughly.

‘Iris must have been behind this.’

She must have told him something terrible had happened to Carinne while telling her something terrible had happened to Archen. Though they had argued, she saw that their hearts, which cared for the other, hadn’t changed.

The method she used was probably a cliché often found in the romance novels Iris loved.

‘… Isn’t she hiding somewhere, watching with amusement?’

With a reasonable suspicion, Carinne looked around but then decided it didn’t matter if she saw her or not. Judging by the tears welling up in her round eyes, it seemed Archen hadn’t realized that this situation was a well-orchestrated plan.

“Please forget what I said this morning. I don’t dislike the Princess for being headstrong. Rather, I like that about you. I truly appreciate how the Princess does as you please without being hindered.”

Although he had said she was headstrong, it seemed he was incredibly bothered by it. His sincere words melted away the lump that had been lodged in her throat.

“I was happy that the Princess followed me, though I was also worried, and so…”

“I’m sorry, too. I insisted on following you even though I don’t know how to do anything, and I acted like a child.”

Fearing his confession would never end, she cut him off. She hadn’t exactly behaved well either. Carinne wiped his eyes with her index finger, then held him close and patted his back.

“Did you take your medicine? Are you really alright?”

“I took it a while ago. I’m fine, so you don’t have to worry.”

As if to prove his words, Archen held Carinne tightly. Carinne hugged him back and rested her chin on his shoulder. Warmth radiated from their bodies. While she was relieved that he was unharmed, she was also a little embarrassed that they had unknowingly been worrying about each other.

“How did you know I was here?”

“I heard from Lady Iris. She said something had happened to the Princess.”

“She told me something terrible had happened to you.”

Carinne said flatly.

Archen’s head shot up at her words. His eyes, which had been cloudy, widened in surprise. Had he finally realized the situation? He really was a naive man.

“Then, Lady Iris…”

“Let’s just overlook it this time. And about closing the rift, you don’t have to do it if it takes too much magic power. We can just go back and bring another mage.”

It was something she had been thinking about.

She didn’t want to put him in danger again. Closing the rift was something another mage could do. Carinne planned to protect him even if it meant dragging Marta out of her debt. Surely, there would be at least one mage willing to step up if she used Marta’s power.

“I’ll catch one and drag them here. There are always ways.”

“Closing the rift doesn’t take much magic power, but getting there is the problem.”

But we had already reached the rift, hadn’t we?

Since they had already scattered the monsters gathered there, there was nothing to worry about. He smiled with a crescent moon shape, his eyes red and bloodshot.

“It doesn’t feel bad to be worried about this much.”

“How could I not worry? You…”

He was clearly not well. Carinne swallowed the words caught in her throat and helped him up.

“Let’s go. Iris and Duke Lucas are waiting.”

The two walked out hand-in-hand. As they returned to the town, they saw Iris smiling brightly. Carinne thanked Iris with a nod.

Duke Lucas, who was standing beside her, muttered to himself.

“They’ve finally reconciled. When we met on the road, they were so hostile they could have devoured each other.”

Carinne started to say something, but she decided to keep quiet so as not to ruin the good mood. Archen raised an eyebrow in question.

“Come to think of it, why were you there?”

“I was on my way home.”

The Duke’s gaze, as he spoke, was fixed on Carinne for some reason. He had been watching Carinne with a bitter expression, but when Archen’s gaze fell on him, he made an effort to look away. Archen’s expression became even more puzzled.

“That road leads to the Second Duchy’s mansion. It’s the road that connects the city to the Second Duchy’s mansion. Did you have business with the Princess?”

“Didn’t you hear me? I said I was on my way home.”

The Duke’s red eyes gleamed menacingly as if he felt his words had been cut off. Archen stared at the Duke silently, with a question mark on his face as if he didn’t know why he was doing that.

A few seconds of silence passed.

Archen’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, then suddenly sharpened. Duke Lucas glared back at Archen without backing down.

The two men’s gazes met head-on.

Caught between them, Carinne looked at them alternately with a bewildered expression.

What was going on all of a sudden?

So, they were going to have a pride fight now? What? It was a little unexpected that Archen would do this, even though Duke Lucas was like that. Carinne thought for a moment and decided to just stay still.

As the saying goes, don’t get involved in a fight between men. After all, men were scary when they held a grudge. You have to save yourself, right?

Then, she realized what the situation was and clapped her hands. This was no time to be watching a fight between men leisurely. She didn’t know when the group of monsters would return. It was an urgent situation.

“Come on! Let’s stop this pointless fight!”

Carinne tried to get their attention by clapping her hands.

“It’s better to stop thinking about useless things.”

However, Archen took a step forward.

“You’re saying that because I left the First Duchy.”

Duke Lucas followed him forward, and Carinne was caught in the middle like a piece of ham between two slices of bread. Stuck between two men who were glaring at each other, she would look like a thumbnail from a romance webtoon if she put her index finger to her chin and made a thoughtful expression.

“Weren’t you the one who fired me, Duke?”

“Even if I hadn’t fired you, you were going to leave anyway, weren’t you?”

Even though Carinne told them to stop, the two of them were still staring at each other as if they were going to eat each other alive as if they were each other’s enemies. They weren’t kids, so what were they doing?

“Hey, stop it now…”

“So, you fired me before I could submit my resignation? I’m really curious why such a kind person told me to throw my stuff out.”

“You’re ignoring my kindness. It’s a good thing you don’t have to pack your stuff.”

“Everyone, stop!”

Carinne couldn’t hold it in any longer and shouted. The two men flinched and stepped back.

“Is this the time for this? We need to hurry up and close the gap!”

“Carinne’s right. Our friends have their limits when it comes to holding off the monsters.”

Thankfully, Iris chimed in.

The two men glared at each other before turning their heads away in the opposite direction. During the short walk to the gap, Archen pulled Carinne along as if he were passing a motorcycle, and Duke Lucas sneered with amusement. She had absolutely no idea why they were acting like this.

‘How am I supposed to understand men’s minds?’

Carinne decided to give up trying to understand.

The silence of the unanswered question no longer held any importance.

As they reached the corner and turned, the rift to the other world came into view, with five or six monsters loitering nearby. The number had noticeably decreased compared to when they had fought off the monsters earlier.

“We can easily handle that much.”

Duke Lucas said confidently.

Indeed, under the protection of Duke Lucas and Archen, the party had been able to easily reach the rift. They had even considered not needing to put up a protective barrier. If not for the monsters that appeared one by one.

The monsters, either having almost finished being driven back or realizing they had been tricked, were seen returning. Carinne raised her shield. And in a small voice that only the shield could hear, she whispered.

It had just occurred to her that she didn’t need to raise her voice. It should be enough for the shield to hear.

“Protective barrier, appear! Poof!”

A translucent barrier appeared, enveloping the party… or rather, the shield didn’t move an inch.

“What are you doing?” Duke Lucas reprimanded her.

Carinne panicked and pounded on the shield. Was this thing deaf? She tried muttering a little louder, but it was no use.

“We’re ready!”

Archen shouted from behind. He had cast a magic circle to prevent any more monsters from coming out of the rift. In the distance, a dust cloud kicked up by a horde of monsters could be seen. It wasn’t the time to be ashamed and mumble.

Carinne closed her eyes tightly and shouted out loud.

“Protective barrier, appear! Poof!”

The shield began to vibrate.

A translucent barrier appeared, surrounding the party, and Archen, confirming the barrier, chanted a spell. Purple light streamed from his palm.

The rift, interlocking with the purple light, began to shrink bit by bit.

Archen gave a signal that it was okay, so Carinne focused on maintaining the barrier with a relieved mind. The approaching horde of monsters gradually became blurred.

As he had explained earlier, the monsters were losing strength as the rift to the other world closed. The barrier just had to hold until the rift closed. Carinne nervously watched the approaching horde of monsters.

The barrier gradually faded, and the monsters got close enough to count their teeth.

“The rift is closed!”

Iris exclaimed.

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