'My ideal type...'

He didn't have to think about his ideal type for too long.

From that day on, Annabelle was good no matter what.

"Even if you can't see them in front of your eyes, you think of them, and when they're in front of you, you think of them even more."

One day, when Aaron said something like that, Annabelle was the one that came to mind.

He said it wasn't her, and he tried to deny it a few times by himself, but on every sleepless night, he had no choice but to admit it.

"If you think they might get along with another man, you'll get a weird rage, right?"

Why was he so mad when she was with Robert?

He shouldn't have pretended to be relaxed by giving them time.

Should he have somehow pushed her to take responsibility?

But he had already built a gentlemanly precedent in front of her anyway.

"My ideal type is...just my ideal type, but wouldn't that be meaningless in front of that person?"

Ian spoke slowly. Annabelle clearly said he was her ideal type, but sadly she didn't seem like she really wanted him.

Of course, Orians, the former high priest, did not give up.

"Still, it is important to understand your weaknesses. It can turn your eyes around in unexpected moments."

Orians' interpretation that his ideal type was his weakness was obviously original.

So Ian answered slowly, looking back on the past when he didn't really like Annabelle.

"A good and kind person... Of course I think she's good."

He looked at the fishing rod that did not move and spoke as if to organize his thoughts.

"But she seems to have a greater appreciation for those who can face their own faults."

"Well?"

"When I lead the Knights Templar, I see all sorts of things..."

As he tried to exclude Annabelle as much as possible and think, his words became more and more slow.

"There are people who dare to honestly confess their mistakes that no one would know about if they kept their mouths shut."

"Hmm, I understand. I have often seen people like that in the temple."

"I guess I just instinctively like them."

Ian spoke quietly.

"From the beginning, I've acknowledged that more than a person acting perfect."

"Oh, I see."

"No, maybe even more than admitting..."

His red eyes deepened in the distance.

"...I think the Knights of the Wades somehow tried to keep themselves from missing her."

"Hey."

"Maybe I really want people like that."

"I can tell just by looking at you."

Orians smiled broadly.

"I think it's the first time you've shown your possessiveness so openly."

Then he added sarcastically.

"If such a woman appears, Ian Wade, the duke, will be turned over."

"Well, I may have already been turned over."

"No, no. The duke has not yet turned."

At the words Ian muttered while thinking of Annabelle, Orians categorically denied it.

"Oh, or when you see that woman with another man instead of yourself."

"But that's the case..."

"Regardless of the 'case', you said, 'I have already been turned over'. When you run and hang on to that person without looking back and forth, or the madness of losing your reason and not even caring for others. In that sense, you're not there yet."

"..."

"You seem to be missing someone right now, but at first you seemed overly rational."

Orians chuckled and laughed.

Even the fish were listening to their conversation with interest, and for a long time, their fishing rod did not move.

~*~

It was the night before we finally left.

I was lying on the bed, trying to get the sleep that didn't come. Even though it was quite late at night, a commotion could be heard in the distance.

The entire capital continued to be crowded with the upcoming swordsmanship competition. This was because outsiders were overflowing with swordsmen from the provinces and foreign countries.

Meanwhile, Ian Wade continued to be absent from the capital.

'It's useless to be honest.'

Of course, everyone did not doubt Ian's participation in the swordsmanship contest. It was expected that he would appear at the right time.

Even Leslie didn't really care, saying, 'well, he'll come to you in time.'

'Perhaps there is no contact from the capital, so he's waiting. Like a well-trained hound.'

Tomorrow, I'd leave for the coast of Banafarim with Prince Robert.

I was going to stop by the coast to meet Ian, and then go to the Forest of Smaho.

And the moment of the decisive battle would come.

That moment when I could properly see Carlon. I would also destroy the origin of the third black magic.

'Then I will fulfill my duty to the God who found my family. That's it.'

I thought while fiddling with my sword.

'Of course, I will also be stronger.'

After removing even the origin of the third black magic, I would have another ability.

After breaking the mirror, my basic posture was perfectly imitated and became solid.

After killing the deer, my agility increased and my movements became sharper.

This time then...

But no matter how strong I tried to think I'd become, Ian's face kept coming to mind.

'Our kiss that night.'

Did Ian think about that night as many times as I did?

'See you soon.'

The Banafarim coast was very close. So it wasn't really long until I would see him now.

'...I feel like I'm going to die from trembling.'

If I met him now, I would never be able to treat him as casually as I used to. He wouldn't treat me that way either.

'I'm sure you'll seduce me again like that time, but I'm already over it...'

But in fact, after realizing that I really liked Ian, I was in the middle of a lot of trouble. Because there was a fact that kept bothering me.

Finally, I tossed and turned once more, unable to fall asleep.

"Annabelle, are you sleeping?"

My mother's voice was heard along with a knock.

With my eyes open, I got up and answered.

"Oh, no."

"Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yes, yes!"

The door opened carefully. My mother came in in her dressing gown.

"Oh, mother. What are you doing?"

It was just as I was about to get out of bed and flip the duvet back.

"You don't have to get up. Lay down."

My mother came quickly and pressed me on my chest to lay me back again.

'The power...'

I was careless and lay on the bed as if I had collapsed. It seems that my basic strength resembles that of my mother.

My mother sat at the bedside and brushed my hair.

I was quite embarrassed, as I had never had anything like this happen to me as a child, because Caitlyn had never looked after me.

Come to think of it, it was the first time at Caronda that someone stayed with me until I fell asleep. It was very strange that the person was Ian.

"Annabelle."

I laid still and looked up at her.

"Are you worried about anything?"

"...What?"

"Your expression is dark these days. It's been like that ever since you entered the palace."

A few days have passed since my last entrance.

So, after rejecting Robert's proposal and discussing the future, some time had passed.

Meanwhile, the rumors of an affair between me and Robert slowly subsided.

As Maiena's backing disappeared, people's interest gradually waned.

That was quite normal.

It was because people didn't pay attention to other people's work for as long as they thought.

And in the meantime, I thought I was doing pretty well as usual, but my mother's eyes seemed to see my confusion.

"Even though I didn't raise you, there are things I feel instinctively."

I looked up at my mother, secretly grimacing in my chest.

"Right now, it looks like you are holding in something by yourself."

Suddenly, I realized that I had been groaning alone until now.

'Of course, I have no choice but to suffer alone. Who in the world would have guessed?'

It meant that I was worried about Ian with my thoughts all tied up.

"Do you ever need advice or a conversation partner? I can play a role like that."

At my mother's soft words, I pulled up the blanket tightly. I had an urge to tell someone.

She asked with a worried face.

"Was it because of the work with the prince?"

"The prince?"

"I heard you are going somewhere tomorrow with the prince again..."

I had informed my family that I was going somewhere for a while with Prince Robert and a few other knights tomorrow.

My family did not ask any further as if they knew it was related to black magic, but everyone couldn't hide their concerns.

"Isn't that bastard prince using you for some reason?"

At some point, the prince turned into a 'bastard prince', but I struggled to let it go.

"No mother. Not at all."

"The swordsmanship competition is just around the corner... Are you going to come back to the capital by then?"

"...I'm not sure about that, but don't worry about it. A lot of the prince's knights are going with us."

It was also a sign that Robert and his knights were moving together.

This was a message for Carlon to forcefully follow us.

'After I find out the origin of black magic, he will have Lagian kill me right away.'

It was because Lagian was in a state of absolute belief that he could defeat me.

'Besides, Lagian must have taken the drug too...'

"Annabelle."

My mother was silent for a moment, then she spoke cautiously.

"I don't mind you being ordinary."

"What?"

"You don't have to fight off the black magic and become a hero, or even lose the qualifying round in the swordsmanship competition."

"..."

"So don't do what you don't want to do. I don't need a daughter who is the savior of the world, or a daughter who is the queen. I just want a happy daughter." (tl/n: AWWW *tears*)