“What are you two doing?”
Leon tilted his head and asked innocently.
Neither Cassia nor I could answer, we just stared at him.
“…Your Highness, we haven’t seen each other for a while.”
Cassia regained her composure and greeted politely.
Leon looked at her, nodded, then turned back to look at me.
“You were waiting for me?
Why do you stand until your legs hurt?”
Leon took my hand and pulled me to the sofa, then sat next to me.
Cassia, who had been watching us, returned to the sofa and sat down in her original position.
“We're going out now.”
Amy and Mary looked at us in turn, then closed the drawing-room door and went out.
“Just...”
“Your Highness...”
Cassia and I spoke at the same moment, then closed our mouths and met our gazes.
I felt her sour gaze in the air.
“Saint, please leave our house.”
“I still have a word with His Highness the Duke.”
In this fiery confrontation, Leon, who had been looking at me, turned to Cassia.
His look at her changed, making me suddenly anxious.
“Leave quietly...”
“What are you talking about?”
Leon interrupted me and suddenly asked Cassia.
“Leon, come on, let’s play with you and me.”
I took his hand and got up, but he pulled his hand away from mine.
“No, the saint says she has something to say to me.
I want to hear it.”
Leon spoke with his lips pursed.
I sighed deeply, leaned back on the sofa, crossed my arms, and waited for Cassia to speak.
Her words were so ridiculous that Leon would hear them with one ear and take them out the other.
“Her Highness the Duchess stole the Holy Sword Issar...”
“Cassia!”
Say I collect monsters instead!
The Essar story we did not agree on.
I shot a heated look at Cassia while watching Leon's reaction.
'Please, ignore this for once.'
Can't talk about this, especially since I said I sold it to this person.
“Eh...what?”
Leon pretended not to understand and asked quietly.
“Essar.
Her Highness the Duchess stole the legendary Holy Sword and sold it to someone.”
I looked at Leon warily and slowly got up.
I wanted to escape.
My clenched hands were sweaty, so I wiped them with my dress.
As soon as I got up, Leon took my hand without looking at me and sat me on the sofa again.
'But his reaction is...more calm than I expected?'
Does he actually know that I was the one who exchanged the bonds for money in the bank?
No, impossible.
I did my best to disguise myf...
Suddenly, Leon started clapping.
"Wow, Belle Belle made money, haha.
The money Belle Belle made is my money too, right, Belle Belle?"
“But Bill Bill, stealing is not good.
It is bad.”
Leon looked at me, scratching his chin.
His mysterious eyes made his innocent expression look frightening.
“Stealing?
Who stole?
I didn’t steal.
Saint, say something.
Say I didn’t steal.”
Cassia looked at me calmly, then turned her head coldly.
“And…Her Highness the Duchess is possessed by a demon.”
"What?"
This time, Leon was also surprised.
He let go of my hand and quickly moved to the side.
“Saint, how did you know?”
Leon Cassia asked as he glanced at me.
“Did you suspect as well, Your Highness?”
A faint smile appeared on Cassia's lips, her eyes looking filled with triumph.
I was speechless and looked between her and Leon alternately.
“Bilbil is possessed by the demon of immorality, a she-wolf.”
I covered my face with my hands and breathed a sigh of relief.
I was foolish for getting nervous.
But part of me felt relieved.
I turned to Cassia.
She looked at Leon with a stunned expression, her body trembling with anger.
I felt her gaze, and she suddenly turned around and stared at me with a cold look.
“Therefore, the temple will launch an investigation into Her Highness the Duchess.”
“What does this mean?”
Leon tilted his head and asked Cassia.
His voice was innocent, but his tone was not.
She seemed strangely hostile, causing Cassia to frown slightly and look at us in confusion.
“Investigation with my Bill Bill?”
When Cassia didn't answer, Leon asked again.
But she didn't answer this time either, as if she had lost her speech.
'My Belle Belle…'
I repeated these words in my mind, overwhelmed with emotion.
He called me “my Belle Belle” in front of the heroine Cassia.
This was very encouraging.
It calmed my hard beating heart.
“Leon...”
I called him in a dreamy tone.
“Why is your voice so emotional?
Even your voice is possessed by the demon of immorality.”
Leon looked at me with a disapproving expression, but since I felt so emotional today, I decided to get over it.
I closed my mouth and smiled gently.
“…The authority to investigate the temple is a sacred right that not even the Emperor dares to deny.
If Her Highness the Duchess were innocent and trusting, nothing would happen.”
She was determined to investigate me.
Leon's hand was shaking.
Strange sparks flew between him and Cassia, certainly not positive ones.
'Can I leave things like this?'
I felt happy with Leon's attitude, but part of my heart was heavy.
The hero and heroine must team up to end the age of monsters...
I was supposed to be the one who hurt them so their love would blossom, but strangely, I felt like Cassia was the one hurting me.
Is there something wrong?
Maybe because I'm looking from my perspective.
But human hearts are fickle, and they may fall in love suddenly.
This thought made me shudder with hatred.
Must they fall in love to save the world?
Leon Li, why don't they cooperate commercially?
I felt a hidden greed.
“So…don’t torture my Belle Belle too hard, but gently, okay?”
I regretted the moment of delusion.
She gave Leon a harsh look.
Leon winked at me with one eye.
“Your Highness, what do you think of us who worship Governor Lianos?
Even His Highness the Duke cannot bear such an insult.”
"Thieves, Bill Bill wasted money on the temple.
Boo!"
He was talking about my donations to Ruler Tia's temple.
I shook my head.
“It's okay, Belle Belle will give it to me now.
You've made money, haven't you?”
Leon's frightened gaze was directed at me.
“I was donating to Ruler Tia’s temple for your safety, Leon...”
“What are you two doing in front of me now?”
Cassia interrupted me in an annoyed tone.
Leon and I looked at her at the same moment.
Cassia received our glances, stood up suddenly, and shouted a warning to me in particular.
“Please cooperate with the temple’s investigation.
I will leave now.”
Cassia bowed to us and left the reception room without giving me a chance to accompany her.
I tried to get up to say goodbye formally, but Leon pulled my hand and sat me next to him again.
I looked at the reception room door as it closed violently while I was still holding Leon's arm.
“Do not go if the temple requests an investigation.”
“The saint is right.
If I were innocent, nothing would happen.”
If it is an order from the temple, it must be complied with even if it is illogical.
Even the Emperor does not refuse the temple's requests.
By the way, why is Cassia acting like this to me?
Is she angry because I took Essar first?
I was lost in thought, then I felt Leon's gaze and turned to him.
He was staring at me.
“...You're worried about me now, aren't you?”
I asked him cautiously.
His eyes were clearly filled with worry.
“Who's worried about who?”
Leon spoke, avoiding my gaze.
What, was he really worried about me?
“Why are you embarrassed?”
"What are you talking about?
I'll just… I'll protect my wife.
Don't worry…"