Chapter 4: Don’t you know I love you?

"Why should I remember the past?"

Graciela, who had come out of the magic room, immediately massaged her temples. She couldn't help but feel sad when she remembered her mother's harmful past. Other people would be sad when they were in her position. However, she was forced to suppress the sadness because she had to meet Dexter.

The time for the first and second quests was twelve hours. That meant Graciela would run out of time if she didn't see Dexter tonight. She hastened to look for the mage and found the fact that a few hours ago Dexter went into a dangerous abyss.

"It's obvious that I'll be punished again by the system." Graciela smiled bitterly as she walked out of the magic academy.

If Dexter had moved to the abyss, then there was no hope of meeting him. The mage came there to protect the city from monster attacks, not for fun. Moreover, Graciela couldn't come to the abyss because there were many abysses in the kingdom. She didn't know which abyss Dexter had entered.

In other words, the first quest had failed and Graciela would be trapped in a dream for three days. Sounded terrible indeed. However, she thought being trapped in the dream was better than losing something precious. At least she just had to stay in the dream for a few days.

Graciela had almost given up if a horse hadn't stopped in front of her. She looked up to find that a blonde-haired man was staring at her. That man was Cyril Zodia, who became a grand duke at a young age.

"Why are you at the academy at this time of night?" Cyril asked with anxiety in his green eyes that shone like precious gems. "I don't know your real reason, but you'd better go home because this place could be dangerous."

Those words touched Graciela's feelings, so she smiled gratefully. Even though Cyril was described as an antagonist in the novel, the man was still her childhood friend. She believed Cyril and dared to share her secret with him.

"Thank you for your concern, Cyril. I wanted to tell you about my problem by letter, but you know people will read my letter secretly," told Graciela, still smiling.

Cyril, who had loved the girl for a long time, blushed because of her smile. He tried to hide his nervousness by saying, "We can talk another time, Graciela. I'm sorry I can't accompany you tonight because I have to go down to the abyss."

"Wait. You said you were going to the abyss?"

"That's right. This time monsters' attack took place near my territory. I have to help Sir Dexter."

"That's great news!"

"What is the good news?"

Graciela's smile grew wider as she replied, "That's good, because I want to go to the abyss. Can you take me too? I have to meet Sir Dexter as soon as possible."

"Why do you want to meet him?" asked Cyril with a growl of annoyance.

"He's related to the problem I'm going through. If I don't meet him, then I will suffer."

Cyril said nothing, even though Graciela threw a pleading look that looked cute in his eyes. Honestly, he didn't like when the girl was close to another man in front of him. Also, he wouldn't want to take Graciela into a dangerous place like an abyss.

Cyril had always known that Graciela's magic was very strong. However, that couldn't be a guarantee after what happened to the previous queen. He had met Clarice, and she once asked him to look after Graciela.

"I can't take you to the abyss, but I can tell Sir Dexter about your message," Cyril said firmly.

After heating that, Graciela took a deep breath. She knew Cyril wouldn't allow her to go into the abyss, even if she pleaded with tears of blood. Therefore, she was forced to think of lies to chill Cyril's stubbornness.

"This is a secret," Graciela spoke and then gave a sign for Cyril to get off the horse. After the man got down and stood beside her, she whispered, "Someone sent me black magic. I'll be sleeping for a long time if I don't discuss this magic with Sir Dexter."

Cyril put on a worried face again because he heard the story about black magic. He was indeed one of the strongest and most influential people in the kingdom, but he was nothing compared to Dexter's magic. Even though he didn't want to, he had to admit that Dexter was on another level with magic.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" asked Cyril, a little suspicious.

Without hesitation, Graciela answered, "I'm not lying. If you don't believe me, then you can refuse my request and see what will happen tomorrow."

"Is that black magic related to your blind? I heard the news, but I'm sorry for not having time to visit you. You must know how busy I am."

"You're right, but you don't need to apologize. Thank you for concerning me in your busy schedule."

There was silence for a few minutes after that, Cyril seemed to be deep in thought and Graciela didn't want to disturb him. The Grand Duke had a hard time deciding about taking Graciela with him. If he followed his heart, then he certainly didn't want to put Graciela into a dangerous situation.

However, the abyss and black magic were both dangerous, so Cyril had a harder time deciding. If Graciela went into the abyss, then dangerous monsters could attack the girl. And if she didn't go there, then black magic would make her suffer.

"Ah, what should I do? I don't want you to get hurt, Graciela," said Cyril a little desperately.

Graciela, who didn't want to burden Cyril, tried to find a solution to this problem. A moment later, she had an idea that would solve their anxiety. "Cyril, let's put it this way. I'll be waiting in a city near the abyss. However, you must bring Sir Dexter as soon as possible."

"The people in the city near the abyss have been evacuated to a safe place. That's because in the previous cases the monsters always attacked the city. You won't be safe even if you wait there," Cyril replied with a depressed face.

"At least waiting in the city is safer than going straight into the abyss. I won't force you, Cyril. You can leave now if you don't want to do what I ask."

"I'm so frustrated. You know I can't refuse your request, right?"

Graciela smiled excitedly when she saw Cyril get on the horse and reach out his hand. Without a second thought, she immediately accepted Cyril's hand that helped her onto the horse. They went into the abyss, saying nothing because Cyril had too many anxieties.

"I don't want to burden you, Cyril. You can focus on killing the monsters and forget about me for a moment," Graciela finally spoke.

"That's impossible." When he said that, Cyril's tone sounded annoyed. Then he continued in a low voice, "Don't you know I love you?"

"Yes, I know."

"Since you know, then stop talking nonsense. I'll give you a magic stone later. It can detect if a monster attacks you and I'll immediately teleport to your place."

Graciela couldn't refuse anymore because she had rejected Cyril's declaration of love earlier. It was a declaration she had heard several times. However, she still couldn't accept Cyril's love because she didn't have the same feelings.

"Thank you so much for loving me. I'm sorry I couldn't accept your feelings."

Those words made Cyril take a deep breath. "You don't need to apologize. More, I understand that someone's feelings can't be forced."

Graciela used to feel calm after hearing that answer from Cyril. However, her feelings changed after remembering the plot of His Majesty's Secret Relationship. She wondered, would Cyril also end up being the obsessive grand duke like in the novel?

comment 0 comment

Vote

SEND GIFT

Load failed, please RETRY