<The water looks deep>
A soft voice came out from the darkness. Woofu, surprised by someone else's voice, reflexively growled but soon regained his composure after smelling the familiar scent of a human.
Hunter, who had been standing in the garden pathway lost in thought, looked back. There stood the Queen, who had come out with only one maid and servant.
"Your Majesty."
Hunter greeted the Queen. He attempted to give a faint smile, but his lips, which hadn't smiled in a long time, were stiff, only forming an indifferent expression. However, knowing her son's nature, she didn't care.
"Didn't I tell you to bring in more employees? At this rate, What if something happens..."
"What will happen to the Queen's Palace that no one cares about? I'm just worried about you."
The Queen stroked the hunter's rough cheek. Hunter stopped his nagging and quietly accepted her touch.
"Were you thinking about that child?"
The Queen asked as she withdrew her hand. Hunter gritted his teeth at her sweet voice. In the past few months, he had shown too many moments of disapproval to his mother.
"No. I was taking a walk with Woofu."
"You've been standing here for a while."
Is that so? Hunter didn't know. He had just stopped for a moment, remembering the incident where he had fallen on top of Del in this pathway.
"You must have been bored waiting, Woofu."
The Queen said. Woofu ignored her words. As the mother of his human companion, he didn't attack but wasn't affectionate either. Woofu remained indifferent to everyone except the hunter.
Del was an exception. From the beginning, Woofu liked Del.
He would lick him like a cute kitten or go next to Del and act cute. It was a slight recollection, but it was true, Woofu had genuinely followed Del well.
"Your face looks worse. The face was the part I liked the most when I gave birth to you."
The Queen said playfully. Hunter tried to respond with a smile but failed again. He lowered his head and spoke.
"I'm managing the government affairs to ensure there's no disruption. You don't need to worry too much."
"That's what I'm worried about."
The Queen looked up at her handsome son. Whenever she was sick or sad, Hunter always pushed himself hard. He tried hard to solidify his position as the Crown Prince and get closer to the throne to ease her depression.
This time was no different. Hunter chose the same coping mechanism for his own pain and sadness. He woke up earlier, worked more aggressively, and managed his schedule more thoroughly. In his free time, he devoted himself to searching for Del. After Del fell and went to the Magic Tower, he started to break down little by little and now he was completely torturing himself.
Currently, Hunter is receiving higher praise than ever before. People haven't noticed Hunter's current state, except for the Queen, his mother, and his aides who accompany him daily.
<If you allow yourself to be devastated, you will have less affection to share with others.>
"It's too difficult. Could you please speak in the Imperial language?"
"Just remember the pronunciation, and when you find that child later, ask him. He'll know what it means."
Hunter's expression distorted slightly at the Queen's words. He might not have realized it, but it was the first time in a long while that the muscles on his face had moved.
"I will."
The Queen gently kissed Hunter's cheek and returned to the Queen's palace. Woofu, tired of waiting, slammed his forehead against Hunter's lower back. Hunter muttered as he patted Woofu.
"Can I find him... Now I don't know."
The next day, Hunter received a short urgent message from the leader of the soldiers he temporarily handed over to Khan.
[The location has been identified. Track the Magic Tower Lord]
As soon as he saw the note, Hunter urgently called for his aide.
"Bring the Royal magician right now. We will use tracking magic on the Magic Tower Lord."
If they could teleport to Magic Tower Lord's location, he could meet Del within the next 10 minutes.
Finally
Del...
I will go. As your husband.
***
The man, who had appeared in my lonely life as my fateful partner, just made a shocking confession.
He was an assassin, and in fact, he had been looking for me to kill me.
He had even kidnapped me to use dark magic on me. I waited for you to tell me the truth that I couldn't remember. So the two of us came to talk separately like this.
"Andrea."
"......"
Andrea had a despairing face. It seemed like he would crumble with a touch. Above his head, the number 92 was floating.
With a face like that, With eyes like that, and such high favorability.
"Are you... serious, right now?"
"I'm sorry, Del."
Andrea bowed his head and rubbed his face with his hands as if he was in pain.
No, Did he... really think I would believe those words?
This is ridiculous. I may have lost my memories and spelled some words wrong, but I'm not stupid. Well, even without a sharp mind or insight, anyone could tell that Andrea was lying now. He looked so distressed.
Should I shout at this bastard? Scold him to tell the truth? I thought about it while opening my mouth.
A bright blue flash occurred in the center of the garden. Andrea immediately blocked my path as the light shone. Just by looking at this, I could tell that he had no intention of killing me.
My head under Andrea's arms, I tried to figure out what happened.
In the place where the blue light cleared, two men stood there. One of them had a very striking appearance. His clothing was extraordinary, adorned with gold decorations, and he wore a dazzling cape. With well-groomed blond hair, handsome facial features, thick lips, and a prominent jawline, he exuded dignity and arrogance.
And above that man's head, familiar character information appeared.
[Hunter Melian/Crown Prince/Indifferent Monarch/Favorability 90]
Favorability 90?!
I'm meeting this person for the first time, and his favorability is 90?
When I gasped in surprise, Hunter turned his head towards me. Our eyes met under Andrea's arms.
"Prince Del..."
Hunter mumbled and quickly walked towards me as if possessed by something.
"Del Naricissus, you really are Del..."
Even though Andre knew that he wasn't a threat, he didn't step aside. Instead, he tried to cover me as if protecting me even more.
However, Hunter seemed unaware of Andrea's presence. His violet eyes were fixed solely on me. Even I felt a hallucination as if my image was captivated by his two eyes.
[Hunter Melian's favorability has increased by +1!]
"It doesn't hurt anymore, does it?"
"yes..?"
Was I in a lot of pain even before losing my memory? Seeing him ask that question right after the meeting, maybe I didn't know that I was born with a weak constitution.
"Your face has become very thin."
Hunter was truly a strange person. His face was expressionless, his voice was indifferent, yet his eyes seemed incredibly sad.
"Um... I'm sorry, but I, um, lost my memory. Are you the Crown Prince? I believe so, what's our relationship?..."
As I carefully asked, Hunter stiffened. It wasn't obvious but he seemed to be surprised.
"Is it the aftermath of mana deficiency? Sometimes, there are cases where memory loss occurs after a high fever."
Hunter quickly gave instructions to the other man who appeared with him. Seeing the condition of Del, it seemed like he was seriously ill. We should call doctors, priests, and mages for a triple examination and treatment.
"We've tracked the Magic Tower Lord to this location, so Magic Tower Lord should be inside this house. Please ask him for healing magic."
The man who seemed like an aide spoke. Hunter nodded.
"Prince Del, is the Magic Tower Lord inside?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"Go inside. First, receive healing magic, and then it's better to meet with the priests and the palace doctors for further inspection."
When he tried to grab my wrist, I got a little scared, so I hid behind Andrea. Although the beautiful man looked affectionate and earnest, and his favorability was 91, he was still just a stranger to me.
"Prince Del...?"
As if he didn't expect me to avoid his touch, he stiffened again.
"I, I don't know anything about mana deficiency..."
I hesitated and glanced back and forth between Andrea's head and Hunter's face. For now, ending the conversation with Andrea was a priority for me.
"If you want to talk to me, could you please wait for a moment? I'm currently in the middle of dealing with this person..."
Both Hunter and Andrea looked at me at the same time. Both of them seemed surprised and bewildered.
...What? What should I do?