I refused the crown prince's proposal because I'm gay!

Chapter 12

"Lady Blanca, what are you doing here." Anri was shocked to find the daughter of a duke in this dusty cave, not only that but a dangerous place where dragons were rumored to have settled. Alone, without an escort in sight.

"I was intrigued by the rumors of a dragon in my backyard," Blanca replies with a light smile.

What is she talking about? This place is nowhere near the Lefèvre dukedom.

"I'm currently on my way to visit my brother," Blanca said as if reading her thoughts. "The villa in which he's residing is near here."

"Oh." Anri nods blankly. Of course, when you own as much land as the Lefèvre dukedom, the entire empire is practically your backyard.

After the initial greetings the both of them just quietly stared at their surroundings. At a single glance, the cave looked dreary, plain, and boring. But now that her eyes have properly adjusted to the darks, Anri could make out the tiny crystals decorating the walls of the cave giving a spark of color to the rocky surrounding.

The dim glitters of the crystal created an almost romantic atmosphere that comfortably hung over them. At the thought, Anri can feel a blush creeping up her face, she glances over at Blanca hoping she didn't notice.

It had been two months since they had last seen each other, Lady Blanca seemed to have grown taller and her features more mature and defined. Her beautiful platinum hair that reached her knees was tied back into a singular braid and her creamy pale skin glowed against the dark cave. Even the high-quality winter clothes that are in fashion right now doesn't do her beauty justice.

Perhaps she stared for too long, she didn't even notice the person she was admiring had noticed the burning gaze directed at her.

Blanca smirked as they made eye contact, "Am I that beautiful?"

Anri swallowed the lump in her throat as she stared into those crystal eyes. She couldn't hold the piercing gaze any longer and sheepishly nodded looking away. "I thought you fell straight from heaven."

During her travels, she overheard rumors of a dragon sighted nearby and immediately recalled a scene from the novel. She raced here to check it out and hopefully avoid the gruesome end of the small creature. In the novel, it was stated that in order to grab the egg, the mother was slain by the prince's knights. Anri being an orphan herself in her past life, obviously felt empathetic towards the hatchling.

In the time she spent as the Holy Saintess, she was forced to be in the presence of old priests and sweaty knights as escorts. Traveling the Empire to heal the sick and to purify the local water source, she didn't have any time to relax. Only this week was she given a break to do whatever she wanted. She of course took the opportunity to escape the suffocating watch of her guards.

So imagine her shock when she stumbled upon the beautiful young duchess heir, truly a sight for sore eyes blowing away all the foul dust. Her puny heart can't take this kind of surprise attack.

'That was quite the confession.' A familiar voice spoke directly into her head.

'Goddess Empusa?!' Anri almost tripped upon hearing that familiar voice. 'Where have you been all this time?'

'Good afternoon, my little Serena,' Empusa chimed warmly. 'I just came back from my vacation.'

'I suffered a lot in your name and that's all you have to say I haven't heard from you in three months,' Anri sent her thought back, feigning distraught, 'You're really hurting my feelings, mom.'

'Darling, when you've lived as long as I have, your measly human life will pass by in a blink of an eye,' Empusa replied. 'So pardon me if my concept of time differs from yours.'