The hesitant Rubette let out a sigh. “You’re a very troublesome one, aren’t you?” Then, she commanded the escort beside him. “It might be tough, but could you lift and transfer him to the carriage?”
“Yes, Princess.”
The escort gently supported the nearly collapsing Viego as he sobbed, and Rubette, swallowing a sigh, watched the scene.
‘Tsk, crying, vomiting, and half-hearted apologizing–a three-stage assault.’
With pursed lips, Rubette said to the escort, “I’ll catch up soon after a meal at the palace, so let him rest. Tell the secretary not to overwork him; we wouldn’t want him to collapse for nothing.”
“Yes, understood, Princess.”
As the carriage carrying Viego departed, Rubette shook her head with relief.
***
The dining room of the Empress’s Palace.
Lark, who had rushed over after receiving a message, naturally sat beside me and quietly asked, “What’s going on?”“A meeting ceremony, I suppose…?”
My words, whispered almost in reply, caused Lark’s eyes to widen. In no time, he awkwardly smiled and glanced around at the unexpected combination of guests at the table.
The empress at the head of the table was smiling radiantly as she looked at me and Lark, sitting side by side. On her left were Lady Endelturn and Lisbeth. And on the opposite side, to the empress’s right, sat my dad, glaring intensely at Lark…
“You’re right. It’s a meeting ceremony.”
Lark’s whisper was so quiet that I almost burst into laughter. Under the table, I could see him clenching his fist nervously.
“It’s been a while, my lord. It’s the first time I’ve seen you since I last visited the duchy.”
“Yes.”
Dad’s curt response was cold.
Watching his discomfort, the empress cautiously spoke, “Don’t the two of them look perfect together?”
Dad immediately interjected, “Well, I’m not sure.”
“Honestly, I’m not saying this because he’s my son, but in terms of suitability, there’s no better match than the crown prince.”
“Mother,” Lark, flustered by the conversation that was about to start, intervened.
But I agreed with the empress’s words.
Even if you looked at it from a parental perspective, ignoring the lens of parents who always think their children are perfect, Lark is indeed an impeccable man. Seriously.
“Looks, abilities, personality. Nothing is lacking. What do you think, Princess?”
“Uh…”
“That’s right.”
Lark was sweating nervously, but I concurred.
“Oh, Princess, you think the same?”
“As I said, parents’ hearts are understandable, but the child’s opinion matters the most.”
The empress and Lady Endelturn seemed determined to tease Dad relentlessly, but he didn’t budge.
“While I agree that my daughter’s opinion matters the most, it’s also my duty as a parent to intervene if she’s making an unwise choice.”
“…? My lord, are you implying our crown prince is an unwise choice?”
“I didn’t say that. I simply haven’t had the chance to meet His Highness the Crown Prince frequently, so I can’t agree with Your Majesty’s words. For instance, in terms of personality…”
“Brother is indeed kind, but sometimes he’s quite fickle. If you tease him playfully, he can be quite vindictive.” As Lisbeth casually muttered while sharpening her knife, the empress glared at her in embarrassment. Dad nodded as if proving his point.
“M-my son is nice.”
“Yes, sure.” With an eyebrow raised at the empress’s antics, Dad ate nonchalantly.
“Well, for now… Alright. You might not know the crown prince well yet, my lord. But take a look at that handsome face.” The empress held up a knife and gestured toward Lark. It seemed like she was going to lobby based on his son’s appearance, which left no room for rebuttal. “Ignoring his position, parents cannot ignore such aspects when choosing a son-in-law.”
“Oh no. If my daughter had a child, no matter how they looked, they would be adorable to me. It seems Your Majesty feels differently.”
“Oh, no, that’s not what I meant…” The empress, who had been rendered speechless, bit her lip. “Although it is not necessary to have a good-looking husband, wouldn’t it be better to have a husband with a slightly better appearance as a wife?”
I nodded vigorously in agreement with her wise words, but then I felt Dad’s piercing gaze and discreetly lowered my eyes.
“Appearance isn’t the most important value. I look at a person’s inner qualities.”
“Ah, my lord, I…didn’t expect you to be so eloquent.”
Feeling sorry for the empress, whose enthusiasm had been deflated by Dad’s unyielding response, I cautiously intervened, “I agree too, Dad. It’s the inner qualities that matter most.”
“Very well.”
Satisfied, Dad smiled, and I added, “…Appearance is just the preliminary round.”
“…?”
“Pfft.”
The empress, whose laughter had burst out momentarily, covered her mouth and lowered her head.
“Ahem, then my son has easily passed the preliminary round.”
“That’s right.”
The empress looked at me and smiled, and I reciprocated. I pretended not to notice my father’s fiery gaze.
“Crown Prince.”
“Oh, uh!” In response to Dad’s call, Lark, who had been feeling awkward in between, stiffened his posture.
“I heard that you’re enthusiastic about amending the marriage law. What’s the reason?”
A fastball, aimed straight at him!
Lark, frozen for a moment, swallowed hard and finally spoke, “You may have guessed, but it’s because of the princess. The delay in the imperial engagement is also because of the princess. I have no desire to take another woman as my wife besides her.”
“…”
“Oh my, oh my.”
The empress, as if deeply moved, whispered to Dad, “He’s so impressive, isn’t he? Well, not just because he’s my son, really.”
“So, are you saying that once the law is changed, you’ll send a marriage proposal without my daughter’s consent again?”
“No, there won’t be a need for sending a proposal from the imperial family to the duchy anymore. I apologize for what happened last time.”
Lark’s firm response took me aback.
‘What? Why not send it? If it succeeds, you should send it, right?’
But soon, I understood the reason.
“If I can win the princess’s heart, and if I can earn your approval as a suitor…” Lark added confidently and resolutely, “Then, the duchy can send a marriage proposal to the palace at that time. I will do my best until I win the duke’s heart.”
Oh my…
I held my flushed cheeks at Lark’s flawless declaration.
The empress, Lady Endelturn, and Lisbeth struggled to close their wide-open mouths.
Dad closed his eyes briefly and then opened them, muttering, “I understand for now, but I’m not sure if the long-standing imperial marriage law will change easily.”
“I’ll work hard until it does.”
Dad’s hand, pretending to carve nonchalantly, trembled slightly, making me feel a bit sorry for him. So, I blinked my eyes at him with a touch of coyness.
In response, he sighed deeply and said, “…Well then.”
***
“I’ve finished all my work today. Can you come out again in the evening?” Lark asked as he escorted me to the carriage.
I wanted to respond eagerly to his date proposal, as his eyes lit up with anticipation, but…
“I don’t think tonight will work. I’m sorry,” I reluctantly declined, as I planned to check on Viego, who had seemed unwell.
Lark pursed his lips and nodded. “Okay. It can’t be helped.”
“I’ll stop by tomorrow for a little while.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be waiting.”
We exchanged our farewells, but we both hesitated with a sense of regret.
I absentmindedly shuffled my feet, and Lark, who was staring at me with a smile, tried to break the lingering silence. He cleared his throat and then whispered with his head lowered.
“I should go quickly, Princess.”
“Huh?”
“I might end up losing my head like this.”
At Lark’s words, I glanced back and felt the burning gaze of Dad, who had already boarded the carriage.
“Um, then I’ll be off.”
“Yeah.”
With regret, I reached out for his arm, and our hands naturally found each other. Unbeknownst to anyone, we both exerted some pressure, and our fingertips tingled.
‘Ugh. This is not some Romeo and Juliet…’
Finally, I turned my body and felt a little melancholic.
***
The accumulated fatigue from excessive work and the shock of the meeting with Lark had taken a toll on Viego. He had fallen into a deep sleep, waking up only when it was getting dark.
“Viego! Sweetie, are you awake now?”
“…Grandma?”
“Brotheeer!”
“Brother, I thought something was wrong with you, seriously. Geez.”
Molga and the twins sat side by side, sniffling as Viego slowly rose from his heavy slumber. A damp towel that had been on his forehead fell to the ground.
Molga choked back tears. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. My dear, I’ve caused you worry with my troubles…”
Viego alternated between looking at the wet towel and Molga and smiled faintly. “No, don’t apologize. I’m sorry for causing you worry. I have work to catch up on, so you should go now, grandma. You too, all of you.”
Lillia and Ricky immediately jumped up as if they had been waiting.
“Brother, don’t get sick.”
“Work hard, brother. We won’t bother you.”
Seemingly tired of waiting for Viego to wake up, the twins quickly left the room. Molga got up to follow them, but not before embracing Viego. “My son, my eldest, don’t get sick, alright?”
“…Yes.”
“If anything happens, make sure to tell your mother.”
“…”
Mother?
While Viego inwardly berated himself, he outwardly responded with a seemingly contented tone, “Yes.”
Soon, Molga also left the room, leaving it quiet and still. The only sounds were the crackling of the logs in the fireplace.
Tap, tap. At that moment, along with a soft knock, his secretary, Sienna, entered with a bundle of documents held to her chest. “Have you woken up, Young Duke?”
“Yeah.”
Viego, donning his outerwear, rose as she presented the pile of tasks she had brought.
Sienna placed the documents on the desk and spoke, “You seemed fatigued lately, so I’ve gone through the documents as a first pass. I’ve excluded the less urgent ones for you to review. It seems like we should consider delegating some of the workload.”
“Why are you doing things I didn’t ask for? Just bring everything at once.”
“The princess ordered it.”
“…What? Rubette?”
“Sorting through the documents in the first pass was also at her direction. And since she’s well-informed about the Lubon territory, she said she would personally oversee anything related to it. You only need to approve.”
Viego, who had been staring at the stack of documents with less than half-hearted interest, slowly swallowed. “Did Grandma and the twins stay here the whole time until I woke up?”
“…”
For some reason, Sienna remained silent. When Viego lifted his gaze from the papers to look at Sienna, she avoided his eyes slightly and replied.
“No. About ten minutes…”
“…”
“They stayed for about ten minutes. The princess returned home after you had just fallen asleep, and after staying by your side for over five hours, she returned to her room about half an hour ago, saying she was getting sleepy.” Sienna added while looking at the wet towel and the bucket of water on the bed, “She even asked me if I could change the towel before she left.”
“…”
Following Sienna’s gaze, Viego quietly observed the towel and the bucket. Eventually, he burst into laughter. “Hahaha…” From his maniacal laughter, one could easily sense the self-reproach and remorse he was feeling.
Sienna, who had been watching him for a moment, nodded slightly and lowered her head. “I will take my leave now. Please take care of your health.”
Thud.
The room fell silent again.
Viego’s gaze shifted to the framed picture on the desk. In it was Lillia, smiling beautifully, and Ricky, with his adorable pouting expression. Viego was also in it, surrounded by Molga and the twins, like an exceedingly happy family.
But Rubette’s face was nowhere to be found.
Viego’s gaze traveled to the framed pictures on the wall.
A beautiful portrait of Molga.
Himself, embracing the twins on both sides, all three of them laughing happily.
“Hehehe… Hahaha…”
As Viego laughed as if sobbing, his expression suddenly became eerily rigid for a moment.
Swoosh… The frames on the desk and hanging on the wall sharply levitated into the air simultaneously. They were immediately thrust into the roaring fireplace like trash.
Crackle, crackle. The fierce flames easily devoured their faces.
“I’m sorry. I will never make a mistake again.”
The slightly maniacal, resolute vow cut through the dry air.
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