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chapter 16
“Damian! Why didn’t you tell me? You could have told me when you came to Luksen last month. This isn’t just not telling me. You hid it from me!”
“Maybe I didn’t tell you because I thought you’d react like this.”
Damian answered calmly, as if he was used to being treated this way.
Flip. Another page turned. It was hard to tell whether he was even really reading. Furious, Adelinde flopped down on the table.
“Tis and Damian are both mine! You didn’t even ask for my permission, and you didn’t tell me. That’s cheating. Grandfather too. He should have asked me. I would’ve said no for sure. Tis has to marry the most amazing person in the world. Damian talks too much, so he’s disqualified.”
As if to show he didn’t care, Damian turned another page and replied lazily,
“Fine. Disqualify me.”
“I really oppose this. I mean it! When I become Grand Duchess, I’ll cancel your marriage.”
Only then did Damian lift his eyes slightly and glance at her over the top of his book.
“Tyrrant.”
Adelinde’s mouth fell open.
She struggled for a long time, trying to think of something sharp to say back. After letting her suffer for a while, Damian finally sighed.
“Adel. What exactly are you so unhappy about?”
“She’s my Tis! I mean… it’s okay if you become Tis’s Damian. Not that I like it, but it’s fine. But Tis is my Tis. It’s weird if she becomes your Tis. It’s weird.”
She fired off her words as if she had been waiting to say them. It was clear she had some serious complaint, but she couldn’t quite explain her own feelings.
Damian let out a small sigh.
“…Do you even understand what you’re saying?”
He did. Simply put, she didn’t want to lose Tislin to him.
Even if Tislin got engaged or married, she would never neglect Adelinde. But Adelinde had always been jealous.
When Tislin’s younger sibling was born and she returned early to the Ermiz territory, Adelinde had clung to Damian for a whole month, crying that Tis might forget her because of the baby.
That anxiety had disappeared only after Tislin sent a letter a month later.
Damian had been the one to read the letter aloud to Adelinde, who still struggled with reading back then. He had read it ten times in one sitting, and even now, ten years later, he still vaguely remembered its contents.
Lowering his eyes again, Damian focused on his book.
“Well, this is actually good for you.”
“Good?” Adelinde’s eyes widened. “Why?”
“If Tis marries someone from Manoruka, you’ll see her at most once a year. Depending on her husband’s family, she might never be able to come to Luksen again.”
“No!”
Adelinde almost screamed and grabbed her cheeks.
It made sense.
There weren’t many political advantages in a marriage between the Grand Ducal House of Luksen and the Ermiz County.
The Grand Duke could place his granddaughter’s closest companion beside his disciple and strengthen Adelinde’s position. The Count of Ermiz could borrow some of the Grand Ducal family’s power in certain political and economic matters.
That was about it. Honestly, without Adelinde’s unstable position and the Grand Duke’s deep love for his granddaughter, this marriage would have been difficult.
In other words, aside from this special reason, the Ermiz family had no strong connection to Luksen. If the engagement were broken, Tislin’s parents would naturally look for a match closer to their territory—southern Casedy, northern Manoruka, or at most a powerful family in the capital, Viera.
If that happened, Tislin would no longer have any reason to come and go freely to Luksen. And Adelinde, as the heir, couldn’t just travel to Viera whenever she wanted.
The outcome was obvious.
“I don’t like it… I already can’t see her often.”
“Do you understand now?”
With teary eyes, Adelinde reluctantly nodded.
“But still… I don’t like it. It feels like she’s being taken away from me.”
“If she marries someone from Luksen, she’ll live here.”
At that, Adelinde suddenly smiled brightly, like a teddy bear being squeezed.
“That part is good!”
She tilted her head and thought it over carefully. The more she listened, the more reasonable it sounded.
“Hmm… maybe it’s not so bad? You’re a nag, but it’s better than her marrying some strange guy. …Wait! What if some weird idiot charms Tis and runs away with her? Damian, if you lose her, I won’t forgive you!”
She suddenly changed sides and grabbed his arm, shaking it.
“So if you change your mind again, will you tell us to break off the engagement?”
Actually, Adelinde had never told them to break it off. That had been Tislin. Damian absentmindedly touched the corner of his lips.
“No. It’s decided!”
Completely unaware that one of the people involved strongly opposed this engagement, Adelinde proudly thumped her chest.
“It’s decided. You must not lose her, Damian. What’s the point of that pretty face? Show it to her often. Say sweet, ticklish things. What if Tis says you’re boring? You have to hold onto her now.”
Would that even work? Damian rested his chin on his hand, doubtful. If that worked, then he would have done it long ago…
“Oh, of course, do it when I’m not around. I don’t want to see that.”
Her words cut off his thoughts, and he let out a short laugh.
“Adel. You and Satin Rudera have been passing around strange things lately, haven’t you?”
“What? No! We don’t look at strange things.”
It was obvious what girls their age giggled over in private. Damian clicked his tongue at her clumsy lie.
That kind of thing might work in those silly stories. Tislin was already begging to break off the engagement.
Unaware of that fact, Adelinde kept chatting excitedly about how it would be nice if they all lived together in the Grand Ducal residence and how she would help prepare the wedding.
Damian disagreed with all of it. Instead of arguing point by point, he flipped back to the page he had originally been reading.
“Listen to me. I said listen.”
He let Adelinde grab and shake his arm as she pleased. As usual, he assumed she would soon let go.
But this time, he stood up slightly before she did.
Outside the window, a carriage without any emblem was passing through the main gate. Adelinde ran to the window and squealed.
“Tis is here! Wait—my hair isn’t messy, right?”
“It’s fine.”
It was actually a little loose, but Damian lied without guilt.
While Adelinde anxiously checked herself in the mirror, she missed her chance to run out. Tislin had already entered the reception room.
“Tis!”
Adelinde jumped and clung to Tislin’s shoulders. When she was younger, Tislin could easily catch her, but Adelinde had grown taller. Tislin’s knees buckled slightly, and Damian quickly supported her back with one arm.
When did he get here?
Startled, Tislin quickly straightened herself.
“Adel, you’ll get hurt.”
“Oh! Sorry!”
“It’s fine. I’m really fine.”
“Hehe.”
Adelinde hugged Tislin’s waist tightly and smiled brightly.
The faint scent of perfume mixed with her natural fragrance. Her soft hair fell like foam below her chest. A navy ribbon tied around her slim waist. A light blue outing dress fluttering gently. Her slightly sharp eyes that curved warmly when she looked at Adelinde.
Everything was the same familiar Tislin.
In fact, it had only been about a month and a half since they last met, so it was natural. But Adelinde felt her heart tickle with happiness and smiled even wider.
“Tis, congratulations on your engagement! I’m so happy we’ll become family.”
Tislin gently stroked Adelinde’s hair and gave an awkward smile. Seeing her so happy, she couldn’t bring herself to say that the engagement might soon be broken.
She also felt a little confused. When her eyes met Damian’s, she gestured subtly toward Adelinde, but he only gave her a strange, unreadable expression.
She hadn’t expected Adelinde to be this happy…
What on earth did they talk about in the meantime?
She didn’t have time to find out.
Adelinde quickly grabbed the box of chocolates Tislin had brought as a gift and made another bold declaration.
“You know, when you two get married, I want to be the baby’s godmother!”
