🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 17
“Why would a mere maid have any reason to meet His Highness?”
Cain’s leisurely interjection seemed entirely intended to ease the tense atmosphere. Yet, strangely, it only grated on Ian further.
He paused, taking a moment to control the emotions that threatened to burst out. Cain cheerfully filled the silence again, as though nothing had happened.
It was a habit Ian had developed from serving a master who couldn’t be called sociable.
“We were just discussing the Grand Ducal Castle. His Highness was in such a hurry that we came straight to the capital without even a chance to return to the castle,” Cain said.
“……I see.”
“Though he may seem indifferent, he takes great interest in you, Princess,” Cain added, tilting his head toward Betty as if they were on friendly terms.
Ian wanted to point out the triviality of that remark, but his gaze was drawn to the misty smile spreading across Betty’s face.
“That’s fortunate. You speak so kindly of His Highness as well,” she added.
Just a week ago, he would have welcomed such words warmly. Now, they felt so emotionally distant.
The doubts that could no longer be suppressed began to grow relentlessly in Ian’s mind.
Even the subtle movement of Betty’s hand, which twitched toward her neck then recoiled as if startled, drew his careful attention.
He met her brown eyes that looked at him with a hint of unease. Only then did Ian realize he had been silently observing every little gesture of Betty without saying a word.
“Cain. Even tolerating impudence has its limits. This is the Imperial Palace.”
Unable to find a better way, Ian chose the safest path to continue the conversation.
Cain bore the brunt of Ian’s decision, having to endure the endless trivial chatter he had brought up.
“His Highness just said there’s only the three of us here. Why suddenly become so strict?”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Cain’s expression briefly showed mild dissatisfaction, but he quickly noticed Ian’s low mood and shut his mouth.
“I’m sorry, Grand Duke. I asked Sir Cain so many questions because I was curious. I suppose he answered just in case I’d be curious again this time,” Betty said, meeting Ian’s gaze without avoiding eye contact.
Ian felt an urge to continue talking with her, but then realizing it was thanks to Cain made him inexplicably annoyed again.
“No need to defend Cain. He’s always like that. You don’t need to apologize to me either.”
Betty bit her lip and responded in a flustered tone the moment Ian finished speaking.
“I… I’m sorry… Ah, you said not to apologize. Anyway, I’m sorry.”
She had tried to make it clear that she didn’t need to treat him with such formality, but somehow it seemed to make him even more awkward.
“I, uh… I’ll just…”
Betty began to edge toward the door, as if she intended to leave altogether.
Perhaps for that reason, Ian, wanting to hold onto her, slipped out a familiar, casual address suitable for private moments with the emperor.
“Since you find Cain’s reckless personality amusing, Lloyd, there’s no chance your head will be in trouble.”
“…Who is that?”
“You’ll know once you finish reading this book.”
Even some nobles were not immediately familiar with the emperor’s name. A maid like Betty might not know it at all.
Instead of answering directly, Ian took the book from Cain and placed it into Betty’s hands—The History of the Empire.
She looked down at the book quietly, then turned back to Ian with a slightly questioning expression.
“How did you know I could read?”
Not only did he know she could read, but he also knew she wrote extremely neatly.
Perhaps he even suspected, absurdly, that she was the author of the many letters carefully kept in his drawer.
The thought rose to the tip of his tongue but sank again.
“…Cain wouldn’t read a book, so there’s only you here, right?”
“Oh, actually, this book was the one you were looking for recently, Princess. But… is it alright to take a book from the palace?”
“I’ll inform Her Majesty the Empress,” Ian replied.
Most likely, Empress Janine would take note of Ian’s unusual request, but wouldn’t worry about a single book disappearing.
“Thank you, Grand Duke,” Betty said calmly, showing no embarrassment since the moment the book was mentioned.
Ian’s gaze, trained on her every expression, briefly brushed against an inexplicable sense of disappointment.
“Betty. You’re still here. Grand Duke…”
At that moment, the quiet between them was broken by someone entering.
Princess Viviane Charte burst through the door with her red hair flying, creating a dramatic entrance.
She hesitated for a moment when her eyes met Ian’s, then offered a clearly forced smile.
“Oh my. Grand Duke. You’ve arrived.”
Her high-pitched voice carried only the pretense of delight.
In contrast, her steps toward Betty radiated genuine warmth.
The princess noticed the book in Betty’s hands and spoke in a friendly tone.
“What’s this book? You’re reading it? Is it interesting…?”
“You were looking for this book, weren’t you, Princess?” Ian asked, watching Betty firmly hold Viviane Charte’s arm to emphasize her point.
Their interaction seemed closer to equal friends than the typical maid-princess dynamic.
“…Ah. That’s it. Yes. This is the book I wanted to read,” Viviane said.
Her movement, creaking like a doll, as she took the book looked awkward to anyone.
Betty herself felt rather flustered inside.
Even after sending a letter once, she couldn’t fully recall everything she had written in recent months.
Still, sitting with the princess, she had meticulously reviewed what she had written, recording as much as possible.
‘This is everything I remember,’ she thought.
‘You’re amazing. Writing this way is just a dull daily account, yet the Grand Duke read it all?’
‘…I’m not even sure he read it all.’
‘Well, if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have just suddenly appeared, expecting me to welcome him. He must like daily life stories.’
Grand Duke Ian Deivan remembered every line of the letters more thoroughly than expected.
While his warmth made her heart feel warm, the familiar bitterness also returned.
Would there ever come a day when she could admit that she wrote it all? She knew she shouldn’t wish for it. Yet, even knowing that, the thought sometimes surged unexpectedly.
“Princess. Have you finished speaking with Her Majesty the Empress?”
“Yes. We did. You must have waited long; it was probably boring.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“But the Empress said that if Grand Duke arrives, we should at least meet for a moment. If you hadn’t arrived yet, I was going to suggest returning to the Duke’s residence…”
Ian noticed a fleeting, displeased expression cross Viviane Charte’s face.
“I didn’t expect the Grand Duke to come. Let’s meet the Empress together.”
Viviane extended her hand gracefully toward Ian with a slightly haughty expression, but she wasn’t as cold as when they first met.
‘Still…’
Ian had a knack for discerning how people felt about him emotionally.
Having grown up as an illegitimate child, rejected from birth, the experience had ingrained an almost infallible intuition.
Even if last time he was too caught up in excitement to notice the oddness, he usually didn’t misjudge.
“The honor of serving you,” Ian said, taking Viviane’s hand politely.
At the same time, he concluded about Viviane Charte, whose demeanor superficially mirrored the affectionate looks of his late father, the former Grand Duke.
Beyond the surface of her carefully constructed show of friendliness, there was, in truth, no genuine emotion directed toward him.
