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Chapter 6
“Be careful of Cargo.”
“Cargo? Cargo Linger? Why…?”
At the sudden, unexpected name and warning that came out of my mouth, the Grand Duke’s eyes filled with questions.
Cargo Linger was one of the Grand Duke Ruslo’s subordinates—originally a commoner the Grand Duke had rescued from thugs while inspecting his territory. He had cleared the man’s debts and taken him in, and since Cargo was strategically sharp, he used him as an advisor.
Melas, the Grand Duke’s aide and right-hand man, had opposed this. He said Cargo was cunning by nature and too dangerous to trust. Still, our kind-hearted Grand Duke insisted, so he kept him around.
I’d thought it while reading the novel too—Melas had a keen eye for people. And I needed to dig right into that weak spot.
If I voiced the same opinion as his right-hand man, it should shake his resolve enough.
“You know Cargo isn’t trustworthy.”
I chose to speak concisely rather than explain at length.
“No. How could you, my lady…?”
“I can’t tell you the details. But, Your Grace, you must trust me completely.”
Then I delivered that emphatic attack with a line straight out of a drama.
The timing of Cargo’s betrayal is a bit vague in the original, but since the Emperor seemed to have set things in motion as soon as Aileen was kidnapped, bringing it up now would be roughly accurate.
Hearing my words, the Grand Duke’s eyes trembled violently, as if an earthquake had struck. Within them swirled a mixture of questions, anguish, faith, and doubt. But as he looked into my eyes—filled with unwavering certainty—his wavering gaze and heart gradually settled.
“I don’t know how you know such things, but I understand. Thank you for the advice.”
He seemed to be calming down, with great difficulty.
Even if he said that, I couldn’t be sure how deeply he’d take my words to heart. His nature was so prudent that he listened to anyone’s words, at least for the moment.
Still, since Aileen Cowet was technically close to the Emperor, he might consider the information reliable enough. I could only hope so.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
I rose from the sofa without delay. I’d done all I could for now; I needed to give him time to think and prepare.
“My lady. Wait.”
Just then, the Grand Duke hastily grabbed my wrist as I was about to leave.
“Yes?”
His grip tightened around my wrist, and my body stiffened for a moment.
I was startled, but to be honest, the excitement was far greater. Being stopped by my ultimate favorite character, something I’d dreamed of countless times—my heart was pounding like a drum.
Still holding my wrist, the Grand Duke stood up. Watching his head rise so high, I was once again struck by the height difference between us. His large hand wrapped around Aileen’s slender wrist, highlighting the contrast in their frames.
“My lady… No. Never mind.”
The Grand Duke started to speak but stopped. He seemed to be struggling with something, though all he had to do was voice what was on his mind. In the end, he gave up.
Then he released my arm.
As I watched my wrist drop freely in a straight line, I screamed internally.
I don’t want freedom!
Don’t let me go. Please, hold me tight!
It perfectly mirrored how I felt right now—I wanted to stay kidnapped by the Grand Duke forever.
But outwardly, I pretended otherwise.
If I let my true feelings show now, all the serious atmosphere I’d built and the clues I’d dropped would lose all credibility, converging on zero.
Whatever you do, don’t let the cringe show. Shh.
“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be going.”
“Very well.”
I bit my lower lip firmly and turned toward the door.
For some reason, I’d expected him to stop me one more time, but the Grand Duke’s voice never came again.
—
***—
My love, my ultimate favorite, Grand Duke Raymond Ruslo—it seemed he’d given up on the intimidation that didn’t suit him anyway. He sent word through his subordinate that I’d be sent back home tomorrow morning.
In the original novel, Grand Duke Ruslo held Aileen for three days and sent her home on the fourth, worried she might starve to death.
In my case, if I leave tomorrow, that’ll be day six. Thanks to being well-fed, I got two extra days, but in the end, the conclusion was the same.
I wouldn’t be able to see my favorite anymore.
This obvious truth plunged my mood from top to bottom.
Can’t I just not go home?
Hoo. Whether he heard my deep, ground-shaking sigh or not, he—who had been staring at the empty training ground with an empty teacup before him—turned his head toward me.
“My lady. What troubles you?”
“There is. Yes. Plenty.”
I murmured, mixing breath into my voice so it was hard to tell if it was a sigh or speech.
“What is it?”
At his gentle inquiry, I opened my mouth to vent—then stopped. Suddenly, it struck me how strange this conversation was.
The kidnapper asking the prisoner if something’s wrong, and the prisoner feeling down because she wants to stay kidnapped.
A giggle escaped me at the sheer absurdity.
If I were honest with him, I’d have to ask something like:
“Don’t you have any intention of keeping me longer?”
“What would I have to do to stay kidnapped forever?”
“I want to be kidnapped by Your Grace forever.”
The more I refined my words, the more they sounded like a confession.
I had no choice but to scrap all three sentences and choose a completely different question.
“Never mind. More importantly, am I really leaving here tomorrow morning?”
“Yes. My subordinate will escort you safely by carriage to the front of the duke’s residence.”
“Haah. I see.”
I propped my chin on my hand and let out another deep sigh. Watching me, the Grand Duke looked uncomfortable, as if he had sand swirling in his mouth. “You must want to go home soon. You’ve been through a lot—just endure one more day.”
“No. That’s not it at all. I actually like being here.”
Before I knew it, the truth slipped out. The Grand Duke’s eyes went wide as he stared at me.
“No, I mean—I’m fine staying here a little longer. So please, make yourself comfortable. Hahaha.”
My face turning red, I began to babble incoherently.
My duty and my desires clashed and tangled, spilling out unfiltered. Just as I was careening toward a point of no return, the Grand Duke stepped in and stopped me.
“Thank you, my lady. And I have one favor to ask…”
“Yes. Please.”
At the word “favor,” I suddenly calmed down and perked up my ears.
The Grand Duke’s eyes held a confused light. Just from that, I could tell it was a difficult request. He hesitated for a moment, then spoke as if he’d made up his mind.
“When you return, I’d like you to tell no one the identity of the kidnapper.”
The Grand Duke seemed to realize, even as he said it, that he was making an unreasonable request. Logically, asking a victim not to reveal their kidnapper is hard to enforce without threats.
Yes, normally that would be the case. But in his case, he was incredibly lucky.
Because I’m your fan!
“Of course! Your Grace, don’t you worry—just leave it all to me!”
I thumped my puffed-out chest with my clenched fist, like a salesperson hyping themselves up, deliberately showing extra confidence.
How much would the Grand Duke agonize after sending me back? Imagining my beloved favorite worrying sick, barely eating, and lying awake all night made my heart ache terribly. So my reflex action just burst out.
Of course, the Grand Duke’s eyes grew equally wide.
Did I overdo it?
I needed to dial it back to a more reasonable level.
“I’ll… keep the secret.”
I said it again, demurely like a proper noble lady, lowering my overly excited tone and tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
“Thank you.”
Only then did the Grand Duke’s startled expression soften somewhat. Though I could have sworn one of his eyebrows twitched.
—
***—
The last night at a rural manor in the Ruslo territory.
Lying in bed, I couldn’t fall asleep easily. Instead, I spent the whole night trying to find meaning in my possession.
Right. How fortunate. Because of me, I could warn the Grand Duke of danger in advance.
If I could be Raymond’s guardian angel, that would be enough.
I tried to comfort myself with that thought, but I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.
The overwhelming disorientation of being dropped into this unfamiliar world finally seemed to be crashing down on me.
My heart, which had been warm because my imaginary husband—the one I’d married hundreds of times in my mind—was here, now felt like I’d been cast adrift in the middle of a vast ocean.
I’d read the original so many times that everything was as familiar as my own front yard, but knowing a place well and actually experiencing it were completely different things.
“Hoo…”
Even letting out a long sigh couldn’t tame my churning emotions. Unable to bear it, I threw off the covers and opened the window, hoping the night air would clear my chest.
Then I spotted a figure in the empty, barren yard.
The moon, momentarily hidden behind clouds, emerged again, and soon reflected visible light. Bathed in moonlight, he shimmered—with jet-black hair holding the entire universe and chillingly blue eyes.
As far as I knew, there was only one person with that love-at-first-sight visual: Raymond Ruslo.
“Raymond.”
I called the Grand Duke’s name in a tiny whisper. It was barely a sound—just a silent movement of my lips.
But did he hear that faint whisper? At that moment, the Grand Duke whipped his head around and looked toward me.
Oh—startled!
I flinched, my hands on the window frame jerking back.
I hadn’t done anything wrong, yet my heart lurched as if I’d been caught peeping.
But the Grand Duke’s gaze as he looked this way seemed somehow sorrowful.
Was it the moonlight? His melancholy-filled eyes swept through my chest, both quietly and violently.
It almost felt like we’d made eye contact.
I’d only left the window cracked open, so he probably couldn’t see me, but still.
After a moment of holding each other’s gaze, the Grand Duke turned his head away.
His silhouette, with the moonlight at his back, disappeared toward the manor.
