MPRA 12

Chapter 12

“Just… sightseeing around various parts of the capital.”

Please, just fall for it.

Or better yet, I wish he’d just pretend he didn’t see anything.

She was so used to living without an escort that she naturally assumed the Duke would never grant her one.

If worst came to worst, she could always escape using her water divine power.

While she could use her water divine power in versatile ways, it wasn’t omnipotent.

She wasn’t a knight, nor did she possess the ability to detect the presence of someone watching her from the shadows.

Ivanna waited anxiously for the Duke’s reply.

“I see.”

Cedric slowly stroked his chin as he looked down at the Princess.

She showed no intention of telling the truth. However, since they were also partly at fault, Cedric came up with a strategy to prevent her from going to the trading guild through other means.

“I will be visiting the territory in a fortnight, so bear that in mind.”

He was by no means acting out of spite. It was simply a fact that his schedule happened to be open around then.

For the first time in his life, Cedric felt no regret even after blurting out something completely unplanned.

At the abrupt statement that they were heading to the ducal territory right after talking about the capital, her sky-blue eyes trembled finely.

At the Princess’s flustered appearance, the corners of Cedric’s lips curved upward slightly.

Protecting the Princess was a duty explicitly stated in the contract.

He was merely making sure the Princess didn’t get caught up in danger, exactly as the contract stipulated. Cedric thus rationalized his own impulse.

“Until then. Stay quietly as the contract dictates.”

When Cedric brought up the contract, Ivanna clenched her fists tightly. Her back grew hot as heat rose to her face.

He must have known full well everywhere she had been wandering around all this time.

To think she had actually dreamed he wouldn’t find out. It was her own blunder for forgetting that the Reynolds Duchy was different from the Imperial Family.

What should I do if he starts asking about the trading guild?

She had not the slightest intention of giving up the trading guild. It was the sole thing she had forged with her own two hands.

“I’ll stay quietly in the mansion until we visit the territory.”

At her obedient face, which instantly drooped into a sullen expression, Cedric furrowed his brow slightly.

“I didn’t mean you shouldn’t go outside at all; I simply wish for you not to attract unwanted attention.”

“Yes. According to the contract clauses.”

“You remember well.”

Though she spoke sarcastically, he didn’t seem phased in the slightest. Ivanna bit down hard on her lower lip.

“Your escort will arrive by tomorrow, so wherever you go, make sure to move accompanied by your escort.”

At Cedric’s words, Ivanna tilted her head.

Was he saying she could still go out, provided she took the escort?

As the Princess’s eyes sparkled, Cedric stared at her intently before opening his mouth.

“I have no hobby of locking people away.”

At his words, Ivanna’s face brightened.

“However, dangerous things are forbidden, and you must not entangle yourself in useless trouble.”

“I swear! I won’t do anything that could tarnish the Duchy’s honor.”

After all, she had no intention of doing anything bad through the trading guild.

Ivanna exclaimed with utmost sincerity. She had a gut feeling that if she missed this opportunity, she might end up chained to this mansion for good.

“About the servants… I’m sorry. This recent incident wasn’t what I wanted.”

She felt a need to take this chance to show him just how quietly she could live.

“I feel sorry that it even reached your ears. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

“Ha.”

When she finished speaking with a jittery heart, the Duke let out a low sigh. As he frowned, his already intimidating features looked even more ferocious.

Is being handsome really everything?

With a temperament that vicious.

“Are you telling me right now to simply sit back and watch my wife get ignored inside my own home?”

At the phrase my wife, Ivanna’s lips parted slightly. She hadn’t expected him to refer to her as his wife.

In truth, didn’t telling her to live quietly encompass all of that anyway?

It was a matter she could easily endure in exchange for receiving an overflowing amount of money.

If the master of a house holds no power, they get ignored. Since she hadn’t been recognized as a princess to begin with, that was why she had been so thoroughly looked down upon in the Imperial Castle.

The Duchy was no different. That was why the servants had started treating her as a joke and tormenting her.

The Duke clearly didn’t understand where power and authority stemmed from.

Accustomed to standing at the heights, he likely had no interest in the affairs of those below. Or perhaps he simply assumed everyone lived strictly by the rules, etiquette, and conscience.

Suppressing her urge to make a dismissive expression, Ivanna shook her head.

The one who knew nothing of the world wasn’t her, but that man right there.

“If such a thing happens again, I’ll be sure to report it.”

I’m never letting it happen again.

From now on, she’d have to hide things better and be even more cautious when visiting the trading guild.

Since he said he was assigning an escort, she’d have to make sure important documents were delivered exclusively through Sola from now on.

The dream of continuing to secretly live outside just like this had vanished, but Ivanna wasn’t disappointed.

She had known it would be difficult from the very start. It was better not to create useless friction.

“There will never be an incident like this again.”

Having said that, Cedric clicked his tongue softly before dipping his waist into a bow.

“I apologize for the unpleasant experience you suffered due to my failure to properly manage the people.”

Ivanna stepped back a pace, seized by a different kind of bewilderment than before.

It didn’t mean he was sorry she had been ignored because of his instruction to live quietly. He was merely apologizing for the inadequate management of his staff.

The Duke’s face as he straightened up was resolute. He added that he was sorry his apology had come late.

“I won’t attach any deep meaning to things that have already passed.”

Though she accepted his apology calmly, the fact that it felt good was the truth.

She couldn’t stop the corners of her lips from trying to creep upward.

To think she was receiving an apology for an unjust treatment!

Surely the continent wasn’t going to end up destroyed tomorrow.

She had firmly believed he was cold and arrogant, but perhaps she had misjudged him entirely.

Not knowing what else to say, Ivanna carefully weighed her words. Yet her voice refused to come out easily.

The Duke standing uprightly before her looked as though he had stepped right out of an illustration in a book of etiquette.

Upon a face that even looked upright and steadfast, a sudden sense of thirst seemed to well up.

So this is why Elisa warned me to be careful of the Duke’s face!

He had simply apologized, yet her heart pounded frantically. Breathing slowly to calm her thumping heart with great difficulty, Ivanna finally spoke.

“Please let me know when the schedule to visit the territory is firmly decided.”

When things get weird, running away is always the best option. Offering an elegant, courteous bow, Ivanna hurried away from the garden with brisk steps.

“Wait!”

She heard the Duke calling out from behind, but marched forward resolutely, pretending not to hear.

I’ve gone mad, absolutely mad.

This was all the Duke’s fault for acting like he was going to torture her, only to apologize in such an absurd situation.

Cursing the Duke in her heart as she walked, Ivanna’s neck was flushed a bright red.

​* * *

“Greetings. I am Ethan Bellere, appointed as your escort.”

The next day, Ivanna received the greetings of a knight who arrived early in the morning alongside the head butler.

He actually sent an escort, just like he said.

It was real.

After meeting the Duke yesterday, Ivanna had locked herself in her room and refused to come out.

She couldn’t even answer Anthony’s questions about what had happened. Her heart had continued to flutter restlessly the entire time.

“By any chance… do I displease you?”

The moment she laid eyes on the escort knight, the Duke flashed into her mind, causing her to trail off into unrelated thoughts.

At the knight’s nervous expression, Ivanna shook her head.

She was hardly in a position to be picky about anyone.

She should be grateful enough that the Duke had even spared an escort for her.

“No. The Duke has sent me an overly generous escort.”

Yesterday’s encounter had felt truly like a lie. Even now, the head butler was visiting to handle matters in his stead.

I must never go to the garden again.

Firmly resolving this, Ivanna scrutinized Ethan. Her escort knight neatly brushed back his wavy, light brown hair.

His soft green eyes looked gentle and warm.

He seems like a good person.

Ivanna figured the Duke had assigned her someone decent.

“I have no plans to go out for a while, so please make yourself comfortable.”

“I cannot do that.”

Having received a stern warning from the Duke, she genuinely intended to exercise self-restraint regarding visits to the trading guild.

Besides, they said they were visiting the ducal territory in a fortnight. She would need to prepare for a long journey, too.

“I shall remain outside your door so as not to inconvenience you, so please call upon me if you need anything.”

Bowing politely, he exited the reception room alongside the head butler.

The moment the door closed, Ivanna hastily summoned her divine power.

“The Duke is trying to lock me away!”

Ivanna pressed a hand to her forehead. She had thought it would end with an apology, but the very next day, he suddenly slapped an escort onto her.

Is he planning to keep an even stricter watch on me?!