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Chapter 34
“Haah…”
Meanwhile, in the room that René had left, snoring softly, Genos felt utterly desolate.
Had the trouble started because he stubbornly stayed up all night, unable to calm his chaotic thoughts since the previous night? Staying awake for three days wasn’t unusual for him, but the situation was far from good. He kept washing his face with cold water, recalling what had happened earlier.
“…I didn’t mean to say that much.”
Katarina Hugo was unpredictable, and her whims could go anywhere. She was as stubborn as she was vain, rarely bending her will to anyone.
And yet, she had suddenly softened, approaching René with a gentle attitude? Anyone would find that suspicious.
Genos simply couldn’t understand René.
“She’s so recklessly trusting… How can someone be so naive?”
He didn’t know whether it would be beneficial or harmful to him. If someone changed their attitude, shouldn’t you be even more cautious?
He didn’t even realize how much Katarina had ignored her, yet René had gone out without a shred of pride, happily tagging along. It seemed foolish.
But Genos knew the truth. In a way, all of this had happened because he had stood by and done nothing.
“Alright… I’m someone who doesn’t belong to Grand Duchess Celeste.”
René’s tearful face kept flashing in Genos’s mind as she spoke those words.
“So she really felt that way…”
Most of the time, René wore a sullen expression when facing Genos, but her face could show a surprising variety of emotions. This, however, was a first.
Her large, gentle eyes, brimming with tears, looked pitiful. There was a hint of despair, and maybe even a sense of injustice.
Genos lowered his head heavily again.
“I only wanted to give a little warning…”
He knew he was awkward with words, but somehow, whenever he stood in front of René, only childish and petty things came out. Even during his adolescence, he had never acted out in rebellion.
And that was why he disliked René. She made him act unlike himself. After meeting her, Genos always felt a wave of self-reproach.
“You told me to stay quiet and hidden, Grand Duchess, right? Hah, I followed your wishes. Everything… So why do you keep…”
René’s tear-laden voice echoed in his head. Yet all Genos could do was brush his bangs out of his eyes.
“What… am I even trying to do?”
By now, even he was confused. Listening to her words, he realized something: he was doing exactly what he hated the most. His actions didn’t match his words, and he spoke without thinking about the consequences.
“Haah…”
It was the worst. But he could no longer ignore it.
“….”
Time passed. Outside the large glass window, the faint glow of the evening sky appeared. After long contemplation, Genos suddenly stood up from his seat, his gaze resolute, as if he had made a decision.
Clack, clack, clack.
The sound of his shoes echoed quietly as he left the room. Immediately, he gave orders to Karl, who had been waiting silently outside.
“Prepare the words immediately. Where exactly is the Grand Duchess headed?”
A few hours earlier…
“Katarina-sama, René-sama is asking for you. Shall we depart now?”
At the maid’s words, Katarina, who had been checking herself in the mirror repeatedly, turned her head.
“Hmph. What’s with all this preparation? Fine, let’s go.”
Katarina smirked as she rose from her seat. What could a petite woman change just by dressing up? René, as she had seen yesterday, was still modestly dressed. Compared to Katarina, who was renowned throughout the empire for her beauty, René couldn’t even be compared.
“How dare she! Of course I’m better-looking!”
“Y-Yes, Katarina-sama.”
Katarina barked at the maid and began walking. Yet, somehow, she had dressed more elaborately than usual.
The bright red mermaid dress accentuated her curvy figure. The corset was tightly laced, making it hard to breathe properly. Some foolish men in the capital considered fainting from tight corsets a symbol of delicacy, but Katarina thought it silly.
Above all:
‘I don’t care about ordinary men. The only one I care about… is Grand Duke Celeste, Genos!’
Her feelings hadn’t changed since childhood. But it wasn’t exactly a pure love for Genos. More accurately, Katarina wanted to become the Grand Duchess.
‘Celeste is strong. No one can ignore him. That’s why he’s beautiful.’
The Celeste family had always been a figure of admiration for Katarina. Elegant and wise Diana had always cherished Katarina as if she were her own granddaughter. The previous grand ducal couple, though long gone, had always seemed dignified and fitting. Katarina had dreamed of joining that family and thought nothing could stop her…
‘René Blanche. You really had to interfere!’
Even if René became the Grand Duchess, it would still be a loveless marriage. Katarina believed that if she endured long enough, her own chance would come.
‘What is Genos thinking? Could he really have feelings for René Blanche?’
Katarina and Genos had known each other since infancy. Yet Genos had never once opened his heart to her. It had been frustrating, but she had come to accept it. Katarina never expected love from him anyway.
‘And she spent the night with him? I don’t even have a chance?’
Genos. Katarina rolled his name around her tongue and bit her lips.
By now, they had reached the lobby.
“Haah.”
With a short sigh, Katarina quickly put on her mask.
“René-sama!”
The earlier sharpness in her expression had vanished, replaced with a bright, smiling face.
“Katarina.”
“!”
But when René turned in response to the call, even Katarina was left speechless.
“R-René-sama… your attire…”
“Ah, it’s just the maids dressing me for my first outing. Not so good?”
“N-No… It suits you.”
She meant it. Even with a simple, bare face, René drew attention. Katarina had chosen red, perhaps unconsciously resembling René’s own tone. With such a beautiful foundation, dressing her up only amplified it. Though people didn’t openly crowd around, gazes were noticeable everywhere.
“My, the Grand Duchess?”
“She’s so beautiful!”
“She really looks like a noble lady. Such elegance.”
Even the servants’ whispers carried clearly.
‘Hmph. The maids must be grinding their teeth!’
Pouting, Katarina checked herself in the mirror. The dress was the latest fashion from the capital, but she worried whether choosing red had been a mistake.
Then…
“You look beautiful again today, Katarina. Did you have the dress tailored? Your height makes it look perfect on you.”
René said that, glancing up shyly and smiling.
“!”
Katarina instinctively covered her mouth.
‘W-What… is that? An angel?!’
Perhaps because the sunlight was behind her, it even seemed as if a halo glowed around René.
‘Gah! What am I even thinking right now?!’
