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chapter 34
“I felt that the atmosphere between the two of them was a bit… delicate.”
“Really? In what way?”
“I can’t exactly put my finger on it, but… the way they looked at each other… the atmosphere… it felt different from usual. It seemed like they were hiding something.”
“Hmmm… was that so?”
Linden crossed his arms, slowly rubbed his chin, and recalled yesterday’s events.
But even then, and even now, he couldn’t recall the subtle tension his wife mentioned.
After a moment of frustration, Linden finally gave up trying to figure it out.
“So, what do we do now?”
“What do you mean, what do we do? We just have to watch carefully, that’s all.”
“But… the other person is Archduke Klitzman. He has such a commanding presence.”
“Exactly.”
The Count and Countess both sighed at the same time.
“Our Ruby will end up getting a lot of attention too. But it can’t be helped. Maybe she chose to meet him knowing all of that?”
Virginia shrugged lightly, but Linden still looked worried.
“The Empress isn’t particularly fond of the Archduke.”
“Even so, what does that matter? It’s just a romance between a young man and a young woman.”
“Aren’t you being too indifferent?”
“What do you mean?”
Linden asked, somewhat exasperated, as if he couldn’t understand his wife’s lighthearted reaction.
“Archduke Klitzman has never had a single scandal with any young lady.”
“Well, that’s probably because he’s been traveling to battlefields for the past five years, isn’t it?”
“Still, the fact that Ruby is the first woman to be the Archduke’s lover… could it possibly lead to marriage?”
“…That could happen. You’re right.”
Oh my… I hadn’t even thought that far!
Rubyana getting married! She’s already at that age!
Virginia rolled her eyes, lost in thought.
But she soon returned to her usual nonchalant expression, shrugged her shoulders, and spoke lightly.
“Of course, it might not happen.”
“Darling… you really…”
Linden could barely continue speaking at his wife’s indifferent reaction.
Virginia smiled gently and softly wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist.
Linden’s tense expression instantly softened at her affectionate embrace.
Virginia whispered softly:
“It’s Ruby’s first love. Let’s just celebrate and be happy for now. Worrying can wait until later.”
“…You’re right.”
Finally, Linden’s furrowed brow relaxed.
Virginia continued to hold her husband tightly, tilting her head up to look at him.
Her playful grin was full of mischief.
“See?”
“Mm.”
Linden pressed a brief kiss to his wife’s forehead.
Virginia’s pleasant laughter followed.
The restriction imposed on Rubyana continued until the next day.
“Still, I’m glad I can come out to the garden today. Yesterday, I couldn’t take a single step out of the bedroom, remember?”
“Oh… that must’ve been frustrating.”
“Exactly.”
Today, Chad came to visit her.
He said it was his day off from the knight squad.
In the original timeline, by now, they would have been inseparable within the Royal Knight Order, but that wasn’t the case in reality.
Rubyana was grateful that Chad had made time to visit her.
Even though the story hadn’t progressed yet, the fact that the male lead, Chad, was taking care of her was a positive sign.
“Today’s better. I can feel the breeze in the garden, and… you came to see me too.”
“Sorry I’m late, but I’m glad you’re happy I came.”
Chad smiled, and his green eyes curved gently.
His blonde hair fluttered in the breeze, and his fair face sparkled in the sunlight.
‘Ah… dazzling!’
He truly was the male lead.
If she kept staring at him, she felt she might go blind.
For the sake of her eyesight, she had to look away, but it wasn’t easy.
They walked slowly through the spacious garden.
Passing a large willow tree, Chad spoke in an excited voice:
“Remember? We were playing ball here, and I stepped on it and fell.”
“Of course I remember. You got hurt really badly that time.”
“Yeah. My arm broke, and I couldn’t even go near the ball for a while.”
Rubyana could remember all the details of her childhood with Chad effortlessly, as if the memories naturally came back.
They sat on a bench, admiring the wisteria blossoms in full bloom, when Chad broke the brief silence and spoke cautiously.
“Rubyana?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you going to the Burnett Duke’s party this weekend?”
“Uh… yes.”
Was he asking about the party to propose being partners?
Her heart fluttered happily.
But the feeling quickly sank.
She remembered that she had promised to attend that party with Elion.
‘Ah… never mind then.’
Her excitement collapsed in an instant.
“So then—”
“I’ll be going with Archduke Klitzman.”
“Ah…”
Rubyana spoke first, before Chad could ask.
She thought it would spare him some embarrassment.
‘Ugh… I’m sorry, Chad. Please understand.’
Perhaps this was an important episode to raise intimacy with the male lead in the new storyline. She was cautious not to ruin such a good opportunity.
Seeing Chad’s smile vanish, Rubyana tensed.
Chad soon spoke again.
“Can I ask what your relationship with Archduke Klitzman is? I saw an article in the gossip column… that you two—”
“Oh, no. That’s absolutely not true.”
Once again, Rubyana cut him off and waved her hands.
It was an automatic reaction.
She couldn’t calmly hear the words “hotel scandal” coming from Chad.
Immediately, she realized her mistake.
‘Ah… right. I started pretending to date Elion yesterday…! Stupid me!’
Her focus on Chad had blurred her memory and judgment.
Rubyana bit her lower lip tightly, frustrated at her own absurd mistake.
Oh, God! Why must You put me through such trials?
Rubyana cautiously spoke, hoping the ordeal given to her was something she could handle.
“Oh, it’s not that… actually, yes.”
“Hmm? What’s not, and what’s yes?”
Chad’s face, which had been full of sunlight, now filled with confusion.
“I started dating Archduke Klitzman yesterday.”
“Ah…?”
Chad’s mouth fell open in surprise.
“I was embarrassed, so I instinctively denied it. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to lie.”
“…I understand.”
Kind-hearted Chad nodded and said it was okay.
But Rubyana was far from okay.
She wanted to tell Chad everything immediately.
That she had no choice.
That she needed Elion to replenish her lacking magic.
So, she asked him to wait a little.
Once she recovered, her place would be by his side.
But for now, there was nothing she could say to Chad.
Rubyana turned her gaze away from him.
Late at night, Florencia removed the hood she had been wearing low over her head as she sat in front of Omar.
“Welcome, sir.”
“Hello, it’s been a while.”
After a brief greeting, Florencia took a small vial from her pocket and handed it to Omar.
The transparent bottle contained roughly ten yellow pills.
“What is this?”
Omar recognized it immediately. The pills were of a completely different caliber than anything he had seen before.
Florencia explained what she knew about the medicine and outlined her request.
“I heard that taking this pill destabilizes magic. Could you confirm if that’s true and whether there are any other side effects?”
“A potion that destabilizes magic…”
It was intriguing.
Omar swallowed dryly, tempted by such an interesting task.
“Where did you get such a dangerous medicine, ma’am?”
“Do you need to know that?”
“Oh, of course not.”
Omar quickly backtracked.
He knew that pleasing the client was more important than satisfying his curiosity.
