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Chapter 50
Karin reluctantly moved her feet forward. If she had it her way, she would have thrown everything aside, gone home, buried herself under a blanket, and taken a long nap. However, she had made a promise with Duke Lucas.
By now, Iris would have more than enough time to have boarded the carriage. If the proud duke was true to form, he would have retreated to his room rather than wait for her in an empty reception room.
Karin could already picture him sitting back in his chair with a leisurely expression, as though he possessed everything in the world.
Still, she hoped this wouldn’t be a long conversation. Hugging the clothes Arken had given her, Karin suppressed another yawn as she walked down the corridor.
The duke’s room was extravagant even by the mansion’s standards. The door, tall enough to reach the ceiling, was adorned with intricate carvings and gleaming gold trim. No matter how she looked at it, it was excessive treatment for a mere piece of wood.
‘If he has money to gild a door, he should spend it on his aide instead.’
Thinking she should bring up Arken’s treatment sooner or later, Karin turned the doorknob.
“Where have you been all this time?”
The scene inside the room wasn’t far from what Karin had expected.
The lamp on the desk illuminated the room brightly while the duke sat with his chin resting on one hand, leisurely sipping wine.
“I had something to take care of.”
Karin walked over and sat in the chair opposite him. The duke’s curious gaze landed on what she was carrying.
“What is that?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking?”
Isn’t it obviously clothes? Karin carefully set them down beside her chair to avoid wrinkling them.
“…”
The duke didn’t seem pleased with her answer, but he didn’t press the issue. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and stared at Karin like someone with something to say.
Karin calmly returned his gaze as though she had no idea what he meant.
“So, what exactly are you curious about?”
“…First, have a drink.”
The duke slid an empty glass toward her. Just as the wine bottle tilted and the purple liquid was about to pour out, Karin quickly snatched the glass away.
“I don’t drink. More importantly, what was it that you wanted to say?”
The duke looked at her with an even stranger expression.
“You seem like someone in a hurry.”
“…”
Was she being too rude? Karin hesitated before setting the glass back down.
She had been on edge ever since Arken rejected her. But that didn’t justify snapping at the duke. It was like getting slapped in Jongno and taking it out on the Han River.
Karin irritably tapped the glass before calming herself down.
“…I’m just tired. I’d like it if you could get straight to the point.”
“Very well. Do you have any intention of attending the meetings regularly?”
“What?”
The unexpected proposal jolted her awake.
She had expected him to ask about the meeting agenda, but never imagined he would ask her to attend consistently.
“What did you just say?”
“I don’t believe I said anything difficult to understand.”
The duke smiled lazily, but when Karin still looked dumbfounded, he removed his hand from his chin and began explaining in earnest.
“As you know, Esmeril is a candle flickering in the wind. It wouldn’t be surprising if the country collapsed at any moment.”
‘What does that have to do with me…?’
Karin was about to protest before stopping herself.
Listening to the duke reminded her of how passionately she had cursed the author while reading <Awkward…>.
‘Even if it’s a novel, can a country like this really exist?’
The people at the top were completely rotten, and the nation was trapped helplessly between two powerful countries. Forget realism—it simply lacked style.
Anyone familiar with the romance fantasy genre would know that the country serving as the story’s backdrop was usually the strongest and largest on the continent.
The heroine’s homeland might be a small nation, but all wealth and power were typically concentrated in the male lead’s country, making it a great empire or grand duchy.
If a crown prince or grand duke male lead casually ordered, “Take care of it,” even a small country could easily be destroyed. Regardless of whether that type of male lead suited her tastes, Karin had always found something thrilling about someone possessing the power to manipulate an entire nation at will.
But Esmeril belonged firmly in the “small nation” category. Since the two major powers, Radian and Saraha, could crush Esmeril whenever they wished, the duke’s description of it as a candle in the wind was no exaggeration.
“Those who gather under the pretense of discussing state affairs are only concerned with their own interests, and the one leading them…”
The duke sighed midway through his complaints, and Karin could understand why.
‘Anyone would sigh if boiled spinach were king.’
The duke seemed to share her thoughts, looking momentarily fed up.
“…Things are bleak in many ways. Esmeril desperately needs talented people like you, Lady Karin.”
He must really be desperate. The fact that he was praising her as talented proved as much.
Unfortunately for him, Karin had never been a politician in her previous life, nor did she have any interest in politics. She had absolutely no reason to attend those meetings.
If someone would die because she didn’t attend, maybe that would be different. Otherwise, she had no interest in getting involved in troublesome affairs.
Crossing her arms defensively, Karin fell into thought.
How could she refuse the duke’s proposal? Considering his persistent personality, it would require considerable skill to make him give up.
While Karin was desperately trying to come up with an effective rejection, the duke seemed to interpret her silence positively.
“If you obtain a letter of authorization from Duke Tricia, there won’t be any procedural issues. As you learned last time.”
Realizing she couldn’t postpone it any longer, Karin finally spoke.
“I only went because someone asked me to. That’s not the important part.”
The duke’s eyebrow twitched slightly at her words, but that was all.
“Then what is the problem? There is much to do. The agenda for the next meeting alone contains numerous issues.”
Whether there were several issues or several hundred, she wanted nothing to do with matters unrelated to her. Life was already exhausting enough without adding more burdens.
Karin had absolutely no intention of accepting the duke’s offer. Meanwhile, unaware of her true feelings, the duke continued trying to persuade her.
“Monsters roam freely in the north, taxes are always problematic, and now we’re suddenly informed that the Prince of Iritta will be visiting…”
“The Prince of Iritta?”
At those familiar words, Karin nearly jumped from her seat.
She had been so focused on saving Arken that she had completely forgotten.
Winter was drawing to an end, meaning it was time for the Prince of Iritta—in other words, Saraha’s Crown Prince—to come to Esmeril.
‘They never discussed this in the original story…’
Then again, if royalty was visiting, there would naturally be approval procedures. Karin quickly accepted it.
Since the foolish nobles had no way of knowing that the Prince of Iritta was actually Saraha’s Crown Prince, his entry into the country would likely be approved without issue.
Then the Crown Prince would be free to travel throughout Esmeril as an honored guest, while Karin would have to run around tirelessly trying to interfere with him.
Ah, truly an unavoidable decision.
The duke looked at the suddenly silent Karin with curiosity.
“What is the issue?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. I’ll attend the meeting.”
Attending the meeting didn’t guarantee that she could stop the Crown Prince’s entry.
She wasn’t a permanent member of the council, nor was she an influential political figure.
Nevertheless, attending the meeting was still far more advantageous.
Even if the chance was small, preventing the Crown Prince’s entry would eliminate the need to follow him around afterward.
It was like reaping benefits without lifting a finger.
Hearing her response, the duke smiled in satisfaction.
“Excellent. Then I shall see you at the next meeting.”
“I’m only attending the next meeting. Just once.”
Fearing he might pressure her into attending continuously, Karin clarified in advance.
“Why? Since you’re coming anyway, wouldn’t it be better to participate regularly?”
“I just want to sample it. If I don’t like the taste after trying it once, I won’t come back.”
“That remains to be seen. You have talent for this, Lady Karin. Once you participate properly, you’ll realize your true calling.”
“I attended once before, and I didn’t get that impression.”
“That was when you were dragged into it unexpectedly. If you prepare properly and participate seriously, you’ll think differently. I’ll send you the agenda for the next meeting, so be sure to review it.”
“Yes. Sure.”
Misunderstandings were his freedom, so Karin had nothing more to say. She answered absentmindedly and picked up her clothes.
Just as she thought it was time to leave, she noticed the duke staring at her as though bewildered. His half-lidded crimson eyes seemed to ask, ‘Already?’
What? Did he still have something to say?
Though annoyance welled up inside her, leaving like this would probably bother her later.
After all, her failed confession to Arken had already left every cell in her body feeling uncomfortable. She didn’t want to add lingering unease to the mix.
Karin forced a lifeless smile.
“If you have something to say, please go ahead. Yawn…”
Claiming to be tired earlier hadn’t been a lie. Yawns kept escaping her, forcing her to cover her mouth with her hand.
The duke stared at her quietly before speaking.
“No, I’m finished.”
He had definitely looked like he had more to say. But if he said he didn’t, then so be it.
She was so sleepy that even the bright lamp before her couldn’t keep her eyes open. Though she stubbornly fought against the heavy weight of her eyelids, she had reached her limit.
“Then I’ll be going. Thank you for dinner tonight. I’ll see you at the next meeting.”
“I’ll accompany you.”
Unexpectedly, the duke moved as if to stand. Karin stopped turning away and shook her head.
“No, it’s fine. I can go by myself.”
“It’s dark outside.”
“That’s exactly what Arken said.”
“You still call him by that name.”
Her drowsiness had dulled the filter in her mind. Hearing the duke’s slightly sarcastic response, Karin realized her mistake, but decided it didn’t matter.
Since she spent so much time with Arken, the duke would find out eventually anyway.
“Yes. We’re close. Somehow it just ended up that way.”
The fact that she and Arken were friends.
“They’re close friends?” the duke asked, looking utterly dumbfounded. The image of a cartoon character with bulging eyes accompanied by a boing sound effect popped into Karin’s head, making her chuckle.
“Yawn. You didn’t know? Arken and I are very close friends.”
Friends close enough to joke about liking each other and things like that.
The thought reignited her irritation.
That dense man. Honestly, after making it that obvious, shouldn’t he have realized it?
“Well, I’m really going now. I’m so tired.”
Karin bowed her head slightly and turned away completely. The duke remained standing awkwardly before sitting back down once Karin had left and closed the door.
“Close friends…”
Was that even possible?
Lady Karin had changed considerably recently, but becoming friends with his aide was difficult to believe.
Had she truly become a completely different person?
Even if that were the case, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Even if another soul had entered Karin’s body and the original Karin had disappeared somewhere, it wasn’t his concern.
If anything, it was something to celebrate. It would be wonderful if all those other fools were similarly replaced.
…It was all pointless speculation. The idea of people switching bodies was absurd to begin with.
The duke dismissed the ridiculous thought and finished his wine.
It was regrettable that Karin had seemed so exhausted today that he hadn’t been able to bring up what he had truly wanted to discuss.
He would have to wait for another opportunity.
The chance to say what remained unsaid would come before long.
