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Chapter 44
After Rose caused a commotion and left, not long after, Chloe also departed.
People were talking about the two of them, creating a chaotic atmosphere.
Travis looked at Espin, who was beside him. Espin, who had asked him a strange question earlier, was now lost in deep thought after receiving his answer.
Travis found it odd.
Despite almost being hit by Rose—and even though, if not for Rose, she might have ended up wearing the same dress as Chloe—Espin’s expression seemed completely unconcerned about what had just happened. Instead, she seemed more preoccupied with the strange question she had asked him.
“Espin.”
Harren and Flaria approached, calling out to Espin who was standing with Travis.
“Your Highness, the Duke.”
“Captain!”
Flaria and Harren greeted Travis and then stepped directly in front of Espin.
“Espin. Did you do this? What happened?”
Flaria asked, her face showing confusion.
“No, it’s impossible. It was just a coincidence.”
“A coincidence?”
“Just… Rose secretly took the dress I had left in the center of the dressing room. That’s why it happened.”
Hearing Espin’s explanation, Flaria’s face lit up with a bright smile. She grabbed Espin’s shoulders, holding her tightly and shaking her with all her strength.
“How satisfying! So it was all your doing.”
“I told you, it wasn’t me.”
Espin turned her head to glance at Travis.
“It was you. You knew what dress Chloe was going to wear and still bought the same one? And they wouldn’t just sell the same dress in the costume room. I know everything.”
Because Espin kept being conscious of him, Travis stepped back a little. Then he focused his eyes and ears entirely on the two of them.
“Espin, I’m so glad you’re my friend. Ever since yesterday, seeing her flaunt that dress to the maids, thinking she’d be the main character, it was suffocating. Thanks to you, all that tension has been lifted today.”
“No, it’s not like that…”
“It is. Even my mother actually laughed for the first time in days. Thank you.”
“Your Grace laughed?”
“Yes. She seems to have regained some energy thanks to you.”
“Then I should go greet her.”
“Yes. Mother will be pleased.”
“Captain.”
Harren, who had been unusually quiet, called out to Travis.
“What is it?”
“Captain…”
Travis felt uneasy at Harren’s gaze, which seemed fixed on him with some shock.
“You can’t take your eyes off Espin, can you?”
“What?”
Harren was right. Travis hadn’t been able to look away from Espin since earlier.
What could she be thinking with that innocent face? What schemes might she have hatched? Could she have a side to her that isn’t the fragile woman tormented by her stepsister and stepmother? His curiosity stemmed from that.
“So you like Espin too… Then the two of you…”
Harren glanced back and forth between Travis and Espin, muffling her voice in excitement.
“What are you talking about, Harren…”
Travis, however, paid more attention to Espin’s expression than Harren’s teasing. Espin’s face didn’t show excitement or shyness at Harren’s remark that Travis liked her, but fear and unease. It was the awkward expression of a criminal hiding something from him.
“See? Even now, Captain is looking at you.”
When Harren said that, Espin turned her head toward Travis but quickly looked away when their eyes met.
Something was definitely off. Why was she avoiding him? What was the true face of this tiny woman?
Travis couldn’t take his eyes off Espin’s inscrutable expression.
Harren, who had been making a fuss about Travis liking Espin, was eventually grabbed and dragged away by Flaria.
“Your Highness, the Duke. It’s been a long time since we last met.”
Left alone with no time to feel awkward, several people approached Travis at once.
“It’s been a while to greet you.”
“Marquis Zepheren, Count Conest. Long time no see. How have you been?”
“A lot has happened, indeed.”
Marquis Zepheren wiped his tears while looking at Travis.
“You increasingly resemble the late Emperor.”
“From a distance, I even thought the late Emperor had arrived.”
Marquis Zepheren and Count Conest were known loyalists of the late Emperor, Travis’s father.
“Your Highness, may I speak with you if you have a moment?”
“It’s about our gathering.”
Count Conest whispered quietly.
The gathering they referred to was likely a group opposed to the current emperor.
The late Emperor was well respected by the people. Even after Travis’s mother, the Empress, died when he was young, the late Emperor remained steadfast in his duties. He managed state affairs with a sense of responsibility toward the citizens, making the empire more livable. He was trusted not just by the nobles but also by commoners.
The problem began when Travis turned nine. Exhausted from managing state affairs, the late Emperor started behaving strangely. He claimed to see his deceased Empress and searched the palace, raged about someone trying to strangle him, and even failed to recognize Travis one day. People said the Emperor had lost his mind.
Around that time, the late Emperor made a sudden announcement: he would pass the throne not to Travis, but to his younger brother. Shortly after, the late Emperor died, and that brother became the current Emperor.
Some nobles refused to accept this. They were the anti-emperor faction, still believing Travis to be the rightful heir.
‘Well, considering the state of the country…’
After the current Emperor took the throne, the empire’s affairs began to falter. Unverified individuals were appointed to high positions, and the budget was misused, resulting in loss of life. The empire became increasingly difficult to live in, and the anti-emperor nobles started rebelling.
To appease them, the current Emperor appointed Travis as the Commander of the Royal Knights, showing the anti-emperor faction that Travis was on their side.
“I don’t think I can attend that meeting.”
Travis did not mingle with the anti-emperor faction to respect his father’s wishes. He kept his distance from the nobles and focused only on his given duties.
“This is a story you must hear. It concerns the late Emperor.”
Marquis Zepheren spoke cautiously, glancing at me, suggesting that I shouldn’t be part of the discussion.
Travis also hesitated briefly at the mention of the late Emperor.
“Then go ahead. I’ll step aside for a moment.”
‘Good. I needed to leave anyway.’
I had no interest in what the anti-emperor faction was doing. What mattered now was handling Marquis Monzas efficiently.
After a brief greeting, I turned to find Robert. A few steps away, he was standing, seemingly waiting for me.
Expressionless, he gave a slight smile upon seeing me and then gestured with his eyes toward the terrace exit from the banquet hall.
Knowing what his gesture meant, I immediately headed in the direction he indicated.
Beyond that door, on the terrace, the Duchess of Ameron would be waiting—the one who would take care of Marquis Monzas for me.
