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Chapter 89
“The people who gave me a second life. The Grand Duke is the one who brought them before me.”
She spoke while wiping away her tears with the white cloth that had covered her face.
It was time to stop crying. She needed to properly thank the Grand Duke, who had made this miraculous reunion possible.
“……”
As if unable to believe my words, the Grand Duke only shook his head slowly. I understood that reaction. I too had doubted my own eyes when I first saw the princess’s face that Vera had brought.
“I know. Compared to what you told me on the way here, my words must sound far more absurd. But it’s true. I didn’t know their names, didn’t know where they were, and thought I had lost them forever. But now I see that they’re alive and safe. I’m truly grateful to you, Grand Duke.”
“Then… you are…”
His words trembled at the end.
In the meantime, the princess turned toward him and began signing.
[Lord Davit, thank you for granting my request.]
The Grand Duke quietly watched her hand movements.
[I’m so happy you found Red Sister for me.]
The princess beamed.
It was an innocent and radiant smile. Bathed in the late-summer sunlight pouring through the window, she looked as though angelic feathers were scattering around her.
The Grand Duke stared at the princess, then rubbed his face with both hands.
“So the ‘Red Sister’ Mel was looking for… was you.”
He muttered, covering his face with his large hands.
He still couldn’t shake off the shock.
The princess, seeing his reaction, tapped her chin with her finger.
[That’s strange. You married her without knowing she was Red Sister?]
It seemed she had no idea how the Grand Duke and I had ended up married. He likely hadn’t told her the real circumstances—after all, he had been all but pushed into it by Queen Elizaveta’s pressure.
Once his confusion calmed a little, the Grand Duke raised his head.
A faint smile finally touched his brushstroke-like lips.
[I know now, thanks to you. Just now.]
The Grand Duke strode over and wrapped his arms around me. I was swept into his broad chest in an instant.
I leaned comfortably against him. His gentle breath tickled my forehead.
“It all feels like a dream.”
“So do I.”
“I was a fool. To leave the people I should have reunited with like this…”
The Grand Duke took my hand and knelt on one knee.
He pressed his forehead against the back of my hand. His warmth touched me.
It was a gesture of penance.
“Do not forgive my disloyalty.”
His low voice carried a heavy resonance.
I looked down at him with a small smile.
“The princess and Olenka are watching. It’s embarrassing, so please get up.”
I tugged his wrist to lift him up.
I knew well what guilt weighed on him.
Even when faced with hardship, he had never leaned on me. He hadn’t returned the same level of trust I gave him.
It hurt. It felt like betrayal. But it wasn’t incomprehensible.
Since his mother’s death, he had lived confined in a narrow harem. After fleeing to Fardon Island, he had taken sole responsibility for his nanny and younger sister’s lives, never revealing her existence to anyone.
He was someone who had cracked out of his shell only to bear the entire burden of a household alone. Perhaps he truly didn’t know how to lean on others.
“Can I finally become his real family now?”
Until just yesterday, we had been deceiving each other. I wore the guise of a pawnshop owner; he wore the hood of a swordsman named Danil. We deceived, uncovered, yet still helped each other to come this far.
Now, my mission as a pawnshop owner had ended.
That meant my ties with Danil the customer should also end…
But perhaps it was selfish to want to see his honest self once more before then.
***
The Grand Duke did not want to appear flawed before his wife. He did not want to be her weakness. He thought he had to protect Melania from all possible threats. If the Grand Duchess knew, she might disagree with his methods of protection.
Looking back, they were all just pitiful excuses.
Davit bit his lip, overcome with regret.
“What was I so afraid of?”
What silenced him was a baseless fear. The more he thought, the less reason there was to hide Melania’s existence. From the Grand Duchess’s perspective, Melania was neither his weakness nor his flaw. All he had done was delay their reunion.
He regretted not telling Melania her origins sooner. Yet the girl had calmly accepted the truth, even understanding why he had hidden it for so long.
There was nothing left to conceal.
And Melania, now in Blansk, longed for freedom.
At that moment, the Grand Duchess was in the parlor with Melania, discussing her future.
Davit watched their conversation with a heavy heart.
[Princess, what would you like to do from now on?]
[I want to live freely! Go outside, go to school, visit the market!]
Melania signed excitedly, her movements bursting with joy.
She had spent her life secluded in a forest hut, only to be captured by the queen and confined in the lord’s castle on Fardon Island. Of course she would yearn for freedom, like a fish longing for the sea.
[Then you’ll need a guard knight. Would that be alright?]
[As long as it’s not too many. Wow, having knights follow me makes me feel like a real princess!]
Melania waved her hands, thrilled.
[Where would you like to live? You can stay at the castle or here in this house—either is fine.]
[I want to live in the same place as Sister. Does that mean I have to move into the castle?]
[Do you want to live with me?]
She nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling.
[I want to live with Sister and Lord Davit! Of course our nanny too! Oh, but then we’ll need so many rooms, right? If there aren’t enough, I can just live here! This house looks like one from a fairy tale anyway!]
[The castle has hundreds of rooms. You needn’t worry.]
The Grand Duchess replied with graceful signs, her red lips carrying a soft, glowing smile.
Davit was utterly captivated by her movements.
They said her mother, Princess Emma, had been deaf. No wonder the Grand Duchess signed so fluently.
Even though signs differed slightly between people, the Grand Duchess’s movements were instantly clear to him. They were precise, elegant, and graceful—almost beautiful to watch.
[I’m curious about the castle. I really want to see it. May I?]
[I have some engagements for the next few days, so not right away. But I’ll order rooms prepared for you and Olenka.]
At her words, Melania nearly jumped with joy.
On the ride back to the castle, Davit sat behind the Grand Duchess and pulled her close with one arm around her waist.
“Your Grace.”
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“I can’t breathe.”
He must have been holding her too tightly. Davit loosened his grip.
“My apologies.”
“……”
“I just couldn’t bear to let you go, not even for a moment.”
He buried his face against her shoulder again. A sweet freesia scent wafted from her wind-tossed hair.
He had to calm his racing heart. Now that they shared his most precious secret, the Grand Duchess wanted to protect Melania as much as he did.
Maybe this is fate, he thought. I don’t want to lose this woman who has walked so deeply into my life. What must I give to win her heart? If I could belong to her forever, I’d even swear a knight’s oath of loyalty.
The Grand Duchess said nothing all the way until their horses passed through the castle gates.
Davit dismounted first and offered his arm to help her down. When her hand slipped away too quickly, he sighed, wishing he could hold her longer.
“Your Grace, before you leave for Yorca, I’ll come by your dressing room. I want to choose your jewelry myself.”
“…Very well.”
He placed a fist over his heart and answered like a knight.
After making sure the Grand Duchess had gone up to her room, Davit slipped out of the castle through a secret passage.
He was headed to the tavern pawnshop’s cellar.
There was something he needed to retrieve immediately.
Though it wasn’t business hours, the tavern door was open.
Davit slipped inside.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” the pawnshop assistant greeted, handing him a dark sack.
At last, Davit had his wedding jewels returned.
He hurried back to the castle and unpacked the sack, returning each piece of jewelry to the casket. But something was strange.
“One is missing.”
A brooch with a pale-green olivine gem.
He rummaged through the sack again. Instead of the hard feel of a brooch, he touched something crinkly. Pulling it out, he found a small slip of paper.
What is this? He frowned and unfolded it.
**“You must have noticed one piece missing.
If you could escort me just one more night, I’d be grateful.
Thanks to you, I’ve managed to recruit plenty of sword-dancers.
As a token of thanks, I’ll return the missing jewel after your final escort.
Anytime is fine. See you soon.”**
