THND 20

Chapter : 20

“It seems to be a letter you’ve been waiting for a long time. Judging by the brightness on your face, it’s the happiest I’ve seen you recently.”

Despite the look in his eyes, Duke Casiar’s lower face bore a faint smile.

That’s even scarier!

Duke Casiar… since when has he been there?

Please tell me he hasn’t seen the name written on the letter.

Instinctively, I hid the letter from Edelonian behind my back.

“It’s not so much that I was waiting, but more that it’s a letter checking in after a long time.”

“If you find joy in receiving a simple letter asking about your wellbeing, you must be quite close with this person. May I ask who it is? If you are close, I’ll likely meet them someday anyway, so it’s better I know their name.”

Luckily, Duke Casiar hadn’t seen the name on the letter.

“We’re not close enough to meet in person. Anyway, you should have breakfast before you go. I’ll go check the kitchen.”

Shifting the conversation naturally to breakfast, I excused myself to the kitchen with the letter in hand.

Once I confirmed no one was following me, I exhaled in relief.

Of all times, of all people… why did Edelonian’s letter arrive while Duke Casiar was here?

If I hadn’t hidden it, Edelonian could have ended up on the Duke’s list of hostages just because of our friendship.

From now on, I’ll avoid meeting acquaintances for a while after seeing Edelonian, just to be safe.

If anything goes wrong, someone else could be put in danger because of me.

The only way to get out of this situation is to get Duke Casiar to stay over and ensure there’s no more entanglement with me.

In that sense, maybe I should bring Romain in this morning…

Somehow, today I couldn’t resist scheming a little from morning just to tease Duke Casiar.

Kisen returned to the Duke’s residence, still in a sour mood.

“Duke, since you’ve had breakfast, why not have a cup of tea before leaving?”
“Yes, and try some dessert as well.”

After sharing breakfast at the Marquis’s residence, the Marquis and his wife seemed reluctant to see Kisen go, holding him back.

Even a one-night stay created a sense of attachment for him.

‘A cup of tea isn’t too much to ask.’

But someone had no intention of letting Kisen linger any longer.

It was Riel.

“The Duke is so busy. You even stayed at the Marquis’s last night, which must have delayed your work. Even if it’s hard to part, you must leave quickly. Right, Duke?”

“I hear you say you’ll miss me, but your face shows otherwise. It’s just a short time for tea, and yet you don’t even want to spend it with me?”

A sigh, almost like a moan, escaped from between Kisen’s slightly reddened lips.

Lately, he had been sighing often.

When Riel cried and blamed him at Madame Tuu’s salon, he feared she might never smile like before.

When he finally exhaled after seeing Riel in her wedding dress, smiling for the first time after holding back.

When he saw Riel looking at herself in the mirror, beaming in the wedding gown.

When they received the Marquis’s permission to marry.

When he realized last night in the bedroom that Riel had been dreaming.

All of Kisen’s sighs were because of Riel.

‘If Riel isn’t here, I can’t sleep. It’s natural to make sure nothing goes wrong until she enters the Duke’s residence. I promised to be a husband who doesn’t fall short while we’re married.’

That was the only reason; there was no need to pry into Riel’s private life.

Yet, for some reason, Kisen couldn’t get the contents of the letter Riel received this morning out of his head.

[Riel, I hope you’re doing well? My training is over, and I’ll be returning to the Empire. I’ll come see you tomorrow. Let’s have a date, it’s been a while.]

He had seen the bottom of the letter, where what seemed to be a name was written, but Riel had quickly hidden it, so he didn’t get a clear view.

What’s this… a date?

Even though it’s a contractual relationship, publicly Riel was clearly Kisen’s fiancée.

The wedding date was set, so she was practically the Duchess-to-be.

Even if the social circles hadn’t learned yet, Kisen was extremely displeased with a stranger sending a date request to his fiancée.

Judging by the note that he’d finished training and was returning to the Empire, he seemed to be a palace knight.

Kisen vaguely recalled hearing that around this time, the Imperial Knights would be returning from training.

‘Come to think of it, the knight who taught Riel the technique of slicing with a sword was also from the Imperial Knights.’

Kisen’s intuition told him that this was the same knight who sent Riel the forward letter.

‘Was this knight really that close to Riel to ask her casually for a date?’

Thinking back, Riel had hurried him along at the Marquis’s for tea, looking joyful when receiving the letter.

‘Were they really special to each other?’

Whatever the case, Kisen was clearly the one intruding between them.

‘Does Riel have feelings for that knight too?’

Perhaps that was why she had cried so bitterly when choosing the wedding dress.

“Duke, please have some chamomile tea and rest.”

While Kisen was lost in thought, Fanny entered the study and set a cup in front of him.

“This is…?”

The only tea leaves available at the Duke’s residence were for black tea.

Kisen often had sleepless nights, so he was always tired and heavy.

For that reason, he habitually drank caffeinated black tea.

“Yes, Madam instructed me to make sure you have this instead of black tea. Isn’t it just so sweet how much she cares for you? Perhaps that’s why you didn’t meet anyone else all this time, so you could meet such a wonderful woman.”

Fanny endlessly praised Riel.

Again.

First, for her attachment to the ribbon in her hair.

Now, for the subtle aroma of chamomile.

Riel quietly seeped into Kisen’s daily life like a gentle drizzle.

“Fanny.”
“Yes?”
“This is about a close acquaintance of mine.”
“Did the Duke have a close acquaintance?”

Fanny, listening, asked in surprise.

‘Sharp as ever.’

“Yes. A business acquaintance.”

Though slightly flustered, Kisen handled the situation smoothly.

“Oh, I see. Why?”

Fortunately, Fanny didn’t press further.

“This person was getting married through an arranged marriage but decided to do his best in his role as a husband. But before marriage, the wife already had a close male friend who had taught her swordsmanship since childhood.”

“I see…”

Fanny sighed deeply, as if it were her own affair.

“They even set a wedding date, but the man, unaware of this, sent her a letter asking for a date since it had been a while since they last met.”

“Maybe he just didn’t know. If the wife had announced her marriage, the friend would naturally keep his distance.”

“Yes, it’d be nice if it ended neatly. But there’s one thing bothering me.”
“What is it?”

Kisen, unaware Fanny was questioning him, continued.

“The wife smiled joyfully while reading the letter. A pure, bright smile she’d never shown him.”

“The husband must have been very troubled. He’d worry whether she might have romantic feelings for the other man.”

Kisen’s eyes slightly widened at Fanny’s precise reading of his thoughts.

“Accurate. Fanny, how do you know all this?”
“You’ll understand when you’re my age, Duke.”

Fanny smiled gently at the astonished Kisen.

“So what does the husband want to do?”
“What?”
“You said you’re worried about your wife’s feelings. Sitting and agonizing alone won’t change anything. The important thing is what your acquaintance feels.”

What do I want to do? What do I wish Riel’s feelings to be?

Seeing Kisen flustered, Fanny spoke gently:

“If you don’t care about your wife’s feelings, you can live as a formal couple regardless of her dating others. But if you don’t want her heart taken by another man, you can’t stay idle. You must act to win her heart.”

Kisen couldn’t yet be sure of Riel’s feelings.

But as long as she was his wife, he didn’t want her eating, drinking, or laughing with another man.

And he absolutely could not let her be taken away.

Riel was indispensable to him.

For now, that would suffice.

The date was supposed to be tomorrow, right? No location specified, so he must be planning to go to the Marquis’s.

Kisen, tapping his long fingers anxiously on the desk, looked quite serious.

How was he going to stop this?

‘So indecisive.’

Watching him agonize over a single document until nightfall, Fanny quietly smiled.

“Riel! I’m here!”

Early in the morning, Edelonian arrived at the Marquis’s.