Chapter 63…
“…What did you just say, Lady Bailey?”
Lycayon’s face stiffened as he spoke. He looked as though he was trying to decide whether the laugh he had just heard was something he had imagined.
His fierce crimson gaze made Cynthia’s knees tremble, and she felt tears threaten to spill at any moment, but she steeled herself and spoke again.
“Oh my, weren’t you joking, Your Highness?”
At her words, one of Lycayon’s eyebrows arched upward.
“What did you say?”
“You’ve been talking about something that sounds like a story out of a novel since earlier, so I naturally thought Your Highness was joking! Perhaps it’s the sort of humor that’s trendy abroad?”
Lycayon blinked dumbly at Cynthia. She turned her head slightly toward Tession and continued.
“Grand Duke, do you know what His Highness said to me while we were dancing?”
“…What did he say?”
“Well, he told me that I was a fake lady, didn’t he?”
Cynthia smiled brightly as though she had just heard a delightful joke — though in truth, there was nothing funny about it and she wanted to cry.
“A fake… lady?”
Tession frowned and repeated her words. He turned his head slightly, glancing at Lycayon, who still had his eyes fixed on Cynthia.
“Yes! He even told me to go back to my family and find a proper lady. Isn’t that just hilarious?”
“Lady Bailey. What are you doing right now?”
Lycayon, unable to contain himself, finally spoke.
Cynthia glanced briefly at Tession, who was looking down at her with concern, then calmly placed a hand over her chest and bowed.
“I didn’t get the chance to apologize properly earlier, Your Highness.”
“…”
“I’m quite an eccentric person by nature, so I never made an official debut in high society, nor have I ever attended events like this. I lack many things and am quite inexperienced.”
“I could tell.”
Cynthia’s brow twitched slightly at Lycayon’s unnecessary comment, but she continued.
“My family has provided me with a high level of education and training, of course, but as Your Highness said, being a distant relative rather than a direct descendant, I find many things difficult to grasp and overwhelming.”
Lycayon folded his arms and stood at an angle, as if determined to hear her out to the end.
Cynthia steadied herself, pressing strength into her trembling legs.
“So?”
“So, I will take Your Highness’s earlier joke as a gentle reprimand — that despite my shortcomings, I mustn’t neglect my studies, and I should at least do my part not to tarnish the Bailey family name.”
When she finished speaking, Cynthia lifted her head and smiled sweetly.
“Thank you for teaching me in such a refined way. I trust I’ve understood correctly, Your Highness the Crown Prince?”
“…”
Cynthia stared at Lycayon, forcing her facial muscles not to crumble.
Come on, I went this far — say something…
Just as her anxiety began to rise after the long silence, the corners of Lycayon’s lips slowly curled upward.
Then, with a leisurely blink, he burst into laughter.
“Ha, ha ha ha ha!”
…What kind of reaction is that?
Cynthia exchanged a nervous glance with Tession. The unexpected laughter didn’t ease his tension either; he still looked on edge. What is he planning?
When Lycayon’s laughter finally died down, echoing through the second-floor corridor, he looked straight at Cynthia and spoke.
“Impressive, Lady.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Amusing. Very amusing.”
The dangerous gleam returned to his red eyes.
He turned first, stepping away from the balcony, but before leaving, he looked back at her once more.
“Let’s see each other often from now on, Lady Bailey. That’s all right, isn’t it?”
Cynthia stiffly forced herself to nod.
“Yes, Your Highness. It would be an honor.”
“Good work, Cynthia.”
In the carriage back to the Bailey mansion, Tession spoke as he turned toward her.
Cynthia lifted her head to meet his eyes. The closer they got to the mansion, the heavier her heart grew.
In the end, nothing was accomplished…
She sighed quietly.
Dale had said this banquet might be her last chance, yet she hadn’t managed to speak properly with Tession or discuss the Ritemper Trading Company. Instead, she’d nearly exposed her identity to the Crown Prince and made herself a target of his attention.
She began to worry how she would explain everything to Dale and the Baileys — especially the Duke of Castleton, who would surely be waiting.
Tession reached out and gently tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.
“You look very tired. Are you all right?”
“I think I need to rest as soon as I get back. I haven’t met so many people in such a long time… it’s completely drained me.”
Cynthia smiled weakly.
Tession gazed at her in silence, then glanced out the window where the Bailey estate was coming into view.
“Cynthia.”
“Yes?”
“If it’s difficult for you to return home tonight, you can come back with me to the Grand Duke’s residence.”
The Grand Duke’s residence? Together?
Cynthia blinked in confusion.
“To the Grand Duke’s mansion? Why, all of a sudden?”
“Well, you see…”
Tession hesitated, as if unsure how to phrase it, then frowned slightly and said:
“You seemed to… quite like the bathtub there.”
…Bathtub? Out of nowhere? She could barely even remember what it looked like!
Cynthia looked up at him, puzzled by his awkward excuse, then let out a faint, helpless laugh and shook her head.
“It’s fine. I’m so tired I might not even be able to enjoy a bath tonight.”
“But still…”
“We’re almost there! But thank you for the offer.”
She patted his hand lightly and forced a cheerful tone.
“Oh, we’re here! I’ll be going now, Your Grace.”
As the carriage slowed before the Bailey mansion, Cynthia stood up. Tession jumped down first and offered her his hand.
“All right. Take care.”
“Yes, until next time…”
Will there even be a next time? The thought flashed through her mind, but there was nothing she could do.
“…I’ll see you again.”
Instead of replying, Tession simply held her hand a little tighter.
“Welcome back, Your Grace. Lady Elizabeth.”
“Huh? Dale?”
For some reason, Dale had come all the way to the front gate to greet them. Cynthia’s eyes widened in surprise.
Tession nodded politely in acknowledgment and turned back to Cynthia with a faint smile.
“Then, I’ll be off.”
“Yes, please travel safely, Your Grace. Thank you for today.”
Tession looked at her for a moment with his deep eyes, then turned and climbed into his carriage.
Cynthia watched as it disappeared down the garden path, and only when it was completely out of sight did she trudge toward Dale.
“You can tell by my face, can’t you? I’ve got no good news.”
Better to take the hit first, she thought.
“I wasn’t expecting much,” Dale replied in his usual flat tone.
Somehow, that could have sounded irritating, but to Cynthia, it felt oddly comforting — as if he were trying to console her.
“Though it seems the Duke of Bailey doesn’t share my view.”
Here it comes…
Cynthia’s shoulders slumped.
“Is he calling for me right now?”
“I’m afraid so. He ordered that you be summoned the moment you returned from the banquet.”
“…Let’s go.”
Cynthia walked as if heading for her own execution. Dale watched her quietly, then turned to follow.
“What about the Ritemper Trading Company?”
That was the first thing Duke Castleton asked the moment Cynthia stepped into the study with Dale — before she could even greet him.
The sharp tone made her flinch and bow her head.
“Um, well…”
From the front of the room came the sound of heavy, displeased breathing.
“I asked what happened with Ritemper. That was the one thing I wanted from you, and yet you have no answer for me?”
Cynthia bit her lower lip instead of responding.
That damned Ritemper Company…
No wonder the original Elizabeth in the novel became so depressed and irritable — with a father who only ever cared about money, not even the death of his only adopted daughter could sway him.
