Chapter 40
“Mother.”
“Yes, Sigmund. I’ve been looking for you for quite some time — so you were here.”
When Sigmund greeted her, the Duchess smiled gracefully, as befitting her noble status.
Inwardly, however, she was hardly pleased — she had already been irritated that he hadn’t even shown his face before the ball and that, once here, he’d stuck close to Arnulf, drawing unnecessary attention.
Of course, none of that showed on her face.
“Now, let’s make introductions. This is Lady Hjördís, the eldest daughter of Count Regin. Hjördís, this is my son, Sigmund.”
The Duchess spoke, not sparing even a glance at Arnulf, instead looking between her son and the young lady.
“Hello, Lord Sigmund. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Hjördís Regin.”
As soon as the Duchess finished, Hjördís smiled sweetly, curtsying with grace.
Her slightly flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes revealed a clear interest in Sigmund.
Staying any longer would only make me a nuisance, Arnulf thought.
The look the Duchess had given him earlier had already told him enough. It would be best to make himself scarce.
He quietly shifted his foot backward, planning to slip away while Sigmund and the young noblewoman exchanged pleasantries and the Duchess looked on approvingly.
But his plan was immediately thwarted.
“Where are you going?”
Arnulf glanced down at the warmth that touched his back — a long, firm arm was wrapped tightly around his waist.
Sigmund’s arm.
When had he even moved? Arnulf hadn’t sensed a thing.
He blinked rapidly, startled, and then realized just what kind of situation he was in — right as his eyes locked with the Duchess’s.
Her expression was composed, but her wide eyes betrayed her shock.
“Lord Sigmund.”
Arnulf squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment, then opened them and grabbed the arm around his waist, signaling for him to let go.
Instead, Sigmund pulled him even closer.
“Please, let go.”
Arnulf sighed as he spoke, realizing that Sigmund was doing this on purpose.
“There’s no need for you to leave,” Sigmund replied firmly.
Yet his tone — gentle, almost affectionate — caused Hjördís’s eyes to widen in surprise.
Oh my, did he just say ‘you’ like that? she thought, intrigued.
She had been watching the two since they entered the ballroom.
Rumors about the nature of their relationship were already circulating among the nobles, and she had been curious to see if they were true.
And now, seeing this… well, it certainly didn’t look like just gossip anymore.
Her curiosity was replaced by a different kind of interest.
“Fine, then at least release me,” Arnulf said quietly.
It was too late anyway — the Duchess had already seen everything.
Hjördís’s expression suggested she couldn’t quite believe what she was witnessing.
When Arnulf tapped Sigmund’s arm lightly, Sigmund looked down at him for a moment before slowly loosening his hold.
Arnulf let out a long breath of relief as the pressure around his waist eased.
“Good evening, Duchess of Valdeck. My apologies for greeting you so late.”
Of course, the reason for the late greeting was that the Duchess had been pretending he didn’t even exist.
Still, Arnulf didn’t point that out.
The Duchess blinked, her expression softening slightly, then curved her lips into a faint smile.
“Yes, Lord Josef. It’s been a while.”
Though she said it had been a while, in truth, the Duchess and “Lord Josef” had never met before.
But Arnulf didn’t care — such greetings were mere formality.
“Thank you for inviting me.”
Naturally, the Duchess hadn’t invited him.
When she’d heard he might attend, she had seriously considered finding a way to prevent him from coming.
But how could she turn away the prince of Pomozje — the most powerful ally of the Hessen kingdom? It would have been political suicide.
“Yes, Lord Josef. I hope you enjoy yourself.”
Yet before her very eyes, her son was doing exactly what she most dreaded — flaunting himself in a way that was clearly intended to provoke her.
“Lord Josef,” she said, “I must apologize, but would you mind excusing us for a moment? There are some family matters we need to discuss.”
The Duchess wasn’t one to back down easily.
Even after Sigmund had openly shown what sort of relationship he had with Arnulf, she still insisted that he step aside.
“Of course,” Arnulf replied calmly.
To him, it was actually a relief. Staying any longer would only make things more uncomfortable.
Better to step back and let the situation resolve itself — ideally, to slip away entirely.
But before he could move, Sigmund’s voice cut sharply through the air.
“There’s nothing to discuss.”
He had bluntly rejected his mother’s request.
“I’ve shown my face as you wanted, so we’ll be leaving now.”
At that, the Duchess’s composure finally cracked.
“Sigmund!”
Even the cold edge to her voice didn’t faze him.
He merely wrapped his arm once more around Arnulf’s waist and turned as if to leave.
“Lord Sigmund,” Arnulf whispered, alarmed.
The arm tightening around his waist again was bad enough, but the Duchess’s furious tone was worse.
He didn’t need to turn around to imagine the deadly glare she must be giving them.
“Are you really going to leave me alone here?” Sigmund murmured, tilting his head slightly toward Arnulf.
The faint downturn of his violet eyes made him look almost… plaintive.
Arnulf couldn’t bring himself to answer.
He had always been weak to that look from Sigmund — both in the past and now.
“Sigmund!”
This time, there was anger burning in the Duchess’s voice.
The warmth that had filled Sigmund’s eyes when he looked at Arnulf vanished, replaced by a chilling coldness as he turned toward his mother.
“Lord Sigmund,” Arnulf said hurriedly, sensing what was coming. He wanted to stop him — to say, don’t. Let’s just leave quietly.
“Mother.”
Without even looking at Arnulf, Sigmund gently rubbed his own stomach, as if to soothe himself.
The gesture startled Arnulf so much he flinched.
His eyes followed the hand that had drifted from his waist to his abdomen.
It was already bad enough that Sigmund had wrapped an arm around his waist — but this? What in the world was he doing?
“Sigmund,” the Duchess snapped. “What kind of disrespectful behavior is this? We haven’t even finished talking, and you would simply walk away?”
Clicking her tongue softly, the Duchess finally turned her gaze to the young noblewoman, who had been watching the entire exchange with obvious fascination.
“My apologies, Lady Hjördís. It seems we’ll have to arrange another meeting. I hope this incident hasn’t upset you.”
“Oh, not at all, Duchess. I’m perfectly fine,” Hjördís replied cheerfully.
In truth, she was delighted. To witness the center of such rumors up close — it was like living inside a scandalous novel!
Besides, she’d never had any real intention of marrying Sigmund.
She was far too young to chain herself to one man already. She still wanted to fall in love, to meet different kinds of people — not pledge her life away before it even began.
The Duchess, of course, had no idea of that, and Hjördís had no intention of enlightening her.
“Well then, I shall take my leave,” the young lady said politely.
She curtsied again, offering a final glance to each of them — the Duchess, Sigmund, and finally Arnulf.
To Arnulf, she even gave a knowing little smile before gracefully turning and walking away.
Arnulf wondered what that smile had meant, but he had no chance to ask — she was already gone.
The three of them remained, and a heavy silence settled over them.
“Lord Josef,” the Duchess said at last, “perhaps we should move somewhere more private.”
Wisely, she addressed Arnulf, not her son — realizing that the only one who could control Sigmund right now was him.
Arnulf sighed inwardly under her expectant gaze and nodded.
He didn’t want to continue this conversation, but he did agree that they needed to leave this public space.
“I refuse.”
Once again, Sigmund blocked the way. His voice carried a note of irritation now.
Arnulf looked up at him, startled — only to meet those violet eyes staring back, filled with stubborn defiance.
At that moment, Arnulf had a bad feeling.
If he didn’t stop Sigmund right now, something truly disastrous was about to happen.
“Wasn’t the reason you came here today,” Sigmund began evenly, “to let everyone know that you and I are in a relationship?”
Arnulf barely had time to react before the words exploded like a bomb.
It sounded as though Sigmund were speaking just to him — but his voice was loud enough for everyone nearby to hear, including the curious nobles who had been eavesdropping the entire time.
“…What?”
The first to speak was not Arnulf but the Duchess.
He turned sharply toward her.
Her mouth hung open in disbelief, eyes wide as though she couldn’t trust her own ears.
She looked as if she were questioning reality itself.
“Lord Sigmund, why would you say such a thing here of all places?” Arnulf hissed, glaring at him.
But Sigmund only smiled — a beautiful, infuriatingly serene smile.
“You keep trying to avoid the subject, so I had no choice.”
“No matter what, this isn’t the place—”
“Then you leave me no other option, do you?” he said, his tone disarmingly pleasant.
With that same shamelessly charming smile, Sigmund turned back toward his mother.
“So, Mother,” he said lightly, “you don’t need to bother introducing me to anyone else anymore.”
