Chapter 43
“Duke Luhanes?”
I quickly sat up and asked.
“No, Countess Tercion has arrived,” came the reply.
Right—Rixion Luhanes… no, Tercion? Reina Tercion?
Hearing that a guest had arrived, I naturally assumed it was Rixion Luhanes, so I looked at Ann with a bewildered expression.
“Why him?”
“I don’t know either. I heard you two already have plans?”
Huh? What plans with him…?
“Really? Then why don’t you come visit our mansion soon?”
“Sure, I’ll come over.”
So it had happened.
Recalling the promise I made at the Founding Day banquet, I felt a shiver run over me.
‘“Soon”’ they said… and that “soon” was today—just two days later?
Honestly, people in this empire could use a little lesson in Korean etiquette. Saying “let’s have a meal sometime” is just a parting greeting, not a literal plan.
“All right, let’s at least wash up and comb your hair.”
“Ugh, such a hassle…”
I groaned and dawdled.
I felt a bit guilty for having used Reina at the banquet for my own purposes, and since I had promised to visit her, I couldn’t refuse.
Besides, she had come in person to fetch me in a carriage, making it impossible to say no.
I had expected an invitation like before, but she actually showed up herself. Reina’s formidable decisiveness already made me look weary.
‘I mean, I’m not a child. What am I supposed to do at their house?’
Tea time, at most, meant drinking tea, nibbling on cakes or cookies, and chatting.
Back when such things were fashionable, I always stayed holed up at home alone, so I just couldn’t understand it. Why were the nobles of this country so obsessed with these things?
‘Well, in a society that believes the best life for a woman is to marry into a good family, have children, and live well, what else can you expect?’
I shook my head and, with Ann’s help, washed up, roughly combed my hair, and went downstairs.
“Hey, Reina.”
“Liz!”
As I entered, greeting Reina, who was drinking tea in the parlor, she ran over with a bright smile.
“I came because Liz wasn’t coming!”
“Because I wasn’t coming?”
“You ignored the invitation I sent yesterday!”
Reina pouted, looking disappointed.
I tilted my head, thinking, I never got an invitation… and then suddenly remembered something.
I had previously asked the butler to personally ignore or send some polite rejection for all letters that came to me.
The old butler was still handling things perfectly.
I resolved that when Michael returned, I would strongly insist on giving our butler a raise.
“I’ve never been to the Christener Marquis’ residence before,” Reina said, looking around the parlor with curiosity. Her tone and expression suggested she expected something from me.
Quickly realizing what Reina wanted to say, I made a suggestion first.
“Do you want to see my brother’s study?”
“Huh? Oh, no…”
No? Reina declined my offer, making me raise my eyebrows in slight surprise.
She smiled shyly and then asked me cautiously,
“Um… can I see your room then?”
“My room?”
“Yes!”
“All right, let’s go.”
Though caught off guard by her unexpected request, it wasn’t difficult, so I simply nodded.
Reina, delighted like a child, followed me as I took her upstairs to my room.
“Wow, so this is Liz’s room! It really suits you.”
“You mean there’s nothing special?”
“No, I mean it’s cool!”
Seeing Reina amazed and happy over a room that was truly nothing special, I flopped onto the edge of my bed.
Just as I wondered briefly if I could just lie down, Reina, standing by the window, suddenly turned toward me, as if she had remembered something.
“By the way, Liz, didn’t you get engaged to the Duke?”
Her sparkling eyes staring at me were unbearably intense.
“You and the Duke really go well together! When did you get engaged? You have to invite me to the ceremony! Oh! Or was it secret because it’s a royal affair?”
I realized again that she spoke whatever came to mind. Still, it was easier to deal with this kind of person.
“No, that’s a rumor,” I said, crossing my legs casually. Reina’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Really?”
“Yes, and we’re not even dating—there’s nothing between us.”
Disappointment immediately clouded Reina’s face. Her round eyes and lips drooped noticeably.
Seeing her so visibly disappointed made me chuckle involuntarily.
“Why are you so disappointed?”
“Because I thought you really suited each other… I just feel a bit sad.”
Mumbling weakly, Reina suddenly clenched both fists and poured out her words.
“I wanted you and the Duke to get married! Children that look like you two would be so cute! I want them to be friends with our twins. One’s a girl, one’s a boy. Either of them could marry one of you. Then we’d be related by marriage! Yay!”
This time, my eyes widened in shock.
“You have children?”
“Yes! I sent a letter before saying you should come see our twins, but you ignored it! Michael sent lots of gifts too!”
Reina stomped her foot, glaring at me in frustration.
Our butler had done his job too well. I avoided her gaze.
After muttering complaints to herself, she quieted down when I didn’t respond, but cautiously asked something else.
“By the way…”
“Why now?”
“Did you reject the Duke’s feelings?”
“Huh? No, he doesn’t like me either.”
“What? Why not? He seems to like you!”
Watching Reina fuss, I clicked my tongue.
“You really have no eye for men, even though you’re married.”
“No, I’m good at that!”
She cried out indignantly and then leaned closer, whispering as if sharing a secret.
“And you’re not completely indifferent either, right?”
“Hey!”
I leapt up in anger. Reina shrieked and shrank back.
“What nonsense is that?”
“Uh… no?”
“Of course not!”
“Oh… okay. Sorry, Liz.”
Reina slumped, fully deflated after receiving my anger. It felt a bit uncomfortable, like scolding a small dog, but I knew I had to make it clear.
“Don’t ever say things like that. What feelings? The only thing I feel toward him is anger.”
“But you danced together and seemed close…”
Reina muttered timidly, full of lingering hope.
I raised a hand to my forehead.
Ah, stress. Why are so many people lately doubting the relationship between me and Rixion Luhanes? Or is it just all the nobles in the empire?
Pressing my throbbing head with my hands, I said wearily,
“Do you think I’d ignore Duke Luhanes in front of the Empress and just leave?”
“Hmm, that’s true. So it really isn’t like that.”
No, then why are you disappointed?
“Well, if you were dating, you wouldn’t act like this.”
Reina muttered to herself, and I paused.
“What does that mean?”
“Huh?”
She tilted her head in confusion, then clapped once to herself.
“Ah! No, even if you were dating, you couldn’t go now, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Hmm? You didn’t know yet?”
Reina looked serious and, though there was no one else listening, whispered softly again.
“They say the Duke didn’t attend the official schedule with the Mage Tower because he suddenly collapsed. Of course, it could just be a rumor, but some people claim to have seen it themselves.”
Thinking it was probably nothing important, I stiffened.
The moment I heard her, I recalled Rixion Luhanes, pale and turning away with his left hand bandaged.
“They say the security at the Duke’s residence is extremely tight now… my father…”
“Is that true?”
I hurriedly interrupted Reina, grabbing her arm. Surprised, she nodded in confusion.
“Yes, but it might just be a rumor. It’s true that security has been tightened, though.”
The official absence from the Mage Tower schedule. The rumor that Rixion Luhanes collapsed. The actual heightened security at the Duke’s residence.
No way…
I anxiously darted my eyes around.
