Chapter 2
Knock, knock.
“Duke, Princess Isabel has arrived.”
“……”
“Duke?”
There was no response, no matter how many times they knocked. Levin, the aide, started to look troubled.
“It’s alright, Levin.”
“I’m sorry, Princess. He must be very busy lately and didn’t hear us.”
If we kept waiting outside the office, the whole day would pass just knocking. After thinking for a moment, I said I would go in.
“But if you enter without knocking, the Duke will surely—”
“He’ll just say something unpleasant to me again. It’s nothing new.”
“……”
“He might scold you instead, Levin, so I’ll open the door myself.”
When I shrugged and said that, Levin looked startled and hurried to open the door for me instead.
Creeeak—
The door opened. I stepped inside slowly.
The office was quiet and orderly. And far inside, someone was sitting at the desk, buried in paperwork.
“Alphius.”
My fiancé, Alphius, was deeply focused on his work.
When he looked up at my voice, he was beautiful—so beautiful it almost took my breath away. I stared at him blankly for a moment.
“Isabel.”
The cold way he called my name snapped me back to my senses.
Startled by his tone, I quickly hid it and smiled lightly. He frowned, clearly displeased.
“You came in without knocking?”
At his sharp words, Levin froze, then hurriedly spoke.
“Duke, we knocked several times, but you—”
“Levin.”
I gestured toward the door, telling him to leave.
No matter what Levin said, Alphius’s glare toward me wouldn’t soften. Worse, Levin would just get scolded.
Levin hesitated but eventually closed the door with a worried look.
Click.
Silence filled the room.
I was always the one to break the silence, so I spoke first again.
“How have you been? It’s been a week.”
He looked tired, but instead of answering, he said something else.
“When will His Majesty withdraw the order that we must meet once a week?”
After our engagement, my father—the Emperor—ordered us to meet once a week, rain or snow. It was to show the nobles that the Duke and the Princess were on good terms.
Alphius hated this order like a chain around his neck.
“Are you very busy these days?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
He glanced at me briefly, then looked back at his papers.
“Are you asking because you truly don’t know?”
He let out a dry laugh. Judging by the piles of documents, he was clearly overwhelmed with preparations for the empire’s founding ceremony.
“Can’t you tell just by looking?”
I knew being busy made people sensitive—but his sarcasm still hurt.
He already looked exhausted, and my presence only seemed to irritate him more.
“I…”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. After a moment, I shut my eyes tightly and whispered,
“I’m sorry.”
Even though it wasn’t my fault, I apologized first.
Arguing would only lead to a fight.
“If it were me, I’d hate this too.”
This engagement must have caused him many problems. Knowing that, I tried to ease his mood.
“I’ll talk to my father next time.”
“About what?”
“About reducing our meetings to once a month when you’re busy.”
He narrowed his eyes, as if judging whether I was sincere, then looked away.
“…There’s no need. He won’t listen anyway. You know that.”
He smiled faintly, without any expectation, and returned to his work.
I watched him act as if I wasn’t there and gave a bitter smile—then quickly erased it before he noticed.
I walked to the sofa, sat down casually, and ate the dessert on the table, chewing mechanically.
“I don’t know why it always makes me feel sick.”
I should be used to his cold treatment by now, but every time, my chest still hurt.
The foolish one here was me.
Even though I was hurt every time, I still hoped our relationship might improve.
“If only my heart were free.”
If I hadn’t fallen for him, it wouldn’t hurt this much.
Why did I like him?
Because I did.
I stared into space, then turned my head—and our eyes met.
He frowned immediately and looked away.
“I must be bothering him.”
I smiled even more brightly to hide my hurt and waved the dessert in my hand.
“Don’t worry. I’ll leave as soon as I finish this.”
“……”
“Was I chewing too loudly?”
He stared at me, then sighed and went back to his papers.
Scratch, scratch—
The sound of his pen and the clink of my teacup filled the room. Neither of us spoke.
“…Is it good?”
I widened my eyes and looked up.
He was looking at me.
“Were you talking to me?”
“Who else would I be talking to?”
I was so surprised I couldn’t answer right away.
He never spoke to me first before.
The fact that he did now felt strange—and made me happy.
“It’s good. It’s something I like.”
I smiled foolishly as I answered.
I knew he disliked that expression, but I couldn’t hide it.
Then his next words froze my smile.
“Unlike me, you have the leisure to enjoy desserts. The life of royalty must be nice.”
Though his tone was polite, his eyes were full of contempt.
After staring at me for a moment, he returned to his work.
As if that conversation never happened, silence filled the room again.
“Of course. Why did I expect anything?”
I lowered my head and picked up my teacup. My hands were trembling.
“Idiot.”
Just because he spoke to me once, I got happy and careless.
I bit my lip in embarrassment.
“I should say something…”
Trying to ease the awkwardness, I spoke again.
“Every time I come, I feel the Duke’s desserts are wonderful. When you have time, you should try them too.”
“Sweets are disgusting.”
He rejected it immediately.
“Disgusting…”
For some reason, it felt like the word was directed at me.
I forced a smile and stayed quiet.
Then I noticed—there was only tea on his desk.
“I heard he didn’t even eat breakfast.”
Levin’s words from earlier came to mind.
“Alphius.”
He looked up.
I stood, placed some bread and a fork on a plate, and walked toward him.
“He’ll hate this.”
My hands shook as I approached, knowing he disliked this kind of care.
I carefully placed the plate on his desk.
“You skipped breakfast. I’ll prepare tea, so please eat this first—”
“Princess.”
His voice turned ice-cold.
“If I had time to eat, do you think I would’ve starved until now?”
He scoffed at the bread and tapped the desk lightly.
“You may be different, Princess, since you love tea parties so much.”
It felt like he was speaking with a blade in his mouth.
The moment I met his sharp eyes, my face went pale and I lowered my head.
“It feels like I’ve been cut to pieces.”
Just his gaze alone felt like dying a thousand times.
