Chapter 129
The first time I met Duke Baluoa was around the time their methods had started to gain some circulation in society.
Of course, it was something I had planned with Arianna Baluoa, but on the surface, it was her undertaking, so it made sense that she was the one contacted.
But… why the Duke himself?
Curious, I went to the meeting place and found that the Duke had arrived first.
At that very first meeting, he proposed a collaboration to her.
He said that social rumors could be quite helpful at times, so would she be willing to assist occasionally?
At the time, I wondered why he would come directly instead of going through his daughter, but knowing that Duke Baluoa was helping Lloyd, I agreed without hesitation.
Little did I know, that had all been part of the setup for this very situation.
“They say no one knows what’s in a person’s heart but themselves… Today has really been full of surprises.”
“Indeed. Who would’ve thought ‘that’ Miss Baluoa would actually do such a thing?”
“I’m a bit disappointed in the Viscount. Lately, there have been so many rumors calling him the best catch in society.”
It seemed the Duke intended to completely ruin his daughter’s reputation in society.
Otherwise, why would he request such rumors be spread in the first place?
But well, it wasn’t particularly my concern.
I took a sip of tea while watching the women busily inflating these rumors among themselves.
At first, helping Arianna and Lloyd didn’t seem like a bad idea, but as time went on, I started questioning their actions more and more.
Could this really succeed?
He had promised to fulfill her wishes, yet there were no signs of progress.
Endlessly, it was always, “Do this, do that,” with no real results.
No matter how I looked at it, the royal support project seemed destined to fail, and despite acquiring the trading company, no relevant talent had been hired.
He insisted he could succeed with just his assistant and Arianna—was that even possible?
Lloyd was endlessly arrogant.
He never considered his flaws or shortcomings; he seemed to believe that with the current personnel, everything was possible.
I met Duke Baluoa at a time when my trust in Lloyd was steadily dwindling.
That’s why I threw myself into ruining Arianna’s reputation.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken on such a complicated matter.
I couldn’t help but sneer inwardly as I listened to Arianna’s story, who had secretly given birth beyond her pregnancy.
“Truly, that was nearly disastrous. Recently, it seems our sister-in-law had fallen head over heels for Viscount Alois.”
“Oh my. Then it’s really fortunate that you came here today! Be sure to tell the young lady what happened, understood?”
“I will. At first, I had many worries, but today turned out to be really helpful.”
Helpful?
I barely managed to suppress a snicker at that.
How helpful can such trivial gossip really be?
Had there truly been no moment in life worth calling “beneficial”?
Pushing the inward scoff aside, I put on a friendly smile.
“I’m glad it was a useful time for everyone.”
I said something I didn’t feel, already thinking about where I’d have to go next.
“Here. Go ahead.”
“…Your Highness. I, I can eat this…”
“Go on, Amelia.”
Awkward. Truly awkward.
I rolled my eyes helplessly, unable to act either way.
How did it come to this?
It had started as a normal tea time, hadn’t it?
At first, we were just sipping tea and sharing what had happened when we met Zero today.
Talking about how Lloyd was definitely behind it, the wheels of the carriage he rode in, how well Zero could draw, and other observations and information we’d gathered…
“Where did you meet him?”
“At a café. I heard Your Highness also often met Zero there.”
The café was the trigger.
I mentioned having been there, and apparently Leofric knew the place, because his expression immediately stiffened.
Then he was about to summon Arnold, scolding me for taking the Crown Princess to such a place.
I barely stopped it, preventing the assistant from being scolded for doing his job.
Since then, we’d been in this situation.
I held his hand to console Leofric, who kept apologizing for not being able to show only the good things, and he didn’t let go.
The slight closeness that had developed naturally only added to the tension.
“Ah…”
“Ah, isn’t it good? Does it taste nice?”
Leofric held my hand with one of his, while the other held a fork.
He kept smiling at me as if the world revolved around my gaze.
Being so close, I could barely look away, yet seeing him looking at me like this wasn’t exactly comfortable.
I nodded slowly, chewing the cake he had fed me.
He looked at me as if I were the most precious thing in the world.
Truly, it was overwhelming.
“Your Highness, please… a little less direct with your gaze…”
“Hm? Why’s that?”
As he spoke, his face moved even closer.
I hurriedly looked straight ahead and swallowed the remaining cake.
“I… I just wondered if you were only looking at me…”
“That’s what this meeting is for. Is it too overwhelming?”
“A little…?”
I peeked at him shyly, and he let out a small laugh.
“Even your answer is cute.”
Then he started saying things he normally wouldn’t.
Even though his expressions of affection had increased compared to his past life, this level of overt display was new.
I sipped my tea, trying to think of a way to escape this situation.
While I was mulling over excuses,
“Wait a moment, Amelia.”
He suddenly reached out and approached.
We were already close—how much closer did he intend to get?
His large hand cupped my face, and his sparkling eyes came dangerously near.
…At this distance, was I really going to fall into those eyes?
Everything seemed to freeze—the air, time, even our gaze.
At that moment, he traced my lips with his fingertip.
In that instant, I could easily read the emotions reflected in his eyes.
Perhaps even sense what might happen next.
Caught in that suffocating tension and thrilling anticipation, frozen in place, he then brought the cream-covered fingertip to his mouth.
He licked it with his tongue.
“Delicious.”
A mischievous smile curved his lips.
And that was just the start.
In that moment, I felt my head explode as if fireworks had gone off inside.
“Did you enjoy tea time?”
When we returned to the room, Betty was waiting.
I glared at her briefly and then threw myself onto the bed.
“Was something wrong, Your Highness?”
Without a word, I lay face down, and Betty knelt beside me, worried, gently patting my back.
“Did something upset you, Your Highness?”
Her gentle voice tried to soothe me, but I didn’t lift my head.
I couldn’t.
After Leofric had wiped the cream from my lips with his mouth and I had pushed him away to escape, the memory of his expression continued to haunt me even as I returned to the room.
If I spoke now or lifted my head, the excitement hidden beneath his flustered face would be revealed completely, so I couldn’t answer Betty.
“Could it be tea time didn’t please you?”
Betty assumed I was upset because of that.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. He wanted to spend so much time with you that he… created the situation without asking you…”
“What?”
“Hm?”
Without asking… So it wasn’t Leofric who arranged tea time?
“You arranged it?”
“Yes. Earlier, when you went out, he asked me questions: what you liked, your favorite color, favorite desserts, what gifts you liked, and so on.”
Hearing Betty’s words, the flush that had filled my face quickly cooled.
So it had all been Betty.
That explained the predicament.
“He wanted to spend time with you but couldn’t, so he had me prepare the setting. He planned to let you rest without doing anything else.”
Betty looked apologetic, thinking I’d had a bad time.
Well, the master who should have simply enjoyed tea had suddenly collapsed onto the bed—she probably felt responsible.
But the problem wasn’t tea time.
I waved my hand and sat up.
“No, it’s not your fault, Betty. Tea time was a bit overwhelming, but…”
“Was something really wrong?”
The problem wasn’t her—it was him.
I sighed, resting my hand on my forehead.
“Amelia. Are you there?”
He knocked from outside the door.
