Chapter 68 …
“Chris?!”
I was so shocked that I shouted without thinking, completely forgetting my dignity.
He hadn’t even used a surname, and the name itself was just a nickname, but that didn’t matter.
The moment I heard that name, a clear memory surfaced.
Christian Shardina, the youngest son of the Duke Shardina family.
The boy who had secretly snuck into my room crying and begging me to marry him overlapped with the handsome young man standing before me.
“My goodness, you’ve grown so much! How have you been all this time?”
Without realizing it, I spoke as if I were talking to a child.
The moment I noticed what I’d done, I felt embarrassed—but instead of looking offended, Chris burst into laughter as if he found it amusing.
“I’ve been doing incredibly well. Doesn’t it look like it?”
Looking up at him, I muttered,
“It does look that way…”
When he was younger he had been much smaller than me—small enough that I’d mistaken him for someone younger. But now he was so tall that my neck hurt from looking up at him.
So what they said about him taking after his older brother and growing tall was true. Growing this much in such a short time… his knees must have hurt a lot during that growth spurt.
“Your Highness is the one who’s become unrecognizable.”
Chris smiled gently at me.
“You were beautiful even then, but now you’re so dazzling I can barely look at you.”
“You’re looking just fine while saying that.”
I laughed loudly and lightly smacked his arm.
Chris used to be such a shy little kid, but in the time we hadn’t seen each other he’d turned into someone who spoke such smooth, flattering words.
Just what kind of three years had he lived through for every word from his mouth to sound so polished?
“Does it sound like a joke?”
Chris exaggerated a sad expression and tilted his head slightly.
His bangs fell across his forehead and tilted along with the movement.
Is he crazy?
He had already been heart-achingly cute before, but fifteen-year-old Chris was on an entirely different level of beauty.
A face that made you want to keep looking at him and protect him forever.
I had been staring blankly at him without realizing it.
Then suddenly—
I felt killing intent from the side.
No, haha. That couldn’t be right. This was a party hall, not a battlefield.
But when I glanced beside me, Tristan—whom I had momentarily forgotten—was radiating an overwhelming presence.
His golden eyes stared silently at Christian, glinting with a strange hostility.
Only then did I realize my mistake.
Oh no, Tristan was new to high society. I should have been more considerate of him. Instead I’d been laughing and chatting with Chris without even introducing them.
“Tristan, this is the third son of the Duke Shardina family—”
…Wait, could I still say third son? The second one had disappeared like a character from Frozen.
“…The youngest! The youngest son, Christian Shardina.”
I turned toward Chris and continued.
“And this is—”
“Duke Noctia.”
Christian greeted Tristan before I could finish the introduction.
“It’s an infinite honor to meet you. Your achievements have spread even to the far West. If you knew how many plays there are about you in the West, you’d be surprised.”
His tone was friendly and easygoing.
But Tristan’s reply was painfully stiff.
“I see.”
That’s it?!
I stomped my feet inwardly in frustration.
No matter that he was a duke, Tristan had only just entered noble society. Becoming friendly with a prestigious family like Shardina would benefit him in many ways.
“Summer is coming soon. You should visit the West sometime. If I find a good play, I’ll invite you.”
Chris ended the conversation lightly.
It sounded like the typical polite line—we should have a meal sometime.
Afraid Tristan might refuse even that, I quickly jumped into the conversation with a smile.
“That sounds fun. Will you send me an invitation too?”
I expected him to immediately agree, but Chris looked between Tristan and me for a moment without speaking.
His black eyes seemed to darken slightly.
But—
“Of course.”
Perhaps it had just been my imagination, because he soon answered with his usual bright smile.
Anyway, it seemed like these people didn’t have any more business with me.
Looking around, I thought to myself.
Those interested in Eastern development would contact me later, and those who weren’t would at least spread rumors.
So maybe it was time to go find Theodora, Rudolf, or Richard.
Just as I was thinking that—
“By the way, Your Highness, do you remember the promise you made to me?”
Chris suddenly spoke.
“A promise?”
I froze in confusion.
It wasn’t that I didn’t remember.
The problem was that I remembered it too well.
Did he really still remember that?
Well, remembering it wasn’t strange. Three years wasn’t that long.
But Christian… surely you’re not planning to bring that up here, right? If you have any sense at all—
“When I turned fifteen, you promised to marry me.”
He said it.
And he twisted the story terribly while doing it.
*
“Damn brat.”
I muttered while staring at the mountain of invitation letters piled in front of me.
The day after the victory party.
As if proving how quickly rumors spread, invitations had been pouring into the Opal Palace since early morning.
Considering that I planned to actively attend social gatherings from now on, maybe I should have been happy about this situation.
But—
“This isn’t how I wanted to become famous!”
I shouted into the air, full of rage.
Because of the giant bomb Chris had thrown in the middle of the Carmea Hall yesterday, what happened afterward was chaos.
First, gossip lovers swarmed like bees.
They bombarded us with questions trying to uncover what had happened between Chris and me in the past.
But the distorted curiosity of those busybodies didn’t stop there.
Some of them even tried to drag Tristan into the situation between Chris and me.
Watching that gave me a terrible sense of déjà vu.
The very first day I entered high society, I had been stuck awkwardly between Rudolf and Richard.
And now, at my return to society—at a party that was practically my debut—I was once again trapped between two men.
Did the number three have some kind of curse attached to it?
In the end, claiming I was exhausted, I fled the party hall in a hurry.
Christian Shardina, that ungrateful brat. I treated him so well, and instead of helping my business he caused trouble?
What on earth was that kid thinking?
What benefit could he possibly gain by bringing up that old promise now?
No, more importantly!
I never said I would marry him in three years!
I only said we could talk about it again in three years!
The more I thought about it, the angrier I became until my face burned.
Where did the innocent child who used to cry saying he liked me go?!
“Your Highness, breakfast is here~”
At that moment Miriam knocked loudly on the door.
Pressing my throbbing head, I allowed her to come in.
While Miriam hummed cheerfully and arranged the dishes on the table, I tried to calm myself.
Calm down. I’m an adult. Losing my composure over a fifteen-year-old’s prank would be embarrassing.
“Ms. Tania will arrive at ten today, and Duke Noctia asked if he may visit in the afternoon.”
After finishing setting the table, Miriam reported the day’s schedule.
The morning plan was normal, but the next part surprised me.
“Tristan?”
“Yes. If it’s alright with you, he said he’d come around two.”
“Tell him that’s fine. I don’t have any other plans this afternoon anyway.”
That worked out well. I had a lot to discuss with Tristan—how he’d been doing, and maybe I could subtly probe him about the Eastern development project.
“Anything else?”
I asked while picking up my fork.
“The necklace you ordered will arrive today. There are more bugs in the garden lately, and… oh!”
Miriam’s short blond hair swayed as her eyes lit up.
“Chef John is back from his parental leave! He’s starting work again today!”
“Really? Has it already been that long?”
“Yes! He said he’ll work extra hard for his baby and even came to work at five in the morning.”
Fatherly love was truly heartwarming.
“Let him go home early if he finishes work quickly for a while. Anything else?”
My daily routine had changed a lot over the past three years.
Back then I knew nothing about what happened in the Opal Palace or how things were run inside.
But now, checking the day’s schedule and hearing various updates from Miriam during breakfast had become my first task of the day.
Even trivial matters were better known in advance—that was a lesson learned through three years of trial and error.
Most of the servants were now loyal to me, so there probably weren’t any spies left, but you could never be certain.
Letting down your guard here meant death.
“And… the Twelfth Prince.”
After finishing all the small updates, Miriam spoke again.
“He refused again. Same reason as before. He says he’s busy.”
“Hm…”
I frowned slightly.
Richard had now refused my request to meet three times.
The first time was right after he returned from the battlefield.
I understood then—he must have been busy.
But the second and third times made me suspicious.
It seemed like Richard was avoiding me.
I didn’t know why, but if this continued it would be troublesome. I had planned to tell Richard about the Eastern development project first.
I should have spoken to him at the party yesterday.
Because of that damn brat, look at this mess.
Suppressing my irritation, I stabbed my salad with the fork.
First I would meet Tristan. If that didn’t work, I might have to barge into Ruby Palace myself.
With that resolve, I continued my breakfast.
“Did you sleep well last night, Your Highness?”
Exactly at ten o’clock, Tania arrived.
Tania was the general manager of the Eastern development project I was currently preparing.
She was intelligent and extremely capable, someone I trusted greatly.
“The land purchases are almost complete. Two households haven’t signed the contract yet, but their demands aren’t unreasonable, so we’re negotiating.”
“Good. Accommodate them if possible. There’s no benefit in creating resentment.”
“Understood. Also, regarding the landscaping stone…”
Overall, the project was progressing smoothly.
At this rate, we should meet the planned schedule without problems.
During lunch another piece of good news arrived.
The Cassander family was hosting a small charity bazaar and had invited me.
I happily accepted the invitation and went to meet Tristan in a good mood.
Up until that point everything had been great.
Everything.
Except—
“What is your relationship with Christian Shardina?”
Why are you acting like this too?
