CHAPTER 51……………………………………………..
“…….”
“This will be the first and last time I push like this.”
April was the perfect bait for Perrphone to lure her back to the Rise Ducal House.
“You used to suggest we go see things together first… you’ve changed quite a bit.”
I pursed my lips as I felt like I was watching a younger sibling going through a turbulent adolescence.
Perrphone, pen in hand, suddenly had a spark in his eyes. His face—like a sculpture painstakingly carved by the hands of gods—was turned away from the sun yet fixed intently on me.
I felt an unexplainable sense of foreboding as his eyes curved into gentle half-moons, and then his pink lips, firmly closed until now, moved slightly.
“Going out isn’t a problem, but there’s a condition, Princess.”
“Yes? Please tell me.”
I didn’t know what condition Perrphone would propose, but it probably wouldn’t be anything I would strongly dislike.
If it were something I would panic over, it would be moving around with Barrack—but I doubted Perrphone would ever say that.
I waited calmly for him to continue.
“There’s one more person I’d like to include. That’s okay, right?”
“That’s fine, but who?”
“Demian Dinea Balstein.”
The name I had heard so many times today slipped from Perrphone’s lips.
“All three of us, including Sir Demian.”
Hearing Demian’s name suddenly, April looked slightly bewildered.
Perrphone simply observed April silently, without a word.
For a moment, the faint scent of wet wood in the office made both body and mind feel as if they were being transported back in time.
“If you intend to hide something from me, it will take you at least five more years, Your Highness.”
They say scents can send you traveling through time, and it seemed true.
The subtle aroma of wood and April’s single words transported me to a distant past. The words mingled with childhood memories.
Rozian had never been happy for a single day while at her father’s side. On her mother’s funeral day, her father had pressed against her to hide from the gazes of others—a disgusting memory that had made her childhood miserable.
It was April who made it possible for me to breathe freely in a palace saturated with an oppressive rose fragrance.
“I will follow Your Highness’s decision.”
I stared at April silently, and after a moment of thought, April lifted her head and replied.
Despite having gone long periods without contact with Demian, and despite being the one who directly sparked the rumors, April’s face was calm.
As if nothing had happened between her and Demian at all.
“Then I’ll call Sir Demian.”
A storm of sensations and thoughts, unlike anything experienced in the past three years, swept over me.
April, whom I had always thought was just a fake, acted like the real April I knew, prompting me to ask again and again:
Who are you, really? Are you truly the April I know?
And I wanted certainty.
“I hope the two of you can get along like before.”
The certainty that the woman before me might indeed be the April who shared my past.
At the same time, curiosity arose.
If there were two Aprils, and one was pretending, what had happened at the Ducal House? Why hadn’t April spoken a word to me? I wanted to find out.
Perrphone’s eyes softened, concealing his true feelings.
[If anyone speaks carelessly, there’s no need to hold back.]
In the mirror used for communication, Demian smiled slightly at the reflection of Dannion and his father.
Being called an “adopted child” had only hurt him when he was very young; now, well past twenty, it no longer mattered.
Whenever his father worried like this, he couldn’t understand why they still saw him as a child. Apparently, he still seemed like a little boy to them.
[Demian, you can always return to the estate.]
“I’m fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Despite his parents’ concern, anyone not completely insane would avoid saying such things out loud in front of him.
Next to Dannion, his mother’s soft, golden hair swayed lightly.
[It’s good if nothing’s wrong. Did you return to the capital because of the Princess?]
[Is any of that rumor even true?]
Demian gave a small smile to reassure his mother and father.
He had spent two years at the Kelis estate, returning to the capital once Princess Rise came back. It made sense they were curious.
The gossip from the capital had even reached his parents in the north—truly far-reaching.
“I came regardless of the rumors.”
Though he returned to the capital because of April, it wasn’t due to the absurd rumor of his secret crush.
He returned solely to find the real April Hill Rise, the one the information guild had been tasked to locate—not for anything else.
The reason he hadn’t corrected the fake April’s reckless gossip was to let her stew in anxiety, pretending to be April.
[Did you see her, Your Highness?]
“Yes.”
[Has your older brother still not come to his senses?]
Milena, who had lived in the north for over twenty years after marriage, spoke with her usual sharpness.
Though he had never met her directly, he nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Milena’s pale golden eyes conveyed both worry and exasperation.
[If your brother is to come to his senses, he’ll have to get Rozian out of the way first.]
Everyone knew about Rozian and the current emperor. Demian smiled faintly at his parents’ concerned faces.
Though nobles sometimes joked that he wasn’t truly the grand duke’s child, he had always been treated with genuine love and care.
[If anyone in the palace spouts nonsense, don’t let it slide.]
“Yes, Father.”
Memories of being scolded as a child to punch those who spoke nonsense came to mind.
Though he was no longer a child, in his parents’ eyes he still seemed young.
While speaking to his parents via the mirror, a light knock sounded, and the office door opened.
“What’s the matter?”
“A royal envoy has arrived.”
“From the palace? For what?”
If the palace sent someone, it would only be for Perrphone—but the reason was unclear.
The gossip surrounding April had ended her contact with her cousin Perrphone, so there was no obvious reason for a visit.
“They’ve urgently requested your presence at the palace.”
[If the palace summons you, you must go. Demian, contact me later.]
Through the servant’s words, his mother’s gentle voice came warmly.
Walking quickly through the palace corridor, I reflected briefly.
Why would Perrphone summon me? I thought over it several times, but nothing came to mind.
Any connection through April was now gone, so perhaps it was only natural.
Or maybe Perrphone had noticed something from our previous meeting? I hoped he had.
Even if Demian didn’t mention it first, if Perrphone sensed something odd and asked, he intended to answer honestly.
He didn’t want a fake to come and take away everything April had built.
Arriving in front of the crown prince’s office, Sir Lervian announced my arrival.
“Your Highness, Sir Balstein has arrived.”
The firmly closed golden doors slid open, revealing not the luxurious golden hair I expected, but soft beige hair tied neatly at the back.
As his grayish-blue gaze fell upon me, a flicker of discomfort passed over Demian’s face.
‘Who are you to pretend to be April?’
It had been nearly a year since the last meeting after that series of events.
“Your Highness, Sir Balstein has arrived.”
With Sir Lervian’s voice, the door opened, revealing hair darker than night.
His black hair matched my memories, and his crimson eyes reminded me of red wine. My face was caught in them immediately.
In that instant, his expression showed both discomfort and displeasure—clearly directed at me.
So many things must have happened in my absence.
I recalled what the noble young ladies had said at tea time. Not visiting the ducal residence even once suggested something had happened…
But what exactly had happened, I couldn’t even guess.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other together like this.”
