~Chapter 63~
The Duchess shrugged her shoulders and thought, “If someone wasn’t deliberately trying to stop us, this would be impossible.” She then said to Duke Rikeion,
“Then let’s talk with the Grand Duke this time and see just how much he likes Delphina.”
Delphina looked at the room she was assigned with a troubled face. Naturally, she and Elcayan had to share one room.
“I came here to make the Rikeion family careless and find evidence… but now I’m sharing a room with Elcayan without meaning to.”
In the North, there were always many people around them, so they rarely spent time alone.
“Maybe it’s a good thing I’m not with Elcayan right now.”
Elcayan had left temporarily to meet the Duke and Duchess of Rikeion.
“Ivelina will probably be there too.”
The look Ivelina gave Elcayan was unusual. Whenever Kassen looked at Ivelina, Delphina always felt uneasy.
But even imagining Elcayan alone with Ivelina didn’t make Delphina nervous.
“I realize now… I trust Elcayan.”
She found it funny that she trusted Elcayan, whom she had only known a few months, more than Kassen, who had been her fiancé for eight years.
Delphina looked around the room, decorated with expensive furniture and ornaments showing the Rikeion family’s wealth.
“I heard the family is in trouble, but their wealth isn’t so bad because of the compensation money.”
The Rikeion family had been rich for generations, and it was still stable when her parents were alive.
“If the compensation money made them stumble… how much property has my uncle lost?”
Delphina disliked how her uncle’s family was ruining the duke’s house, full of memories with her parents.
“I mustn’t just stand by.”
Duke Rikeion was truly the worst. She was determined to find Alfonso and tell him everything her uncle had done.
“I have to stay here and buy time since I can meet Grandfather only at the Rikeion estate.”
Before coming here, Johannes gave advice to Delphina and Elcayan.
“I know you two are contract lovers. But you’ll need to act well at the Rikeion estate.”
“What kind of acting?”
“Pretend to be in love. That way, no one will suspect your contract. The Rikeion family suspects you’re just a political marriage, but acting close could hide that.”
“I know my uncle is planning something.”
“Exactly. So pretending to be real lovers could help. You could even act like you spent a passionate night together to mislead them.”
“We might even be attacked by black magic or have Elcayan targeted while checking this.”
Calix, who was listening, said worriedly,
“This is bad. Elcayan is very honest and bad at lying. He might mess up the acting.”
Johannes said,
“Really? I didn’t know they were contract lovers. I thought they were good actors.”
He looked sharply at Elcayan and said,
“If Elcayan tries anything foolish with you, tell me. I won’t allow it.”
Calix added,
“Don’t worry. Before Johannes acts, I will handle Elcayan.”
Johannes praised Calix for being so loyal to Delphina.
Delphina gave up trying to understand their strange conversation.
“Elcayan is like the core of Johannes’s power. Saying they won’t leave him alone is quite a joke.”
But their jokes were for her benefit.
Suddenly, the system window appeared before Delphina’s eyes.
<Lord Frad clicks his tongue, saying this isn’t a joke.>
“Lord Frad? Why haven’t you appeared lately?”
Delphina opened her eyes wide as the god Frad, who had been absent since the banquet, suddenly appeared.
<Lord Frad pretends to be tired, saying he hasn’t appeared often because he used a lot of power. He’s angry they are sharing a room and rushed here.>
The system window started to crackle.
<Lord Frad warns he will punish if Elcayan even touches Delphina.>
“That can’t happen, Lord. Elcayan is very trustworthy.”
<Lord Frad falls silent with a serious face.>
<“Do you really think so?” he asks.>
Delphina shrugged.
Actually, Lord Frad’s worries were unnecessary.
“Elcayan is a gentleman who would never touch me without being lovers.”
The problem was not Elcayan but Delphina herself.
“Can I really stop myself from touching Elcayan? What if he guesses my feelings? I don’t have much self-control… what if I can’t hold back?”
Though she hadn’t said it aloud, her heart beat fast whenever she saw him.
“I have to try not to cross the line with him. I don’t want him to notice my feelings.”
She tried hard not to give meaning to his small actions.
Since childhood, Delphina had often misunderstood kindness and been hurt.
“All the kind servants were secretly sent by Ivelina.”
Ivelina did anything to bother Delphina.
She sent people to be her maids and then left.
When Delphina cared for someone, they left.
“Even if my heart is strong, getting hurt several times would break anyone.”
Of course, Elcayan was not like that.
Even though she trusted him, she didn’t want to read too much into his small acts.
But still, whenever she faced him, her heart trembled uncontrollably.
“It’s the first time I’ve truly liked someone, so I feel like I might make a mistake.”
“If I accidentally say I like you, I will regret it the most.”
