-53-
Startled by the sudden change in atmosphere, I turned to look at Angelica. Even Alexandra flinched in surprise, seemingly caught off guard by the unexpected reaction. After noticing our expressions, Angelica corrected hers and spoke.
“I’m sorry. I was just surprised by the sudden comment.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s understandable. We were surprised too. Judging by your reaction, it seems you didn’t know about the rumors.”
“No… Where did they even come from?”
“Do you remember the tea party? I heard someone saw you meeting His Majesty that day.”
“Ah… that time…”
She seemed to recall the event and quietly nodded. Letting out a small sigh, Alexandra asked,
“Is it really true? That you and His Majesty are… involved?”
“No. It’s true that I met His Majesty that day, but that part isn’t true.”
As Angelica spoke firmly, Alexandra narrowed her eyes.
“I heard the two of you looked quite close… That you were holding Rose, and His Majesty was watching you with a gentle smile.”
“It’s true I was holding Rose. But I only did so after asking for permission. As for His Majesty looking at me like that… I’m not sure…”
“Really?”
“It all happened so suddenly, and I was so nervous that I didn’t really have time to observe him. I don’t know who saw it, but maybe they were mistaken about the smile…”
“Hmm… That could be. I only heard it as a rumor, so I wasn’t sure either. If you’re saying it’s not true, then it probably isn’t. Maybe the lady who saw it misunderstood.”
“I’m sure that’s the case.”
As I watched Angelica speak with certainty and Alexandra nod in agreement, I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. No, it’s not a misunderstanding—I saw it too.
Whoever that lady was, she saw it correctly. Maybe she didn’t hear the conversation, but from a distance, the atmosphere between them could easily be mistaken as that of lovers.
For now, it seemed Alexandra’s curiosity had been satisfied, and her face relaxed. She then looked at Angelica and said,
“It was just a rumor I couldn’t ignore, so I wanted to confirm it. I’m sorry if I was rude.”
“No, not at all. It’s a rumor that would make anyone curious.”
“So that was the first time you met my brother? Was it by chance?”
“Yes. It really was a coincidence. I had stepped out of the princess’s palace for a bit and was in a nearby garden. There’s a large tree and the scenery was lovely, so I stayed there. Then a cat showed up, and not long after, His Majesty appeared from the bushes. I was shocked.”
“Ah… Yes, my brother does tend to wander around the palace on his own. He moves so quietly that it’s not uncommon for people to be startled when he suddenly appears.”
Alexandra shook her head as if she couldn’t help it. Seeing this, Angelica smiled gently, prompting Alexandra to suddenly ask,
“But he gave you permission to hold Rose?”
“Ah, yes… The child was very fussy, and I didn’t know what to do, but he said it was her way of asking to be held and told me it was okay.”
“What… He gave permission that easily? That’s not like him…”
“I was surprised too. I heard Rose is someone he truly cherishes.”
“Hmm…”
After hearing the story, Alexandra quietly observed Angelica. It was obvious she was trying to figure out if there was another reason behind it. Angelica looked a bit awkward under the intense gaze, then suddenly remembered something and added,
“Ah, maybe it was because he knew I was familiar with cats. I used to raise one. He seemed to know that, so perhaps he thought I was more considerate of cats than others…”
“…He knew you had a cat before?”
“Yes? Yes. He even knew what it looked like. I’m not sure how he found out, though…”
“Hmm… That’s quite the interesting story…”
Alexandra, who had briefly looked dazed, now studied Angelica with a strange expression. It was uncanny how similar the siblings were. When I talked to Lucious about them, he had the exact same look.
Until recently, Angelica hadn’t been a particularly noticeable lady, so Alexandra must be wondering what kind of connection she could possibly have with the Emperor. If he even knew what her cat looked like, then it meant Rayel had taken quite an interest in her. The real question was—how did that interest begin?
“Well, I’ll just ask him later. I doubt he’ll tell me, but if I pester him enough, he might. Anyway, Lady Werner.”
“Yes?”
After pondering for a while, Alexandra seemed to reach a conclusion and called Angelica. As Angelica looked at her curiously, Alexandra smiled and asked,
“What did you think when you met His Majesty? I heard he might be a little interested in you. But what about you?”
“Ah… Hmm, I don’t know… It was such a sudden meeting, and honestly, I’d never really thought about him before. He just feels like someone from a completely different world…”
Angelica furrowed her brows slightly, looking a bit troubled. I nodded in understanding. After all, she’s just a count’s daughter, and he’s the emperor. Rayel, especially, had such a strong aura that not many ladies dared to approach him easily. To Angelica, he must have felt far out of reach.
“Yeah, my brother is kind of like that. But still, you must’ve had a first impression. What was it like?”
“He seemed… weird.”
“What?”
Both Alexandra and I stared at her in confusion, not expecting that answer. Angelica’s brow furrowed further as she continued.
“I vaguely thought he’d be scary, but he spoke normally and had more expressions than I expected. I’m curious how he knows so much about me, but he’s kind of unreadable. If I ever meet him again… I’m not sure I’d want to. It’s a bit unsettling…”
She seriously shared her impression of Rayel. Alexandra’s eyes widened, then burst into laughter.
“Ahaha! You’re the first person to describe my brother that way. Weird and unsettling… pfft…!”
“Seriously… Only Lady Werner could say something like that about His Majesty…”
Even I struggled to suppress my laughter. Only Angelica could describe the Emperor like that. Poor Rayel—your first impression isn’t exactly a good one, huh?
In the original story too, Angelica’s first impression of Rayel hadn’t been favorable. I mean, he suddenly revealed he knew her secret and demanded a contract marriage—how could it be a good one?
Even though their first meeting had changed in this version, that part remained the same. Understandable, really. No matter how Rayel saw it, for Angelica it was still a strange and abrupt encounter.
Noticing that Alexandra and I were laughing, Angelica suddenly realized what she had just said and paled.
“I-I’m sorry…! I didn’t mean to speak so strangely about him in front of you two… The words just slipped out…”
“It’s fine. We’re all friends here. I actually appreciate your honesty. Oh, but I wouldn’t say that in public. You understand why, right?”
“Yes… I’ll be careful.”
Angelica nodded at Alexandra’s advice. While neither of us cared much, things could have gone terribly wrong if others had heard what she said just now.
‘I wonder what Rayel would’ve done if he heard it himself.’
Now that I knew he was interested in Angelica, I couldn’t help but be curious how he would’ve reacted to hearing her true thoughts. More than anyone else’s reaction, I was most curious about his.
***
After the unexpectedly enjoyable tea party, I returned to the Grand Duke’s residence. It was around dinner time, and a delicious aroma wafted from the dining room on the first floor. As I was about to head upstairs to change, Warren approached me.
“My lady, His Highness has returned.”
“Oh, really? He’s back earlier than expected.”
I thought he’d return late since he went on an inspection to Shinadelli, but he came back sooner than I thought. Smiling in relief, Warren continued,
“Apparently the inspection finished earlier than scheduled. He returned two hours ago and is now in the office.”
“Alright. I’ll change and head to the office. Please prepare the meal; Lucious and I will be down soon.”
“Yes, understood.”
I went upstairs to my room and called for the maids to help me change into something more comfortable. After quickly changing, I washed my face to remove the stuffy makeup. Draping a light shawl that Inabelle handed me over my shoulders, I left the room.
Lucious’s office was on the third floor, near mine. I went up the stairs and stopped in front of the door, knocking lightly.
Knock knock—
“Lucious?”
When there was no answer, I tilted my head in confusion. Was he not inside? After a moment of hesitation, I carefully opened the door and stepped in.
“Ah…”
I understood why there was no answer. He was sitting in a chair at the desk by the window, eyes closed and leaning back. As I approached, I could hear his steady breathing. He was asleep.
I stood silently in front of him, not wanting to wake him, and looked at his sleeping face. He must have been exhausted from the inspection trip—he was deeply asleep.
Still, how could someone’s sleeping face be this lovely? Usually, Lucious woke before I did, so I rarely saw him asleep. I felt lucky to catch this moment.
Since there was still some time, I decided to let him sleep a little longer. Quietly, I stepped back and began organizing the papers scattered across the desk. With all the work from the palace and Shinadelli, the documents had piled up. I moved carefully to avoid making noise.
“Huh? What’s this…?”
Among the disorganized papers, a particular document caught my eye. It was titled ‘Shinadelli Botanical Garden Fire Incident Report.’ Curious, I picked it up to read more closely.
“Details of damages… current restoration progress…”
The report described the incident in detail and included an update on the restoration. Fortunately, things seemed to be progressing well.
“There’s another page?”
Relieved, I flipped to the next page—only to suddenly feel myself being pulled from behind.
“Kyah!”
“…Tiana.”
“L-Lucious?!”
Surprised, I found myself sitting on his lap. He had pulled me in from behind, having just woken up. His drowsy eyes met mine. His blurred golden gaze slowly began to focus.
