Chapter 46
Adrien Run — the eldest son of a famous swordsmanship family.
He and Eilene had known each other since they were very young because of their family ties, and they were close.
Because of that long history, Adrien had noticed that Eilene seemed… different lately.
And more than that—he liked her.
Her saying she was glad he came, or happily eating sweet desserts—those weren’t things the old Eilene ever did. At first, he thought she had just become brighter, but little by little, clear signs started piling up.
First, she should have known that “Harine Desserts” belonged to the Run family. He was sure he had mentioned it to her before, and the smart Eilene wouldn’t forget something like that.
Another thing—
Adrien always rode a horse when going between the duke’s mansion and his home.
Anyone staying at the duke’s residence would know this.
Back when they were kids, Adrien had once fallen from his horse Kant and sprained his ankle. Eilene had healed him then and scolded him to take the carriage instead. But Adrien stubbornly kept riding horses, so she had given up—just telling him to at least tell her right away if he got hurt.
Adrien kept these pieces of evidence to himself and pretended not to notice anything, because even he couldn’t be sure of the truth yet.
Then, at a Run family party, when Charles barked at Eilene, Adrien realized it for sure—
This wasn’t Eilene!
He’d even joked, asking if her soul had been swapped, but when Eilene reacted so seriously, his feelings became complicated. His suspicions were closing in on the truth.
He wanted to ask—no, demand—answers from her.
Who are you?
Who are you, pretending to be Eilene in her body? Did you really think I wouldn’t notice your act?
It was a ridiculous thought, but he still wanted to say it. Maybe it was just a way to vent his feelings about her change.
So after visiting a bookstore with her, he deliberately suggested stopping by a dessert shop. He planned to take a moment to organize his thoughts before asking her directly.
Adrien stepped out for a bit, rehearsed in front of a mirror, and reviewed the evidence in his mind. After taking a deep breath, he walked back into the shop.
But when he returned—Eilene was gone.
No note, no trace. It was like she’d never been there at all.
Adrien’s heart sank.
He immediately called the guards and searched the streets, running everywhere to find her.
Eilene, where are you?
I’m sorry. I won’t ask anything.
Just please… be safe.
He kept repeating it desperately in his head, holding back tears.
Eventually—he found her.
When Eilene appeared in front of him, perfectly fine, he felt indescribable relief. And he tried to convince himself—
I had bad thoughts, so this is my punishment.
Right. People can change. You could forget things you used to know. The kidnapping must’ve been that shocking. If you haven’t experienced it, you wouldn’t understand.
He decided to leave it at that. But then…
In front of the bookstore, he saw Eilene—with Grand Duke Rusl by her side.
And Adrien realized—the change wasn’t from the kidnapping.
It was from love.
Yes… love. That had to be it. In her eyes when she looked at the Grand Duke, he saw feelings that could only be called love.
People in love recognize the eyes of others in love.
Adrien turned away silently, ready to give up on her.
But then… the lingering feelings turned into stubbornness.
Adrien, are you really going to give up without even confessing?
You gave up when she got engaged to the Emperor. And now you’ll give up again? If she could be swayed by the Grand Duke, then couldn’t you sway her too?
That hope clung tightly to him.
“Alright then. I challenge you to a duel.”
And so—Adrien, without fear, challenged Raymond, the Grand Duke, famous as a master swordsman.
“Eilene, you be the judge,” Raymond said.
I was just wondering who I should cheer for when the Grand Duke’s words solved my problem—now I wouldn’t have to cheer for anyone. A judge has to be fair, after all.
“Sure!” I agreed quickly.
“Eilene, you’ll cheer for me though, right?” Adrien asked.
“No, obviously me,” Raymond cut in.
Adrien threw the first jab, and the Grand Duke didn’t hold back either. Watching them bicker again, I thought it was probably better they fought it out with swords instead of words.
“Then—start!” I shouted, cutting them off before they could say more. Their mouths immediately closed.
The two men gripped their wooden swords, studying each other seriously, searching for an opening. The tension felt like watching wild beasts sizing each other up.
“Yaaah!”
Adrien charged first, shouting loudly to seize the advantage.
But his attack was blocked instantly by the Grand Duke, who seemed to know exactly where the strike was coming from.
Adrien tried to retreat, but Raymond stepped in fast, striking Adrien’s sword with enough force to knock it completely out of his hands.
“Ah—”
The wooden sword flew far away.
I covered my mouth in shock.
That’s it? It ended that easily?!
Adrien stared at his now-empty hands in disbelief. When Raymond’s wooden sword stopped just short of his neck, Adrien finally raised his hands in surrender.
“I… lost.”
The Grand Duke pulled back his sword immediately.
It was an overwhelming victory. Raymond’s experience, skill, and strength were on a different level.
Even in victory, Raymond didn’t look arrogant—and that made him look even more stunning.
Raymond… so… cool.
It was the kind of scene that could make your nose bleed.
No wonder Koa told me to watch. When I looked up, she met my eyes and nodded—this was perfect hierarchy setting.
Adrien accepted his loss and turned to leave.
“I’ve learned a lot. But if you think I’m giving up completely, you’re wrong.”
“You really don’t know how to admit defeat,” Raymond replied.
They shook hands and exchanged faint smiles.
A moment ago they were ready to kill each other—now this? I guess swordsmen have their own kind of culture.
Still… so Adrien’s planning to challenge him again? Just thinking about it gave me a headache.
And I still didn’t understand one thing—why did they even fight in the first place?
The duel ended quickly without any conditions set, but from that day, Adrien stopped tagging along on my bookstore trips. He also never told anyone about my meetings with the Grand Duke.
Things stayed quiet for days, until Adrien finally visited the duke’s mansion again.
“Long time no see, Adrien.”
He gave me a side-eye before sitting across from me at the garden table. He looked a little tired.
But I had something I’d been waiting to say.
“Adrien.”
“What?”
“Please keep it a secret that I meet with the Grand Duke.”
Maybe my blunt tone annoyed him, because he suddenly burst out:
“I… when you got engaged to His Majesty, I… I…”
“I… what?”
“I…”
He couldn’t finish his sentence, his face turning bright red.
“Ah—forget it!” he shouted, turning away.
What the heck? He won’t even say it but still gets mad?!
Noticing my baffled look, Adrien peeked at me nervously, his lips jutting out.
“I wanted to become the Knight Commander so I could… protect you.”
“Oh, really? That’s pretty cool.”
Hearing that, I was honestly impressed. Adrien really was loyal.
When I sincerely praised him, he blushed and scratched his cheeks.
“But you know…”
“Hm?”
“The future Knight Commander just lost, though.”
“Ugh.”
He scowled at my teasing, but we soon moved on to other topics. Then Adrien brought something up hesitantly.
“Recently, there was talk of a marriage between Grand Duke Rusl and Navien.”
Thump.
My heart squeezed painfully. The sting spread through my whole body.
But I pretended not to care.
“Really?”
“Yeah. But the Grand Duke flatly refused.”
Ah… so that’s why Adrien had feelings toward Raymond.
Hearing this made me finally understand why Adrien had challenged him.
Thank goodness.
The marriage talk had been weighing heavily on me, but now, it felt like a boulder had been lifted off my chest. I couldn’t help letting out a quiet sigh of relief. Adrien glanced at me.
I think I heard him mutter, “So that’s the reason,” but I didn’t care. The important thing was—the Grand Duke refused. And that was enough for me.
