Chapter 137
* * *
Late afternoon.
A man entered the Grand Ducal Castle.
He strode in long, confident steps; his long legs made his pace wide.
He was wearing the Aragon Knights’ training uniform, with the deputy commander’s insignia embroidered on the collar.
“Deputy Commander, you’ve arrived.”
Nirwe was on his way back after finishing training early.
He had sparred with Commander Gustave after a long time, and his arms felt like they were going to break, but fortunately, he had a valid excuse to end the session early.
Although the sun was starting to set, it wasn’t too late.
Guided by the steward Owen, he ascended the stairs.
“How was tea time?”
“Of course, it went smoothly. There were no issues that you were concerned about, Deputy Commander. The other young ladies have all returned to their estates.”
“That’s a relief.”
He walked down the hallway on the third floor.
Nirwe’s destination was the guest room.
A young lady from a distant marquisate was spending the night.
All the other young ladies had returned, but she had stayed behind under the excuse that her estate was too far to travel alone at that hour.
Nirwe sighed.
A noble unmarried young lady staying overnight at another man’s residence was against protocol.
However, if she was accompanied by her father or older brother, it wasn’t a violation.
“Roshe.”
Upon entering the room, the woman reading on the sofa looked up.
She gave him an elegant, playful smile.
“Older Brother.”
“……”
Nirwe Nigelius let out a deep sigh and walked into the room.
“You came early?”
“You didn’t say anything disrespectful to Lady Erika, did you?”
“What do you take me for?”
Roshe let out a small laugh.
“Did you come because you were worried about that? You didn’t even visit me during the day.”
Her refined voice was gentle. She closed the book she had been reading.
“Older Brother.”
Her steady eyes looked up at Nirwe.
“Tea time today was very impressive.”
“……This won’t do. You’re going home today. I’ll inform your father myself.”
“I totally agree with that.”
“With what? Your crazy little eyes always make me uneasy.”
“I support Lady Erika becoming the Grand Duchess!”
“What? Who?”
Roshe’s face was slightly flushed, and she smiled shyly.
“Lady Erika. I support her becoming the Grand Duchess.”
“What?”
“She’s cute, pretty, and healthy. Since she’s from Tenearha, it’s natural she’s healthy. I’m relieved she’ll have a safe childbirth.”
Nirwe’s mouth twitched.
“Safe… childbirth? Why are you talking about that now?!”
“As the first vassal family of Aragon, is it wrong to carefully examine the woman who will bear the heir of the Grand Ducal family?”
Nirwe pressed his brows together and squeezed his eyes shut.
“……You’re going too far ahead. The two of them aren’t even together yet.”
“Are you sure they aren’t? I think His Highness already has feelings.”
“Um……”
“Is His Highness secretly in love?”
“……”
“If I’m mistaken, please correct me, Older Brother.”
“……”
Nirwe had a mouth, but he couldn’t respond.
Anyone could see it—standing on their head or not—the Lord’s feelings for Lady Erika were obvious.
Even the flower trees in the Grand Ducal Castle gardens seemed to know.
“……”
Yet, he couldn’t recklessly announce the Lord’s feelings to anyone.
How could a loyal retainer openly declare that the Lord was secretly in love with Lady Erika?!
A reality where he couldn’t speak the truth!
“……”
Seeing her older brother silent, Roshe smiled softly.
“If His Highness has feelings, no one in our family can oppose it anyway.”
She seemed pleased.
“Then Grandfather will finally abandon his plan to make me the Grand Duchess. He’ll be a little sad, though.”
She murmured lightly, like a butterfly drifting on the breeze.
It was the exact mood. Roshe seemed ready to fly.
She had worried that there might never be another alternative, but finally, she found one.
“Older Brother, you must not break your vow to dedicate yourself to the Aragon Knights.”
“How could I break a vow? I swore it in blood to my Lord.”
“Exactly.”
Roshe had been clever since she was young.
“Because I will be the head of the Nigelius family.”
Born as the only granddaughter of the Northern noble house, the Marquises Nigelius.
She was smart, with sharper situational awareness than anyone.
She wasn’t foolish enough to cling to a Grand Duke who couldn’t even remember her simple name.
She had the ability to take the path she wanted and now had the circumstances to do so.
“……”
It was still hard to believe that a man as cold as frost had feelings for a woman like sunlight.
But that didn’t matter.
She wholeheartedly supported it.
“Older Brother, can I stay a few more days?”
“Who gave you permission? You’ll return to your marquisate at dawn tomorrow.”
But Roshe didn’t care. She declared her decision as if Nirwe’s opinion wasn’t needed.
“I want to become friends with the future Grand Duchess.”
Nirwe’s mouth fell open.
“……Future… Grand Duchess? Don’t call her that on your own. I’m worried you’ll make a mistake.”
“Don’t worry, Older Brother. I never make mistakes.”
As the next head of the Nigelius family, Roshe had already planned her future in an instant.
“She’s someone I’ll serve one day, so I want to make a good impression in advance.”
Roshe smiled brightly.
* * *
“Erika…”
“……Today, she went out with Lady Roshe again.”
These days, it was hard to see Erika.
How many times had he silently turned away in the empty room?
It all started the day tea time was held in the Grand Ducal Castle’s glass greenhouse.
A huge blunder.
They should never have called the vassal family young ladies to a tea gathering. Everything about it was regretful.
“Which crazy woman is she from?”
“……The first vassal family, granddaughter of the Nigelius Marquises. You should memorize that by now……”
“Send her home immediately.”
“Wouldn’t Lady Erika feel upset if we suddenly sent her back? They seem to have grown close.”
“Sigh……”
It irritated him immensely.
“Tell her to return. If she refuses, threaten to make her estate unusable and force her back.”
“She’s Deputy Commander Nirwe’s sister.”
“Nirwe is my subordinate.”
Chaud felt extremely uneasy.
Owen knew Chaud’s threat was just words, but the intensity was palpable.
“It’s time for her to return. She’ll be here soon, so I’ll do my best to arrange dinner together.”
Owen comforted his master.
Another man walked silently beside him.
“……”
Deckart, the Chief Regent.
He had orchestrated the tea time incident.
He had hoped Erika would be mocked among the noble young ladies, but that never happened.
He wanted to warn her not to even dream of becoming Grand Duchess, but instead, he felt as if he were the one being warned.
Moreover, Lady Roshe clung to Erika like a close friend, which drove Deckart mad.
‘Is Lady Roshe even in her right mind?’
Could a noblewoman at the pinnacle of northern aristocracy really mingle so freely with a commoner?
Deckart’s expression grew darker, and Owen shouted,
“Your Highness, look outside the window…!”
Chaud was already leaning against the corridor window.
“……”
Below, in the garden,
Erika and Roshe’s chatter could be heard.
“They returned early.”
Chaud sighed and quietly observed the scene.
Though they looked tiny from above, Erika stood out clearly.
Her smiling eyes.
Her small, cute giggles.
Her delicate gestures and quick, small footsteps—all Erika’s.
Everything else seemed erased.
There was only one presence in the world that captured Chaud’s attention.
And beside her, a frivolous young lady with a billowing skirt disrupted the view.
“……Ah! Oh my!”
Roshe startled at a bug and stepped awkwardly.
Whirl—
Naturally caught and supported by the princess, Erika!
Roshe’s cheeks flushed red!
“……They’re playing around, really.”
Chaud pressed his forehead in exasperation.
He never imagined he’d feel this way inside the Grand Ducal Castle.
