Chapter 13
“Whose Fiancé Is the Most Impressive?”
Count Lidenhart’s eyes twinkled as he gestured toward Lawrence, who was fidgeting with excitement, and told us it was fine to leave. I was led outside almost against my will by Lawrence’s hand. He kept trying to take me to the dining hall, insisting I needed to eat.
“Are you really okay? You didn’t get sick from working without eating, did you? I was so worried I thought I might die!”
“I was just a little tired and needed rest. I wasn’t actually sick. By the way, how was the knight training camp?”
“Well, I heard a lot of interesting stories, and it was fun in its own way. But when I heard you’d been unwell, I couldn’t focus on anything. Everything was a mess.”
“I told you I wasn’t actually sick…”
I had heard that Count Lidenhart’s garden was famous for its roses. Entering the garden, it truly lived up to its name—roses of every imaginable color bloomed extravagantly.
I noticed a rose with petals of a shade of mountain violet, tipped with a soft red. I moved closer to examine it carefully. Seeing my interest, Lawrence proudly explained,
“Wow, that’s truly fitting for the ‘rascal prince’ title. But wait, the duke’s heir never had a prearranged fiancé when he was young? That’s strange.”
“Apparently, many marriage proposals came in at one time, but he rejected them all and was temporarily ‘kicked out’ of the duke’s house. Isn’t that hilarious?”
I stopped and quietly recalled what Sir Alec had said.
“It’s because you resemble the prey I’m chasing… Lady Adeline.”
For a moment, I wondered if the “prey” could be Baroness Riuan—but I quickly shook my head. I had never seen the baroness, and she probably didn’t resemble me. I had never heard anything like that.
“Could it be… that he’s trying to lure me?”
Once again, my hand felt hot. I stopped in my tracks, and Lawrence panicked, flustered.
“Adel? What’s wrong? Are you tired? Should we sit down for a bit? Sorry, I talked too much. You just got over being unwell… I’m such an idiot…”
“No, it’s fine. And for the third time already, I wasn’t actually sick… You dummy!”
A little later, I was invited to a tea party hosted by Sophia. The gathering was small, just her and Lorienne with me. I had prepared a bouquet of coral roses I had obtained from Count Lidenhart’s estate as a gift.
“Oh my, I’ve never seen coral roses this beautiful!”
Sophia immediately called a maid to fetch a white ceramic vase. I felt a bit embarrassed; I couldn’t stop thinking about how the roses had come from Lawrence.
“Apparently, Countess Lidenhart personally cultivated them.”
“No wonder! I’ve seen coral roses before, but never with such beautifully tinted tips. She even prepared one for me… Adel, you’re really thoughtful.”
Lorienne carefully placed the bouquet beside her and hugged me tightly. Sophia arranged the flowers in the vase herself, then suddenly looked at me as if she’d just remembered something.
“Speaking of Countess Lidenhart, Sir Lawrence dances really well, doesn’t he? I was amazed at Lorienne’s birthday party. I’ve been to quite a few parties, but I’ve never seen a partner lead so gracefully.”
“Really? I’ve never danced with him! Handsome like a prince, dances well, a knight, and only pays attention to Adel! She’s lucky.”
Hearing Lorienne’s words, my face grew hot. I had no idea how a true fiancée was supposed to respond in such situations. She was right about everything, and trying to deny it would feel wrong. Even if I acted jealous like a cat, it would probably sound like praise to them. I decided to change the subject.
“By the way, I’ve never heard about Sophia’s or Lorienne’s fiancés.”
Sophia twirled the vase in her hands and said,
“Oh, did I forget to mention? My fiancé is Brian Loto, the second son of the Loto dukes. He’s currently working at the royal palace as an apprentice scholar.”
“Wow, already working at the palace? Amazing! But a scholar… I thought Sophia wouldn’t marry anyone who wasn’t better at hunting than her.”
“Seems like Sophia has unusual tastes, huh?”
“Me? Um… actually, I was worried at first since he’s the Loto second son and I didn’t think we’d match. But Brian… maybe because he’s naturally scholarly, he’s interested in everything. He listens to my hunting stories every day and enjoys them. Even my parents don’t understand my style, but he always says it’s pretty. Maybe he just doesn’t know women well?”
If this were a true fiancée, this is how she would act—speaking naturally while gushing about her fiancé. I wanted to tease Sophia, seeing her proud face flush red like her hair would be fun.
“What? You’re subtly bragging about your fiancé, huh?”
“Opposites attract, right? That’s love.”
Lorienne quickly chimed in to support me, making Sophia’s face turn even redder. But Sophia, skilled like a seasoned hunter, shifted her aim to Lorienne and landed a clever blow.
“Eh, but Lorienne’s fiancé is more impressive than mine, right? Isn’t that true, Lorienne?”
Lorienne had been frowning when the conversation first turned to her fiancé. She sighed deeply and pouted.
“After hearing about both of them, I feel incredibly jealous.”
“Why? Who is Lorienne’s fiancé?”
“Adel, maybe you don’t know? It’s quite a famous story… He’s supposedly the kingdom’s most outstanding young man.”
“Ah~ Sophia, don’t tease me.”
“Who is he? I’m dying of curiosity.”
“Clyde Holten. That is, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”
I gasped and quickly hid my mouth with my fan. I had met Duke Holten at the debutante ball—a kind, pleasant-looking gentleman with silver hair. According to the royal genealogy I had forced into my head, the current king’s second son was Duke Holten, and Sir Clyde Holten was his only son. At 13 years old, he ranked fifth in the line of succession—a tremendously high status.
Lorienne, still watching me gape, sighed again before speaking.
“I, too, had an arranged engagement before I was even born. So I should have looked somewhat similar… Yet I’ve never even seen him, only his portrait. I’ll probably only see him properly at the wedding. We exchanged letters a few times, but it was so boring. He’s still a child, so not much to say… And guess what I got for my birthday?”
“What?”
“A teddy bear, the largest size.”
Sophia and I exchanged glances, both on the verge of bursting into laughter. Then Lorienne, almost screaming, said,
“It was already in my house!”
We couldn’t hold back and laughed, pounding the sofa with our hands.
“Don’t laugh! I’m serious! I’m eighteen, and my birthday gift is a teddy bear. And if you’re going to buy it, shouldn’t you have checked if I already had one?”
Even with her face scrunched, the new teddy bear freshly bought did nothing to stop our laughter. Sophia, finally calming a bit, said,
“I’ve met Sir Clyde personally. Though he was younger than now.”
“Really? What did he look like?”
“Looks similar to Lorienne. Pale, delicate… oh, if you put the two together, they’d look like dolls!”
Lorienne now flopped across the sofa, arms crossed, muttering,
“I don’t like that either. He’s not my type.”
I continued to tease Sophia.
“So? Tell me more! Specifically! I’ve met Duke Holten, is he really like that?”
“Oh, yes. I think when he grows up, he’ll be like Duke Holten. If it’s okay to say this to Clyde… he had an innocent, delicate aura. Silver hair, white eyelashes, violet eyes! Perfect match for our Lady Lorienne.”
Tap tap tap tap—
“No…!”
At that moment, the sound of someone running down the hall and a maid’s voice calling out reached us.
