Chapter 84
When I suddenly let out a loud “Hey!”, Ji Eun-ha’s shoulders tensed.
I didn’t even think to comfort her and hastily continued speaking.
“His Grace, the Duke, isn’t interested in me at all. Back when we met at the festival, that was only because he’s close to my older brother! I’m actually quite a troublemaker in our family, so my brother always struggles because of me. So the Duke was just angry that my brother had to go through that trouble, seeing me wandering around late at night…”
I felt cold sweat trickling down my back as I babbled on with excuses.
“Anyway, His Grace and I are not in the kind of relationship you’re thinking of, Eun-ha, so don’t worry.”
Even lying takes practice; doing this was far from easy.
Sure, I had lied to our Michael brother quite often before, but this was a whole different level of difficulty.
“Then why were you angry when I said I went to meet Miss Christener yesterday?”
I felt somewhat relieved, thinking that might count as a proper excuse, but Ji Eun-ha threw a sharper question than I expected.
Luckily, I managed to answer quickly without getting flustered.
“That’s obviously because you went out of the palace without telling anyone—it was dangerous, so he was worried.”
“But he wasn’t angry about why I sneaked out of the palace—he was angry about why I went to meet Miss Christener.”
Ah, Ji Eun-ha is surprisingly sharp and meticulous.
Caught off guard by her unyielding stare, I momentarily lost my words.
“Well…”
As I hesitated, I could see disappointment shadow her face. Seeing those dark eyes welling up as if she were about to cry, I quickly thought of a way out.
“He was probably just embarrassed!”
Once I said it, it sounded oddly convincing, so I confidently continued my lies.
“He seems shyer than he appears. Maybe he was embarrassed to show how much he worries about you. People like that can’t express their true feelings to someone they genuinely like.”
Even though he had only confessed his feelings to me a few days ago, it didn’t matter now.
Right now, I had to stop the tears welling in Ji Eun-ha’s doe-like eyes.
More importantly, I had to prevent her from running to the Emperor and telling him that Rixion Luhanes and Elizabeth Christener were somehow involved with each other. That would be a disastrous situation.
Ji Eun-ha looked slightly uncertain.
Her tear-filled eyes stared at me blankly as she spoke in a cautious voice:
“…Could it really be like that?”
Yet, I could feel a hint of hope flicker in her gaze and voice.
I breathed a small sigh of relief and spent a long while saying whatever would make her feel better.
I reassured her, telling her that Rixion Luhanes had always been a bit like that, but he probably didn’t dislike her. Even if I were a man, I would probably like her. Anything to lighten her mood.
By the time Ji Eun-ha’s mood had lifted and she smiled again, the sun was already beginning to set.
“Really, can’t I stay over?”
“No, I should head back today. I promise I’ll stay next time.”
“Next time, definitely.”
I also had to hurry home and tell Michael brother, who must have been worried about me all day. I wanted to go home and rest.
So, I gently pushed Ji Eun-ha’s hand away and finally left the palace where she was staying.
The steward who had rushed over to meet me personally guided me to my carriage.
‘I’m really exhausted.’
All I’d done all day was talk, yet my shoulders were stiff and tense.
I raised my hands and massaged my shoulders while following the steward.
I was planning to ask Anne to massage my shoulders when I got back to the marquis’ residence. As I trudged along, I suddenly froze upon recognizing the face of someone approaching from the opposite direction.
Rixion Luhanes, speaking to others with a blank expression, noticed me and his eyes widened in surprise.
There was no way to avoid him—we had just bumped into each other.
I knew we’d meet again eventually, but I never imagined it would be today.
Caught off guard and facing the person who had confessed to me not long ago, I lamented the lack of an invisibility cloak.
I quickly calculated my options.
I concluded that I had to ditch the steward and escape alone.
‘Act as naturally as possible while fleeing.’
I smoothly turned my gaze and body to the right path, ready to take a step, when—
“Liz!”
A voice full of warmth called my name.
I startled and froze. Turning my head the other way, I closed my eyes tightly in dismay.
I thought maybe he was considerate this time since I had sent him an artifact via my butler… but why call me here?
This is the Imperial Palace; there’s no place the Emperor’s gaze doesn’t reach. I should just ignore him!
I couldn’t just ignore him after he openly called my name.
Reluctantly, I turned back to see Rixion Luhanes striding confidently toward me, exuding the same boldness as if his confession had never happened.
The one who had confessed made me feel the need to shrink back, wanting to avoid him.
“Liz, what brings you here?”
Rixion Luhanes spoke with his usual gentle smile. His unnecessarily handsome face was unchanged.
It felt as though the confession had never happened. For a moment, I wondered if I’d been dreaming.
“Liz?”
I stared at him absentmindedly. He tilted his head slightly, and I snapped back to reality, stepping back.
I saw his eyes darken for a moment before he masked it with a smile. I realized I had made another mistake.
‘Of all times, it had to be now.’
How often do I even come to the palace? Going from Ji Eun-ha’s palace to my carriage wouldn’t even take long. Why did Rixion Luhanes appear now?
It could only be the work of a divine prank.
I cursed the gods of this world under my breath, feeling the heat of his gaze on my face.
“I… have a brief errand.”
“Liz, you’re in the palace?”
Ah, with the steward and so many eyes around, did he really have to keep saying “Liz, Liz”?
I worried the steward might think we were unusually close.
“Miss Christener, shouldn’t you head back soon?”
At that moment, the steward looked anxiously like my ally.
He seemed worried that Rixion Luhanes would hear that the Emperor had called me. I caught on and played along.
“Yes, I should head back before it gets any later. Well, I’ll be off then.”
I tried to pass him quickly before he could stop me.
“Then let me ask you—why has Miss Christener been in the palace until now?”
This time, the question was directed at the steward.
Rixion Luhanes asked casually, and the steward went pale, forced to answer that the Emperor had summoned me.
I was sure Rixion Luhanes already knew and was asking just to corner the steward. After all, I was alone in the palace with the steward guiding me.
‘That stubborn man…’
The poor steward turned ghostly pale, glancing nervously at Rixion Luhanes.
“Well… that is…”
It wasn’t pleasant to watch my father’s age steward sweating and fumbling.
If he blurted everything out, an angered Rixion Luhanes could go complain to the Emperor, who would, in turn, vent at me.
Imagining the worst, I clenched my fists and turned back toward Rixion Luhanes.
“Your Grace!”
Rixion Luhanes, wearing a calm smile and watching the steward, finally turned his attention to me.
I called him over immediately and guided his gaze toward the central garden.
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
