RVMPT Chapter 39

Chapter 39

While I was focused on reviewing documents, a knock came at the door, and a butler entered the room.

“Madam, it seems it’s time for you to start getting ready to leave.”

“Already? Oh, it is! Time has flown by so quickly!”

At the butler’s words, I set the documents I had been reviewing aside and jumped to my feet.

Today was the day of the long-awaited festival.

Eager to finish my preparations and head out, my steps across the hallway grew more energetic.

That’s when, off in the distance, I saw a zombie… No, it was Evan walking like a zombie.

With hollow eyes, as if he had downed five espressos in one day, Evan staggered along.

Upon noticing me, he still managed to bow politely.

Even in that state, his formality was flawless—this is what a true professional aide must look like.

“Are you going to prepare to attend the festival with His Grace?”

The way he said it made it sound as though Harold and I were going together, just the two of us.

Suddenly, Harold’s suggestion that we attend the festival together flashed through my mind.

At the time, the unexpected proposal had left me stunned.

The fountain’s spray had even felt like my own sweat, my mind spinning in confusion.

<“Um, Harold… Actually… I already have a prior engagement…”>

I couldn’t forget Harold’s deepening smile as soon as I told him about my prior plans with Dante.

After that, I explained everything in detail, feeling like a wife caught cheating, about how I had ended up making those plans.

To my surprise, Harold was the one who suggested that the three of us go together.

Fortunately, Dante also accepted after receiving my letter, which was filled with explanations about the situation.

Looking back on the whole process still gave me goosebumps.

It was a relief that everything had worked out well in the end.

Well, at least it was a happy ending for me…

“Yes, I’m heading off to get ready now. …But Evan, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m actually—*sniffle*—happy.”

His claim of happiness didn’t sound convincing, especially coming from his soul-drained face that looked as though he’d been worked to death.

‘He’s even crying.’

Panicking, I handed him a handkerchief.

“I’m fine, Madam. If I were to take that… *sniffle*…”

Instead, Evan roughly wiped his face with his sleeves. Between his sniffles, I could hear him muttering something about “His Grace.”

“Harold? What about Harold?”

“…! I only meant to wish you and His Grace an enjoyable date. I’ve been keeping you too long. I’ll take my leave now.”

Evan shuffled past me, tears falling like chicken droppings.

As he walked away, a white envelope slipped from his clothes.

I picked it up and saw the word *”Resignation”* written on the back.

The pressed-down handwriting carried the weight of a weary employee’s struggles.

‘He really does seem overworked…’

Even so, I couldn’t help but remain curious.

Although Harold seemed to trust me more than before, we were still in a contractual relationship.

Regardless of my growing fondness for Harold, I never forgot that fact.

But why would he rearrange his schedule to attend the festival with me?

Harold, who normally adhered strictly to his routine, had gone out of his way for me, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

At that moment, Anna appeared in the distance, running toward me and calling out, “Madam!”

“Madam! If you want to be ready before the agreed time, you need to start preparing now.”

“Alright, I’m on my way.”

I quickened my steps and brushed off the thoughts that had been swirling in my head.

‘Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe this is just part of Harold being good to the people on his side.’

If it were something bad, I’d keep worrying about it, but honestly, I was just happy to be going to the festival with Harold.

I decided to simply enjoy the festival.

The streets were crowded with people who had come to see the fireworks, held only on the last night of the festival.

Standing in front of the clock tower, I looked around at the bustling crowd.

Taking out a pocket watch, I checked the time and scanned the area again.

“Young Master Dante still isn’t here.”

It had already been thirty minutes past our scheduled meeting time, but Dante still hadn’t arrived.

Could he have gotten lost? But the meeting place we’d chosen was right in front of the clock tower, which was easy to spot from far away.

Harold, showing no irritation or concern at Dante’s tardiness, spoke in a calm voice.

“He must’ve had something urgent come up.”

“…I suppose that’s better than something bad happening.”

Harold covered the pocket watch I had been looking at with his hand.

Only then did I look up at Harold, who had been gazing down at me.

As his eyes blinked slowly, the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

While I was momentarily distracted by how much he resembled a sly fox, Harold spoke up.

“Don’t worry too much. If Young Master Dante went out, the Mayer family probably sent someone to guard him in secret.”

“True, Lady Mayer is meticulous about things like that.”

“Exactly. So let’s go, Diana. Thirty minutes is plenty of time to wait, isn’t it?”

We couldn’t stand here forever. Besides, I wasn’t alone—Harold was with me.

After one last glance around, I nodded.

“A wise choice.”

Harold’s eyes curved even more at my agreement.

His expression looked just like a fox, smiling contentedly after a successful hunt.

‘Harold doesn’t even have fox-like features, so why do I keep thinking of foxes today?’

Had my vision finally gotten worse?

I squinted for a moment but shook my head to clear the silly thought.

Before leaving, I stopped by a merchant near the clock tower and gave him some money to deliver a message to Dante if he showed up.

“Let’s go now!”

Excitedly, I dragged Harold along as we explored the neatly arranged stalls.

Some of the items on display were things I had never seen before, even in Diana’s memories, and they were fun to look at.

Just as we were about to move to the next area, Harold stopped in his tracks.

“Harold?”

What was it? I followed his gaze to see what he was looking at.

A young man working at one of the stalls had his head hanging low, beads of sweat dripping down his face.

When our eyes met, his face flushed red, then quickly turned pale.

“Madam, excuse me for a moment.”

Harold draped the hooded cloak he had been wearing over my shoulders.

Not only that, but he pulled the hood up over my head, lowering it so much that it covered my field of vision.

I pushed the hood back up and asked, “Why are you giving this to me?”

“The night air seems to be getting colder. I was worried you might feel chilly.”

“I’m not cold. I’m already dressed warmly enough.”

I tried to hand the cloak back to him, but Harold held it firmly in place, refusing to let go.

I struggled for a while, pulling at the cloak, but he remained calm and didn’t budge an inch.

“Huff, huff.”

I wasn’t cold—I was practically sweating at this point.

While I was catching my breath, Harold fastened the buttons on the cloak one by one.

When I stared at him, dumbfounded, he smiled shamelessly.

Look at him, using his good looks to brush this off as if nothing had happened.

“Even if you’re not cold now, you might feel differently later. Diana, don’t let me look like a heartless man who lets his wife freeze in front of my knights.”

“…Do I look cold to you guys?”

Hoping they’d back me up, I asked the two knights who had accompanied us as guards.

“Your complexion is pale, and your lips look a bit blue. You seem like you might collapse any minute.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you wore something even warmer than that cloak?”

“…”

It seemed the shamelessness of the knights matched their master.

In the end, I gave up and walked around wearing the cloak and hood.

Thankfully, the material was light and breezy, so it wasn’t too bad after a while.

Eventually, I forgot I was even wearing it.

After eating the chicken skewers Anna had recommended, we continued walking when I suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind us.

“Young Master Dante?”

“Ah, it really is you two! I thought it might be His Grace, so I rushed over. Good thing I did!”

Dante greeted us with a bright smile and a slight bow.

“I was worried when you weren’t at the meeting spot.”

“We waited for a while but didn’t see you, so we left. Nothing happened, did it?”

When I asked out of concern, Dante blinked in confusion.

“Huh? When I arrived on time, you weren’t there. Were you really waiting at the clock tower?”

“The clock tower? Yes, we stayed there the whole time. That was our agreed meeting spot.”

“That can’t be. I received a letter saying the meeting location had changed…”

“I never sent any letter, Young Master.”

When I firmly denied it, Dante rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“If it wasn’t the Duchess who sent it…”

After pausing for a moment, his reddish-orange eyes shifted away from me and landed on Harold.

“It seems someone decided to play a prank.”

Chapter 40

Dante continued to watch Harold carefully as he spoke clearly.

“Your Grace, are you really going to let the culprit who dared impersonate the Duchess go unchecked?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it, so stop concerning yourself with it.”

“…”

For a brief moment, Dante’s normally gentle, puppy-like eyes narrowed sharply.

In contrast, Harold tilted his head slightly, a smirk tugging at one side of his lips.

“Why? Do you have something else to say to me?”

“…No, I do not.”

Dante denied it, but his reddish-orange eyes flickered, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Feeling that their conversation had come to an end, I decided to step in to change the atmosphere.

“Young Master Dante, I’m really glad we managed to meet.”

“Indeed! It must be divine intervention! Oh, have you tried the chicken skewers yet? I heard they’re a must-eat at the festival!”

“Yes, I did. I’d heard the same thing and tried them. They were delicious. Not just me—Harold enjoyed them too.”

“…His Grace enjoyed them?”

Dante’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yes, Harold did.”

I couldn’t help but smile lightly at his reaction, feeling a sense of camaraderie.

Nobles typically avoided street food, considering it unclean, and Harold, in particular, was somewhat have a germaphobe due to his focus on health.

In fact, he hadn’t even drunk wine before marrying me.

But Harold had eaten street food like chicken skewers and enjoyed them.

Was it because he felt reassured having me, his healer, around?

I glanced up at Harold.

Noticing my gaze, Harold’s eyes met mine.

“You said food tastes better when it’s shared with someone.”

That was what I had told him when I’d encouraged him to try wine.

“Wait… did you eat the chicken skewers because of me?”

“They were delicious.”

So, it really was because of me…?

Feeling unexpectedly touched, I covered my mouth with my hand.

Harold’s eyes curved slightly, and soon, a sweet voice reached my ears.

“Your recommendations never disappoint.”

“R-Really?”

“Maybe our tastes are the same.”

“Maybe they are!”

“How about we make it a habit to eat out together regularly? I don’t usually dine out, so doing it with you would be a first.”

“That sounds great! Let’s go together! I’ll find lots of great places to try!”

His compliment made my heart flutter with excitement.

I quickly began mentally compiling a list of the best restaurants from Diana’s memories.

Remembering how many foods Harold hadn’t been able to eat due to his health-conscious habits, I became even more motivated.

“Only with me.”

“Huh?”

Lost in thought, I hadn’t caught his words clearly and asked for clarification, but Dante interrupted before Harold could repeat himself.

“Haha, the two of you seem to get along so well.”

Oh no.

I froze in surprise.

It wasn’t like Dante was a quiet or unnoticeable person, but for a moment, I had completely forgotten he was there.

While I fumbled awkwardly, Dante smiled brightly, his dimples deepening as he made a suggestion.

“Since we’ve run into each other like this, why don’t we explore the festival together from now on?”

“Of course. We did agree to spend the festival together.”

I composed myself and agreed.

Then I turned to Harold, wondering what he had said earlier.

“…”

Harold’s eyes, fixed on Dante, were icy cold.

Even though his gaze wasn’t directed at me, a chill ran down the back of my neck.

But as if I had imagined it, Harold soon gave Dante a welcoming smile.

“Well, ‘for now,’ traveling together doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Haha! Thank you for welcoming me, both of you!”

Dante beamed happily, like a puppy wagging its tail, while Harold maintained his smile.

Seeing the two of them seemingly getting along, I felt relieved.

“Diana, aren’t you thirsty?”

“Actually, I was just thinking the same thing. Should we go get something to drink?”

Diana responded enthusiastically to Harold’s suggestion.

After eating chicken skewers and walking around, she was feeling thirsty.

“No. You’ve been walking for a long time, so your legs must be tired. Stay here and rest with the knights. Dante and I will go get the drinks.”

Diana’s round eyes widened.

She wasn’t tired at all, thanks to her divine powers, so why would he say something like that?

She opened her mouth to speak, but mindful of the others around her, she chose not to voice her confusion.

“That sounds like a good idea, Your Grace. The Duchess and the knights can rest while we fetch the drinks.”

Dante’s reddish-orange eyes curved gently as he encouraged her to stay and rest.

Diana glanced back and forth between the two men, hesitant.

‘Will it really be okay to send them off together?’

Recalling how Harold hadn’t been fond of Dante in the past, she felt uneasy, but Harold hadn’t clashed with him even once during today’s festival.

“Alright. You two go ahead.”

After a brief moment of deliberation, Diana decided to trust that nothing would go wrong.

“Let’s go.”

The two men set off to get drinks, walking deeper and deeper into a deserted alley.

Dante, staring at Harold’s broad, imposing back, eventually glanced around.

The alley was narrow, barely wide enough for an adult man to stretch out his arms fully.

The only light came from the moon above, casting an eerie atmosphere.

Turning his gaze back to Harold, Dante asked, “Your Grace, are you sure there’s a shop selling drinks this way? All I see is trash rolling around.”

Suddenly, Harold spun around.

Dante instinctively stepped back, sensing the dangerous intent aimed at his throat.

“Wh-What’s going on all of a sudden…!”

He flailed his arms wildly as he stared at the dagger in Harold’s hand.

Harold, on the other hand, fixed him with a sharp gaze, his lips moving slowly.

“So, that clumsy act of yours was all just a performance, wasn’t it, Prince Andrew?”

Dante’s movements, which had been clumsy and exaggerated, became precise and efficient as he dodged.

His quick reactions and instinctive defense of vital points were proof that he wasn’t as bumbling as he seemed.

“A prince? What are you talking about…! Dodging was just luck! Please, lower the dagger…!”

Dante didn’t get to finish his sentence before Harold’s dagger flew toward his vital point again.

“Calm down! Isn’t this a bit excessive? What if you actually hurt me with that thing?”

Harold swung the dagger again, and Dante tilted his head to narrowly avoid it.

His staggering shadow flickered briefly before going still.

“Do you think I’d do this without being certain?”

“…”

Leaning against the wall, Dante fell silent.

Realizing that further denial wouldn’t work against Harold’s certainty, he ran a large hand down his face.

“I thought I’d done a good job imitating my younger self. Was it not convincing?”

His once soft, puppy-like eyes turned firm and resolute.

But despite his composed expression, his mind was racing.

Up until now, he had thought Harold would at most express jealousy or question his reason for attending the festival with Diana.

If he had known Harold was aware of everything, he wouldn’t have followed him so nonchalantly.

When did Harold figure it out?

Dante clenched his fists tightly.

His darkened eyes moved slowly, searching Harold for any openings.

Harold, aware of the cautious gaze, calmly sheathed his dagger.

“I know you pretended to be pitiful to manipulate my wife into inviting you to the festival.”

“I had no ill intentions. It’s just that the information I’ve gathered differs greatly from what I’ve heard. And since She is close to Lady Mayer, I wanted to observe her more closely. Surely you know how important Lady Mayer is to me, Your Grace.”

“That, in itself, is ill-intentioned.”

“…”

A cold wind swept between them.

Dante eventually raised his hands in surrender.

“I’ll be more careful in the future.”

Until he succeeded in inheriting the throne, he had to remain the foolish and incompetent son.

This was the only way he could keep the Emperor from getting angry and ruining his plans.

“Tell the Duchess you had urgent business and had to leave early.”

Harold finally put away his dagger completely.

“I apologize for my earlier rudeness. And I formally welcomed you to the Empire, Your Highness. May glory be with the future sun.”

The man who had moments ago been wielding a dagger brimming with killing intent was now nowhere to be seen.

Watching Harold play the role of a loyal subject, Dante let out a hollow laugh.

“…Thank you.”

“By the way, this is a gift.”

Harold handed Dante a small folded piece of paper.

“What is this?”

Dante unfolded the paper to find a name and an address written on it.

“Didn’t one of your mute servants go missing from the Marquis’s estate? That’s his real name.”

“What? That can’t be… But before taking him in, I had his background thoroughly investigated. He had no ties to the royal family.”

“You can confirm the rest for yourself. If you go to the address on that note, you’ll find him there.”

“…”

“I’m glad I could deliver this gift. I’ll take my leave now, Your Highness.”

With a slight nod, Harold left the alley.

It was only after Harold’s shadow completely disappeared that Dante let out a breath, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.

At that moment, a shadow melted into view—it was one of his guards.

“Is it okay to let the Duke go just like that? He could use this information to bargain with the Emperor.”

“As long as I don’t ignore his warning, it’ll be fine. The Duke isn’t some ambiguous power player. Even without the Emperor, he’s strong enough to obtain almost anything he wants on his own.”

To ignore Harold’s warning now would be like poking an angry eagle’s nest.

And not just any  eagle’s nest—a hornet’s nest.

Looking down at the note, Dante clicked his tongue.

Though it appeared to be a gift, it was actually a veiled warning.

It told him not to pursue the matter of Harold’s earlier actions and to tread carefully moving forward.

If Dante had been stubborn and refused to back down, who knew where the servant on that note might have ended up?

Adjusting his glasses, Dante reminded himself that this all started from his curiosity about Diana.

“That’s one hell of a way to show jealousy.”

So much so that he wasn’t sure if he could even call it jealousy.