Chapter 54
“Back then I was young, and now that time has passed, I thought it was time to be practical. If we get engaged, Canaria could live more freely than she does now. And I’d be able to intervene to some extent in the Duke’s household too.”
“But that’s only true if no conditions are attached.”
“What?”
“Canaria has lived her whole life under constant demands. Should I put it bluntly since you say you know how she was treated in the Duke’s mansion? The people there treated her like a tool. A tool to use whenever they wanted to get something. Now, look at your proposal. What do you think went through Canaria’s mind when she received that engagement offer?”
Alendo’s eyes widened.
“Do you think she believed you were doing it for her? Or did she see it as just another proposal born of self-interest?”
Velia shook her head.
“Neither. To Canaria, you probably looked no different from those who demanded she become Crown Princess all her life. Can you imagine how she must have felt, being offered an engagement just so you could enter the Forest of Mist?”
“That’s…”
“She must have felt like her wishes didn’t matter at all. Even you, the Crown Prince, saw her as just a tool or a doll.”
“No! That’s not—ha…”
Alendo ran his hand through his hair.
A moment of silence fell.
“That’s how I see it.”
Alendo closed his mouth.
“So apologize to Canaria.”
“I was planning to. If she had been here today, I would have done it immediately.”
Velia pouted.
“But really, was there no other reason for your proposal besides getting into the Forest of Mist?”
“What other reason?”
When she gave him a look like “Don’t play dumb”, Velia shrugged.
“Never mind. If there wasn’t, then fine.”
Click, click.
Velia clicked her tongue inwardly.
She was certain there was another reason, but it seemed he hadn’t realized it himself yet.
She’d long noticed that Alendo carried a sense of debt—or guilt—toward Canaria, having watched her suffer under the weight of being forced into the role of Crown Princess.
Even his permission for Canaria to meet her came from that same feeling.
He wanted to do something for her, yet Canaria always put up walls, and Alendo was powerless before her.
But surely guilt isn’t the only feeling he has…
“I’ll handle the matter with Canaria, so why don’t we finish what we were talking about?”
Seeing how much Alendo had withered in just a few minutes, Velia set down her fork.
“Fine. For now, since you can’t get engaged to Canaria immediately, get engaged to me. But is this engagement with me something you’ve discussed with His Majesty?”
“There are still a few things I need to do… but yes, it’s an alternative plan. More importantly—are you okay with it?”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t want to marry me.”
“Of course not. And you don’t want to marry me either, do you?”
“Of course not. That’s why I’m asking if you’ll be okay with it.”
“The breakup?”
Alendo nodded, and Velia gestured like it was nothing.
“You know that breaking off an engagement with the Crown Prince will cause endless rumors and damage my reputation, right?”
“Of course I know.”
She’d already been up on the execution platform once—what was a broken engagement compared to that?
“How about this: we exchange engagement documents between our families in secret, and only announce it after returning from the Forest of Mist?”
“Are you really fine with that?”
“Yes. Besides, if I don’t do this, I won’t be able to enter the Forest of Mist. You know the price.”
“Can’t we just review Carlton’s investigation results together instead?”
“Nope. Not good enough. I’m going too.”
Alendo downed a glass of cold water at Velia’s stubborn face.
“As your friend—”
“If you’re asking as a friend, then as your friend I’m asking too.”
Alendo blinked as if the room was spinning.
“You can’t enter with your status as a lady.”
“Of course I know that. But what if I go in as an attendant? Carlton is going too, right? I could be like an attendant for the Tower Master. That would work.”
“Even if you go, I doubt anything useful will come of it. Still, you’re so stubborn…”
Velia quietly waited for his answer as Alendo wrestled with the thought.
Of course, she knew very well—nothing miraculous would suddenly come to her if she went.
But she wanted to cling to even the slimmest straw.
The only possible leads to her lost memories now were the Forest of Mist and Baron.
But asking Baron to talk about what happened eight years ago was impossible—their relationship was too distant.
If she tried, he’d probably first ask why she wanted to know, and might even mix lies into the story.
But with Carlton, she’d seen visions, and the more time she spent with him, the more clues she gathered.
That was why she needed to go into the Forest of Mist herself.
It was a place where dormant magic ran deep, where strange incidents often occurred—if she was lucky, she might just recover her memories.
Seeing the earnest look in her eyes, Alendo rubbed his temples.
If I say no, the whole expedition might fall apart…
He pictured the unit that would head to the Forest of Mist and thought it through.
“Fine.”
“Really?”
“Yes. But on one condition. Come with me.”
“Huh?”
Alendo rose from his chair.
“Let’s go to my office.”
“Oh, Soo!”
The head maid, Roni, stopped in her tracks when she saw Soo struggling under a mountain of laundry.
“Why are you carrying so much… wait, don’t tell me!”
“Ah, Head Maid! Hehe.”
Soo laughed awkwardly.
“Soo, I told you to leave that! Why are you doing this?”
Roni frowned at Soo’s reddened hands.
“Why are you doing the laundry? You could’ve asked the others. You’re the lady’s personal maid! If you do chores like this, it reflects badly on her. Didn’t she tell you not to do it before?”
“Well, I give all the other clothes to the others! But this one is my lady’s favorite nightgown… If it gets torn by mistake, she’ll have to throw it away. She only has a few clothes she really treasures, so as her personal maid, I should protect them!”
“Oh my, you really are something. How admirable.”
“It’s just this one, I swear! Really!”
Soo playfully whined at Roni’s scolding.
“Alright. But you’d better hand over everything else, got it? Unlike the young masters, the lady only has you as her personal maid. You hardly get time to rest, so why make extra work for yourself?”
“It’s fine. You know how much my lady cares about me. And lately she’s been so busy that sometimes I just sit around the mansion with nothing to do.”
“Fine. But let me say this out of caution—don’t hang around with the other maids. Showing off will only hurt you.”
“Yes, I understand. Thank you for always looking out for me.”
Roni patted her head.
“Anyway, where are you headed?”
“Oh, to the Madam.”
“The Madam?”
“Yes. I’m on my way to report on the condition of the mansion.”
“Ah, I see. Is there much that needs fixing?”
Roni pushed her glasses up and shook her head.
“Not much—we already did a big overhaul recently. But the Madam will soon be hosting some noble ladies.”
“Even in the capital?”
“It’s all thanks to the young lady. Everyone’s desperate to get their hands on that ‘bea’, so the tea party the Madam is hosting has become the talk of the capital’s noblewomen.”
“Really?”
“Yes. That’s why we’re doing the inspection. When noble ladies visit, they don’t just enjoy the garden—they also look at the art, decorations, and the entire mansion.”
“You must be busy, Roni.”
“Don’t even mention it. But the Madam enjoys it, so I don’t mind. You’re going to the laundry, right? Let’s go together. I need to stop by there anyway.”
“Oh, okay!”
Soo followed alongside her.
“Anyway, the atmosphere in the mansion has improved so much. Thanks to the young lady, I think the family bonds have deepened too.”
“True. Young Master Bedol and the young lady went from being rivals to affectionate siblings.”
“Not just Bedol. Even Young Master Baron has changed.”
“The young master?”
Surprised, Soo looked up, and Roni nodded.
“Yes. Didn’t he even send a gift to the Madam recently? You know how special her feelings for him are. She was so moved she even cried. Oh! I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why?”
“It’s a secret! I let it slip because you came here with the Madam when you first joined the household. Apparently, Young Master Baron even enclosed a handwritten letter with the gift, asking her to keep it a secret. He was shy about it.”
“The young master?!”
Soo furrowed her brows—she just couldn’t picture Baron being like that.
