Chapter 17
“What business would a mere maid have seeing His Highness, for you to speak so harshly?”
Kane’s voice, nonchalantly interjecting, clearly aimed to ease the tension in the air. But even that felt oddly grating.
Ian paused to suppress the unruly emotions flaring up inside him. Kane, as usual, cheerfully filled the silence.
It was a habit born from serving a master who wasn’t exactly sociable.
“We were just talking about the Grand Duke’s estate. His Lordship was in such a hurry that we came straight to the capital without even a moment to return home.”
“…I see.”
“He may seem indifferent, but he’s deeply interested in the young lady.”
Kane, now acting as if he and Betty were close, leaned slightly toward her and added in a hushed tone.
Ian was about to dismiss Kane’s useless chatter when his eyes caught the faint smile spreading across Betty’s face—soft like mist.
“That’s a relief. The young lady speaks highly of the Grand Duke as well.”
Just a week ago, he would have welcomed such a comment. He hadn’t expected it to feel so hollow now.
The suspicions that had started to sprout—suspicions he could no longer suppress—were growing steadily in Ian’s heart.
Even the way Betty’s hand flinched away from her neck as if startled did not escape his notice.
Their eyes met—her brown ones looking at him uneasily.
It was only then that Ian realized he had been silently observing Betty’s every move.
“Kane. There’s a limit to how much rudeness I’ll tolerate. This is the imperial palace.”
Unable to find the right words, Ian chose the safest way to continue the conversation.
And it was up to Kane to absorb the fallout for his needless chatter.
“But as you just said, Your Lordship, it’s only the three of us here. Why so uptight all of a sudden?”
“Don’t spout nonsense.”
Kane’s expression showed a flicker of displeasure, but he quickly shut his mouth upon sensing Ian’s foul mood.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I asked Sir Kane a lot of questions because I was curious. I think he only answered because he thought I’d ask again.”
Betty didn’t avoid his gaze as she spoke, and something about her made Ian want to keep the conversation going.
But then he remembered it was Kane’s meddling that had led to this, and his mood soured again.
“You don’t need to defend Kane. He’s always like this. And you don’t need to apologize to me.”
As soon as Ian finished speaking, Betty bit her lip and replied awkwardly.
“Sorry… Ah. You told me not to apologize. Still, I’m sorry.”
Ian had tried to clearly convey that she didn’t need to feel intimidated by him.
But now he felt like he had just made things even more awkward.
“I, um… I’ll just… go.”
Betty began to inch toward the door, clearly trying to make her exit.
Perhaps that was why Ian, wanting to hold her back for a moment longer, let slip a relaxed phrase he normally used only in private with the Emperor.
“Since Lloyd finds Kane’s unruly personality amusing, I doubt he’ll lose his head over it.”
“…Who is that?”
“You’ll find out once you finish that book.”
Even some nobles didn’t immediately recall the Emperor’s name. It was no surprise that a maid like Betty wouldn’t know.
Instead of answering directly, Ian took the book from Kane and handed it to Betty—The History of the Empire.
Betty looked down at the book for a moment, then gazed back at Ian with a slightly puzzled expression.
“How did you know I could read?”
Not only could she read, but she also wrote with beautiful, refined penmanship.
In fact, Ian was entertaining the absurd suspicion that she might be the very person behind the many letters stored carefully in his drawer.
Such words rose to the tip of his tongue… and sank back down.
“…Kane wouldn’t bother reading a book, so you’re the only possibility.”
“Oh. Actually, this book is one the young lady’s been looking for lately. But… is it okay to take books from the palace?”
“I’ll inform Her Majesty the Empress.”
Janine, the Empress, might take note of Ian’s unusual request, but she wouldn’t care about a single missing book.
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
From the moment the book was mentioned, Betty had maintained a calm demeanor, without a hint of surprise.
A fleeting sense of disappointment passed through Ian as he watched her composed expression.
“Betty. You’re still here? His Grace the Grand Duke…”
Just then, the silence between them was broken.
Lady Vivienne Charte burst in, her red hair whipping behind her as she flung the door open.
She froze for a brief moment upon meeting Ian’s gaze, then forced a bright, clearly artificial smile.
“Oh my. Your Grace. You’re here.”
Her high-pitched voice brimmed with forced cheer, but the excitement in her step as she moved toward Betty was genuine.
Seeing the book in Betty’s hands, she spoke in a familiar tone.
“What’s this book? Is it for you? It’s intere—”
“It’s the book you were looking for, isn’t it, milady?”
Ian watched with a sense of unease as Betty grabbed Vivienne’s arm and asked with pointed emphasis.
It looked less like a maid interacting with a noblewoman and more like two equals—friends.
“…Ah. That’s right. Yes. The book I wanted to read.”
Vivienne took the book with a stiff, puppet-like movement that was clearly unnatural.
Betty, too, was silently flustered.
After sending the first letter, she hadn’t been able to recall all the details—even she, the one who wrote them.
Still, just in case, she had gone over everything she could remember over the past few months with Vivienne, trying to write down as much as possible.
‘This is everything I can remember.’
‘You’re amazing. Written like this, it’s just boring everyday stuff, but he really read all of it?’
‘…I don’t know if he actually did read it all.’
‘Well, if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have just shown up out of nowhere expecting a warm welcome. I guess the Grand Duke likes reading about daily life.’
Apparently, Grand Duke Ian Dayban remembered the contents of those letters line by line, far more thoroughly than she expected.
His warm attitude warmed her heart as well… but with it came a familiar, bitter feeling.
Would the day ever come when she could tell him that she was the one who wrote all of them?
She knew she shouldn’t even wish for that. She knew it was better for everyone if that day never came… and yet, the thought still crept in.
“Milady. Have you finished your conversation with Her Majesty the Empress?”
“Yes, I have. Sorry to keep you waiting. You must’ve been bored.”
“No, it was fine.”
“Her Majesty said that if His Grace arrives, we should meet with her, even briefly. I came to take you back to the duchy if he hadn’t arrived yet…”
Ian saw the faint look of displeasure that passed over Vivienne Charte’s face.
“I didn’t expect Your Grace to arrive just in time. Let’s go see Her Majesty together.”
With a delicate expression, Vivienne offered her hand to Ian with the elegance of a noblewoman.
She wasn’t as frosty as she had been when they first met.
‘But even so…’
Ian had always been good at sensing how people truly felt about him.
Growing up ostracized as an illegitimate child, that instinct had been carved into his bones.
Perhaps last time, he’d been too preoccupied and emotionally uplifted to notice anything strange.
“It’s an honor to accompany you.”
Ian took Vivienne’s hand with perfect courtesy.
And in that moment, he came to a conclusion about Vivienne Charte—a woman whose gaze sometimes reminded him of his late father, the previous Grand Duke.
Beneath the carefully crafted affection and courteous demeanor…
There existed no real emotion for him at all.
