Chapter 29
The Trapped Doll
“Just trust me, Sophia. It’s an order from His Majesty.”
“What in the world is His Majesty the Emperor thinking? Why would he tell us to watch the Grand Duchess and the Prince…?”
“How would I know what the higher-ups are thinking? Still, I’m really glad you’re here. Thanks to you, I can properly carry out His Majesty’s orders. Meeting you really was a great stroke of luck for me.”
Orlendo kissed the maid Sophia’s cheek once again.
Sophia blushed bright red and shrank her shoulders shyly.
Renard immediately grasped the situation.
Judging from how the maid’s eyes turned hazy even from such a light kiss, she was already so smitten with Orlendo that she couldn’t think straight.
It was obvious that Orlendo had lied about his identity and used the excuse of a secret imperial order to make the maid watch over Renard and Eloise.
From the sound of their conversation, the two had known each other for quite some time.
Then… did Orlendo truly love that maid?
It didn’t matter.
From the moment Renard overheard their conversation, that maid was nothing more than Orlendo’s spy to him.
“If the Grand Duchess goes out, make sure to tell me. And let me know if the Prince and the Grand Duchess fight. Ah—especially keep a closer eye today.”
“Why? Are the Prince and the Grand Duchess supposed to argue today?”
“Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. If not, then the Prince—no, His Highness—will undergo a big change. Aren’t you looking forward to it?”
Orlendo smiled meaningfully.
By now, Orlendo had lowered the neckline of the maid’s dress slightly and was pressing his lips against her collarbone.
Leaning against the wall, the maid twisted her body.
Deciding there was no need to watch any longer, Renard turned away and left the place where he had been hiding.
The reason Orlendo told the maid to watch especially closely today was fairly obvious.
It was because Orlendo had ordered Renard to lock Eloise up starting today.
If Renard delivered the order properly, Renard and Eloise would inevitably have at least one argument.
After all, Eloise—who had been freely going out for a while—would have difficulty accepting such a sudden change without explanation.
Of course, Renard didn’t want to fight with Eloise.
But he had to ease Orlendo’s suspicions if he wanted it to be easier to deceive him in the future.
Renard decided he would finish this matter today.
“Could you go check whether His Highness is still with his guest?”
“Yes, Grand Duchess.”
The maid who received my order left the room.
After seeing Orlendo earlier, I had simply turned around and returned to my room.
I was supposed to be someone who didn’t know that Orlendo was actually the real prince.
Because of that, it was a big advantage that I didn’t have to greet him even if I saw him.
Even so, the scenery outside the window blurred before my eyes.
I was anxious.
I was worried Orlendo might hold Renard responsible for my going out.
The maid I sent to check whether Orlendo had left was taking too long to come back, and my vision was growing increasingly unsteady.
Just then, another maid entered to clean my room.
She had light green hair and green eyes.
I decided to ask her what I wanted to know.
“Has His Highness’s guest left?”
“His Highness’s guest?”
The maid, who had been wiping a flower vase, looked at me.
The area around her neck was slightly red.
Had she been meeting a lover somewhere?
“If you mean the knight with pale pink hair who serves His Highness the Prince, he left earlier, Grand Duchess.”
“Really? Then where is His Highness now?”
But the next moment, I realized I didn’t need the answer.
Renard had just entered my room.
“You there—bring some tea and refreshments.”
Renard ordered the green-haired maid.
The maid hesitated for a moment before nodding and heading outside.
A gust of wind blew into the room, and the door she was closing slammed loudly.
Bang—
My room was silent with only Renard and me left inside.
Renard and I sat facing each other at the small reception table in my room.
The bright summer sunlight poured down over Renard’s black hair like a decoration.
For some reason, Renard looked tense, tapping the table lightly with the tips of his fingers.
That action made me nervous as well.
Since Renard didn’t open his mouth easily, I decided to speak first.
“Your Highness, what brings you here so early in the morning? Is it because I ran into you on the street yesterday?”
“Well… that’s part of it… and part of it isn’t.”
Renard gave a strangely vague answer.
But it wasn’t just his answer that was strange.
His expression was strange too.
After the tense look disappeared, Renard’s face had become completely expressionless.
It was very different from the way he usually smiled brightly or flirtatiously.
I remember the original story saying he was always expressionless… but he smiles so often, I had once thought.
But the Renard in front of me now looked exactly like the description in the original.
I found him incredibly unfamiliar.
Still, his expression wasn’t what mattered right now.
There was something I wanted to know even more.
“Did the Prince perhaps say he would hold you responsible?”
“Responsible? If you mean responsibility…”
“I mean… did he say he would punish you?”
“Oh, if that’s what you mean, there’s no need to worry. He didn’t say anything like that.”
The moment I heard that, the tension left my body and I felt relieved.
I had been worried Orlendo might punish Renard excessively because he disliked me.
Apparently, that had been unnecessary worry.
Maybe Orlendo cares about his people more than I thought.
Perhaps because my heart had finally relaxed, a small smile appeared on my lips.
But Renard stared at me intensely.
Then suddenly he said:
“You can’t go out anymore.”
His tone was extremely businesslike.
That, too, felt unlike the Renard I knew, but I decided to accept his words without protest.
I had already expected something like this from the moment I accidentally ran into Orlendo.
It was unfortunate, but unavoidable.
“I understand. Then I’ll go home today and tell my family that I won’t be able to visit for a while.”
“……”
“Ah… when you say ‘anymore’… you don’t mean starting from this very moment, do you…?”
“Yes.”
Renard’s reply was short and cold.
I found myself speechless.
At that moment, Renard’s eyes shifted toward the closed door beyond the reception room.
His head didn’t move.
He looked like a predator listening for the footsteps of its prey.
Then Renard turned his gaze back to me.
His expression had sunk into something chilling.
Before I could even process my confusion, unexpected words poured out of his mouth.
“Grand Duchess… Since you seem to be more oblivious than I thought, I’ll just say it honestly. Haven’t I been very lenient with you all this time? I thought that after a few concessions, you would restrain yourself on your own. But you really… seem to have no idea what ‘moderation’ means.”
Renard was criticizing me.
My mind went blank.
I thought Renard was fine with me going home…
Without realizing it, I wet my lips with my tongue.
Perhaps because I was so shocked, my throat felt tight.
Still, I wasn’t about to cry, so I forced myself to speak calmly.
“…I didn’t know you thought that way. I’m sorry. I really was oblivious. Then at least let me write a letter. If I don’t write, my family will really worry…”
At that moment, one of Renard’s eyebrows crooked upward.
“A letter?”
His tone was clearly displeased.
Now I was angry too.
Why is he reacting like that?
Even if I couldn’t go home, I still had to send a letter to the Cowell estate.
If I suddenly stopped appearing after visiting every day, my father and my brothers might do something drastic out of worry.
I had planned to lie in the letter and say I was too tired to visit for a while.
It was consideration for Renard.
If I wrote the truth, my family would make things difficult for both Renard and Orlendo.
But Renard looked irritated, as if my consideration meant nothing.
“Ha… Rose, Rose… Eloise…”
He began calling my name.
“Why do you still not understand? Do you really think you’re allowed to do things like that? You’re nothing more than a doll trapped here. His Highness the Prince’s pretty doll.”
At that moment…
It felt like the back of my head had been struck hard with a hammer.
So that’s how you saw me?
It felt as if all the blood drained from my body.
But strangely, once that moment passed, my heart turned cold and my mind became clearer.
It felt as if every emotion I could feel had been swept away like a receding tide.
It wasn’t a pleasant experience.
But the fact that I felt hurt meant that, at some point, I had begun to think of Renard as a real friend.
Someone I couldn’t fully trust, yet still felt comfortable being around.
In any case, it had been foolish.
At that moment, the tightly closed door opened.
With a faint herbal scent, the maid who had gone to fetch tea returned.
She looked around the room’s heavy atmosphere.
Judging by the way her green eyes darted around curiously, she seemed very interested in what might have happened while she was gone.
But I had no desire to tell her.
In fact, I didn’t even want to see her eyes moving like that.
I felt terrible.
I didn’t want to see Renard either.
“Leave… please…”
Through a throat that felt painfully tight, I barely forced the words out.
Renard looked at me, his eyes gleaming.
He wore an expression as if he had obtained exactly what he wanted.
Seeing that, anger surged up inside me.
“Your Highness, leave my room. Right now.”
