IDEFYEM - Chapter 82
Black Man, I'll Do Everything For You Except Marriage!
"Meet Your Highness the 1st and 2nd Prince. Thank you for taking the time to attend...."
"What precious time! How could I not come to the Grand Duke's wedding?"
The 1st Prince cut me off with a puzzled look on his face and spoke pompously.
"Young lady. No, now I will call you Grand Duchess Kronhardt! Haha."
He was laughing out loud, wondering what was so happy about it, and seeing him distract me for a moment.
'It's still just speculation, but if the 1st Prince really joins hands with the Duke and even has a hand in slave auctions....'
I'll probably never be able to forgive him.
Still, when I close my eyes, I often think of the terrible sight I witnessed that day.
I didn't show it as much as I could, but somehow Raphael knew how upset I was and lightly placed a hand on my shoulder to comfort me.
I tried to weaken my heart a little when I saw his consistently friendly appearance, but I quickly made up my mind.
'No. I can't forgive you for what happened over the past few months so easily.'
I swatted his arm out of sight and praised myself inwardly.
"..."
Even without looking, I felt like I could see Raphael's sullen mouth.
Next, the second Prince gave his greetings.
"Congratulations on your wedding, Ma'am. I heard you hang out with Sophia a lot these days."
At those words, a request from Sophia that I had forgotten flashed through my mind.
"I was going to ask you if you could judge His Royal Highness through Enrica's eyes during the wedding."
From what I heard from Sophia at the time, he seemed like someone who had truly fallen in love during a contracted relationship.
'Well, as expected, the male lead in the original work is the male lead. Unlike the 1st Prince, he looks handsome....'
I thought to myself and took a quick look.
"Thank you, Your Royal Highness. These days, Sophia and I have become close friends, even telling each other our secrets."
"... Is that so. That's a good thing.'
"I've heard quite a few stories about Your Highness."
The second Prince's eyebrows twitched. There was no need to look any further. It looked shabby.
"You can't tell me how grateful I am that she came to visit me not long ago."
"Sophia. She is a kind woman."
2nd Prince responded to my compliment.
They said that the reason they have a contract relationship is to avoid the first Prince's checks and show their foolish side.
In that case, the answer just now could be said to be part of that strategy
'... Hmm, that's too bad. Sophia.'
It was a voice filled with too much fresh affection to be considered acting. I thought it would be quite interesting to watch their future for the time being.
In the meantime, I felt the first Prince exploring this area with his eyes. I heard that he has no ability but is very greedy to protect what he has.
'Indeed. I don't want to live in a country ruled by someone like that....'
He was a person whose instincts seemed to send a warning whenever he got close.
It was a time when I was mechanically nodding my head to the words that followed, suppressing my reluctant feelings and trying to smile.
At that moment, a good excuse to get out of this place caught my eye.
"Oh, my sister is alone. Do you mind if I leave for a moment?"
Martha, who attended on behalf of the Duke, was having trouble getting along with people.
After being publicly humiliated at the hunting banquet, she seemed unable to recover her reputation.
I thought it was Martha's responsibility, but it was a good excuse for now.
"As rumored, the Grand Duchess has a big heart. Please feel free to go as many times as you want."
The first Prince, who knew what had happened, also said something unclear whether it was sarcasm or a compliment.
'Hmph. I would have gone if I had gone at all. What's the point of going back?'
I snorted and walked over to Martha's seat. I even felt a little glad to be able to escape from the suffocating situation.
Martha seemed taken aback by the sight of me approaching her with great strides but then spoke.
"Today. You're really pretty, sister. The dress suits you really well."
"Really?"
"Yeah, everyone said that."
After leaving the Duke's residence, I actually had a more in-depth conversation with Martha. I was always confused about how to treat her.
"But it seems like you're trying to say good things about the wedding day."
Martha pursed her lips for a while, as if she had something more to say, then parted her lips.
"Sister, do you remember that time? The day my sister left the Duke's residence. I invited my sister to the garden for tea."
When I thought about it, it seemed like it was like that, but now it feels like it was a long time ago and my memories are blurry.
"I heard he's violent? People said he enjoyed drinking every night and hitting on women."
While Martha was saying this, did Raphael suddenly come up behind her?
Wow, that's why Martha screamed! I really didn't notice!
Surprise spread across my face as I finally realized what had been a mystery several months ago.
If you add up all the moments that passed by without notice, how many would there be?
Martha quickly opened her mouth and spoke about how she interpreted that face.
"I'm telling you in case you're paying attention, but that was just a rumor I picked up. I didn't mean what I said."
"Ugh, you know that."
"At that time, I was jealous of my sister. Even though scary rumors are going around, honestly, the Grand Duke is very... He's handsome. So I said something."
Martha, with a slightly relieved expression, confessed her regrets.
"I wish I had realized this myself before I was put in my sister's position."
"What do you mean?"
"I need to sincerely apologize to my sister."
For a moment, I felt my heart pounding. I felt this way every time the original characters left their fixed positions.
"But today is a happy day, so we'll talk about this later. If it's okay, please give me some time next time."
If it had been the way it was. Martha wouldn't have looked at me like this.
Can I think that I brought about at least some of the changes in her?
"Yes, we will meet again soon."
After saying that, I immediately left the table and turned to face the other guests.
There were so many guests that it took a long time to say hello to everyone in sight.
The reception went on so happily and hectic that it was over before we knew it.
The night of the sunset a long time ago, all that was left was an early night.
***
After the reception, I walked down the hallway alone with the Grand Duke and headed to the bedroom.
"Did you have a good time, Your Highness?"
I knew that scratching his temper wasn't a wise choice, but a snarky voice naturally came out of my mouth.
Raphael just nodded silently to my question. Seeing that he seemed to be getting on my nerves, I asked even more sarcastically.
"I'm curious. Have you been altering your voice during this time?"
When he attended a masquerade ball or a royal banquet, he used a lower voice than usual to fool me.
Raphael touched his uvula for a moment and then opened his mouth to speak.
"You can do it like this."
It was the same low voice he used when playing the Grand Duke, which was different from usual.
I was dumbfounded for a moment and stuttered.
"What. How...."
"I actually have a lot of talent."
I was disgusted by his shameless appearance, but I decided to answer all my questions while he was at it, saying that he would answer better than I expected.
"Then what about the portrait?"
"I understand that the aide cut it out of a newspaper."
"You caused a power outage at the royal banquet. Then I saw bright blonde hair."
"I wore a wig at the time."
Well, now that I see it, you did everything you could to deceive me.
As I was revealing my bewildered expression without hiding it, a memory came to mind.
"I think that man loves me, unlike Your Highness. He gives me all kinds of dresses and Jewelry, and whenever I turn my head when we're together, his eyes are always looking at me."
It was an earnest confession of love that Kael had never even thought was in front of him.
I pursed my lips in embarrassment and muttered softly.
"For your information, the love confessions I made back then were all lies."
"I know, so don't worry."
After learning his identity, embarrassing memories from the past kept coming back to me.
I was overcome with helpless anger and walked down the hallway until I arrived in front of the bedroom and said.
"I'll tell you in advance that it's best not to even think about sharing the same bed."
"..."
"I have eyes to see, so I can't help but end up in the same bedroom."
"I completely understand what you mean."
Raphael responded obediently and opened the door so that I could enter first.
'... Are there one or two things that have changed from the original? It's stupid to be too afraid, Enrica.'
I hesitated, took a deep breath, and took my first step toward the open door.
In the middle of the spacious bedroom, there was bath water that seemed to have been prepared in advance.
There was an unbearably sweet and strong floral scent coming from all directions. Raphael came into the room after me and closed the door, and a clanking sound was heard.
"W-Why are you locking the door?"
"It's a habit."
I shuddered as I felt like the fear of death was one step closer again.
"I don't have that habit, so leave it open."
Raphael obediently walked back to the door and unlocked it.
As I watched him closely, I immediately noticed his ears turning red.
'...What. Why are you embarrassed?"
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