As expected, people began to whisper. The maid, alone with Cain's attendant, leaving his master behind, wasn't someone who could be hidden. Most of the attention was on Marian, but I was also receiving a lot of attention.
I was pretending to be calm and eating the cold fruit when I saw someone approaching and standing next to me, and I smiled.
“You must be Young Master Eriant. Nice to meet you.”
“I am also honored to meet Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Duchzan.”
Shuan carefully took my hand and kissed it respectfully. Thanks to Shuan, I was no longer a master ignored by her maids. Instead, I was a woman envied by many young ladies.
But I felt a little uncomfortable with Shuan's kiss. When I tried to pull my hand back, Shuan held it for a moment.
Shuan raised his head and looked at me.
“I wish we had met before you were married or engaged.”
I wasn't stupid enough not to understand what he meant. I quickly pulled it out with force.
“If you had met me before I was engaged, you would have just remembered me as a beautiful, strong girl.”
"But if Your Highness, the Grand Duchess, had approached me first, I would have known. Why didn't you choose me?"
“What does that mean?”
As I said before, I wasn't unaware of the intent behind the words. However, Shuan and I weren't close enough to have such a conversation. Our relationship was strictly business-oriented.
Shuan smiled with his beautiful eyes and whispered softly enough for only me to hear.
“Relax, Your Highness. I'm just pretending to woo you.”
I couldn't help but chuckle at those words. My shoulders relaxed, realizing I'd been unnecessarily tense. Becoming the Grand Duchess and attracting attention seemed to have only increased my misconceptions, and I felt embarrassed.
“Why are you doing something useless?”
“I don’t like it when a beauty like you is made fun of.”
“It’s amazing how little Marquis is so good at speaking the truth.”
“I have a younger sister whom I cherish, so this is ridiculous.”
Shuan stared straight at me. He must have meant he wanted to receive some kind of reward for helping me. But I shook my head slightly. It wasn't time yet. A look of disappointment spread across Shuan's face. I placed a comforting hand on his arm.
"If Marian goes to the palace, Young Lady Eriant will have significantly fewer opportunities to see the Second Prince. So don't worry too much."
“...It’s just a shame that peace can only be achieved by sacrificing another woman.”
But I'm not saying you shouldn't use that method. Arms tend to bend inward, and blood is thicker than water. To assuage Shuan's guilt, I told him what Marian had said.
"She said that if this matter was settled, she wouldn't want to touch me again. She said she would move to the countryside and live alone with her mother."
Only then did Shuan nod. He seemed to accept the terms. With his help, things would be much easier.
“I want to help too.”
“She’ll be happy too.”
We stood face to face, talking through our eyes. Then, I looked around cautiously and asked Shuan a question.
“Didn’t Kaiser come to the party?”
"They say he's just now arriving from the north. He went there with only one carriage, so the news is bound to be delayed. Why did he go to the north in the first place?"
“He didn’t go in. Julian didn’t let him in.”
“...Then that means he went in secretly.”
I frowned. Certainly, even if there was a way to stop the nobles who confidently walked through the northern entrance, there was no way around it if they found a hole and crawled in.
“Do you know why he did that? Perhaps it was to get Marian back?”
“Even if that’s true, it’s not because he cares about Marian.”
"Why are you so sure? Wasn't she secretly part of the government?"
That's because there was no woman as pretty and worthy of being a government as Marian. Marian wasn't a commoner easily recognized by others, but the daughter of a fallen noble family. Her position wasn't easily exploited with money.
Before my regression, I saw Kaiser slap Marian. It was for no particular reason. Marian, feeling good, must have talked back to Kaiser.
Kaiser slapped Marian on the spot, then looked at me and asked how I could manage the government. Thinking back now, it's a truly astonishing question.
“I was engaged to Kaiser, weren’t I?”
I answered calmly, but Shuan's gaze was strange. He swirled his glass, as if about to sip champagne, and then asked.
“Are you close enough to call each other by name?”
Oh no, I thought. I couldn't understand how I had forgotten such a simple thing.
"You mean Julian? We've been married for quite some time now, so I can't call him His Highness forever."
"His Highness, he's not that foolish."
At those words, I too raised my head. Our eyes met in midair. Shuan's gaze was serious, as if searching for something.
“The Marquis of Amber.”
Those words took my breath away. Before my regression, I had been married to Kaiser, but now our engagement was broken off. I even took his government, so it was hard to say our relationship was on good terms.
But I just kept muttering, "Kaiser, Kaiser," as if it were a phrase on my lips. I couldn't bring myself to think about it, as I was too consumed by my anger towards him.
"Aren't you hiding something from me? I think Your Highness, the Grand Duchess, is way ahead of your time. Even your anger towards someone."
I smiled bitterly, calming my pounding heart. The long-held habits and hatred that had persisted from the past were truly terrifying.
"I used to like him, but I just heard from a friend that Kaiser was a piece of trash. I think I forgot to change my title after that."
“Friend... Are you talking about a friend other than Lete?”
I watched Shuan's expression. Could I tell him the truth about the regression? No, he and I were entangled in business. I absolutely could not lose his trust. It was better to appear as if I had a hidden agenda than to appear incompetent.
“I have a lot of friends. Friends you don’t even know about...”
Well, I guess the person who helped me regress could be called my friend. More like a lifesaver, though.
As I spoke, I ran a hand through my hair. But strangely, my hands were covered in sweat. I'd been feeling short of breath for a while now, and now I was breaking out in a cold sweat.
Shuan must have noticed, as his sharp eyes gradually grew filled with worry.
“Your Highness, are you uncomfortable...”
"No."
I backed away slightly, then fled from my seat. I glanced back and saw Shuan staring at me from afar, not approaching. I wiped my forehead with a handkerchief and retreated toward the garden.
Why? Before my regression, I wasn't feeling well, but not this often. I was even able to get pregnant and give birth. Of course, the baby wasn't healthy... Painful memories came flooding back, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I felt only regret for the baby I would never see again.
I was clutching my chest and slowly making my way deeper into the garden.
Not wanting anyone to see me, I clutched my chest and tried to hide deep in the garden. I planned to catch my breath for a moment somewhere quiet, then return to the party once I felt better.
But the moment I tried to take a few more steps in, someone grabbed my wrist tightly and forcibly pulled me into a corner.
“What are you doing!”
I glared at him, slapping his hand away hard. It was none other than the Second Prince!
“Oh, I knew that Grand Duchess Duchzan was angry, but...”
He laughed and shook his head. His appearance was chilling, like that of a rascal, or perhaps even a scoundrel. No one could have ever considered him a Prince.
Prince Cain seemed to have had quite a bit to drink, his neck red and his clothes unkempt. Looking behind him, I saw a half-naked woman smiling with a devious expression.
It was obvious what Prince Cain was doing here with that woman. Doing something so shameful at someone else's party! It was reckless beyond belief.
But the opponent was the Second Prince.
“...I apologize for my rudeness, Your Highness.”
I greeted him stiffly, my expression still set. Prince Cain smiled, seemingly pleased with my appearance.
“Who did the Grand Duchess come to this deep garden to secretly meet?”
“I just went out for a walk to calm down a bit after drinking.”
"Don't lie. It must have been a shame for a monster. Oh, right, is that the idiot from Eriant?"
Prince Cain clearly disliked Shuan. It was truly shameless of him to kidnap Shuan's younger sister and then show his face before him.
Prince Cain tilted his head toward me and smelled of alcohol.
“Or did you come to see me?”
The voice was so disgusting that it made me shudder. As I shivered, Prince Cain laughed loudly, as if he was enjoying something. Then he grabbed my arm. I tried to pull his hand away, but perhaps because I wasn't feeling well, I couldn't.
“Your Highness, I beg you to let me go!”
I shouted, pulling his arm hard, but Prince Cain didn't seem to have any intention of doing so.
“This isn’t bad either.”
Dirty! This disgusting! Shameless! Trash!
It was when I was trying to get away from him while cursing him in my mind.
“Who’s there!”
A loud noise was heard. It was Shuan. He seemed to have finally become concerned and followed me. While Prince Cain turned his head in surprise toward the sound, I kicked him hard between the legs.
“Ahhh! This crazy bitch!”
Prince Cain sank to the floor, writhing in pain. I wanted to press down on his head with my heel, but for now, I had to hold it in with my core. It would hurt more, anyway.
“Layla! This way!”
Shuan reached out his hand to me, and I ran without looking back. When we were out of the garden, Shuan took a deep breath and spoke. I nodded. When we were out of the garden, Shuan took a deep breath and spoke.
“The Second Prince is more trash than you can imagine.”
I nodded too.
“I thought that too.”
Shuan's expression twisted into a disgusted grimace. Shuan, though a bit of a slacker, was at least a gentleman. A gentleman interrogating someone was far better than being surrounded by human garbage.
I leaned against the wall of the building and took a deep breath.
What should I do now that I've kicked the Second Prince out?
I was pretending to be calm and eating the cold fruit when I saw someone approaching and standing next to me, and I smiled.
“You must be Young Master Eriant. Nice to meet you.”
“I am also honored to meet Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Duchzan.”
Shuan carefully took my hand and kissed it respectfully. Thanks to Shuan, I was no longer a master ignored by her maids. Instead, I was a woman envied by many young ladies.
But I felt a little uncomfortable with Shuan's kiss. When I tried to pull my hand back, Shuan held it for a moment.
Shuan raised his head and looked at me.
“I wish we had met before you were married or engaged.”
I wasn't stupid enough not to understand what he meant. I quickly pulled it out with force.
“If you had met me before I was engaged, you would have just remembered me as a beautiful, strong girl.”
"But if Your Highness, the Grand Duchess, had approached me first, I would have known. Why didn't you choose me?"
“What does that mean?”
As I said before, I wasn't unaware of the intent behind the words. However, Shuan and I weren't close enough to have such a conversation. Our relationship was strictly business-oriented.
Shuan smiled with his beautiful eyes and whispered softly enough for only me to hear.
“Relax, Your Highness. I'm just pretending to woo you.”
I couldn't help but chuckle at those words. My shoulders relaxed, realizing I'd been unnecessarily tense. Becoming the Grand Duchess and attracting attention seemed to have only increased my misconceptions, and I felt embarrassed.
“Why are you doing something useless?”
“I don’t like it when a beauty like you is made fun of.”
“It’s amazing how little Marquis is so good at speaking the truth.”
“I have a younger sister whom I cherish, so this is ridiculous.”
Shuan stared straight at me. He must have meant he wanted to receive some kind of reward for helping me. But I shook my head slightly. It wasn't time yet. A look of disappointment spread across Shuan's face. I placed a comforting hand on his arm.
"If Marian goes to the palace, Young Lady Eriant will have significantly fewer opportunities to see the Second Prince. So don't worry too much."
“...It’s just a shame that peace can only be achieved by sacrificing another woman.”
But I'm not saying you shouldn't use that method. Arms tend to bend inward, and blood is thicker than water. To assuage Shuan's guilt, I told him what Marian had said.
"She said that if this matter was settled, she wouldn't want to touch me again. She said she would move to the countryside and live alone with her mother."
Only then did Shuan nod. He seemed to accept the terms. With his help, things would be much easier.
“I want to help too.”
“She’ll be happy too.”
We stood face to face, talking through our eyes. Then, I looked around cautiously and asked Shuan a question.
“Didn’t Kaiser come to the party?”
"They say he's just now arriving from the north. He went there with only one carriage, so the news is bound to be delayed. Why did he go to the north in the first place?"
“He didn’t go in. Julian didn’t let him in.”
“...Then that means he went in secretly.”
I frowned. Certainly, even if there was a way to stop the nobles who confidently walked through the northern entrance, there was no way around it if they found a hole and crawled in.
“Do you know why he did that? Perhaps it was to get Marian back?”
“Even if that’s true, it’s not because he cares about Marian.”
"Why are you so sure? Wasn't she secretly part of the government?"
That's because there was no woman as pretty and worthy of being a government as Marian. Marian wasn't a commoner easily recognized by others, but the daughter of a fallen noble family. Her position wasn't easily exploited with money.
Before my regression, I saw Kaiser slap Marian. It was for no particular reason. Marian, feeling good, must have talked back to Kaiser.
Kaiser slapped Marian on the spot, then looked at me and asked how I could manage the government. Thinking back now, it's a truly astonishing question.
“I was engaged to Kaiser, weren’t I?”
I answered calmly, but Shuan's gaze was strange. He swirled his glass, as if about to sip champagne, and then asked.
“Are you close enough to call each other by name?”
Oh no, I thought. I couldn't understand how I had forgotten such a simple thing.
"You mean Julian? We've been married for quite some time now, so I can't call him His Highness forever."
"His Highness, he's not that foolish."
At those words, I too raised my head. Our eyes met in midair. Shuan's gaze was serious, as if searching for something.
“The Marquis of Amber.”
Those words took my breath away. Before my regression, I had been married to Kaiser, but now our engagement was broken off. I even took his government, so it was hard to say our relationship was on good terms.
But I just kept muttering, "Kaiser, Kaiser," as if it were a phrase on my lips. I couldn't bring myself to think about it, as I was too consumed by my anger towards him.
"Aren't you hiding something from me? I think Your Highness, the Grand Duchess, is way ahead of your time. Even your anger towards someone."
I smiled bitterly, calming my pounding heart. The long-held habits and hatred that had persisted from the past were truly terrifying.
"I used to like him, but I just heard from a friend that Kaiser was a piece of trash. I think I forgot to change my title after that."
“Friend... Are you talking about a friend other than Lete?”
I watched Shuan's expression. Could I tell him the truth about the regression? No, he and I were entangled in business. I absolutely could not lose his trust. It was better to appear as if I had a hidden agenda than to appear incompetent.
“I have a lot of friends. Friends you don’t even know about...”
Well, I guess the person who helped me regress could be called my friend. More like a lifesaver, though.
As I spoke, I ran a hand through my hair. But strangely, my hands were covered in sweat. I'd been feeling short of breath for a while now, and now I was breaking out in a cold sweat.
Shuan must have noticed, as his sharp eyes gradually grew filled with worry.
“Your Highness, are you uncomfortable...”
"No."
I backed away slightly, then fled from my seat. I glanced back and saw Shuan staring at me from afar, not approaching. I wiped my forehead with a handkerchief and retreated toward the garden.
Why? Before my regression, I wasn't feeling well, but not this often. I was even able to get pregnant and give birth. Of course, the baby wasn't healthy... Painful memories came flooding back, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I felt only regret for the baby I would never see again.
I was clutching my chest and slowly making my way deeper into the garden.
Not wanting anyone to see me, I clutched my chest and tried to hide deep in the garden. I planned to catch my breath for a moment somewhere quiet, then return to the party once I felt better.
But the moment I tried to take a few more steps in, someone grabbed my wrist tightly and forcibly pulled me into a corner.
“What are you doing!”
I glared at him, slapping his hand away hard. It was none other than the Second Prince!
“Oh, I knew that Grand Duchess Duchzan was angry, but...”
He laughed and shook his head. His appearance was chilling, like that of a rascal, or perhaps even a scoundrel. No one could have ever considered him a Prince.
Prince Cain seemed to have had quite a bit to drink, his neck red and his clothes unkempt. Looking behind him, I saw a half-naked woman smiling with a devious expression.
It was obvious what Prince Cain was doing here with that woman. Doing something so shameful at someone else's party! It was reckless beyond belief.
But the opponent was the Second Prince.
“...I apologize for my rudeness, Your Highness.”
I greeted him stiffly, my expression still set. Prince Cain smiled, seemingly pleased with my appearance.
“Who did the Grand Duchess come to this deep garden to secretly meet?”
“I just went out for a walk to calm down a bit after drinking.”
"Don't lie. It must have been a shame for a monster. Oh, right, is that the idiot from Eriant?"
Prince Cain clearly disliked Shuan. It was truly shameless of him to kidnap Shuan's younger sister and then show his face before him.
Prince Cain tilted his head toward me and smelled of alcohol.
“Or did you come to see me?”
The voice was so disgusting that it made me shudder. As I shivered, Prince Cain laughed loudly, as if he was enjoying something. Then he grabbed my arm. I tried to pull his hand away, but perhaps because I wasn't feeling well, I couldn't.
“Your Highness, I beg you to let me go!”
I shouted, pulling his arm hard, but Prince Cain didn't seem to have any intention of doing so.
“This isn’t bad either.”
Dirty! This disgusting! Shameless! Trash!
It was when I was trying to get away from him while cursing him in my mind.
“Who’s there!”
A loud noise was heard. It was Shuan. He seemed to have finally become concerned and followed me. While Prince Cain turned his head in surprise toward the sound, I kicked him hard between the legs.
“Ahhh! This crazy bitch!”
Prince Cain sank to the floor, writhing in pain. I wanted to press down on his head with my heel, but for now, I had to hold it in with my core. It would hurt more, anyway.
“Layla! This way!”
Shuan reached out his hand to me, and I ran without looking back. When we were out of the garden, Shuan took a deep breath and spoke. I nodded. When we were out of the garden, Shuan took a deep breath and spoke.
“The Second Prince is more trash than you can imagine.”
I nodded too.
“I thought that too.”
Shuan's expression twisted into a disgusted grimace. Shuan, though a bit of a slacker, was at least a gentleman. A gentleman interrogating someone was far better than being surrounded by human garbage.
I leaned against the wall of the building and took a deep breath.
What should I do now that I've kicked the Second Prince out?
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