After parting ways with Countess Rustin, I stepped out onto the empty balcony to rest for a while.
A cool breeze brushed against my skin. Soon, spring would pass, and the hot summer would arrive. I wanted to fully enjoy the coolness of this moment.
"The breeze is refreshing."
"...!"
"Oh dear, sorry if I startled you."
Startled by the sudden voice, I turned around, and Duke Deisha shrugged his shoulders and approached.
"Because there are no empty balconies."
"I will go out. Please rest."
"Then aren't I too sorry?"
He grabbed my wrist. His golden eyes staring at me gleamed dangerously.
"It’s really difficult for Young Lady to handle, as I have so much debt to begin with."
I twisted his arm to free his wrist, but he didn't budge.
"Please let go of my hand."
"If Young Lady doesn't run away, I will let you go."
"Why do you think I am running away?"
“Isn’t it?”
"No."
Duke Deisha's lips curved upward. He released his grip on my wrist and took a step back.
"If it was my misunderstanding, I apologize."
He raised both hands above his shoulders as if to show that he had no intention of harming me.
"However..."
Duke Deisha looked around as if searching for something.
"I don't see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"His Highness is busy."
"Is that so? Since he is always by the Young Lady's side, I assumed he would attend this party as well; it seems I was mistaken."
Sis was running around frantically, as if he had two bodies, to find the culprit who poisoned the First Prince. Duke Deisha couldn't possibly be unaware of this fact. I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.
"You couldn't have come here to see His Highness, so do you have something to say to me?"
“If there is?”
“Do it.”
I looked at Duke Deisha with the thought, "Let's see what he has to say." He sat down in a chair that had been set up on the balcony for the guests invited to the party to rest.
“Sit down.”
“I’m fine.”
"It is because looking up is uncomfortable."
He crossed his legs in a relaxed posture, as if to say he would absolutely not start talking until I sat down in the chair.
I eventually moved and sat down in the chair, puzzled by Duke Deisha's inscrutable intentions.
“If you have anything to say, say it.”
"It seems you are uncomfortable being out there."
“It’s not comfortable.”
"Oh dear, I thought I had gotten quite close to Young Lady?"
“You are mistaken.”
Even at my audacious answer, Duke Deisha merely shrugged his shoulders and did not criticize my attitude or get angry. On the contrary, perhaps pleased with my demeanor, a gentle smile played on his lips.
"I want to become close with Young Lady."
“I refuse.”
“Why?”
"There is no particular reason, but if you insist, I would like to."
"Hahaha."
Duke Deisha burst into laughter as if he could not hold it in.
"Ah. Really, the more I talk to the Young Lady, the more delightful I feel."
He let out a small laugh and wiped the corners of his eyes where tears had welled up from laughing.
"It's been a long time since I've heard someone say they don't like me to my face like this."
The smile vanished from Duke Deisha's face, and his golden eyes, symbolizing the royal family, stared straight at me.
It was different from Sis's eyes, which were sweet as honey and sparkled like stars. It was the same golden color, but Duke Deisha's eyes looked bleak and dry.
Just like the desert where he lived.
"It seems there is someone else besides me who dislikes the Duke?"
"Ah, that's right."
Duke Deisha reached out his hand toward me. I flinched and stepped back, but a handful of my hair was caught in his hand.
"Every time she saw my face, she would scream and hurl curses at me."
Duke Deisha's wrinkled mouth twisted upward to one side.
"For some reason, the young lady seems to resemble her."
"I don't know who she is, but I understand how she feels."
I slapped his hand away with a loud thud. His hand, which had been gripping my hair, let go obediently. It was a very rude act, but it was Duke Deisha who had been the first to be rude.
He smirked as he watched me stand on high alert.
"Aren't you curious who it is?"
“I’m not curious.”
"Hmm, so you're saying you're not curious...?"
Duke Deisha stroked his chin with a meaningful expression. I stood up without asking for his permission.
"It seems you have nothing more to say, so I will be leaving now."
"I heard that Irene was rude to the young lady?"
I stopped just as I was about to go inside and turned to look at him. I saw Duke Deisha slowly rising to his feet.
"Did you hold me to rebuke me?"
“That can’t be possible.”
Duke Deisha, having fully straightened up, shrugged his shoulders.
"Didn't I just say? That Irene was rude to the young lady."
I couldn't understand his intentions at all. I straightened my face, which was involuntarily contorting, and glared at him.
"You don't need to glare at me like that. I am not trying to rebuke the young lady. I am simply asking you to be forgiving of my daughter's rudeness."
"Before you ask for my understanding, why don't you restrain Lady Deisha's reckless behavior?"
"I don't really feel the need to stop that child's behavior."
Duke Deisha strode toward me. Unlike his playful tone, his eyes gleamed dangerously. Even though I knew he couldn't harm me here, I instinctively began to tremble.
I felt a sense of shame, as if I were naked under Duke Deisha's sharp gaze. My stomach churned, and goosebumps rose on my skin.
"You look unwell."
Duke Deisha reached out his hand toward me again. I clutched the hem of my skirt and stepped back to avoid his hand.
The pounding of my heart echoed in my ears as if speakers had been installed. I heard tinnitus, and my head began to throb. Through my dizzying vision, I clearly saw the corners of Duke Deisha's mouth curving upward.
“What do you want?”
"..."
I tightened my fist, which I had been clenching with all my might. I could vividly feel the pain of my fingernails digging into my palm. The headache, which had been intensifying, seemed to be gradually subsiding due to the pain etched into my palm.
"Do you want to make Lady Deisha the Empress?"
“The Empress...”
Duke Deisha looked at me with an amused expression. If I couldn't figure out his intentions, asking him directly was one way to go. Whether he would give a proper answer was a separate matter.
“Why do you think that?”
"Isn't Lady Deisha hovering around Sis—no, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince—with that in mind?"
"Well, that's not bad either."
He raised his eyebrows with a nonchalant expression. Seeing Duke Deisha's indifferent look, I actually felt like I had been caught off guard.
"It seems like you are saying you have something else you want."
"Well, what do you think, Young Lady?"
"Are you coveting the Emperor's throne?"
Duke Deisha's relaxed atmosphere was suddenly tightened.
"You couldn't possibly know that I cannot ascend to the throne, Young Lady?"
"If all the Princes disappear, it wouldn't be impossible, would it?"
Duke Deisha is undeniably the legitimate heir of the imperial family. Although he has never been listed on the imperial register and thus has not risen in the line of succession, if all the Princes who could inherit the throne were to die, Duke Deisha would have the opportunity to become Emperor.
"Is that all you could come up with with that pretty head of yours?"
"..."
"This is disappointing. I guess I had high expectations of you, Young Lady."
He clicked his tongue and crossed his arms. His face still wore a smile, but his eyes flickered with a deep blue flame.
"Why don't you think of a slightly more original reason?"
"If even the Emperor's throne isn't enough for you... are you dreaming of world conquest?"
“Hahahaha!”
He burst into loud laughter as if finding it amusing. He bent over at the waist and laughed for quite a while.
Wiping away tears with a smiling face, he straightened his body.
"Well, just as I was starting to feel disappointed, you said something that didn't let me down."
“That’s too much praise.”
'I just meant to be sarcastic, but I guess I'm not normal after all.'
"Hehe, this is really funny. I think I know why the Crown Prince is so obsessed with the Young Lady."
He came very close to me.
"I think I'm going to fall for Young Lady too."
I stepped back little by little to avoid him.
“I refuse.”
“Why?”
"Married men with children are not my type."
"Oh dear, what a shame. If only the Young Lady would allow it, I would have been willing to fight the Crown Prince as well."
"I have absolutely no intention of allowing it, so stop talking nonsense."
I was just one step away from entering the hall. Duke Deisha knew of my move, yet he just stared at me silently.
"It seems my confession didn't please you. Then, shall I say something that might grab your attention?"
"...?"
The corners of the Duke's mouth curled up slightly.
"What would you do if I were aiming for world domination?"
My brow furrowed involuntarily at Duke Deisha's words. Unless he was a one- or two-year-old child, there was no way he would have such a preposterous dream.
Although the empire was a great power, it was not easy to wage war against all the surrounding kingdoms.
The land will be devastated, and the people will fall dead. Even if you conquer the world, in the end, nothing will remain.
That means there is no such thing.
"The Duke does not appear to be a daydreamer dreaming vain dreams, though."
"It was a pipe dream..."
He trailed off and chuckled.
"So you mean that in Young Lady's eyes, I seem to be dreaming a pipe dream."
"Then isn't it? What on earth is it that you seek, Duke?"
Duke Deisha raised his head and looked up at the sky. Twinkling stars twinkled across the pitch-black night sky
It was deeply engraved. I could see the Duke's eyes trembling slightly.
"You've seen a night sky like this."
He lowered his head again and looked at me. His eyes were shining fiercely, as if to say that wavering eyes were a lie.
"Why don't you think about the rest yourself, Young Lady?"
Duke Deisha's wrinkled eyes slowly folded into crescent shapes.
"I will send a gift to the young lady soon."
“No need.”
"You are really disregarding my sincerity."
The Duke shrugged his shoulders. Unlike the corners of his mouth, which were smiling, his eyes were still dry and brittle.
"Make your decision after you receive my gift."
"..."
"Whether you stop me or meekly submit to your fate."
Previous Next
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment