Chapter 38
The noisy bustle rang in her ears.
The city center, which she hadn’t visited in a long time, was as crowded as ever. Ahin, also excited from being out for the first time in a while, looked around with a bright and eager expression.
Since she also preferred being alone in the post office, she carefully asked Ahin,
“Ahin, would you mind waiting outside for a bit? It’s unusual for someone to visit the post office personally with a maid in tow—it might draw attention.”
“Of course! Take your time, Madam.”
Ahin seemed more than happy to get a chance to look around some more.
Pulling her bonnet low over her face, she stepped inside the post office. People bustled busily past her, brushing shoulders as they moved.
She pushed through the crowd and finally reached the counter.
“Hello. I’m here to inquire about the sender of this mail. I received a letter, but there’s no information on where it was sent from. Could you check that for me?”
She took the letter from her bag and handed it over. The postal worker examined the stationery and said in a bored tone,
“This letter is from Bölln. Could you tell me the address it was delivered to?”
“Fifth detached house on Stuven Street No. 2.”
The worker blinked slowly, then replied in a sleepy-sounding voice,
“There’s no sender registered for this item. I’d guess the sender delivered it personally.”
“Personally?”
So someone had gone out of their way to buy letter paper from Bölln just to oppose her marriage to Johannes?
Hurriedly, she pulled out the other letter she had received at the Evanstein estate.
“What about this one?”
“Just a moment. This letter…”
The worker furrowed her brows, flipping the letter around in her hands before asking,
“When did you receive this?”
“Yesterday.”
She then began rifling through some documents in a drawer. Soon her expression brightened as if she had found something.
“It looks like this was sent from the Carrierte Hotel in Bölln.”
“…Carrierte Hotel?”
She had never heard of it before.
“So you’re saying the senders of these two letters are different?”
“That, I can’t say. We don’t have records for the first letter you showed, so we’re only assuming it was dropped off personally.”
“I see… Thank you.”
She had come to the post office hoping to solve a mystery, but returned to the Evanstein estate with even more questions.
Was her father really alive? Or was someone just playing tricks?
According to Johannes Schultz’s investigation, Edith Prim didn’t have anyone she could truly call a friend.
So what was this sudden excuse about writing to a friend?
She had even insisted on going alone—as if deliberately shutting him out. She must have known it looked suspicious.
What was going on?
While Johannes brooded irritably, Fret Gunner knocked on the office door.
“Madam has returned from the post office.”
He observed Johannes’ unusually subdued mood and cautiously added,
“She didn’t appear to send any letters, just showed the postal staff one she had received. Upon inquiry, she was asking about the sender.”
So the “writing to a friend” excuse had been a lie after all.
Irritated, Johannes drummed his fingers on the armrest and asked gruffly,
“The sender? Then who sent it?”
“They say it was sent from the Carrierte Hotel in Bölln. We don’t know the content, but… shouldn’t we be suspicious? Bölln, of all places?”
Fret Gunner rubbed his forehead and sighed.
“Have there been any other letters addressed to Edith recently?”
“Yes. The servants said it was from Mrs. Fensler, but… she doesn’t seem the type to send personal letters.”
So an anonymous letter had arrived for Edith, and from Bölln no less.
Whoever was behind this clearly didn’t care about the Duke of Schultz standing behind Edith.
“Maybe you should ask her directly,” Fret Gunner suggested, seeing Johannes remain silent.
“Your relationship with Madam is stable enough to ask something like that… right?”
Johannes frowned. Fret had a knack for getting on his nerves at the worst times.
“Leave.”
At his cold dismissal, Fret Gunner quietly exited the office, knowing better than to protest.
Staring at the closed door, Johannes picked up a newspaper and lit a cigarette, his mind drifting to the events of the previous night.
‘You’ve worked so hard until now.’
‘I think there’s more hard work ahead if I’m going to feed my wife.’
He had replied playfully to Edith’s sudden show of sympathy, and she had laughed without hesitation.
The soft strands of her hair fell over her shoulder and brushed his hand each time she laughed, her breath gently grazing the bridge of his nose.
Up close, she was beautiful—even by objective standards. And her smile was… utterly lovely.
In that moment, Johannes felt a strange impulse.
It was dark and quiet, and they were alone on a bed—a rare combination for two people who weren’t in love.
It was, in every sense, a perfect moment to kiss.
‘Was I just swept up in the mood?’
He had been just about to kiss her. If Edith hadn’t turned her head and closed her eyes at the last second… probably…
‘So… I don’t think this is right. Getting carried away by the mood doesn’t suit you, Your Grace.’
Suddenly, she had rolled over and said she was tired.
As a grand duke with perfect looks, Johannes was used to never being rejected. That had been true for him his entire life.
He hadn’t shown much interest in women—more often, they were the ones pursuing him.
So, when it came to relationships, Johannes honestly knew very little.
‘What exactly is “not like me” about that?’
Even he didn’t know what “like him” meant anymore.
Just then—
“It’s me.”
Knock knock. A familiar voice rang out with a light knock, and Johannes exhaled quietly.
Johannes sat with a newspaper in hand, the picture of perfection. One leg crossed over the other, cigarette in hand.
The habitual frown on his face only emphasized his striking features.
She found herself admiring his handsomeness all over again—until their eyes met and she quickly dropped the thought.
He folded the newspaper and leaned slightly forward.
“I’d like to visit the medicinal market in Bölln. Would that be alright?”
“Bölln… you say?”
He looked a little tired and furrowed his brow. When she nodded, his sharp features became even more tense.
“I’m planning to resume my studies in pharmacology soon. Thought it wouldn’t hurt to look at the local ingredients.”
The edge of the newspaper in his hand crinkled slightly.
Had he caught on that this was a cover? Still, she really was planning to study pharmacology again, so it wasn’t a total lie.
“When are you planning to go?”
“I was thinking of going tomorrow, if that’s alright? I’ll definitely take an escort.”
She answered nervously.
“…Alright. I’m also planning to go out, so we can return together.”
To her surprise, he granted permission immediately.
Though she wasn’t quite sure what “returning together” meant.
Still, it was a relief. By tomorrow, she might finally learn something clearer about her father’s whereabouts.
She smiled brightly and said to Johannes,
“Thank you. I’ll just take care of what I need and come right back.”
