Chapter 56
Eslyn was walking right through the middle of a storm.
Where was this place? She didn’t even realize what was happening yet.
“No, Your Highness.”
A clear voice echoed through the storm.
“Just once, Rosana. Please. I’m begging you.”
Eslyn pleaded with the girl in front of her.
“I said no! I’m asking you too!”
“You’re seriously frustrating.”
“It hasn’t even been a full day since Her Majesty the Empress banned you from leaving your room.”
Of course.
Her maid with the honey-colored hair wasn’t an easy person to deal with.
“Did you forget you and Prince Erdan tried sneaking out of the palace yesterday and fell into a well?”
“I’m not trying to escape the palace. I just want to borrow a book.”
“I’ll borrow it for you.”
Rosana said firmly. Eslyn pouted her lips.
“…You’re using that as an excuse to go outside. The spring flowers are blooming, and I’m stuck in my room like this?”
Eslyn drooped her eyebrows dramatically. Rosana let out a strange groan and messed up her short hair in frustration.
“What if someone important shows up while you’re gone?”
“Here, I’ll give you a fan. And a wig. We’re about the same size, so no one will notice from a distance.”
“…Are you seriously telling me to pretend to be the princess?”
Eslyn just grinned.
“If you’re my maid, this kind of thing should be no big deal.”
“I’m heading back to my family’s estate. Goodbye.”
Rosana turned on her heel without hesitation, her plain dress fluttering as she moved.
Eslyn called out to her retreating figure:
“I heard there’s a new medical book from across the sea.”
Rosana froze.
“It’s full of new theories you won’t find in Bertania, right?”
Eslyn absentmindedly played with a nearby plant leaf.
Rosana gave in. Her master knew exactly how to handle her.
“…Only 30 minutes. Change clothes before you go. And you probably know the secret shortcut better than I do anyway.”
“Of course I do!”
Eslyn happily finished her preparations and slipped out of the palace. Rosana watched her leave with a shake of her head.
“She hasn’t changed a bit, even after becoming an adult.”
No one ever came to the princess’s palace except her close aides and Prince Erdan.
“It’ll be fine if it’s just 30 minutes…”
But not long after, something did happen.
Duke Tebet Ripherius, who usually stayed holed up in the Northern Duchy, suddenly appeared.
Rosana always said that moment was the biggest crisis of her life.
Meanwhile, Eslyn had finished her errand and was heading back in a rush.
“Ah, I’m late. Rosana’s going to scold me.”
She regretted going all the way to the eastern library.
She was basically flying as she ran—but then she tripped over a stone sticking out of the path.
“Oww…”
Her knee throbbed, and her wrist tingled. Tears welled up from the pain.
“Who puts stones in the middle of the path?”
As she tried to get up from the bushes—
“Gasp.”
She met a pair of deep red eyes—face-to-face.
Her heart nearly stopped. Who sneaks up on someone without a sound?
“That medal… Duke Ripherius?”
She held her breath.
She didn’t know his face, but she couldn’t not recognize those medals. They were only awarded to war heroes.
What was that cold-blooded man, who claimed to care about nothing but war, doing in the palace?
“Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to recognize me.”
They had never met before. And she looked like a maid right now.
The man turned his head away first.
“If I’m bothering you, I’ll leave. You can continue crying.”
Even a rock on the road would be more sympathetic than that voice.
The extreme coldness in his tone sparked something mischievous in Eslyn.
“Excuse me.”
“What is it?”
“Sorry to ask, but… do you have a handkerchief?”
“I don’t have one for you.”
Liar. He probably just didn’t want to be involved with a maid.
“…That’s mean. You look like a rich young master.”
“What?”
Finally, his expression changed—for the first time.
Though it was… pure disdain.
“Unbelievable.”
But Eslyn simply dusted off her skirt and stood up.
“Wow, he’s tall… and good-looking.”
That was her first impression up close.
“But so what? He’s got no emotion on his face at all. So this is the ‘neutral’ Ripherius?”
Eslyn tilted her head slightly.
“Neutrality is such a convenient excuse. It just means you won’t choose or take responsibility for anything.”
She bit her tongue and kept talking:
“Why be so uptight over just a handkerchief?”
“Uptight?”
“Yeah, you are.”
“You’re not even worth replying to.”
He scoffed and brushed past her. His cold attitude lived up to his nickname as the “Northern Demon Duke.”
Eslyn watched his broad back retreat. Then she turned and walked the opposite way.
She was more worried about Rosana’s scolding now.
“What a boring man.”
That was her first impression of Tebet Ripherius.
The Next Day
“…”
“Why is he here again?”
Eslyn stared.
“Do palace maids usually crawl between walls like rats?”
Tebet raised one eyebrow. Eslyn quickly slipped through a hole in the library wall.
“W-What are you doing here?”
“Should I call the guards?”
“No, wait!”
She grabbed his sleeve in panic.
If she got caught this time, she might be stuck in the palace for three whole months.
Something dropped from her cloak.
“Ah.”
“What’s this?”
Tebet was quicker—he picked it up before she could.
He flipped through the book.
“A map?”
His cold gaze turned to her.
“Give it back.”
“Why does a maid need a map? And this one’s of a land beyond the Shulden continent… You.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Are you a spy?”
What was he even imagining?
“What are you talking about?”
Eslyn snapped.
She tried to grab the book—but it was out of reach. He wasn’t even holding it that high; he was just that tall.
“…My master asked me to get it. That’s all.”
“And who’s your master?”
“…Uh, the princess?”
She said the first thing that came to mind. His grip on the book loosened.
Eslyn took the chance and snatched it back.
“Ugh, now it’s all dirty.”
She brushed off the dirt and muttered.
Tebet asked in a low voice:
“Does the princess want to leave the continent?”
“Well, does anyone want to be trapped here forever?”
“…”
That was a strange question. But for the first time, Eslyn saw emotion in his usually cold red eyes.
“You too?”
“Huh?”
Tebet stepped closer. His shadow fell over her.
“Even you, a maid—do you want to leave the continent?”
“…I guess so?”
He let out a soft, almost mocking laugh.
“Impossible.”
“What is?”
“You’re a maid. You have no money. You probably can’t even hire a guard. How would you survive past the border?”
Eslyn blinked.
Wow. That’s what he was going to say?
“Haha.”
She couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re more of a coward than you look.”
Sunlight sparkled across her smiling face. Tebet stared, almost hypnotized.
“If you give up just because something seems impossible, then you’ll never get anywhere.”
“…”
“The world is full of impossibilities, after all.”
He stood frozen in front of her. Somehow… she didn’t find him boring anymore.
“Alright. After I cross the sea and return, I’ll tell you how easy it was.”
“Tell me what?”
“That it wasn’t hard at all to cross the ocean.”
Her voice was light—like she could fly away at any moment.
“I…”
Tebet started to speak but stopped. He stared down at his hands.
“What’s so serious? It’s just a choice.”
Eslyn said.
“Whether or not you’ll go after what you want.”
“…”
He looked up at her again. Her bright blue eyes looked like a faraway sea.
“What’s your name?”
“What?”
“Your name.”
He unconsciously stepped closer.
“Wait—you’re a little too close—”
“Tebet.”
He blurted out his name.
It felt strange. His mouth was dry. He felt anxious.
“I’m Tebet.”
“Alright. Thanks for telling me.”
“And you are?”
He asked again.
Eslyn looked into his crimson eyes and thought for a moment.
Then her eyes drifted upward—pink flowers bloomed over his head, swaying on a tree.
“I’m…”
She stared at the petals, like pieces of a floating dress.
“…Rosebell.”
Right then, the rosebell tree swayed, as if answering her.
“Ahhh! That was the longest punishment ever! Mom was way too harsh.”
Erdan stretched and yawned. The moment his grounding ended, he ran straight to Eslyn.
“But you’re a traitor. Sneaking around dressed as a maid, meeting Duke Ripherius in secret? You had all the fun!”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
The two were walking down the princess palace hallway, heading out.
They turned a corner—when—
“Rosebell? There’s no maid by that name, sir.”
A voice said.
“…!”
In that moment, Eslyn locked eyes with a tall, imposing man in the lobby.
He was, as always, dressed sharply in uniform.
Tebet’s eyes widened slightly when he saw her. He walked straight toward her without hesitation.
“Why haven’t you shown yourself until now?”
Eslyn looked up at him in a daze. Erdan leaned in, whispering, “What’s going on?”
The head attendant rushed over and bowed deeply.
“Sir, please speak formally. She is the princess.”
“…What?”
Tebet’s thick brows twitched. Eslyn, realizing the situation, let out a small laugh.
“Oops.”
Even though she said it softly, Tebet turned sharply toward her.
“Guess I got caught faster than I expected.”
She spoke as if she had no choice now, her voice calm.
She smiled at him—just like she had beneath the rosebell tree. Brilliant and beautiful.
“So… Have you decided?”
“Sir Tebet Ripherius.”
Only then did Tebet realize:
He had fallen completely for that trap of a smile.
