Chapter 25
I Came to My Senses and Somehow Became the Grand Duke’s Fiancée
Still, was it really okay to keep me stuck next to Roel like this?
Envis didn’t seem to think much of it since she didn’t know much about me, but I was a little worried.
“Of course, since you’re working harder, I’ll give you proper compensation.”
“…!”
At those tempting words, I pushed aside all stray thoughts and lifted my head right away.
Envis lowered her eyes halfway and asked gracefully,
“Money? An estate? What do you need?”
“Could you give me both, and one more thing?”
“I like your confidence. Go on.”
If nothing else, compensation was something I had to ask for boldly.
Just like earlier, without acting timid, I spoke honestly.
“Could you arrange a chance for me to meet the ducal family?”
“…?”
Envis looked confused. Bringing up the ducal family out of nowhere as a reward probably sounded strange.
“Why?”
At her question, I smiled faintly.
“Because I want to see them.”
That reason alone was enough.
I wasn’t coveting the title of a duke’s daughter anymore. Just seeing their faces once would be enough.
“….”
Envis still looked puzzled, but she nodded for now.
“I’m not very close with the ducal family, but… I’ll try.”
“Thank you.”
That was everything I wanted.
I smiled in satisfaction.
My conversation with Envis continued after that, but it was all trivial talk.
Just small, pointless chatter. Contrary to her stiff appearance, Envis was surprisingly talkative—though not as much as Roel.
After talking with Envis for a long time, it was already dawn when I finally went to bed.
Since tea time was scheduled for the morning after breakfast, I barely got any sleep.
Roel came all the way to my room to go to the tea time together, and when he saw me, he blinked.
“Ribe, did you not sleep?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
I was chatting with your sister all night.
I couldn’t say that out loud, so I swallowed the answer in my mind.
Still, it was impressive that Roel noticed my condition the moment he saw me. I wondered if I had dark circles and checked the mirror beside me, but my face looked fine. There wasn’t much difference from yesterday. It was strange how he noticed.
Roel asked with concern,
“Should we postpone it to the afternoon?”
“No, it’s fine…”
I wasn’t that tired. More than anything, I couldn’t delay tea time just because of me.
Roel kept looking at me with worry, then seemed to realize something and smiled mischievously.
“Come to think of it, this is your first time meeting my sister and His Highness the Crown Prince, right? You weren’t too nervous to sleep, were you?”
“……”
It felt better to stay quiet.
Roel and I headed to the reception room.
It was the same one I had visited yesterday with Howard.
When we entered, we saw Howard and Envis sitting side by side, waiting for us.
Howard smiled brightly when he saw us.
“You’re here.”
“Did we keep you waiting long?”
“No, not at all.”
Howard waved his hand right away at Roel’s question.
But seeing that the teacup in front of him was half empty, it looked like he had been waiting for quite a while. He was just being considerate so we wouldn’t feel bad.
Envis sat there with the same elegant posture. Yesterday she had chatted so casually with me, but now she was quiet, as if meeting me for the first time.
She must have gone to bed around the same time as me. Yet she looked perfectly fine compared to me.
That annoyed me a little.
‘Well, I was chatting excitedly too, so I can’t really complain.’
It had been a long time since I met someone I talked with so easily, so I lost track of time while talking.
“Should I bring you some cold water?”
I was just staring at Envis, but Roel must have thought I was out of it from being tired and spoke with concern.
I pressed around my eyes.
“It’s fine, I’m okay.”
“What’s wrong?”
Howard, who was watching us, asked in confusion.
“It looks like Ribe didn’t sleep much.”
“Ribe?”
“It’s a nickname Roel uses on his own.”
I answered instead of Roel.
Hearing that, Howard burst out laughing.
“Hahaha, that’s cute. I’ll call you Ribe too.”
Howard seemed to like nicknames, and he looked pleased with mine.
For me, who found nicknames embarrassing, having one more person call me Ribe was just annoying.
“…!”
Roel visibly flinched.
I looked at him strangely as his expression darkened right away.
“What’s wrong?”
“You stole Ribe from me…”
“What are you talking about? I’m right here.”
Roel muttered with a sulky face.
“I was the only one who called you Ribe…”
“……”
I made a face full of disgust. This was my fault for listening to his nonsense.
Howard gave an awkward smile.
“Sorry, I won’t call you that…”
Howard really had it rough, trying to accommodate Roel. It was lucky he had a good personality.
“You said you met Envi yesterday. Is that why you couldn’t sleep?”
It seemed Envis hadn’t hidden the fact that she met me from Howard.
At Howard’s question, Roel looked at me with wide, surprised eyes.
“You met my sister?”
“Yeah, just briefly.”
Since I wasn’t trying to hide it, I answered calmly.
Roel glanced at Envis, then whispered quietly so only I could hear.
“…Did you talk about the ducal family?”
I wasn’t the type to hide my situation, and Envis was someone capable of helping me. It wasn’t strange for him to think I might have talked to her about the ducal family.
“I just said I wanted to meet them.”
In truth, I didn’t really tell Envis much about myself. I felt like she’d just think I was strange.
“What are you two whispering about?”
Envis spoke up for the first time. Roel rarely looked this serious, so she seemed unable to hold back her curiosity.
“The ducal family?”
Howard must have caught part of the whispering, because he blinked. His hearing was annoyingly good, making secret conversations impossible.
Howard smiled cheerfully and spoke.
“She asked me about Ribera yesterday too. Seems like she’s very interested in the ducal family.”
“…?”
At his words, Roel beside him looked confused. He didn’t know I had met Howard separately yesterday, so it made sense.
Envis turned her head to look at Howard and asked calmly,
“You’re saying Ribera asked about the duke’s daughter?”
“Yes.”
“And you told her?”
“Yes, I did.”
Howard answered innocently.
After hearing that, Envis’s expression hardened.
“Are you joking?”
“…?”
“Come see me after tea time.”
“…Looks like I’m in trouble.”
Only then did Howard read the room and droop his shoulders sadly. He looked regretful now. Still, it was fortunate that his future wife was someone sharp.
Envis tilted her head slightly, dropping her heavy tone, and spoke with charisma.
“Ribera, may I ask why you’re so interested in the ducal family?”
She must have finally felt suspicious now that Roel and Howard both brought it up.
As I hesitated, Roel spoke instead.
“Actually, Ribe—”
I hurriedly covered Roel’s mouth with my hand and continued,
“I’m a fan of the ducal family.”
“….”
At my terrible excuse, Envis narrowed her eyes. I hadn’t expected it to work, but maybe it was too careless even as an excuse.
“You know you’re very suspicious, right?”
I had nothing to say to that. I wasn’t giving a proper reason and just kept saying I wanted to meet them.
“……”
The reception room fell silent.
Roel looked like he couldn’t understand why I was suddenly trying to hide things, and Howard just looked confused by the situation.
Envis ran a hand through her hair once.
“Since I also need to talk with Howard, let’s have tea time again tomorrow. I’ll decide tomorrow about taking you to the ducal residence.”
The planned tea time was supposed to end today, but because of me, it got extended by another day.
If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve thought of a better excuse. After chatting with Envis yesterday, I had fallen asleep like I passed out, so I had no time to prepare.
Tea time ended on an awkward note.
After the short tea time ended, we left the reception room first.
On the way to escorting me back to my room, Roel kept glancing at me.
“What?”
Unable to bear his gaze any longer, I asked irritably.
Roel quickly spoke.
“Why did you hide it?”
I knew he’d be curious. I had tea separately with Howard and Envis without telling him, so it was only natural.
I spoke in a very tired voice.
“I met them suddenly, so I didn’t have time to tell you. I wasn’t trying to keep it a secret.”
“No, not that.”
“…?”
“You weren’t the type to hide what you went through, were you?”
Roel was unusually serious.
“…Why does that matter?”
“If I said something wrong, I should apologize.”
He seemed bothered by how I had urgently covered his mouth earlier.
‘There’s nothing to apologize for.’
What I went through could be very sensitive in some ways, but I had never hidden it before. Even if Roel talked about it, I wouldn’t have minded.
More than anything, I trusted that Roel wasn’t someone who would treat my story like gossip. Even if he told others, I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.
Still, the reason I stopped Roel and hid my past during tea time was only one thing.
“…It’s embarrassing.”
My pride was hurt. My current situation felt ridiculous.
I didn’t care with Envis. But no matter what, I wanted to hide it from Howard.
Seeing my expression, Roel stayed quiet for a moment, then asked again after a short pause.
“Why?”
I gave a small laugh.
“I liked him a lot.”
It was something I normally wouldn’t say, but maybe seeing Howard again had unsettled me, and the words slipped out.
He was my long-time unrequited love.
In official settings, he was always cold, but once I realized how kind he really was, I started to like him.
But by the time I had those feelings, he already had a fiancée, and there was a big age gap between us, so it stayed as just a crush. Especially after I lived as a commoner, I was too busy surviving for those faint feelings to remain.
It was just a youthful first love everyone has. Looking back, it only made me smile.
“……”
Only after speaking did I come to my senses.
‘What did I just say?’
I gave an awkward smile and tried to fix it.
“Well, it was just when I was young.”
He was already married now. And with Roel’s sister being his wife, saying something like this could even be taken as insulting the royal family.
I hurried to cover it up, but Roel’s expression had already darkened.
