Episode 10
Ian slowly opened his mouth to speak.
I held my breath and waited for his answer.
“I only found out about my fire powers recently. It happened when I fell into the lake with the Archduke’s wife. At first, I thought I imagined it. But…”
Luckily, Ian’s answer was different from the past.
Even though he was lying, he didn’t look like he was in pain.
The herbal potion really worked.
I quietly sighed in relief and helped Ian with his story.
“I saw it too! It was a very warm fire. That’s why I told the Archduke!”
I spoke in an innocent voice, pretending like I didn’t know anything, to support Ian’s words.
“I see,” the Archduchess nodded and looked at Joseph.
“Joseph, that answers your question, doesn’t it?”
Since the Archduchess supported Ian, Joseph couldn’t say anything more. He lowered his head.
Everyone saw Joseph’s trembling, but even the Archduke didn’t scold him anymore.
“Ian, the Archduchess probably hasn’t seen much of the manor yet. You should give her a tour. The gardens look beautiful in the moonlight.”
The Archduke changed the subject and gave Ian a task.
“Yes. Then we’ll excuse ourselves,” Ian answered first.
He looked at me kindly and smiled gently.
Unlike the past, where he always struggled with his brother…
Now, his red eyes, shining like rubies, were only focused on me.
“Shall we go look at the moon together, my lady?”
Ian reached out his hand to me.
I slowly placed my hand on his.
“Your hand is so warm.”
I smiled brightly, feeling like everything would be okay now.
Instead of going on a moonlit garden walk, Ian took me to the shared bedroom.
It was a beautiful room made for the Archduke couple, though neither of us had used it yet.
There was a big glass window between the room and the terrace, with white curtains fluttering in the night wind.
The terrace was decorated with glowing white flowers.
“Honestly…” Ian looked straight into my eyes.
“That potion worked well. I lied, but I didn’t feel any pain. No one could tell if I was lying.”
“Right?” I grinned.
I wanted to hug him. But he didn’t know how much it meant to me, so I held back.
But then, Ian’s face suddenly became serious.
“Then… did you lie too?”
Lie? Me?
I slowly recalled the Archduke’s question:
‘As the Archduke’s wife, can you stay by his side for life?’
Ian looked more serious than ever and slowly leaned in.
I felt nervous. Could I say more about how I really felt?
Then Ian stepped back with a disappointed look.
“So it was a lie.”
“N-no! That’s not true!” I quickly grabbed his sleeve.
A question mark appeared on his face.
I didn’t stop there. I held onto his clothes with both hands and shouted clearly.
“The question was about duty! As the Archduke’s wife!”
“But…”
“I’ll try my best. But even if you weren’t the Archduke, I’d still want to stay with you!”
“…”
“I just want to be by your side forever!”
Since he was much taller than me, I was looking at his chest, which made me feel shy.
But I knew what this feeling was.
Being with Ian made my heart flutter.
And I remembered the past…
“I don’t plan to take the title of Archduke. I’m sorry, but our relationship won’t last forever.”
“Why would you say that…?”
“Please, live freely as you wish. I won’t interfere.”
Back then, Ian was hurt because of the pressure of his powers. He didn’t want to inherit the family title, and he avoided me.
But each time, I swallowed my feelings.
“Even if you weren’t the Archduke… I would’ve stayed by your side.”
“…What…?”
Oh no. Did I say too much?
I slowly looked up at Ian.
“Are you okay…?”
Something was strange.
His face turned bright red, starting from his ears.
He looked like he might explode!
“Are you…?”
The confident Ian from dinner was gone. Now he was clearly flustered.
Maybe the potion wore off?
I tilted my head, and Ian added seriously:
“Just don’t do anything that dangerous again.”
I thought again.
That might be hard…
“I don’t think I can promise that, Ian.”
Ian turned to the terrace and faced the night breeze.
I walked after him and smiled.
“Then you should get used to it, Your Highness!”
Ian looked back at me, flustered, and sighed while rubbing his forehead.
But… he was smiling.
“Then next time, tell me first. Promise.”
“Yes!”
“You always say yes so easily.”
“Hehe.”
Ian’s shoulders shook softly with laughter.
Then it happened.
“Huh?”
A small spark appeared in Ian’s hand and floated away in the breeze.
Just like the Archduke said, the garden under the moonlight was beautiful.
Watching Ian’s fire, this moment felt like a dream.
“Did you make that on purpose?”
“…No, not really.”
Ian usually didn’t get flustered. But recently, I kept seeing this new side of him.
I actually don’t mind this.
I quietly looked around Ian.
“Your power is new, so it’s probably hard to control! When I first started, I kept soaking the floor and felt bad for Seri!”
Even as he turned away, a small flame still burned on his hand.
I knew the truth.
When powers leak out like that, it means your emotions are hard to control.
Maybe, like me, he also felt excited right now.
Even if I was wrong, I wanted to believe that.
“If you’re not careful, you’ll start a fire—”
“Don’t look.”
Worried that he’d notice how I felt, I teased him and laughed lightly.
It had been two weeks since I started living at the Vesford Archduke’s estate.
But during that time, bad news kept spreading.
As I sat quietly and Seri brushed my hair, I noticed she looked nervous.
“Seri, do you want to say something?”
“Well…”
Seri hesitated, then finally spoke carefully.
“Since this morning, strange rumors have been going around the capital and the estate.”
“Strange rumors?”
Actually, I already knew what she was going to say.
These were the same rumors that had spread in the past right after Ian became the Archduke’s heir.
Even though I came back two years earlier, the flow of events hadn’t changed.
“They’re terrible and scary rumors… People say Vesford is cursed, and a plague has started spreading in the estate.”
“Sigh…”
This didn’t need to happen again…
I sighed, frustrated that even this was repeating.
Seri looked worried and watched my face closely.
I shrugged and said,
“It’s such a silly rumor, right?”
“…Yes! I think it’s because many people are curious about Vesford’s powers, since it’s the source of the Empire’s strength.”
Actually, it was the enemies of Vesford spreading lies out of fear.
I clicked my tongue silently.
“And recently, a lot of people have caught a fever in the estate. That made the rumor worse.”
“Fever?”
“Yes. They say it hurts like someone’s cutting your throat. High fever, and some even have trouble breathing.”
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