JBOWS 06

⟡Chapter 6⟡

It didn’t seem to be just a matter of him being ugly.

“Would it be possible to ask His Grace the Grand Duke to remove his mask? Is it dangerous to see his real face? Would I collapse like Princess Roselia if I saw it?”

Isaiah smiled, as if amused by her excessive worry.

“Ah, no. Not at all. For ordinary people, it might be dangerous, but…”

That answer alone made her desire to see the Grand Duke’s real face drop by 90%.

“With that response, I’m certain now. It’s different for you, miss. You don’t need to worry. If it’s Lady Anneliese, you’ll be perfectly fine even if you meet my lord’s eyes.”

He answered casually, as if it were obvious.

How can he be so sure? He had just been saying such terrifying things a moment ago.

She couldn’t feel reassured without hearing the reason.

“Why am I okay?”

“There’s a logical reason. That’s because Lady Anneliese is…”

Isaiah leaned his upper body closer to her.

Whisper, whisper. She quietly listened to what he had to say.

“…What?”

Anneliese’s expression turned strange.

It was a reason she had never once considered.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Whether you believe it or not is up to you.”

“To begin with, how would you even know what the First Saintess looked like?”

“Ah. Now that I think about it, that’s true. I don’t know what the First Saintess looked like, do I?”

What is wrong with this guy?

Can I really trust him?

Unable to hide her disbelief, Anneliese stared at Isaiah.

Seeing her expression, Isaiah shrugged.

“It’s not necessarily limited to appearance. As for your last question—shall I just say that our Lady Anneliese is special? There are very few people who can look upon my lord’s true face.”

It was still a vague explanation.

What do you mean, a ‘true’ face? Is there a fake one too?

It felt like Isaiah was deliberately leaving things unsaid.

Just as Anneliese was about to press him further—

“Ah. It’s time for me to go.”

Isaiah stood up, looking slightly regretful.

“So… it’s really okay if I see his real face?”

“Yes. I guarantee it.”

Somehow, that only made her thoughts more tangled.

Anneliese escorted Isaiah to the door as he left the estate.

“Until we meet again, I wish you peace.”

He bowed and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand.

He really doesn’t look like a knight.

That was the thought that came to her as she looked down at his long, dense eyelashes.

Not long after Isaiah left, the estate grew noisy again.

The front gate burst open.

Anna Rose rushed in, panting.

“Who was that handsome man, sis? I saw him coming out of our house! He was so, so good-looking!”

The moment she arrived, she started making a fuss about the incredibly handsome man she had just seen.

As if used to this, Anneliese casually pointed toward the lobby with her finger.

“Anna Rose. You’re making my head spin, so go shout over there instead.”

Anna Rose quickly stepped back.

“Okay! Is this far enough? Now tell me—who was he?!”

Is that really the first thing you ask after arriving?

Anneliese always worried about her one and only younger sister.

Honestly… she loses all sense when it comes to blond handsome men.

She had been like that even before the regression.

She had once found a delicate-looking blond man collapsed in the forest and brought him home—only for him to turn out to be the Third Prince.

Thanks to that, the Third Prince survived and later dethroned the Crown Prince.

Anneliese searched through her memories.

Come to think of it, this should be around the time the Third Prince goes missing during his overseas tour. It was after the banquet.

She didn’t know how things would turn out in this life, but she still wanted to protect Anna Rose’s love.

That way, Anna Rose will be happy… and I’ll be happy too, with the Empress as my backing.

So go on—dethrone that incompetent Crown Prince, become Empress, and protect me.

And don’t go falling for any other man.

Without a shred of guilt, Anneliese fabricated Isaiah’s identity.

“That man? Just a peddler. He has three wives and twelve kids. Tried to rope me into gambling, so I kicked him out.”

“Aww…”

Anna Rose’s face fell in disappointment.

Even so, this was the younger sister who would one day become Empress. Anneliese smiled kindly.

“Anyway, my lovely Anna Rose. You must be tired from the trip. Shall I make you a cup of cocoa?”

“Uh… sis… why are you looking at me like that? That’s kind of scary… I did bring what you asked for!”

Anna Rose trembled without understanding why.

* * *

While preparing cocoa for Anna Rose, Anneliese explained everything that had happened.

“Then you might become the Grand Duchess!”

“Yeah. Even if I become Grand Duchess, I’ll still retain the title of Countess Solarichen, so our family will be fine. When the contract ends, I’ll give up the title and return to the Solarichen estate.”

Most imperial nobles would have panicked at the idea of marrying the monstrous Grand Duke of the North—but Anna Rose was, as expected, different.

“Is the Grand Duke handsome?”

You really only care about one thing, don’t you?

“Or is he as hideous as the rumors say? What should I do—I’m dying of curiosity!”

Anneliese shrugged.

“I don’t know yet. He was wearing a mask, so I only saw his eyes briefly.”

“Next time, make sure you get a proper look. It’s important, sis.”

Important to you, maybe…

Still, she was a little curious herself.

From what I saw of his eyes, he didn’t seem ugly. If anything, maybe even handsome.

“Alright. I’ll check and tell you. Now give it to me—the thing I asked you to bring.”

“Oh, right! Here.”

Anna Rose took a pouch out of her bag and handed it over.

Inside the pouch was a small box.

This was the holy relic of Aldeon.

The two sisters leaned their heads together and examined the item in her hand.

“What’s all the fuss about? It’s just a small, old box.”

Anna Rose muttered, unable to understand.

“Still, it’s said to contain the belongings of the First Saintess. It must be something special.”

The First Saintess…

Anneliese recalled what Isaiah had said earlier.

[“You resemble Annelarion Solarichen, miss.”]

That had been his answer to why she alone would be fine after seeing the Grand Duke.

So you’re saying I resemble Annelarion Solarichen—the owner of this relic?

Annelarion’s younger sister had been the founder of the Solarichen family, making them distant relatives.

It wasn’t impossible that they resembled each other—but still, it was hard to believe.

After all, the First Saintess Annelarion was a figure from an unimaginably distant past.

The one who gifted spring and autumn to a continent that once knew only eternal summer.

Long ago, the continent had only two seasons.

Endless winter in the north—and endless summer everywhere else.

Annelarion had defeated the monster of the north to cool the burning continent.

And paid the price by being burned to death by the enraged creature.

Her sacrifice had not been in vain.

Though the wounded monster retreated deep into the north—turning it into an even colder wasteland—

Spring and autumn came to the rest of the continent.

In what way do I resemble her? Appearance? Personality? Power?

There was no way to confirm it.

Even if I do resemble her, why would that make me immune to seeing the Grand Duke’s face?

Her thoughts couldn’t go any further.

There simply wasn’t enough information.

Aside from brief mentions in the scriptures, there are almost no records about the First Saintess.

Perhaps the north held records unknown to the Solarichen family.

“Sis, sis! What are you thinking so hard about?”

Anna Rose’s voice snapped her back to reality.

“Huh? What were we talking about?”

“You said you’d meet the Grand Duke at the birthday banquet. The Crown Prince will be there too—are you sure it’ll be okay? What if he causes trouble?”

Oh, that.

“It’s fine. I can handle that much. I’ve already bribed one of the Crown Prince’s close aides.”

Anneliese calmly sipped her tea.