Episode 17

‘My heart is warming up. And to meet in a place where it’s just the two of us. What does it mean? Is the princess in her right mind?’

His long, white fingers holding the letter trembled finely.

Soon, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t, he folded the letter in half again.

Yet, his heart pounding fiercely and the curiosity stirring in his mind overpowered him.

Gulp, Lennaeus, having swallowed dryly, unfolded the letter again.

…My heart is warmed…Quietly, in a place where it’s just the two of us…Will you meet me?

Now, his eyes only caught such words.

‘Is it as overt and bold as this?’

Lennaeus’ eyebrows twitched and moved.

He had heard of young nobles these days enjoying open romances, but he was not yet emotionally prepared.

“Duke, what do you plan to do about Countess Mosston’s debutante ball?”

He was jolted back to reality by his secretary Alfred’s call.

Of course, he had no interest in the Countess’ debutante ball.

“Of course, I will not attend….”

He hesitated without needing to think about refusing.

‘The princess will surely want to attend with me as her partner.’

Somehow, he felt displeased again.

‘I absolutely despise such social events.’

However, a surprising answer, different from his thoughts, came out of his mouth.

“Let’s attend. Adjust the schedule accordingly.”

Alfred’s eyes widened in surprise.

This was not the Duke’s reaction he knew. Unless it was a royal social event organized by the Emperor, the Duke never attended such trivial balls.

“Understood.”

The competent and quick-witted Alfred did not ask further and left the room.

But suddenly, the Duke called him to stop.

“Alfred. Do you know what it means when a woman suggests meeting quietly in a place where only the two of them can be?”

“Yes… Yes?”

Alfred stuttered, flustered by the unexpected question.

The Duke was glaring at the folded paper, with a deep frown.

As far as he knew, Duke Adler had never dated a woman before.

One would think he might date a woman out of curiosity at least once.

He, who was notoriously aloof, never paid attention to the women of his age who admired him.

When he was pushed by the Emperor to engage with Princess Charlotte, who had the worst reputation in the empire, people sighed.

It was as if the last treasured apple had been snatched away by a passing monkey.

Alfred cautiously opened his mouth.

“Well… It must mean… wanting something intense and secretive, doesn’t it? Surely, someone to you, Your Grace….”

It wasn’t surprising. Although there was a fiancée, Princess Charlotte was just a partner in a political marriage without affection. It was nothing unusual for the imperial nobles to have one or two mistresses.

A sharp look flew at Alfred’s words.

“Be careful with your words. It’s not about me. Just answer the personal opinion I’m asking for.”

“Yes, my apologies. I misspoke….”

Alfred quickly bowed his head, but of course, he knew.

“This isn’t about me, it’s about a friend of mine….”

…knowing that all conversations that start like this are actually about themselves.

There was a hesitation in the Duke as if he wanted to say more.

Such an event was truly uncommon. The great ‘Duke Adler’ hesitating to speak.

Finally, Lennaeus spoke.

“What does it mean when a woman says her hea… no, her body gets warm?”

“Her, her body gets warm?”

Lennaeus clearly couldn’t bring himself to say ‘heart’, so he ambiguously said ‘body’, unfortunately giving it a strange nuance.

Alfred blinked and looked at his superior.

“It seems like someone with no dating experience is starting off quite boldly….”

“Tha… uh… getting warm… Ahem. Yes, well, anyway, the lady is very proactive and… bold…. It seems the Duke… I mean, your friend should prepare himself mentally soon.”

Lennaeus’ pupils shook violently at Alfred’s answer.

*

Since that day, Lennaeus folded and unfolded the letter sent by Charlotte, pondering and conflicted several times a day.

‘So, I was that attractive, after all.’

Eventually, after making a few minor mistakes in his work documents for a few days, Lennaeus decided to meet Charlotte for an explanation.

And if Charlotte suggested ‘something inappropriate’, he intended to refuse outright.

But on the other hand, he seemed to have also subtly checked on what preparation would be needed for ‘such a matter’.

“It’s my feeling, what about it?”

Charlotte did not deny those feelings, but she didn’t want more than that.

It was certainly a relief, but somehow, he felt a bit deflated.

When Charlotte brought up the Countess’ debutante ball, he felt inwardly pleased.

Indeed, as he had expected, she seemed to be planning to ask him to be her partner.

He had already arranged all the schedules but pretended to reluctantly agree to her request.

Although he had never taken anyone as a partner to a ball in his life, he had made an exception to offer his partnership to his fiancée.

But the response he got was completely unexpected.

“If you’re busy, I want to say that you don’t have to attend the debutante ball as my partner.”

What was it? Suddenly, something surged within him. He couldn’t hold back and blurted out his true feelings to Charlotte.

“Didn’t you say that you liked me, Your Highness?”

“I don’t like it when the Duke I admire does something he doesn’t want to do because of me.”

The thought that she would give up asking him to be her partner just because he was ‘a little’ displeased with attending the debutante ball. She was considerate to the point of being unbelievable.

Lennaeus shook his head. Sending an oblivious fiancée like her alone to a social event might ruin his reputation.

‘To avoid such ridiculous situations in the future, I should be the one to make active suggestions first.’

Lennaeus rationalized again. But the most absurd thing happened next.

“Would it be alright if I exposed my chest a bit that day?”

Lennaeus’ face turned red at the sudden mention of ‘chest’. Without realizing it, he struggled to divert his gaze that kept drifting towards Charlotte’s chest.

It couldn’t have been more displeasing.

There were going to be dozens of male nobles attending the ball. The thought of Charlotte exposing her chest there made his eyebrows furrow fiercely.

She really was a woman without dignity.

However, what troubled him more was what she said next.

“Actually… the budget of the Princess’s palace is a bit short to buy a new dress.”

Indeed, Charlotte was a woman who irritated him. He clenched his mouth shut.

*

“What? What did you say…”

“I said to purchase a dress.”

Alfred had a stunned expression at the unusual words coming from his superior.

After serving Duke Adler for 5 years, he never dreamed he would receive an order to purchase a ‘women’s dress’ from him.

“A dress to gift… to Princess Charlotte?”

“Yes. It’s natural for a fiancé to gift such a thing, isn’t it?”

“Yes… well, that’s true.”

“The mining rights renewal is due soon. It’s also necessary to show loyalty to the royal family.”

Alfred couldn’t bring himself to ask how gifting a dress to Princess Charlotte was related to showing loyalty to the royal family.

“Then as ordered… I’ll prepare and send it. Should I consider the Princess’s usual preferences?”

Lennaeus’ eyebrows twitched roughly, but it was such a fleeting moment that Alfred didn’t notice.

“The chest… No, bring me the design before placing the order.”

“What? Are you… choosing it yourself?”

Fearing that instructing to choose a design ‘not revealing the chest’ would seem suspicious, Lennaeus hastily changed his order.

However, his revised instruction only shocked Alfred more.

‘The Duke is not only buying a women’s dress but also choosing it himself?’

His superior was never one to choose things himself in his life.

All gifts sent out in the name of Duke Adler were chosen by Alfred. Even items for the Duke’s personal use were pre-selected by his servants as the best options.

Even his fiancée was essentially chosen by the ‘Emperor’s’ command, wasn’t she?

For him to personally select a woman’s dress… It was certainly a major event.

At the same time, Alfred was enveloped by an ominous feeling.

*

An ominous premonition never fails.

Alfred had to visit seven renowned dress shops in the imperial capital to find the perfect dress for Princess Charlotte.

This was because the debutante ball of Countess Mosston had packed the dress shops with reservations.

Moreover, even for the designs Alfred had painstakingly chosen, Duke Adler often rejected them with a frown, citing somewhat unclear reasons.

“The design lacks elegance.”

“Do you think this kind of dress suits my fiancée?”

“This is too cheap.”

For reference, each design Alfred brought had its reason. They were chosen thoroughly reflecting the recent three-year dress purchasing history of Princess Charlotte and her widely known tastes in social circles. Of course, they were not cheap at all.

The real incident happened a few days later. On the day he visited to oversee a building owned by the Duke’s family, Duke Adler suddenly stopped on the first floor.

“Your Grace, is there a problem…?”

“That dress.”

The Duke’s gaze was fixed on a beautiful lilac-colored dress displayed in the boutique window on the first floor.