The Duchy became busy preparing to greet the owner of the castle returning from the capital.
Adelia could only admire the completely transformed interior of the castle.
It was quite cool to see it darkened to match the exterior of the castle which is made of cold resistant dark stone.
That evening.
The Grand Duke’s carriage entered the central garden of the castle.
The servants went out to the garden to greet the Grand Duke’s carriage.
Adelia and Emily also came down to the first floor as guests to welcome him.
click ~
The carriage door opened, and the Grand duke appeared.
“It’s noisy.” Ivan left a short comment at the servants who went out to greet him.
Liam smiled quietly and said to the Grand Duke,
“We welcome the return of the Lord, and of course we are just doing the things we need to do.”
Ivan shook his head.
“You’re back. “
“Adelia, you’ve been down there.”
Ivan felt a strange feeling when he saw Adelia as soon as he entered the castle.
‘Was her hair a little more reddish than that?’
The girl who ran away without telling her name and Adelia’s appearance overlapped for a moment.
Ivan squinted and looked Adelia in the face.
Adelia blinked at the Grand Duke’s behavior, staring at her.
“Your Highness?”
The duke, awakened by Adelia’s voice, realized that his gaze was rude, and apologized.
“Excuse me. I think you look a little like someone I know.”
“Is that so?”
“Did you have redder hair when you were young?”
“Well, I don’t think it’s any different than it is now.”
“I see,”
Adelia said no, but Ivan’s doubts did not go away.
Rather, the suspicion he felt toward Adelia grew even greater.
“You must have had a hard time waiting down here in the cold. You don’t have to come out to greet me next time.”
Adelia opened her eyes wide at the word.
What he meant was that he and Adelia should be on equal footing.
Adelia shook her head and refused Ivan’s consideration.
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“Thank you, but I cannot accept it. Now that I receive the title, I will be placed under the command of your highness. Besides, there are a lot of eyes watching.”
In a day, dozens of rumors were made in the Grand Duchy.
Just one wrong move, people might mistake her for the Mistress.
That is not a very good situation.
Such noise would certainly have a negative effect on the formation of power later.
“Well, that’s up to you, I don’t want to force you.”
Ivan shrugged his shoulders and turned around.
“Let’s eat together later.”
“I’ll be ready.”
Adelia accepted Ivan’s proposal.
Ivan walked away with a lighter gait than before.
***
Immediately, Ivan went to the office and called in Lensley.
“I see His Highness.”
“Let’s skip the formality.”
Lensley burst into laughter at the prince’s words.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I remembered someone who said something similar to you, your Highness.”
Ivan frowned for a moment, and asked with a puzzled look.
“Are you talking about Adelia?”
Lensley spoke with a surprised look on his face, perhaps because his prediction was right.
“Yes, how did you know?”
“It’s a hunch,”
“Ha-ha. I see.”
Lensley burst out laughing then returned to being serious and said,
“Then tell me what you called me for.”
Ivan also spoke with a smile off his face.
“Lensley, do you remember the mercenaries who came to save us that day?”
Lensley’s expression changed sharply.
He nodded with a sharp look.
“Of course, I remember everything that happened then.”
“Well, Lensley, I have a favor to ask of you.”
Ivan began by calling Lensley’s name. He asks him to find Demarlo who came to rescue them that day.
“Are you looking for a mercenary named Demarlo?”
“Yes,”
“But he has nothing to do with the Green branch.”
Lensley was right.
The possibility of the mercenary being related to a green branch was very low.
But what Ivan wanted from the mercenary was not information about the green branch.
“No. What I’m curious about is not the information about the green branch.”
“Well, then?”
“To find out the identity of the girl who saved us that day.”
Lensley, who recognized Ivan’s intentions, grinned and said,
“Well, if you’re going to hire a first-rate mercenary, you’ll have to give your real name, so he knows the girl’s name.”
On that day, Lensley and the other children did not hear the name of the mercenary.
Only Ivan, who was relatively close to the girl, could hear his name.
But Ivan had also forgotten the name. for he had just escaped and was distracted, his memory gradually faded over time.
If he had not met Adelia, he would not have remembered the mercenary’s name.
“At last, I will be able to repay you.” said Lensley.
How long have they been searching the empire in the last decade or so?
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“Actually, there is already a woman I suspect of being the girl. I’m looking for that mercenary just to be sure.”
“What? Why do you say that now? You should have told us!” cried Lensley, surprised by his master.
“There’s no evidence yet that she was the girl at the time, so I didn’t say anything.”
Ivan explained the reason for hiding the identity of the benefactor in a nonchalant tone.
“Sigh… So, who is the girl that your Highness guessed?”
“Well, perhaps you’ve already seen her recently.”
“What? Recently?”
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