Chapter 16: 15

Chapter 15

***

Returning to the mansion, Celine smiled softly at the servant who greeted her and accepted the coat.

“Is my father back?”

“Yes. He’s in his study. My Lady.”

“I see. Thank you.”

The servants liked Celine, who was kind and gentle to everyone, despite her glamorous upbringing. She had a good reputation in social circles, and she was so pretty and good-natured that even the imperial family was interested in her as a daughter in law.

That was why the title ‘Princess’ was naturally attached.

Of course, there were those who were jealous of her, but they sometimes called her ‘Princess’ ironically.

The servants had no doubt that the “kind” young lady wouldn’t turn away from Diana, who was being discriminated against.

Rather, they knew that Diana had a bad heart and was jealous of Celine, putting rats in her bed and pills in her food that upset her stomach.

Still, the pure Celine begged her father to forgive her sister with pearl-like tears.

This fact made her shine even brighter.

To the people, she was perceived as a bright and innocent woman who deserved her name, which meant heaven.

It was her belief that for the light to stand out, there must be darkness. It was the Admiral who took pity on Diana, but it was Celine who gave justification to her treatment and gave her an insidious and evil image.

Celine’s face, which had always been innocent and smiling, was now covered with a dark shade. She deliberately pestered Jeffrey and shed tears because she wanted to understand his intentions.

In spite of her efforts to persuade him, Jeffrey’s strong eyes never wavered, and judging from her father’s visit, it was clear that he (Jeffrey)would somehow go to save Diana.

‘Could it be true what he said about it being for my sake?’

He didn’t answer any of her confessions, but there must be a reason why he told her the date of the mission, which was a military secret.

‘If it’s for me, good. If not, I’ll have to make it that way.’

Celine knocked on the study where the Admiral was and entered, giving him her usual sweet look.

“Father, Lieutenant Colonel Grenendall is trying to become a Duke for me. So he is going to save my sister, whom I care about very much.”

“Does this mean that he likes you?”

Yes. Respecting the choices of loved ones is real love.”

However, the bespectacled Admiral rubbed his mouth and worried.

“I know my father turned down all of the proposals, too. I’m sure you want me to marry the man I chose. Even if I become Queen or Empress, I won’t be able to be happy with someone I don’t love.”

At Celine’s words, the Admiral cut in quietly, his fingers tucked on the desk in his study.

“‘I see. What would you like, my princess?”

“Father, I want my ‘cherished’ Diana to come back alive. Then he will be Duke and I will be Duchess.”

The Admiral’s eyebrows raised at his daughter’s request, which was filled with intent. He realized Celine’s intention was to help Jeffrey get Diana to safety. The Admiral remembered the survivor who had gone to Progen to kill Diana and then returned alone.

“We offered to give him information, but he said he didn’t want it and killed them all.”

Of course, the Admiral killed the survivor to keep him quiet. He was going to kill them all at the border anyway, in case they came back and threatened him with Diana’s body.

With all the public attention and talk about Diana’s life and death already, it would be inevitable that he would be condemned if she died in an enemy country. Celine would be harmed as well.

After the public condemnation grew stronger, he naturally gave up the idea of sending someone to kill Diana. He was terribly troubled by the reason why the Duke of Progen wanted Diana so much.

Whatever the reason, the trouble was the same. He thought of the negotiation demands of the Duke of Rothsilde. Celine covered her mouth and luridly kept her eyes down as she watched the deeply pensive Admiral.

She thought if Lieutenant Colonel Grenendall came to Diana’s rescue, it would be an affirmative answer to her confession.

If not, she could make it that way. The Father and daughter were lost in different thoughts.

***

Rosie annoyed me by dropping a rave about having to match the dress for the upcoming coming-of-age ceremony and the dress for Christmas Mass.

She also said that there would be a lot of invitations for party coming, and that she would make sure that I had the right dress for where I was invited.

In fact, ever since I came back from the ball, I started to receive invitations from the upper class aristocrats, probably because the rumor that I was the Duke’s fiancée had spread.

Most of them were intuitively “let’s hang out together” with the content of going to social parties, dinners, horse races, croquet, casinos, and spa cities.

Industrialization has accelerated, and for aristocrats who are mainly in business and politics, it is as much a duty to involve busily in large groups for the sake of business.

This popularity was a little burdensome because I was not an outgoing person.

[I’m going to the hot spring with the noble ladies next Tuesday. The hot spring water in Blanche is famous for its excellent effect on the skin. Why don’t you go with us, Miss Parsene?]

The invitation was signed, ‘Elisabeth Moray’. It was difficult to refuse an invitation from the Countess Moray, the noblewoman who had taught me to dance. Now that I was a citizen and belonged to Progen I thought Noah would gladly let me go, but….

“No.”

When I said that I would go to a hot spring, Noah kindly but firmly opposed it. There was a moment of silence between Noah, who was sitting on the opposite sofa drinking tea, and me, who had become quiet because I thought about the reason he didn’t like it.

“Is it dangerous? Countess Moray’s husband is a senior police official. There will also be guards. Nothing to worry about.”

I overlooked him again. He was not a man of ordinary thoughts.

“I don’t want you to be seen by other people.”

“Why?”

“Can you guess?”

Noah, who asked the question a bit bluntly, laid his back on the sofa and folded his arms as if to say ‘Think about it’. This man seems to be very good at teaching me to think.

In fact, I was just going to the bathhouse with the ladies, and Ii couldn’t believe he didn’t want the ladies to see my body.

“You can do all the other things you want. But you can’t do that. Do you understand?”

“Then can I go to the casino and walk around your mansion?”

Noah nodded his head at my mischievous words.

“Yes, let’s do that. But you’ll lose again.”

“………… Why do you keep thinking I’ll lose?”

“Because the princess is not a gambler.”

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I let go of my glass and stared silently at Noah. He was right. In my pursuit of stability, I did not enjoy the thrill or the burden of risk. Those blue eyes seemed to be peering into my deepest abyss, and I shrank a little without realizing it.

“Yes, you know well.”

“I’ll take you to the hot springs when we’re married.”

Noah drank the rest of his tea and touched his lips softly. I was briefly distracted by the movement and quickly collected it.

“Is there any reason why we should go after we are married?” (Diana)

“You mean we should go together now? I thought you were conservative.” (Noah)

I was dumbfounded, as I didn’t really understand how the facilities and mechanisms of the hot springs here worked. Then I thought of modern hot spring hotels and remembered the private hot springs used by lovers and couples.

It wouldn’t change just because it was here. It would probably be a place where couples and lovers would mostly go. When my thoughts reached that point, my face heated up. I bit down on the inside of my mouth as the thought came to me unimaginably.

“Why is your face red? Did you have dirty thoughts?” (Noah)

Noah smiled as if he had peeked at my imagination. This man drove me to be a lecherous demon incessantly. But then, with a plausible face, he got away with saying that he had pure intentions.

The mischievous man.

I cleared my throat, picked up the teapot, poured tea into the empty cup and turned my head to look out the window. Snow was falling outside.

The snow was piled up under the frosted glass window. Next to the window, there was a tree with roses and ribbons made of silk, sweets made of sugar and red berries, like a Christmas tree.

There were also lush trees and evergreen branches decorated with red berries all over the mansion, creating a Christmas feel.

“I thought you wouldn’t do this.” (Diana)

Noah followed my gaze to the beautifully decorated tree.

“I didn’t do it before.” (Noah)

“Really? Did you change your mind this year?” (Diana)

“I told the butler to put them up. I thought the princess might like it. Do you like it?” (Noah)

“Yes, it’s very beautiful. I’m glad because I’ve never really enjoyed this kind of atmosphere.” (Diana)

“Are you going to give me an award then?” (Noah)

Noah smiled, a faint sense of anticipation in his face. I didn’t know what kind of award to give him when I didn’t even know what he wanted from me. I lowered my eyes and opened my mouth carefully.

“What do you want? And by the way, I… don’t have anything to give you.” (Diana)

Noah’s expression was subtly disturbed by what I said. He covered his eyes with his hands and laughed. His mouth, which was crooked under his slender fingers, instantly drew a straight line.

“You’re cute.” (Noah)

Unlike the warm praise, it was a dry voice. When he dropped his hand near his eyes, a blank face was fully revealed.

Blurry, murky eyes were staring at me. The air currents in the area became quiet like a parabola. Just the look in his eyes and the muffled sound of his voice chilled the air in the bright, warm room.

“My dear princess. Don’t you have anything to give, or don’t you want to give it?” (Noah)

What did he mean? I was so horrified that even the hairs on my neck stood on end. The shiver rose from my head to my toes.

Those were words I could say assuming he had read all my thoughts. He seemed to realize that I was trying my best to be genuine, accepting them as they came. He slunk down and buried himself completely in the couch and watched me without moving an inch.

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.” (Diana)

“Oh, it’s a lot when you think about it.” (Noah)

Noah’s mouth dropped into a straight line at my calm answer. It’s as if what I had just shown him was nothing. He got up from his seat and sat down beside me, his gaze fixed on my face.

“We’re in a relationship, aren’t we?” (Noah)

The beautiful man asked smoothly. His voice was elegant, but strangely decadent, pretending to be noble, but his eyes were full of desire.

He looked like a hungry predator who refrained from preying on the prey he had hunted. The distance between him and me was moderately distant, as if conscious of each other, compared to the voice that had darkened.

“Give it to me after the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, as a Christmas gift.” (Noah)

“Is there anything you want?” (Diana)

The end of my voice was slightly off, but he answered casually.

The edge of his voice was a little off, but he answered without hesitation.

“You just give me what I want to have on that day.” (Noah)

Noah’s lips slowly rose as he nodded slowly.

“You know what it is.” (Noah)

I was a little stunned in my head at the words he added as if he was talking to himself.

***

“I received a letter from Admiral Belford.”

Vincent, the secretary who now went to work here instead of the suburbs, handed Noah the letter. Noah, who was sitting at his desk in the office, looked over the letter with disinterested eyes.

[I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going to accept your demands for negotiations. Diana must be returned safely. You have until the New Year to do so.]

“It sounds like he has been cursed a lot. What happened to the fairy tale writer? He’s been on hiatus for a long time.”

“I don’t think he’s been found.”

Noah slowly leaned back in his chair as Vincent responded, knowing exactly what the outlandish words meant.

“You seem convinced that the black military dog will be here soon.” (Noah)

“That’s what I think. You’re not going to reveal it? I think that would be the safest thing to do.” (Vincent)

Noah cringed for a moment at Vincent’s question. He took a quick look at Vincent, as if his ferocious 300 eyes were looking at the person who had asked him the uncomfortable question.

“What do you mean? If I did, the princess would leave me.” (Noah)

“…… Is that how it is?” (Vincent)

There was actually one thing that Vincent had learned the other day.

He didn’t know the details, but Noah had brought her back for “that reason” and was now desperately trying to hide it.

He’s worked with Noah for a long time, but he couldn’t tell what Noah was thinking.

With a sigh, Noah sat up straight and smiled. At first glance, he looked like a crazy person.

“Diana is mine.” (Noah)

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