Chapter 68: Love Triangles (1)

Gris nodded lightly. Her indifferent response wasn’t because she lacked confidence, but because her thoughts were currently perturbed by another man. Even up to this moment, when she was about to meet Dirk, Duke Vianut was still on her mind—from the day she had first met him on the lake, to the moment he had hugged Teer, and when he had pointed a dagger at her nape.

Her emotions were awhirl with pain, frustration, and excitement as she thought back on that night with Vianut, and the following days when she had abstained from his presence. She couldn’t make sense of her feelings, but somehow she had to find a way to rationalize them.

Perhaps her confusion stemmed from a strange mix of gratefulness and fear toward him for tolerating her existence thus far. Yes, that was probably it. Gris lifted a hand to rub at her neck, hoping to get rid of the feeling of his heated breath still blowing on her skin.

From the distance, a carriage slowly approached the gates before coming to a stop in front of the mansion. Soon after, the coachmen dismounted and proceeded to open the door. A woman with golden hair down to her bosom descended first.

She looked at the crowd waiting in front for her, then her eyes came across Gris. The woman scrutinized her as if trying to determine whether she had correctly identified the girl as the target she had traveled all this way for.

“… Yuliana?”

Gris smiled awkwardly.

The woman hesitantly approached Gris and hugged her with difficulty.

“It’s me, Adele,” she said, “Do you remember me?”

Gris patted Adele’s back and turned to study her face. Her skin was white like flour, and her eyes were a pleasant shade of green. When she smiled, she looked as lovely as an angel. Gris did not remember if she replied to Adele’s question and simply greeted her instead.

“Hi, Adele.”

Right after, a tall and slender man followed her off the carriage. Like Adele, he had blonde hair and green eyes. His features still retained some boyish charm as if he had just reached the precipice of adulthood. The man smiled awkwardly and slowly approached Gris.

“Yuliana.”

Gris reasoned that this man must have been Dirk and noted that he left a pleasing impression on her. His gentle appearance filled her with a sense of warmth, and his soft voice amplified that sensation.

“You have changed so much from before,” he remarked upon her appearance, “when you used to be a little tomboy.”

Stephan appeared at the welcoming party later and caught sight of Dirk greeting Yuliana. Adele waved her hand toward him, as if they were already quite familiar with each other.

“Stephan!”

The aforementioned man walked leisurely towards them and greeted Adele with a hug. He must have been feeling awfully proud of himself at the moment, Gris thought wryly, since his plans were coming to fruition at great speed.

She couldn’t contain her vexation and exhaled loudly. Stephan seemed to notice it but did not react as he led Adele and Dirk into the mansion.

“You must have had a hard time coming here,” he said sweetly, “Let’s head to the reception room.”

Gris again rubbed at her neck as she quietly followed behind them. Dirk, who had been talking to Stephen, gradually slowed his pace to match hers.

Gris looked up at him in surprise and he met her eyes with a refreshing smile. She had previously thought that, since he was associated with Stephan, he would just be another cold-blooded man eager only for power and success, but he seemed surprisingly warm. Or perhaps he had only discreetly acted like Stephan to gain his favor?

They soon arrived at the reception room and made themselves comfortable on the plush sofas. Adele soothed her dry lips with the prepared black tea before turning to Stephan who was sitting opposite of her.

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“Where’s Duke Vianut?”

Stephen gestured to Gris to take up the cup of tea beside her.

“His Highness has some business to attend to,” he replied. “He’ll probably be back in an hour.”

Gris vacantly stared at her mug. The weather outside was bright and she was beautifully dressed, but she had no energy at all. All she could do was glance sideways at Dirk, who was sitting beside her, and then back at her tea. Again, she looked at Dirk then the tea.

Her pierced ears were still throbbing with pain. The feel of the duke’s hot fingertips and the sound of his heavy breathing were still fresh in her ears. As her attention slowly dwindled, she heard Dirk voice his worry for Adele.

“Then, do you want to rest a bit until the Grand Duke comes? You had a hard time because the wagon was shaking too much, Adele.”

He seemed to have a great deal of concern for his younger sister, who must have suffered from traveling the long way here. Gris wondered if Dirk truly possessed as gentle a personality as he demonstrated at the moment.

Her red eyes scanned Dirk’s face, searching for hints.

“No,” Adele replied with a smile, “We have just been reunited with Yuliana again. I can’t take a break now.”

Her brother nodded and took a sip of his tea.

“Yuli, how have you been?” Dirk then turned his attention toward Gris. “I heard that you lost your memories. Is that true? Then, you probably don’t even remember us, right?”

Gris hesitated for a moment and then nodded. She felt uncomfortable deceiving them, but she had no choice in order to protect her chances of surviving the Byrenhags.

“Yes, I lost my memory in an accident. I’m sorry, I can’t remember.”

Adele’s expression dropped as she leaned back against the couch, disappointed with the answer she received. Her smile, however, did not waver.

“It’s alright. I know you can’t help it.”

“Yes, we’re fine with it,” Dirk nodded in agreement. “I’m just happy to see you again.”

Gris took a moment to process Dirk’s words, fixating on one in particular: happy. In the past, she had been very fond of that word, but it had been such a long time since she last had the privilege to use it.

“Happy?” she repeated softly.

“Yes,” Dirk was full of conviction as he nodded his head, “of course.”

For some reason, Gris’ eyes became irritated, so she lightly touched her eyelids.

Adele took a moment to carefully look around the room. “But…” she began but soon trailed off.

“… ”

“… Is it true that the Grand Duke will be married to the Princess of Britin?”

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