Grand Duke's Beloved Granddaughter

At first, I thought I might have been mistaken, but it wasn’t the case. It was indeed Prince Adrian waiting for me.

“Your Highness, the Prince?”

I called out to Adrian, who was sitting there pitifully.

“Yeah?”

Adrian responded with a delighted expression, like a dog meeting its owner.

“What brings you here?”

Was there a reason for Adrian to come to the Chrciton Duchy?

Well, it wasn’t entirely unlikely.

After all, members of the royal family occasionally interacted with nobles and aristocrats.

But what intrigued me was why Adrian was standing here in front of the garden, not somewhere else.

If he had official business, wouldn’t he be meeting someone or having a conversation in a different place?

Adrian mumbled, looking down at the ground in response to my question.

Not knowing why he was acting that way, I looked at the courtier who accompanied him, hoping for an explanation.

The courtier explained the situation, keeping an eye on Adrian’s reaction.

“Her Majesty the Empress accompanied Lady on her way here. She wanted to meet the Lady.”

I widened my eyes at the unexpected situation relayed by the courtier.

“Me?”

“Yes, Lady Gongnyeo.”

I didn’t know why he came to meet me, but I confirmed that Adrian was my guest.

“Do you have any particular business with me?”

“No, I just wanted to see you, Mirabel. We’re friends, right?”

In response to my question, Adrian flashed a bashful smile. His eyes, resembling rubies, softened.

As I gazed at his adorable appearance, I let out a long breath.

“If you were coming, you should have contacted me in advance. Then I wouldn’t have made you wait like this.”

I approached Adrian and extended my hand.

Adrian stared at my outstretched hand for a while.

“As the carriage is about to leave, please sit there and don’t drink the dust. Please get up.”

I made the suggestion because it seemed like he would keep staring if I left him there. Adrian blinked his ruby-like eyes and finally reached out to hold my hand.

With strength, I lifted Adrian to his feet.

“Phew!”

Even though Adrian was two years younger and smaller in stature than me, I, being just a nine-year-old girl, exerted a lot of effort to lift him.

Nevertheless, I smiled satisfactorily as I successfully helped Adrian up without any trouble.

Now, I thought of letting go of his hand, but Adrian didn’t release mine.

After a brief hesitation, I continued to hold Adrian’s hand and led him along.

“Would you like to come inside? I’ll have the kitchen bring some snacks.”

“Can we have meringue cookies too?”

“Meringue cookies? Well, let me check. Please wait a moment.”

I turned my body towards Kalina and looked back at her.

“Kalina, can we have meringue cookies?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then please let the kitchen know and have them prepare it.”

“Yes, little miss.”

Kalina headed towards the kitchen.

While watching her go, I turned my gaze back to Adrian.

“They said it’s possible. I’ve informed them, so if you stay here, they’ll bring it out.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

I held Adrian’s hand and started walking inside.

“Then the main reception room will be used by Mother and the Empress, right?”

“Yes, little miss.”

A maid waiting nearby responded to my question.

Choosing the main reception room would have been a good option, but I didn’t want to interrupt my mother and the Empress having a conversation.

“Then shall we go to my room for now?”

“To your room, Mirabel?”

“Yes. If you don’t like that, we can go to a different reception room.”

“No, I like it.”

“Alright then.”

I led Adrian while still holding his hand and finally reached my room after climbing the stairs. As I opened the door and entered, the familiar interior greeted me.

Adrian finally let go of my hand.

I didn’t know his small hand could be so strong.

“For now, please have a seat over here.”

I pointed to the sofa arranged in one corner of the room and spoke.

Adrian went to the designated spot and sat down. I also positioned myself opposite Adrian.

Sitting on the plush and soft sofa, I felt a sense of relief from fatigue.

Despite spending time learning how to control my power and the comfortable ride in the luxurious carriage, being in a moving carriage for a long time still made me feel tired.

Nevertheless, the sofa was luxurious, and it seemed to cradle my body, making me feel like I could fall asleep at any moment.

“Mirabel, are you feeling unwell?”

As I leaned against the back of the sofa, Adrian was surprised and asked me.

Realizing it belatedly, I straightened my body, just like I had learned from the Mannered Lady.

“No, it’s nothing. I’m just a bit tired. So, you came to meet me while accompanying the Empress?”

“Yes! We’re friends. Mother was on her way to meet her friend, so I also came to meet my friend.”

I burst into laughter at Adrian’s innocent response. We seemed to have become so close without even realizing it.

Come to think of it, during our second meeting at the ball, he asked me to be friends.

It made me laugh when I thought about it.

The first impression wasn’t that great, but why did he suddenly want to become friends when we met again?

“But where did you go? I waited for a long time because you were gone…”

“I went to the Duana Shrine on the way here.”

“Why the shrine?”

Adrian widened his eyes and asked.

“I had something to do there.”

“What kind of thing? I’ve never had anything to do at a shrine before.”

The questions kept coming. Since there wasn’t much more to talk about in detail, I needed a topic to change the subject.

“By the way, I heard that Your Highness also receives sword training from my father.”

“Yeah! I’m learning. I’m just waiting for the sword training time every day. Other study sessions are so boring and dull…”

Adrian complained that other study sessions were boring just by thinking about them.

“I’m also receiving sword training from my father.”

“What? You too, Mirabel?”

“Yes. Although I haven’t learned as long as Your Highness or Elliot.”

“That’s amazing. You’re learning swordsmanship too.”

The way his eyes blinked had a rather cute aspect, resembling that of a child his age.

“Then how about having a duel with me?”

“A duel?”

“Yeah. Among those around our age, the only one who knows how to use a sword besides Elliot is me, but Elliot is too strong…”

It seemed that Elliot had learned swordsmanship for a longer period than Adrian, and there was quite an age difference, so it wasn’t a suitable match.

I could tell that even without saying, and Adrian didn’t seem like he would be my opponent.

Besides, I had been living with a sword for a long time, even before I became younger. Even if I became younger, I didn’t think I would lose to Adrian alone.

Moreover, Adrian was two years younger than me. Naturally, his physique was smaller than mine.

“You’ll regret it, you know?”

“Why would I regret it?”

“Because I’m going to win.”

With a remark that was just obvious, Adrian pouted his lips.

“It’s something you won’t know until we do it!”

“Well, that’s true, but… If you don’t mind, would you like to have a real duel?”

There was no need to hold back as it was an opportunity to see how well I could perform with my current stamina.

Thinking that I was provoking him, Adrian got up from his seat with a face full of dissatisfaction.

“We also have a practice area here, right?”

“Yes, of course. Let me guide you.”

We got up from the sofa and walked familiarly, arriving at the training area.

The knights and soldiers of the Kraiton Duchy were training diligently in the training area.

We passed them and arrived at the inner training area where Elliot always trained.

In the training area, Brian and Elliot were present. The two were facing each other with their swords, but naturally, Elliot had no chance of defeating Brian.

Whenever Elliot’s attacks were blocked, Brian lightly touched the empty space to evaluate Elliot’s swordsmanship.

Brian turned his head upon hearing our footsteps. Then he noticed us and muttered softly.

“Mirabel? Your Highness?”

“Huh!”

Meanwhile, Elliot aimed at Brian’s left side, but unfortunately, Brian didn’t even look and blocked Elliot’s attack with his sword.

“Let’s stop here, Elliot.”

“Yes, Father.”

Elliot, breathing heavily, turned his head and finally looked at us.

“What’s the matter, Your Highness?”

Elliot also seemed curious about why Adrian came to the Chrciton Duchy’s training area, so he asked Adrian.

Adrian walked briskly with his short legs and stood in front of the two.

“I heard Mirabel also learns swordsmanship.”

“Yes, that’s right. Although she hasn’t learned for long.”

Elliot answered, alternating his gaze between me and Brian.

“So I wanted to have a duel with Mirabel.”

“What?”

“What did you say?”

Both Elliot and Brian were shocked and asked in surprise at Adrian’s words as he was choosing between the swords.

“That’s absurd… Your Highness, Mirabel has only been holding a sword for three days. Why would you want to have a duel with Mirabel?”

“That’s right, Your Highness. It’s an absurd claim. I’d rather be your opponent.”

Brian and Elliot each took turns to argue with Adrian.

“Can’t I? But Mirabel said she can.”

Startled by the vehement words of the two, Adrian shrugged his shoulders and asked.

“What are you talking about, Mirabel? Did you say you want to have a duel with Your Highness?”

Elliot looked at me as if he couldn’t understand. It seemed like he thought Adrian was talking nonsense. Or perhaps he didn’t know what he was hoping for.

I nodded my head, placing both hands on my waist.

“Yes, that’s right. I said I would have a duel.”

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Translator Note:

This chapter was translated by Bree.

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