The scent he carried in his embrace was still vivid.
‘It smelled like a mix of wood and roses.’
The man’s touch as he treated her wound was meticulous and cautious, as if handling something precious.
His touch eventually moved to Hilane’s cheek.
Then, he slowly kissed her.
Under his skillful lead, Hilane’s body heated up, and she responded as her heart desired.
After briefly pulling away, their breaths intertwined once more.
Looking back now, it felt so naive.
‘Even though I ran away like a thief at dawn…’
Even after returning to Peztaine, she couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss they shared, it was so intense.
Around that time, a marriage proposal came from the Duke of Rendel’s family.
Since she felt it was time to focus on the Duke of Rendel’s eldest son, she didn’t seek out the man.
And so, she lived forgetting about it.
Now, even if she wanted to know who he was, she couldn’t remember much clearly.
The man had been wearing a mask.
Even though she tried to recall his face, it was blurry, probably because she was drunk.
However, she remembered that his dimples were charming when he smiled.
And despite his mischievous smile, he was a very skilled kisser.
Thinking back on that passionate yet tender night with his considerate touch,
‘…Call me Esh,’
She remembered telling the man to call her Esh.
She had mistakenly thought she had never revealed her childhood name to anyone.
Although she had forgotten over the years, an important fact struck her mind.
‘Wait a minute… didn’t the Grand Duke call me Esh?’
Realizing this, Hilane was startled. Her heart felt like it was plummeting.
‘I was wondering how he knew my childhood name, but could it be…’
Seeing Hilane turn pale, Baroness Dion called her several times.
“Your Highness, Your Highness. Are you alright?”
“B-Baroness, hold on a moment.”
Confused, Hilane couldn’t hear Baroness Dion’s words.
Platinum blonde hair and violet eyes.
Assuming the eye color could be changed with magical potions, the man didn’t have gem-like eyes.
‘Wait, the trait of gem-like eyes can’t be suppressed by magic, could it really be the Grand Duke?’
Then Hilane remembered that the Grand Duke had a twin sibling and asked Baroness Dion.
“Baroness, you said the Grand Duke has a twin sibling, right?”
“Yes. He is a twin with the former Grand Duke, Lecinoa Belzette.”
“Did the twin sibling also have gem-like eyes?”
Baroness Dion shook her head at Hilane’s question.
“Lecinoa did not possess gem-like eyes. His eye color was ordinary violet.”
“……!”
A man without gem-like eyes, with ordinary violet eyes.
“What about his hair color?”
“I recall it being a pale platinum blonde.”
The man Hilane had spent the night with…
Was none other than the Grand Duke’s twin brother.
Even though she figured out who the man was, there were still parts she didn’t understand.
‘If he called me Esh, it means he knew about the woman his twin spent a night with. But how did he know that woman was me? And why did he send a marriage proposal?’
Legally, there wouldn’t be any issue, but it was still an awkward situation.
What was the Grand Duke’s intention? More than anything, she felt embarrassed.
Why did it have to be the Grand Duke’s twin? If he really knew, that was even more problematic.
The Grand Duke knew she had spent a night with his brother.
Yet, he accepted the royal marriage proposal, which made her think he must be quite an open-minded person.
Thinking about switching places with him, imagining herself in the same situation…
She could never do that.
‘If only the man had been the Grand Duke, I wouldn’t be so troubled… Ah, I forgot I was with Baroness Dion.’
Hilane looked at Baroness Dion and remembered her presence again.
Lost in thought, she had forgotten her surroundings.
“Baroness, I just remembered something urgent. I apologize.”
Feeling guilty, Hilane gave an awkward smile.
“Heh.”
Rather than being displeased, Baroness Dion smiled warmly.
“Your Highness has always had a tendency to dig deep into something until you find the answer.”
“…Did I?”
“Yes. Our Princess hasn’t changed at all.”
Hilane made eye contact with Baroness Dion and brought up the unresolved matter.
“…If a relationship is complicated before it even begins, is it better not to get involved at all?”
Hilane was genuinely worried.
She was constantly wondering if she should stop preparing for the royal marriage.
Baroness Dion thought deeply about Hilane’s question and shrugged.
“If it’s complicated before it starts, I would want to step in and untangle it from the beginning.”
“Why?”
“Wouldn’t it bother you continuously if you just gave up on it?”
Baroness Dion had a point.
As she said, if Hilane hid away, she would remain in an uneasy relationship with the Grand Duke, forever haunted by the memory.
After all, wasn’t it a political marriage to promote harmony between the two nations?
Since the Grand Duke already had a son, an heir wouldn’t be necessary. If they maintained a formal facade and kept their distance, their relationship as a married couple might not be so bad.
“Thank you. That was very helpful.”
Hilane grasped Baroness Dion’s hand first.
Looking outside, she noticed the sun had set.
“I’ve kept you too long. You should go now.”
“Don’t say that. It was enjoyable, Your Highness. Please call me again.”
Baroness Dion suddenly bowed deeply.
“Baroness?”
“Even though my daughter is still inexperienced, please take good care of her.”
The baroness’s concern for her daughter was evident.
Serving a royal could mean falling victim to power struggles.
Knowing this, Baroness Dion had still sent Elisha to serve as a maid in the Largon Palace…
‘She must hope it benefits me.’
“She’s a smart girl. Don’t worry.”
“May Freya’s protection be with you, Your Highness.”
After Baroness Dion left, Hilane, calming her emotions, went out to the balcony.
She had experienced a series of unimaginable events.
Not only did she divorce Revan, whom she thought she would be with forever, but she also discovered his secrets…
And she even had a past where she spent a night with the twin brother of her remarriage partner.
“Sigh…”
She wondered if she should be thankful she hadn’t gone mad despite all these events, and she let out a bitter laugh.
Hilane covered her face with her hands.
Marrying the Grand Duke seemed to promise even more complicated events in her future.
Moreover…
‘Aachen Requier Belzette. How will he react?’
She didn’t know if the Grand Duke would pretend to know this fact or act as if he didn’t.
* * *
Requier Empire, in the garden of Emperor Caliosa.
Emperor Caliosa, resting in the garden, suddenly frowned.
It was because of Aachen, who was sitting in front of him, getting on his nerves.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…Why am I looking at you like that? Do you even realize what you’re saying?”
Emperor Caliosa put his teacup down roughly.
“I heard that in Peztaine, your marriage partner was changed to you midway. And you accepted it, and now you’re scheduled to remarry Princess Hilane.”
“That’s correct.”
“Do you think it makes sense that I’m just finding out about this now?”
Emperor Caliosa, trying to endure it while listening to the chirping birds, finally reached his limit and exploded.
The issue began when the Chief Minister of Peztaine’s royal court visited.
The minister started talking about the informal engagement between Grand Duke Belzette and Princess Hilane.
Hearing this, Emperor Caliosa was puzzled.
Requier and Peztaine shared a delicate border.
To avoid potential bloodshed, they had planned to foster good relations through a royal marriage with Peztaine.
Since Peztaine only had princesses, he had Aachen in mind as the groom.
However, Aachen had refused without hesitation, saying it was too soon after the former Grand Duchess’s funeral.
Reluctantly, they had arranged for Violet, a distant relative, to be the bride to proceed with the royal marriage.
‘And now he suddenly wants to marry Princess Hilane?’
Emperor Caliosa was flabbergasted. Finding out through someone else that his son was remarrying was absurd.
“…What’s going on?”
“I was busy dealing with matters at the academy concerning Ruan, so I intended to tell you, but it got delayed.”
“Do you even hear what you’re saying…”
Despite Emperor Caliosa’s exasperation, Aachen remained unaffected.
‘Too busy to inform him, huh.’
Although he had stopped Countess Kin from informing Emperor Caliosa, intending to do it himself…
Right after Countess Kin left, he heard that Ruan had gotten into a fight with a classmate at the academy.
Handling that matter and meeting with the headmaster had left no time to return to Requier.
Emperor Caliosa seemed very angry about the unannounced royal marriage.
“Your Majesty.”
However, Aachen had one way to persuade Emperor Caliosa.
“You said that if I met with Crown Princess Glazé, you’d overlook one thing I did, didn’t you?”
Emperor Caliosa vaguely remembered making such a promise to Aachen.
‘Who did he inherit this thoroughness from…’
“…Fine. I’ll let it go.”
Aachen always handled things on his own and informed others afterward.
Emperor Caliosa couldn’t understand such a detached attitude.
‘That boy, he’ll get into big trouble because of this habit someday.’
Emperor Caliosa clicked his tongue in disapproval of Aachen’s behavior.
Regardless of how things turned out, maintaining friendly relations with Peztaine was essential.
In fact, Aachen’s remarriage was more urgent than Violet’s, so it turned out well.
“Since you’re going through with it, what about the Duke of Tessa’s granddaughter? Princess Helenia, who’s studying abroad in Adelir.”
To Emperor Caliosa’s suggestion, Aachen responded firmly.
“If it’s not Princess Hilane, I won’t do it.”
“……”
“I’ve already sent a proposal to the fourth princess.”
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