A Few Days Later.
“Isn’t that the Grand Duke?”
After finishing her art therapy session, Chevelyn stepped into the hallway and saw Aachen leaning against the window, looking dejected.
Lately, Aachen always wore that dark expression.
“Hmm…”
Chevelyn counted on her ten small fingers, trying to figure out how long Aachen had been like this.
“Since Cherry has slept seven times… That means…”
It had already been a week since she had started witnessing this scene.
Aachen was glaring at Winter, who was talking with Hilane beyond the glass window.
“Cherry thinks that the Grand Duke is in a bad mood because of Mr. Winter!”
Observing the scene, Chevelyn deduced the reason for Aachen’s sour mood.
But the moment Aachen made eye contact with Hilane, he immediately lifted the corners of his lips, as if nothing was wrong.
“Hehe, but Cherry’s eyes can’t be fooled.”
Not only that, but whenever Winter appeared, Aachen pretended not to care, but it was obvious he disliked him.
It wasn’t because Winter was a bad person.
Winter was actually kind.
And yet, Aachen still looked at him with that terrifying gaze…
“It must be because the Grand Duke likes Mom!”
Every time Aachen looked at Hilane, his eyes were filled with warm, fluttering emotions.
Seeing that made Chevelyn’s heart pound along with his.
“Cherry belongs to Mom, but hmm… the Grand Duke seems a little pitiful, too.”
But no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t seem to win her over, which was frustrating.
“Since the Grand Duke made Cherry feel better when she was sick last time, Cherry should help him too!”
Having made up her mind, Chevelyn clenched both fists and hopped toward Aachen with a bright smile.
[Grand Duke!]
“What brings the princess here? Did you get lost?”
At his question, Chevelyn vigorously shook her head.
“I’ll take you back to your room. If you wander around alone, Hilane will worry.”
Chevelyn took Aachen’s hand, carefully timing when to bring up the topic.
Finding the perfect moment was key to starting any plan.
[Grand Duke, are you feeling down?]
Aachen’s face remained stiff.
“Huh?”
[Your eyebrows are drooping like this~.]
She exaggeratedly mimicked his expression, making Aachen let out a small chuckle at last.
‘Hehe, the Grand Duke laughed!’
In a gentle voice, Aachen responded,
“I’m just a little tired. But thank you for worrying about me. More importantly, Princess, have you eaten?”
At his question, Chevelyn, who had eaten a hearty lunch, patted her round belly.
[Yes, I ate.]
“Good job. What was the tastiest?”
Aachen listened attentively to Chevelyn and responded to her words with interest.
[Cream soup! But I didn’t like the carrots, so I secretly spat them out without Mom noticing.]
“Oh dear. Does the princess dislike carrots?”
Aachen chuckled as if he found her adorable.
‘After Dad left, Mom had more days of crying than smiling.’
When her mother forced a bright expression to hide her sadness, it made Chevelyn’s heart ache.
It felt like someone was poking at her heart.
‘I hope the Grand Duke can make Mom happy.’
[Um… You know, Grand Duke, should Cherry help you?]
“Help… me? With what?”
Aachen tilted his head, not understanding what she meant.
[Oh, come on, Grand Duke. You like my Mom.]
Aachen’s face instantly flushed red.
“Th-that is… Princess, it’s not that I— I mean, I do like her, but not in the way you’re thinking…”
Aachen fumbled, struggling to explain himself.
[Cherry will help you.]
With eyes sparkling, Chevelyn held out her pinky finger.
“I, uh….”
Seeing his hesitation, Chevelyn stared at him with wide, eager eyes.
[You won’t regret it.]
After hesitating for a moment, Aachen finally linked his pinky with hers.
[First of all, Mom likes it when people lift their bangs.]
“My bangs…”
At first, Aachen reluctantly agreed, but soon, he began listening intently to Chevelyn’s words.
And she wasn’t lying.
Hilane did seem to like it when Revan styled his hair differently in preparation for entering the palace.
‘I won’t ever see Mom and Dad together like that again, but…’
Suppressing the emotions that threatened to spill out, Chevelyn smiled brightly.
[And glasses! Mom also likes it when people put them on and take them off.]
“Glasses, glasses… I see.”
Seeing Aachen diligently memorize everything she said made Chevelyn feel proud.
Encouraged, she stomped her feet excitedly and continued listing all the things Hilane liked.
“Princess, I appreciate all the advice, but… Hilanei doesn’t feel the same way about me.”
Seeing Aachen’s troubled expression, Chevelyn shrugged and offered words of encouragement.
[Grand Duke, if someone you like doesn’t like you back, then you just have to become someone they can’t help but love!]
Aachen seemed utterly shocked by the unexpectedly mature advice from a child.
Dazed, he repeated her words to himself.
“Become someone they can’t help but love…?”
[And besides, the Grand Duke is handsome, so you’ll be fine!]
Chevelyn playfully winked.
“Oh… so that’s how it is…”
Aachen felt a little defeated. He had been agonizing over something that had such a simple answer right in front of him.
Up until now, he had only been waiting—never actually putting in any effort to make something happen.
If he slowly and sincerely showed his feelings, one day, they would be reciprocated.
“Thank you, Princess. I’ll remember everything you said.”
Even if things didn’t turn out as he hoped, it was better than not trying at all.
“Princess! Princess Chevelyn! Where are you?!”
Elisha’s urgent voice rang out as she searched for Chevelyn.
[Elisha’s calling me. Well then, Cherry’s off!]
Aachen watched as Chevelyn ran off, waving her hands excitedly.
Seeing her pink hair fluttering so adorably in the distance, he couldn’t help but smile.
***
A Few Days Later
“I’ll see you again next week, Your Highness.”
“Take care, Winter.”
As Winter received Hilane’s farewell and was about to leave through the palace gates, someone stopped him.
“…Your Grace?”
“Winter, was it?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Winter immediately straightened his posture, answering politely.
Aachen wasn’t doing anything particularly threatening, yet Winter couldn’t shake off the feeling that his scalp was prickling.
‘He’s not a commoner… but why doesn’t he mention his surname?’
More than that, something else was bothering Aachen.
It was the way Winter addressed Hilane.
Unlike Rosanna, who refused to acknowledge Hilane as the Grand Duchess, it didn’t seem like he was deliberately disrespecting her title.
Rather, it felt like a sign of familiarity.
That small assumption alone was enough to sour Aachen’s mood.
“You’ve been referring to Hilane as ‘Your Highness’ rather than ‘Grand Duchess’ since last time. Why is that?”
Aachen made no effort to hide his displeasure, causing Winter to break into a nervous sweat.
“Ah, well… I’m from Peztaine, and I’ve known her for a long time, so I guess it’s just a habit…”
Winter’s explanation made Aachen stroke his chin thoughtfully.
“A personal acquaintance, then. Very well. However, Hilane is now the lady of Hestur Castle. I hope you will keep that in mind from now on.”
Aachen smiled, but his eyes were ice-cold. The contrast sent a shiver down Winter’s spine.
“I was thoughtless. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
Satisfied, Aachen nodded and patted Winter’s shoulder.
“I’m glad you’re someone who understands reason. If not, well… that would’ve been unfortunate.”
Winter felt an unmistakable sense of danger in those words.
He didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened if they hadn’t come to an agreement.
“I hope you’ll maintain an appropriate distance from Hilane from now on.”
“…Just in case there’s any misunderstanding, Your Grace—I’m married.”
Winter quickly pulled out the wedding ring he had been keeping out of sight and showed it to Aachen.
Aachen studied the ring closely, then frowned slightly.
Married?
He felt a bit embarrassed. If he had known that earlier, he wouldn’t have bothered confronting him like this.
“I see… When did you get married?”
His expression relaxed.
“About four years ago. I even have a son around the princess’s age.”
Now that Aachen’s tone had softened, Winter felt relieved.
“A son?”
Aachen narrowed his eyes again at Winter’s casual mention of his child.
“Does your son resemble you?”
“Ah, yes. How did you know? Even though my wife gave birth to him, he looks just like me. People even joke that I must have been the one who gave birth.”
Winter laughed as he proudly boasted about his son.
“You may go now.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
As Aachen returned inside, he spotted Hilane walking up the stairs.
“Hilane.”
At Aachen’s call, Hilane stopped and turned to face him.
“Your Grace, where have you been?”
“I just went… for a short walk.”
‘If she knew I went to confront Winter out of jealousy, she wouldn’t like it.’
So Aachen deliberately avoided mentioning his meeting with Winter.
“Hilane, by any chance—”
“What?! Is that true?”
Just as Aachen was about to say something, they were interrupted by a voice filled with shock.
“Isn’t that Gaeren?”
“It sounds like him. I wonder what’s going on…”
Both Aachen and Hilane turned toward the direction of Gaeren’s voice.
“Your Grace! We have a problem!”
Gaeren came running up to them, holding a communication orb.
“The Young Master has submitted his withdrawal papers to Kimish Academy and is on his way to Hestur Castle!”
***
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