“…A letter?”
Ian reacted faster than I did to the maid’s words.
His voice, as he questioned her with a furrowed brow, was subtly sharp.
As he lowered his gaze to examine the letter, his demeanor clearly showed wariness.
It was understandable. The previous day, I had explained everything to him, including the details about Duke Roger.
I told him that Roger was deeply involved in Eloise’s dimension travel, that he knew about my possession, and that, for some reason, he was trying to manipulate me to bring Ian down.
Though Ian wasn’t particularly surprised, as if he had expected it, he called Kyle immediately afterward and had a long conversation with him. It seemed he was already working to gather more information about the matter.
I glanced at Ian before lowering my gaze to the letter as well.
Fortunately, it wasn’t from Duke Roger.
The delivery method was different from the secretive way in which Roger and Eloise had exchanged letters, which were always discreetly left on the office desk rather than delivered openly like this.
“Oh, but…”
As I examined the letter more closely, my eyes widened in surprise.
“This is the seal of the Lawrence family?”
Ian, who must have recognized it as well, shifted his furrowed expression into one of curiosity.
I was equally puzzled.
“Diana sent me a letter?”
After exchanging a brief, perplexed look with Ian, I gestured for the maid to leave and took a closer look at the envelope.
It was indeed from the Lawrence family.
Blinking rapidly, I opened the letter, and the first thing that caught my eye was the neat handwriting.
“Diana even has beautiful handwriting,” I thought, suppressing a small sigh of admiration as I began to read the contents.
The letter started with a few lines of polite formalities, followed by a carefully worded question asking if I could spare some time to meet her at my convenience.
It seemed the purpose of the letter was a continuation of the conversation we had behind the imperial banquet hall.
As the memory clicked into place, I let out a silent “Ah.”
“Oh, right. In the original story, Diana started her shoe business around this time after returning to the empire.”
Since her return had been expedited, it made sense that her business plans had also moved up.
With that easy deduction, I focused my attention back on the letter.
What was more important than the main content was the postscript.
P.S. I heard that the Grand Duke of Cloud posted an announcement across the entire Levant early this morning. I’m not sure if it’ll be of any help, but I think I can be of assistance.
The casual addition of this postscript was remarkable.
It seemed Ian’s influence wasn’t just limited to the capital but had spread throughout the Levant Empire.
“How does news travel so fast in a place without the internet? It hasn’t even been half a day yet,” I thought with mild amazement.
This made me realize not to underestimate the reach of high society gossip.
“Well, I have to meet her.”
It didn’t take long to reach that conclusion.
But unlike me, Ian, who had been holding me from behind, still wore a skeptical expression.
Staring intently at the letter, he glanced at me with a serious look.
“Why is Diana Lawrence requesting a meeting with you? I thought you had a pleasant conversation at the banquet?”
“Oh.”
I hadn’t told Ian about Diana’s business plans.
In the past, I would have racked my brain, trying to come up with a convincing explanation for this meeting. But now, there was no need for that.
“Well, you see…”
I glanced around before leaning closer to whisper into his ear.
“…Diana is about to start a shoe business. Around this time, she’s busy preparing to open her shop, and I plan to help her with it.”
After finishing my explanation, I pulled back and smiled brightly.
Ian, who had been listening quietly, gave me a baffled look.
Judging by his expression, it was clear he was thinking, “Why on earth would you help her with that?”
Despite what I’d said about Diana yesterday, he still didn’t seem convinced.
“…Are you really friends with her or something?”
“Well, that’s not entirely wrong. I already told you, didn’t I? I was originally a devoted admirer of Diana Lawrence.”
There wasn’t a shred of a lie in my response, though Ian’s expression turned even more peculiar.
“Honestly, the reason I worked so hard in the capital was to pave a golden path for Diana’s future after her return.”
Not that anyone would believe me if I said that now.
Regardless, since I had received a letter from Diana, it was as good as a sign that the time had come.
“In any case, I need to meet her right away. Timing is everything with these matters.”
“…Right away?”
“Yes, today.”
When I answered with wide eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, Ian tilted his head with a stoic look.
“Today, you say.”
Given what I knew of Ian, this was clearly his way of expressing dissatisfaction with my eagerness to meet Diana.
Looking up at him, I asked,
“…Don’t tell me you’re jealous?”
“Who knows.”
I had expected him to deny it outright, but his answer was ambiguous.
On top of that, his entire face screamed, “I’m not happy about this right now.”
‘…What’s this? He’s adorable.’
And the fact that I found him adorable only confirmed that I was completely blinded by love.
In the past, I would have wondered if I had gone crazy.
‘They say falling in love makes you lose a screw or two—am I in that state now?’
I cut short my self-reflection.
But then again, wasn’t the male protagonist jealous of the female protagonist right now?
And the reason for that jealousy was… me?
He was wary of the female protagonist because of me?
Because he… loves me?
‘What do I do, seriously.’
I nearly burst out laughing, so I bit down hard on my lower lip to hold it in.
“Don’t be too jealous. Right now, Ian, you’re my favorite, you know. Of course, I do intend to help Diana, but look—there’s a postscript written here. I have to meet her, if only because of this. It might actually be helpful.”
As I tapped my finger on the part of the letter where the postscript was written, Ian, who had been staring at me the entire time, followed my gaze down to the letter.
He reluctantly nodded, though his answer still carried a hint of sulkiness.
“…I see it.”
His disgruntled response was unfamiliar to me.
‘Usually, in a love triangle, the male protagonist is caught between the female protagonist and me, his rival, right?’
But here he was, the male protagonist, jealous of the female protagonist.
I was still mulling over how this felt completely wrong when I felt his arms tighten around me.
“For the time being, both of us will be quite busy,” he said suddenly.
“What?”
I blinked at his unexpected statement, and he elaborated.
“As you can see, we have a mountain of documents, books, and items to review together. It would take days—no, weeks—for the two of us to sort through everything, even if we didn’t leave our desks.”
“…Um, excuse me?”
What?
Hadn’t he just said we’d delegate the first round of reviews to the hired sorcerers and focus only on the filtered information ourselves?
His sudden change of plans caught me off guard, and I couldn’t help but let out a faint chuckle.
‘Could it be…’
Was he trying to stop me from leaving?
Was Ian Cloud—the great Grand Duke—seriously acting this way?
Setting aside how bizarre this was, his behavior was so unexpected that I nearly laughed.
‘He really does seem jealous.’
While I stood there, caught between amusement and exasperation, Ian remained completely serious.
“……”
Looking at him, I realized there was no way I could leave without reassuring him.
I sighed, then smiled gently as I spoke.
“Alright. I’ll be quick. But I still have to meet her at least once. And let me remind you, Ian, you are my number one right now. Who do you think I want to stay here for?”
I asked playfully, as though coaxing him, and Ian, who had been staring intently at me, finally gave a slow nod.
“Understood.”
With a short response, he pressed a light kiss to my forehead before resting his head against my shoulder.
Anyone who saw us might have thought he was the one who had been possessed, not me.
This out-of-character behavior was evident from the way the staff scurrying around the main hall kept stealing glances at us, only to quickly avert their eyes in shock.
‘You’re surprised too, aren’t you?’
Their reactions were understandable.
Suppressing a sigh, I raised my hand to gently stroke his silvery hair, then tilted my head to touch mine lightly against his.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Once again, I heard the sound of sharp intakes of breath coming from all directions.
❖ ❖ ❖
I quickly sent Diana a reply, agreeing to meet her today.
By early afternoon, after preparing myself, I arrived at the bustling district where we had agreed to meet.
Diana was already there, seated and waiting.
When she saw me, she waved enthusiastically.
“Over here, Your Grace!”
As I made my way toward her, I abruptly stopped in my tracks.
My face froze in confusion.
…What is all that?
• • •
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