I was momentarily stunned by the polite kindness of a man I was meeting for the first time, but I quickly came to my senses.
“…Ah.”
“Your Grace?”
“Let’s go up.”
I answered as nonchalantly as possible and climbed into the carriage as if I were escaping.
In the meantime, Duke Roger didn’t forget to help me by holding my hand as I got into the carriage.
He looked up at me and asked.
“So, are you heading back to the Grand Duke’s residence now?”
His friendly eyes curved into a smile, and if I had even a little vanity, I would have thought he was flirting with me.
Honestly, looking at someone like him, I couldn’t understand why Ian was the one monopolizing the attention of all the noble ladies in the capital.
“I wish we could talk more, but it seems time doesn’t permit. It’s a shame, but I must let you go for now.”
Duke Roger said quietly, smiling brightly in the sunset.
“Until we meet again, Your Grace.”
“……”
“May you have peaceful days until then.”
“…Yes. If the opportunity arises, we shall meet again, Duke Roger.”
With my words, the door closed, and the carriage started moving slowly.
After Duke Roger had completely disappeared from sight, I leaned back in my seat and covered my mouth.
“…What was that?”
Are men from this region usually this flirtatious with anyone they meet?
Or was it because I’d only ever dealt with Ian?
I had to spend a lot of time calming my pounding heart.
‘Even a minor character who appears for just a few lines in the original work can flirt like that, yet the male protagonist….’
Clenching my fists, I watched the setting sun beyond the carriage window.
“…I need to start the training when I get back.”
A male protagonist, who couldn’t even compare to a supporting character, was waiting for me at the Grand Duke’s residence.
❖ ❖ ❖
It was already evening, the sun having completely set, when I returned to the Grand Duke’s residence.
As I entered the main lobby, I happened to bump into Ian, who was coming out of the dining hall.
He nodded slightly in my direction.
“You’re later than I expected.”
“Well, it just happened that way. You seem to be on your way from having dinner, Your Grace.”
“As you can see.”
“……”
“……”
Silence again.
I mean, if someone asks a question, isn’t it common courtesy to return the same question?
You don’t know the phrase “I’m fine, thank you. And you?”
Perhaps it was because I had just come from seeing Duke Roger, but Ian, staring blankly at me, looked more like a tin robot than ever today.
In the end, I spoke first.
“Aren’t you going to ask if I’ve had dinner?”
“Oh.”
“……”
“Have you had dinner?”
At least he listened well this time.
“No, but I had a big dessert with the princess earlier, so I thought I’d just have some soup later.”
“I see.”
Seeing that he seemed indifferent whether I ate soup or rice, I stared at him and spoke seriously.
“Your Grace.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve been thinking.”
“About what now?”
“I still think that men being modest and kind is the best.”
“Yes…?”
Naturally, his reaction was like, ‘What nonsense are you talking about?’
And I quietly shook my head.
What would you know?
With a complicated feeling, I looked him up and down and sighed.
“I wish you’d at least make some effort… Am I asking for too much?”
“……”
“Well, then, I’ll take my leave.”
Oh, what a fate.
I left Ian standing there in a daze and climbed the stairs to the second floor.
As I entered the bedroom, Vivi, who had been waiting, hurried over to me.
“Madam! You’re back. Did you have a pleasant time?”
“…A pleasant time?”
When I coolly questioned back, Vivi clamped her mouth shut. She seemed to have momentarily forgotten that the other party had been the princess. I stared at the fidgeting Vivi, relaxed my expression, and let out a small laugh.
“I’m just kidding. I did have a good time. Although, it was a bit overwhelming for me…”
“Phew, that’s a relief. I thought I had misspoken again.”
As Vivi skillfully attended to me while leading me inside, her face was filled with anticipation.
“How was the imperial palace? This was the first time you were invited there personally, wasn’t it?”
“Well, what’s so special about it?”
I shrugged as I took off my outerwear.
Although the princess’s dressing room was dazzling enough to make one’s head spin.
Since I wasn’t inclined to make a fuss, I answered vaguely and then crossed the room, collapsing onto the bed.
Even though I hadn’t done much, I felt drained, thinking I should refrain from going out for a while.
As expected, staying holed up at home and lazing around suited me.
‘Hmm, but the meeting with Duke Roger wasn’t so bad, I suppose.’
Gentlemen like him were the best.
“Vivi, prepare the bathwater.”
“Yes! Oh, right.”
Responding to my words, Vivi clapped her hands together as if she had just remembered something.
“Madam, I subscribed to the Aria newsletter as you requested! The butler also managed to get today’s issue for us.”
“Oh, really?”
I slowly lifted my body from where I had been lying on the bed.
“Could you give it to me now?”
“Of course!”
Vivi promptly brought over a silver tray that had been set aside in the room.
On the tray were a thick paper envelope, a small rolled-up note no bigger than half a palm, and a single-use quill.
Vivi handed me the envelope first.
“I was told that… this is the main newsletter.”
Then she picked up the rolled note and the quill.
“And this is the paper for subscribers to write their opinions on. The usage is simple: if you open to the desired page and write on this paper, the writing will appear directly in the newsletter!”
“Hoho, is that so?”
I accepted the paper and quill, my eyes sparkling, and examined them curiously.
‘It looks ordinary on the surface.’
So there’s magic like this.
“Oh, but…”
Vivi, who had been chattering animatedly, suddenly cleared her throat and gestured towards the envelope.
“I didn’t mean to look on purpose, but as soon as I checked the newsletter, I saw that news about Your Grace was on the front page…”
“Hmm?”
Blinking, I took the newsletter out of the envelope.
And as soon as I confirmed its contents, I understood why Vivi had that expression.
On the first page of today’s issue, there was a large headline about me and the Grand Duke.
The Rebellion of the Grand Duke’s Phantom!
Wow, that’s quite a clickbait title.
‘Here or there, the tactic of grabbing attention with a headline is the same.’
Honestly, compared to the entertainment articles I’d seen before, this was almost cute.
I skimmed over the title lightly and read the content below.
As expected, it detailed how I entered Madame Brilluze’s season party yesterday escorted by Ian, how Ian kissed the back of my hand, and how the two of us seemed quite affectionate.
Additionally, it briefly mentioned my dress and the incident with Isabella’s group.
I couldn’t help but be inwardly surprised.
‘How is it so detailed?’
It felt as vivid as if someone had been watching from the front row, just like I’d heard.
‘Were they really there, right next to me?’
As I skeptically scanned through the newsletter, the last part caught my eye.
Many esteemed members of society, including this writer, are eagerly anticipating the princess’s birthday celebration two months from now. Thus, we cannot help but wonder! Will the phantom of the Grand Duke’s household surprise us again? Or will this rebellion of the phantom end in a single act? What is certain is that the titles attached to the Grand Duke and Duchess may change depending on their next moves!
‘How ruthless…’
So this was just a warm-up, and they’re going to watch to see what happens next.
After reading the concluding line, “With that, this writer is off to perform some ghost summoning!”. I finally noticed the opinion section of the newsletter.
♧♧♧
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