Side Story 3

Side Story, Episode 3

---

When Ian and I stepped down to the first floor, the carriage was already waiting.

The coachman, who seemed to have been waiting for quite a while, glanced at his pocket watch.

I shot a brief glare at Ian.

‘What free time? Looks like we barely made it.’

Ian pretended not to notice my irritated look as he descended the stairs and crossed the hall.

When we reached the front of the carriage, I let go of his hand.

“Today, you said you’d be back by dinner, right? Not too late?”

“I’ll return before the banquet. I’m just visiting Marquis Enrique’s establishment.”

“Marquis Enrique’s establishment… So you’ll be leaving the capital walls.”

“Yes.”

Even with a portal, he’d probably arrive back around sunset—just in time for the banquet.

After mentally calculating, I nodded.

“Safe travels. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Of course. Let’s have dinner together.”

“We’ll see, if you return early.”

I replied curtly, as if holding onto some lingering annoyance from what had happened in the study earlier. Ian’s expression shifted slightly.

He looked like he was either furrowing his brows or barely suppressing a laugh.

Knowing him, it was most likely the latter.

‘Honestly, his expressions are so varied.’

The more I looked at him, the more I wondered how he’d managed to hide them all in the past.

After finally smoothing out his expression, Ian lightly kissed the back of my hand and climbed into the carriage.

“Then, see you tonight.”

“Yes, see you later.”

I waved goodbye as the door closed, and the carriage rolled away with the sound of hooves striking the ground.

After watching the elegant ducal carriage pass through the gates, I turned around.

“Ugh, it’s still chilly.”

Though early spring was upon us, with flower buds starting to form in the ducal estate’s garden, it was still too cold to be outside for long without a shawl.

I rubbed my arms a couple of times and hurried back to the main building.

Ian might have a lot to do, but so did I.

In addition to the basic household management of the ducal estate, there was the upcoming wedding to prepare for.

Even though we planned to keep the ceremony simple, with only a month left, it was time to get busy.

“Let’s see, what do I have to do today…”

I was climbing the stairs to the study on the second floor, mentally organizing my to-do list, when it happened.

Thud, crash!

“Ahhh!”

A loud commotion erupted from the main entrance, which had been empty just moments ago.

“…Huh?”

I froze mid-step and turned around, bewildered.

What was that sound?

I was rendered speechless as a familiar scene unfolded before my eyes.

To be precise, the figures were familiar—but they were faces that definitely shouldn’t be here.

I glanced at the shimmering magic circle on the floor of the main hall and then raised my gaze.

“Ouch! That blasted chief mage never does his job right! My butt hurts!”

The crown princess—no, the empress—grumbled irritably, having landed on her rear.

The pink-haired woman beside her extended a hand to help her up.

“Your Majesty, are you all right?”

“Of course, Lady Lawrence managed to land gracefully on her own!”

“Well, I’m used to it.”

Was I hallucinating…?

“And what about Madame Zed? Are you okay?”

“Oh, I’m perfectly fine, as you can see.”

“Ugh, so I’m the only one who didn’t land properly?”

…Was I hearing things too?

Before I could fully process the situation, the empress cleared her throat and shouted boldly.

“Come forth! I have arrived!”

The two others followed in unison.

“Your Grace, I’m here too!”

“El, we’ve come to see you!”

As the three women’s bright, energetic voices rang out together, I instinctively pressed my hand to my forehead.

…Well, so much for a peaceful day.

---

The unexpected visitors to the ducal estate were none other than three people: the Empress, Diana, and Madame Zed.

While their combination might seem odd, it wasn’t entirely surprising given how close they had become after the empress’s coronation.

The strange part was how they’d used a magic circle to teleport straight into the ducal estate.

‘Seriously, what is this?’

Empress Louisa, who used to shudder at the mere mention of Diana Lawrence’s name, had seemingly taken a liking to her after meeting her in person. These days, Diana was practically her constant companion, to the point where my efforts to secure Diana’s position through the Duchess felt almost redundant.

Madame Zed, meanwhile, had shifted her focus from being my exclusive dressmaker to collaborating on a business venture with Diana’s shoe store.

Their collaboration, which began with the empress’s coronation, had been an instant success and generated a whirlwind of attention.

“The buzz from Aria’s newsletter definitely helped.”

With Madame Zed’s established reputation and Diana’s newfound status as the empress’s favorite, their joint project had become the talk of not only the capital but also surrounding cities.

These days, it was said that getting your hands on their work required at least a two-year wait.

“Your Grace?”

“Ah, yes.”

Lost in thought, I snapped back to reality at the empress’s voice.

“What were you so deep in thought about?”

“I was just marveling at how fascinating the three of you are as a group.”

Still somewhat dazed, I gave an honest reply, prompting the empress to snicker.

“Why marvel at something you orchestrated yourself?”

“Well, that’s true…”

I stopped myself from blurting out, But doesn’t it feel a bit strange to see you clinging to Diana like that?

“Anyway, what brings you here so suddenly? You must be busy.”

Shaking off my thoughts, I asked.

Surely, there was a reason for such an abrupt visit. Judging by the group, I could already guess.

The empress’s face turned incredulous, and Diana and Madame Zed wore similar expressions.

Their synchrony spoke volumes about how close they had become.

“Don’t tell me you’re seriously asking because you don’t know.”

“El, are you really going to pretend like this?”

“Your Grace, I’m deeply hurt!”

The surround sound of their overlapping protests nearly made me shut my eyes.

“Of course, Ian isn’t here for this.”

For a moment, I missed Ian’s presence, but then quickly reconsidered.

“No, if Ian were here, this chaos would probably be even worse.”

When I remained silent, the three of them straightened their postures and fixed me with intense stares.

It was intimidating.

Please stop.

“Your Grace, you’re getting married, aren’t you?”

“How could you keep such an important event a secret?”

“El, how could I hear this from someone else?”

“You didn’t even drop us a hint!”

“Your Grace, that’s so mean!”

I knew it.

Their barrage of protests left me no room to escape.

“How on earth did this even spread?”

Well, I already knew the answer.

“It must’ve been the Emperor.”

Ian had recently met with the emperor and casually mentioned the wedding plans. Somehow, word had made its way to the empress.

The mental image of Emperor laughing heartily as she shared the news with her sister flashed through my mind, leaving me slightly dizzy.

“Honestly, this family has no concept of keeping secrets.”

• • •

Please Support my translation 🤞