“Episode 11”
Aris asked about the meaning of the encounter, but Ricard had already distanced himself, leaving the package on the windowsill.
“If you want to know the meaning of this meeting, please use the items I have given you,” Ricard’s low voice lingered, disappearing without a trace.
Ricard returned quietly like a shadow in the darkness. But he couldn’t deceive Dmitry.
“Your Highness, the hood and mask… Still not asleep?”
Despite Ricard’s brazen reply, Dmitry approached and stealthily checked his body temperature. His breath was barely discernible.
“No way… Surely you didn’t cause the kind of major incident I’m thinking of…”
“An incident? I’m unharmed.”
“No, I thought you might have rudely crossed into a noble lady’s bedroom during the night.”
Dmitry stared persistently at Ricard.
“I wouldn’t do such a thing.”
Ricard subtly avoided eye contact, likely because he had done something similar.
“Your Highness!”
“It’s a secret to Her Majesty.”
“But why would someone who knows… No, why would you do such a thing?”
Despite Ricard stubbornly keeping his mouth shut, Dmitry persisted.
“…I wanted to see it with my own eyes.”
Ricard, with the hood still off, finally spoke.
“Whether someone could touch my bare flesh and still be unscathed. If she’s really that princess. If it wasn’t all just my imagination.”
His words were tinged with profound loneliness.
“So… did you see?”
Ricard nodded, his complexion faintly brightening.
“Was the princess really unharmed?”
“She even scolded me for being rude.”
“…Really?”
In a sense, that was even more surprising.
“I was rude, so I understand. I wasn’t ready to talk at length, so I brought the gift first.”
“It’s not about being ready…”
Dmitry paused for a moment.
“No, Your Highness… I really…”
Ricard nodded as if pleased. Perhaps his earnest wish had reached the heavens. The fact that there existed a woman who was immune to his magic yet still so strong and beautiful was a miracle in itself.
“I had a match, too.”
He smiled without the mask. Although the scar on his cheek moved with it, there was no hint of the sinister or eerie aura rumored about him; he simply appeared as a handsome youth.
“Did the princess agree as well?” Ricard avoided eye contact again. If Aris was curious about today’s meeting, he would surely blow the horn. Dmitry added.
“Above all, isn’t the princess of the Leon Kingdom… rumored to soon become the Empress of the Empire?”
Ricard’s expression soured at that remark.
“…No, that can’t happen.”
“But the prevailing rumor is that she’s already betrothed.”
“There’s still time.”
Although it was a headache that his destined match turned out to be the Empress presumptive, it was better than her already being Empress.
“She must choose me.”
The prospect of the princess, destined to be Empress, choosing the infamous Ducal House of Leon didn’t seem easy.
“So, how…”
Ricard sat down with a serious expression.
“I’ll think about that from now on.”
It seemed like tonight was going to be a long one.
* * *
Aris checked the window several times after the uninvited guest left. Seeing him vanish so abruptly with his imposing presence felt surreal.
“What did I see…”
The unexpected departure of the uninvited guest left Aris feeling dizzy.
“What’s this?”
The small obsidian flute floated lightly on Aris’s palm. The smooth craftsmanship and the Duke’s emblem engraved in gold on the inside were clear.
“Do they prove status with stones like this in the north? No… if that’s the case…”
Was the problem with Aris’s brother related to his personality or mental state? Aris couldn’t understand the intentions of the uninvited guest. Moreover, what was with his indifferent expression? Asking if she was unharmed seemed like a strange question.
“It seemed genuine, but what was he genuine about?”
Aris kept fiddling with the small horn. The smooth craftsmanship felt good in her hand.
“Is this how it works…?”
She blew it as a test, but there was no sound from the horn.
“There must be a specific way to blow it.”
Aris quickly gave up. Right now, this toy-like item wasn’t the problem.
“I need to change my fate.”
A sigh escaped involuntarily. The biggest obstacle was Aris’s status. Although being a princess might seem happy and easy, in reality, she couldn’t freely choose her acquaintances or even marriage partners.
“I… was nothing.”
Aris wasn’t alone in this. All the noble daughters were raised as tools for strategic marriages. Since she was betrothed to be Empress, there was no way to be of help to the Leon royal family.
“I never had the power to decide from the beginning.”
Even becoming Empress in her past life was the decision of Emperor Patrick, not Aris’s will. Yes. Everything was that man’s decision. Aris’s despair, hope, and fake happiness were all filled with lies.
“This time… it has to be different.”
She had barely managed to turn back time. She didn’t know what that meant, but at least she didn’t want to go back to Patrick’s side.
“I’d rather die.”
Just thinking of Patrick made her teeth chatter.
But, right now, Aris couldn’t easily choose death. Moreover, even if she chose death, she came back alive.
“I can’t even die as I please… I’m really worse than a garden flower.”
Aris closed her eyes in agony. Then, she heard a tapping sound. Could it be that the deranged Duke had returned? Aris quickly approached the window, but it was just starting to rain.
“Weird man.”
“I am Ricard Albertus, as stated, the Duke of Albertus in the North. And I want to marry you.”
For a moment, Aris’s eyes froze.
“I won’t say cliché and obvious words like falling for the princess’s beauty or dazzling talent.”
Certainly, it was a compliment Aris had heard countless times in her life. However, this man denied it outright.
“I don’t want the Princess of Leon Kingdom; I want you as you are, and if it’s me, I won’t make you sad like before.”
Strange. This man was too strange.
“An Albertus man doesn’t speak empty words, so I’ll prove my sincerity through actions.”
But Aris continued to read the letter.
“To make you my wife, I am willing to do anything and give up anything, except for the Empress’s crown.”
He wasn’t just a deranged man. It seemed he knew that Aris was the Empress presumptive.
“Yet… he does this?”
How many men would propose to Aris in this manner, knowing she was the Empress presumptive? Without a doubt, besides this man, there would be none. Moreover, claiming to give up everything, he was truly arrogant.
“The fact that this letter reached me means you blew the horn I gave you twice. Since you blew the silent horn more than once, I will also wait for an uncertain response.”
Aris’s fingers tightened around the letter.
“P.S. Pell likes milk and beans.”
He was an utterly incomprehensible man until the end.
“…?”
At Aris’s murmuring, the polite bird from earlier nodded its head gently.
“Is your name Pell?”
– Peck.
The calm response was truly polite. By now, it felt like she was enchanted by the Duke of the North.
– Peck?
Without a moment to ponder, Pell was politely asking for food and a response.
“Well, let’s start with us… drinking milk and calming down.”
Luckily, Veronica had brought milk to the bedroom.
– Peck.
Watching the black bird drink milk gracefully, Aris’s mind became even more complicated.
“You said you could give up anything…?”
He surely knew Aris was the Empress presumptive. But that made him even more suspicious.
“Pell, what kind of person is your master?”
As intelligent as a person, Pell remained silent while drinking milk. In the end, Aris could only speculate.
About the man, Ricard, the Duke of Albertus in the North.
