“Third Prince, His Majesty is waiting for you.”
Luckily, the servant was quicker to summon the Third Prince than Philome lifting her head.
Philome felt a surge of relief at the servants’ words.
“Ah, I suppose greetings will have to wait until next time. Then, until we meet again, Duke.”
Kaien responded with a silent nod.
With a bitter smile, the Third Prince walked away, clearly unwilling to wait for the next time.
Watching the Third Prince’s departure, Kaien turned to Philome.
“Are you alright, Milady?”
Noticing Philome’s pallid face, bordering on white, Kaien urgently inquired. Upon closer inspection, Philome’s expression appeared to be different from mere tension.
“Ah… Yes, yes. I’m fine. I didn’t expect to meet the Third Prince right after His Majesty.”
Kaien didn’t press further on the slow response.
“Let’s head back.”
“Yes.”
Philome rested her hand on Kaien’s forearm again. Then she turned her head, briefly gazing at the closed door before withdrawing her gaze with a complicated expression.
The carriage ride home was silent, each of them lost in their own thoughts.
Philome couldn’t help but recall the strained relationship between Kaien and the Third Prince, Winston.
They had been close friends since they attended the same academy. However, their relationship soured when Kaien’s brother died at the hands of Winston’s mother, the Empress.
When Kaien told him the truth, Wiston sided with his mother, and even though he knew all about the Empress’s plans, he refused to tell Kaien.
To Kaien, Winston’s betrayal was akin to being complicit in his brother’s death, making him a target of revenge and hatred just like the Empress.
In reality, Winston was a person deserving of such treatment. We could describe him as someone suffering from “good boy syndrome.” Thirsting for his mother’s love, Winston ultimately abandoned even his closest friend.
‘How did the original story go?’
As she rummaged through her memory, the carriage stopped.
Arriving at the mansion and getting off while escorted by Kaien, Gio hurriedly approached.
“Duke!”
Glancing at Philome, Gio whispered softly into Kaien’s ear.
“Go ahead. Milady, please go inside first. Don’t worry if I come in late.”
“Oh, alright. Have a safe trip.”
Kaien hesitated at Philome’s farewell.
She wondered if she had made a mistake. He spoke to Philome, who was rolling her eyes.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard those words… in a long time.”
What words?
Philome chuckled, but Kaien had already returned to the carriage.
Stepping back a few paces, Philome watched as the carriage vanished in a cloud of dust.
Then she entered the mansion.
“Lady!”
Sophia greeted Philome in the hall.
“Did you have a good trip?”
“Yes. I was so nervous; my whole body is still trembling.”
“I’ll prepare some hot water for you!”
Sophia’s eyes sparkled.
“……Sophia, I know you’re excited to use the heating stones, but the water is too hot. I almost scalded myself.”
“That’s because you’re not used to hot water! Other ladies bathe at that temperature.”
“Since when did other women’s skin turn into steel?”
“Tsk.”
“Wow, you’re not even pretending to listen.”
Regardless of what Philome said, Sophia didn’t seem to be listening.
Returning to her room, Philome undressed and entered the bathroom, where a tub filled with steaming water awaited.
Thankfully, it wasn’t as hot as last time.
Philome finished her bath and stretched out on the bed.
Despite thinking her cold-prone constitution had vanished with the possession, she found herself feeling even colder since entering the mansion filled with heated stones.
While dozing off, wrapped in a cozy blanket, she heard faint carriage sounds.
“Are you awake?”
Sophia entered the room just then.
“It’s dinner time, Milady. You haven’t even had lunch, so get up, even if you’re sleepy.”
“Ugh, alright. Has the Duke arrived?”
“Yes. He just came in.”
Reluctantly led by Sophia, I quickly changed into some clothes.
“Oh, Sophia. I think my nightwear needs to be altered. The Duke noticed.”
“What? How?”
“Just…… ah!”
Philome’s eyes widened.
Then she squeezed Sophia’s cheeks.
“I got caught with that note, all because of you. Sophia!”
“Ouch! What note? You mean… the one with the information I brought?”
“Yes!”
“Did he happen to read…… the part about the three sizes……?”
“Yes…….”
Nodding, Sophia covered her mouth.
“Why on earth did you take that with you!”
“I, uh…”
Philome rolled up her sleeves.
“Sophia, how about receiving some beauty tips from me after such a long time?”
“…I’m sorry, Miss. Truly!”
As Philome reached out to tickle Sophia, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
Sophia and Philome froze at the same time.
Soon, Sophia opened the door.
“Oh, Duke.”
Sophia quickly turned sideways when she spotted Kaien.
“Duke?”
She thought their morning encounter would be the end of it.
Kaien’s unexpected appearance left her flustered.
“Work finished earlier than I expected. I heard you hadn’t had dinner yet, so I thought we could eat together. Is it alright?”
“Oh, sure. I was just about to head down.”
Philome placed her hand on Kaien’s outstretched arm.
“Are you available tomorrow? I thought it would be nice to pick out engagement rings together.”
“Sure. Are you sure you’re not busy?”
“Things that were bothering me were resolved more smoothly than I anticipated, so I should have some time.”
Kaien lowered his head slightly and whispered in Philome’s ear.
“Even if it’s a contract marriage, don’t you think we should at least get a ring together out of respect for you?”
“Are you teasing me right now?”
Kaien chuckled lightly and shrugged his shoulders.
“But what’s the matter?”
Philome asked absentmindedly.
Then she noticed Kaien was hesitating, lost in thought while looking at her.
“Oh, you don’t have to tell me. I was just asking…”
“No, it’s not really confidential. Milady, do you know about the magic scroll?”
“Uh… I know a bit.”
“There’s someone I want to meet, but they’re being mediated through a middleman, so it’s not easy to arrange a meeting. So, I tracked down that middle man and asked a few questions.”
“…….”
“…They seem like a married couple… But I’ll find out more. I’m going to meet them tomorrow.”
… Me?
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
That’s definitely me.
After eating absentmindedly to the point where I couldn’t tell if the food was going into my nose or mouth, I continued to think. But no matter how many other possibilities I considered, the conclusion remained the same.
‘It’s me, isn’t it?’
Ugh, what should I do?
Sighing didn’t help, and wracking my brain didn’t produce any sharp solutions.
‘At least one thing is certain: they don’t know my true identity.’
If it were Kaien, he probably wouldn’t have bothered to look around to see the person he was looking for right next to him.
He would just say, “Hey, you.”
‘Ugh… for now, let’s hide it.’
Whether it’s a matter of life or death, hiding it was the priority.
As Harnen suggested, it was best to keep the magic scroll business as hidden as possible from Kaien. That was my only trump card. A card I could use when I needed money due to circumstances I couldn’t explain.
Just like Kaien, who was involved in a newspaper business not mentioned in the original story, I was the same.
Even as I tried to sleep, my mind couldn’t rest deeply.
“Oh, Miss, what’s wrong with your face? Are you nervous about choosing the ring? You even slept well before going to meet His Majesty…”
Sophia tried her best to smooth out my rough skin.
When it was time to finish preparing, Gio came to escort me.
“Miss Philome, let’s go downstairs. The Duke is already here.”
“Thank you.”
Gio smiled kindly.
After the successful contact with Kaien, it felt like he was even kinder.
As we descended to the lower floor, Kaien was already there, looking at some documents.
“Ah, you’re here?”
We exchanged a brief nod and sat down.
As if on cue, the door opened, and nearly ten people streamed in.
