#6. Romance in this Thriller World is Impossible! (※Or is it actually not?!)
The carriage we were riding stopped in front of the residence of Duke Lithman. As expected of the grand mansion of Duke Lithman, who was said to have considerable power in the empire, the mansion was truly enormous.
“Who are you?”
“We are travelers from the Kingdom of Boleno, and we have come to see Princess Angela—I mean, the Duchess of Lithman,”
Raffaelo introduced himself to the guard at the mansion’s main gate.
“Introduce me as Raffaelo from the Marquess of Nesta. The people accompanying me are also nobles from Boleno.”
“Understood,”
The guard responded and left to deliver the message. After the guard left, I glanced at Raffaelo with a worried expression.
“I’m not sure if they’ll let us in. We didn’t even get a reply to our letter.”
“Well, there’s no other choice but to persuade them,”
Raffaelo replied, grinning confidently.
“I’m pretty good at persuasion.”
“Isn’t that more like intimidation than persuasion?”
“Why do you always see us as trash?”
While Raffaelo grumbled, the same guard from earlier came running toward us. He opened the gate wide enough for our carriage to enter.
“The Duchess has agreed to meet you,”
After riding the carriage past the vast garden of Duke Lithman’s residence, we followed the butler’s lead into the reception room. The interior of the mansion, glimpsed along the way, was surprisingly ordinary.
No, don’t be deceived. Princess Eva also looked normal on the outside.
“People can still be villains no matter how much they smile.”*
* William Shakespeare, Hamlet
When the large door of the reception room opened, a woman wearing a neat dress greeted us. Her bright smile lit up the room — it was Princess Angela.
“You must be the guests from the Kingdom of Boleno! I’m truly glad to meet you!”
Princess Angela had platinum blonde hair, just like Princess Eva, but her eyes were light green. Unlike Princess Eva, who had an image of a cold and sophisticated beauty, Princess Angela had the aura of a warm and cheerful beauty.
“We are honored to meet you, Princess Angela,”
“No, no, I am no longer a princess. Please just call me Duchess of Lithman,”
Angela responded with a gentle smile that put people at ease.
Of course, if one only judged by appearances, they wouldn’t think of Princess Eva as a dangerous figure either. Nevertheless, Angela seemed genuinely harmless.
“Thank you for welcoming us so kindly, even though our visit was sudden,”
Simone said gracefully.
Princess Angela waved her hands dismissively, as if to say it was no trouble at all.
“Oh, it’s no problem. On the contrary, I’m happy to meet people from the Kingdom of Boleno.”
“Actually, we sent a letter, but since we didn’t receive a reply, we had no choice but to visit you in person. We hope it’s not an inconvenience,”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I haven’t been checking letters from outside for a while.”
She spoke as if it were no big deal.
“I am Simone Monteverdi, Marquess of Monteverdi.”
“I am Raffaelo Nesta, the second son of the Marquess of Nesta. I am currently serving in the army.”
“I am Arkhangelo Phyro from the Count of Phyro, a great opera singer…”
“Apologies, Duchess. Arkhangelo can be a bit eccentric due to his artistic nature.”
“Haha, no worries. I’ve heard of the famous tenor Phyro myself.”
Simone firmly pressed down on Arkhangelo’s head to make him bow, but Angela, the Duchess, only laughed as if she found it amusing.
“I am Seraphina Viviana from the Viviana Count family. I am a spatial magician.”
“I am Ghieuspe Ascary, a dark mage from the Magic Tower.”
“Oh, so there are also magicians among you!”
Princess Angela clapped her hands in excitement.
The atmosphere inside the reception room eased considerably compared to before.
“By the way, Duchess.”
Recalling the most important message to convey, I opened my mouth to speak.
“Prince Allan has sent a gift. It is a maid automaton sent as a gesture of friendship from the Kingdom of Boleno, and he wanted it to be presented to Duke Lithman’s residence first. He also included a letter.”
“An automaton?”
At that moment, Angela’s face went pale.
She immediately opened the door to the reception room and called for an attendant.
“Prince Allan has sent us a gift. Store it in the warehouse. We probably won’t have any use for it for a while, so place it deep inside.”
What is this? Does she dislike automatons?
As I tilted my head in confusion, watching her reaction, Angela’s expression returned to normal, and she spoke again.
“By the way, what brings you here?”
We exchanged glances with each other. It was still too early to bring up the main topic.
Instead, Simone, skilled in social conversation, responded in a polite tone.
“We were on a journey and had the honor of being invited as guests to the imperial palace. It was there that we heard about the Duchess. We learned that the Duchess had not met anyone from her homeland for a long time, so we decided to visit first.”
“Ah, I am truly grateful.”
Angela smiled brightly.
“It has been a long time since I last went to the Kingdom of Boleno. I haven’t seen anyone from there in quite a while.”
“If I recall correctly, the Duchess was betrothed at a young age.”
“Yes, I was engaged at the age of fifteen and came here. When I turned seventeen and became an adult, I was married right away. I couldn’t even attend a debutante ball in the Kingdom of Boleno, so I doubt anyone there has seen me.”
Even in Seraphina’s memories, there was no record of Princess Angela.
“When I first came here, I was very worried… but I’m doing well now. My husband is truly a good man. Thanks to him, I’m spending my days here in happiness.”
Princess Angela spoke with such a joyful expression that anyone would want to celebrate her happiness. It seemed that her relationship with her husband was quite harmonious.
“To have met such a wonderful husband, all the noble ladies of the social circle must be envious of you, Duchess.”
“Haha, is that so?”
At my words, Angela’s eyes curved into the shape of a crescent moon.
“Eros is a god worthy of awe, both among mortals and immortals. This is true in many ways, but especially in terms of his origins. As the eldest of all, he is the source of the finest things within us.”*
*Plato, Symposium
“That’s a lovely saying.”
“It shows how great love truly is.”
“Thanks to my husband, I am genuinely happy. But sometimes, I do miss my homeland. That’s why I’m so glad that all of you have come to visit.”
“We are also happy to have met the Duchess like this.”
“Ah, do you have a place to stay? If not, you are welcome to stay here.”
“Then, we will gratefully accept your offer to stay here.”
We had already packed all our belongings from the imperial palace and brought them here, so her offer worked out perfectly for us.
However, despite the Duchess’s kind attitude, there were a few things that felt off.
For one, she had been secluded in her home recently and hadn’t even been reading her letters. While she made it sound like it was no big deal, it was still suspicious.
Moreover, she welcomed us warmly even though we were strangers from Boleno. While she claimed to miss her homeland, she had never once visited it.
And lastly, when she saw the maid automaton gift earlier, her face went pale.
‘This is definitely…’
Yes, I was certain that she knew something about Princess Eva.
Perhaps, just like me, she was also trying to avoid Princess Eva.
I had heard that Princess Angela was the same age as me.
That meant she had left the Kingdom of Boleno four years ago. If that’s the case, it could be assumed that something had been off with Princess Eva since at least four years ago.
“By the way, have you ever considered visiting the Kingdom of Boleno?”
I casually asked her a question to gauge her reaction.
“The Kingdom of Boleno has changed a lot recently. Oh, you’d be amazed at the new dessert shop that opened at the Central Gallery. It’s incredibly delicious!”
“I see… that sounds wonderful, but it’s a pity.”
Angela replied without showing any signs of unease. Her eyes drooped slightly, as if she truly regretted not being able to visit.
“My husband doesn’t want to be apart from me, and I don’t want to leave him either. Right now, he is working tirelessly as a public servant, so we can’t leave the empire.”
“Ah, I see. In that case, we will share plenty of stories about Boleno with you while we’re here.”
“Come to think of it, I’m curious about how my old friends are doing. Do you know anything about Lady Laniery of the Marquess of Laniery or Lady Echo of the Duke of Echo?”
“Oh, if you’re talking about Lady Sylvia of the Laniery family, I know her! We’re quite close. Recently, she got engaged to the eldest son of the Count of Maldini. At first, she disliked the engagement, but then she ended up falling for him at first sight!”
“Oh my! Sylvia always had a tendency to fall in love easily, even as a child.”
“Love is as deep and wide as the ocean, and it is infinite. I want to mature endlessly, just like that.”*
* William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
When I started talking about her old friends, Princess Angela’s eyes filled with tears of joy.
If I were to judge her from this reaction alone, she truly seemed like an ordinary person who genuinely missed her friends.
“And so, Lia ended up being recognized as a talented pianist!”
“Back when we were kids, she used to say she’d just get married and live as a noblewoman. Who would’ve thought Lia would display such incredible talent!”
As our conversation grew more lively, I finally brought up the name I had been holding back.
“Ah, come to think of it, there’s also Princess Eva.”
“……….”
“I wonder how Princess Eva is doing these days.”
As I asked this question, I met Angela’s gaze — and then, I stopped.
Because at that very moment, there was a clear emotion reflected in Angela’s eyes.
Fear.
