Chapter 90
As I turned with a smile, darkness enveloped me.
It felt like my body was moving, and I was suddenly wrapped in a warm embrace.
When I looked up, the rustling of fabric brushed against my ears.
The cool scent coming from Aden lingered in my nose.
His strong hands gripped my waist, and his broad shoulders were enough to support me even when I leaned against him.
“You’re a far more wonderful and amazing woman than you think.”
“…”
“You can meet as many people as you want. Who wouldn’t like someone like you?”
Aden slowly started to pull away.
His gaze, reflecting a soft light, sparkled like the golden liquid in a wine glass.
“You’re more beautiful, wise, and warm than anyone I’ve seen.”
“That’s…”
“I can wait for as long as it takes for you to answer even if it takes decades. But…”
The way he trailed off was so sweet.
I always thought he was heavy and serious, but he was actually warm and gentle.
Aden leaned closer, his hand brushing against the wall of the greenhouse.
My back pressed against the wall as he pushed me back slightly.
“It seems hard to hide my feelings in this atmosphere.”
“Aden…”
“I can’t hold back, so if you don’t want this, just push me away.”
His breath was close, filling my head with his scent.
With a soft sound, his hand found its way around my shoulder and gently clasped my hand.
“If you can do that, that is.”
His breath covered my lips.
* * *
The carriage stopped at the front gate of the Palieva mansion.
The butler, recognizing the family’s carriage, reached out to open the door.
But before he could, the door swung open abruptly, and Rubyche stepped out confidently.
She stormed off, her expression clearly fuming.
The butler stared blankly at her retreating figure before hurriedly following her.
Kestian, who had been talking to their father, Winston, greeted Rubyche as she entered.
“Ru…”
“I’m back!”
Before Winston could even greet his daughter, Rubyche’s voice shot past him.
She snapped sharply, brushing past the two men and heading straight to her room.
Winston furrowed his brow as he watched Rubyche disappear.
“Is she hitting puberty at this late age?”
“Come on, there’s no way she’d hit puberty at her age. Something must have happened; I’ll check it out.”
“Go ahead. And about what I mentioned earlier, I’ll handle the magic association. Just focus on the council.”
Kestian nodded briefly and headed straight up the stairs.
Following Rubyche’s swift exit, Kestian instructed the guards at the entrance to step aside and then knocked on the door.
“I told you not to let anyone in, you idiot!”
Idiot, huh?
Kestian cleared his throat and spoke in a soft voice.
“Rubyche. It’s your brother.”
“I can tell just from your voice! Go away! I don’t want to see you!”
“…”
Is she really going through that phase?
Even though I was casual with my younger sister because of the age gap, I’d never raised her to be rude.
Kestian was stunned by her shocking words but didn’t give up and knocked on the door again.
“What’s wrong? Why are you acting like this? Father is worried, so just open the door…”
“I said I don’t want to!”
At that, Rubyche flung the door open.
Kestian smiled knowingly and slipped past her into the room.
Rubyche shot him a glare as she swiftly closed the door behind her.
Kestian quietly observed Rubyche, who hadn’t even changed her clothes and was sitting on the desk, before pulling up a chair in front of her.
“What’s going on?”
“What’s going on? Just the usual stupid stuff.”
As Kestian sat down, he tilted his head.
Stupid stuff?
Kestian narrowed his eyes as Rubyche swallowed a sigh and turned her head away.
Although she hadn’t even had her coming-of-age ceremony yet, Kestian knew his sister had a mature side to her.
Unlike his boisterous brothers, she took pride in being grown up.
So, it was rare for Rubyche to show such rudeness and temper.
“Is it because of the tea party?”
“…”
Rubyche’s throat, which had been uneasy, went still.
So that was it.
Kestian frowned slightly.
Rubyche had always been sociable and cheerful since she was little.
She often attended tea parties and small gatherings, excited to meet people.
“Tell me. What happened?”
“Nothing happened.”
“Don’t lie. Do you think your brother can’t see through your lies?”
“I’m telling you, nothing happened!”
Even as she said “really,” her voice was evasive, and her attitude was indifferent.
Kestian didn’t believe Rubyche’s words.
Seeing her clenching her mouth shut as if she had nothing more to say, Kestian gave up on getting an answer.
With a sigh, he stood up, patted Rubyche’s head, and turned to leave.
“Take it easy, Rubyche.”
Once outside, Kestian immediately looked for Rubyche’s maid.
Since he couldn’t get the information from Rubyche, he had no choice but to ask the maid who had been with her.
The maid had a calm expression as if she’d been expecting him to seek her out.
“Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Well, it’s…”
Basically, it turned out that a highborn lady from the Bozbourne family had shown up at the small gatherings Rubyche had been attending.
At first, the ladies and noblewomen at the tea parties seemed uncomfortable and confused, but it didn’t take long—just four days—for them to switch to Bozbourne’s side.
“Everyone knows that even if they complain and point fingers, Bozbourne is still strong. So naturally, a line started forming between Palieva and Bozbourne…”
“So the existing noblewomen chose Bozbourne over Palieva, right?”
“Exactly. The princess worked really hard, but it just wasn’t enough. Because of that, she’s been struggling lately, and it seems like the gossip hit her really hard.”
“Gossip? Who would dare talk bad about Palieva? Even if they think Bozbourne is better, they’re still one of the only ducal families in the empire.”
“No idea. The princess wanted to confront them, but they had already left by then.”
So that’s why she’s like this.
Kestian let out a small sigh.
Hearing gossip in the emperor’s absence might be expected, but it was painful to endure.
Especially if it was gossip from people he thought cared for him.
It was too much for the young Rubyche to handle.
“Did I make a mistake?”
Kestian felt like Rubyche was suffering because of him.
If he had just stayed hidden during the Bozbourne engagement ceremony, they wouldn’t be in this situation.
Since the engagement, Palieva has been facing some tough days too.
There had been many broken deals and contracts, and some people were getting shakey.
Kestian thought he had to push through this to get free from Bozbourne.
But he didn’t want his decisions to hurt his sister.
“…I guess it would be too much for me to step in myself.”
Tea parties were for the noblewomen.
Even if the emperor intervened, they couldn’t stop it.
After thinking for a while, Kestian stood up.
He told the maid to take care of Rubyche and then called for the butler.
“Send a letter to the Bozbourne princess.”
“What kind of letter should I send?”
“Tell her to cut the childish stuff and let’s meet up first.”
Meeting directly to negotiate—that was the only way.
* * *
“I’m so sorry, miss.”
Dayton had his eyes tightly shut and his head bowed low.
He forced a smile and said it was okay, but he really wasn’t okay at all.
‘Of all places, why did it have to be there?’
The unexpected, intense kiss with Aden didn’t last long.
Dayton had come rushing to find me when he usually never bothered to look for me if I was gone.
Thanks to that, I ended up in an embarrassing situation.
It was Dayton who broke the moment, so why did I feel so mortified?
I truly felt the saying “A smile that isn’t really a smile.”
“So, what’s the matter? Why are you looking for me at this time of night?”
“I brought the geopolitical data for the Rippleton territory that you requested earlier. It just arrived.”
“You could just give it to me in the morning…”
“You told me to report it to you as soon as it came out, so I figured I’d come by unless you were asleep. But…”
As he continued calmly, Dayton hesitated, clearing his throat.
He was steering the conversation in a strange direction.
“Um, if that’s the case, I get it. Just drop off the data and go get some rest.”
“Understood. You should rest too, miss.”
Dayton nodded respectfully before leaving, and I let out a brief sigh.
Before the door closed, Aden walked back into the room.
Glancing at him, the memory rushed back, but maybe because of Dayton’s interruption,
I didn’t feel so embarrassed since I had already taken a huge spoonful of shame.
“How did the conversation go… for me?”
I thought Aden wouldn’t have much of a reaction either, but his voice was subtly shaken.
As I let a little laugh slip from the relaxed situation, Aden cleared his throat.
He casually brushed his hair back as he approached, and I handed him the documents I was holding.
“Take a look at this.”
Aden took the papers, wiping the awkward expression off his face.
He leaned against the desk, reading the documents for a while before narrowing his eyes and glancing at me.
I tilted my head, smiling, and Aden spoke cautiously, almost in disbelief.
“Are all these minerals lying dormant in Rippleton?”
“To be exact, it’s near the Harmonia region.”
I stood up and pulled on the string connected to the rolled-up map on the wall.
As the string unraveled, the map opened up.
I spread my palm over Rippleton and Harmonia, pointing to the space between them.
“Here. It’s right here.”
“It’s a vague area.”
“Well, on the map it looks like that, but this is definitely Rippleton’s territory, and it’s also under Rippleton’s ownership.”
