Chapter 017
To get a better look, I leaned out over the railing and observed him.
Under the sunlight, his reddish-brown hair shimmered strangely. Beneath his neat hair, deep green eyes were visible. His smooth nose and soft pink lips were placed nicely on his face.
‘He’s definitely the male lead!’
Even though he was still a boy, he was already handsome in a tall, striking way.
Not quite as handsome as Dedrick, though.
In the novel, he had a righteous personality.
He was clear about his duties, never using his position to pressure the female lead or do anything underhanded. He was someone who liked to play fair.
His reputation was good, and he was kind, but that kindness was more like a mask. It was something he had learned to wear in order to survive in the royal palace, where everyone was an enemy.
But since he was still young, his control over his emotions wasn’t perfect, and the second prince’s expression looked a little stiff.
‘It’s obvious he’s struggling with all the acting.’
The foolish Somerset and Axel didn’t seem to notice Perez’s discomfort.
‘Most importantly, the second prince is probably very curious about Dedrick right now.’
Somerset and Axel didn’t resemble the Duke at all, but Dedrick was said to look exactly like him.
Especially with Somerset and Axel’s arrogant and foolish behavior, Perez was deeply disappointed, and that only made him more curious about Dedrick.
Delani had already caught on to this in just a few hours.
‘That’s why the Duchess is making her move.’
And then, the theft happened!
In the novel, a theft takes place around this time. The story was simple.
While Perez was staying at the Duke’s estate, some of his precious belongings were stolen, and Delani framed Dedrick as the thief.
Because of this, Perez develops a dislike for Dedrick, and later, he has to work hard to clear up his misunderstanding.
‘So, I need to stop that from happening.’
On top of that, I’ll try to form a bond with Dedrick and make him a strong ally.
Smiling slyly, I was suddenly picked up by Dedrick, who easily pulled me away from the window.
“It’s dangerous.”
Surprised by the steady feeling, I looked back at him.
“…Did you get stronger?”
“More like, you’re too light.”
Is that so?
I couldn’t really judge my own weight.
“Didi, I’ll tell you what we’re doing today.”
Dedrick straightened up and looked at me.
“The Duke’s wife will call for you, so follow her quietly. But don’t let yourself get intimidated. If she says something, just agree politely. Got it?”
“I got it.”
“That’s enough for today.”
“Will you come with me?”
“No, I have to stay here.”
If Dedrick leaves, someone planted by the Duchess will surely make a move.
So, I planned to stay behind and keep an eye on things to prevent Dedrick from being framed.
Knock.
As if on cue, someone came.
“Young master, the Duchess is calling for you.”
Hearing the words “the Duchess,” Dedrick’s face immediately became tense.
I hesitated.
‘Should I go with him?’
But staying here was my chance to see what kind of scheming would happen.
However, I felt sorry for sending him alone.
I walked over to Dedrick and took his hand.
“If it’s too hard, should we go together?”
“…”
“Let’s go together.”
Well, since I already knew how the story went, it should be fine.
How different could things turn out?
It had all been the same so far.
Right now, Dedrick was more important.
“…Is it okay?”
“Of course. I don’t want to let you go alone.”
He smiled shyly at my words.
“I’m fine now. I can go alone.”
“No, I want to go with you.”
I quickly stood behind him.
“Let’s go!”
“…Okay.”
Although he looked a little embarrassed, I could tell he was happy that I was going with him.
That was enough.
We followed the maid across the garden.
“Wow…”
This was the first time I had been this close to the garden. The flowers in full bloom and the waterway winding through the garden made me feel like I had entered a fairyland.
The petals fluttered down into the water, making it seem like flowers were floating down the stream.
“It’s really beautiful…”
I kept marveling as I followed behind Dedrick.
“Oh, you’re here?”
A slightly bright female voice made me stop admiring the garden and turn my attention.
In the gazebo sat the Duchess, Somerset, Axel, and the second prince, Perez. Somerset and Axel couldn’t hide their displeasure when they saw Dedrick.
“Sorry to bother you while you’re resting.”
The Duchess pretended to look at Dedrick as if she was apologizing for interrupting his rest. I couldn’t help but admire her acting skills.
Her performance was top-notch.
Most of all, saying she was sorry for resting was a ridiculous statement.
It was like indirectly mentioning that Dedrick had been hiding away in his room with nothing to do in front of Perez.
“You naughty…”
As I gritted my teeth, the Duchess looked at Dedrick’s face, seeming a little uncomfortable.
“…Are you upset? Your face looks a bit off.”
“…”
I couldn’t stand it anymore.
I stepped in front of Dedrick, startling him as he looked at me with wide eyes.
I couldn’t let Perez get a bad impression of Dedrick.
I had to calm him down first.
“I’m here. You can answer comfortably.”
Honestly, showing Dedrick’s changed demeanor in front of the Duchess wasn’t the best choice.
It would be better to show his growth when the time was right…
But I couldn’t lose the second prince’s trust.
‘But I can’t let go of this connection.’
To have a strong backing, Dedrick didn’t need to attend the academy; he could gain support through the right connections.
‘Even if the Duke isn’t offering any backing, I can’t ignore the retainers.’
Dedrick, being an illegitimate child without any connections, was unlikely to be favored by the retainers.
Although the Duke’s wishes were most important, the retainers who supported the Blackwood family could not be ignored either. They were loyal and loved the family.
‘Except for one head of a household.’
In any case, there would be opportunities, but…
‘When will the second prince come back to the Duke’s estate again?’
There was a party planned at the Duke’s estate soon, but the second prince didn’t attend because he was disappointed in Somerset, Axel, and Dedrick.
It would be difficult to see him again until he became an adult.
So, now was the opportunity.
I patted Dedrick to calm him down.
“The Duke’s wife isn’t really a scary person.”
“…?”
Dedrick’s gaze seemed to question me with a ‘really?’
I smiled.
“She’s someone we need to take revenge on!”
At that, his stiffened shoulders seemed to relax a little, and I could see him giving a small nod. Dedrick responded softly.
“No, it’s the Duke’s wife.”
Dedrick moved closer to the gazebo. “I guess I was a bit tense after meeting the Duke’s wife after such a long time.”
“Good answer!”
Right now, Dedrick was pretending that the Duke’s wife was looking out for him, but in fact, he was subtly pointing out that he hadn’t seen her in a long time.
I glanced at Perez. He raised the corner of his mouth while observing Dedrick, even resting his chin on his hand as he intently studied him.
It was one of the habits Perez had when he became interested in something.
‘Success!’
Now that he was intrigued, Perez would come looking for Dedrick on his own while staying here.
“Good job, Didi!”
As expected, our Didi was the best!
Perez found the silent rivalry between the Duke’s wife and Dedrick extremely interesting.
“You’ve gained some weight. It would be good to move around a bit more.”
“Recently, my diet has improved, Your Grace.”
“I heard you’ve been struggling to keep up with sword training.”
“I just recently found a teacher and am training hard now.”
“…”
“Nice one! Didi’s won this round!”
The Duke’s wife smiled contentedly as she looked at Dedrick, but I could tell it wasn’t genuine.
Somerset and Axel, unable to hold their anger, tried to intervene, but the Duke’s wife stopped them repeatedly, which prevented any interesting exchanges.
By now, the Duke’s wife had probably realized something.
That Perez was actually quite interested in Dedrick.
