Chapter 3.2

They were already too shocked by the Duke mentioning ‘fiancée’ to be startled by anything else.

“Since I’ll be visiting without prior notice, I’d like to bring a gift to apologize for the lack of appointment. Is there something your sister especially likes?”

Edmund didn’t know the tastes of eighteen-year-old Elia. He knew what twenty-eight-year-old Elia liked, but even that was only an indirect understanding from the Duchy’s expenditure records.

The shoe shop that appeared every month without fail, the cake shop contracted to provide snacks for the Duchess, the musician Elia personally invited every wedding anniversary…

That was all. Edmund loved her so much he could die from the sense of loss, yet he was so ignorant he couldn’t even think of a simple gift.

Still, he wasn’t anxious. Now, he had time returned to him.

“Elly likes books… hmm, is there anything else she likes besides money…? Ah, no, I don’t mean she’s obsessed with money. She’s just very good with finances!”

“Tsk. Earl Roang, you probably have only a few years left living with your sister. Shouldn’t you take time to get to know each other even now?”

Edmund, uncharacteristically, nagged when Earl Roang couldn’t answer.

‘Wait, am I being scolded for not knowing Elia’s preferences? No! Isn’t it normal for siblings not to know what the other likes? Elly probably doesn’t even know when my birthday is!’

Earl Roang felt so unfair he could burst, but he couldn’t say, ‘The Duke must not know because he grew up without siblings.’ He could only quietly apologize.

“Yes, you are absolutely right.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

“You’re really going to Elia… Yes, please go safely. I’m sorry I can’t accompany you.”

The Duke, as usual, said his piece and abruptly stood up.

Left alone, the Earl mulled over the Duke’s rebuke in confusion.

‘Ah, I thought I’d heard that somewhere before!’

<There probably aren’t many years left living with my sister, so shouldn’t we take time to get to know each other even now?>

‘Wasn’t that what I told the Duke yesterday…?’

❖ ❖ ❖

Hans, the loyal aide to Duke Raspe, gave up pondering why the Duke had become so strange.

‘Whatever happens, happens. It’s not like my worrying will change anything. I should just enjoy the outing. How long has it been since I went out at this hour?’

Every day, he went to the Imperial Palace at dawn and saw nothing but documents, the tiresome faces of subordinates, and the Duke’s face, which was handsome but of no use to Hans. To leave the palace in bright sunlight and head to Earl Roang’s house—

‘Who would’ve thought a day like this would come?’

Sitting in the unmoving seat of the Duchy’s carriage, even the purpose of today’s trip seemed beautiful.

‘A Duke visiting his fiancée without a word—how romantic! Of course, half the romance dies because the Duke is Edmund Raspe.’

He’d always lived as if he had no one, so why suddenly seek his fiancée? Hans didn’t know the reason, but what did it matter? Maybe the Duke was just crazy today.

If it was madness, Hans hoped he wouldn’t return to normal tomorrow.

Even the sky seemed to favor Hans, as the weather was perfect for an outing.

He lavishly praised himself for wearing his newly bought coat from the tailor on 2nd Street. It seemed as if every lady on the street wanted to look at his face.

Of course, they were probably just admiring the rare ‘Duke Raspe’s’ carriage, but Hans believed in freedom of delusion. And truly, they might also be admiring the handsome aide seated outside.

‘What’s fate, really? One day, a lady who can’t forget the man on the carriage seat sends a letter to the Duchy…’

“Hans, stop the carriage.”

The Duke’s order came through the window toward the coachman’s seat.

Yikes, Hans, lost in fantasy, quickly relayed the Duke’s command. The experienced coachman smoothly stopped the carriage despite the sudden order.

“Where are you headed, My Lord? There’s nothing around here.”

Opening the carriage door quickly, Hans threw out a question he knew wouldn’t be answered.

‘If I don’t at least open my mouth, all I’ll ever say is ‘Are you here?’ or ‘Are you leaving?’’

As expected, Edmund got out with the guard knight without a word and walked straight toward an old shop with no sign.

Hans realized only after following the Duke to the shop with cheap glass windows that Edmund had come to a music box shop.

‘A music box? No way. Maybe it’s, you know, a secret meeting place for the Duchy.’

Hans recalled a detective novel he’d read recently as he opened the door to the ordinary music box shop. But contrary to his expectations, the inside was just a regular music box store.

He was briefly disappointed by the shop’s worn appearance, but even Hans, a layman, could tell the music boxes displayed on the dusty shelves weren’t cheap goods.

“Duke, are you here to buy a present? Does Lady Roang like music boxes?”

“Who knows.”

“Well, the music box is unique, so it would be memorable… But wouldn’t the jewelry shop on 5th Street be better? Jewelry is a beloved gift regardless of gender or age. I hear amethyst from the northeast is all the rage these days.”

“You mean amethyst from Viscount Leman’s territory.”

Edmund listened half-heartedly to Hans’s show-off while looking around the shop.

‘Does she like music boxes?’

He didn’t know. When he had to give gifts, he’d just hand over whatever jewelry was in fashion, never anything thoughtfully chosen.

The real reason Edmund visited the shop wasn’t a desire to buy a present for Elia… but rather to test something.

After circling the display, Edmund pointed to two specially decorated items in the center and called for the shop owner.

“These two—are there duplicates?”

The shop owner, nervous at the arrival of a high-ranking noble, checked the items the Duke indicated.

‘Do nobles really have a different eye? He picked these as soon as he came in.’

The two items Edmund selected were the shopkeeper’s masterpieces, made with great effort from rare ebony wood—worthy of being presented before His Majesty the Emperor, he thought.

“No, My Lord. Both are one of a kind—I spent five years making them… Even for a fortune, I couldn’t make them again.”

Despite his confidence, the shopkeeper answered nervously under the Duke’s gaze. Silence fell, so deep one could hear a swallow.

“Um… would you like to see them in action?”

The shopkeeper, eager to impress the noble, took courage.

Hesitating at Edmund’s unreadable expression, he wound up one of the music boxes the Duke had chosen. Though he did it daily, his hands trembled.

As the spring wound, a tune familiar to children learning piano played. At the same time, atop the palm-sized music box, a girl holding flowers spun around with a puppy, dancing.

“Oh…”

It was beautiful. Even Hans, who’d suggested buying jewelry instead, was moved by the clear notes and intricate movement.

Edmund was satisfied. It was exactly like the music box in his memory.

‘If things went as they did before, the maker would gain wealth and fame two years from now.’

When Edmund was twenty-four, a famous playwright from the southern principality happened to buy two music boxes from this shop. Later, he proposed to his lover, an actress, gifting her the two music boxes as his ‘source of inspiration.’

When that story spread, nobles flocked to the shop to order music boxes, bringing the owner great wealth…

But now, those two music boxes were in Edmund’s hands.

Would the shopkeeper, who had originally gained such luck, now lose it and keep his humble store?

Would the playwright, losing his proposal gift, still be able to keep his love?

How much would the world change in Edmund’s hands?

Time would tell.

“I’ll take these two.”

The music box slowly stopped as the spring unwound.

The time Edmund had changed began to flow slowly.

❖ ❖ ❖

The music boxes were poorly packaged for their quality. Hans, unable to resist meddling, repeatedly urged the shopkeeper to fix the packaging, then finally exploded and dragged the Duke outside.

“Here, please wait a moment! I may be in my fourth year as your aide, but I can’t let you carry a box looking like that!”

Hans crossed to the textile shop across the street and spent a whole gold coin on expensive cloth. Then he wrapped the gifts himself in the carriage.

All he did was wrap them in cloth and tie a string from the shop, but the finished product looked quite presentable.

“Ahem. How do you like it? I’m quite useful outside the office too.”

The carriage, carrying the eager-to-be-praised aide, Edmund, and the silent knight, set off. The destination, Earl Roang’s house, wasn’t far from the shopping district.

As the carriage headed south, the scenery changed, and fresh green plains spread out.

“Wow. Country living wouldn’t be bad if it’s like this.”

Used to the bustling city shops, Hans hummed as he gazed at the peaceful road. Soon, the Roang mansion appeared at the end of the straight path.

‘For some reason, I have a feeling I’ll be coming down this road often in the future.’