115. I Think I’ve Fallen in Love
Just as Bianca was getting closer to where Luka was hiding and trying to remember the horse’s identity,
“Bianca?”
She turned around at the familiar voice.
“Sister!”
Luka finally exhaled the breath he had been holding as he watched Bianca running towards her sister with joy.
He felt self-conscious belatedly, realizing how undignified his position must have looked with his long legs folded and his whole body crumpled behind the grass.
No, that wasn’t important right now.
Bianca had come to the capital.
He had vaguely thought she would come for Nikolai and Katya’s wedding, but he hadn’t expected to see her again so soon.
He had also forgotten about the ball welcoming the delegation.
In fact, he had heard that Bianca, who had been sickly since childhood, rarely came up to the north for such events.
That’s why he had been thinking carelessly.
He hadn’t dreamed she would come up to the capital early before the wedding to see her sister as well.
‘What should I do now?’
The ball was an official event that required mandatory attendance.
Though he could skip it with a plausible excuse like having caught a cold and fearing spreading it at the party, his father, Duke Oblonsky, would never let that slide.
Unlike other families, he was the type who strictly enforced noble duties even on his youngest son, like welcoming distinguished guests at such official occasions.
Inside him, the joy of seeing his beloved Bianca again, even like this, fiercely battled with the torment of having no way to quell his love for her.
While his worries deepened, Katya was simply hugging her sister tightly, happy to see her.
She might have recognized Luka’s horse right away, but she was completely distracted by jumping around excitedly with her sister.
“Whose horse is this?”
The Smirnov family’s servant who had come to retrieve the Orlov Trotter muttered while looking at Luka’s horse.
“It seems to have gotten lost. We should take it to the Spring Palace and find its owner.”
Bianca said while still hugging her sister.
Fortunately for Luka, before either sister could become suspicious, the servant took his horse along with the Orlov Trotter.
“Anyone would think you haven’t seen each other in years.”
Alyona, the family’s lady’s maid, said while shaking her head.
Though her words seemed critical, her face was also full of smiles.
Having looked after the Smirnov sisters since they were young like a nanny, it was a heartwarming sight for her, knowing how close they were.
“So you’re the Alyona I’ve heard so much about!”
Brunhilde exclaimed happily upon seeing her.
“You know me?”
“I’ve heard a lot about you from Her Highness. I’m Brunhilde, Her Highness’s lady’s maid and physician.”
Since only the Grand Ducal couple had briefly stopped by the Smirnov mansion to greet them before Katya’s entourage came up to the capital, this was Brunhilde’s first time meeting Alyona.
She had really wanted to meet this senior servant who had long served such an unpredictable tomboy lady.
“Ah, I see! Nice to meet you. You must have your hands full, really.”
As soon as she heard Brunhilde’s introduction, Alyona seemed to feel a sense of kinship, nodding in understanding while holding her hands with both of hers.
The two sisters and two lady’s maids paired up and walked towards where the carriages were parked in a cheerful atmosphere.
“By the way, why did the carriages stop?”
“Ah, the carriage wheel got stuck in the mud on the way and wouldn’t move. We almost collided with another carriage coming from the side road.”
“What? Is anyone hurt?”
“No. Fortunately no one was injured. Duke Oblonsky has his coachman helping out.”
“Duke Oblonsky?”
As she said this, Katya passing by the Oblonsky family’s carriage spotted him standing next to her father in front of the Smirnov family’s carriage.
The central figure in Oksana’s faction, her husband Nikolai’s enemy.
As she watched his profile with a tense expression, he turned his head at the presence and met Katya’s eyes.
“Ah, here come your two daughters. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Duke Oblonsky greeted her with a gentle smile.
Despite clearly knowing he would be the one most opposed to her becoming Grand Duchess, his attitude was surprisingly friendly.
She also knew he had been trying to bring Duke Smirnov into his faction through some work behind the scenes.
Now that her father had become the Grand Duke’s father-in-law and his vote in the noble council went to Nikolai, he must be even more desperate to persuade him.
Though she knew all this, Katya smiled back at him.
“I’m glad to meet you too. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
It was the same line Brunhilde had used with Alyona earlier, but this one had a sharp edge to it.
“Is that so. We’ve gotten the wheel out, so you should be able to depart now.”
“Thank you for your help, Duke Oblonsky.”
“Not at all. I only did what was natural.”
“Then we’ll be going first.”
“Take care.”
The two dukes who had greeted each other so warmly that one might think they were old friends each got into their carriages.
Katya, who was about to get into the carriage after her father, stopped while holding the door and said.
“Father, we’ll walk.”
“Why not ride?”
“It’s a short walk anyway and I want to walk with Bianca.”
“I want to too, Sister!”
“Then do as you wish.”
Baptiski said with a pleased expression while looking at his daughters.
He felt at ease letting them go like this since the Grand Duke’s knights were still behind Katya.
After sending her father’s carriage ahead, Katya followed the passing Oblonsky family’s carriage with a meaningful gaze.
As expected, he headed toward the Summer Palace after taking the fork in the road.
Duke Oblonsky’s expression glimpsed through the window was cold and stern, unlike when they had exchanged greetings earlier.
There was no way the Smirnov family would look good in his eyes.
Moreover, he didn’t even know that Baptiski’s second daughter was the woman his son loved and thoroughly disapproved of her.
“Sister, what are you doing?”
Lost in thought, she snapped back to attention at Bianca’s voice calling her.
Katya spoke as she walked toward the Spring Palace with her sister.
“I didn’t expect you to come now too. You came up early to look for that first love, right?”
“……Yes, that’s right.”
Bianca answered after a slight delay.
Come to think of it, she had completely forgotten about searching for her first love all this time.
That brown-haired boy who had saved her from drowning when she was young.
Originally, she planned to come north to find him.
“Sister, have you seen Mr. Tranov in the capital?”
“Tranov? Ah, you mean your tutor, not Boris? No, not yet. I haven’t been here long either.”
“Ah……I see.”
“You and Father came really quickly. Even though you left after us. Did you take a shortcut?”
“Father has traveled between the south and north often, so wouldn’t he know the shortcuts better than brother-in-law’s party who only stayed in the north?”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Though her sister’s expression remained stiff throughout her answers, her sister didn’t notice it was because of the tutor.
Katya was completely hopeless when it came to matters of the heart.
“But why do you look so unwell?”
“Huh?”
“Your expression suddenly got so dark. Are you feeling dizzy? Maybe you’ve been in the sun too long?”
Bianca hadn’t even realized she was making such an expression.
At that moment, she realized.
The reason her heart had been fluttering so much on the way up north wasn’t because of her first love, but because of the thought of seeing her tutor Luka Tranov again.
While her sister and brother-in-law were away on their secret trip, she had spent a lot of time with Luka.
That’s when these subtle feelings for him had started to sprout.
Even when he left without saying goodbye, leaving only a letter, tears had welled up from feeling hurt.
‘What should I do, Sister?’
I think I’ve fallen in love with that man.
***
A few days later, when Mikhail belatedly heard from the Summer Palace staff about how Katya had gotten one over on his mother, he burst out laughing.
“Even if it’s difficult at first, wouldn’t it be much better to just join hands with His Highness the Grand Duke and become a free Grand Duchess? As Grand Duchess you’d live in luxury—if you were Her Highness, which would you choose between being Grand Duchess or a spy?”
“How can she say such things? She’s really an unusual woman.”
“Haha…… Indeed.”
Irina responded with an awkward laugh.
She was currently taking a walk with Mikhail.
This too was an opportunity deliberately created by Oksana for them to get closer.
“I should have been there! I’m so disappointed I couldn’t see Mother’s flustered face with my own eyes!”
“By the way, will you be participating in the friendly jeu de paume match with the delegation nobles?”
Jeu de paume was a sport where players hit a ball back and forth over a net with rackets.
At those words, Mikhail’s pride seemed wounded as he said seriously.
“Of course not. I absolutely hate exercise.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to—he couldn’t because of his weak body.
Never mind hitting the ball, he’d be lucky if he didn’t embarrassingly fall flat on his face in front of everyone while running around on his weak legs.
“Right. Sports games are just sweaty and boring.”
“I like watching them though. Women usually aren’t interested in sports. Miss Smirnov is the strange one for liking to run around using her body.”
Though she had tried to change the subject for once, the tactless Mikhail brought up Katya again and snickered.
In the end, Irina’s face hardened as she became sulky.
“She’s become quite famous even though it hasn’t been a week since she came to the Hersen palace. Seeing how Your Highness keeps talking about her.”
