97. Brother’s Woman
“Your Highness, I know you’re not sleeping. I saw your eyes open earlier.”
Irina looked up at Mikhail and shyly spoke.
What a bother.
Mikhail frowned before giving up his act and climbing down from the tree.
“It’s nice to see you here, Lady Irina. Have you been well?”
Despite his feelings, his face was full of deliberately crafted warmth.
Irina’s family was as influential among the boyars as Oksana’s family.
This was why Oksana was determined to make allies of Ruslan’s deceased wife’s family.
Thanks to his ambitious mother, Mikhail had to maintain a certain level of facial expressions and mannered attitude.
It wouldn’t be proper for Mikhail, the younger brother, to marry before his brother and sovereign, Nikolai, took a Grand Duchess.
Though they weren’t even officially engaged yet as Mikhail’s marriage was postponed until the Grand Duke’s national marriage, they were practically betrothed.
“I heard you returned to the palace, but I’m only seeing you now. Every time I came to pay my respects, you weren’t around…”
“I had some busy matters…… I apologize for the unintentional slight.”
The lies flowed naturally without even having to sugar-coat them.
It was an impromptu response. In truth, he spent every day idling, with nothing busy to do.
If anything, he was busy running away from his tutors.
Moreover, whenever he heard Irina was coming, he would escape whether by jumping through windows or running down stairs.
He feared that meeting her would lead to serious marriage discussions.
She was already acting like his fiancée and chasing after him like this. He could already imagine how trapped he would feel once they were engaged.
‘Why should I marry when even my brother hasn’t?’
Mikhail didn’t want to enter the grave of marriage at such a young age.
He still wanted to enjoy the freedom of being single like his brother.
He had no idea that Nikolai had already taken a wife and was lost in newlywed dreams.
“It’s alright. You don’t need to apologize. It felt like playing hide and seek with Your Highness. It was fun.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“The Summer Palace has no more hiding spots since the tutors have colluded with the palace staff, the Spring Palace has too many eyes with all the people coming and going, and you never go to the Winter Palace…”
Mikhail hadn’t even glanced at the Winter Palace since his father passed away and Nikolai became Grand Duke.
Just as his mother had taken the Summer Palace from his brother’s mother, he didn’t want his brother to see him as a thief full of greed too.
The Winter Palace belonged solely to his brother.
It was right that his brother’s son should become the next Grand Duke.
“Since the Autumn Palace, which is the Grand Duke’s office space, has been empty for a long time and has no people, I thought you would be here in the back garden.”
Irina said with a smile. It was an extremely sharp deduction.
“Wait, did you know I was avoiding my tutors?”
“Yes. Whenever I visited the Summer Palace, I often saw tutors searching for Your Highness. Even today, the imperial studies tutor was running through the corridors. Don’t you feel sorry for him?”
“This is who I am.”
Mikhail suddenly said that to her as she smiled warmly.
“Pardon?”
“I’m a child who runs away from studying despite being an adult. Does Lady Irina really want to marry someone like me? If you chose my brother instead, you could become Grand Duchess right away without having to go in circles like this.”
Mikhail, who always ran away from his brother, tutors, mother, and Irina, threw a direct pitch for the first time.
In the Summer Palace, he was inevitably under his mother’s constant surveillance.
Even if his mother wasn’t visible nearby, everyone in the Summer Palace was Oksana’s people.
They were her eyes and ears.
Having met Irina here away from his mother’s gaze, Mikhail wanted to clearly state his intentions and properly resolve this matter.
“It would be a lie to say I have no desire for the Grand Duchess position. But I like kind men. Like Your Highness, Mikhail.”
“You think I’m kind?”
Mikhail asked incredulously.
He would be second to none in terms of irritable and eccentric temperament.
Though he had maintained politeness in front of Irina due to being conscious of his mother, Irina must have heard about his true personality since she had ears.
“At least Your Highness doesn’t kill people like the Grand Duke.”
Ah, so that’s what she meant?
Mikhail let out an involuntary laugh.
“And you listen to what I say like this. The Grand Duke especially doesn’t mix well with women.”
“Wouldn’t anyone be better than my brother if those are the two points of comparison?”
“I like Your Highness Mikhail. I always have.”
Irina confessed with a trembling voice.
After failing to make their eldest daughter Lyudmila the Grand Duchess, her family had turned their attention to their second daughter—Irina.
The death of their son-in-law Ruslan, who was receiving successor training as the next Grand Duke, was an unexpected tragedy.
If Ruslan had died after becoming Grand Duke, Lyudmila could have at least received all the honors as a former Grand Duchess, but he died before that so even that failed.
Though she stayed in the Hersen Palace as part of the Grand Duke’s family, she was far from the center of power.
They needed to be more careful than ever to prevent such a thing from happening again.
So they were currently keeping one foot in both Mikhail’s faction and the Grand Duke’s faction, watching the situation.
They even planned to enter Irina in the Grand Duchess selection if it was held.
By indirectly showing through her participation in the selection that they could switch sides at any time, they intended to keep Oksana and Mikhail on edge so they wouldn’t look to other families.
If their daughter caught Nikolai’s eye and became Grand Duchess, that would be perfect too.
But what they overlooked was Irina’s heart.
She had been in love with Mikhail since she was young.
“If Your Highness’s maternal family and our family join forces, we can put you on the Grand Duke’s throne.”
“What are you saying right now?”
Mikhail covered Irina’s mouth with a serious expression.
These terrifying words from her mouth constituted treason.
He quickly looked around wondering if anyone was there, and let out a sigh of relief when he saw no one.
He had thought she was docile, but she had a more formidable personality than expected.
Like they say, you never truly know someone until you experience them firsthand.
“If you don’t want to die, never say such things again. We could both die under Hersen’s laws even without my brother taking action.”
“Are you worried about me right now?”
“I’m worried about my life! Because I don’t want to die. And I don’t want to disappoint my brother either.”
Irina snickered at those words.
“If only the Grand Duke thought of Your Highness the same way you think of him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Seeing how he got married without saying a word to his only brother, I wonder if he truly thinks of Your Highness as family.”
“My brother got married? Speak clearly.”
“The rumors are already all over the palace. They say the Grand Duke arrived at the palace today with a married woman. They say she’s Katarina from House Smirnov. You didn’t know?”
From the tree where Mikhail had been sitting, the Spring Palace was visible.
He had noticed people heading to the Spring Palace but hadn’t paid much attention since there were always many people coming and going there.
Mikhail turned and ran off somewhere.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”
***
Meanwhile in the Summer Palace, Irina’s father, Duke Oblonsky, was discussing the situation the Grand Duke had created with Oksana.
“The Grand Duke has truly backstabbed us.”
“Indeed. To think he would take Duke Smirnov’s daughter as his wife. How utterly insolent.”
“I will convene the noble council. Since they haven’t officially held the national marriage ceremony yet, I will argue that this marriage is invalid.”
“No, this matter doesn’t need to go to the noble council. I will resolve it at tonight’s dinner.”
Oksana lifted the corners of her mouth in a cold smile.
No matter how much Nikolai rebelled, he couldn’t escape from her palm anyway.
Though everyone bowed at his feet and saw him as a ruthless tyrant worthy of being called the ‘Bloody Grand Duke’, in Oksana’s eyes he was still a young and weak boy.
She still vividly remembered how he had trembled after witnessing his brother’s death not long after losing his mother.
‘Nikolai, you can never defeat me.’
Just then, Mikhail burst through the door.
“Greetings to Your Highness Mikhail.”
He passed by Duke Oblonsky who was paying his respects and ran straight to his mother.
“How many times have I told you not to run so indecorously in the palace unless war has broken out?”
“Mother, is it true that Brother has returned?”
“I shall take my leave now, Your Highness.”
Seeing that the mother-son conversation would likely be lengthy, the Duke bowed and left the room.
As soon as the door closed, Oksana turned from the window with a grim expression.
“You skipped your lessons again today.”
“Why should I take imperial studies lessons? I clearly told you I have no intention of becoming a ruler.”
“You’re already twenty years old. Isn’t it time you grew up?”
“I heard Brother got married. He’ll have an heir soon too, so isn’t it time you gave up your ambitions, Mother?”
Blood vessels popped on his mother’s forehead at those words.
“Ambitions? What exactly have I been ambitious about?”
“Mother!”
“It was all originally mine. I’ve only reclaimed what was mine. So you, as my son, should enjoy all of this.”
Oksana spoke with eyes burning with desire.
