Chapter 18. I Can’t Do It

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Raye, who was heading to the training grounds with Theo, glared fiercely at the back of his head.

Theo, who had become sensitive without Yuelina in sight, felt the killing intent emanating from Raye.

“Are you trying to kill me?”

Theo stopped in his tracks and looked down at Raye.

Raye, with her hand on her waist, panted and spat out the words she had been holding in.

“Why do you put up a wall when Her Highness the Grand Duchess tries to make conversation by asking this and that?”

Theo hesitated at Raye’s words.

It wasn’t a complaint about why he had been skipping training and becoming lazy lately, or a confession that it must be hard to serve under such an incompetent lord like him.

It was an unexpected rebuke about why he was ignoring Yuelina’s attempts at conversation.

“…I haven’t ignored her.”

“Then why are you acting like this? Do you perhaps not like Her Highness the Grand Duchess? Are you in a position to be picky about liking or disliking her right now?”

“……”

“And why are you, Your Highness the Grand Duke, judging whether you like her or not? If Her Highness the Grand Duchess says she likes you, you should be grateful and say thank you!”

Raye felt like her blood was boiling.

“Yuelina doesn’t like me.”

“Of course not! How could she like a man who can’t even communicate!”

Theo hung his head low at Raye’s words.

It was shocking to realize that it seemed like he was ignoring Yuelina when she was trying so hard to engage in conversation.

Could Yuelina have felt the same way? He suddenly became anxious.

“Your Highness the Grand Duke. Can you imagine how unfamiliar this place must be for Her Highness the Grand Duchess? That’s why you should treat her well.”

Raye felt a little sorry seeing her lord so dejected.

She spoke in a gentle voice, as if soothing a child.

“Raye. Perhaps, when you’re helping the Grand Duchess with her appearance…”

“Yes?”

“Has she ever mentioned anything she’d like, or something like that?”

Raye tilted her head at Theo’s sudden question.

She might have recommended shoes or clothes, but Yuelina had never said what she wanted to wear first.

“For example, something like jewelry.”

“No, she hasn’t.”

“Not even earrings?”

“Earrings, you say.”

Raye stared into Theo’s eyes. His face was filled with expectation.

Earrings.

There was only one pair of earrings worth mentioning for Theo.

“Did you perhaps give her the heirloom of Grand Duke Karenrose?”

Nod.

“And Her Highness the Grand Duchess isn’t wearing them?”

Nod.

Raye let out a deep sigh.

“Did you tell Her Highness the Grand Duchess that the earrings were your mother’s heirloom?”

“No.”

“That was really good of you.”

“What?”

“It would be burdensome, you know. If the first gift was your mother’s heirloom.”

Theo paused.

Was it wrong to give his mother’s heirloom as a first gift?

But he was going to give it to her someday anyway, and it belonged to Yuelina as the Grand Duchess, didn’t it?

In fact, all the jewels in the warehouse were like that.

He could give them to Yuelina whenever she wanted.

“Since it’s a gift from Your Highness, Her Highness the Grand Duchess might cherish it. She might be planning to wear it on important or special days.”

“……”

“And there’s nothing more foolish than giving a gift and then getting upset about why it’s not being worn.”

“I see.”

“Apologize.”

“Okay.”

Theo easily agreed with Raye’s words.

He felt ashamed of how he had treated Yuelina with a grumbling attitude for the entire week.

“You could just ask, you know. If she doesn’t like the gift.”

Raye clicked her tongue.

At first, Theo did want to ask.

Why she wasn’t wearing the gift he gave her, if she didn’t like it.

But he was a little afraid that Yuelina might confess that she didn’t like it.

Perhaps his gift wasn’t that precious to her.

After all, gifts can become precious or trivial depending on who gives them.

So in the end, he was afraid of getting hurt himself.

Now Theo found his own anxious feelings ridiculous.

He had acted coldly towards Yuelina because he didn’t want to get hurt.

To think he had made such a fool of himself.

He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t think straight when standing in front of Yuelina.

If she didn’t like the gift, he could have given her a gift she liked.

He could have just asked her straightforwardly.

He couldn’t do that and made Yuelina uncomfortable.

While showing it with his whole body to the extent that Ulysse and Raye noticed.

“Let’s go.”

“To the glass garden?”

“No. The training grounds.”

Theo needed to go to the training grounds.

He intended to order the knights to strike him instead of the training dummy.

“Your Highness!”

It was then.

A voice like an illusion echoed in Theo’s ears.

“It looks like you won’t be able to go after all?”

Raye pointed to the opposite side of the training grounds. Yuelina was approaching Theo with quick steps.

Raye bowed to Yuelina and ran towards the training grounds.

It seemed like she would be in the way if she stayed.

Yuelina stood in front of the frozen Theo and caught her breath.

Panting and exhaling round breaths, Yuelina was adorable today as well.

In front of this adorable crow-tit, a bear as big as a mountain had been throwing a tantrum.

What on earth had he done to this crow-tit who would startle and flee at just the sound of footsteps?

Theo couldn’t gauge how to wash away the sins of the past days.

No, should he push forward strongly since it had come to this?

Not wearing the earrings that were the heirloom of the previous Grand Duke.

Should he lie that it amounts to high treason?

And make her promise that she can’t take a single step out of the Phaenyx Principality and must live here for the rest of her life.

That didn’t sound bad either.

Since it had come to this, he should just be forceful and not let her move an inch.

“Your Highness, I came because I have something to tell you.”

“…Speak.”

It was when Theo’s mind was busily turning over how to keep Yuelina.

Yuelina held out a box she had brought from the tower.

Theo looked at the jewelry box in Yuelina’s hand.

It was indeed the box containing his mother’s heirloom.

The earrings he had now given to Yuelina.

It seems she didn’t like the earrings after all.

If she came running to return them, does she dislike the color red?

As Raye said, it seemed he should have thoroughly hidden the fact that it was his mother’s heirloom.

Right.

Even he wouldn’t believe a story about confining someone to the principality for not wearing his mother’s heirloom.

It might be better to ask what she wants, what she needs to have to stay quietly by his side.

“This, I heard it was Your Highness the Grand Duke’s… mother’s heirloom.”

What?

How did she know?

Damn it.

Yuelina’s face was full of apology.

It must have been burdensome.

She must have been thinking how burdensome it would be to live with a man who gives his mother’s heirloom as a first gift.

“That’s right. It’s one of my mother’s possessions.”

“I heard it was her only heirloom.”

Yuelina said, grabbing Theo’s lowered hand and directly handing over the box.

“It’s precious to Your Highness the Grand Duke… I can’t wear it.”

The box that seemed overwhelmingly large in Yuelina’s hands looked so small in Theo’s.

Theo had given it lightly, but Yuelina had received it as a heavy burden. He was truly sorry to Yuelina.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to burden the Grand Duchess.”

He sincerely apologized to Yuelina. He was worse than his secretary, Ulysse.

He should have carefully considered what Yuelina needed and given her a practical and light gift.

“No, that’s not it…”

“I was wrong. So please tell me if you need anything.”

But Yuelina shook her head vigorously.

“I can’t wear it.”

“I understand what you mean.”

“No, I really can’t wear it.”

“I understand.”

“I’ve never worn earrings before.”

“Yes, I wouldn’t have worn earrings either… What did you say?”

Yuelina furrowed her brows and stamped her feet.

“I’ve never worn earrings before, so I couldn’t wear them.”

Theo stared at Yuelina with a blank face.

Never having worn earrings meant she had never had her ears pierced.

Theo slowly opened his mouth.

“I’m truly, truly sorry.”

Women in the principality usually had their ears pierced around the age they entered the academy.

Even Theo’s mother, who was the Grand Duchess.

Even Raye, who had been going to battlefields since she was young, had her ears pierced.

That’s why everyone had overlooked the fact that Yuelina hadn’t pierced her ears.