Chapter 1.7

Helio returned from the training grounds and headed straight for the bathroom.  

It wasn’t just because he wanted to wash off the sweat. More than that, he wanted to clear his mind of the thoughts that kept surfacing.  

Without hesitation, he undressed and submerged himself deep into the bathtub.  

“I’m always on your side, Your Grace.”  

That clear voice kept echoing in his head.  

“Even if everyone else turns their back on you, I’ll always stand by you.”  

He closed his eyes, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling, but her face appeared in his mind as well, forcing him to open his eyes again.  

His heart felt restless. 

“On your side.” No one had ever said such words to him before.

Even his own birth mother hadn’t been on his side.  

He didn’t entirely believe those words.

How could someone say such words so easily when they had only just met a short while ago?  

More than that, the fact that there was actually someone who could utter such shameless words without even a hint of embarrassment—it was astonishing in itself.  

What kind of thought process did she have?  

One thing was clear: she must have grown up very differently from him. She must have been raised with an abundance of love.  

It didn’t suit him at all.  

In truth, the first time Helio encountered Elena that day wasn’t at the training grounds.  

It was on the path leading to the training grounds. Somehow, she had known to wait there, pacing back and forth alone.  

“Oh my, Your Grace. Good morning.”

He was momentarily flustered by her sudden greeting.  

“The morning air is so refreshing. Are you heading somewhere this early?”  

It seemed like she was talking to herself. She hadn’t noticed Helio standing a short distance away.  

She bent her knees slightly, as if bowing to the air, then shook her head and waved her hands, as if realizing she had done something wrong.  

Next, she glanced at the nearby window, adjusted her hair, and smiled with satisfaction.  

She repeated this same routine several times, pacing in circles.  

Helio, who had been staring blankly at her, snapped back to his senses. After hesitating for a moment, he eventually turned and walked away.  

She’d leave once she got tired of waiting.  

Although it was a longer route, he chose a different path.  

Helio’s body sank deeply into the bathtub as if sliding into its depths.  

He had said he wouldn’t avoid her, but he had done so instinctively.  

It was uncomfortable. No matter how many times he tried to push her away, she kept approaching him on her own.  

‘Why does she go to such lengths?’  

“Because I like you, you, Your Grace. I want to stay by your side because I like you. I want to know more about you, Your Grace”

Helio’s head burst out of the water with a sharp gasp.  

She had claimed it was love at first sight. There was nothing different about her compared to other women.  

‘It’s all just superficial.’  

He tried to dismiss it with a scoff, but irritation suddenly surged within him.  

‘Why does everything about this bother me so much?’  

Helio stared blankly at his left arm.  

The sensation of her small hand gripping his wrist still lingered.  

Her hands were so small and delicate that it wouldn’t have taken much effort to brush them off.  

A bitter laugh escaped him.  

It was ridiculous. The way she had pushed through all those knights to stand in front of him with her arms outstretched, as if to block his path.  

Did she think I was being bullied? Was she planning to protect me with that small body of hers?  

Helio suddenly pressed against his chest.  

This time, it felt as though his heart was being tightly constricted.  

‘What do you want to do?’  

The golden eyes that were always so clear wavered unsteadily today.  

* * *  

After finishing his bath and changing into fresh clothes, Helio entered his office, where Dean greeted him as if he had been waiting.  

“You’re late.”  

“Is there something urgent?”  

“Not really.”  

Through his glasses, Dean’s gray-blue eyes sparkled with curiosity.  

Helio, who always adhered to a strict routine without any deviations, had been acting differently lately.  

Of course, Dean already knew the reason.  

‘Did he run into Lady Elena again this time?’  

Dean subtly observed Helio’s expression as he handed over a large stack of documents.  

“These are the papers that need your approval. It’s the matter I mentioned before, so you just need to sign on the last page.”  

As Helio took the documents, Dean stared at him for a while before tilting his head curiously and asking, as if in wonder,  

“Did something good happen?”  

“What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden?”  

“You’re smiling.”  

“Who is?”  

At Dean’s remark, Helio’s face immediately hardened, erasing any trace of the fleeting smile that had crossed his lips.  

Dean’s eyes narrowed at the sight. With a meaningful smile, he asked again,  

“Why are you late today?”  

“……”  

“Did you perhaps meet Lady Elena?”  

“……”  

“Why not take this opportunity to officially invite her in?”

“Stop spouting nonsense.”  

The rebuke came immediately.  

He didn’t respond to questions, but he was quick to react to this.  

Dean had always hoped Helio would get married someday.  

Two parts of it were out of genuine concern for his superior, while the other eight parts stemmed from the hope that having a spouse might soften Helio’s sharp personality a little.  

‘Maybe not. He does seem different from usual, though.’  

While Dean was lost in thought, Helio, wearing his usual indifferent expression, quickly skimmed through the documents.  

The papers detailed the purchase of protective gear and wooden swords to aid in the knights’ training, along with a breakdown of the costs.  

And then, the earlier incident came to mind again.  

The dumbfounded expression on her face when she realized everything had been a misunderstanding.  

Helio’s eyes curved ever so slightly.  

“You did have something good happen.”  

Dean, not missing a thing, latched onto it.  

Helio, who habitually hardened his face at such remarks, now touched the corner of his lips.  

Come to think of it, there was no reason to try so hard. 

With his lips drawn into a long line, he spoke in a languid tone.  

“Well, it wasn’t exactly a good thing, but if you’re asking about something amusing, then yes, there was.”  

“You really smiled… Wait, why—what’s with that look? You’re scaring me.”  

Dean unconsciously frowned at the unfamiliar sight.  

He was used to seeing twisted smirks when Helio mocked someone, but this genuinely pleasant smile was something entirely new.  

Perhaps it wouldn’t be long before this castle had a lady of the house of its own.  

A spark of excitement flickered in Dean’s gray-blue eyes.  

‘Well, I suppose I’ll just wait and see a little longer.’  

* * *  

That day, the atmosphere had been unusual since morning.  

The typically quiet Grand Duke’s manor was abuzz with activity.  

Whenever the household servants gathered in groups to whisper amongst themselves, they would scatter in surprise the moment anyone approached them.  

They claimed to be too busy to chat, and there was no way to stop them.  

Judging by their hurried movements back and forth, they weren’t entirely making excuses.  

Anne was no exception.  

“Anne, is something happening today?”  

“Oh, it’s a bit noisy, isn’t it? Everyone’s busy preparing for a guest.”  

“A guest? Who’s coming?”  

“Have you heard of the Roiza Ducal Family?”  

“Of course I have. Who wouldn’t?”  

The Roiza family was one of the empire’s four great ducal houses, a renowned name known by all.  

“I heard their lady is incredibly beautiful. Have you ever met her? Is the rumor true?”  

Instead of answering, Anne looked dreamy as she asked.

“I’ve… seen her before. She is beautiful, I suppose. But why are you asking about her?”  

Feeling uneasy, Elena pressed her again. A faint sense of foreboding began to creep in.  

“Oh, wow! We’ll get to see her in person. I only heard about it this morning, but apparently, Lady Roiza is arriving at the Grand Duke’s residence this afternoon.”

“What?”  

“Oh my! Are you alright?”  

She jumped up in surprise, only to bump her knee against the tea table and fall back into her seat. The pain was so sharp that tears welled up in her eyes.  

“Are you alright?”  

“Oh, yes. I’m fine. But tell me more—what do you mean Lady Roiza  is coming here?”  

“Well… I heard that late last night, word came from the Roiza family. Apparently, she’ll be staying here as a candidate for the position of Grand Duchess.”  

It was like a bolt out of the blue.  

Another candidate for the position of Grand Duchess? She had never even considered the possibility. No, she had been completely at ease about that matter.  

It was only then that she realized how foolish she had been, content with her peaceful daily life.  

She wasn’t the only candidate for the position of Grand Duchess. Yet she had overlooked such an important fact.  

“So, His Grace ordered the guest room to be prepared.”  

What was this supposed to mean?  

“His Grace? When it was me, he tried to send me away immediately.”  

“Well… you came so suddenly, my lady. Maybe His Grace was just caught off guard? This time, he simply ordered us to prepare a room. Everyone’s been bustling about for no reason…”  

Anne trailed off, realizing she might have said too much, and tried to cover it up.  

But Anne was right. The situation was different from when she had arrived.  

When she had received the official letter, she had rushed over without even sending notice. On top of that, the Grand Duke hadn’t known anything about it.  

Regardless of how things had started, she was now staying here, so the Grand Duke had no grounds to refuse the other candidate.  

Even though she understood this logically, it didn’t improve the sinking feeling in her chest.  

“…My lady? Are you alright?”  

Anne looked at her with concern as she sat there in a daze.  

She could only muster a weak smile in response.  

And that afternoon, the once-quiet Grand Duke’s residence welcomed the arrival of the second candidate for Grand Duchess.