Chapter 5.7

“Wait a moment.”  

“Ah!”  

A faint gasp escaped her lips.  

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”  

Startled, Pharone quickly let go and spread his hands wide, as if to show he meant no harm.  

“I just wanted to talk a little longer…”  

Though his expression was gentle now, Elena had seen it—the flash of something sharp and dangerous in his eyes when he grabbed her arm.  

Pharone seemed incredibly unstable at that moment.  

Suddenly, Diana’s warning not to be alone with him came to mind. 

Had she sensed this unease all along?  

“No, I really think you should rest. We can talk later.”  

“Pearls! Didn’t you say before I collapsed that you wanted to see the pearls in person? How about we talk about that?”  

“P-pearls?”  

“Yes. My father’s vault is filled with an extraordinary number of pearls. They were harvested this year, and their brilliance is beyond imagination. You wouldn’t believe how radiant they are.”  

He had just slipped up, though he seemed completely unaware of it.  

He had said the pearls were harvested ‘this year’. But weren’t pearls supposed to be unavailable anymore? How could there be so many of them?  

Though she feared what Pharone might do if his mood shifted again, she needed to learn more about the pearls. This information could be crucial for the Grand Duke.  

“Will… you show them to me?”  

“If you wish, there’s no reason I couldn’t. How about we chat over some tea?”  

“…Just for a moment.”  

Pharone’s face lit up with delight.  

It was then that a cold voice echoed through the hallway.  

“What are the two of you doing right now?”  

The Grand Duke strode toward them with a stern, icy expression, quickly grasping Elena’s wrist.  

“We were merely having a personal conversation.”  

Pharone, who Elena thought would be too intimidated to even look the Grand Duke in the eye, surprisingly responded calmly.  

“There’s no reason for you to have any personal conversations with my fiancée.”  

It was unexpected, even for the Grand Duke. His sharp expression and curt tone exuded a chill so intense that even Elena felt frozen in place.  

Considering her plans, he shouldn’t be acting so angry here.  

Pharone had agreed to show her where the pearls were, so she couldn’t just tell him to stop and wait. It was a truly awkward situation.  

Standing between them, Elena darted her eyes back and forth, gauging the tension.  

“It’s not as though I’m forbidden from speaking with only a Grand Duchess candidate, is it?” 

Pharone said challengingly.  

Why was he being so defiant?  

Pharone stared intently at the wrist the Grand Duke was holding. Suddenly, she felt the grip on her wrist tighten.  

“Perhaps you didn’t understand me. This is a warning.”  

The Grand Duke said. 

His soft voice took on the low, menacing tone of a predator.  

“Don’t be alone with my woman. It’s extremely unpleasant.”  

He called her ‘my woman’.  

‘My woman.’ And he said it was unpleasant for her to be alone with someone else.  

The serious atmosphere didn’t match the way Elena’s lips twitched. She lowered her head to hide her expression, but she couldn’t completely suppress the corners of her mouth from curling upward.  

She knew it was just an empty statement. The Grand Duke was probably annoyed by Pharone’s constant defiance.  

Even so, she couldn’t help but feel a flutter in her chest.  

“Well, she hasn’t been officially confirmed as the Grand Duchess yet, has she? I-I believe Lady Elena still has plenty of opportunities to meet other men.” 

Pharone stammered, though he stood his ground.  

To her surprise, Pharone was bold enough to argue back against the Grand Duke, whose current demeanor was enough to intimidate anyone.  

His courage was, if nothing else, commendable.  

“Yes, as you said, she hasn’t been confirmed yet. But doesn’t that also mean she could become the Grand Duchess at any time?”  

At this point, Elena almost wanted to cheer Pharone on. His provocations were prompting the Grand Duke to say things she wanted to hear.  

“T-that’s unfair! You’re deliberately leaving her no choice but to stay by your side. That’s nothing but petty possessiveness!”  

“…”  

For a moment, the Grand Duke’s expression faltered. Pharone, sensing an opportunity, turned to Elena.  

“Lady Elena, you should decide. Will you come with me to talk, or will you follow His Grace, the Grand Duke?”  

For some reason, Pharone looked very confident.  

To Elena, however, it was an utterly foolish question.  

As much as she wanted to learn about the pearls, it was ultimately for the Grand Duke’s sake. If he didn’t want her to, there was no point.  

Without hesitation, she answered, 

“I’ll follow the Grand Duke.”  

She would follow him, no matter where he went or how far. That had always been a given.  

Pharone’s mouth fell open in shock.  

Elena couldn’t understand why he looked so betrayed. It was as if a long-time lover had suddenly abandoned him.  

“I truly appreciate you guiding me around the island today, but I was thoughtless. I am the Grand Duke’s woman, so I won’t be alone with you again.”  

The Grand Duke’s woman. 

Even as she said it, her lips twitched. Since those words had come from him first, he couldn’t argue against them.  

She bowed slightly to Pharone before tugging on the Grand Duke’s arm. He followed her lead without resistance.  

Once Pharone was out of sight, the Grand Duke suddenly stopped in his tracks.  

“What were you thinking, trying to go with that man? Do you know how little time has passed since what happened? How can you be so careless?”  

His face twisted with anger, but Elena could sense the concern behind it.  

Though she felt sorry for making him worry, she couldn’t help but smile.  

“I was only planning to talk with him briefly. I’ll be more careful from now on, so don’t worry too much. Oh, by the way, Pharone said his father’s vault is filled with pearls harvested this year. I think there’s a good chance he’ll show us the vault.”  

“Enough about the pearls!”  

She had expected him to show interest. She thought he would praise her, like last time, for gathering useful information.  

But instead, he raised his voice in frustration.  

“What?”  

“This is the end of it. You’ve won the bet. Once we return, I’ll grant you your wish as promised, so you should step back now.”  

“But the ledger still hasn’t been—”  

“We’ll get the ledger after we catch him on the spot. That was the plan from the beginning anyway.”  

“But I promised to help you. We’re almost done now.”  

“I’m saying this because you’re not helping at all. Even today, for example. It’s fortunate that that idiot was so clueless; otherwise, it could’ve turned into a huge problem. Don’t get involved in this anymore. And especially, don’t ever get tangled up with him again.”  

There was no denying it. If Pharone had picked up on anything suspicious, it could have ruined everything.  

Elena couldn’t argue back. She could only nod in agreement.  

* * *  

Pharone stood frozen, staring blankly at the direction where Helio and Elena had disappeared. It was only after a long while that he managed to move his staggering body.  

Elena’s unhesitating choice of the Grand Duke had left him deeply shaken.  

He had been so sure she would choose him. Even if she didn’t, he had thought she might at least hesitate for a moment.  

Everything had seemed fine just this morning. He had been convinced that she liked him as well.  

Was it just my overconfidence? 

No matter how many times he replayed it in his mind, that couldn’t be it. She had smiled so beautifully at him…  

He had thought they had confirmed their feelings for each other when he held her in his arms. But now, even that seemed like nothing more than a dream.  

The soft, warm sensation of her skin and the faint fragrance that lingered were still so vivid. It was impossible to believe it wasn’t real.  

‘I won’t be alone with you again.’

Where had it all gone wrong? Was it when I collapsed outside?  

The thought that his unmanly behavior might have cooled her interest in him made him feel utterly pathetic.  

Pharone had grown up on Anes Island, accustomed to its scorching sun and heat.  

So why? Was it because I had been too nervous? Of all times, why did I have to collapse so pitifully in front of her?  

Clutching his throbbing neck and dragging his unsteady legs, Pharone cursed his bad luck.  

The pain from his fall earlier was unbearable, and it seemed like nothing was going his way today.  

Then, as if waiting for him, someone stepped into his path.  

“Is your date with Lady Bellacita already over?”  

It was Bianca, another candidate for the position of Grand Duchess.  

She was dressed in a deep red gown, her appearance strikingly elegant. The boldness of her attire, which might have overwhelmed others, seemed perfectly natural on her.  

“I wasn’t feeling well, so I came back early. And it wasn’t a date; I was simply showing her around the island.” 

Pharone replied.  

He didn’t have the energy to engage in conversation with her. All he wanted was to return to his room and rest.  

He tried to brush past her with a vague response, but Bianca didn’t seem inclined to let him go.  

“Whether it was a date or not, it’s all the same. Surely you’ve already made plans to meet her again?”  

“No. It wouldn’t look good for a Grand Duchess candidate to be seen getting too close to someone like me. That’s why I can’t talk with you for long either, Lady Bianca.”  

Pharone suddenly recalled Helio’s sharp warning not to be alone with “his woman.”  

As much as he wanted to ignore it, he couldn’t dismiss the Grand Duke’s warning entirely. Besides, Bianca was a nuisance at the moment.  

“Are you planning to give up and let it go just like that?”  

Pharone’s steps faltered at her words.  

It was as if she could read his thoughts.  

“…What are you talking about?”  

If I didn’t give up, then what? What else could I possibly do?  

“To me, it seemed like Lady Elena also had feelings for you. In fact, it looked like she was trying even harder to catch your attention.”  

The light that had faded from Pharone’s eyes suddenly reignited.  

Bianca’s words, as though she had peered directly into his heart, were more than enough to fan the flames of his emotions.