Chapter 6 – Change (Part 6)

The mystery of the atmosphere that had piqued Aaron’s curiosity was revealed by lunchtime. As soon as Aaron went to the Administrative Palace’s dining hall and sat with his colleagues, one of them asked him:

“Aaron! They say Duke Grendel had a secret rendezvous with the Princess by the lake behind the Central Palace last night?”

Aaron barely avoided spitting out his food.

“What are you talking about? His Grace was… Wait, Princess? Which Princess? His Grace had other matters last night.”

“Why are you so clueless about these rumors? Is it because you’re so close to him? Who else would we call Princess but Princess Karinsa?”

Hearing that, Aaron felt relieved and laughed.

“Haha, what nonsense. That’s even more absurd than when Princess Karinsa suddenly appeared in the Administrative Palace dining hall.”

Then another junior official sitting nearby chimed in.

“It’s true! My uncle’s colleague at the Academy has a half-brother whose nephew works as a servant in the main palace, and they said the Duke and Princess Karinsa were walking very intimately by the lake last night. Even His Majesty and the Queen were watching from behind, cheering them on.”

Aaron dropped his cutlery. Only then did he realize why so many people had been giving him curious looks since he entered the palace. Everyone was intensely interested in whether Duke Grendel and Princess Karinsa were getting along and what would happen to his current fiancée.

While the palace seemed like a secretive place, rumors spread alarmingly fast. It was only a matter of time before the story, leaked by someone who witnessed the previous night’s events, spread throughout the palace by morning.

Aaron knew that rumors tend to get exaggerated in the telling, but it seemed certain that the two had met.

‘So, was His Majesty’s special instruction last night a meeting with Princess Karinsa? And knowing that, he still went? What about Madam? Is he already looking elsewhere despite having a fiancée? Everyone at the residence is working hard to improve relations between Miss Serenze and the Duke. How should I act? If there’s a problem between them, whose side should I take? Should I just blindly side with the Duke?’

Aaron was unaware of one thing. The King’s letter to the Duke had implied a confidential discussion about state affairs, which led Cassius to the lakeside under false pretenses. However, Aaron, who couldn’t imagine the King deceiving Cassius, lost his appetite and continued to poke at his food, caught in a web of unanswered questions.

***

Ronan appeared right after lunch to announce that the preparations for comparing the fabrics Elysia had initially selected were ready. Seeing this, Elysia couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘Oh.’

Ronan usually dressed as neatly as Cassius when visiting the Ducal residence. However, today, because he had been working directly with the workers during lunch, he was only wearing a shirt, having removed his outer garment. 

His shirt sleeves were rolled up, exposing his forearms, and a couple of buttons at his neck were undone. His slightly curly auburn hair, damp with sweat, was tousled over his forehead, and moisture collected on his neck and bare chest, visible through his shirt.

Elysia, who had been unconsciously admiring the sight, snapped back to reality when Ronan noticed her gaze and looked at her quizzically. 

Elysia suddenly realized her own preferences. She hadn’t noticed Ronan Hass’s objectively handsome features due to the rigid atmosphere of the Duke’s residence.

‘My brain must have been frozen by the atmosphere, preventing me from processing that fact. Now that I see him, he’s more attractive than I thought.’

However, Elysia soon had another doubt.

‘If both the Duke and Ronan Hass look better with a disheveled appearance… Oh no, could this level of preference be considered perverted? Am I okay? I should be okay, right?!’

Elysia, who was supposed to be the Duke’s fiancée, felt like trash for having looked at another man as if entranced. She suddenly wanted to slap herself. It seemed she had been doing too many unusual things, affecting her sanity.

‘Get a grip. I need to finish this troublesome task quickly so I can stop having strange thoughts and return to my peaceful life.’

To smooth over the awkwardness caused by staring at Ronan, Elysia took the lead and walked down the prepared hallway, temporarily covered with cloth.

Ronan, following behind, was busy analyzing the look Elysia had given him. Until now, the gaze she directed at him had only conveyed indifference or frustration. No matter how well he dressed, there was no reaction.

Yet, she didn’t seem to be infatuated with the Duke either, as initially expected. He hadn’t seen them together often, but they never appeared to be a couple deeply in love.

Neither the Duke nor he had appearances that would be outshone anywhere, making him wonder if Elysia simply had no interest in men. But the look she had just given was different. Based on his experience, it was at least a look of interest, if not one of attraction.

‘What’s different today?’

As Ronan followed Elysia, pondering this, the butler beside him cleared his throat loudly, catching Ronan’s attention. The butler whispered to Ronan.

“If you’re not trying to seduce all the maids here, you might want to button up, Ronan Hass.”

Ronan laughed lightly at the comment and began buttoning up, only to have a revelation strike him like lightning.

‘This is it! The disheveled look!’

Having figured out how to sway Elysia, Ronan Hass smiled brightly. For a young lady of a noble family who must always maintain proper deportment, it wasn’t an unusual taste, yet he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it before.

Ronan pretended to button up but subtly tore off the button instead, then adopted a very embarrassed expression.

“Oh dear… It seems to have come loose while I was working and just fell off.”

The butler couldn’t hide his displeasure.

***

Several hours later, Ronan and the workers from the trading company declared they would now leave. Elysia, without realizing it, beamed at them with a smile of joy. Ronan almost commented on how dazzling her smile was, but held back due to the butler’s glare.

After Ronan left through the central entrance of the Ducal residence with the trading company people, Elysia, having seen them off, turned around to see the Grendel family’s staff still gathered.

“Butler Pedro, Head Maid Grace, and everyone else. You’ve all worked hard today. Let’s wrap up and return to our usual routines. I’ll return to my room…”

“Madam, it’s now time for you to review the related budget.”

Elysia was taken aback by the butler’s words.

“I said I would follow the existing arrangement where professionals manage the budget, and I would only receive a set amount for living expenses.”

“Apart from the overall budget management of the family, you must personally oversee this textile replacement project. Going forward, you will be responsible for managing the entire decoration of the Ducal residence, so you must supervise that part of the budget.”

The butler held the ledger with gleaming eyes, as if he had been waiting for this moment. The head maid and other staff also looked at Elysia, hoping the future mistress would quickly take charge of the budget and transform the house.

“Is it really necessary to do it now? I mean, everyone’s worked hard today, and butler, you must be tired too, so let’s do it tomorrow. Tomorrow. Ah, being indoors all day makes me feel like I need fresh air. I’ll go for a walk for my health. I need to stay healthy for future generations. I’ll be back. No one follow me!”

Without waiting for a response, Elysia left the mansion almost at a run, heading for the walking path.

‘No, no, no! I’m at my limit. I need to hide somewhere alone for a moment to gather my thoughts. If I keep going like this, I’ll explode, or I’ll collapse!’

Elysia hurried to the garden, intending to go straight to the former Duchess’s garden. However, since it wasn’t the usual walking time, it was difficult to reach there unnoticed due to the knights patrolling the garden and the staff moving around.

‘Should I just go back to my room? No, at other times it might be fine, but right now, the entire staff, including the butler, seems determined to change the Ducal residence quickly. They’ll chase after me and harass me. I need to go somewhere no one can find me!’

Elysia quickly circled around the Ducal residence, searching for a place to hide. Then she discovered a storage room attached to the west wing, where food supplies were stored.

‘There!’

Since it was still quite a while before dinner, it seemed unlikely that anyone would come to fetch supplies right away. It was also a place where no one would expect a noble lady to be hiding, making it the perfect spot.

Elysia entered the storage room with the door ajar. Inside the large storage room, shelves lined the aisle, serving as a corridor. Further inside, there was a corner where sacks of food were piled up, providing a place to sit. Elysia plopped down on the sacks and let out a loud groan.

“Oh dear, this Duke’s house is exhausting. I didn’t even want this marriage proposal, but I endured it thinking there wouldn’t be such bothersome tasks, and now look at the trouble. I should have just said that the dark color suits the Duke’s house perfectly and lived as I always did. The Hass trading company is bringing in goods like crazy… Oh, how annoying. Oh, my poor fate.”

Elysia, resting her chin on her hand, shook one leg like a street loafer and lamented aloud like an old woman.

Rustle!

At that moment, a sound came from between the shelves on the opposite side of the aisle. Elysia froze in place.