Chapter 11. Why Are You Coming Out From There

Elena pretended not to notice Rudfelix’s gaze and focused only on the table. The table was filled with appetizing dishes, featuring a main course of salami decorated with roses.

If it had been a course meal, she could have simply focused on each dish as it arrived, but Rudfelix had ordered everything to be brought out at once, so the maids had lined up to place all the dishes on the table.

Elena lowered her overwhelmed eyes from the dazzling array of elaborate dishes. She wondered why he had ordered such an extravagant spread for an ordinary meal rather than a banquet.

‘I’d be stuffed if I ate all that.’

From salad to soup, there was enough variety that she could decide the order herself.

“Nothing suits your taste?”

“These are excellent dishes—I was just deciding what to eat first.”

It was awkward to say that his gaze made her too uncomfortable to reach for anything.

When she had made such a fuss about him not looking at her until his brow furrowed deeply, now his lips tightened at even similar comments.

‘I really must be a fool.’

If she had firmly stated when she would finish reading and sent him away, they could have parted easily, but she had dug her own grave.

Having been forcibly pulled away from her book where she had been lost in reading, she felt disoriented and hardly had an appetite.

“Go ahead and eat.”

“I’ll enjoy the meal.”

She first took a spoonful of the manageable soup, and the warm, savory liquid gently heated her insides.

Though surprised by the variety of dishes, once she tasted the food, her body responded appreciatively.

The bread was soft and moist, and the salad dressed with tangy sauce stimulated her appetite.

As Elena concentrated on her meal, Rudfelix picked up his glass with a satisfied look.

“Why aren’t Your Highness eating?”

“I have no appetite.”

“I didn’t have an appetite either.”

It seemed absurd that he would bring her here to eat and then claim he had no appetite himself.

‘I really don’t understand him.’

She never did, but today was particularly confusing, especially after he had secretly hidden and then appeared.

Elena finally put down her fork and picked up her napkin. She dabbed at her mouth where nothing was smudged, signaling that she had finished her meal.

Rudfelix looked at the plate in front of Elena with slight traces remaining. She had eaten, but not enough to satisfy him.

“Will you be able to hold out until dinner?”

“If I get hungry, I can have a snack.”

She mentioned that tea with cookies would be sufficient to stave off hunger, but this only irritated him.

“Elena, Aide.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“How can you sustain yourself with so little food, especially with your already weak body? Eat more.”

“I appreciate your concern for me.”

Elena neatly wrapped up the situation. He couldn’t force her to eat more—she was a grown adult, not a child.

Rudfelix called a maid and gave new instructions. The dishes on the table were removed exactly as they had been brought in.

“Let’s talk over tea.”

In an instant, the food was cleared away and the table was neatly reset with teacups, dried leaves, cookies, and cake.

Just like that?

“I’ve eaten my fill. Rather, why are you trying to feed me when you haven’t eaten anything yourself?”

He had always been an attentive superior, so she had let it slide a few times, but today it was completely incomprehensible.

“So you can gain strength and work.”

Elena seriously covered her body with her hands.

“You’re not fattening me up to eat me, are you?”

This was a joke she often made.

She had said this to her father several times too, and eventually he started buying bread slathered with cheese, saying he was raising his daughter to be a pig.

“It would be better if you gained weight.”

Rudfelix muttered, looking at her wrist as she covered her chest.

“Then you could hold stacks of books without wobbling.”

After going around in circles, it all came back to books. Since she couldn’t even hold books properly, he was feeding her—at this conclusion, Elena had something to say.

“Even so, books with gold-plated covers are never light enough to lift easily.”

Who would even think of making such covers?

Elena quietly looked at the plates before pushing one toward Rudfelix.

It was a fruit tart.

“You need to eat to work with energy.”

‘Actually, you’re the one who needs to eat, not me.’

How could he survive on water alone?

Only after confirming that Rudfelix had picked up his fork did Elena turn her attention to her teacup.

“Make preparations to leave within this week.”

“Understood.”

She wasn’t surprised, as the schedule Senior Quiet had given her included returning to the Grand Duke’s territory soon.

He had already hinted at this before, so she wouldn’t have minded leaving tomorrow, but he had given her a few days’ grace.

‘That’s fortunate.’

She had unfinished business, and now she had enough time to handle it before leaving.

‘I wonder if Father will be there when I go home today?’

Her father, left alone, must be quite lonely. Though busy managing the merchant guild, having family at home made a big difference.

As she considered whether to stop by the guild before going home, she suddenly remembered something she had forgotten.

‘Oh!’

The debutante ball.

The debutante ball at the Imperial Palace was obviously impossible to attend, and even the one her father was preparing separately would need to be rescheduled.

Perhaps it would need to be canceled depending on the circumstances.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

She already enjoyed many privileges, so she had no regrets if it had to be skipped.

As her cluttered thoughts cleared, Elena’s expression became more relaxed.

“I’ll prepare.”

“Do you have any prior engagements?”

“No, none.”

Elena had pushed aside all her personal matters.

* * *

After sending Elena away, Rudfelix fell into contemplation.

He had watched her continuously in the library and throughout the meal, but he still didn’t understand her.

Thanks to this, Elena returned with an even more exhausted body, while Rudfelix remained thirsty for answers.

“I’ve become curious about her.”

Hines, the butler, overheard Rudfelix’s muttering.

“Are you referring to Lady Elena?”

“I understand that as my aide she would adapt to me, but she doesn’t act like a noble lady at all.”

Even after the ball, Elena’s lifestyle hadn’t changed.

There should have been many social gatherings and banquets inviting her, as she had become famous at the ball.

“She spends her days diligently as your aide.”

“Indeed.”

There had been several female aides before Elena.

Those women, while working as aides, often rushed to their personal appointments.

Disliking this, at some point he had tried to avoid appointing noble ladies as aides. If Count Jellisto hadn’t sent her to repay a debt, he would have rejected Elena as well.

“Indeed, there was one who secretly ran away when a designer was coming, wasn’t there?”

Hines recalled the incident with a smile.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason those women had quit being aides.

“There’s probably no one who draws such a clear line between public and private matters as Lady Elena.”

The butler was well aware of the fierce rumors that had circulated. She could have attended evening banquets even while working as an aide during the day, but there was no mention of her appearing anywhere.

“Perhaps Lady Elena simply isn’t interested?”

“Is that the only reason?”

“Shall I call Jace?”

The butler mentioned the man in charge of the Grand Duke’s information, but Rudfelix gave no answer.

“Your Highness?”

“I don’t like background checks.”

He didn’t like the idea of saying he knew about her because he had investigated her separately.

He wanted to know about her purely out of personal interest, and it didn’t feel right to involve others to investigate Elena Jellisto.

“You meet Lady Elena every day now, so you can learn enough about her. However, you cannot see the past that has already gone by.”

He was trying to say that investigating her wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

It’s not as if Jace would secretly hide in her house if he were to move.

Rudfelix, who had been watching Elena get into her carriage through the window, stepped away.

“Jace left with Quiet. Leave him be. That matter is important too, so collect the information they send well.”

“Then I’ll assign someone else.”

“No, I’ll find out myself.”

The butler, not knowing what Rudfelix was thinking, simply cleared the path that had blocked him.

“I’m going to meet Count Jellisto.”

If he wanted to know about Elena’s past, he should meet her family.

Meanwhile, there was another man watching Elena getting into her carriage.

“Looks like she’s going home now.”

The playful smile disappeared from the face of the man resting his chin on his hand, replaced by languor.

“Are you referring to Lady Elena Jellisto, the count’s daughter?”

Viscount Tozille, who was playing chess in front, looked out the window following Crown Prince Suharto.

He immediately recognized the woman who had become famous at the ball thanks to Grand Duke Rudfelix and his own master.

“Yes.”

“You seem to like the count’s daughter.”

“She’s refreshing, shall I say?”

She had a charm different from other women.

“When she brought back the gift I gave her and refused it.”

There had been rumors circulating among a few about a woman who had refused the Crown Prince’s gift. Viscount Tozille, one of Suharto’s closest confidants, had heard it but only now learned that it was Elena.

“When I realized I could use the gift as an excuse to meet her again, my disappointment was only momentary.”

He paused with the rook in his hand.

Wouldn’t one normally be upset if a gift was refused? He smiled as if satisfied just to have a reason to meet her again, nearly making the Viscount drop his rook in surprise.

When had his master ever spoken so fondly of any lady?

A genuine smile appeared on his face, which usually concealed his true feelings behind a mask of smiles.

“Shall I investigate Elena Jellisto?”

Suharto tapped his chess king with his index finger, weighing his options.

“Find out everything, down to the smallest details.”

“I’ll deploy the Silver Knights.”

When he mentioned one of the imperial knight orders, Suharto moved his king one square to the side.

“Do that. Focus especially on finding out what she likes and compile it.”

After moving his piece, Suharto looked out the window again. Though the carriage had already left for the outer palace and was no longer visible, he continued staring outside.

With the king wide open, countless ways to capture it came to mind, but Viscount Tozille was content to take just one of the Crown Prince’s pawns.

‘I should have moved the queen, not the rook.’

Perhaps the only piece capable of capturing such a proudly standing king would be none other than the queen.

* * *