Please Don’t Let Go Of That Leash - CHAPTER 3 (Part 9)
CHAPTER 3 – First Date (Part 9)
Katrina’s plan, hastily conceived and driven by impatience and emotional turmoil, failed. It was perhaps an expected outcome, given the rush and the susceptibility to emotions.
Moreover, Ria’s lack of trust in Katrina’s words played a significant role. Partly because of the mixed messages from the enemy, but also because the image the dukes portrayed and the stories she told were too different from what Ria knew. This remained unchanged even after Ria heard firsthand accounts of their past.
It was a clear indication that the dukes were hiding their true nature from Ria completely. It was the biggest double whammy Katrina hadn’t expected.
Subsequently, their relationship deepened even more, or more precisely, the bond between Rune and Ria deepened.
It was from then that Eden began to feel restless every day.
From the beginning, he had felt a pang of jealousy watching Ria rely more on Rune than on himself. The limited time they spent together due to not living in the same mansion only added to his frustration. Still, he could accept and overlook it to a certain extent.
But when he’d gotten the feeling that she’d trusted Kahin more than him ever since she’d met the First Duchess, he couldn’t overlook it anymore.
He became afraid that she might not look at him the same way anymore. For the first time in his life, he felt anxious every day.
Because Eden didn’t realize that Ria might find it easier to accept Kahin, who expressed strong emotions of his own, rather than them, who were supposedly in a relationship predetermined by the gods, he couldn’t help but feel that way.
He reviewed all his actions from the beginning until now. Then he found one thing that he regretted.
The night he held her against his will. So Eden thought he should first make amends for his behavior. But as always, things didn’t go as he wished.
The very next day, the Crown Prince summoned the two dukes.
It had been quite a while since they had tea together in the drawing room rather than in the study filled with documents. As they grew older, the time they spent together before becoming adults dwindled due to increasingly busy lives.
But it wasn’t completely severed. Even after becoming adults, Cherta still made time for them occasionally. It was because he wanted to mend the relationship between the two dukes, which had deteriorated, and also because he wanted to rekindle old memories.
The tea time, always hosted by Cherta, flowed in a way where he mediated between the two dukes who were fighting over trivial matters. Fortunately, not only Cherta was lost in memories, but the fight between the two dukes did not escalate as much as it did back then.
Of course, it wasn’t as calm as it is now.
“Oh, yes. Did you enjoy your little game yesterday?”
Cherta broke the silence, setting down his teacup.
“Both of you took a day off on the same day, so I thought something fun must have happened.”
“…….”
“So I also went out to take a break after a long time. Since you two weren’t there, there was no need for a meeting anyway.”
He smiled at the two pairs of eyes staring back at him.
“It felt good to go out after a long time. The people were lively too.”
“…….”
“Also, seeing you two on a date.”
“That…”
“I also learned that there was something you didn’t tell me.”
Suddenly, his gaze turned sharp like that of the power of a prince.
“Duke Rune Astina, Duke Eden Carlisle, do you have anything to say to me?”
The two remained silent and exchanged glances. It was a meaningless last act of defiance.
“Why didn’t you tell me that the myth was true?”
But at the accusation, they both clenched their jaws tightly.
Eden had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, even after entering the palace. He hoped they were summoned for some other reason. Even though he knew for sure that it would never happen. Even though he knew what he feared would eventually come true.
“Do I have to visit the Astina Duchy myself to get an answer?”
It was an expected event, but it still felt uneasy. Especially for Eden, who was feeling increasingly anxious. Unable to help it, he opened his mouth as his voice became more tense, clenching his fist so tightly that his veins bulged.
Cherta paused for a moment as they told her of Ria’s presence, of her healing, of the events that had brought them here, and of what had happened so far.
‘I was drawn to her…….’
In truth, he still hadn’t conclusively determined whether his feelings were love or merely due to the circumstances as described in the myth. Despite searching and waiting for so long, despite struggling with overwhelming joy, he couldn’t confidently assert anything.
Cherta lifted his head and looked at the two dukes. Perhaps they felt drawn to her as he did too. However, they claimed it wasn’t indecision like his, but love. Cherta, tapping the arm of the sofa with his fingers, eventually asked.
“So, what was the reason you didn’t tell me?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Eden sighed before responding.
“Honestly, at first, Rune and I both wanted to keep her to ourselves. But eventually, the three of us ended up having her… and we didn’t want anyone else to be involved anymore.”
“That includes me as well, I suppose.”
“Yes.”
“But if the Duke of Astina had felt the same way, he would have prevented your contact in the first place. How did you end up by her side? Surely, Rune wouldn’t have silently accepted it.”
Sharp as ever with his questioning. Eden took a quick sip of his tea before speaking again.
“Because Ria accepted me.”
The next Emperor, who would lead the empire, understood everything from that statement alone and came to a conclusion.
Then all I need is for her to accept me.
He believed that if he faced her again and had a conversation with her, he could be certain about his feelings. And perhaps he could understand what it meant to be stabilized by her, just as the myth suggested. In fact, deep down, he was already yearning for her so much that he could hardly bear it anymore.
“There will be a grand banquet at the palace soon.”
The heads of the two nobles shot up. They had a feeling that unwanted words were about to come.
“I will invite her there. She’ll need her noble status, so I’ll prepare it and send it along with the invitation.”
“Your Highness, that’s…!”
“Duke.”
Rune, who stood up at the thought of showing her in front of the people, started to protest, but Cherta cut him off coldly.
“That’s an order.”
No matter how powerful, the Crown Prince’s words couldn’t be defied. That was the relationship between the two dukes and the imperial family. A relationship that neither side could betray. The two dukes would support the imperial family.
In the end, Rune had no choice but to sit back down without saying a word.
“Send a magic potion too, to change her appearance. A potion that works even within the palace.”
It was fortunate that Cherta had no intention of letting anyone know of her abilities or existence.
No magic would work in the imperial palace, which was heavily enchanted. Even if they changed Ria’s appearance with a magic potion, once they entered the palace, the effect would disappear. That was what worried Rune and Eden.
However, if Cherta allowed it, things would be different. Although Rune still didn’t want to send her out, he had no choice but to do so, it was an order.
“…Understood.”
He had to conceal her existence as much as possible.
A few days later, an invitation for both Rune and Ria to attend an imperial banquet was sent to the Duchy of Astina, along with a potion and the identity of ‘Leviar’.
It was a family from a long, long time ago, somewhere in the cold north, a family that few people knew much about anymore.