Chapter 36

Duke Tereon Dinever, Vivian, and Ian. The Dinever family, along with all the people of the duke’s residence, gathered in the lobby.

The servants couldn’t hide their excitement at the Crown Prince’s visit.

At the very front of the wide-open door stood Duke Tereon, Vivian, and Ian. Vivian, standing between her father, Tereon, and her younger brother, Ian, nervously fidgeted with her fingers.

“Father. Why is he taking so long? My legs hurt.”

It had been less than five minutes since they started standing, but Ian Dinever twisted his body restlessly. Seeing her brother’s antics, Vivian let out a small laugh.

The tension in Vivian’s face eased as a laugh escaped like air from a balloon.

“He passed through the gate in the Lanechell region an hour ago, so he should be arriving soon. Stand properly and greet His Highness the Crown Prince with respect, Ian.”

At his father’s words, Ian’s cute lips twitched even more.

Just as Ian’s patience was reaching its limit, the carriage carrying the Crown Prince began to appear at the far end of the main gate.

The carriage drew closer. As the emblem of a three-headed eagle on the carriage became clearer, Vivian’s heart started to pound wildly.

Calm down. Calm down, Vivian.

Vivian clenched her fists tightly and took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.

Clop, clop.

The horses pulling the carriage pounded the ground vigorously, approaching rapidly towards where Vivian stood. Several carriages came to a stop in front of the main residence of the Dinever estate.

Among them, the door of the most ornate and largest carriage, which must be the one Loius was in, swung open.

Thump, thump.

The sight of the door opening seemed to play out in slow motion before Vivian’s eyes. When the door opened and a pair of shiny black shoes appeared, Vivian wanted to close her eyes tightly.

“Is that him, sister? The handsome one, right?”

Ian asked in a small voice, tugging at Vivian’s dress.

“No, um… that person is not His Highness the Crown Prince…”

The person who got off the carriage first was not Louis but Arnold Bynes.

Why is he here…?

Seeing an unexpected person appear, Vivian frowned deeply. At that moment, the slightly closed carriage door swung open again, revealing Louis.

Caught off guard by Arnold’s appearance, Vivian felt her breath catch at the sight of Louis.

She had heard that many young noblewomen in the capital couldn’t sleep because of Louis, but she had thought it was just Rosie’s exaggerated jokes. However, Rosie had been right.

Although his childhood face remained, the adult Louis was different. The last time she saw him, he was 14, and now at 20, Louis was so attractive that Vivian wanted to close her eyes.

As Louis stepped out of the carriage, he slowly turned his head. His deeper golden eyes moved slowly towards Vivian.

Meeting his golden gaze, Vivian flinched and looked away. Her heart, which had calmed down after seeing Arnold, started beating irregularly again.

Her pounding heart quickly spread its intensity, making her fingertips tingle.

“Greetings to His Highness the Crown Prince of the Empire.”

At Duke Tereon’s greeting, Vivian realized she had been standing there, staring at the ground without greeting.

“Greetings to His Highness the Crown Prince of the Empire.”

Vivian hurriedly bent her knees to greet him. Following her lead, Ian, who was standing next to her, also greeted.

“It’s been a long time, Duke.”

“Yes, Your Highness. You’ve grown so much that I almost didn’t recognize you. The Emperor and Empress must be very proud.”

“I am humbled by your praise.”

Standing right in front of Vivian, Louis conversed with the Duke, but Vivian couldn’t bring herself to look at him properly and kept her head bowed.

His low voice reached Vivian’s ears, different from the voice she remembered from childhood, sending chills down her neck.

Louis handed over a letter from the Empress and exchanged a few more pleasantries with the Duke.

“Please make yourself comfortable during your stay in Raspol.”

At the Duke’s invitation, Louis nodded and took a step towards Vivian.

“Vi…”

As Louis opened his mouth to speak to Vivian.

“Hello! I’m Ian Dinever!”

A clear, ringing voice interrupted him from his feet. Louis’s golden eyes slowly shifted downward.

A small boy with brown hair, resembling Duke Tereon, was looking up at Louis.

“So, you are Ian Dinever.”

“Yes! I’m the younger brother that Vivian loves the most.”

Vivian blinked at Ian, who suddenly grabbed her hand. Ian was holding her hand so tightly that his small hand trembled.

Vivian felt the warmth from Ian’s hand, and her cold fingers, tense with nervousness, began to warm up. She held her brother’s hand tightly in return, touched by his adorable possessiveness.

Louis slightly lifted one corner of his mouth as he looked at Ian Dinever.

“Vivian. It’s been a while.”

Louis greeted Vivian, shifting his gaze from the child to her. His voice was so plain that Vivian simply nodded.

“Yes. It has been a while.”

Vivian mustered the courage to lift her head and look at him. Louis was also looking at her.

“Have you been well?”

“Of course. I have been well.”

“…I see.”

After their brief conversation, a moment of silence followed. Ian, holding Vivian’s hand, looked between the two and shook her hand.

“Sister, let’s go inside.”

“Huh? Oh… yes.”

Vivian smiled softly at Ian and patted his head.

“Please come inside. You must be tired from the long journey, so we’ve prepared everything for you to relax.”

Duke Tereon, who had been watching them quietly, invited Louis and Arnold into the mansion.

Louis nodded towards Tereon and stepped into the duke’s residence. Following the butler, Tereon, Vivian, Ian, and Arnold followed behind him.

Six years.

It had been six years since 14-year-old Louis and 12-year-old Vivian got engaged, a considerable amount of time.

At 20, Louis and 18, Vivian, they met again as adults.

***

“Wow! I was really surprised! Is that really the same lady? Incredible!”

Louis, who had changed into comfortable clothes, was looking up at the sky of Raspol, which still shone brightly despite it being autumn. Behind him, Arnold was chattering excitedly.

“She looks completely different. If it weren’t for those peridot-colored eyes that I remember from when she was younger, I wouldn’t have recognized her. No, I definitely wouldn’t have.”

Annoyed by Arnold’s noisy chatter, Louis uncrossed his arms and turned around.

“You were whining about being tired earlier. Why are you jabbering here instead of resting in your room?”

“Do you think I can rest now? Louis, how can someone change so much?”

With a frown on his face, Louis started walking to kick his annoying friend out of the room. At that moment, Arnold’s eyes widened as he pointed behind Louis.

“It’s the lady. Lady Vivian.”

At Arnold’s words, Louis turned around. In the garden filled with flowers unique to the southern region, Vivian appeared.

“She’s the spitting image of the Duchess. The spitting image. Only the hair color is different; don’t you think they look exactly alike?”

Arnold’s words didn’t reach Louis’s ears.

As the duke’s residence came into view, Louis felt a peculiar excitement. Traveling all the way to Raspol in the south was a time-consuming task, something Louis had been reluctant about.

However, contrary to his initial reluctance, Louis found himself subtly excited upon arriving.

And then Louis realized it. He had wanted to meet his fiancée, Vivian.

Would her messy hair still be the same? Would her eyes that sparkled momentarily and her subtle smiles still be the same?

He was curious.

Stepping out of the carriage, Louis looked for the 12-year-old Vivian. But he couldn’t find her. He had momentarily forgotten that he was now 20 and Vivian was now 18.

The 18-year-old Vivian was very different from how he remembered her.

As Arnold mentioned, she closely resembled Duchess Daisy, who was renowned for her beauty in the Empire. For a moment, he thought the Duchess, who had passed away six years ago, was standing there.

However, traces of her childhood remained. The curly brown hair, meticulously brushed and tied, and the light freckles on her nose indicated that the beautiful lady resembling the famed Duchess was indeed Vivian Dinever.

Still, Louis felt relieved to see her face brighter than the last time he saw her.

“Louis, you’re lucky.”

Arnold, now leaning against the window, was resting his chin on his hand, gazing at Vivian.

“Who would have thought Lady Vivian would change so much? It’s like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.”

At Arnold’s words, Louis pressed his foot down on Arnold’s.

“Ow! That hurts! Mmph!”

Louis clamped his large hand over Arnold’s mouth, stifling his cries of pain.

“Calling the future Crown Princess a caterpillar?”

At Louis’s low voice, Arnold tried to pull his foot out while rubbing his hands together, but the more he struggled, the more it hurt.

“Watch your words from now on. We are adults now and must take responsibility for what we say.”

After warning his friend, Louis slowly lifted his foot.

Tears welled up in Arnold’s eyes as he hurriedly pulled his foot out of his shoe and clutched it with his hands.

“You could have just said it… Your Highness.”

Ignoring Arnold’s grumbling, Louis turned his gaze back out the window. Vivian seemed to be out for a walk with her brother. She held Ian’s hand in her right hand and a book in her left.

“Still the same.”

The 12-year-old girl who loved books seemed to still love them as a adult.

Though he couldn’t hear clearly, Vivian looked at Ian with loving eyes as he chattered away.

Watching them, Louis wondered about the possessiveness Ian showed.

“Arnold.”

Louis called out to his friend, who was still crouched on the floor, clutching his aching foot.

“What! …Yes.”

“Do you get jealous if a man shows interest in your younger sister?”

“What are you talking about! Well, I don’t know what kind of man she’ll bring home, but I’d be really worried about him.”

Listening to Arnold, Louis pondered Ian’s emotions.

“Was my first impression that bad?”

At Louis’s musing, Arnold lifted his head sharply.

“You’re just realizing that now?”

As Louis frowned at his words, Arnold, startled, quickly hid his foot and continued speaking.

“I mean, you look a bit cold. You’re handsome, but your lack of expression makes you hard to approach. My sister calls you an ‘ice prince’ because of that.”

At Arnold’s words, Louis touched the corner of his mouth with his finger.

“Children are difficult.”

Arnold finally understood why Louis had said that. It must be because of his first meeting with his fiancée’s younger brother. Nodding, Arnold spoke up.

“Shouldn’t you be more concerned about Lady Vivian Dinever than Ian Dinever right now?”

At Arnold’s words, Louis narrowed his eyes.

“It’s been six years since you’ve only exchanged letters. Can you still say that Lady Vivian has feelings for you, Your Highness?”

Louis chuckled at Arnold’s words and looked out the window. The two of them had disappeared. He belatedly tried to follow their traces, but they had already left the garden.

Without hesitation, Louis turned away from the window and walked towards the sofa.

“That’s none of your business.”

Arnold watched Louis’s confident back, hoping and praying that Lady Vivian would give Louis a hard time.