Chapter 40

“Tia.”

The day after the Blessings Night ended, Vivian lay on the sofa, looking at the sunlight streaming through the window, and called for Tia.

Tia, who was sitting next to her on a chair sewing, looked up at Vivian’s call.

“What is love?”

Tia’s face twisted oddly at Vivian’s question.

“What do you mean by that? Love is love. Is there another kind of love?”

Vivian’s leg, draped over the armrest, swung back and forth. It was a rare moment of leisure, but Vivian was too lost in thought to enjoy it.

“Love between friends, love between family, and love between a man and a woman. None of them are easy, so why do people crave love so much?”

Tia thought her lady was making something simple sound complicated and resumed sewing the torn bag.

“Tia, how did you fall in love with Chris?”

Tia stopped sewing and looked at Vivian.

“Young Lady, isn’t it a bit inappropriate to bring up an ex-boyfriend?”

“…I don’t have a boyfriend now.”

“Young Lady?”

“Sorry.”

Vivian quickly apologized, then lowered her legs from the armrest and sat up. Sitting on the sofa, she slumped her shoulders and let out a deep sigh.

“What happened while I was gone yesterday?”

Vivian slowly shook her head. The open window fluttered the thin curtains, messing up Vivian’s hair. She brushed the messy hair out of her eyes and suddenly looked up.

“Tia, the book I gave you yesterday! Where is it?”

“Book? What book?”

“The book I gave you at the restaurant.”

“Oh… that book…”

Tia forced a smile, her lips trembling at the corners.

“Where is that book?”

“It’s… it’s not here.”

“Not here? Did you throw it away?”

“No way. Why would I throw away such a precious book?”

“Then where is it now?”

Tia’s eyes darted around to avoid Vivian’s gaze. She scratched her face awkwardly and spoke.

“Well… you know the maid in charge of the annex, Julia? She has it.”

“Julia?”

“Yes, I took it to my room yesterday, and Julia asked to borrow it. I didn’t know you’d want it back! But don’t worry, I told her to return it in good condition!”

Tia set her sewing aside and watched Vivian carefully. Her green eyes sparkled, ready to go find the book immediately.

“I’ll go get it, Young Lady.”

“Could you? Oh, and if Julia hasn’t finished reading it, she can finish before returning it.”

Tia shook her head and stood up.

“I’ll get it right now, Young Lady.”

Tia dusted off her skirt and headed for the door. She stopped and turned to look at Vivian, who was watching her with eager eyes.

“But, are you really going to read that book? Why?”

At Tia’s question, Vivian got up from the sofa, slipped her feet into her slippers, and walked to the window. Stretching as she looked outside, Vivian said,

“Oh, the weather is nice. Perfect for reading.”

Seeing Vivian obviously avoiding the question, Tia closed her mouth and left the room.

* * *

The only sound in Louis’s temporary study was the rustling of papers. The silence was broken by a knock at the door.

“Crown Prince, it’s Rayden.”

“Come in.”

Without looking up from his documents, Louis answered. Rayden entered, walked over, and stood before Louis.

“I’ve taken care of the matter you ordered.”

“How is Aitor?”

“Fortunately, he wasn’t seriously injured, and another mage he befriended at the magic school treated him, so there were no major issues.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Aitor asked me to deliver this to you.”

Louis took the envelope Rayden handed him and nodded.

Even after finishing his report, Rayden didn’t leave the study. Louis looked up at him.

“Do you have something else to say?”

“Well, um… yes.”

Rayden scratched the back of his head with his large hand, glancing at Louis before speaking.

“How about taking Lady Vivian with you to the capital this time?”

At Rayden’s suggestion, Louis began tapping his fingers on the desk.

“Is this the Emperor’s suggestion? Or the Empress’s?”

Louis wanted to know whose idea it was. Rayden awkwardly smiled.

“Haha. Does it matter whose idea it is? I just think it would be good for you two to spend time together before the wedding.”

Louis stared at Rayden, who was looking foolish. As the silence stretched, Rayden’s awkward smile faded, and he bowed his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Louis shook his head at Rayden’s apology.

“Vivian has been here for a long time, so she might find it difficult to adjust to the capital. It might not be a bad idea to go to the capital together before the wedding.”

Louis nodded and stood up. Rayden, blinking in surprise, hurried after him as he left the study.

“Where are you going?”

“To see Vivian.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“Are you just going to ask her to come with you out of the blue?”

“Yes.”

“Wait a moment!”

Rayden grabbed Louis’s arm.

“What are you going to say?”

“I’m going to ask her to come with me.”

Rayden sighed deeply and ruffled his hair.

“Sometimes, Your Highness, you’re so clueless about these things.”

Louis pulled his arm away and frowned.

“I don’t want to hear that from you.”

“But I have more experience in these matters than you do.”

Louis remembered how Rayden had walked around like a drenched puppy after being dumped by his girlfriend recently but decided to keep quiet.

“Were you planning to say that it would be good for her to get used to the social scene in the capital before the wedding?”

Louis nodded.

“Don’t say it like that. Say you want to be with her! That you want to spend quality time together in the capital before the wedding.”

“Why should I say it like that?”

“Well, because…”

At that moment, a sharp voice interrupted from behind Rayden and Louis.

“You don’t need to say it like that.”

Vivian stood there, holding the book she had bought at the festival.

“Lady Vivian.”

“Rayden, it’s been a while.”

“Yes… Haha. It’s been a while.”

Vivian passed by the stiff Rayden and walked over to Louis.

“Why do I need to go to the capital?”

At Vivian’s question, Louis glanced at Rayden standing beside him. Seeing Rayden sweating more than during training, Louis sighed softly and spoke.

“You’ve been in Raspol for too long since our engagement. I understand there were circumstances, but I think it would be good for you to spend some time in the capital, getting used to the social scene and the royal family before our wedding.”

Rayden flinched at Louis’s straightforward answer.

Vivian quietly looked into Louis’s eyes. He was tall, and she had to tilt her head back a lot to see his face properly. After staring at him for a moment, Vivian nodded.

“Alright. I’ll discuss it with my father. I’ll be going now.”

Vivian turned her back and walked back the way she came. Louis watched her until she disappeared from sight, his hands in his pockets.

“You’re regretting it a little now, aren’t you?”

“…”

“You should have listened to me.”

Rayden continued to chatter beside him. Though Rayden was always annoying, today he seemed even more so. Louis turned and headed back to the study.

“Don’t follow me.”

Rayden’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

Louis entered the temporary study set up in the Dinever mansion in Raspol and closed the door behind him. The door shut with a loud bang.

He walked over to the desk, sat down, and tried to focus on the documents in front of him. However, the words failed to register.

Eventually, Louis stood up, took the letter from Aitor, and moved to the sofa. Sitting in the plush chair, he carefully opened the sealed envelope and slowly unfolded the letter.

As he quietly read the letter, Louis folded it back up, closed his eyes, and pressed his throbbing temples with his fingers.

“I need to get to the capital quickly.”

Louis placed the letter from Aitor on the desk and left the study to meet with Duke Tereon.

* * *

“No!”

Vivian, who was preparing to go to the capital, paused when Ian burst into the room. Ian, his face red with anger, was breathing heavily.

“Sister, don’t go!”

“Ian…”

Ian’s gaze shifted to the luggage Vivian was packing. His brown eyes shook violently. Ian clenched his small fists and approached Vivian.

“Tell me you’re not going, sister.”

Climbing onto the sofa, Ian hugged Vivian’s neck tightly. He hugged so hard that Vivian’s body swayed.

“Ian…”

Vivian called Ian and patted his back. As she patted him, Ian loosened his grip. Slowly pulling away from Vivian, he met her eyes.

“Why… why are you going? Did the Crown Prince ask you to go with him?”

Ian’s brown eyes were slightly teary. Seeing this, Vivian smiled softly.

Seeing her expression, Ian roughly wiped his tears with his sleeve. His eyes, now tear-free, were filled with determination.

“I’ll go tell him it’s not okay! He can’t take you, he should go alone!”

“Ian, that’s…”

At that moment, Duke Tereon’s voice came from the doorway.

“Ian.”

Though not loud, the deep voice startled Ian, who jumped off the sofa and hid behind Vivian.

“Ian, shall we have a talk?”

“N-no!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ian refused, causing Duke Tereon’s neat eyebrows to twitch.

“Ian.”

With a deeper tone, Vivian stepped in.

“F-father, Ian is just…”

“Vivian, finish packing. We don’t have much time if we are to leave tomorrow.”

At her father’s authoritative voice, Vivian nodded. Seeing this, Ian’s eyes filled with betrayal.

As he was led away by the nanny, Vivian sighed, and Tia spoke up.

“You knew Young Master Ian would react like this. It wasn’t unexpected.”

“Still…”

Watching the closed door, Tia got up and approached Vivian.

“Young Lady, just focus on why you decided to go to the capital. Young Master Ian will join you and the Duke in the spring, as planned. Right?”

At Tia’s words, Vivian slowly nodded.

“Young Lady! Should I put the books you bought at the bookstore yesterday in here?”

“Yes.”

With Vivian’s permission, Tia smiled brightly and began packing the new books into the luggage.

<Don’t Learn About Love from Books>

<Modern Men, Modern Women>

<How to Make a Grumpy Man Yours>

And the special order from the bookstore owner, <How to Capture a Man’s Heart – You Can Seduce Any Man with These Tips, Volume 1.>.

One by one, the romance books were neatly packed into Vivian’s luggage.