Chapter 77

What would Edward think of her?  

Would he once again call her the Duke’s hidden woman, or Leon’s nanny, and scratch at her nerves with those words?  

What if he misunderstood that she still had feelings for the Duke?  

To be honest, she was so busy thinking about how Edward would react when he saw her in Agris, she barely paid any attention to the Duke sitting right in front of her.  

Ah!  

Even when he’s not around, that man torments her.  

Annoyed, Diane closed her eyes, but as soon as she did, a thought flashed through her mind and she opened them wide again.  

How could he pretend to be asleep so perfectly back then?  

‘Ed’—just what did he think of her?  

“Miss, is something bothering you?”  

The Duke’s sudden question snapped Diane out of her thoughts about Edward, and for the first time since boarding the train, she blushed.  

What kind of face was she making?  

It felt as if the Duke had caught her thinking about Edward Wale.  

“No! Not at all. But…”  

“…?”  

“Do hotel staff appear often in the banquet hall or lounge during the opening event? I don’t think they do usually, but I’ve never been to an event like this, so I was just curious.”  

“Well, I’ve never been to a hotel opening event either, so I’m not sure.”  

“Oh… I see.”  

“When you say hotel staff, who do you mean?”  

“Well, for example, the general manager, or the hotel owner, all sorts of people.”  

Diane didn’t notice the Duke’s face growing more serious.  

“For example, are you talking about someone like the hotel president?”  

“No! Not exactly the president, but… yes. I mean, would the hotel president keep appearing at the event?”  

A cold smile crossed Adrian’s face, but Diane didn’t notice.  

Her mind was already full of someone else.  

Someone she’d soon meet.  

Someone who had been swirling through her thoughts lately.  

The hotel owner—of course he’d be there.  

“I suppose so. Edward’s quite thorough—he wouldn’t leave it to someone else.”  

“Ah, yes. I suppose…”  

Diane trailed off, lost in thought again.  

She didn’t even notice the Duke had specifically named ‘Edward.’

* * *

That evening, as Edward surveyed the grand banquet hall on preview opening day, he could only laugh dryly in disbelief.  

He’d left his adorable, beloved woman behind and come all the way down to Agris, only to be surrounded by these people.  

The Jude couple, the three sons of the Jude Marquisate, and even the annoying youngest daughter, Kate Jude.  

The entire Jude family had descended upon Agris.  

Overflowing with money, the Marquis invested in all sorts of things as a hobby, and of course, he’d invested in the Agris Wale Hotel. It seemed he’d brought his whole family to celebrate his successful hobby.  

Edward almost regretted not pulling out the Marquis’s investment when Kate Jude came to him with nonsense about Diane.  

And the annoying families didn’t stop there.  

Even the Lautrec Earldom, a family he’d love to grind to dust, had arrived in full force.  

Lady Lautrec.  

The very one who started the rumors about Diane Lina.  

If she weren’t marrying his brother, Edward would have destroyed her by any means necessary.  

He’d decided to let it go just this once, since she was about to become his sister-in-law by marrying his brother.  

But unless it was the day she made his brother a married man again, he had no desire to see her face ever again.  

Yet she kept appearing before him—wasn’t that cheating?  

It was like a test of his patience.  

He should have made the hotel opening invite-only.  

“Marquis Wale, this is an unprecedentedly successful opening.”  

While Edward was frowning at the guest list, the Crown Prince spoke to him.  

“Ah, yes. Thank you, Your Highness.”  

“I heard there will be fireworks as well.”  

“Yes, they’ll start once it gets darker.”  

During the two-week preview opening, parties would be held every evening in the grand banquet hall, but fireworks were only scheduled for tonight, the opening day. Tomorrow, there would be a demonstration cruise.  

The Crown Prince couldn’t stay away from the capital long, so he would return to Rettrang after tomorrow’s cruise.  

“I’m especially looking forward to the cruise.”  

“Yes, unless you take the cruise, you won’t see the breathtaking cliffs along the coast. The cruise is the only way to view Agris’s natural artistry.”  

The hotel was built near the coastal cliffs, and all suites had ocean views, but all you could see from the hotel was the blue sea.  

The true pride and natural treasure of Agris was the coastline’s spectacular cliffs of many colors, but you had to see them from the sea. Only fishermen on their boats had enjoyed the view until now.  

Edward created a luxury cruise program operated by the hotel to make use of this underutilized tourist resource.  

The fact that the Crown Prince’s main interest in Agris was the cruise was proof enough that it would become a signature attraction drawing people to the Agris Wale Hotel.  

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the scenery I’ve only heard about.”  

“Yes, Your Highness, you won’t be disappointed.”  

At that moment, the concierge became busy at the banquet hall entrance, indicating new guests had arrived.  

The banquet would continue from early evening until late at night, and guests could freely attend.  

Of course, not attending wasn’t really an option, since the banquet fees were included in the room charges, and no guest would skip it.  

In fact, the banquet was the main reason they invested so much money—to network with people who could help raise their social status.  

So concierges had the important job of assigning seats and guiding new guests.  

They would seat guests with people of the same social class and status, or at least make sure their paths crossed.  

Edward had little interest in their social climbing, but he understood perfectly how useful their desires were for making money, and he exploited them thoroughly.  

He wondered what kind of person would reek of n*ked ambition this time.  

Edward turned his gaze to the entrance.  

“…!”  

His sleepy eyes widened in shock.  

The new arrivals were none other than Adrian Wale, Leon Wale, and Diane Lina.  

Did he see that wrong?  

Edward blinked hard.  

But it was clear.  

The woman entering the banquet hall holding Leon’s hand was truly Diane Lina.  

Edward put his glass down on the table with a sharp clink.  

“Marquis?”  

“Ah! Your Highness, excuse me. I was just surprised.”  

The Crown Prince frowned as he looked toward the entrance where Edward was staring.  

He didn’t understand why Edward was so shocked to see the Duke of Wale arrive.  

An efficient concierge naturally led Adrian to the Crown Prince and Edward.  

Leon and Diane followed behind, as if they were a set.  

“Your Highness, it’s good to see you here.”  

“Indeed, Duke Wale. Is this your son?”  

The Crown Prince looked at Leon.  

“Yes. This is Leon Wale. Leon, this is the Crown Prince. You should greet him.”  

At Adrian’s words, Leon greeted the Crown Prince with proper etiquette.  

“Very dignified.”  

But the Crown Prince’s gaze soon shifted to Diane Lina, who was holding Leon’s hand.  

Edward frowned as he watched the Crown Prince’s gaze move.  

He couldn’t understand why his brother was here, and why Diane Lina had come with him.  

Honestly, he was glad Diane Lina was there, but only if she was with him—not with his brother.  

“Who is she?”  

The Crown Prince looked at Diane.  

“My son’s tutor.”  

“My reading assistant.”  

Adrian and Edward’s voices overlapped.  

“So, the Young Master’s tutor and the Marquis’s reading assistant—what is the lady’s name?”  

The Crown Prince looked between Diane and Edward with sparkling eyes, as if he’d found something interesting.  

“Your Highness, it’s an honor. My name is Diane Lina.”  

Diane bowed and answered in a slightly trembling voice.  

“I see. Pleased to meet you, Miss Diane Lina.”  

The Crown Prince smiled warmly.  

He clearly looked intrigued.