Chapter 3 (Part 12)

Anthus buried his face in Yuliana’s shoulder and sobbed. Yuliana patted his back, feeling sorry for the heartbroken Anthus. After being comforted by Yuliana for a while, Anthus wiped away his tears.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. Letting out the anxious feelings I’ve been holding in makes me feel somewhat relieved.”

Yuliana’s heart ached at Anthus’s words. She knew that only she understood how kind and gentle Anthus truly was. She decided to bring up something that would cheer him up.

“I have something to tell you, Duke. I should have mentioned it earlier.”

“Something to tell me? Please, go ahead.”

Anthus’s pained expression softened, and he smiled brightly.

“This time, at the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet, I can enter with you as my partner.”

“What? Aren’t you entering with Earl Loengrin that day?”

“My father said he has something to attend to that day. So, Duke Anthus…”

“Yes.”

“Would you escort me to the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet?”

“Is this a dream?”

“No, it’s real.”

“Please let me be your partner. I will escort you splendidly.”

The Crown Prince’s birthday is one of the biggest events in the royal palace, celebrated over three days with the themes of ‘Nobility,’ ‘Bravery,’ and ‘Respect.’

On the first day, the nobles gather for a banquet, the second day hosts a hunting competition, and on the third day, food is distributed in the streets.

On this day, all imperial citizens can have a full meal, making the Crown Prince’s birthday the most anticipated day. The citizens who receive food pray for the Crown Prince’s well-being and thank the royal family for the food.

“I had a reason for asking to meet today, but hearing such joyful news… I wonder if I should still say it.”

“Please, go ahead, Duke.”

“It would be nice if you could…….”

“If it’s something I can do, I’ll grant your request.”

Yuliana smiled as she looked at Anthus, who had come closer.

“Could you give me a handkerchief during the hunting competition the day after the banquet?”

“A handkerchief during the hunting competition?”

Giving a handkerchief to a man other than family during the hunting competition signifies a romantic relationship, an engagement, or a confession of one’s feelings.

“You can give it without any special meaning.”

Giving a handkerchief could never be without meaning. Yuliana, seeing Anthus speak timidly, made a decision.

“I’ll give it to you. The handkerchief.”

Anthus blinked slowly. He had hesitated to ask for the handkerchief, but Yuliana agreed to give it to him.

“Really? You will give me a handkerchief… I’m so happy I could go crazy.”

Anthus, overwhelmed with emotion, hugged Yuliana tightly and laughed heartily. Yuliana also wrapped her arms around his back and leaned her face against his chest.

“Receiving the handkerchief and being able to escort you makes me so happy it’s almost scary.”

* * *

While Yuliana was enjoying a pleasant time with Anthus, Beonar’s lover, Sophia, was in a very bad mood. Her father, Earl Lumichua, had suddenly begun to strongly oppose her engagement and marriage to Young Lord Beonar. The father who usually let her do whatever she wanted with a smile was no longer there.

Beonar also wondered why there was no response about the marriage and said he would come to the mansion. Of course, her father told him that he was too busy to meet anyone for a while.

She couldn’t tell him that her father didn’t want to meet Beonar.

“Go on a blind date.”

“I’m dating Young Lord Beonar. I’ve promised to marry him.”

“He is not suitable.”

“Why not? Tell me. You gave your permission!”

Sophia shouted in disappointment at her father, who was forcing her to go on a blind date.

“I won’t say it again.”

“At least explain why you oppose him!”

“Sophia, Young Lord Beonar is not suitable. He’s not good at business, and I’ve heard he has a lot of debt.”

Earl Lumichua was puzzled by the recent rumors that Duke Rockbellion had bought all of Beonar’s bonds. He wondered why Duke Rockbellion specifically bought Beonar’s bonds? He had a bad feeling that something was bound to happen. It made no sense for Duke Rockbellion to selectively purchase Beonar’s bonds without a reason.

“People in business can incur debt! We can pay it off!”

Earl Lumichua sighed deeply at his daughter’s naive words and stubbornness. He was angry at her inability to see reason because of her infatuation with a man.

“Sophia, you don’t understand the world yet. If you want to enjoy all the things you have until you die, follow my words! If you marry Young Lord Beonar and become a marquis’s wife, don’t expect any support from our family.”

“Father!”

“Young Marquis Fedeurus is nothing but a pretty shell.”

A family marked by Rockbellion is doomed. No matter how powerful Marquis Fedeurus is, Anthus, with his exceptional tactical strategies, could devise a plan to ruin them. It was unthinkable to form a connection with a family that might collapse.

“But I love him.”

“Love is more beautiful when you have money.”

“I think love is more important.”

“Break up with Young Lord Beonar.”

“But you told me to marry him not long ago. Why did you change your mind so suddenly?”

“Because there’s a better family. The young lord is handsome, and being the second son, it would be easy to bring him into our family as a son-in-law if anything happens to our house.”

Earl Lumichua listed several candidates he had in mind.

“Do you love Young Lord Beonar enough to give up all your jewels, dresses, and everything you have? If you become poor, you’ll live miserably, being looked down upon by others. I don’t want to see that, so break up with him. Sophia, you are a precious daughter. If you can’t live more prosperous than you do now, I can’t accept any man!”

Sophia kept insisting that love was more important. Earl Lumichua eventually ignored her and ordered the servants to lock her in her room. She was even forbidden to go out.

In her locked room, Sophia held the portraits of the men her father had forced upon her for blind dates.

They were all from good families and handsome. If she hadn’t met Beonar, she would have followed her father’s words… But she had already met the man of her destiny.

“If I tell Beonar, he might help us find a way to get married. Maybe he can persuade Father.”

But no matter how much she thought about it, her mind remained troubled.

The beautiful imaginations of Beonar persuading her father and having a happy wedding floated in her head. But waking from those happy thoughts left her feeling hollow. Reality was too different from her imagination.

All Sophia could do was sigh and cry without anyone noticing. The pain and agony of possibly having to betray Beonar, who truly loved her, made her weep and lament her situation.

She regretted falling in love. She wished she had never met Beonar. But what use was regret now?

She resented her father for not allowing her to marry Beonar.

She wondered why she had to be so unhappy. Earl Lumichua said she had until the Crown Prince’s birthday to sort things out.

Sophia bit her lip and looked up at the ceiling. But tears continued to flow, wetting her ears. Nothing was going right.

* * *

Yuliana held a needle threaded with silk and stared at the handkerchief in front of her. She had confidently promised to give him a handkerchief.

But one of the things she was worst at was embroidery. She was embarrassed that she had promised to give him a handkerchief despite not being good at it. Fortunately, Anthus had asked her to simply embroider his initials, saying she might get busy with the investigation team, which was a relief.

“Why am I so bad at embroidery!”

Yuliana hung her head and sighed.

Worried about Yuliana, who didn’t respond to her knock, Luda slightly opened the door to check on her.

She found Yuliana sighing while glaring at the yellow handkerchief. Yuliana’s struggle with the handkerchief embroidery looked cute and innocent to Luda.

The Elegant Seduction of Duke Rockbellion <Volume 1 End>