Chapter 2 (Part 9)

Meia sat on the deck, holding her hair that was being swept by the wind.

Seeing Meia struggling with her hair, Anna asked,

“Milady, would you like me to tie your hair for you?”

Anna, who had been eyeing Meia’s soft silver hair, seized the opportunity.

“Yes, please do.”

Anna took a deep breath to calm herself as she touched Meia’s hair, which was even softer than she had imagined.

Anna lifted and let down Meia’s soft, silver hair, creating a beautiful style.

Then, she twisted Meia’s hair slightly and secured the stray strands with hairpins, completing the look.

“You look beautiful.”

Anna was sincere.

“Thank you, Anna. Asen.”

Meia called out to Asen, who was standing behind her.

“Yes.”

She handed him a letter she was holding and said,

“Do you see that tall man with black hair and black eyes, blushing over there?”

Asen looked in the direction Meia indicated.

“Yes.”

Behind a pillar, Theodore was peeking at Meia repeatedly.

“He keeps hiding behind the pillar and just staring… I don’t understand why.”

Meia shook her head, unable to comprehend Theodore’s actions.

Asen smiled at the sight.

“He seems to be shy.”

“So Asen, could you please deliver the letter to him?”

“Yes, I will.”

Asen, holding the letter from Meia, walked toward the pillar where Theodore was.

Even Asen could see the affection in Theodore’s eyes as he looked at Meia.

Seeing the young man in love reminded Asen of his first love, making him smile.

Aethon was about to scold Theodore, who was standing behind the pillar, but Asen handed the letter to Theodore before Aethon could start.

“The miss asked me to deliver this letter to you.”

Theodore took a deep breath to calm his heart, which was beating faster than usual.

Receiving the letter, Theodore glanced once more at Meia, who was looking at the sea from afar.

He wanted to get closer to her, to touch her… but the closer he got, the more his mind went blank, and his body froze. So he kept his distance and just watched.

Opening the letter, Theodore began to read it carefully.

Since it was the first letter she had written to him, he thought he should keep it as a cherished memory.

[Grand Duke Theodore, would you like to have dinner together? Please come in person to give your reply. It’s okay if you refuse.]

His heart dropped again at her invitation to dinner.

Taking his eyes off the letter, Theodore looked at Meia, who was sitting on the deck chair, and smiled.

Aethon squinted his eyes and glared at Theodore.

“Just go and greet her. What are you so embarrassed about?”

“I don’t know either. Aethon… why am I like this?”

Theodore said, running his hand down his face.

“Whenever I see Lady Meia, my chest feels strange. I definitely want to get closer, but when I do, I end up avoiding her. My heart hurts every time our eyes meet. Why is this happening, Aethon?”

Theodore carefully placed Meia’s letter in his magical subspace and continued.

“My left chest pounds so hard that my ribs hurt slightly. Is it arrhythmia?”

“Huh?”

“I need to go answer Lady Meia.”

“Your Grace, arrhythmia…”

Ignoring Aethon’s exasperated voice, Theodore ran towards Meia.

Taking a deep breath, Theodore tried to calm his excited heart.

The closer he got, the more his heart pounded.

“Lady Meia.”

“I heard tonight’s menu is quite delicious.”

“Yes.”

Meia looked up at him, taking her eyes off the sea.

His face still looked like a ripe strawberry.

“Why does your face turn red every time you see me, Grand Duke Theodore?”

“Be…”

“Be?”

“I don’t know. My face just turns red whenever I see you, Milady. I swear this has never happened before. It must be arrhythmia.”

“You think your face turning red when you see me is arrhythmia?”

Theodore nodded solemnly. Meia felt a peculiar sensation.

“You should see a doctor as soon as we reach the Mage Tower.”

“I was planning to.”

Surprised by Theodore’s unexpected answer, Meia smiled brightly and asked Anna to bring another chair.

Anna quickly brought a chair.

“Please sit here. Shall I prepare some tea?”

“Yes.”

Theodore sat in the chair Anna brought and once again looked only at Meia.

The sea and her figure matched so well that he found it hard to look away.

“If you teleport, you can reach the Mage Tower quickly. Why did you take the cruise?”

“I like cruise ships.”

It takes about a day or two to teleport from Elrn Port to the Mage Tower.

Even that is considered fast due to the limited number of magic stones and mages available for teleportation.

Theodore had planned to eat at the hotel restaurant and then teleport.

But wanting to spend more time with Meia, he gave up his teleportation ticket to someone else and boarded the cruise ship, which would take 15 days to reach the Mage Tower.

“You’re going to the Mage Tower to hire a mage, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. But I’m also going to meet Grand Mage Puring.”

Grand Mage Puring was also Meia’s magic teacher.

“He’s my teacher.”

Theodore was surprised.

“You’re a disciple of Grand Mage Puring?”

“Yes. I’m going to see my teacher too.”

Theodore looked at Meia with a determined face and said,

“Since we’re going the same way, would you like to travel together?”

“Travel together?”

“Yes, it’s okay if you refuse. But it would be nice if we could travel together. We agreed to become friends…”

Meia hesitated for a moment at Theodore’s suggestion.

But her hesitation didn’t last long.

If they were going in the same direction, traveling together wouldn’t be bad.

“Alright.”

“Could we also have meals together every day?”

Seeing Theodore’s blushing face and neck made Meia smile naturally.

“No.”

At Meia’s response, Theodore’s face quickly turned sad.

“I was going to suggest having meals together, but you asked first. So, how about lunch or dinner, depending on the time?”

“Would you have meals with me? While we’re traveling?”

“Yes.”

Meia’s lips kept curling up at his ever-changing expressions.

Despite his cold appearance, Theodore had a rich array of expressions.

Every time he showed a different expression, he looked incredibly cute.

Meia suddenly became curious about his age.

‘He looks older than me…’

“How old are you, Grand Duke Theodore?”

“I’m seventeen. In the Sirius Empire, we have our coming-of-age ceremony on our eighteenth birthday.”

Hearing this, Meia, who was sitting comfortably in her chair, almost slipped.

“What?”

‘Wait! He’s younger than me?’

“I’m seventeen. I’ll have my coming-of-age ceremony soon.”

Finding out he was younger, Meia found him even cuter.

‘So, he’s younger…….’

“Honestly, I didn’t think you were seventeen.”

“No one sees me as my age.”

“I don’t mean you look older.”

“What?”

“The aura and vibes you give off don’t feel like a seventeen-year-old. You seem mature for your age. I asked because you look young.”

Theodore looked at Meia with curious eyes and said,

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that. My swordsmanship teacher used to call me an old-looking kid.”

A gentle smile appeared on Theodore’s face, different from usual.

“Thank you for seeing me in a good light.”

Every time they talked, Theodore felt the hot blood from his pounding heart gather in his face, making his whole body throb.

Aethon, listening to their conversation from behind, was inwardly amazed by each of Meia’s words.

Theodore was 190 cm tall. Because of his height and cold appearance, people who met him for the first time were surprised to learn he was only seventeen. He looked much younger than his appearance suggested.

<You don’t look seventeen.>

Everyone said that.

So Theodore had a slight complex about his young age.

Even now, Aethon saw Theodore’s face stiffen slightly at Meia’s question about his age, but she skillfully navigated the conversation using words like ‘mature,’ ‘vibes,’ and ‘aura,’ avoiding touching on his complex.

Seeing Theodore’s face brighten, Aethon sighed in relief.

In Aethon’s view, Meia was the epitome of a noble, scoring full marks in etiquette, speech, demeanor, and discernment.

‘She would be perfect as the Grand Duchess…’

Aethon looked at Theodore.

‘He’s single anyway. Sure, you have a broken engagement, but what does that matter!’

Although he had been assisting the Grand Duke, he had never seen him so flustered, smiling, or looking at someone with such sweetness in his eyes.

Theodore clearly had feelings for Meia. No, he was undoubtedly a man in love.

Though he couldn’t meet her gaze properly out of shyness, Theodore’s face was filled with smiles as he stole glances at Meia.

‘And he claims it’s arrhythmia…’

It was his first experience of love, so he might not recognize it. Aethon’s determination to help Theodore realize and pursue his feelings was burning brightly.