The Grand Duke Only Seeks the Lady - Chapter 3 (Part 1)
Chapter 3 (Part 1)
Aethon was lost in thought.
It hadn’t been long, but Meia was the most noble, beautiful, and intelligent among the nobleladies he had seen so far. He felt that she would be the perfect woman to stand by Theodore’s side.
As he kept thinking, Aethon could come to one conclusion.
The position of the mistress of the Florence Ducal House was currently vacant. To be precise, Theodore had no interest in women.
After the death of the previous Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, he had closed his heart and kept a certain distance from those who approached him. The death of his family had been such a shocking event for him.
So he naturally did not participate in banquets or parties. He rejected the beautiful women who approached him.
Emperor Sirius III also understood this part and supported Florence so that he would not be discouraged and could rise up on his own.
And now the 17-year-old Theodore was leading the Ducal House well. But now Theodore was chasing after Meia, even boarding a cruise ship that he didn’t need to, escorting her, and smiling with a melted expression!
‘And most importantly.’
Aethon alternately looked at Meia and Theodore having dinner.
Just by looking at Theodore’s attitude, it was clear that he was very fond of Meia.
Moreover, conversations befitting a Grand Duke and Grand Duchess were exchanged between the two.
“Harshly treating the servants for making mistakes only instills fear in them, not a loyal heart.”
“I agree with you, Lady Meia.”
“The loyalty born out of fear and the loyalty born out of noblesse oblige are different. I only support the latter.”
Aethon’s heart was lifted by the bright expression on Theodore’s face, which he had not seen in a long time.
‘If only such a person becomes the Grand Duchess, the Ducal House will be stabilized!’
Aethon looked at Theodore conversing with Meia, raising his eyebrows.
‘Look at him. He’s so engrossed in looking at her and talking that he’s not even eating properly.’
In Aethon’s eyes, Theodore, whose face was blushing up to his ears as he responded to whatever Meia said, looked like an innocent man who had fallen in love.
Above all, whenever he was alone with Aethon, Theodore always started and ended his conversation with “Meia, Meia.” It seems he doesn’t know whether it’s a feeling he likes or not, but that’s something the excellent aide Aethon can gradually teach him.
He will help Theodore achieve his love.
After all, a marriage based on love would be much happier for Theodore than a political marriage.
‘Good!’
Aethon clenched his fist resolutely.
Meia got up early in the morning and went up to the deck of the cruise ship.
She enjoyed sitting in a chair and reading a book, listening to the gentle music-like sound of the waves as the cool breeze blew.
“Let me read this today.”
The book Meia had been immersed in lately was the biography of the ancient hero Rubellin. In his diary, he had written about the difficult times of hardship and moments of danger, and why people should never stop learning as they live, and Meia was touched by those philosophical writings.
[I now stand before a choice. If I could use the magic of regression, I would choose all three. And I would return to the beginning and go the path that I would regret the least. But unfortunately, I do not know the magic of regression. Even if I experience the result of being betrayed, I should not say that I regret my choice. I should not lament that the ax I trusted has struck my foot…]
The phrase “the ax I trusted has struck my foot” reminded her of the moment when Meryl replaced her as Crown Prince Patzraelli’s fiancée.
What would the Carpen Empire be like now that I was gone?
It’s not that she wasn’t curious. She was curious. She didn’t want to care, but she did.
She wondered what would people be saying about her, who was ousted from the top position in an instant.
She, the former fiancée of the ill-fated Crown Prince. She wondered if they saw her as a pitiful woman.
What was clear was that whatever they said or thought, regardless of the truth, she was already imagining their words and hurting herself.
Even as time passed, her feelings didn’t settle down.
“It’s really a mess.”
Meia closed the book and looked at the sea horizon again before closing her eyes.
When she closed her eyes, the voices of her parents vividly echoed in her ears, and emotions welled up inside her.
<Mei will become a great Empress!>
<Our daughter is the best.>
She had been thoroughly educated as the Crown Prince’s fiancée and the future Empress.
But now there is no need for that. No, a more accurate expression would be that the need itself has disappeared.
After meeting her teacher Puring at the Mage Tower, she wonders what she should do next.
She no longer has a goal to pursue.
She is no longer the Crown Prince’s fiancée.
It seems she has lost the path she should take. No, she has lost it.
She didn’t know what she should do or decide from now on.
She had only been running to become the Empress.
‘Then what do I want to do now that I can’t run anymore?’
They say a bird sings only after the storm passes.
But even after the storm passed, the bird couldn’t easily leave the nest.
A bird whose wings were broken by the storm could never…… fly again…….
Meia bit her lip hard.
‘Even if I can never fly again, I must not yearn for the high sky, ever.’
She bit the tender flesh inside her mouth, trying not to think about the past.
“Lady Meia.”
Meia turned her head towards the voice calling her. Theodore, with flushed cheeks and reddened ears, was standing behind her.
“Lady Meia, you’re up early.”
“Yes, it’s nice to read a book while looking at the sea in the morning.”
“I’m an early riser. I’m just coming out after my morning sword training. By the way, what book were you reading?”
“I was reading the biography of the ancient hero Rubellin.”
“I like that book too.”
“I’ve grown fond of this book lately as well…”
Meia trailed off, and Theodore looked at her with a curious expression.
“It’s because I can empathize with Rubellin’s suffering and longing.”
At Meia’s words, Theodore did not respond further. Her face looked quite bitter and melancholic.
Is she perhaps thinking of her deceased parents?
Theodore wanted to know what Meia was thinking, standing here looking at the sea and reading a book, but he didn’t ask the question.
He felt like he shouldn’t.
Throb throb.
Seeing her gloomy expression, Theodore felt a stabbing pain in his left chest, as if being pricked by needles, and he flinched.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.”
Theodore’s mind was literally in turmoil.
He wanted to say something to comfort her loneliness, but he didn’t know what to say, and his left heart just hurt.
‘Is there something wrong with me?’
Meia looked at him worriedly as Theodore’s expression subtly changed and he tightly gripped the collar of his left chest.
“Are you in pain somewhere? Your expression…”
“I’m fine. I’m just a little out of breath from the morning exercise.”
He muddled the end of his words, hesitating, then seemed to make up his mind and said to her.
“You look lonely.”
“Do I look lonely?”
“I’m curious about what you’re thinking.”
Theodore gathered the courage to ask. Meia averted her gaze from his face and looked up at the sky as she answered.
“I was thinking about a bird that can’t fly in the sky.”
“A bird that can’t fly in the sky? Did that bird perhaps have injured wings?”
At Theodore’s question, Meia let out a small laugh.
“If the bird was injured, it could be treated. Are you raising a bird, Lady Meia? I can carefully care for and treat it. The Ducal House has the best veterinarian, who takes care of the horses…”
Meia’s cheeks flushed as she found the earnestly explaining Theodore to be cute.
The gloomy mood she had while thinking about the past seemed to fly away.
“You’re so kind, Theodore.”
“Huh?”
If it were a red apple, it couldn’t be redder than Theodore’s face now. He shyly said,
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For complimenting me as kind. I’ve never heard such a compliment before.”
Meia smiled as she looked at him. To him, a small compliment felt like a great gratitude.
“Shall we talk until breakfast?”
“Is that alright?”
“Yes, aren’t we quite close now? We even call each other by name.”
Theodore beamed with a bright smile at Meia’s words.