Chapter 4 (Part 2)

While the two men sighed repeatedly, Great Mage Puring and Meia came down the stairs.

“Grand Duke, have you been waiting long?”

Theodore reacted quickly to Meia’s voice.

He jumped up and ran to the stairs to escort Meia, extending his hand.

Meia placed her hand on his.

“Thank you for the short escort, Grand Duke Theodore.”

As soon as he saw Meia’s smile, the sweetness that couldn’t be filled even with sweet snacks filled his chest, and Theodore’s lips naturally curled up.

“Thank you for accepting my escort.”

Crunch, crunch.

Juan wanted to pull out his dagger again at that sight, but he held back, fearing he would be kicked out by the Mage Tower.

He had no excuse to restrain the escorting noble, so he had to stay still.

Grinding his teeth and glaring at Theodore, Juan loosened his expression and bowed to Meia.

Aethon cursed inwardly, calling him a dual personality.

“My lady, you have come out.”

“Yes, Juan. I think I need to stay in Master’s lab because of the artifacts and scrolls. I will temporarily block the shadow power, so feel free to stay anywhere in the Mage Tower.”

Meia had a master-servant relationship with Juan through the shadow pact.

As a member of the shadow clan, he always stayed in Meia’s shadow and swore to protect her.

However, when she wanted to be alone, he could not hide in the shadow according to the pact and her will.

“Master Puring will find a place for you to stay.”

“Understood.”

Theodore’s eyes quickly became moist, and his grip weakened as he anticipated the approaching farewell from Meia’s words.

Feeling something strange, Meia asked him.

“Grand Duke Theodore… what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Instead of the gloomy Theodore, his aide Aethon handed the request form to Puring.

“This is a request from the Grand Duke of the Sirius Empire. We currently need a Mage of 3rd circle or higher. We would appreciate it if someone could make artifacts or scrolls. The compensation will be decided through consultation.”

Puring received the request form from Aethon.

“I accept the request. As there are currently few Mages in the Mage Tower, please give us some time. Please return to the Grand Ducal house and wait, and we will send a Mage. Goodbye.”

Puring turned around and went back up the stairs.

And Meia smiled at Theodore and said,

“Grand Duke Theodore, we part here.”

Theodore’s heart screamed. It felt like someone was tearing his heart into pieces.

The pain in his heart was terrible as if he was experiencing it for the first time, causing his body to tremble.

“Please send me a letter.”

“……May I send you a letter?”

At Theodore’s words, Meia replied with a smile.

“Yes, let’s exchange letters. Thanks to you, Grand Duke Theodore, I had a lot of fun. Aethon, be careful on your way back.”

“Yes, Lady.”

Theodore looked down at Meia for a long time. He wanted to express his burning and desperate feelings.

“I don’t want to part with you, Lady.”

His black eyes were getting moist.

“Where there is a meeting, there is also a parting.”

Meia looked at Theodore and placed her hand on his cheek.

He flinched for a moment, then bent down to her eye level, as if asking her to touch his cheek more.

“Stay healthy. Please send me letters often.”

His face looked like he was about to cry. The sadness was conveyed from his reddened eyes.

“Goodbye.”

“Yes… goodbye…”

Meia climbed the stairs where Puring had gone up.

Juan glared at Theodore and Aethon before disappearing with a triumphant expression.

Theodore sat on the sofa and bowed his head.

“Aethon.”

“Your Grace, you did well.”

“Yes…”

“Let’s return to the Grand Ducal residence.”

“Yes… Just a moment, let me sit here for a while…”

Theodore wiped away the tears that flowed unknowingly and stared endlessly at the stairs Meia had climbed.

Theodore, who came out of the Mage Tower, turned back with regretful steps. His feet seemed glued to the ground.

Aethon looked at him pitifully.

“Your Grace…”

“I know. We have to go.”

White snow gently fell on Theodore’s face as he looked up at the sky, soon turning into water and flowing down with his tears.

He tried hard not to cry anymore, but his nose kept tingling.

Bitter water kept rising inside him, and his chest felt restless and pricked.

“Aethon, let’s go.”

It was hard to take a step due to regret, but he was still Grand Duke Florence.

He had to return to the Grand Ducal residence quickly.

* * *

As soon as Theodore arrived, he headed straight to his study.

There, his other aide, Hemann, was diligently working.

“You’ve worked hard, Hemann.”

“It’s nothing, Your Grace.”

Hemann took care of overall duties while Theodore was away.

“And this is what Lady Nordic and Lady Jasmine have organized.”

Lady Jasmine and Lady Nordic visited the study upon hearing of Theodore’s arrival.

“Your Grace!”

“Your Grace!”

Since there was no mistress in the Florence Grand Ducal residence, the ladies of the vassal families came to take care of the household.

“You all worked hard while I was away.”

“No, it was nothing..”

“By the way, is the Mage coming? The damage to the port from the pirates is not insignificant.”

“Yes, they said they would send one soon. Great Mage Puring assured it.”

Theodore looked sad as he said those words. But people thought he was tired from the long journey.

As soon as Theodore arrived at the Grand Ducal residence, he started working in the study without resting.

And then…

“Hemann, prepare the finest letter paper and envelopes with a floral scent and place them on my desk.”

“Letter paper with a floral scent?”

Hemann asked again to confirm if he had heard correctly.

“Yes, prepare it. Lily of the valley or lilies, anything with a good scent.”

Seeing Theodore’s face turn red with embarrassment as he asked for the stationery, Hemann was puzzled.

Aethon, understanding, put his arm around Hemann’s shoulder and led him out of the study.

“Why is he suddenly asking for letter paper?”

“Just prepare it.”

Since Hemann and Aethon had been close friends since their academy days, they spoke freely when alone.

Hemann found the letter paper and envelopes Theodore wanted and placed them on his desk.

Satisfied with the scent of the letter paper, Theodore picked up a quill.

“Hello… I should start with a greeting.”

Theodore worked hard to write the letter and finished his tasks.

Although it was late, Theodore was happy as he looked at the letter paper with the quill in his hand.

However, the more he wrote, the more his expression frowned.

He wrote the greeting well, but he was at a loss for what to write next.

The only thoughts that came to his mind were ‘I miss you, I want to see you.’

Theodore struggled to write the letter to Meia in his study.

But as the words wouldn’t come out as he wished, he kept writing and crumpling the letters.

“Hemann!”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

“Bring me more stationery.”

“More stationery?”

“Bring a lot.”

“Understood.”

Theodore relaxed and began writing on the stationery again.

[Hello, Lady Meia Hatzbellua.]

This part was fine, but he didn’t know what to write next.

“Aethon, what should I write in the letter?”

Knowing that Theodore was writing a letter to Meia, Aethon gave the answer he wanted.

“Ask how she’s been, talk about the weather, and most importantly, express your feelings.”

“Really? Express my feelings, feelings, feelings.”

Blushing, Theodore stared at the letter paper and picked up the quill again.

[To Lady Meia, whom I miss.]

Theodore’s face, ears, and neck turned red. Embarrassed, he crumpled the letter paper.

He took out a new piece of letter paper.

[To Lady Meia, whom I want to meet right away.]

Theodore put down the quill and covered his face with his hands, bowing his head deeply.

“My heart is pounding too much to write.”

“You must overcome that. If you can’t overcome such a pounding heart, love will run away!”

“It can’t run away. I must overcome it.”

Theodore calmed his pounding heart and picked up the quill again, repeating the process of writing and crumpling the letter paper, while Hemann curiously asked Aethon.

“Aethon… Does His Grace have a lady he likes? And is he sending that letter to her?”

“It’s a one-sided love.”

“What, a one-sided love?”

Hemann had somewhat anticipated it when Theodore asked for floral-scented letter paper.

“Who is she?”

“Lady Meia Hatzbellua of the Carpen Empire. She’s incredibly beautiful and talented. She’s perfect for the Grand Duchess.”

“If you’re saying she’s perfect for the Grand Duchess, she must have made quite an impression.”

Aethon briefly explained some anecdotes about Meia to Hemann.

Meanwhile, Theodore continued writing and crumpling the letters.

Finally, when a mountain of crumpled papers had piled up, he managed to complete one, but even that he crumpled.

“Writing a letter is so difficult.”

Aethon sighed again at the sight of the messy study.

Hemann, with a confident look, spoke to Theodore.

“Shall I help you?”

“No, I’ll write it myself.”

With a determined expression, Theodore picked up the quill again and began to write each word carefully.

It was only at dawn that he finally completed his first letter.