Chapter 36 – Two Men and a Woman

“……”

Kairan’s steps came to an abrupt halt, and he slowly turned his head back. Their gazes met, and for a moment, silence lingered between them.  

Sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere, Elena broke the silence to recover from her misstep.  

“My apologies. I shouldn’t have…”  

Elena, now donning the solemn expression of a Queen, conveyed her regret.  

She was aware of Kairan’s family situation, which allowed her to mention his father. His father, who was indifferent and cold to his only son, was infamous for his lack of affection.  

Even so, she thought that after three years of absence, his father might at least acknowledge his return. Elena infused her words with a glimmer of hope.  

However, Kairan simply shook his head silently, his face contorted in displeasure.  

‘As expected.’  

Elena felt even more disheartened than Kairan himself. Confirming her reaction, Kairan opened the door to the audience chamber and left.  

Ah, right. 

Elena stood up belatedly, facing the door, and called out softly.  

“When you meet Queen Celesta, please speak well of us! And good luck with your relationship!”  

This time, her words were brimming with personal interest, directly tied to diplomacy. Fortunately, the audience chamber and corridors had been cleared of people in advance.  

Elena fervently hoped that her words had reached Kairan as she rose to leave the room.  

At that moment, the bell rang. Ding-ding.  

The double chime was a signal Elena knew well, one sent only by someone far closer to her than Kairan.  

“Come in!”  

Elena, her earlier unease forgotten, responded in an excited voice. Shortly thereafter, the door opened, revealing a man with blue hair, clad in a pristine white uniform.  

“Lucas!”  

Elena leaped into the man’s arms like a frog.  

He was none other than her husband, King Lucas Benecia, whom she trusted and loved more than anyone in the world.  

Lucas gently stroked the luscious hair of his beloved, who was nestled in his embrace.  

“Elena, what did you and Kairan discuss? What was the purpose of his audience?”  

“What’s this? Are you jealous?”  

“No. Originally, I was supposed to meet him, but since my workload was heavy, I entrusted the matter to you. It’s not jealousy; it’s a perfectly reasonable question.”  

“Hehe. That’s just like my Lucas.”  

“Indeed. And you’re my Queen Elena.”  

Lucas looked at Elena lovingly and spun her around the audience chamber while holding her. The room echoed with the laughter of the two.  

After a moment, they separated but held hands as they made their way to the table.  

Seated across from each other, Elena finally answered Lucas’s question.  

She explained that a middle-aged man from Celesta had gone missing and that the missing person was likely in Benecia.  

“Good grief…”  

Lucas shuddered in astonishment.  

“Now that I think about it, there’s no time to waste. The investigation is urgent. Moreover, if this case becomes public, it could jeopardize our hard-earned diplomatic relations…”  

“Hey, rescuing the person comes first, before diplomacy.”  

“Oh, right. True.”  

“And there’s no reason for our relations with Celesta to be jeopardized, is there?”  

Although the question had an obvious answer, Lucas tilted his head in thought, which Elena found endearing and chuckled softly.  

“Kairan is there, isn’t he? He’s both a Grand Duke and a secretary in Celesta.”  

Finally understanding, Lucas clapped his hands together. His gaze reflected admiration for Elena’s insight.  

“My interest lies in Queen Lenoa, doesn’t it?”  

“More than in me?”  

“There you go again! This time, it’s not even a man but another woman. Of course not.”  

“Fine, fine. By the way, I hear things are rather strained between them. It’s unfortunate.”  

“Indeed. That’s why I told Kairan to work on their relationship before he left.”  

“Don’t you think we don’t need those words for ourselves?”  

Lucas teasingly pinched Elena’s now-flushed cheek as he asked.  

At moments like this, they didn’t seem like a King and Queen of a nation but rather a pair of lovebirds.  

Soon, the two snapped out of their playful moment, realizing the urgency of the investigation, and rose from their seats.  

***

Outside the Palace Grounds, as Kairan stepped out of the royal palace, he was greeted by the sight of a setting sun. If he returned directly to Celesta, he estimated he would arrive by evening.  

However, something held him back.  

“Father… I wonder how he’s doing.”  

Caught up in thoughts of his estranged father, he couldn’t bring himself to cross the border immediately.  

During their time living together, Kairan had always referred to his father as “Your Grace, the Duke of Blandi,” rather than “Father.” Their meetings were mostly in formal settings.  

Though they were bound by blood, their relationship was distant.  

Kairan had no memories of receiving paternal affection, so he didn’t expect a warm welcome now.  

Still, Kairan was, after all, his father’s son.  

Since the Duke’s residence was located in the capital, close to the royal palace, it wouldn’t even take an hour by carriage.  

Ultimately, Kairan instructed the coachman of a hired carriage on his destination.  

“To the Duke of Blandi’s residence.”  

The sound of hooves steadily blended into the carriage as Kairan sat silently, staring blankly ahead.  

‘What will he say when I arrive?’  

Countless thoughts swirled in his mind.  

Although his father wasn’t one to show affection, surely he would react to the return of his only son after three years.  

Even though Kairan hadn’t become a King or a Crown Prince as his father had desired, he had received the title of Grand Duke from the former King and the position of secretary from the current Queen.  

In terms of status, he was undoubtedly accomplished, but it wasn’t what his father had wanted, so he doubted it would bring satisfaction.  

Moreover, his father had once handed him a sleeping potion as part of a sinister plan.  

‘He won’t be pleased.’  

Recalling that plan, Kairan shook his head. The reaction was easy to predict.  

“We’ve arrived.”  

The coachman’s low voice broke his thoughts, and Kairan stepped out of the carriage.  

Looking straight ahead, he saw the unchanged Duke’s residence.  

However, even after paying the fare and watching the carriage disappear, he couldn’t bring himself to take a single step forward.  

“Hah.”  

The hand that had urged him to return home now seemed to hold him back, quite literally.  

Although the Celesta royal palace was now his residence, this place had been his home for much longer.  

Out of his 26 years of life, he had spent 23 here.  

Yet, those 23 long years paled in comparison to the three years he had spent in Celesta, which had left a deeper mark on his heart.  

This wasn’t merely because he had been in Celesta only yesterday.  

It was because of Lenoa Moon Celesta, his superior and the woman he had admired for three years.  

By blood, his father naturally held a higher place than Lenoa, but in his heart, there was no comparison.  

There was no one in the world who could replace her.  

Even now, as he stood here, he longed to see her.  

Forget about this visit—he was tempted to hail a carriage and return to the Celesta royal palace immediately.  

For a long time, Kairan stood motionless, caught in a dilemma.  

After much contemplation, he made his decision.  

‘I’ll just check if he’s well and then return to Celesta immediately.’  

Directly facing him seemed to require more time.  

Perhaps, it would be when he stood beside Lenoa. Just imagining this brought a smile to his lips.  

Indeed, she was the only one who could make him smile.  

Kairan finally managed to move his feet. He had stood still for so long that his legs felt stiff.  

His steps headed toward the Duke’s residence. However, his destination was not the front gate. Instead, he went to the back of the residence.  

Behind the residence lay fertile lands and a small open space.  

When they lived together, his father would come out to this open space two or three times a day to smoke alone.  

Although his father was always strict and devoid of affection, at those moments, he looked like a widower with children to care for.  

In any case, if luck was on his side, Kairan might catch a glimpse of his father near this area.  

Just as he rounded the corner of the residence, it happened.  

‘……!’  

Kairan instinctively covered his mouth and stopped in his tracks. In that position, he glanced not at the open space but toward the estate.  

There, he saw the back of a woman he had never seen before. The sun had already set, and she wore a straw hat, making it difficult to discern the color of her hair.  

The woman was picking fruit from a tree in a corner of the estate. Quietly, she placed the fruit into a basket, one by one.  

‘Who is she? Could she be… a thief?’  

For a moment, he was suspicious, but she didn’t seem to be a thief.  

Trespassing onto the Duke’s estate and stealing fruit was an absurd act—something neither nobles nor royalty would do, even as a joke.  

Although the estate had minimal external guards, it wasn’t so poorly secured that a single woman could sneak in unnoticed. If it were, the guards would have lost their heads long ago.  

In short, the woman must have been someone “permitted by his father.”  

If that were the case, she was most likely a maid. After all, in a household of men, there wouldn’t be a maidservant instead of a male attendant, and maids typically handled such chores.  

However, no matter how hard he focused his gaze, her attire didn’t resemble a maid’s uniform. It wasn’t extravagant, but it looked like a dress—something noblewomen would wear.  

‘Why is a woman like that here, doing this?’  

She wasn’t an intruder, nor a maid, but a woman in a dress. The more he speculated, the less he understood.  

Should I ask her who she was? Surely father would know. I had only intended to catch a glimpse of father and leave…  

Caught in unprecedented confusion, Kairan’s ears picked up a voice.  

“Your Grace!”  

The woman placed her basket down and ran toward the back of the Duke’s residence. She seemed to be heading in Kairan’s direction but was actually moving toward the open space.  

From the opposite corner, Kairan noticed a man approaching slowly.  

Though the setting sun obscured him, Kairan recognized him instantly.  

The Duke of Blandi. Kairan’s father.  

The woman, who had reached the shaded open space where the Duke stood, spoke in an agitated tone.  

“Oh, Your Grace. You’ve come out to smoke again? I’ve told you it’s bad for your health.”  

“And you, the fruit-picking. Why not leave it to the maids? Why do it yourself?”  

“It’s something I’ve always done. I’m used to it, Your Grace.”  

“Are you not used to addressing me differently? Not as ‘Your Grace’?”  

“Yes, yes. Dear.”  

The shadows of the two figures, engaged in an affectionate conversation, swayed vigorously.  

In stark contrast, Kairan stood silently, observing them.  

“……”  

Unaware of Kairan’s presence, the two were now holding hands and whispering sweet nothings to each other.  

To anyone, it was evident that they were deeply affectionate.