Epilogue – 1

A Year After Ludwig’s Engagement Proposal, in the Office of the Grand Duke of Rohitham

“Your Highness, the Grand Duke.”

Ludwig’s delicate eyebrows moved slightly at someone’s call.

“What is it?”

The chamberlain bowed deeply.

Seeing who it was, expectation filled the eyes of the Grand Duke of Rohitham, Ludwig.

He turned his gaze to the chamberlain’s hand.

As expected, that hand held a letter.

“A letter has arrived from Countess Balthus of the Kingdom of Arlo.”

“Give it to me.”

Ludwig smiled and extended his hand.

Reclining deeply in his plush chair, he cut the edge of the envelope with a joyful expression.

The old chamberlain watched the young Grand Duke, whose cheeks had flushed with red, for a moment before retreating.

Ludwig and Marlena were in what could be described as a “long-distance relationship.”

Marlena was in the Kingdom of Arlo, while Ludwig was in the Grand Duchy of Rohitham.

Nevertheless, they kept in frequent contact, and they exchanged letters for the more intimate messages that would be embarrassing to relay through a telegraph operator.

Every day was busy for Ludwig as the Grand Duke.

Reading and replying to Marlena’s letters was a happy respite for him.

The envelope was addressed to His Highness, the Grand Duke of Rohitham.

But once opened, the letter greeted Ludwig with a very different title.

To my Roche,

Ludwig laughed quietly, touching his lips.

It was a pleasant title.

After finding his true identity, Marlena, who had been quite confused for a while, began calling him by the name she had given him, “Roche,” in private.

She even spoke informally to him, as she had when he was her bodyguard.

At first, she seemed to try to maintain formality, but it wasn’t easy to change the habitual way she spoke and acted.

Every time she made a mistake, she would close her eyes and bite her lip several times.

Eventually, she seemed to give up and said, “Please forgive my rudeness.”

Ludwig could forgive her for anything.

Honestly, he thought it was quite cute.

Ludwig’s meticulous gaze slowly scanned the paper.

After the sweet, albeit somewhat clichéd, greetings that always felt fresh to him, came news of her recent activities.

—

Lately, Becky has been the most fun to work with. And why wouldn’t she be? She finally got used to having Jacob Hennessy as her apprentice.

“Again, again, again! You made the same mistake again!”

Becky, with her small stature, crossed her arms and furrowed her brow.

“You’re repeating what the protagonist said! Did you mean to do that?”

“…”

Jacob Hennessy, who had once been a notable talent at Crestwell’s Grand Theater, was known for his creativity and sense of humor. However, due to his poor character, he still handled minor assistant writer tasks under Becky.

In the current Balthus Grand Theater system, Marlena often came up with much higher quality and more entertaining ideas, leaving Jacob with no reason to be proud.

“Do you know what your bad habit is? You don’t think at all!”

Jacob flinched at Becky’s words.

Her rebuke was the same line Jacob often used.

‘Do you know what your bad habit is? You don’t think at all! Your brain is empty!’

She hardly thought deeply herself, often leaving her apprentices scrambling to fix the contradictions.

Becky was considered cute as a chick-shaped castella by everyone else, but Jacob was the exception.

She believed in paying back exactly as much as she received.

Meanwhile, the head director, Dahlia Portman, was living a completely different life.

Working with a reasonable stage director had dramatically softened her previously hysterical personality.

“I love working, especially when it’s with Countess Balthus.”

The Crestwell Theater troupe found it hard to adapt to the sight of Dahlia humming.

—

His Majesty the King and Princess Idvina are also well.

Idvina quietly made her way to the street.

Wearing a veil to cover her face, she headed to a cemetery.

On the tombstone, the name Kieran Crestwell and his birth and death dates were neatly inscribed.

Idvina, about to place flowers in front of the tombstone, paused.

A white flower had already been placed there, suggesting someone had visited before.

Who could it be?

Who had come to mourn Kieran before her?

Strangely, the conversation she had with Duke Lopez a few days ago came to mind.

‘The Crestwell dukedom has met a disgraceful end,’ Idvina said regretfully.

Duke Lopez had deeply regarded her for a moment.

Sharing a common connection with Kieran Crestwell, the two might have understood each other best.

Even his sharp eyes were filled with regret.

But Duke Lopez soon composed himself and smiled lightly.

‘Though the name Crestwell is gone, there is still an heir.’

“…”

Idvina took off her gloves and gently touched the tombstone.

Kieran Crestwell.

He was the black sheep of the Crestwell family.

Decio and Oscar, the grandfather and grandson, closely resembled each other, but Kieran, who came in between, had a different disposition, as if he had taken after another family.

Perhaps her lingering attachment to the Crestwell duchy was an illusion from the start.

She was attached not to the “Crestwell” but to “Kieran.”

However, according to Duke Lopez’s hints, there is an heir.

Kieran’s spirit lives on.

Idvina thought of a woman with short red hair sweeping through the theater and smiled faintly.

* * *It seems that Serwen is bothering Miss Blanchette.

“Hey!”

Katarina’s loud voice echoed through the corridor.

Serwen, who was following her, flinched and shrank back.

“Why do you keep following me?”

“Because I finished cleaning…”

Serwen grinned sheepishly.

Seeing her eyes curve beautifully, Katarina lost her words.

“I’ll pay for your nimble hands, not your beautiful appearance.”

A few days after the Red Crow incident was resolved, Marlena hired Serwen as a cleaner at the Balthus Grand Theater.

She needed some status to protect her since she was from a lower class.

In fact, Serwen wanted to become an actor.

She had an appearance beautiful enough to succeed as an actor.

However, her acting skills, which had never been honed, were terrible.

Living in Oscar’s embrace, thinking she was his whole world, the only thing Serwen knew how to do was housework.

‘Unfortunately, there’s no role for you in your current state, so study more and try the next public audition.’

Thus, she was hired as a cleaner.

Fortunately, Serwen’s characteristic oblivious optimism sometimes turned out to be an advantage.

Humming like a princess in a fairy tale, she cleaned the troupe leader’s office until it sparkled.

When she greeted Marlena in the shiny office, she looked around with wide eyes.

‘Did you do all this by yourself? So clean?’

Serwen felt immensely proud of Marlena’s surprise inquiry.

From that day on, Serwen was completely smitten with Marlena.

She felt ashamed of having pitied and sometimes envied her in the past.

So she put more effort into her work.

She wanted to repay Marlena in any form for forgiving and employing her foolishly.

And when she finished her work quickly and had time left, she would follow Katarina around.

If Marlena was her benefactor, Katarina was her idol for her dream of becoming an actress.

“I didn’t ask if you finished your work. Why do you keep following me!”

“Hehe…”

Serwen laughed foolishly.

Katarina, unable to spit on a smiling face, was speechless with an exasperated expression.

Her face slowly reddened with bewilderment.

“Do you think I’ll teach you acting because of this?”

Serwen followed her simply because she was his idol, but Katarina misunderstood her completely.

“You don’t have to teach me…”

So Serwen spoke honestly.

“Eek…!”

But Katarina misunderstood her again.

She grabbed Serwen’s hesitant hand.

“I’ll teach you for just 10 minutes, so follow me!”

* * *Ludwig read Marlena’s letter to the end with a gentle smile.

Sunlight poured through the window behind him, bathing his whole body.

Feeling overwhelmed, he folded the letter and closed his eyes for a moment.

Soon, as the Grand Duke, he had an overseas tour scheduled.

He might meet Marlena in the Kingdom of Arlo.

Just hearing her voice and reading her letters were not enough.

He wanted to see her in person, listen to her, and hold her tightly.

“I want to see you soon…”

Ludwig muttered softly.

Then, as if snapping back to reality, he picked up his pen.

He had to write a reply immediately.

Finding the right words to express his feelings would take days, so he had to start now.