“I thank His Highness the Grand Duke for his consideration. I will send the ring size along with the bride’s pledge gift. And if it’s acceptable to His Highness the Grand Duke, we would like to use the dress and veil currently stored in the Sodel family.”
“Of course that’s fine. This is a once-in-a-lifetime wedding, and His Highness the Grand Duke said he should respect the future Grand Duchess’s opinions as much as possible.”
Rupert smiled pleasantly.
Jacone felt his vague fear of the Grand Duke diminishing significantly, though he certainly hadn’t shed all his worries yet.
‘Even though Essie said emotions aren’t important.’
A married couple are lifelong companions.
With respect, there would be no fear of the relationship collapsing, but if affection were added, life’s colors would become much more vibrant.
Having grown up watching his parents who were as close as a pair of lovebirds, Jacone naturally felt such a future was ideal.
‘I hope Grand Duke Leodinas… comes to love Essie.’
So that she wouldn’t feel lonely.
I hope he loves her even more than our family does.
⁕⁕⁕
“Hey~ Rupert! Over here.”
Gideon, dressed in loose coachman’s attire and standing casually in the distance, waved his arm.
Rupert knew how to ride horses. However, not wanting to mess up his neatly arranged attire, he had specially taken a carriage for this visit to the Sodel viscounty’s territory.
He did tend to get carriage sickness, but Gideon, who could drive a carriage in a way that miraculously prevented motion sickness, had offered to be his daily coachman, which was why they were traveling together.
Gideon opened the door like a real coachman, then shuffled into the carriage behind Rupert.
“Hey, what’s this?”
There was another passenger—or rather, another item—in the carriage. Rupert grimaced upon discovering a large box taking up an entire seat.
The box was filled with jarred cherries.
Rupert turned to Gideon with an incredulous frown.
“You bought preserves by the crate.”
“What can I do when they’re so delicious! And since we came all this way, it’s profitable to buy in bulk. It’s not like these go bad easily.”
Gideon protested.
Rupert leaned back in his seat with a dismissive snort, while Gideon opened one of the jars.
He gripped the jar with his large hands and enthusiastically scooped out the plump, juicy cherries. He looked exactly like a bear raiding a honey pot.
‘I see why the intelligence unit guys have been calling him the cherry-eating bear lately. Now I understand why.’
Gideon asked with sparkling eyes:
“How was it? Did you see the future Grand Duchess?”
“No. Just her brother.”
Recalling Jacone Sodel gave him an odd feeling.
“But there’s something that bothers me.”
“What is it, what is it?”
“The glasses Jacone Sodel was wearing were a magical artifact.”
As the Grand Duke’s aide, Rupert had encountered countless magical artifacts—from precious ones to common, crude ones.
What Jacone wore was a type of magical artifact that blurred one’s impression, nothing particularly rare.
‘Though it seemed rather intricately made to not cause discomfort to others.’
The question was why he was wearing a magical artifact.
“Anyway, it has the effect of making one’s impression blurry, but it was modified to feel like ordinary glasses.”
“Why?”
The startled bear froze. With a moist cherry held between his lips, he looked quite seductive.
“Do you want to die?”
“Why…?”
Gideon made an aggrieved expression.
Rupert wanted to smack the other man’s head. However, thinking that hitting a rock with hands that had never held anything heavier than a pen would only hurt himself, he refrained.
Gideon blinked repeatedly before offering his own theory:
“Maybe he’s hideously ugly and doesn’t want to show his face?”
“I thought so too, but…”
Gideon’s speculation had sufficient basis. Typically, blood relatives share some physical resemblance. Word had already spread widely that the future Grand Duchess was frighteningly plain, so if her brother looked similar, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have a complex about it.
However…
Magical artifacts that interfere with human vision have slight blind spots.
Of course, if made by an exceptional craftsman where price is no object, advanced techniques could eliminate even these blind spots, but it seemed unlikely the Sodel viscounty would have paid such an amount for a magical artifact.
Rupert’s curiosity was piqued, and as he left the reception room, he moved his gaze to target the blind spot.
‘When turning the corner, viewing from behind the jaw…’
For an instant, Rupert thought he saw an astonishingly beautiful man.
⁕⁕⁕
Jacone didn’t touch the gifts sent by the grand ducal family.
This was different from the gifts bestowed by the imperial family. The Emperor had sent gifts to placate the Sodel family and make them follow his orders. In contrast, the Grand Duke’s gifts were sent with Esteller in mind.
Therefore, naturally, Esteller should be the first to open them.
He carefully gathered the items and went to the annex.
“Brother.”
Jacone felt warmth in his heart as his sister turned to him with a gentle smile.
“Essie, His Highness the Grand Duke has sent you a pledge gift.”
Esteller’s eyebrows rose, and her eyes widened along with them.
She placed a bookmark in the book she was reading and stood up.
“I wonder what he sent.”
The box brought by aide Rupert was made in three tiers. Though not as splendid as the jewelry box from the imperial family, it had a simple, sturdy elegance.
“What a nice box.”
Esteller expressed quiet admiration.
The box looked durable enough to withstand considerable wear. Moreover, the interlocking sections could be assembled into one large box or separated individually, making it practical as well as well-crafted.
Esteller separated the box layer by layer with practiced hand movements, starting from the top.
The first layer contained a pearl necklace. Unusually, the surface wasn’t ivory-colored but had a smooth, pale pink luster.
The second layer held coral ornaments. Their blood-red color was vivid and beautiful.
In the bottom layer rested a large conch shell. It was very large and well-formed, without a single crack on its surface.
“……”
Esteller picked it up and held it to her ear.
Whoosh—whoosh.
Whoooosh.
She heard the sound of waves crashing on the shore. From far to near, then near to far, the echoes repeated.
Something like sea foam seemed to churn within her chest.
She had never been to the sea, not even once.
She had read travel journals praised for their excellent descriptions of the sea and seen meticulously detailed paintings, but experiencing it with her own eyes had been impossible.
Her entire life, trapped in a cage that only appeared magnificent from the outside…
After contemplating silently with her eyes lowered, Esteller eventually put down the conch shell and opened the card beside it.
No matter what hardships may come, I will always respect, love, and protect you.
—Dante Odere Leodinas
The handwriting was powerful and intense.
Ironically, Esteller liked that he had assumed hardships would come in the future. Claiming eternal peace would be like covering one’s eyes and ears while turning away from reality.
‘I like it.’
She had been waiting for someone like this all along.
“Do you… like it?”
“Yes.”
When Esteller showed genuine satisfaction, Jacone, who had been anxiously watching her reaction, couldn’t hide his joy.
‘Thank goodness.’
He tried to remain as calm as possible, but it was beyond his control. Though he had kept it secret, his nerves were just as frayed as Winneka’s.
Esteller had matured too early for some reason. She always wore a face as calm and serene as water, with distant eyes that seemed to wander far away though her body remained present.
She had never properly thrown a tantrum. Jacone sometimes felt as if the childhood she should have enjoyed had been completely carved away.
He wanted to compensate for Esteller’s lost childhood. He wanted to give her the freedom to express her complaints and childish whims someday.
But no matter how hard he tried, the cruel passage of time always outpaced him.
As the messenger had mentioned earlier, the wedding was fast approaching. After the ceremony… she would leave Delmira.
The Sodel viscounty where she had lived for twenty years. Just like that, in an instant.
Jacone felt both happy and melancholic seeing the items Dante had thoughtfully sent. It made him realize how close they were to the day he would have to say goodbye to his sister.
‘Essie is really leaving.’
Imagining returning during the next school break to find the annex empty made something hot surge up inside him.
Jacone forced himself to tense his lips and eyes, trying not to show his emotions. Seeing his cheek twitch, Esteller embraced him tightly and patted his back as if to say he was hopeless.
“I’m perfectly fine, yet you’re the one suffering from pre-wedding depression.”
“…Let’s just say I’m suffering on your behalf, sniff.”
When Esteller released her arms, Jacone quickly wiped his moist eyes while pretending to clean his glasses.
Out of consideration for him, Esteller pretended not to notice.