I Don’t Need the Grand Duke’s Regret - Chapter 128

Charles then extended his pinky finger towards Nasir.

Nasir, taken aback, looked at the child’s gesture as Charles firmly said,

“I won’t tell Uncle Wolf. Pomise!”

“A promise.”

Nasir smiled warmly and hooked his pinky with the child’s. After making the promise, Charles hugged Nasir tightly.

“Nasir don’t be sad.”

“Eh? I…”

Nasir, confused, accepted the child’s hug in an awkward stance. Charles whispered while holding him close,

“You look so, so sad.”

“Did I?”

“Ung.”

Nasir gently stroked his chin as he listened to Charles’s response. After graduating from the academy, Nasir had immediately become an assistant to the Vittore family.

Until now, he had focused solely on his role as a calm assistant, neglecting his own emotions. He had not even realized that the Red Room was also a painful memory for him—one that held the time when he nearly lost Ricardo and had to confine Armilla.

The Red Room was a place imbued with all the tragic events Nasir had personally witnessed.

“I… I didn’t know.”

Nasir murmured with a trembling voice. He leaned against the warm presence of the child, closing his eyes briefly before opening them slowly.

“Prince Charles?”

Hearing footsteps behind him, Nasir turned to see Luce’s voice.

“Luce!”

Nasir heard Charles’s shout and turned his head. Luce, in cleaning uniform and breathing heavily, bowed to match Charles’s eye level and spoke.

“I forgot to come and get the prince. Luce is sorry.”

“It’s fine. I brought him here.”

Nasir said calmly, noting Luce’s disheveled appearance. He had a vague idea of what had happened.

When Ricardo attempted to take his own life, the doctor had said that if it hadn’t been for Luce, they might not have found him in time. Since then, Luce had managed the Red Room out of a sense of duty.

Seeing her in a cleaning uniform, it seemed she had been to the Red Room. That explained why Charles had called out about Luce being near the red room—he must have seen her going in and out with cleaning tools.

Though their paths hadn’t crossed, Nasir gave a light sigh and adjusted the cloak around Charles.

“Since he’s sneezing, let’s keep him warm.”

“Yes.”

“And the cloak…”

Nasir was about to give further instructions to Luce when the door to the green room swung open, spilling a bright light into the hallway.

Nasir squinted against the intense light. Unlike the dim hallway, the green room was lit as if it were a spring afternoon.

Thus, Nasir couldn’t see the face of the woman with her back to the light.

But Charles, surprisingly, recognized the woman immediately. He even reached out his hand toward her.

“Mommy!”

“Charles.”

It took Nasir a moment longer to identify the woman. She was the guest staying in the green room whom Prince Charles referred to as ‘Mommy.’

It was Princess Mirabel.

Nasir bowed his head in respect to the princess.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Princess.”

Princess Mirabel, holding Charles, stood up straight and approached him. As a deep shadow fell over Nasir, a melodious voice reached his ears.

“Thank you, Nasir.”

‘Thank you, Sir Nasir.’

For a moment, Nasir’s mind flashed with the familiar and nostalgic voice, causing him to look up sharply. The voice of a maid bringing a veil for the princess intertwined with the princess’s voice.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing.”

Nasir, flustered, lowered his gaze. The princess’s voice had briefly unsettled him. Her tone resembled a voice he could never hear again.

Armillia, that pitiful woman’s voice.

‘Had I missed her, too?’

Nasir reflected bitterly, nodding to himself. Perhaps it was due to holding Prince Charles. Today, his thoughts kept drifting back to Armillia.

Armillia Vittore.

The woman who had spoken of loving Ricardo with sad eyes while hunching her frail shoulders.

And the poor woman who had vanished into the snowy mountains.

“…Did you bring him?”

“Pardon?”

Nasir, lost in thoughts of Armillia’s sorrowful face, muttered absently. The princess laughed softly at his reaction and spoke in a voice tinged with amusement.

“I was asking if Nasir had brought Charles.”

“Yes. I happened to see the prince in the hallway, so…”

“Luce made a mistake!”

Before Nasir could finish his explanation, Luce, who had been standing beside him, suddenly threw herself onto the floor.

“Luce, Luce forgot! The prince is the most important. If we lose the prince, it would be a big problem. I forgot to go get the prince! I’m sorry, I made a mistake!”

Luce shouted, almost on the verge of tears. The princess sighed lightly at the maid’s apology.

“It’s alright, since Charles is safely back in my arms.”

“But…”

“It’s okay, Luce. Please stand up.”

“Yes, Luce! It’s okay!”

The cheerful voice of the child supporting the princess’s words made Luce bite her lip. Her nose, now red, was a clear sign of her embarrassment as she rose to her feet. Even though the princess had assured her, Luce still hunched her shoulders and said,

“Luce is such a fool. I’m so stupid…”

“Don’t say that. Everyone makes mistakes.”

Nasir listened respectfully to the princess’s kind words.

Earlier, he had briefly mistaken the princess’s voice for Armillia’s. But now he realized it was different. Though the voices seemed similar at first, they were fundamentally different.

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