I Don’t Need the Grand Duke’s Regret - Chapter 156

Durante had almost exhausted his funds trying to acquire the bulbs. But he couldn’t confess that truth to the princess.

Observing Durante’s sweating, Mirabel chuckled faintly. She shook her head and spoke.

“I appreciate the offer, but I must decline. ‘The Breath of the Fairy’ belongs only to Segolinde.”

“Princess!”

“We’re leaving now, Sophie.”

“Princess…”

“Father!”

Just as Mirabel turned her back on Durante, the door to the prayer room swung open violently, and a young woman appeared.

She looked to be barely twenty, with a youthful, fresh face.

“Here you are! I’ve been searching everywhere for you!”

The woman stormed towards Durante. She had the same brown hair and red eyes as him, and wore a dress adorned with jewels.

“Madam Katrin says she won’t hand over my dress until the final payment is made! You need to fix this!”

“Julia! What are you doing here?!”

Durante looked clearly flustered by his daughter’s antics and glanced at Mirabel. Julia, noticing her father’s gaze shift elsewhere, tugged at his sleeve and whined.

“Hurry! If I don’t get the fitting done now, I won’t have a dress for the funeral!”

“Just wear any black dress! It doesn’t matter!”

Durante growled, his voice low as he bared his teeth. As his eyes widened with frustration, Julia hunched her shoulders as though taken aback by his tone.

“But, isn’t the Grand Duke coming that day? I want to impress him…”

At the mention of the ‘Grand Duke,’ Mirabel’s gaze shifted toward her.

She had almost forgotten.

Count Adalberto’s daughter, Julia Adalberto.

She was the woman who was supposed to marry Ricardo after he abandoned Armilla.

“This is the first time I’m meeting him since I came of age. The Emperor passed away before he could announce our engagement, and Father said I have to do whatever it takes to win his favor.”

“Shh! Quiet!”

Mirabel’s face paled as she listened to Julia and Durante’s conversation.

Her blood seemed to run cold.

She knew Ricardo had planned to marry another woman while imprisoning Armilla in the Red Room.

It was something she had already known.

But seeing his fiance standing before her, so alive, made her stomach churn.

‘I feel sick.’

Mirabel lightly pounded her chest with a clenched fist. It felt as though something was lodged in her solar plexus. She shivered from the familiar pain and bit her lip tightly.

Why was she hearing this here?

Why did she have to endure this humiliation because of someone she didn’t even love?

For a moment, all the emotions, love, hatred, felt awkward.

She was tired of feeling pain and anguish because of Ricardo.

“Father, the tailor will be closing soon! We need to go right now…”

Mirabel watched Julia, who was fussing as if preparing for a wedding rather than a funeral, with cold eyes.

Then, she straightened her posture, bit her lip, and forced a smile.

“If you’re in such a hurry, go ahead, Count. The conversation is over.”

“What? Pri, Princess!”

Mirabel didn’t give Durante a chance to stop her and quickly moved away. Her face was far colder than when she had looked at him earlier.

* * *

Valerio looked at Ricardo, who was lying in bed with a serious expression.

He had thought Ricardo looked emaciated when he saw him last time, but something must have happened since then, as his condition had worsened.

Even more concerning, he had sustained serious internal injuries.

Valerio, who had come to see Ricardo at the palace, was taken aback by the news he had heard. He spoke in disbelief as he observed Ricardo receiving treatment.

“So, you really were attacked by beasts? You?”

Ricardo didn’t answer and kept his mouth tightly shut. It seemed like, just as before, he wasn’t fully aware of his surroundings.

Valerio, watching him endure the pain, glanced at Nasir, who had been observing the treatment. Nasir, noticing Valerio’s gaze, spoke.

“Heavy snowfall prevented any beast hunting for a while. In that time, the beast population grew.”

“Even if the numbers increased, it doesn’t make sense for Ricardo Vittore to be taken down by beasts.”

“Well…”

“It must be that my skills have declined.”

Ricardo, who had been listening silently, gave a faint smile and spoke. He drank a potion that Ugo handed him and struggled to sit up.

“Still, I protected what I needed to.”

“Protected? What? Wait, hold on…”

Valerio, who had been questioning Ricardo, suddenly realized something and opened his mouth slightly. He had just conversed with Ricardo without thinking much of it.

Valerio brightened and said,

“Are you back to your old self? Are you feeling better?”

“What do you mean by ‘feeling better’?”

“Look at me. Do you recognize me?”

“Shut up, Valerio.”

“My goodness!”

Valerio covered his mouth and smiled with an expression of deep emotion.

He had been staring at Ricardo, and now, pulling a chair next to the bed, he said,

“Well, if your mind has come back, that’s enough. Your body will regain its strength soon enough. You’ve been like a wreck for over a year, so of course, you can’t be the same as before.”

“Are you saying I was crazy?”

“You weren’t in your right mind, were you?”

Valerio said with a furrowed brow. He turned to Ugo, who was gathering his medical supplies, and asked,

“How is the Grand Duke’s condition?”

“His internal injuries are severe, so he won’t be able to use magic for the time being. Fortunately, his overall health is good, so it won’t interfere with his movement, but he should avoid overexerting himself as much as possible.”

“Right. Good work. You can go now. The rest of you, too, leave.”

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