I Don’t Need the Grand Duke’s Regret - Chapter 168

When Durante returned to the mansion, he initially thought of reprimanding the princess for coming uninvited at a house with no owner.

But as the princess had mentioned to the butler, Durante had invited her to his country house long ago.

It wasn’t reasonable to question a guest who had already been invited.

‘That woman ordered me to kidnap a useless maid!’

Frustration from failing to achieve his goal turned Durante’s anger toward Bianca.

Bianca had claimed that Luce, being the princess’s confidante, could provide valuable information about her identity if she was captured.

But the maid, supposedly a trusted confidante, turned out to be an incompetent fool. When asked questions, she stumbled and mumbled, and when whipped, she just cried like a child.

Despite risking the abduction in the palace, Durante had gained nothing.

Not only had he gained nothing, but now he found himself summoned by the princess once more. He had ended up in a situation where the one person he needed to impress had thoroughly turned against him.

At this point, perhaps he should’ve stuck to the original plan and sent the princess a hollow promise of a golden statue.

‘What should I say? What can I say to get through this?’

Durante nervously tapped his feet. His normally sharp mind seemed to have come to a halt.

The future of the Adalberto family was at risk depending on how the princess responded. The lily bulbs were his only hope for survival.

‘Think, think!’

Durante grabbed his head.

It felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff.

But what was even worse was that his carriage had already begun to slow down.

Soon enough, the carriage with Durante stopped in front of the princess’s villa.

* * *

Mirabel observed Durante as he entered the reception room. He appeared without his usual cane, which suggested he had come in a hurry.

“You called for me.”

Durante said politely, bowing his head as he felt Mirabel’s gaze. When he lowered his head, Mirabel was glaring at him intently.

But in the next moment, her expression softened into a warm smile.

“Thank you for coming so quickly. Please, have a seat.”

“Yes, Princess.”

Durante hesitated for a moment before sitting on the sofa as instructed.

While the tea was being prepared, he fidgeted nervously, unsure of how to behave.

He had expected the princess to be angry, but she seemed to be perfectly calm, which left him feeling uneasy.

Mirabel observed him and casually asked,

“What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?”

“No, no.”

Durante quickly responded, lifting his head with an awkward smile. When Mirabel took a sip of tea, he followed her lead and lifted his own cup.

“I called the Count here today to apologize.”

“…What?”

Durante, swallowing the tea awkwardly, widened his eyes. He choked a little as Mirabel flashed a sweet smile.

The princess silently watched Durante, who was breathing heavily, without offering any words of concern. She didn’t bother with any polite expressions of worry.

Instead, her slight frown suggested that she was displeased with his behavior.

Noticing her reaction, Durante took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth, his greasy face was red.

He cleared his throat and tried to compose himself before speaking.

“I apologize. But what….exactly are you apologizing for?”

“I was at the Adalberto family’s country house earlier. It reminded me that I was invited by the Count.”

“I heard from the butler.”

“The Count insisted so much, I made a little time to visit. But since I went without warning, it ended up being like I was visiting an empty house.”

“Ah… It’s fine. That could happen.”

Durante smiled kindly after hearing the princess’s reason. Mirabel, seeing him act so gracious, glanced at him and stirred her tea with a spoon.

“But there’s something strange I saw there.”

Mirabel spoke calmly as she looked at him. She observed the way his pupils shifted nervously, her gaze narrowing as she studied him.

“I found my maid there, in a condition as if she had been whipped.”

“A maid? I’m not sure what you mean…”

“My maid was found at the Count’s mansion, so I brought her back. But the Count claims he knows nothing? Something happened in your house.”

Durante fell silent at the princess’s sharp question. He blinked awkwardly before responding slowly.

“Would you call off the maids? I’ll explain everything in detail.”

Mirabel nodded. The maids, including Sophie, left the room. Durante waited until the door closed before speaking.

“Actually… this is quite embarrassing, but…”

Mirabel fixed her calm gaze on Durante. She was prepared to see how he would squirm. She had no intention of forgiving him no matter what he said.

After returning to the palace, she entrusted Luce to Ugo and called for Durante. She summoned him to smooth over the situation of visiting the Count’s house without notice and searching through it.

Of course, considering what Durante had done, this was nothing compared to the greater offenses, but she didn’t want to give him even a small opening to criticize her.

She also wanted to know how he would handle the situation.

Would he immediately expose his ugly truth to the princess of a country, just like he did with Armilla?

“Go on, speak.”

“Well, the thing is, that maid stole my brooch. So, I quietly called her aside and gave her a stern talking to. But it seems my actions weren’t enough to resolve the issue, and I must have caused you some distress, Princess.”

“…”

“Princess?”

“I see. A brooch.”

Mirabel mulled over Durante’s explanation with a blank expression. Though her heart simmered with rage, her face remained as cold as ice.

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