I Don't Need the Grand Duke's Regret - Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Translator: effe
“The doctor is still in the main building. Come with me.”
“It’s fine.”
Armilla, who was being dragged by Ricardo without knowing why, got startled and pulled her hand. If someone sees Ricardo holding her wrist, there will be another rumor. That should never happen..….
“What are you so afraid of?”
Armilla, who was busy looking around for the gazes, suddenly saw the purple eyes appear in front of her. Ricardo said, cupping Armilla’s cheeks with his cold hands.
“Who are you looking at, from earlier?”
Ricardo raised his eyebrows. He looked displeased with Armilla, who kept telling lies that she was not good at. He seemed either offended or annoyed.
“I am the master of this place. There is no one else you should care about.”
“But, if Your Grace gets close to me, bad rumors will spread.”
“Rumors?”
Ricardo laughed dumbfoundedly. Armilla’s heart sank at his cold laughter.
“Rumors…….”
Ricardo let go of Armilla and placed his hands on his waist. He stared at Armilla with a brooding look.
“You said that last time too. There is a rumor going around that you are my mistress.”
Ricardo stroked his smooth jaw line with his long fingers. Armilla waited for him to continue with the feeling of a child awaiting her punishment.
“Is that so? If not the mistress…… ”
Armilla’s shoulders shrank at Ricardo’s low muttering. She lifted her tear-stained face to look at him. She wondered what Ricardo was thinking.
“Thanks to you, I got a good idea. Come here.”
Ricardo gave Armilla an order and opened the hallway window. When the window was opened, the lilies scattered on the floor were blown around by the rushing northern wind.
Ricardo held Armilla’s slender shoulders and stood behind her. His touch made her tense and took in a breath.
She couldn’t tell if her teeth were chattering because of the cold or because of Ricardo’s sudden behavior.
“Let’s make a deal. There is something I want from you.”
“What is it?”
Ricardo did not answer right away, but cast his gaze towards the vast manor visible through the window. Armilla, who followed him as she looked out over the desolate land, heard a bored voice in her ears.
“I need a Grand Duchess. A woman with no family and ambitions. A woman who would be quietly locked up in the mansion.”
No way…….
Armilla couldn’t believe her ears. When she turned her head, his gaze met her dry purple eyes. Ricardo looked at Armilla with a persistent gaze and spoke.
“Be my wife.”
Ricardo said dryly.
It was probably the most bleak marriage proposal in the world.
Still, Armilla’s heart was beating fast. The marriage proposal from Ricardo rang in her head. The wish she had secretly hoped for, the dream, has become a reality. Maybe she was dreaming right now.
Could it be that she had lost her consciousness again and fell into a vain dream? Armilla’s little head was filled with all kinds of thoughts.
“…… yes.”
Armilla answered bewitched.
Whatever. Dreams, vain things. If she could be happy even for a moment, that was enough.
“Yes. I will be your wife.”
Ricardo smiled in satisfaction at the obedient answer. For the first time, Armilla saw his smile that seemed genuine so she was sure that this was a dream.
If it wasn’t a dream, it would have made no sense.
* * *
Splash!
“Oohh, my mistake.”
A half-hearted apology came to Armilla’s ear as she was doused in cold water, accompanied by a giggle.
Armilla, so entranced by the cold that her body shivered even as she stood still, raised her gaze with a trembling chin. The maid, who was tilting the bucket from the second-floor balcony, looked down at her and spoke confidently.
“What are you looking at? I said it was a mistake, right?”
It was the gray-haired maid, Bianca, who always took the lead in harassing Armilla.
Since the rumor spread that Armilla was marrying the Grand Duke, these little harassments continued.
In particular, Bianca’s manipulation was extremely persistent. She suddenly decided to help Armilla with her clothes, pricking her white skin with a sharp needle every morning.
But Armilla didn’t care. It was the same now. She wiped the water running down her cheek with an indifferent face.
Armilla said nothing and turned her eyes away from Bianca. This time the bucket fell to the floor due to the aloof reaction.
The iron bucket fell at her feet making a loud sound, but Armilla sighed lightly and walked away.
If it were like before, she would have been busy keeping an eye around. But not anymore.
Because she will soon become Ricardo’s wife. She will become the Grand Duchess and she will proudly be by his side. So it didn’t matter.
‘I guess I’ll have to redraw the map.’
Armilla looked at the paper she was holding in regret. She was on her way to deliver the map to Ricardo, who was training with the knights, at Nasir’s request.
The map got wet, so she had to draw it again from the beginning. Fortunately, this wasn’t a sketch, so she thought she could just go back to the study and draw a new one.
“If it were me, I would step out right now.”
Someone’s voice caught Armilla as she hurried her steps toward the study. Hearing the energetic young man’s voice, Armilla paused and turned her head.
A young beautiful man with auburn hair cut short and wearing silver armor on his sturdy body was glaring at Armilla. He approached Armilla with a belligerent step as his eyes met hers.
“It’s no use doing this.”
The man who spoke without hesitation took Armilla’s map and tore it to pieces.
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