I Don't Need the Grand Duke's Regret - Chapter 73
Even someone like Bianca, who harbored baseless jealousy, existed. It seemed she held a grudge from being severely rebuked by Ricardo previously, as she remained silent to all questions.
Ricardo dismissed her without much thought. He had no intention of arguing with a maid.
Especially Bianca, it wasn’t worth the time it took to engage with her. It was better to spend even a moment more searching for clues than dealing with her.
It was frustrating.
The purpose of speaking with the servants was to find clues about Armilla, not to discover how lonely she had been.
The world Ricardo saw through Armilla’s eyes was suffocating.
Armilla had only Ricardo. This simple sentence was something he was well aware of because she had said so herself.
However, Ricardo didn’t attach much significance to it. He considered it as meaningless as any declaration of love.
He didn’t realize that truly, in Armilla’s world, there was only him.
‘How can someone live like that?’
It seemed Armilla had lived as if she didn’t exist whenever Ricardo left the mansion.
She didn’t even go for walks in the garden or meet anyone. The only person she was close to was a single maid.
Ricardo rubbed his temples, feeling uneasy.
“Tell me everything you know about Armilla. Even the smallest detail is fine.”
“Lady, Lady Armira likes the Master. Very, very much…”
Luce’s sobbing reply made Ricardo bite his lip. What the maid said was something he already knew.
He knew, but previously, it didn’t quite reach his heart.
Why did it now make his heart feel so sore?
“Anything else?”
Ricardo feigned a calm demeanor to press the maid further. Then, the maid began to cry out loud again. Dashing any hope he had of gathering information from her.
“I don’t know anymore. I, I miss Lady Armira… Waaah, Lady Armira…”
Luce’s wails, as desperate as a child missing their mother, made Ricardo sigh deeply.
Even Armilla’s so-called only ally needed more help than she could offer. Ricardo’s eyes narrowed with fatigue as he watched Luce cry for Armilla.
Armilla must have poured her love into even this maid. She was a woman full of love.
And it was Ricardo who had driven such a woman away.
He was the one who had made her tired of love, made her sad, and eventually made her leave.
Ricardo felt a wrenching pain in his heart at his own fault.
He wished he could turn back time.
He wanted to turn everything back and love Armilla.
But he couldn’t. The one he wanted to love was already gone.
“That’s enough, you can leave now.”
Ricardo sent Luce away and gazed out the window. He was tormented by the thought of Armilla lost somewhere out there.
She, who always sought warmth in his arms at dawn. How could she withstand the biting cold of the snowy mountains?
He took Armilla’s bracelet from the inside of his jacket. Holding it in his cold gaze, he kissed it and closed his eyes. The tears of regret welled up and streamed down his cheeks.
“Armilla…”
A mournful voice leaked out between chapped lips.
Armilla, why didn’t I love you? Why didn’t I tell you I loved you?
Why was it so hard to say that it led you to feel so alone?
That you eventually left me?
As he held the bracelet, veins bulged on the back of his hand. Opening his eyes, he smiled. A smile so cold amidst the tears streaming down.
That was when.
Ricardo’s world began to turn into hell.
* * *
“How is he?”
Paolo cautiously asked Nasir, who had just emerged from the Grand Duke’s office. He was afraid of facing the Grand Duke alone since he had been threatened with his life.
“Not good.”
Nasir replied, his tone heavy with worry. Ricardo had faced criticism from the imperial faction for abruptly returning from his journey to the palace, accused of having ulterior motives.
Furthermore, having remained reclusive for nearly a year thereafter, suspicions about Ricardo only deepened.
“I might have to visit the imperial palace myself soon.”
“What are we supposed to do without you here!”
Paolo exclaimed in alarm.
Since Armilla’s disappearance a year ago, Renato had significantly deteriorated.
Under Ricardo’s stoic leadership, the people had maintained order even through harsh winters. Now, plunged into chaos and uncertainty, they lacked direction, with the Grand Duke unable to recover his composure.
Ricardo had halted patrols of the border region and neglected his duties to his domain. His focus lay solely on finding the Grand Duchess.
The problem of Armilla’s flight didn’t just affect Renato internally.
With all of Renato’s knights now searching for the Grand Duchess, the region was left vulnerable because of the shortage of manpower. This led to all knights dispatched to Adalberto to be recalled.
Thereby displeasing Count Durante of Adalberto. If things continued, he might refuse to supply grain in the next quarter.
Renato, once a place of peace and quiet, now teetered on the brink of instability.
“I’m doing this for Renato. Don’t worry too much. I’ll make it quick…”
Bang.
“A guest arrives, and the butler is nowhere to be seen?”
As Nasir attempted to reassure Paolo, a booming voice filled the room along with the mansion’s door bursting open.
“Crown Prince…?”
Nasir couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing before him was the Crown Prince, who should have been in the imperial palace.
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