Chapter 5.2 — Princess Wedding (8)

A perverse curiosity pounced on the man he didn’t even know his face, like a man who was heartbroken as if he was crestfallen by the prima donna’s scandal.

Kaisaros Acheron. Iron Grand Duke.

As befits a somewhat cumbersome nickname, he was equally insensitive to the whole world, let alone rational… though to be heartbroken about such a thing?

The unfamiliar unpleasantness bothered him like a pencil in my pocket.

“Lord of Katak. I’m Kaisaros Acheron.”

As he greeted, the question mark floating in the innocent green eyes turned into an exclamation mark. A royal family whose thoughts were clearly visible on their faces… She was a character that was hard to find in the Empire. It was quite lovely to be such an honest princess.

He was unaware.

“I greet Princess Beatrice.”

A man who hadn’t made a mistake since he was five years old, the day would come when he would commit such basic disrespect.

The Princess, who looked back once again with a question mark on her face, turned back towards him again and smiled.

“Are you the Grand Duke of Acheron? I’m Lariette de Chalonné. Princess Beatrice, who is getting married next week, is my older sister.”

….!

“Her younger sister, Lariette, is cute and modest compared to her older sister.”

Narkissis’ nonsense passed through his mind.

Pleasantly plain…?

Where? It seemed that his arrogance even damaged his eyeballs.

Cain was so embarrassed that he was completely stunned. The statue-like expression cracked a little. However, having lived a dull life for twenty-five years, he was able to hide his frantic expression without even being aware of it.

…Such a thing.

Those eyes… the image of himself reflected in the green eyes, like a precious celestial emerald spilled by an angel, were truly unsightly. There was an illusion that his limbs were rattling like a wooden doll with the wrong joints.

Cain couldn’t even remember how the conversation went. He merely opened the door, yet she handed her gratitude. 

“Thank you for opening it for me.”

“It’s the right thing for me to do.”

Even after she entered the living room, the scent of peaches carried by the summer breeze lingered in the hallway. Was this also a perfume that was trending among the ladies these days?

‘I should be aware of the product.’

As he took a few steps down the hallway since he was heading to the garden, Cain’s steps suddenly stopped before he glanced back at Narkissis’ drawing room.

She was an innocent princess whose thoughts could be seen through clearly even when they just talked a few words. Would it be all right to leave such a person alone with His Highness Narkissis? In addition, it was also true that the Prince was a carnivorous animal, even though he was a fox who coveted the tiger’s vacancy.

“….”

It was true, but he didn’t have any right to meddle.

Weren’t Helios and Chalonné cordial countries that have been in communication for fifteen years? Unless a special incident occurred, he wasn’t in a position to intervene in the private lives of the royal families.

​​

There was no need to pay more attention to the princess who had just exchanged greetings, but… 

With a strangely uneasy feeling, Cain turned around again.

On the way, one of Helios’ guards said he heard a lark in the luggage compartment, so he needed to check just in case.

​​

˚ ·: * ✧ * :· ˚

Riette narrowed her swollen eyes and went down the stairs of the Princess’s Palace. She was on her way to retrieve the golden cage she had thrown away impulsively.

‘…What is marriage.’

To be the one and only existence to each other… two people in love swear to be special for the rest of their lives in front of everyone.

It was the definition of marriage that she knew.

Originally, marriage in the upper class was more like a transactional act of offering a suitable product to a family with a proper rank. In that respect, the royal family of Chalonné tended to be unique.

They loved like fire, not like royalty. Her mother still couldn’t forget her husband, even after her bereavement. Even her older sister, who had made a marriage promise with her one love, who was a commoner and not even a fallen aristocrat. 

So, a marriage without love… it was something that Riette couldn’t have imagined even though she was not interested in dating and marriage.

More than anything, she felt sorry for the Grand Duke, who didn’t know anything. Although Riette felt sorry for herself for being caught up in the political history of another country like lightning, in the end, the Grand Duke was the most innocent victim.

 ‘I can’t believe I have to seduce him because of his cousin’s machinations…’

Nonetheless, she couldn’t help it if she wanted to save her sister. What could she, a mere princess of a weak country, do against the Prince of a mighty empire who had planted a spy somewhere she wouldn’t even know…

“…Princess?”

Stepping into the garden of the Princess’s Palace, an enchanting voice caught Riette’s attention.

With his straight black hair and thick eyebrows, his cool blue eyes seemed deep in the shadows under the clear brow bone and his sharp jawline…

The sunlight was as if breaking through that fragment of ice. The cold, sharp fragments lost their cool and melted away on their own, glistening like water droplets on his straight face.

It was him.

Kaisaros Acheron.

Even though he was an undesirable opponent, she had to be happy to see him.

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