My Dear Grand Duke on a Leash - Chapter 29

Chapter 15.1 — The dog, the lark and the Princess (13)

Bea stood, shielding Riette from their mother. It was a gesture of protection.

“Please, stop it. You take out your anger on her whenever you get nervous. Riette is also doing her best. A few days ago, because mother was angry for no reason, I spilled tea on Riette’s hands and burned them. Do you remember?”

On the contrary, Riette kept her mouth shut as if embarrassed. For her sister to stand up to her mother so blatantly…

“Yeah. It’s all this mother’s fault because I’m sensitive, unmerciful, and always hurt your feelings! All I can do is beg the heavens to let me follow your father, to stop tormenting you!”

“Mother! Why on earth would you deliberately say such hurtful things every time…”

Trying to intervene between her sister and mother, Riette shouted in a cheery voice.

“Mo-mother. The opera is about to start, so get into our seats. Yes?”

“That’s what you think of your mother too, don’t you, Lariette?! You always treat me like a neurotic without thinking about your shortcomings. You have no idea how much I’m suffering because of you…”

“No, when did I—”

Riette, who tried to calm Ceres, shut her mouth. It was because, over her mother’s shoulder, the door to her box seat was quietly closing. It was the first royal box seat where Narkissis and the Grand Duke would enter first.

‘…Could it be that His Highness Narkissis heard everything?’

An uncomfortable, awkward silence descended in the hallway as she stopped speaking. Ceres took a few breaths as she turned away from her daughters before turning her body instead of answering and heading for the first royal box seat. When the servant who stood like air opened the door, she quickly entered without waiting for her daughters to follow.

Bea and Riette stared in silence at the door, which closed with a thud.

At least, this was a peaceful solution.

But…

Her eyes were spinning. Of all things, it was Narkissis! Not that it wasn’t that he didn’t know about her mother’s personality, but still. She didn’t want to give him any indication that would get her caught…

Bea smiled apologetically at her sister, who was frozen in a daze.

“Let’s go in as well, Riette.”

“Huh? Uh… yes. Alright.”

Riette staggered into the royal box seats after her sister with a sullen face as if she was about to sink under the ground.

˚ ·: * ✧ * :· ˚

As the opera music permeated through the red curtains and chairs, Riette was half-melted into her chair. It must have been Narkissis, she was certain. It wouldn’t be the Grand Duke, would it?

If it was the Grand Duke—

It felt as if she was burned from her neck to the top of her head. She’d known Narkissis for a long time, so she could get over it somehow, but it was disgraceful to show such a scene to the Grand Duke like that. She hated it…

Bea’s soft grumbling drifted into Riette’s ears, who was mesmerized.

“I know mother is very anxious, but I think she’s gone a little overboard with the wedding coming up. I know it’s time to be cautious, but who would even aim for the life of the princess of a weak country? It’s nothing to worry about.”

Riette quickly erased the embarrassment from her mind. It was because her sister’s anxiety was more urgent than her own embarrassment.

‘Who’s there…’

She straightened her drooping body before sticking her head over the railing and peering into the box seat next to her.

In the first royal box seat, my mother, His Highness Narkissis, and brother-in-law Saint-Cyr sat side by side.

Soft light brown hair and grayish-brown eyes. His skin was as white as if he’d never been in the sun, and overall had a slender and tall body like that of a dancer. On top of that, he even had a monocle over his right eye. He was a handsome man with an intelligent face that gave off the smell of ink*.
[ T/N: Indicating to the stereotype that intellectual people are solely emerging themselves with books, writing and reading it, they would smell of ink. ]

In principle, it would’ve been right for Bea to stay with Saint-Cyr, but that was the way it was before what happened earlier…

It was a pitiful sight to see her brother-in-law suddenly caught between the Queen and the Prince.

As if he had been waiting for her, Narkissis faced her and smiled. Riette blatantly crinkled the bridge of her nose and quickly leaned back again.

Ah. Come to think of it, Grand Duke Acheron wasn’t there.

So the person she heard when the door opened earlier was really His Highness Narkissis? Where was the Grand Duke?

As she wondered, Riette lifted her opera glasses and scanned the other seats. The box seats, hanging in a horseshoe around the stage, were occupied by international dignitaries, nine percent of whom were spying not on the stage but on her and Bea.

It was a familiar sight. She would always get this much attention whenever she was with her sister.

“Riette. Whom are you looking for so hard? Are you curious about someone?”

“Unng. I was wondering where Archduke Acheron might be.”

‘Ah, there he is. As expected, he’s easy to find, no matter where you put him.’

Cain was chatting with four gentlemen in a box seat downstairs on the other side. Black, an artificial color that seemed to have no color or habit, was the first thing she noticed. Unruffled black hair, silver epaulettes, and medals adorned side by side on his chest.

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