My Dear Grand Duke on a Leash - Chapter 49

Chapter 25.1 — Best Bridesmaid (3)

Grand Duke Acheron was the lover of his cousin, the Princess?

“Where on earth did you hear such third-rate gossip magazine rumors from? We are royalty, especially sister, who has to endure gossip so much, so at least we shouldn’t believe in such things!”

「 You’ve fallen deeply for that man, haven’t you? To think that a child who has never done so would doubt my words! Everyone else knows it except for you! Even without that, because of your poor sister, how difficult and heart-wrenching it is for this mother, and you, like an inexperienced foal, are captivated by a man… 」

“Mother!”

Defiant anger flared up in her gentle eyes.

“You don’t believe me either, so why are you upset that I doubt you, Mother? I’m tired of this conversation now. I’m not going to talk about it anymore today!”

Without listening to her mother, she slammed down the phone forcefully. The ringing of the phone echoed like her mother’s screams, but Riette huffed in exasperation, picked up the receiver and placed it firmly on top of the phone’s body.

“….”

After standing there staring at the phone for a long moment, she stalked over to the window and flopped down on the bed. As she casually tossed her hat haphazardly to the ground, the maids who had been discreetly observing her while leaning against the window frame quietly stepped back.

“What is this…”

Apparently startled by the small commotion, Shushu had flown out the window. As an outdoor lark, he would often fly outside to enjoy his flight and return a few hours later.

‘Mother doesn’t know anything.’

As it turned out, the reason why her mother was ‘turning a blind eye’ to the Grand Duke was because he protected her sister, whom she felt so sorry for…

Why on earth wouldn’t she even try to listen to her, even once? Her mother could have at least shown some interest in her, even if it was just half as much as she did for her sister. If she had, she wouldn’t have spoken so carelessly.

‘…No matter how much I do. I’m tired of it now.’

“….!”

Riette suddenly shot up from her seat, startled by her own thoughts.

“Oh, my goodness. I…”

To think her mother was tiresome.

At times like this, she always tried to empathize with her mother’s feelings first. She had never thought it was difficult to pamper her mother before. It wasn’t only her mother but also the first time she felt dissatisfied with her sister.

‘…What has happened to me? Have too many things piled up, making me more sensitive?’

Or…

‘Princess, do you only know how to care about others?’

That one word of his that day might have pierced into her heart like a seed, perhaps trying to sprout something.

“Princess?”

“Look at this. I can even hear voices in my head. It seems like the aftereffects from the bombing that day are really taking a toll on me…”

“…Princess Lariette.”

“Eeek!”

The deep, commanding voice pierced her ears. Her shoulders bounced in surprise when she realized she wasn’t hallucinating. It was a voice coming from beyond the window frame, from the courtyard.

Riette abruptly stood up and looked through the window.

He was standing beneath the garden tree. His hair was neatly coiffed, as always, and he was dressed in a well-tailored lounge suit.

“Grand Duke!”

She couldn’t help but break into a wide smile.

The morning sunlight gently seeped into her complexion. Upon seeing him, the feeling of being all twisted up like a tumbleweed gave way to the welcoming warmth of spring sunlight, melting away like frost. At the same time, the cloud of sadness and confusion that had hung over her dissipated.

“How long have you been here? The appointment time hasn’t passed yet… Ah.”

She froze with an awkward expression, and soon enough, tension began to spread slowly across her pale face.

“Did you, by any chance, overhear that?”

“I apologize.”

“…From where?”

“The Grand Duke is the most wonderful man I know…”

“Kkyaak!”

Riette covered her face and pressed her forehead, or rather the back of her hand, against the window frame again. It seemed like steam was rising from her temples and burning hot all the way to her neck. There was a faint, almost soundless laughter, like a deflating sigh.

It must have been an auditory hallucination. The Grand Duke couldn’t possibly be laughing…

“I didn’t intend to eavesdrop, but thank you for the compliment.”

She slowly lifted her head as the calm, deep voice crossed over the window frame. His always understated and composed demeanor had the remarkable advantage of quickly dispelling the unease of those unfamiliar with his plain and unadorned face.

Riette, still fanning her warm cheeks with her hand, averted her gaze from him.

“Well… as you heard, I was planning to go to the courtyard, but something came up, so I couldn’t leave my room. I dressed up really nicely today, so it’s a bit disappointing.”

“Am I not looking at you now?”

“Can you see it clearly from there?”

“I can see well. Anywhere.”

As if the words had unexpectedly popped out like a slip of the tongue, Cain, the subject of the spontaneous confession, suddenly shut his mouth as she beamed even more brightly. It seemed like she had entertained some amusing thoughts as a playful glint danced in her large green eyes. She then hoisted her body up from the window sill.

“Well, please wait a moment.”

As per her command, there was a rustling sound coming from beyond the window frame as he waited. The noise grew faint as she moved away from the window, and then the sound of indoor slippers approaching became audible again.

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