Secrets with Crown Prince 28

After looking back on the past, unfamiliar emotions bloomed in a corner of my heart.

What did I think of Cha Do-hyuk PD? Was he just an alright person? Was that all there was to it?

“Did you like our Do-hyuk?” Do-hyuk’s mother had asked.

“No. The two were quite exceptional,” said a colleague from work.

“Was it really true that you two were dating?” my date had asked.

Even my mother asked similar questions.

Did I really like Cha Do-hyuk? The past seen through the memory potion troubled my heart.

In the end, I avoided Cha Do-hyuk. Instead of visiting the palace once every four days, it had been ten days since I had gone there.

Fortunately, he seemed busy due to the ongoing trial at the Alpine News Agency.

“Are you going to the Imperial Palace?” Rioel asked, sitting on my room’s chair while he read a book and observed me preparing for an outing.

“No, I’m going to visit the Roadwald manor. And why are you reading books in someone else’s room? You seem restless, so might you want to go to your own room?”

Upon hearing my words, Rioel pouted slightly with an annoyed expression.

“Why are you pouting like a child? Quit whining.”

If I said ‘Get out of here and go to your room‘, he might actually throw a tantrum, so I swallowed my words.

Officially, Rioel was two years older than me, but he was like an eight-year-younger “little brother” to me.

“Didn’t you learn how to treat an older sibling from the etiquette instructor? I’m your elder brother!”

Eventually, Rioel grumbled. It seemed he really wanted to hear the term “elder brother.”

“Alright, Elder Brother. Have you been wandering in my room all morning just to hear that word?”

In response to my question, Rioel’s face turned bright red.

I watched him dart away like he was on fire. I awkwardly locked eyes with the maid Maria, who was helping me with my necklace.

“Uh… It seems that Young Master likes the young Lady very much.”

“Do you think so too?”

As Maria and I exchanged glances, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

We hurriedly finished getting ready and soon headed to the Roadwald Manor.

“Young lady, we’ve arrived at the Roadwald Manor.”

The coachman opened the carriage door, and Maria and I stepped out together.

Argan, along with the manor’s servants, came out to greet me at the manor’s entrance.

It was a hot afternoon with the sun scorching overhead. So, why was Argan, the deputy commander of the Alpine Empire’s First Knights Division, welcoming me at home during regular working hours?

“I didn’t know you were in the manor. Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

In response to my question, Argan, standing upright in formal attire, lifted his head from the kiss on my hand and smiled at me.

“Young Lady was coming, so I should welcome you as your fiancé.”

Once again, we had never been engaged.

However, I had some business with Duke Roadwald, so I tried to appease Argan as much as possible.

Ah, what a social life.

“It’s been a while, my dear. You must have been busy.”

Surprisingly, Duchess Roadwald seemed more carefree than I thought.

She had thick blond hair, a petite stature, and a slightly plump and warm impression.

“I’ve heard about you from Her Majesty. You’ve been dealing with all those silly ladies, and it must have been quite the task.”

Duchess Roadwald guided me into the parlor with a warm smile.

Seeing Argan following us, she made a displeased expression. It was a gesture uncharacteristic of the Duchess of the Roadwald manor.

“What are you doing here instead of working? Get to work.”

In response to Duchess Roadwald’s chilly words, Argan looked bewildered. But what happened next was even more bewildering.

“Madam Camilla, His… His, His Highness, Crown Prince Reynold, has come to visit.”

The butler of the Roadwald household came to deliver the message to the Lady of the Manor.

Camilla, or Duchess of Roadwald, looked at me perplexedly.

Is Reynold really “The One Who Should Not Be Named” here? I can’t understand why people always stutter when mentioning Cha Do-hyuk’s name.

With such thoughts, I also turned to Camilla and Argan in embarrassment.

“Why would His Highness Reynold suddenly come here…”

Seeing them looking at me puzzledly, the Duchess of Roadwald sighed.

“Escort him to the parlor.”

Upon the Duchess’s command, the butler bowed deeply and quickly disappeared.

I really couldn’t fathom why Cha Do-hyuk would come all the way to the Roadwald Manor.

Could he have visited here because it has been a while since I’ve visited the palace?

“Why have you been avoiding me these days?”

An ominous premonition is always accurate.

I looked at Cha Do-hyuk while receiving the cold gaze of Duchess Roadwald and Argan, who had stubbornly refused to go to work.

Cha Do-hyuk entered the parlor and greeted Duchess Roadwald and Argan with appropriate courtesy, then came straight to me.

“Why did you come all the way here?”

I asked. Cha Do-hyuk sighed after briefly glancing at Duchess Roadwald and Argan.

He took something from his jacket pocket and placed it on the table.

“It’s a small gift for you, madam.”

As Duchess Roadwald opened the gift, she looked surprised.

“Ruplana extract? It must have been hard to get…”

What is Ruplana extract?

As I pondered, even Argan, who usually didn’t like Cha Do-hyuk, sincerely expressed his gratitude.

“I simply acted on Ena’s request.”

Cha Do-hyuk said, and this time, Duchess Roadwald’s grateful face turned towards me.

I listened to Duchess Roadwald’s thanks for a while and quickly left the parlor earlier than expected.

It was thanks to Cha Do-hyuk.

“What is Ruplana extract?”

As we left the Roadwald Manor, I asked, and Cha Do-hyuk looked at me and shrugged.

“They say pomegranate extract is good for menopause. It’s pomegranate extract.”

“But isn’t it hard to find pomegranates in Alpine?”

“Turning the impossible into possible is my ability.”

I felt as if he was behaving like a well-mannered husband.

I was sure that he brought the Ruplana extract to impress Duchess Roadwald.

Even though it was something I mentioned in passing, he remembered it.

“I have to return to the palace now.”

“Why would such a busy person come all the way here?”

“Of course, I came to see your face.”

After ruffling my hair playfully, he burst into a bright smile reminiscent of a lively adolescent boy, making the midday sun shine even brighter.

“After drinking the memory restoration potion and seeing the past, you kept avoiding me…”

His gentle hand caressed my head, but I couldn’t find the right words to answer and averted my gaze.

“I did wonder how people would react after my death, that’s true. But, to be honest, there was only one person’s reaction I was most curious about.”

Saying that Cha Do-hyuk lowered his head softly.

I kept avoiding his gaze, but as his face came closer and closer to mine, I was startled and widened my eyes.

“Thank you. Thank you for sincerely crying for me.”

His words made me feel a tingling sensation in my chest.

“If you want to sort out your thoughts, take enough time to do so.”

After dropping those words, Cha Do-hyuk sent me back in the carriage and returned to the palace.

Sitting in the carriage with Maria, I thought about everything.

To reiterate, I definitely didn’t dislike Cha Do-hyuk in the past.

It wasn’t necessarily a romantic attraction, but I had at least a favorable opinion of the person ‘Cha Do-hyuk.’

At last, I decided to admit it.

                                                      ****

The Royal Academy graduation party was held in the grand ballroom of Marquis Serene Mansion.

The atmosphere at the party was peculiar.

Many Academy students attended, and among them were representatives of prestigious families.

I was taken aback by the glances that were briefly directed at me.

It wasn’t entirely negative; instead, it was a curious interest with a softened attitude.

As an Asian in a predominantly Caucasian society, I had grown accustomed to such attention.

As long as I wasn’t directly attacked like before by Lady Serene, I didn’t need to worry about it. I enjoyed the party with a very open mind.

Not all Royal Academy students attended this graduation party.

In fact, only one noble from Prince Reynold’s faction attended the party.

Armand was my partner, and we greeted Lady Wipfler warmly.

Yes, it was Courtney Diana Wipfler, the one who gave me a refreshing laugh when I humiliated Lady Serene.

“The Lubiche and Ovidus families are neutral, so we don’t need to worry, but…”

Armand gazed at Lady Wipfler while sipping sweet sparkling wine.

Lady Wipfler, with her blonde hair elegantly raised, was a charismatic and dazzling beauty.

“Isn’t it a bit awkward for the Wipfler family? They are affiliated with Prince Reynold’s faction.”

If we put it that way, I felt like I was the one who shouldn’t have attended the party.

The Lubiche family might be neutral, but I, as a person, am not. I’m always on the wrong side.

Lady Wipfler shrugged her shoulders unconcernedly in response to Armand’s question.

“It’s nothing.”

Lady Wipfler replied somewhat casually, with an indifferent attitude.

Upon hearing that, Armand fidgeted and had a worried expression, which was cute. Indeed, our Armand, her actions matched her name, she is so endearing.

“Oh, you’re here.”

As Serene circled the party venue, she greeted Armand.

Then, she glanced at me and Lady Wipfler, subtly furrowing her eyebrows.

Even though she could control her expression, she deliberately refrained. It seemed like she wanted to show some displeasure toward me and Lady Wipfler.

Knowing her intentions in inviting me to the party, I attended despite that. So, I didn’t feel too bad about it.

“It seems Lady Wipfler has quite the guts.”

She tactfully turned the comment about her thick skin into a joke. As expected, Serene laughed and made a witty retort.

“Lady Serene seems to have no lack of audacity either, inviting me here. Perhaps she is lacking in pride…?”

She pushed it a little too far by bringing up her pride like that. I looked at Lady Wipfler with a puzzled expression.

The usually feisty Lady Serene surprisingly remained quiet instead of getting angry. That was odd.

Quietly sipping wine with Armand, I observed the two of them alternately.

“Lady Wipfler seems just as impolite as ever.”

“As impolite as Lady Serinne, if not less.”

What an amusing ping-pong of remarks.

Armand, who always seems concerned about other people’s business, once again fidgeted with her feet, unable to contain her displeasure.