Chapter: 14
Kyle raised an eyebrow.
“Or what? Is it a letter suggesting that the two of them meet?”
“Well…”
The knight hesitated before handing him a crumpled sheet of paper.
“I wrote down the contents of the letter.”
Kyle immediately took the paper and quickly read through it.
[Princess Marta. I apologize for my rudeness the last time.
I ask that you kindly understand that due to unavoidable circumstances, I could not apologize to you in person and have instead done so through this letter.
There is much I would like to say, but I know that because of the reputation and rumors surrounding me, whatever I say will not sound favorable. Therefore, I will only write things that cannot be misunderstood.
Prince Kyle and I are not in a relationship that you need to concern yourself with. I swear that no matter what kind of meetings you have with him in the future, nothing like what happened last time will ever happen again.
As an apology for my past mistake, if there is ever anything you need from me or the Grinnell family, I will gladly help you, so please feel free to contact me at any time. You do not need to send a reply.
-Eloise Grinnell]
The pleasant curve of Kyle’s lips slowly returned to its original position.
It was an apology letter, not a threatening one.
Kyle read the short letter several times before asking the knight,
“Was that everything?”
“Yes. I found it strange as well, so I checked several times, but there was nothing hidden in it. It was definitely Lady Eloise’s handwriting, too.”
“……”
Even if it had not been Eloise’s handwriting, Kyle could have been certain from the contents alone that she had written it.
The perfunctory pleasantries had been discarded, leaving behind a tone that was difficult to tell whether it was an order or a request.
Benedict would probably have called it a cunning way of speaking that confirmed Eloise’s position to help the princess.
But Eloise was not someone who spoke indirectly like this.
There was no jealousy or anger in this letter.
That was what made it even stranger.
Eloise, who had no feelings whatsoever toward Marta.
‘I sent her a gift, and she didn’t even send me a single letter, yet she sent Marta a letter like this….’
Thump.
Suddenly, Kyle felt his heart tremble.
His heartbeat did not lose its rhythm, but the heavy pounding was uncomfortable enough that he could feel it in his fingertips.
He had a bad feeling.
Something was wrong.
He closed the box and stood up.
“I’m going to the Grinnell Ducal Estate.”
When Kyle stepped down from the carriage bearing the Imperial flag, the guards standing in front of the ducal estate hurriedly bowed their heads.
The unexpected arrival of the Prince caused a commotion throughout the estate.
Greta, who had been in a meeting, hurried out to receive the Prince.
Had something happened within the Imperial Family?
Or had the Imperial Family decided to do something?
‘There are still four years until the execution.’
Five years… no, four years?
It had been so long that she could barely remember when a member of the Imperial Family had last visited.
Greta hurried her steps and arrived in front of the drawing room.
The knight standing at the door opened it for her.
Of the people inside, the only one who did not turn to look at her was Prince Kyle, who was sitting on a red velvet sofa and drinking tea.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
Even after hearing Greta’s greeting, he did not raise his gaze.
He merely moved his casually crossed leg slightly.
“I came directly from a meeting, so I am not dressed as properly as I should be. Please—”
“Why are you the one coming, Greta?”
At his words, Greta abruptly raised her head.
“You know who I came to see.”
Kyle set down his teacup.
Greta frowned as she watched his flawless posture, in which even the cup made no sound when it touched the table.
Kyle knew that Greta was acting as the duke’s representative.
Therefore, if he had not come to see Greta, then contrary to her concerns, this had nothing to do with the family.
“…Did you come to see Lady Eloise?”
Only then did he turn toward Greta.
His beautiful smile, beloved by the people of the Empire, was accompanied by a sarcastic remark completely at odds with it.
“Then do you think I came to see you during this busy time?”
“……”
It was obvious.
Yet because Eloise had been away from the ducal estate for quite some time, Greta had not immediately thought of it.
There was also the fact that although Eloise had visited the Crown Prince’s Palace countless times when she was angry with Kyle, Kyle had never once come looking for her.
“Where does it hurt?”
“What?”
“Even after hearing that I came, she hasn’t come down. Is she in such bad condition that she can’t even move?”
Greta could not immediately answer him.
Kyle’s tone made it sound as though he was certain Eloise was ill.
She remembered the letter Eloise’s messenger had delivered several days ago.
[Greta. I found a new black-market dealer while traveling. It looks like it’ll take quite some time to track them down.
If anyone comes looking for me, tell them I went to Beltain. I’ll contact you from time to time, so don’t worry. I bought a post office box at the Foklid Post Office, so if anything urgent happens, send a letter there.]
If it became known that Eloise had been away from the ducal estate for so long while rumors of her engagement to the Prince were circulating, people would inevitably start gossiping again.
So, as Eloise had instructed, Greta should come up with an excuse.
But…
Even if Kyle would not spread rumors about Eloise’s absence, Greta somehow did not want to tell him the truth.
Because of what Eloise had said before leaving.
「The culprit behind the tea party incident is Marquis Benedict.」
Even if saying that Benedict was the culprit had been a lie blurted out in anger, it was unclear whether Kyle believed Eloise was innocent.
‘If he believed Lady Eloise was innocent, he’s unbelievably cold toward the people of the Grinnell family. But if he doesn’t believe she’s innocent, then he clearly cares about her.’
He was a man whose thoughts were impossible to understand.
“Greta. Do you want me to go up to her room myself and find out?”
Faced with his cold gaze and impatient urging, Greta had no choice but to speak.
“Lady Eloise has gone away to recuperate and is not currently at the ducal estate.”
“…Recuperate?”
For the first time, a crack appeared in Kyle’s normally impenetrable expression.
“How sick is she? Was she injured? Does she have some kind of illness…?”
He stopped interrogating Greta and suddenly distorted his face before turning his anger on her.
“Greta Goodwin. You have a duty to protect the only daughter of the Grinnell family. Then why did you let Eloise become like this?”
He stood from the sofa and approached Greta.
A large shadow soon fell over her.
“Tell me where Eloise is. I’ll take her to the Crown Prince’s Palace and have the Imperial physician treat her.”
Greta quickly lowered her head.
She had nearly let a mocking laugh escape at Kyle’s unexpectedly intense reaction.
He was the one who hurt Eloise again and again, so what right did he have to worry about her?
Greta found Kyle infuriating.
“I appreciate Your Highness’s concern, but… Lady Eloise is not physically ill. Her heart has fallen ill.”
That was why Greta decided to lie to Kyle.
For Eloise, who had always been forced to yield to Kyle because their feelings for each other were never equal.
“What?”
“She did nothing but cry after returning from meeting Your Highness. She could barely eat anything properly and kept throwing up.”
Fortunately, Kyle seemed to understand immediately that the reason Eloise was ill was ‘you.’
When Greta glanced up, she saw ripples in his blue eyes.
“Lady Eloise’s physician said that she needed a place where she could rest peacefully. So, in order to fulfill my duty of caring for the young lady, I took Lady Eloise to Beltain.”
Beltain was a place resembling a sacred site of the Grinnell family, where the remains of Elizabeth Grinnell, the heroic ancestor of the family, were enshrined.
Only those who carried the blood of the family could enter.
“Eloise… did nothing but cry.”
But for Kyle, the fact that Eloise had cried seemed to be more shocking than the fact that she was in Beltain.
“How much….”
Kyle began speaking, then suddenly faltered and closed his mouth.
Greta did not bother answering the question he could not finish.
After a brief silence, he spoke again.
“When did she say she would return?”
“She did not tell us specifically, but I will inform Your Highness immediately when she returns.”
As soon as he heard the answer, Kyle turned around.
The Prince’s attendants and knight followed him as he left the drawing room.
Then his footsteps suddenly stopped.
“A few days ago, I sent her a letter and a gift.”
Kyle stopped at the door and spoke without turning around.
“I apologize for not informing you beforehand. We received them, but I have not yet been able to send them to Lady Eloise. Once Lady Eloise has recovered emotionally—”
“Send them right now.”
He slightly turned his head and cast a cold gaze toward Greta.
“If you don’t, I’ll deliver them myself.”
“…I’ll send them immediately.”
With those words, the drawing room door closed.
Kyle’s expression disappeared from his face in an instant.
“Arthur.”
Just as he had when arriving, Kyle left the ducal estate with hurried, impatient steps.
The moment he got into the carriage, he gave Arthur an order.
“Place Shadows around the ducal estate. Have them find out where every servant who leaves the estate goes.”
Eloise would not be in Beltain.
Greta had been lying.
