TNKHC 67

Chapter 67 …

It had already been two weeks since she began living as the Grand Duke’s proxy.

Decarus had recovered enough to move around, and thanks to that, she no longer needed to attend meetings.

“What blissful days these are!”

Elena spun around on the spot like a figure skater.

To be free like this every single day.

Freedom really was happiness.

“Well, Decarus will probably have it rough, though.”

With all the frequent trips here and there, her body had been completely worn out.

She wasn’t some kind of fixer—so why were there so many things that needed fixing?

On top of that, she had to regularly go out to inspect the territory, and even having two bodies wouldn’t have been enough.

Only now did she truly realize just how much Decarus had been putting himself through all this time.

“Haa….”

Elena returned to the tea table and skimmed through the pile of letters stacked there.

They were all from Aiden.

She’d been so busy these past two weeks that she hadn’t even had time to properly check them.

“I should send a reply already.”

She picked up the most recent letter from the stack.

The seal stamped with the imperial crest gleamed with a golden shine.

Elena,

Did something happen?

I’m worried because there’s been no reply.

I’m really sorry about how I acted last time.

I didn’t mean it like that.

I was just angry for a moment.

I want to meet and talk.

Please write back.

“What’s gotten into you, reflecting on yourself? You’ve grown up.”

Elena smiled faintly and moved on to the next letter.

Elena,

I’ll come visit tomorrow around one o’clock.

I sent letters to my brother, but there was no reply at all.

I’m worried sick.

Nothing serious happened… right?

“Huh? This came yesterday, so that means he’s coming today?”

She glanced at the clock—it was already almost one.

“No, that’s right now!”

Panic struck instantly.

If he were just a friend, it wouldn’t matter—but that friend happened to be a prince, which made it a problem.

The reception room wasn’t prepared at all!

And the maids’ lunch break wasn’t even over yet.

If rumors spread to the imperial family that she had treated a prince poorly—

“No!”

Elena burst out the door and hurried down to the first floor.

She called over the remaining maids to warn them that the prince was coming, then rushed into the reception room.

“T-tea, tea and cookies….”

She hurriedly set the table as if she were a part-time worker in a rush.

A maid came running in, out of breath, carrying a cake.

Only after seeing the now properly arranged reception room did Elena finally let out a sigh of relief.

Now all that was left was to welcome the prince.

As usual, Aiden would have dismissed all his attendants before coming in, so there was no need to be overly tense.

Elena opened the door and stepped outside to check if the carriage was arriving.

“Oh, he’s here!”

From afar, a pale golden carriage revealed its imposing presence as it raced toward them.

Her heart began pounding wildly at the thought of seeing him again.

She hadn’t realized it because she’d been so busy lately, but it really had been a long time.

Elena ran to the front gate to greet him.

“Your Highness.”

“Lady, it’s been a while.”

With a smile befitting a prince, he stepped inside.

Aiden, whom she hadn’t seen in some time, seemed a little different.

“What? Did you cut your hair?”

Elena whispered quietly as she glanced around.

His once-long hair looked slightly shorter.

“Yeah. What do you think? Don’t I look more handsome?”

“What do you mean, ‘what do I think’? You look the same.”

He was still as playful as ever.

She’d worried about things being awkward.

But of course, that kind of worry didn’t apply to the two of them.

Old friends could understand each other with just a look.

“Oh, and I’m sorry.”

Judging by his expression, he really did feel bad.

So soft-hearted, as always!

“Hey, why are you apologizing over something like that between us? Forget it.”

There probably wasn’t a cooler friend than her.

Elena lifted her chin proudly, apparently pleased with how easily she let things go.

“But that thing I said still stands.”

“What thing?”

“That I won’t let you be taken away again.”

He smiled softly and gently brushed Elena’s long hair with his fingers.

When she widened her eyes in surprise, Aiden quickly changed the subject.

“You feel a bit different somehow. What is it?”

“My face? Do I have dark circles? I’ve been busy lately. I’ll tell you inside. I’ll share my heroic tales.”

Elena instantly brightened, clearly excited.

Just thinking about telling her amazing stories made her chest swell with pride.

Well, it wasn’t like Aiden was the type to hand out praise anyway.

“Come in.”

It seemed the maids had been paying attention even after she left.

The table looked even more extravagant than before.

“Why are there so many cakes?”

“It’s because the prince is coming. Reflect on yourself.”

Aiden sat down on the sofa with a dumbfounded expression.

“So, what were you so busy with all week that you couldn’t even write back?”

“Decarus was sick. So I stepped in as acting Grand Duke and did a pretty spectacular job.”

“What?”

He frowned, clearly unable to believe it.

Elena crossed her legs and placed a hand on her chest.

She looked dignified, as if giving a speech.

“Listen carefully. This noona went to Delit to help the Ilots, and then took care of the orphans on the streets—”

And so Elena spent a long time boasting about her heroic deeds.

Watching her talk so cheerfully, he simply smiled contentedly without interrupting.

When the story reached its peak, Aiden paused.

“You must’ve been born with it. As expected.”

“Huh?”

“Good blood really doesn’t go anywhere.”

He curled his lips into a knowing smile.

“What good blood? I’m an orphan with no parents. Anyway—!”

She launched right back into talking, like a motor had been installed in her mouth.

Her endlessly enthusiastic chatter made her look like an adorable hamster.

“Hah….”

Exhausted, Elena collapsed onto the sofa.

“I’ve never seen you talk this much in your life. I thought my eardrums were going to burst.”

“Shut up….”

Sprawled out like a corpse, she grabbed cookies from the table and ate them one by one.

Aiden snatched the cookies away and raised a finger like a teacher.

“If you eat lying down, you’ll turn into a cow. Sit up.”

“Ah, no. I don’t want to. It’s my choice. Give them back.”

Elena flailed like a fish, trying to grab the cookies.

“Get up. I said get up.”

“Ugh!”

Creak—

“What are you two doing?”

Just as she sprang up to grab a cookie, the door opened.

Turning toward the voice, she saw Decarus standing there, his eyes sharp and cold.

Frozen in that awkward position, Elena glanced between the two of them and forced an uneasy smile.

“We were just fooling around. What brings you here?”

Decarus narrowed his eyes, then walked over and sat down beside Elena.

“I heard Noah came by. I was wondering why.”

“I came because I wanted to see you. I was worried, too. Are you feeling better now?”

“If you were really worried, you would’ve come sooner.”

He snapped back without changing his expression.

The cold tone made the reception room feel like it had frozen solid.

It was cold enough to feel an actual chill in the air.

“Why are you being like that? To someone who came because he was worried—”

Elena cautiously nudged him with her elbow, signaling him to read the room.

“I guess you’re really disappointed in me, hyung. Sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

Good-natured Aiden apologized lightly without making a fuss.

But the atmosphere was already a mess, forcing Elena to step in as mediator.

“Now, now. Putting that aside, what were you doing before you came? You’re earlier than I expected.”

“What, were you hoping I’d come later?”

His voice was clearly filled with dissatisfaction.

Was he really that clueless—or was he doing it on purpose?

Elena’s hands and feet moved busily.

“Haha, hahaha…. Here, eat this.”

She forced a smile and shoved two cookies into his mouth.

At this rate, she felt like things would go terribly wrong unless she shut him up.

“To think you’d love me this much—”

“Now, now! Eat more.”

This time, she stuffed a small piece of cake into his mouth.

Then she firmly covered his mouth so he couldn’t speak.

Thanks to that, the reception room finally grew a bit quieter.

“Well then, what should we talk about?”

Elena tried to smooth things over with an awkward smile.

For some reason, Aiden’s expression also seemed darker.

Alarms blared in her head.

“Ah, ah…! Oh! When are we going on that trip? Now that all the work’s done, we can go, right?”

Decarus thought for a moment before speaking.

“This week won’t work. There’s a lot of work piled up—”

“Then the two of us will go. If you’re that busy, hyung.”

“No, I’ll just postpone the work. Tomorrow would be fine.”

“Great, then let’s go tomorrow.”

The two men exchanged rapid-fire words, like they were rapping.

Swallowing nervously at their strange tension, Elena tried to interject.

“Um, tomorrow might be a bit too soon—”

“No.”

Both men turned to her at the same time, answering in unison.

Their blazing eyes made it feel like she might melt on the spot.

“There’s no need to worry. I’ll have the attendants prepare the luggage immediately.”

“I should return to the palace and make preparations to leave as well. There’s plenty of time.”

Faced with their firm tones, Elena slowly nodded.

“Ah… okay, then….”

“Let’s go.”

Decarus stood up, lacing his fingers with Elena’s hand and leading the way.

As a result, Elena was dragged along like a bundle of luggage.

But then she realized she hadn’t said goodbye to Aiden, so she turned her head and silently mouthed see you tomorrow.

“Go on up first. I’ll see Noah out.”

“Ah, okay….”

Elena climbed the stairs, carefully reading the mood.

“Haa….”

Weren’t they supposed to be brothers with a great relationship?

At least when she first saw them, they’d been close like real siblings.

So why did the atmosphere feel so hostile lately?

“Did they fight somewhere without me knowing…?”

Shaking her head, Elena brushed away the bad thought.

She went to her room and began preparing for the trip.

Creak—

“Jane, you were here?”

“Yes, ma’am. I was cleaning the room. Where did you go? You look tired.”

“Ah…. Something happened.”

The words rose to her throat, but she swallowed them back down.

No good impression would come from saying them anyway.

Elena smiled gently and opened her wardrobe.

“Jane, I’m going on a trip tomorrow. Will you help me pack?”

“Oh my, a trip? Of course I’ll help. But where are you going?”

“Lamer!”

“Oh my!”

Jane looked excited, as if she were the one traveling.

She hummed to herself and soon pulled out a large travel bag from atop the wardrobe.

“What should we pack first? Clothes?”

“Yeah. Honestly, there’s nothing else to pack besides clothes.”

After all, Decarus would take care of everything else.

What a luxurious trip this was.

Travel used to mean suffering with a suitcase on the verge of bursting.

Now, she could just go with her body alone!

“Then I’ll pick out some beautiful outfits for you, my lady.”

“Sounds good!”