TPTMB 05

Chapter 5

* * *

I sorted through the situation as I walked across the Imperial Palace.

There’s only one reason Damon is acting like this.

The existence of Sasha, the Princess who had miraculously returned not long ago. It was as if a powerful contender had appeared in a race Damon had been running alone, without any competition.

He must have realized he needed the Bellua family’s name.

The problem was that, for me, there was no reason to maintain my relationship with Damon anymore. No. It wasn’t merely unnecessary. The longer I maintained it, the more I stood to lose.

Even this is proof.

For the past three days, the front page of Trouble Love had featured the same three people as though it were some kind of arrangement.

Me, him, and him.

I trusted everyone could tell who was who without me having to explain it. Even today’s headline made it obvious.

[Will the Legendary Couple Reunite?]

If this continued, by next week there might be an article claiming that the two of them were going to duel over me.

That’s how gossip worked, wasn’t it? Take something this small, blow it up to this huge, and then shrug if it turned out to be false.

Before that happens, I need to end things with him.

Noah seemed to think the problem was that I had inherited the dukedom while still maintaining a romantic relationship with Damon, but I saw things a little differently.

My father had started siphoning off Damon’s private treasury five years ago. Whether I broke up with Damon now or later, we were already deeply entangled.

Even if I broke up with Damon now, once the issue of the missing treasury came to light, people would undoubtedly claim that I had deliberately approached Damon with a plan from the beginning.

Well, in a sense, they wouldn’t exactly be wrong.

That was why there was only one reason I wanted to end my relationship with Damon.

I have to end this before this ridiculous love triangle gets officially etched into high society.

Before some lady came up to me with a giggle and asked, “I heard the Duchess of Bellua has a flower in each hand. Is that true?”

I had entered the Imperial Palace with that one thought in mind.

And I regretted it almost immediately.

I shouldn’t have gotten out of bed.

I should have just stayed lying down.

I should have listened to whatever Noah said with one ear and let it go out the other.

I shouldn’t have opened the invitation Damon had sent me.

Then none of this would have happened!

How was it possible to run into him at exactly this moment, as though he’d been waiting for me?!

I hadn’t even had time to prepare myself mentally. The moment I turned the corner, I came face-to-face with him, and he looked somewhat disheveled.

Perhaps he had ridden here on horseback, because his hair was lightly tousled as though it had been blown by the wind.

Richard stood at the opposite end of the corridor.

It wasn’t as though the Imperial Palace becoming a meeting place for men and women was anything new, but even this was too much.

Why?

Because this was the central hall.

In other words, it was crawling with nobles who couldn’t stand being bored and were constantly hunting for gossip.

To them, he and I were undoubtedly two juicy pieces of meat.

Ah.

I could feel it.

The sharp gazes flashing from every direction.

The fluttering of fans opening with a series of snaps.

The rumors spreading through exchanged glances and nods.

Everyone looked fascinated, yet no one was rash enough to speak first.

Watching from within the crowd was fine, but stepping forward themselves would be a burden.

Thank goodness.

If things stayed like this, I could quietly—

“Would you call this a case of enemies meeting on a narrow bridge?”

At that moment, a familiar voice broke the silence and echoed through the corridor.

I immediately turned toward the sound to see who it was.

Lady Kindel.

The woman who genuinely loved Damon and wanted to become the Crown Princess.

The woman who hated me terribly because of that.

I hadn’t expected her to be here.

Yet Natalie didn’t avert her gaze when our eyes met. Instead, she lifted her chin.

Judging from the way the corners of her mouth twisted upward, she was clearly enjoying this situation to the fullest.

I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, Natalie, but could you at least get your facts straight before you start talking?

He’s not my enemy.

He’s my ex-boyfriend.

Perhaps encouraged by Natalie breaking the silence, several ladies began whispering among themselves.

“My goodness, it looks like sparks are about to fly between those two again. Anyone want to make a bet?”

Stop betting on other people’s love lives.

Is high society some kind of gambling den?

Why was everyone always so desperate to put money down?

“I’ll bet on the Princess. It’s so romantic. A knight who saved her from monsters and the Princess! It’s just like a fairy tale!”

Who said that?

Bring me that fairy tale, Lady Milton. I’ll tear it to pieces myself.

Lady Milton met my gaze and gave me an awkward smile before hiding her face behind her fan.

Yet the fact that she didn’t leave told me that everyone found this situation extremely entertaining.

Their eyes were practically sparkling with anticipation, as though they were dying to see what would happen.

What was wrong with everyone?

Surely they weren’t expecting me to put on some melodramatic romance with Richard right here in the corridor.

We just happened to run into each other while walking down the hall!

Grinding my teeth inwardly, I looked at the man who had stopped just as I had across from me.

I had no choice.

There was nowhere else to look.

And when I finally got a proper look at Richard, my first impression was remarkably simple.

It looks like he had some new clothes made recently.

Ah.

There was nothing left of the man I remembered.

He no longer wore the worn shirts he had worn ten years ago, nor the leather clothing characteristic of the North.

He was wearing what was clearly a custom-made shirt and cravat, along with a neatly tailored jacket that fell cleanly along his shoulders.

Dressed in clothes that looked as though they had been modeled after the latest Imperial fashions, Richard gave off a strangely austere air.

A well-toned body.

High-quality clothes fitted perfectly to that body.

Everything about him felt unfamiliar, and before I knew it, I took a small step backward.

The moment I did, the red eyes of Richard, who had been quietly watching me, sharpened.

What did I even do?

I didn’t know why, but after retreating slightly under his gaze, I cautiously stepped forward again.

Richard’s expression settled back into indifference.

As though it had been that way from the beginning.

Before I could even figure out what was happening, the noblewomen began whispering again.

“Either way, that commoner knight certainly rose in the world.”

“Oh my, a commoner? Lady, when was that? He’s Count Winston now. I’ve heard that the territory he owns in the North alone is enormous! And apparently he’s still unmarried. I’m already curious to see who will manage to win that man.”

They were right.

Richard had built everything with his own hands.

His title.

His territory.

Even the surname Winston.

For a moment, I felt deeply ashamed of myself.

All I had to boast of was Bellua.

And even that had fallen into my hands because my father happened to die.

I wanted to turn around and run away immediately.

I wanted to bury my face in a mouse hole and hide.

The fact that after treating him so cruelly, the only thing I had to show for it was this made my face burn with shame.

“Count Winston. It’s been a long time.”

But this wasn’t the time to act emotionally.

I stepped toward him and spoke first.

I could feel the interested gazes coming from every direction.

If I didn’t want to give them anything to work with, this had to end as nothing more than a casual greeting between former lovers who hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

“How have you been?”

As though we’d parted on decent terms and simply become somewhat distant afterward.

So play along, Richard.

You don’t want to become a spectacle either, do you?

I continued speaking while desperately conveying the meaning with my eyes.

“I should have contacted you first. If we get the chance next time, would you like to have some tea? You helped me out the other day, after all, and I’ve been feeling bad because I don’t think I’ve properly thanked you yet.”

Say something.

I know you hate me, so just play along.

“Is that a promise you actually intend to keep, Duchess of Bellua?”

Not something like that.

A chilly silence instantly swept through the corridor.

I had no idea when I’d ever failed to keep a promise, but this wasn’t going in a good direction.

“…Look around you.”

I moved right up to Richard and firmly grabbed his arm.

Contrary to my expectations, Richard lowered his upper body toward me.

When our field of vision suddenly became much closer and I hesitated, Richard’s eyes narrowed.

“Why? Don’t you have something to say?”

“No. Uh…”