ITDHC 07

Chapter 7

“Is the makeup finished yet?”

“It has just been completed, Your Grace.”

Albert briefly looked Elissa up and down.

The designer waited anxiously for Albert’s reaction.

After looking over Elissa for a moment, Albert gave his assessment in a dry voice.

“Not bad. You certainly live up to your reputation as the best designer in the capital.”

“You flatter me, Your Grace. None of this would have been possible without such a good model.”

The designer modestly praised Elissa at the same time.

“Then let’s go.”

With the designer and maids seeing her off, Elissa followed Albert out of the room.

“Now that you are standing in this position as a member of Rubellin, you must conduct yourself wisely so that you do not bring shame upon our family.”

Albert did not turn around, but it was obvious who he was speaking to.

“There are plenty of girls who could take your place.”

Elissa took a deep breath and answered him in her heart.

‘I was already prepared for that from the moment I came to the ducal residence.’

Just as Albert and Elissa reached the first-floor lobby, they heard someone coming from the stairs above.

When they turned around, Richard was coming down.

Richard was wearing a navy coat with his hair styled to reveal half of his forehead.

A badge shaped like the Rubellin crest, crafted from gold, was pinned to his navy coat. It was the same badge as the one attached to Elissa’s chest.

We are Rubellin.

It was a symbol that showed that at a single glance.

‘He was already handsome, but he looks even better today.’

Handsome enough to make the people around him feel intimidated.

Elissa stared at Richard as if she were enchanted.

Richard, who had been coming down the stairs with his usual cold gaze, noticed Elissa below and stopped for a moment. At the same time, his eyes seemed to waver slightly.

Richard quickly looked away from Elissa and continued down the stairs. Even after standing beside her, he did not look at her even once.

‘Is something bothering him?’

Normally, Elissa would have wondered why Richard’s behavior had changed. He usually stared straight at her with his usual indifferent expression.

But soon, the carriage arrived, and she forgot about it.

“Then, have a safe trip.”

The butler and servants saw the three of them off as they climbed into the carriages.

The carriage carrying Albert departed first, followed by the carriage carrying Elissa and Richard.

Elissa spent the entire time staring blankly at the scenery passing outside the window.

She felt uncomfortable because Richard, who had avoided looking at her earlier, was now staring directly at her.

‘Why is he looking at me like that? Could it be because I’m too pretty?’

At that thought, the corners of her lips slowly lifted.

She wanted to tease Richard a little, since he was always so sharp with her.

Elissa cleared her throat unnecessarily and turned toward Richard with a prim expression.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on me?”

Elissa expected Richard to become embarrassed.

But, as if he had been waiting for her to ask, Richard reached out and removed a loose thread that was stuck in her hair.

‘There really was something on me!’

Feeling embarrassed, Elissa wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and hide.

“Th-Thank you.”

Wanting to forget her misunderstanding as quickly as possible, Elissa thought for a moment. Then she remembered what Albert had said earlier and changed the subject.

“Richard. What are the Crown Prince and the Princess like?”

At Elissa’s question, Richard slightly furrowed his brow and answered in a cold voice.

“Trash.”

It was a simple and clear answer.

A short while later, the carriage arrived in front of the Imperial Hunting Grounds.

When Elissa stepped out of the carriage, the nobles who had already arrived all turned their eyes toward her.

Elissa simply responded with a small bow.

Although she was young, she was still the future mistress of a ducal family. She should not lower herself first, but she also needed to show the proper amount of courtesy.

‘This is so overwhelming…’

Elissa pretended not to care as she remembered Albert’s words, but she was secretly uncomfortable beneath the countless gazes directed at her.

“It has been a while, Your Grace.”

The nobles bowed to Elissa before gathering around Albert.

Even though Elissa would eventually become the mistress of the ducal family, she was still young, so there was no need for them to approach her first and make conversation.

Just then, two more carriages approached.

They bore the crest of the Imperial Family.

The Emperor and Crown Prince stepped out of the first carriage, while the Empress and Princess stepped out of the second.

True to their title, “The Flame of Arensia,” the Emperor, Crown Prince, and Princess all had fiery red hair.

“We greet the blazing flame of Arensia.”

The nobles all paid their respects to the Emperor and his family.

Elissa also bowed her head to them.

“After enduring the harsh winter, it is pleasant to see all of your faces on this warm spring day.”

“We are relieved to see that both of Your Majesties appear to be in good health.”

When the Emperor opened the conversation, the nobles took turns offering their own words of greeting.

The Empress was likewise exchanging greetings with the noblewomen when she suddenly noticed Elissa.

“Is that girl the future mistress of Rubellin?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Albert answered.

The Empress narrowed her eyes as she looked at Elissa.

As if she had been waiting for the moment, Elissa stepped forward and bowed her head.

“Elissa of Rubellin greets the Empress of Arensia.”

“I thought a girl from Roengrin would look like some country bumpkin from the south, but looking at you now, you seem quite like a young lady of the capital.”

“She’s quite pretty, too.”

Crown Prince Christian, who had been listening beside the Empress, nodded and added his own comment.

Calling Roengrin, where Elissa had been born and raised, a “country” was clearly meant to look down on her.

But Elissa had no memories or attachment to that place anymore, so the remark did not affect her much.

Of course, that did not mean she appreciated it.

“Michaela, you should teach this girl plenty about life in the capital.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Oh my, our daughter has such a kind heart!”

“Well, that much is only natural for a princess.”

They really were like a mother and daughter who thought their own child was the most adorable thing in the world.

Elissa clicked her tongue as she watched the Empress and Princess showering each other with praise.

By the time the nobles had finished greeting the Emperor and Empress, a dining area had been prepared nearby.

The dining area was divided into a section for adults and one for children.

“Follow me.”

Christian led the noble children to the children’s section.

Under a white canopy, rows of tables had been prepared with delicious-looking food.

Elissa was about to take her seat when she noticed that the other children were not sitting down. She turned around in confusion.

“Ansel, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Why haven’t you come around lately? You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”

Christian put an arm around Ansel, the son of Count Arden, while deliberately making an exaggeratedly sorrowful expression.

Ansel seemed frightened of Christian. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground and shrank into himself.

Anyone could tell that this was hardly the behavior of close friends.

Elissa remembered what Richard had said in the carriage.

‘Richard. What are the Crown Prince and the Princess like?’

‘Trash.’

The other children looked completely unfazed, as though this were an ordinary sight.

Richard was watching the scene with a cold expression, but he did not intervene.

“Now, this is your seat.”

Christian made Ansel sit at the very end of the table before taking the most important seat directly opposite him.

“This is my seat. You can see me well from there, right?”

“……”

“The House of Count Mullet will sit next to you, and across from them…”

Christian was assigning the children’s seats however he pleased.

The children he liked were seated closer to him, while those he disliked were placed farther away.

As Christian’s finger moved across the children, it stopped when it reached Elissa.

“I think the country girl from Roengrin… No, the Young Duchess of Rubellin should sit there. I still don’t know you very well.”

His words clearly meant that he would move her seat depending on how she behaved toward him.

‘Just as expected of the future male lead’s father. He’s trash right from the start.’

Elissa inwardly cursed Christian as she took her seat.

Christian was the future male lead’s father and a member of the Imperial Family, but for some reason, he had failed to inherit the power of the Kairoth bloodline.

Because of that, he would later become a pathetic man who felt inferior to and envied his own son, who inherited the family’s power.

‘There’s rarely a proper father for the male lead in these stories. They either die young, or if they stay alive, they’re complete trash. It’s usually one or the other.’

Elissa desperately wanted to punch Christian right then and there, but she endured it because doing so would hardly qualify as the “wise conduct for Rubellin” that Albert had warned her about.

Just then—

Richard, who had been standing beside Elissa, sat down in the seat next to her.

One of Christian’s eyebrows rose at the sight.

“Richard. Your seat is over here.”

The seat Christian pointed to was directly beside himself.

But Richard replied in his usual dry voice.

“My wife is here, so shouldn’t this be my seat?”

It was not only the other children who were surprised.

Elissa also stared at Richard in shock.

‘Why is he suddenly taking my side…?’

And he had even used the unfamiliar word wife, a word he had never once used to refer to her before.

Christian paused for a moment at Richard’s answer before laughing at him.

“What? You’ve already become a lovesick fool? Just like all those pathetic idiots.”

Christian snickered, and the other children laughed along with him.

It was a bizarre sight.

Elissa worried that Christian might bully Richard for going against him, but surprisingly, Christian respected Richard’s choice.

“Well, if that’s what you want, then sit there. Everyone else, sit in the same order as before.”

Once everyone had taken their seats, the meal began.

Christian personally poured grape juice from a pitcher brought by a servant, filling a glass to the brim.

Then he handed the glass to the servant.

“Of course, the first glass should go to a dear friend who has traveled such a long way.”

The servant approached Ansel carrying the overflowing glass of grape juice.

After hesitating for a moment, he squeezed his eyes shut and poured the grape juice directly over Ansel’s head.

There was no doubt that it had been done deliberately.