TSPGD 15

Chapter 15

To worry about my own problems, I hurriedly washed up and sat down.

“Let’s write the letter first!”

I began scribbling on some cheap paper.

At first, using a quill had felt awkward, but after doing so much writing for others, I had gotten used to it.

I quickly wrote down what I had been planning for a long time.

Since I had thought about it over and over, I didn’t hesitate as I moved the quill across the paper.

[ Greetings, Your Grace, Grand Duke Brühlhardt.

My name is Arina Carbon.

I am writing this letter because I know that Your Grace’s promiscuous lifestyle is actually caused by a curse. ]

Even writing just this much would probably be enough to make him go to the Carbon Viscountcy in search of me.

“This information is highly confidential, after all.”

He would probably come looking for me and try to threaten me or something.

Despite the seriousness of the information, I continued writing casually in my own style.

[ If you are wondering how I know this, please tell Viscount Carbon clearly:

From now on, I will be under the patronage of the Grand Duke.

—Arina Carbon— ]

It might look somewhat amateurish, but it would certainly pique his interest.

“He’ll probably think he can solve this if he handles me carefully, right?”

But it would be a huge mistake to judge someone based solely on appearances.

I wrote three identical copies of the letter and sealed them.

“Good. I’ll send them tomorrow!”

I shouted energetically before immediately throwing myself onto the bed.

I had barely put my head down before I felt like I was going to fall asleep.

“Yaaawn. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Yurg today.”

Only now did I realize that he hadn’t appeared at all today, and strangely enough, I felt relieved.

Then I peacefully closed my eyes.

A black shadow quietly approached the sleeping Arina.

Swoosh—

He looked around before staring at the letters lying on the desk.

‘If even one of the three letters disappears, there’ll be a commotion.’

After looking around the room once more, the shadow disappeared into the darkness.

“Mmm…”

Unaware that someone had come and gone beside her, Arina continued sleeping peacefully.

The moment I woke up, I hurried around from early in the morning.

I had to buy the dress and wig I hadn’t been able to purchase yesterday because of what happened with Roger.

So, unfortunately, I planned to reveal that I was the daughter of Viscount Carbon and go to a boutique.

‘When I meet the Grand Duke, I need to wear a dress that’s formal enough.’

As I headed out to buy a dress, I ran into Roger again on the street.

Even though I always kept my hood pulled down, he somehow recognized me.

“Huh? Hello?”

“Haha. Shuga. We meet again.”

“I know. I guess you still haven’t met your friend?”

“Yes… I’m worried that something might have happened.”

“Don’t you know where your friend lives?”

“I do. But I think he’s in a somewhat dangerous situation right now…”

I didn’t really understand what he was talking about, but I nodded anyway.

“Hmm. If he’s in danger, couldn’t you go help him?”

“My friend is stronger than me. If I go, I’ll only be a burden.”

“Ah. So you’re waiting for him to come back safely?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Roger looked pitiful, his eyes filled with concern.

‘How am I supposed to ignore someone making that face?’

I almost got swept up in his pace again, but I came to my senses.

‘Oh, come on! I don’t have time for this!’

Today, I absolutely had to finish preparing to go to the Grand Duke’s castle.

I tightly grabbed Roger’s hand and shook it as I spoke.

“Lord Roger. You said your friend is strong, so I’m sure he’ll return safely.”

“……”

“So, please get some rest too, Lord Roger, for the sake of the friend who will be coming back.”

Judging by the dark circles around his eyes, he looked like someone who had worked overtime for at least three days straight.

‘Whenever I see someone who never rests, I just can’t walk past them.’

It was probably because of my previous life, when I had worked myself to death.

So I sincerely patted him on the shoulder.

“No matter what you do, if you ruin your health, you won’t be able to do anything. So please rest.”

Since Roger had the air of a sheltered prince, I spoke bluntly.

Then, just as I was about to say goodbye—

“Shuga.”

“Yes?”

“Are you free today?”

“Hmm. I think I’m going to be busy.”

“Would you like me to help you with whatever you’re busy with?”

“What?”

“There’s something I want to ask you… I thought perhaps I could ask if I helped you with your errands.”

“……What do you want to ask me?”

“Hmm, it’s nothing important. I’d just like to keep in touch with you from time to time. Would there perhaps be a way for me to contact you?”

“Con… tact me?”

“Yes. You’re the first person who has ever shown me this kind of kindness…”

“Ah, that might be difficult… I don’t even have a definite place to stay yet.”

“I’m sorry. I put you in an awkward position, didn’t I?”

Exchanging contact information with a man I had known for only a day?

When I firmly closed my mouth, Roger hurriedly tried to explain himself.

“I-I just thought that if you were staying here for a while, perhaps you might have somewhere to stay in another territory as well.”

His face turned slightly red as he continued spilling out an impressive amount of unnecessary information.

“If I happen to travel around and come to wherever you are… I thought I’d like to see you again… Ah! It’s not because I have any ulterior motives…”

Hmm.

I didn’t react at all to Roger’s words.

Whatever his feelings were, I had things I needed to do, and something inconvenient was simply inconvenient.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think that will be possible.”

“I-I see.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say, ‘Yes, exactly.’

So I remained silent again, and an awkward atmosphere swept over us like a tsunami.

Roger and I stood there without saying anything, both staring down at the ground.

In the end, unable to bear the awkwardness any longer, I spoke first.

“Um… While I’m here, let’s meet from time to time.”

At my words, Roger’s face immediately lit up with a radiant smile.

Then he eagerly latched onto my words.

“T-Then! Can I see you again tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

Since I had already said it, I couldn’t take it back, leaving me in an incredibly frustrating situation.

“Uh… well. For now, get some rest today. You look tired.”

“Meeting Shuga feels like resting, so I’m fine.”

“What? How is meeting someone considered resting?”

“Meeting Shuga really does feel like a rest.”

“What? Isn’t it better to rest quietly by yourself?”

“By myself…?”

“Yes. Doing absolutely nothing and lounging around in bed on your day off.”

“Uh…”

“Oh my goodness. You look like you’ve never done that before.”

“Uh…”

“Wow… So meeting me wasn’t the important part after all. Anyway, today, go to your room by yourself, do absolutely nothing, and lie down.”

“Do nothing?”

Looking at his bright golden eyes, I genuinely felt like he was being exploited for labor.

‘Wow… Was he not the precious son of some noble family, but actually a precious family’s slave?’

How had he never rested even once?

It was astonishing, but judging by his innocent expression, he didn’t seem to be lying.

“Yes. Eat when you’re hungry, sleep when you’re sleepy, and if you get restless, turn over and lie on your side.”

“And after that?”

“When you feel like you’ve recharged, you go back to doing tomorrow’s work.”

“Ah… Yes. Okay.”

Seeing Roger nod, I hurriedly gestured for him to leave.

“Go on, hurry!”

Startled by my words, Roger abruptly turned his head toward me and answered while becoming tense.

“Ah, yes!”

Then he hurried away.

I stared at Roger’s back as he left and clicked my tongue.

“My goodness… He’s exactly like someone just starting out in society.”

If he kept charging forward without looking back, he’d run out of energy in no time.

It was troublesome, but I couldn’t simply leave a young newcomer to society who didn’t even know how to rest properly.

“Haah… It’s okay to let people know when you’re having a hard time.”

Feeling that sending him away had been the right choice, I shrugged my shoulders and hurried toward the boutique.

Fortunately, the boutique wasn’t far away.

Thanks to that, I was able to choose a dress without exhausting myself too much.

“Ooh. I look like a completely different person.”

I bought an inexpensive sky-blue dress and a blonde wig and put them on immediately.

Wearing the light, flowing dress that revealed the lines of my body made me feel like ElX*ra.

Once I was dressed like this, the Arina I had been impersonating turned out to have quite a pretty face.

“Phew.”

Good. This should be enough. I won’t look out of place.

Once I had accomplished my goal, my remaining energy gradually began to drain away.

Before I lost any more strength, I immediately headed into town and caught a carriage.

On the way to the Grand Duke’s castle, I lost even more energy because I got motion sick in the carriage.

Stagger, stagger.

As soon as I stepped out of the carriage and came face-to-face with the enormous grandeur of the Grand Duke’s castle, I felt as though I couldn’t breathe.

“Wow… I’m already tired of this.”

What I saw before me looked about five times larger than the amusement park I had visited as a child.

“What kind of castle is this? Is it an island?”

Exaggerating a little, the place looked as though it covered an area the size of Yeouido, with walls stretching endlessly around it.

The iron gate standing at what appeared to be the entrance looked impossible for a human being to climb over.

“……Am I going to die just trying to deliver a letter?”

Nervously pacing around, I approached the gatekeeper.

“Excuse me…”

“What brings you here?”

“I’ve come to see the Grand Duke.”

“……”

At my answer, the gatekeeper merely blinked before asking again.

“What brings you here?”

“I’ve come to see His Grace, Grand Duke Jürgen Brühlhardt.”

The moment I said Jürgen’s name, the gatekeeper’s expression became hostile.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No.”

“Then His Grace is not someone you can simply meet without an appointment.”

I knew that.

But no matter what happened today, I had to deliver this letter.

“Then at least please deliver this letter to him.”

“Haaah…”

As I watched the gatekeeper let out a long sigh, I narrowed my eyes threateningly.

“Hey. What’s your name?”

“Did you just ask for my name?”

“Yes. I did.”

The gatekeeper flinched, apparently startled by my sudden use of informal speech.

“…Dirk.”

“Right. Sir Dirk.”

“Yes, yes?”

As expected, wherever you went, the person with the loudest voice won.

“You were expecting Lady Jessie to come, weren’t you?”

At my words, he flinched.

‘If he’s responsible for guarding this enormous gate, he must have been informed beforehand about who was supposed to come.’

Especially since Jessie was supposed to become the Grand Duke’s mistress, there was no way he wouldn’t know.

“Yes. That’s right.”

“But she hasn’t arrived yet?”

“……What does that have to do with the lady?”

“Because I brought a letter from Lady Jessie.”

Of course, that was a complete lie.