Chapter 20

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The Problem Was The Letter (1)

(3rd Person POV)

Debutants would have a chosen partner with whom they would attend together, holding hands and dancing at the banquet hall.

And that fact drove someone crazy.

“Ugh! No. Never.”

“My lord….”

The lieutenant had a grim face, right after he discovered the letter.

His superior, who was insanely jealous, seemed so unbearable. Then Gabriel said without stopping,

“Prepare to attack.”

A chilly silence descended, as Gabriel furiously raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you all surprised? Since we already took care of their military commander, it’s the perfect time to attack. I won’t give them a moment to rest.”

“……”

“Everyone, move back into your positions right now.”

Promising himself that he would not allow anyone else to hold Hilea’s hand, Gabriel immediately grabbed his armored sword and ordered an attack.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

(3rd Person POV)

The war was rampant with blood and paid for by Gabriel leading the charge.

And finally, a few days ago, after a long 12 year war, he received the surrender of the enemy forces.

The Emperor’s power, which everyone thought would be shaken, was instead stabilized, and the Empress, who was aiming for its profit, ground her teeth.

‘So, how would the Duke of Belfius, the youngest Duke and a returning war hero who had brought about this remarkable achievement, be treated in the future?’

“He will definitely be the talk of the town, from the moment he returns.”

He was definitely the hottest topic in the society.

“How can the ghost Duke suddenly change? And not only that, there’s also all kinds of rumors running around.”

“Well we can’t call him a ghost Duke now, right? Since the Empire gains a lot after he becomes the ‘War Hero’, His Majesty’s favor will definitely be inclined to one side.”

Some of the nobles laughed.

Perhaps, they referred to the fact that the current Emperor valued the Duke, more  than his only son, the Crown Prince, whom he never had a good relationship with before.

“Didn’t he openly dismiss him at the cabinet meeting yesterday? Hmmm, His Majesty the Emperor is also very cruel. Isn’t His Highness the Crown Prince also making great efforts for the Empire?”

“Not only that, His Majesty also emphasized three times at the last meeting that once the Duke of Befius returns, a splendid victory banquet must be held. Thanks to this, all of the aristocratic nobles are very excited.”

“And if the Duke happens to return at this very moment, the situation from the Crown Prince’s side would be even worse.”

As the conversation about Duke of Belfius continued, a certain family name came to mind naturally.

“What happened to that engagement?””

A name which has been quiet as if dead for the past few years.

The Hillington family.

It concerned the betrothal that they shared 12 years ago when the Duke of Belfius was still known as a bloodthirsty boy.

But what they wanted to discuss was.

‘Is Gabriel still willing to take one of Hillington’s daughters as his marriage partner, since he now has a completely different position than before?’

“What are you curious about? Are you thinking about who will appear together with the Duke of Belfius at the victory party?”

The ladies who were listening sarcastically answered,

“But Hillington is not the same as before. The Duke of Belfius will change his mind for sure.”

“If their marriage ties really end… Then all of the young ladies will be in a frenzy, since the Duke of Belfius is the most sought after bachelor in the Empire.

“Do you think it could really happen?”

“Oh my gosh!”

Since they set their eyes on him as the candidate for a son-in-law, they really needed to get rid of those Hiilington girls from the Duke’s sight!

“But still, compared to my family, the union of those two Duchies would still be the best combination.”

For Hillington and Belfius.

And yet rumors were circulating within society that the Duke left for war without properly discussing his marriage due to a bad relationship between the two families.

“This is definitely a must see.”

It seemed to be an exciting event that they would definitely look forward to. The eyes of the nobles gleamed.

The most important thing is, Gabriel the war hero. ‘Whose hand would he hold at the party?’

‘Is it going to be the one of the Hillington girls, who has never been introduced to society?’

‘Or would it be an unknown girl, who would be introduced, having stolen the heart of the war hero?’

‘Whoever it is, it will definitely be fun.’

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

(Hildea’s POV)

‘For a 20-year-old’s debutant, there’s just so much to prepare.’

“Would you like to wear this dress, my lady?”

I raise my chin and look closely at the dress in front of me.

“It’s okay, but I would like to change the lace into something more fluffy. And the waist tightening is too skittish. And the ribbon doesn’t match the color of the dress either.”

As I calmly pick it up, the tailor’s assistant immediately writes down what I had pointed out, while sweating profusely.

I look at both of them and turn to the other woman who was standing nearby leisurely.

“Don’t you think so, Madame Rumüer?”

I still can’t smile well.

However, due to her professional attitude, she nods her head as if not hurt by my impassive expression.

“Yes of course, I agree with Lady Hildea’s opinion. But thanks to the young lady, I don’t have much to do.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Oh, my.”

“Well I think you’re trying to tease me, because you know that the outcome of a dress depends on who’s wearing it.”

Madame Rumüer winks one eye as she looks at me with a playful expression.

“Oh my gosh. I don’t say this to anyone else, Lady Hildea. For example, I wouldn’t be saying this to Lady Rosé, right?”

“…….”

I couldn’t even laugh at Madame Rumüer’s words since she’s the most recognizable person in the capital.

‘Rosé. Rosé!’

I ground my teeth inside.

“But I haven’t seen Lady Rosé these past few days? When is she planning to see us – the Debutant day is almost around the corner?”

‘I don’t know that either, Madame Rumüer.’

“Next time, I hope that Lady Rosé will come with you as well.”

“Okay, I’ll tell her.”

My lovely sister, who still acts the same even at the age of 20.

That’s why I’m always worried about her.

‘She isn’t climbing any trees today, right?’

I couldn’t even reveal my feelings, so I rolled my eyes awkwardly.

(T/N: Aww poor Hildea, just be brave and open up. Gabriel will definitely accept you with open arms.)

And the Debutante Ball was right in front of us.

Nevertheless, Rosé was not interested in preparing her all important dress.

“Please choose one for me sister, hehe!”

“I told you not to talk that way, and also don’t laugh like that. Rosériel!”

“It’s okay!”

‘Why? Why do I feel so sick today?’

I was trying not to say anything unnecessary, but I’m worried that Rosé might be insulted at the debutante ball.

“Anyway, Madame Rumüer. I would like to have Rosé’s dress with this.”

“All right then, Lady Hildea. I will do my very best to create the most dazzling dress to bring out the beauty in both of you.”

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

(Hildea’s POV)

It’s been 12 years now.

Gabriel’s status as a war hero has changed significantly from before.

Originally, everyone was fussing at the time he ascended to the position as the youngest Duke of the Empire. But now he has become an object of admiration for them.

In fact, Gabriel’s face has not been seen for twelve years now, and any news about him is considered almost sacred, along with various rumors.

‘That’s why it has become a problem.’

‘It’s obvious without looking at it.’

‘In the original <Young Miss is sweet> it was because her fiance was Gabriel that the fragile Rosériel suffered due to slander from most of the young ladies of the Empire.’

‘Since there are two candidates this time, there must be a lot of people who want us  to drop out voluntarily so they could lure Gabriel to become their future  son-in-law.’

I cut off my thoughts and raise my head, while briefly signing the paper in front of me.

“Everything has been checked.”

I could see the faces of the people waiting nervously.

“That’s it for today.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow at this time. I hope you have a relaxing afternoon.”

As soon as I finish speaking, I bow politely, send out the merchants leaving, and release a sigh.

When I glance at Mira, who had followed after me, I notice that she was handing out the gifts to the merchants before closing the door.

Immediately, I fall down on the bed.

“Ugh, I survived.”

The sound of suffering, like an old man, came out automatically.

(P/N: I feel that adulting pain too T_T)

‘Who is it? Who the hell is it, that said that a noble lady could enjoy a comfortable and relaxing life?’

‘It’s so unfair. As I get older, I feel like I’m getting more work than before.’

‘No. Am I increasing my workload? Then… It’s my fault, after all.’

I frown and pat the ends of my hair as I lay down.

In fact, I need something to focus my mind on, so that I can’t think about other things.

‘I can’t think about anything else.’

I gently close my eyes, after habitually staring at the drawer above my bedside.

‘No. I didn’t see anything.’

Just then, Mira, who had gone out to send off the merchants, opened the door and immediately stopped as she saw me laying around.

Still, with a reserved expression, she nags me, asking what she should do if someone sees me lying like that.

‘Oh, I don’t know, since no one has seen me like this before.’

“Please do that kind of nagging to Rosé, and not me, Lira.”

“Are you saying that I should nag someone who doesn’t listen?”

‘Ugh! This is ridiculous.’

“Then you’re saying that you’ll just give up on Rosé?”

Lira was originally like that, but is it acceptable for a maid of a noble family to use such harsh words, no matter how careless Rosé is?

“Didn’t you notice, Lady Hill? You are the only one in the mansion who didn’t give up on reprimanding Lady Rosé.”

‘Is that really the case?’

Looking far ahead, Lira spoke firmly as if she could understand what I’m thinking.

“Yes.”

“I see…”

‘That’s a really depressing statement.’

‘Our Rosé, when did you become like this?’

“Well, she’s still as lovely as ever”

The people of the family still couldn’t talk to me comfortably, but they talked loudly with Rosé.

Sometimes it’s confusing whether her figure looks like a noble lady or one of the servants.

“I just hope that the young lords of the capital won’t know that if they get punched by that lovely lady, it would make them sleep forever.”

“Lira. Do you really have to say that?”

“But it’s true. My lady.”

‘Well I can’t say that it isn’t true, since my lovely sister’s hand naturally leans towards holding a sword rather than a pen, and clenching her fist over a sword.’

“Well Rosé doesn’t need to look good to other young men, so that’s fine.”

‘Her only job is for her to look good in front of Gabriel.’

As I hold my forehead and sigh deeply, Lira suddenly bombards me with facts.

“And His Highness didn’t even say anything about it. Do you remember the incident that happened to Lady Rosé a few days ago?”

‘Ugh, it was about my father’s office, which Rosé almost burned down. I’m about to faint just thinking about it.’

‘What did she say then?’

‘Oh, yes she said that she was eating roasted sweet potatoes… Yes, that’s what she said, but why in there?’

“Lira, the next time you see Rosé, please tell me. Or I’ll be angry at you.”

“Yes of course. More than that, my lady…”

“Yes?”

‘It was a strange feeling. No, it felt familiar.’

I place my hand on my chest, as if to grasp my anxious heart. As I stare at Lira, she hands me something with her usual emotionless face.

“It’s arrived again.”

‘Oh my. I’m speechless.’

“That letter.”

‘It’s a letter someone sent me.’

‘For the past 12 years, it has continued to arrive without ceasing.’

‘The letter in question.’