***
“I should bring Karen.”
All of a sudden?
I quickly added, my eyes widened, wondering if Devan was going to get fidgety again.
“I knew you would. It’s better to have a knight.”
“I don’t need a knight. I don’t need Karen anymore.”
“What?”
“We need someone to escort the chef safely to the capital.”
Devan put down his fork and knife nervously.
“It’s so inedible.”
Oh. He was more sensitive to food than I thought.
“You’re not going to eat it?”
Devan shook the bell on the table lightly instead of replying.
The chamberlain came over and bowed his head. He was the one Astrilla had assigned to us for temporary use.
“I need to write a letter.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll get ready.”
After the chamberlain bowed and left the hall, Devan muttered in a low voice.
“I think we should bring the butler as well.”
Thought of the old, gray-haired butler.
“Is it hard to stay in a carriage for days? Perhaps demons might appear.”
“It is your fault that the demons have appeared. I’ve never heard of a demon appearing in that town.”
“It’s…… true.”
I nodded, unable to refute the accusation.
He didn’t care how I looked right now, and Devan continued with his insignificant words.
“Only when Karen, the butler, and the chef arrive will we be able to start anything properly then.”
He wiped his mouth with his handkerchief. It looked like he was really going to stop eating.
“First, we must find out what the temple does and what exactly that so-called black magic is.”
Only then will I be able to lift his curse and get clues about my dying body.
Then…………… I took a sip of water to moisten my lips.
“I want to see Cordelia. Is there any way to do that?” (Evelyn)
“Cordelia?” (Devan)
Devan furrowed his brow.
“As I said the other day…” (Devan)
“It’s not because of guilt. It’s because of my selfish heart. It’s about wanting to save that child and put my mind at ease.” (Evelyn)
Devan shook his head lightly.
“Find a way, please.” (Evelyn)
“…Don’t get your hopes up. I told you she’s the temple’s favorite child.” (Devan)
“Okay.” (Evelyn)
I heard a knock on the door, and the chamberlain came in. He bowed deeply and placed a piece of paper and a pen in front of Devan.
I watched as Devan began to write a letter in his excellent handwriting, and I asked what I was curious about the whole time.
“Why don’t you use a magic tool for that communication? I heard earlier that it’s faster to use magic.”
“If it’s not urgent, there’s no need to use it. It’s hard to get and it’s expensive.”
It had to be very expensive, seeing as he had not a single understanding of the market economy to say this much.
I couldn’t believe he wouldn’t try to use something that expensive to contact Karen. I guess he didn’t want to meet Karen that much.
I chuckled, put my hand on my fork and asked.
“But ……… what do I do now?”
What is there for me to do in this spacious Imperial Palace?
My original reason for coming to the capital was a faded mood.
On the way here, I met tremendous demons, Pelos, and then Astrilla.
It was a rough ride, and now I was finally at my point of origin.
Stopping his pen, Devan stared at me.
His beautiful red eyes flickered and disappeared into his eyelashes, and then they appeared, captivating people.
Smiling, he said.
“First of all……. Let’s start with Debutant, shall we?”
***
Karen, the butler, and finally the chef, whom Devan had missed so much, arrived at the Imperial Palace.
Apparently coming from the central nobility, Karen adapted quickly to the Imperial Palace, not to mention the butler who had served Devan since he was a child.
So it was only me and the chef who spent time in this golden and colorful imperial palace, feeling as desolate as a motherless child.
Devan was busy with his work, so it was no exaggeration to say that I was the only one here.
Of course, I didn’t have much free time either.
“……… Next. Next. No, the one before is better.”
It was to pick out a dress and accessories to wear during the debutante.
It was a familiar scene.
It was the same as when I had picked out my formal wear for the wedding at the Grand Ducal Palace not long ago.
I couldn’t believe that I would fall into the swamp of decision making again when I hadn’t actually decided on all of those formal wear yet.
The tailor narrowed his eyes at me as if he misunderstood my expression.
“Don’t worry, Grand Duchess. Many times more dresses than this are available in our store.”
And the swamp of decisions was so deep and large that it was not easy to get out of. Devan was royalty, I was his wife, and most importantly, this was the Imperial Palace.
The level of the tailor and the scale of his formal wear was exceptional. In fact, this kind of thing was originally supposed to be done with a noblewoman who would be with me.
But since I didn’t have a mother or any lady close to me, it was just up to me. My head hurt as I sat and listened to one explanation after another about these fabrics.
Standing beside me, the old butler with a serious expression on his face said.
“My Lady, I prefer the third fabric from the left as it is shiny and luxurious, but doesn’t reflect too much light. I think it’s the only one suitable for your beautiful golden eyes.”
….I see. He was still a man who had a way with rhetoric. There was no need for a separate noblewoman to help me.
I nodded quickly.
“I’ll take that.”
It was better than leaving it in Devan’s care, no matter how tedious and annoying it may be.
I still hadn’t forgotten about that dress with the rainbow-colored feathers on it that Devan bought.
Sigh.
Devan proposed without countermeasures, but I didn’t know why it was always up to me to deal with it. I sighed low and recalled a few days ago.
***
“What can I do now?”
“First of all……. Let’s start with Debutant.”
“Debutante?”
At my bewilderment, Devan shrugged and said.
“You are the Count’s daughter, who has been missing in this empire for more than two years. You also disappeared in the year you had to debut. I looked into it, and Count Diego looked around for you for a bit as if he was showing off, and now he doesn’t even seem to care.”
I thought the Count would have held a funeral for me, but it was surprising that he didn’t.
“So? What does this have to do with the Debutante?”
“We’re having a formal wedding at the temple in the near future, so wouldn’t it be better to make a formal social debut before that? I don’t want to marry a woman whose status death or alive is unknown.”
Eighteen years old was when the daughters of the aristocracy made their debutantes.
I was abducted by Devan, and I ran away. And now I came back and I was twenty.
That meant that I was already long past my debutante years.
“But my age…”
“There are exceptions, I’m sure. It’s not that unusual for a noblewoman who couldn’t make it due to circumstances to delay it by a year or two.”
At least, that was not what I had heard. I narrowed my eyes and looked at him.
“You’re now a Grand Duchess. This has been approved by the Crown Princess, so who can say anything?”
What did he mean by the Crown Princess’s approval? Unbeknownst to me alone, it seemed that he had already finished talking with Astrilla.
“What on earth are you going to do?”
“What?”
“The temple is looking for me. If I go out to a place like that, it’s like advertising to everyone that I’m back……..”
“Now you get the point.”
Devan quickly folded the letters he had written.
With a ding he rang the bell and the butler came up to him, bowed deeply, and took the letter.
“When I kidnapped you, I told you that the temple was looking for you.”
“That’s right.”
“The rumor reached the Grand Duke’s residence in the outskirts. What do you think this means?”
“It means that they spread the rumor on purpose. They were wondering if you could find a clue for them.”
“That’s right. Then do you think they told me they were going to kill you while spreading rumors?”
“Of course they didn’t. There is an image that has been kept so thoroughly….but what exactly are you trying to say?”
Devan’s eyebrows twitched upward.
“The rumor the temple spread was simple. The child they raised with care, effort, and sincerity disappeared due to Count Diego’s mistake. They don’t know where that child is or what kind of hardship she’s going through, so they’re going to get her back.”
I bristled at the duplicity.
As I put my fork down, having lost my appetite, Devan kept talking.
“What if you were to make your official debut in society under such circumstances? And you have the status of a Grand Duchess.”
He was making a nominal point. A nominal one that he still valued.
If I appear in good health, the temple will have no reason to look for me.
“They will not be able to find me, at least not officially.” (Evelyn)
“You’re right.”
“Don’t you think they would be so unofficially violent?”
Haha, every once in a while Devan laughed out loud.
I made a bewildered expression and opened my mouth.
“Don’t tell me you’re going for that….?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I stared at Devan, who looked at me blankly.
I finally realized what was going on.
Devan was going to use me as bait to lure the temple.
If I showed my face in the society, it would be obvious that I was a Grand Duchess.
The Grand Duchess would, of course, stay in the villa with the Grand Duke until the ceremony was over.
There would be no problem with the temple, even if it was the imperial palace.
In a word, Devan intended to make the temple came directly to us.
“Even if it’s not for that reason, your debutant is necessary. Wasn’t that what you wanted too? Using your status as Grand Duchess to confront Count Diego and your brother.”
The more I heard, the more I could not refuse.
I lifted my fork again and nervously pricked the meat.
“But you want to use me as bait. You’re really kind. I didn’t think that you had already came up with another method.”
Devan’s lips raised up at my sarcasm.
“I assume this would be your suggestion.”
“Mine?”
“I think you did.”
He rested his chin on his hand and looked at me.
His long, eyelashes blocked his red eyes. Still with an overly handsome face, Devan slowly opened his mouth.
“You can’t solve anything by just running away because it’s scary.”