It would be fortunate if it could just end then and there, but actually, the situation was far more severe than that. On the very day her reputation got tarnished, the particular one who would be losing her life might definitely be Vivian—never Alexia herself.
Vivian clenched her fist before slowly opening it—with such resentment painted on her face. There was in no way that she could actually go against any of Alexia’s orders.
And that was what had truly happened.
Vivian eventually stared at the Grand Duke with her flustered eyes, when he had already stuck himself beside her while caressing her cheeks.
She thought that the Grand Duke wouldn’t be joining in this hunt as he had purposely chosen a quiet place before. In the end, however, he still came by and had expressed his wish to go together with her, who had already become the substitute for Alexia yet again.
She had wanted to refuse him then and there, but as she was already the ‘Alexia’ in the eyes of the surroundings, she just couldn’t do so.
Vivian kept her face as stiff as possible before she spoke to him.
“What is it?”
“Did I—perhaps—do something to you?”
“No, there is nothing at all.”
“If so, then why does your voice sound like that?”
“What’s wrong with my voice?”
“Aren’t you throwing a tantrum right now?”
“A tantrum? Me, to you—the Grand Duke?”
There was—in an absolutely—no such manner that she could do something like that. Just a mere servant, who would dare to throw a tantrum towards a high-ranking noble. There was no way that such an act could ever happen.
“You must have been mistaken. By no means that I’d be throwing a tantrum towards the Grand Duke.”
“Alexia.”
The Grand Duke immediately raised her chin before making her face him.
However, Vivian just couldn’t bring her gaze to meet him. She wasn’t able to do that since the one whom he had called out was the Young Lady and not herself. She muttered under her breath as she deceived herself as well, but she didn’t give any apparent reply.
She didn’t even respond till the end despite him still having called out to her. Eventually, the Grand Duke took his hand away from her cheeks. Instead, he grabbed the window frame of the carriage before holding out his own head.
“Commander!”
The Grand Duke’s sudden voice had not only made the carriage pull to a stop, but everyone else’s movements as well. At the same time, the one who was leading at the front, immediately approached the Grand Duke.
“May I help you, sire?”
“Leave the carriage over here and start the hunt at once.”
“But—this is not the specified destination. It may be quite inconvenient for you, but if you could just hold it in for a little while, the destination will soon be…”
“Can’t you understand my words properly? Then, let me say it once again. Leave the carriage here.”
With such wrathful eyes, the Grand Duke shot a glare at the Knight Commander.
The commander, who had met his eyes, quickly lowered his head. He just couldn’t keep his gaze straight because of the beast-like eyes that appeared to be scowling upon him—just as if they were about to devour him whole.
“…I understand. Then, I will be assigning some of the escort knights before taking my leave.”
“No need for that. Who else would there be in a place like this? You can just leave us—me and the Young Lady—alone.”
“However, what if something were to happen to Your Highness and the Young Lady during then?”
The incessant overprotectiveness of the Knight Commander had made Knox heave a faint sigh.
“Did you just look down on my skill? I’m sure you’d know better that despite the fact that my eyes can’t see that well, my skills are far superior than some dozens of knights.”
Right at the Grand Duke’s sheer resolve, the commander uttered his breath—unbeknown to others.
His master had a particular personality; once he had insisted on something, nothing could ever stop him anymore. Although, he once had a thought that during the last few months where the Grand Duke had gotten sick, he somehow seemed to have lost a bit of that tenacity in him.
His heart that wished to escort the Grand Duke to a safer place hadn’t changed, but there was nothing else that he could actually do.