Chapter 18

Around the time Alan visited the Duke of Gazard’s estate, Cordelia began frequently spending time away from the mansion.

Part of it was likely due to the awkwardness of the prank she had pulled on Alan, but more than that, it was because she was receiving an increasing number of invitations to tea parties at the royal palace.

Hosted by the crown prince and his fiancée, these gatherings invited only a select few aristocratic youths.

For nobles eager to grow close to the future king, it was an object of absolute envy.

No one questioned why Cordelia, rather than the heir to the duchy Diana, was the one invited to such occasions.

Despite already having a betrothed, Cordelia was a favorite of the crown prince, and their affectionate rapport was widely discussed, setting aside any rumors of romance.

Naturally, that was merely the official surface of things.

It could hardly be amusing for Lady Kayley Eldred, the crown prince’s betrothed, and it reflected poorly on the House of Gazard from an outside perspective.

Even so, they could not simply ignore the invitations sent their way, and the fact that Cordelia herself was eager to go see the crown prince remained a constant headache.

“My daughters are a handful, truly…”

“Oh, am I grouped in with that as well?”

Diana pouted, teasing the grumbling Duke Wesley.

“Naturally, in the sense that both of you are darling daughters who require plenty of attention.”

To their father Wesley, Diana and Cordelia were daughters he cherished equally.

Knowing that, Diana still felt a slight complication in her chest.

Why Cordelia had acted the way she did in her past life was still not entirely clear.

Even if she asked her straight to her face, the present Cordelia would have no way of knowing.

“Cordelia seems to have grown utterly absent-minded lately… I wonder if that’s the sickness of love.”

“It’s not as though Cordelia pining after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is anything new.”

At her father Wesley’s sigh, Diana instinctively let out a teasing remark.

“True enough. Just like your Alan.”

Retaliating without a moment’s hesitation, her father made Diana shrug her shoulders.

Whether it was an older sister pining for the much older Royal Uncle Alan, or a younger sister pining for Crown Prince Lawrence, who already had a fiancée, both daughters might well be a persistent source of worry for their father.

“I’ve already gone so far as to complete my engagement, at least.”

She answered with a puffed-up expression, though a lingering sense of guilt toward her father remained.

Leaving the study in a hurry, she walked down the corridor.

“Cordelia lovesick, huh…”

Honestly, it was a subject past its time.

To Diana, the romantic feelings her twin sister harbored were something she had known inside and out since they were barely ten years old.

The very person toward whom those feelings were directed surely understood that as well.

Precisely because of that, Lawrence inviting Cordelia to the royal castle so frequently at a time like this felt deeply unsettling.

She just hoped Cordelia wasn’t being easily manipulated by that man while at the castle.

“There are so many things I want to do, but I wonder how I should go about them…”

It was when Diana muttered those words to herself like a soliloquy.

“What is it that you want to do?”

“Waaah!?”

Startled by the sudden voice, Diana jumped.

Before she knew it, the tall figure of Alan was walking right alongside her.

Just when had he…? She thought, but then again, ever since leaving her father’s study, she had been walking while lost deep in thought.

Her own carelessness instantly made her face turn red.

“P-Please let me know if you’re going to be there!”

“Haha, you had such a serious look on your face.”

Lately, Alan had come to be able to freely enter and leave the Duke of Gazard’s estate without a second thought.

Naturally so—as Diana’s fiancé, he was effectively the future heir’s husband-to-be.

Everyone in the household treated him with that understanding.

“Anyway… as your fiancé, I’d like to know what the person who will become my wife wants to do.”

Despite his lighthearted tone, Alan’s gaze was dead serious.

He stared intently at Diana, watching her reaction closely.

“If I’m going to succeed the ducal house, I thought I should start my own trading company as well.”

Diana’s father, Wesley, was not only a duke but also the owner of a trading company rumored to drive the entire economy of the Kingdom of Rutledge.

While Wesley himself did not engage in active commerce, the Levein Trading Company—headquartered in the Gazard domain with him and the House of Gazard acting as its principal investors—was an indispensable entity for the territory.

“If you inherit the ducal house, won’t you end up inheriting the Levein Trading Company as well?”

“That’s true, but I feel like I need to prove my true capability as an executive by building up a trading company on my own, just like my father did.”

“You’ve thought this through all the way to that point.”

Alan murmured, looking genuinely impressed by Diana’s words.

Starting a trading company entirely on her own and putting it on a successful path without relying on her father’s power was something Diana had desperately longed for in her past life.

However, venturing into business alone had been fraught with countless hardships waiting for her.

In her past life, it was right after Diana had embarked on managing her own trading company that the crown prince began frequently inviting Cordelia to the royal palace.

Back then, Diana had answered every question Cordelia asked with total openness and candor.

She had never imagined that her twin sister would sell off vital secrets—information that could single-handedly make or break the fate of her trading company—to the crown prince.

Yet the outcome had been utterly miserable.

From auction prices down to lists of business partners, every single piece of information had leaked straight to the crown prince.

To the very end, Diana in her past life had never once suspected her twin sister, Cordelia.

She had dismissed one employee after another involved with the company on suspicion of information leaks, until she was the only one left standing.

Having placed her trust in Cordelia to that extreme, only to be betrayed and murdered by her, she truly was beyond saving.

“There are simply far too many people in this estate… An environment with a select, elite few would be much better, though it’s easier said than done.”

“Hmm.”

At Diana’s words, Alan stroked his chin.

Alan had no way of knowing what kind of agonizing experiences Diana had endured in her past life.

Yet he had a hunch about the kind of unease she must be harboring.

It had happened the very day after he and Diana had shared their feelings for one another.

When Alan visited the ducal estate bearing a bouquet of flowers, Cordelia had approached him with an overly sweet voice for some reason.

At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it, but talking with the gatekeeper on his way out made him realize something unsettling.

‘It almost looked as though Lady Cordelia was masquerading as Lady Diana to approach His Royal Highness the Royal Uncle.’

When he heard those words, he had felt an eerie chill creeping up his spine, despite her being his fiancée’s younger sister.

If Alan hadn’t realized it was Cordelia and had handed the flowers over under the assumption that she was Diana, how would Diana have felt seeing that?

Just thinking about it gave Alan a throbbing headache.

Dismissing it with a laugh as a playful prank between close twin sisters was far too careless and lacking in consideration.

He didn’t think Cordelia would go so far as to commit acts of espionage.

He didn’t think so, but given that behavior, it naturally made him somewhat uneasy about leaving Diana in her company.

“Don’t you think a newly married life sounds rather wonderful?”

“Eh?”

Taken aback by the sudden remark, Diana blinked her eyes and looked up at Alan.

She couldn’t immediately connect his previous conversation with this sudden pivot, and tilted her head in confusion.

“If Diana wishes for it, no one would think it strange if we lived together in a villa or somewhere else just the two of us for a while.”

“Ah…”

With that much explanation, Diana finally understood Alan’s intention.

If they lived away from her family in a villa under the pretext of newlywed life, they could naturally distance themselves from Cordelia—and by extension, any servants who shared her loyalties.

Of course, they would still need to bring a few servants along to the villa, but they could handpick those individuals themselves, and a smaller staff would make it much easier to implement countermeasures if any information happened to leak.

“Would that be alright?”

“Of course, if that is what you wish.”

Diana threw herself into the arms of the smiling Alan.

Softening his gaze at his fiancée’s sweet, unreserved affection, Alan gently stroked Diana’s hair.

“If that’s the case, perhaps we should hurry the wedding along.”

“We’ll need to decide on a house for the two of us to live in, too.”

“Indeed. And if you’re starting a business, the preparations for that will be necessary as well.”

“We promised to go buy rings, too.”

With marriage ahead of them, there was still a mountain of things to do.

Yet neither of those tasks felt like a burden to the two of them right now; if anything, even the preparations brought them a quiet sense of joy.

It was still a bit too early for a true honeymoon phase, but a sweet, gentle atmosphere already lingered gently between them.