Confession (12)

Ruffkin might have been a fashionable street, but it was nothing compared to Baden’s Main Street.

The two young ladies had assumed they would sweep through the high-end boutiques when they came to the capital from the north.

But the capital’s social scene was not so easily conquered.

Main Street’s boutiques were run on a membership basis and were unfriendly to unfamiliar guests.

Even in boutiques with open access, strangers like them drew little interest, and in the rare cases they managed to get in, they only suffered humiliation.

Perhaps word had already spread that they had approached Alicia at the princess’s birth celebration only to be thoroughly ignored, because noble ladies who recognized them quickly snapped open their fans or covered their mouths, whispering among themselves.

Driven away by the chilly atmosphere, Cynthia and Angela relocated to Ruffkin, a place friendlier toward young ladies.

However, even there, a few people recognized them, and soon they were met with cold stares.

In front of a boutique as well-decorated as those on Main Street, the two lingered outside, unable to go in.

“Why should I have to feel intimidated because of that useless baggage? Let’s just go in!”

Cynthia bit her lip, recalling the insults she had suffered in the past two days.

Her face was filled with resentment as she spoke.

“Why should we be intimidated? But still…”

Angela kept stealing glances at the boutique’s display window that drew her eye.

She tried to sound indifferent, but her face betrayed reluctance.

The two debated for some time over whether to enter.

That was when the sound of hooves, like one would hear on Main Street, reached their ears.

A luxurious carriage that could not fit into the narrow alley came to a halt, and a cloaked lady stepped down.

Even at a glance, she was dressed in opulent luxury from head to toe.

The two were momentarily distracted by the sight of the lady disembarking before resuming their indecisive conversation.

“I said, let’s go in.”

“Just a moment.”

“Why do you keep saying ‘just a moment’?”

Cynthia urged that they should at least try, while Angela hesitated.

“Ladies.”

Just as they were about to start another round of their endless debate, the richly dressed noblewoman spoke to them.

It was the lady who had stepped from the grand carriage moments earlier.

Cynthia and Angela offered a slight bow as the lady approached.

Returning their greeting, the lady lowered her cloak, revealing her face.

“Are you going inside?”

“We… yes, we were about to.”

Cynthia answered hesitantly.

Angela lightly touched her arm as she spoke.

Their eyes met, and Angela’s look clearly said, Just look at that.

At first glance, the lady’s cloak seemed unadorned.

But up close, it was densely embroidered with silver and gold thread.

The subtle sheen visible even from a distance was not merely from sunlight.

“This place is nice, but there’s a boutique I frequent—would you like to go there together?”

Beneath the splendid cloak peeked a dress even simpler yet more dazzling.

“That sounds wonderful…!”

“May I ask why you would make such an offer to us?”

Impatient Cynthia was quick to agree, but Angela stepped in before she could.

“Recently, I haven’t been going out much, so I’ve grown a little distant from the friends I used to spend time with. Since you two are about my age, I thought we might become good friends. Would you come with me? Oh, I forgot to introduce myself—I’m Viviana Manners. And you are?”

At the name Viviana Manners, Cynthia and Angela’s eyes widened in unison.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Viviana. I’m Cynthia Brenel.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Lady Viviana. I’m Angela Miller.”

Viviana waved her hand at their greetings.

“Oh, don’t be so formal. I approached you first asking to be friends—if we keep our distance, it will be hard to become friends. But you know who I am? How so, I wonder…”

Viviana spoke with a tone of curiosity, as though surprised anyone would recognize her.

Cynthia and Angela exchanged a look charged with a peculiar excitement.

No lady making her debut in the capital’s social scene could be ignorant of the Chancellor, Marquis Manners’s daughter.

The owner of that magnificent cloak was far more significant than they had imagined.

“To be your friend… that’s too much.”

“Yes, it’s more than we deserve.”

At their humble responses, Viviana shook her head with a shy smile.

“Don’t be like that. In any case, since you know me, you can see I’m not a bad person. Shall we go together?”

“Yes!”

“It would be my pleasure to accompany you.”

Viviana walked ahead, introducing them to her lavish carriage.

Her face was graced with a deep smile as she urged them to treat her comfortably, not to be distant, and to be good friends.

Reichardt had been lying in bed for the second day in a row.

He lounged there lazily, staring indifferently at the painted ceiling of his chamber.

Even after looking at it all day yesterday and again today, the awe and wonder had not diminished in the slightest.

“……”

His gaze drifted from the ceiling toward the window.

He curled slightly as he turned onto his side.

Resting his head on his bent right arm, Reichardt listened to the footsteps climbing the stairs from the first floor.

They were brisk yet unhurried—clearly Henrik’s steps.

Henrik always ascended one step at a time, whether or not anyone was watching, and paused briefly before turning corners.

Having reached the top, Henrik walked the corridor with polite composure and stopped before the Grand Duke’s bedchamber.

Soon, there was a knock.

“Your Highness, it’s Henrik.”

Henrik’s voice was careful.

“Come in.”

Reichardt spoke lazily, still looking out the window.

He had not gone to the palace the previous day.

“Shall I prepare for you to go to the palace?”

Henrik addressed Reichardt’s back.

“No.”

Reichardt was a man of strict self-discipline.

Though born into royal wealth and privilege, in this country, royals were expected to uphold the dignity of their station.

He had been taught that such privilege came with obligations and codes of conduct.

Not all royals upheld those duties and rules.

Reichardt, however, was exceptional in doing so—and in claiming the rights and privileges of his birth without hesitation.

“Then shall I prepare for you to go to Tessen?”

“No.”

The night before last, Reichardt had collapsed.

Yesterday, though awake since dawn, he had “rested” all day—in truth, it had looked more like idling.

But having collapsed the previous night, Henrik understood why his master had dismissed everyone.

Today, Reichardt was clearly loafing.

A man who had always placed royal duty above all else now neglected his responsibilities in favor of sprawling in bed—a strange sight indeed.

Henrik had worried yesterday, and again today, but also wondered: What was going on?

Still, he did not dare ask outright.

“Hmm.”

Henrik pressed his lips together, scanning the bedchamber.

Without orders, he should take his leave.

“Henrik.”

Just as Henrik was debating whether to go, Reichardt called him.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Henrik replied promptly, unable to hide it.

Normally, Reichardt would have chided a servant for such a tone, but curled toward the window, he looked almost like a sulky child.

Like someone too simple to read another’s demeanor, he gave Henrik no such warning.

“When one person hugs another, and the one being hugged feels their heart race like it will burst… what does that mean?”

Reichardt asked without taking his eyes off the window.

Oh!

Henrik nearly shouted with excitement like a foolish youth.

It seemed Lady Alicia had finally embraced the Grand Duke.

What a fine and proactive young lady she was.

He restrained himself from blurting it aloud, cheering inwardly: Well done, my lady!

He was curious about the details but wise enough not to pry.

“Perhaps… it means they like them.”

Henrik answered in a deliberately casual tone, struggling to keep his lips from twitching and his cheeks from lifting.

“She said she doesn’t like me.”

Reichardt spoke without moving.

His back seemed even sulkier than before.

“What? No, I meant—wasn’t it Your Highness hugging the lady, not the other way around…”

Henrik blurted out his thoughts before he could stop himself.

Reichardt turned his face toward him and gazed steadily.

“I said when one person hugs another.”

Reichardt’s calm face showed no sign of wavering.

“……”

Henrik was incredulous.

If the Grand Duke—who normally showed no interest in others—mentioned someone, it was obviously about himself.

And if it was about romance, it was obviously about him and Alicia.

He couldn’t understand why Reichardt would hide something so obvious, until realization struck—

Judging from his demeanor, the Grand Duke had confessed his feelings and been rejected.

Henrik wanted to express both pity and confusion.

Then he remembered how stiff and unyielding Reichardt had always been.

Memories came back of Alicia—unlike a typical highborn lady—being warm and proactive, only to be met with coldness.

If she had been pushed away like that time and again, anyone would grow irritated.

Henrik almost blurted, Serves you right!

But as a good aide, he let the awkward moment pass with a smile.

“Why are you smiling?”

Reichardt had rolled over to face him now.

Even with the sun high overhead, he lay sprawled in bed under the covers, the very picture of idleness—yet his fine features kept it from looking unseemly.

Though his words seemed to chide a considerate servant, his sulky face only looked all the more striking.

“How could I be smiling, Your Highness?”

Because what you’re saying is ridiculous, Henrik thought, but swallowed the truth.

“Leave.”

Reichardt spoke languidly from the bed.

To Henrik, it was oddly special—seeing a man who had always borne everything in silence and restraint now lazing and shirking his duties.

In fact, it was almost endearing.

“Perhaps… she’s just playing hard to get, out of pride?”

Henrik ignored the order to leave.

“……”

Reichardt gave no reply, but his interest was obvious.

One eyebrow arched slightly as he studied Henrik, then he buried his face in the pillow.