Chapter 26

Relying on a moment of warmth is a naive and complacent thought. Even if it seems trivial to fuss over just a meal, these small things would surely dull her senses over time.

Before she knew it, she might overstep and cause the Duke’s heart to grow cold.  

She had already received help from him several times. There was no guarantee that his kindness would continue.

‘Let’s act wisely, Hermia. You’ll be the one getting hurt later.’

After a moment of contemplation, she awkwardly smiled.

“I just want to eat comfortably.”  

It was slightly ambiguous, but since it was true that she didn’t feel at ease, the words came out without issue.  

“Are you uncomfortable dining with us?”  

Walter immediately responded with a question, and instead of answering, she nodded. This time, however, Gerald looked uncomfortable.  

“We’re uncomfortable? Why?”  

“Um… You two need to be somewhat uncomfortable for me to maintain my boundaries…”  

“Boundaries? What kind of boundaries? We’re comrades in the same boat!”  

While Gerald exclaimed half-jokingly and half-seriously about feeling betrayed, Walter’s expression began to harden.  

This was definitely that feeling—an invisible wall.  

There seemed to be nothing there, but when he actually tried to enter, the solid lock on the door of her heart would shut right in front of him.  

He had no clue how to get inside. All he knew how to do was capture prisoners for interrogation or use violent methods to extract information if necessary. He certainly couldn’t approach his fiancée in such a manner…   

Walter quickly masked his expression and calmly said as usual,  

“Please make yourself comfortable. Do enjoy your meal slowly in your room.”  

“Really? Then I’ll have to eat a lot…”  

Hermia instinctively speaking like that was rather pleasing to him. He turned his gaze toward Emily.  

“Prepare a separate meal for Miss Hermia and bring it to her room; do the same for breakfast tomorrow.”  

“Understood.”  

“After breakfast, you’ll need to have a brief interview with me.”  

“Huh? An interview?”  

Walter nodded at her as she pointed at herself with her finger.  

“You’ve been arrested on suspicion of terrorism; we need to take your statement. I’ll only ask a few simple questions, so don’t feel too burdened.”  

“Oh… I understand.”  

“My friend is really something else. Who interrogates his own fiancée? You could just handle it casually; you’re such a stubborn fool.”  

“It’s just a formal procedure.”   

Even as Gerald looked at him with disbelief, Walter remained unmoved.

Once Emily took Hermia away and closed the door, Walter let out a breath that dispersed into the air.

To think that all he could come up with was a statement—was he out of his mind?  

“What a pathetic situation…”   

“Huh?”   

“Nothing. Just eat your meal.  I know it won’t be fun with a blockhead like me.”   

There he goes again; he’s sulking again. Gerald smirked as he rubbed his mouth.

—

Hermia settled down at the table while taking in the grand guest room she had slept in last time.

The same dishes from earlier were laid out one by one, and Emily set down lemon water and fruit juice while smiling brightly.

“Enjoy your meal comfortably. I’ll be outside, so ring the bell if you need anything else.”   

“Thank you.”   

Seeing her say thank you made Hermia feel relieved that she wasn’t such an ill-mannered person after all; if she hadn’t felt grateful, she wouldn’t have been able to say even such a light greeting.

“By the way, this room is really big.”   

Once left alone after Emily exited, she couldn’t help but murmur in admiration.

This room was much larger than the hut she lived in as a child. If this guest room was this spacious, how big and luxurious must the master bedroom be?   

Even if an opportunity arose later to repay the Duke, it didn’t seem like he would need money at all.

Maybe he just left her alone in this room, trusting that she wouldn’t steal anything. The Countess often took down things like gilded candle holders or crystal glasses when friends came to stay.

As Hermia pondered various thoughts, she began picking up the well-cut food with her fork one by one.

The meal was still delicious enough to bring tears to her eyes and there was so much food that it could last through the night.

“I should only rely on this once. I’ll return after a few days when the Count and Countess leave their estate.”

Whether their daughter had been captured or not, they were likely to leave in haste because she had been taken away. A family member of a terrorism suspect couldn’t walk around proudly.

“Hmm.”

The Vansen couple being pointed at by others… 

That was… somehow intriguing.

The next morning, Hermia woke up sweating profusely on her cloud-like bed due to the numerous windows letting in hot sunlight streaming into the room.

When a maid came in to check on her bedding and tried to close the curtains, she remembered telling them not to close them because of how nice the moonlight was. Ah, that was my idea.

“Oh dear…”   

As Hermia raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, she let out a groan.

Walter’s words about how her whole body would hurt by morning were spot on without any error.

At least having received a massage meant that it only felt numb; if she had fallen asleep like that, it would have been like being beaten with a club.

Struggling to pull on her robe and flopping back down onto her bed, two maids entered for morning service. As soon as they opened the door and were hit by sunlight pouring in, they quickly pulled down the inner curtains to cast shade inside.

Hermia, who had been lying limp, washed herself with lukewarm water thanks to their careful hands and sat down at the sofa table where she had dined last night.

Just by sitting still and having someone wash her and prepare an extravagant meal felt like heaven—though breakfast seemed oddly heavy for morning fare.

‘Braised codfish and brioche with goat cheese… What is this?’

She blinked at the unfamiliar seafood placed ovally on the large plate. Even after reading the card with the menu name next to it, she still had no clue.

‘Oysters? I’ve never seen anything like this before…’

In Müller, nestled between two empires, the coastline was very limited, so there weren’t many types of seafood available in the capital.

Even when she visited the southern resort, she had never encountered anything like this. It didn’t look appetizing at all, and since it was raw and uncooked, she found it hard to bring herself to try it.

‘But it seems rare, so I should at least taste it.’

She awkwardly scooped up the slippery contents with her fork and quickly popped it into her mouth, only to spit it out immediately.

“Yuck! What is that?”

After rinsing her mouth hurriedly with apple juice and pushing the plate away, the shock began to settle down. Just because something is expensive doesn’t mean it’s delicious.

She glared at the food that tasted like spoiled mucus, and after finishing another plate cleanly, a wave of fullness washed over her. Leaning back against the sofa and taking deep breaths, she heard a knock. Hermia quickly adjusted her posture and faced Emily.

“Oh my. It seems oysters don’t suit your taste.”  

“I’m just… full… It’s too fishy.”  

She regretted saying anything at all. If she wanted to avoid solidifying her image as a villainess, she should probably just keep her mouth shut.

“It’s a food that takes some time to get used to.”  

Fortunately, Emily responded casually without taking offense.

“It’s my first time trying it…”  

“It’s fine. When we first had it, more than half of us spat it out too.”

Had all the servants tried it too? Being wealthy really does make a difference in experiences.  

“Well then, shall we head out? The master is waiting.”  

It was the time for the interrogation that Walter had mentioned last night.

Even though she knew it wouldn’t be a big deal, she felt nervous nonetheless. With a stiff expression, she sat in her wheelchair as Emily began to push her from behind.

As the small wheels rolled over the carpet in the hallway, Gerald caught up and greeted them with a cheerful “Good morning.”  

“Did you sleep here too, Your Highness?”  

“I have my own room, you know? Even though you’re the fiancée of the future Duke, it’s a bit disappointing to be treated like a guest.”

He was dressed comfortably in a shirt now instead of the uniform he wore at the Princess’s tea party. It seemed he was coming and going from this place as if it were his own home.

He chuckled while his eyes sparkled with anticipation.  

“This is bad. Thanks to the curse, you’ll have to answer everything truthfully if the Colonel asks you anything. If he asks about your weight, just exercise your right to remain silent.”  

“I’ll answer honestly.”  

Hermia replied flatly from her wheelchair as they moved further away.

What could be so enjoyable for him? Well, being a prince must be fun. The curse hanging over me probably wouldn’t be much of an issue for him.

Seeing Elisabeth reflected in Gerald’s face made her respond sharply again. Just as she was starting to feel a bit guilty about that thought, they arrived at their destination.

Today’s meeting wasn’t in the dining room but in Walter’s private study. When Emily knocked on the door with its antique iron handle and softly tapped it, they heard a voice from inside saying “Come in.”

As Hermia entered that space filled with the smell of paper and ink, she greeted him.  

“Good mo—ah… Did you sleep well?”  

She was so embarrassed that she stumbled over her words, even failing to say “good morning” properly, as if the curse was playing tricks on her.

Walter got up from his polished ebony desk and walked over. He took hold of the wheelchair handle from Emily and gently pushed her inside while asking,  

“How are you feeling?”  

“I’m sore. Especially my arms.”  

Unable to say she was fine in this situation, she answered honestly. Walter settled down in front of his desk and lowered the chair’s locking mechanism before moving around to the opposite side.

“After lunch, I’ll have Lieutenant Wilson check on you again.”  

“Can’t I just sleep a bit longer?”  

“Let’s do that.”   

He granted permission casually and placed his pen on top of a prepared document. The stiff paper was already filled out with her name, date of birth, address, and family relations.

“Oh! The weather is quite nice.”  

Just then, Gerald entered behind them and walked past both of them before throwing open the terrace door.

The pointed tops of cypress trees lined up in the garden swayed according to the direction of the breeze that had just blown in. The warm air flowed straight into the study.

As Hermia slowly blinked and turned her head toward the terrace, her light hair glimmered in the sunlight. Walter felt as if time had momentarily stopped.

“…”

“You said you had some questions for me. Aren’t you going to ask?”   

“Oh right! Then I will start asking questions.”   

Hermia suddenly turning back caused his pen tip to press down hard on the paper. Seeing ink spread out into dark circles made him frown immediately.

He opened a file and took out a new sheet before issuing an order for Gerald to leave.

“Step outside for a moment.”   

“What questions are you planning to ask?”   

Instead of answering, Walter revealed his discomfort by giving Gerald a pointed look; Gerald pouted his lips in response.

“I listen to my friends well.”

After Gerald left with heavy footsteps full of reluctance, Walter stood up from his seat.

“I’ll close the terrace door since he might overhear us talking from next door.”   

“Does His Highness eavesdrop too?”   

“He’d hung off railings before and fallen; He’s curious about everything in this world.”   

With a click sound, he lightly closed the door; exactly 30 seconds later he regretted his decision.