Chapter 11
“What? Bride?”
“Yes. Bride. Well, if I must be specific, prospective bride.”
Letricia’s eyes widened at his tone, which was so calm it bordered on lethargic.
It was such a shocking statement that she even forgot about her throbbing headache.
She had been prepared to accept whatever he might demand, but bride? This was beyond anything she could have imagined.
‘As far as I know, Winston Hilton isn’t even of marriageable age yet…’
Confused, Letricia pressed her fingers against her temples.
“Your Highness must have heard, but I just discussed breaking off my engagement. Of course, we haven’t even exchanged the formal dissolution papers yet.”
Although Petrick had agreed to the dissolution, Letricia was still legally his fiancée.
However, even to these words, his response remained indifferent.
“That doesn’t matter.”
“What? But…”
Letricia furrowed her brow at his attitude, which seemed to show complete disregard for the ducal family.
Winston Hilton’s behavior toward her was like that of someone who had enough power to casually dismiss a duke’s family.
‘That’s impossible. Such status would only belong to His Majesty the Emperor… or Grand Duke Heberus.’
Finding her own thoughts ridiculous, Letricia shook her head with a light laugh.
Then, as the clock suspended in the middle of the high arched dome struck with a ‘dong’, a bewildered sound escaped her lips.
“Oh…? Lord Hilton. Your eye color…”
“Eyes? Ah, it seems the magic is already wearing off. How ineffective. I’ll have to complain when I return. Tsk.”
Unlike his still-unchanged, boring voice, Winston’s warm brown eyes were gone, replaced by icy blue eyes that shone like midwinter.
And as the second bell rang, his brown hair was covered in silver like moonlight reflecting off snow.
When the third bell rang… instead of Winston’s unremarkable face, there appeared a face so beautiful it defied description.
It was the moment when Letricia’s earlier assumption, which she had thought absurd, became reality.
“Your… Highness?”
Letricia spoke with a trembling voice, unable to take her eyes off the translucently glowing silver hair.
“Huu…”
Killian’s gaze turned to Letricia as he ran his fingers through his hair, appearing relieved to have removed the bothersome disguise.
“Well. It seems I don’t need to introduce myself, and if you’ve recognized who I am, you should also understand that I have no need to concern myself with Godwin’s feelings.”
“…”
“Is there still something troubling you, Lady Esta?”
Killian gazed coldly at Letricia with a face more beautiful than a whispering demon of death.
Then, as if he hadn’t expected an answer from her in the first place, he turned his back and walked toward the railing.
At that moment, the final bell marking the hour echoed through the hall.
As if on cue, the Emperor’s voice also rang out.
“I believe we’ve given enough time. Then, hereby, the official union between Grand Duke Heberus and Lady Luzabek-“
But before the Emperor could finish speaking.
With a swoosh, something pulled at Letricia, and a voice tinged with a sardonic smile cut through the hall.
“My apologies, Your Majesty, but that won’t do. I already have someone I’ve promised to marry.”
And before Letricia could realize she was being firmly held in Killian’s embrace.
His mesmerizing voice, enough to raise goosebumps, crept along her skin and into her ear.
“This Lady Esta, right here.”
* * *
Click.
Along with the sound of servants setting down teacups, the Emperor’s voice was heard gently.
“Not seeing you in the hall, I thought you wouldn’t attend today’s banquet.”
“How could that be? This is a banquet Your Majesty personally held for me, so I must attend.”
“Haha, is that so…”
After exchanging rather awkward greetings, the Emperor took a sip of the reddish-brewed black tea.
“Hmm, yes. By the way, was what you said earlier in the banquet hall true? About promising marriage to Lady Esta?”
“Yes, it’s true. So please withdraw the marriage arrangement with Lady Luzabek.”
“…Very well. That would be appropriate then.”
“Thank you.”
Killian showed minimal courtesy toward the Emperor and picked up the plate in front of Letricia.
The plate contained a dessert made of peaches simmered in syrup.
After bringing that dessert to himself, Killian pulled the plate with lemon pound cake in front of Letricia.
“But how did you two meet? There shouldn’t have been any connection between you.”
It was a reasonable question from the Emperor, as Killian had been moving between battlefields in the northern outskirts since leaving the capital.
“Moreover, I understand Lady Esta is already engaged to the second son of Duke Godwin?”
“Ah, the engagement…”
“Has been broken off. Ten minutes ago. And immediately after, I proposed to the Lady.”
Just as Letricia was about to answer the Emperor’s question, Killian pulled her hand.
Then, with a soft kiss, he pressed his lips to the back of her hand.
“Your Highness…!”
At the sudden intimate contact, Letricia tried to quickly withdraw her hand, but Killian only entwined their fingers more firmly.
Still keeping his red lips pressed to her fair hand, Killian raised his eyes to look at Letricia.
“I fell in love with the Lady at first sight. I was in a hurry.”
Heat suddenly rose to Letricia’s face.
Even though she knew better than anyone that all of this was false.
Whether due to her dizzy head or being enchanted by that beautiful face that was both sorrowful and chillingly handsome.
Killian’s actions felt as if they were genuine.
“Are we supposed to believe that, Grand Duke?”
While Letricia was shaking her head to clear her mind.
A sharp voice came from the Empress Dowager, who had been standing back.
“Love at first sight? Ha, at least make up a more convincing lie, Grand Duke.”
The Empress Dowager’s uncomfortably red-painted lips curled up mockingly.
The Emperor tried to mediate with a “Mother,” but the puppet emperor who had ascended to the throne solely due to his mother’s backing couldn’t stop his own mother.
“Emperor, don’t you see? The Grand Duke is just trying to avoid marrying Lady Luzabek!”
“Hmm.”
Killian let out a low hum and casually leaned back in his chair.
Of course, he still hadn’t let go of Letricia’s hand, resting his head lightly on their intertwined fingers.
“It seems the Empress Dowager still disapproves of me.”
“What did you say?”
The Empress Dowager’s face contorted at Killian’s voice, which sounded so calm it bordered on boredom.
“Ah. Or are you angry because Lady Luzabek won’t be able to become the Grand Duchess?”
“I don’t understand what the Grand Duke is talking about.”
“Heh.”
Seeing the Empress Dowager’s brazen pretense, Killian twisted one corner of his elegantly curved lips nervously while glancing sideways at Letricia.
He could see her pink hair sticking to her half-lowered pale face, wet with cold sweat.
“Tsk.”
Upon seeing this, Killian uncrossed his legs.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? What the Empress Dowager was planning to do with Lady Luzabek.”
Thud.
After tossing down an ornament recovered from the body of an assassin sent by the Empress Dowager, whom he had encountered on his way back to the capital recently.
Killian half-rose from his seat and leaned toward the Empress Dowager.
“Know your limits, Madam Queen. I’m starting to find this annoying rather than just troublesome. There’s a limit to how much I can pretend not to notice.”
“You, you insolent…”
The Empress Dowager’s face turned bright red at Killian’s voice, deliberately using her former title from the previous emperor’s reign to demote her.
However, Killian, his expression still unchanged, whispered low enough for only the Empress Dowager to hear.
“You should be careful. If I become irritated enough to lose my mind, the next neck to be cut might not belong to some mere assassin.”
“Are you threatening me? You dare, Grand Duke?”
The Empress Dowager’s upper lip trembled at Killian’s threatening demeanor, which seemed as if he might wring her neck at any moment.
“Yes, you saw correctly. So stop bothering me. Once this banquet is over, I have no intention of ever setting foot in the capital again anyway.”
“Grand Duke…!”
“Ah. And please release my subordinate whom you’ve imprisoned in my place. He’s such a rough fellow that who knows what chaos he might cause if kept locked up too long.”
And at that moment, as if to prove Killian’s words, a loud “BANG!” was heard from the western tower where Mark was imprisoned.
At that sound, Killian briefly looked out the window before turning his dry gaze toward the Emperor.
Now that the marriage issue was resolved, there was no reason to waste precious time sitting in this space any longer.
“Then, Your Majesty, trusting that you’ll handle the matter with Lady Luzabek well, we’ll take our leave.”
“Already?”
“Yes. Lady Esta isn’t feeling well.”
With a slight, perfunctory bow, Killian moved to support Letricia’s arm as she paid her respects to the Emperor.
But the Empress Dowager blocked his way.
“No, Grand Duke. How can we so easily abandon a marriage arrangement promoted by the imperial family based solely on your word?”
“Hah…”
Killian rubbed his eyebrow with his thumb at the Empress Dowager’s persistent pestering despite his warning.
Then he twitched his eyebrow muscle at her next words.
“Unless you were to hold the wedding with Lady Esta right away, I can’t believe such nonsense about falling in love at first sight.”
“Then let’s do that.”
“I’m sure His Majesty would think the same… What did you say, Grand Duke?”
The Empress Dowager, who had been chirping beside the Emperor like an affectionate mother, stopped speaking.
“What are you going to do?”
“I said we’ll do it, the wedding. Would that suffice?”
