The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 92

Chapter 92. Jealousy (5)

‘What’s so funny that she’s smiling so brightly like that?’

She doesn’t smile like that often in front of me. Emilia was a bright person, but she didn’t smile often in front of him. To see her smile even once, he had to wait a very long time. Yet she was walking and laughing with a foreign prince she’d only met a few times. His irritation began to rise.

Louid stood by the window, glaring at them the entire time until Emilia and Ian finished looking around the garden and went inside the building.

Somehow, Emilia ended up having lunch with Ian as well. But when she entered the dining room where she was supposed to eat with him, Louid was already there. He usually had too much work, so he often skipped lunch or ate something simple after finishing his duties, which made this unexpected.

“Louid, what brings you here?”

They occasionally had dinner together, but it was rare for them to share lunch, so she asked with a surprised expression.

“I’m hungry.”

Louid answered curtly and strode over to his seat before sitting down.

“…I see.”

A moment later, Ian also entered the dining room. He’d been looking forward to having a meal alone with Emilia, but when he saw Louid, he hesitated. His face briefly twisted, but when he looked at Emilia, he quickly put on a bright expression again.

“Welcome, Prince.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Ian naturally sat down beside Emilia. Seeing that, Louid’s eyebrow twitched upward. There was clearly a guest seat set across from her, yet he chose to sit next to her.

Louid regretted sitting at the head of the table. It felt like that damned prince had stolen his place.

“It seems the Grand Duke always has lunch with the Grand Duchess,” Ian said in an exaggerated tone, as if surprised.

“…That’s right.”

At his words, Emilia hesitated as she answered, her eyes flickering slightly.

“You’re quite a family man.”

This time, both Louid and Emilia fell silent.

“Eat your meal, Prince,” Louid said in a low voice, as if issuing a warning.

“Yes, thank you. By the way, what kind of food do you like? Grand Duchess.” Ian turned toward Emilia and asked.

“I eat pretty much anything.”

“Still, there must be something you particularly like.”

“Um….”

Emilia blinked rapidly.

What do I like…? I eat everything….

Since there was nothing she disliked and she ate a wide variety of foods, she couldn’t think of anything specific she liked.

“Cotton candy, grilled chicken skewers, grilled corn. Potatoes.”

Louid, who had been silently cutting his steak, answered instead.

“You like festival food. Ah! The founding festival of the Richert Empire will begin soon, won’t it? I heard it’s a large-scale festival. I’m looking forward to it. Would you like to go see it together with me?”

“Uh….”

At Ian’s words, Emilia hesitated with a troubled expression.

Why me of all people?

Her blue eyes wavered as if shaken by an earthquake. Ian was a prince, so he could easily find a partner to go with him. It was strange that he was asking her, someone he’d only met a few times. Louid was so quiet it felt suffocating, but Ian asked so many questions it was overwhelming.

“That won’t be possible, Prince. She has to attend events with me during the founding festival, so she’ll be very busy.”

Once again, Louid answered in her place. Emilia felt relieved inside. She didn’t even want to imagine it, so she was glad Louid refused for her.

“Ah, I see.”

Ian said with a bitter expression.

“Yes, I think so as well.”

Emilia gave him a bright smile, making her refusal clear.

That late afternoon, an unfamiliar horse appeared in the field of the grand ducal manor, and the knights captured it and brought it back.

“What horse is that?”

“A brown horse was wandering the field, so we brought it in.”

At Emilia’s question, one of the knights who had brought the horse reported.

Ian, who was walking in the garden with her at that moment, said, “It’s the horse I was riding.”

“Your horse really came back?” Emilia said, her blue eyes widening.

“Yes, it’s quite a remarkable one.”

How did it find its way here?

It would be one thing if it were Ian’s own estate, but the grand ducal manor was unfamiliar territory, yet it came looking for its owner. Even seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t believe it.

“Would you like to ride my horse once?”

“Ah, no. I don’t ride often.”

“I see. Alright.”

Ian lowered the hands he had extended with a hint of disappointment. Though he smiled outwardly, thick veins rose along his neck. Emilia gradually began to feel burdened by him and, for some reason, uneasy.

The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Ian put on his neatly laundered clothes and went to the front of the grand ducal manor’s main building. The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess were there to see him off.

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess, this is a gift. It seems this is all I have with me right now.”

Ian removed a bracelet from his wrist and held it out to Emilia. It was a beautiful bracelet set with fine jewels.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

Emilia tilted her head and accepted what Ian handed her.

“It’s nothing much. It’s a token of gratitude for saving me and allowing me to stay at the grand ducal manor.”

“That’s only what I should do. There’s no need for something like this.”

Emilia said with an awkward smile. She couldn’t just send away an injured person, especially a prince from a neighboring kingdom. Feeling burdened again, Emilia didn’t know what to do and held out the hand with the bracelet.

“It really is nothing. In the Kingdom of Billiot, this is something we commonly do. It’s as trivial as eating three meals a day.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll accept it. Thank you.”

It didn’t seem polite to refuse when the prince insisted so earnestly. Besides, if it was common in the Kingdom of Billiot, it seemed alright to accept it.

“I’m the one who should be grateful that you accepted it, Grand Duchess. I hope to see you again soon.”

“Please travel safely, Prince.”

As if reluctant to leave, Ian took her hand and lifted it. Then he pressed a long kiss to the back of her hand.

In his other hand, he held the wine Emilia had given him.

Watching the two of them, flames ignited in Louid’s eyes.

Just leave already.

He was dawdling like a snail. The prince who said he couldn’t feel pain limped in front of Emilia as if he were injured. And on top of that, he even kissed the back of her hand. No matter how generously he tried to see it, he couldn’t tolerate it.

“Farewell, Prince.”

Louid said, glaring sharply at Ian. It was an oppressive gaze that could make an ordinary person faint just by looking at it.

“I’m deeply indebted to you, Grand Duke. Next time, I’ll invite you to my estate. Please come together with the Grand Duchess.”

However, Ian paid no mind to the Grand Duke’s beast-like gaze and spoke with a sly smile.

“I won’t have the time….”

“Yes, we will.”

Before Louid could refuse Ian’s request, Emilia smiled brightly and accepted it. To her, it seemed like Prince Ian was only saying it out of courtesy, so she responded out of courtesy as well.

“Thank you for accepting the invitation. Then I’ll be on my way.”

After speaking, Ian swiftly mounted the brown horse. For someone with an injured leg, his movements were quick and steady without the slightest wobble.

After flashing Emilia one last smile, Ian rode off at high speed toward the gates of the grand ducal manor.

He knew that the grand ducal knights were secretly following him. Since he had, by coincidence, entered the grand ducal forest where no one could enter, it would naturally seem suspicious.

‘Go ahead and investigate all you want. You won’t find anything.’

Ian sneered at Louid, who had sent the knights after him, and rode leisurely back to his own estate. He was already making plans to invite Emilia to his residence.

‘Emilia, no matter where you are, I can find you.’

The bracelet Ian had given contained a mora flower that only grew in the Kingdom of Billiot. And Ian’s horse was one that liked the scent of mora flowers.

***

That afternoon, Emilia brought tea and refreshments to Louid’s office. She came because the cake he had given her earlier was still on her mind.

“You seemed close with Prince Ian,” Louid said with an indifferent expression. But inside, he was seething.

“We’re not close. I just recognized him from the imperial palace banquet last time,” Emilia replied.

Did I seem close to the prince? I was only being polite because he’s a guest. If anything, I’d rather avoid seeing him as much as possible in the future.

“Didn’t you even dance with the prince back then?”

How does he know that…? I thought he wasn’t watching, but I guess he was.

Her pale blue eyes wavered in surprise. But she soon concluded that Louid must’ve just happened to see it.

“I only danced with him because it was my turn to do so.”

Emilia answered with a shrug.

“More importantly, I wonder if he arrived safely despite falling from his horse.”

She felt a little worried sending an injured person off alone without an escort.

“Are you worried about him?”

There was an edge in Louid’s blunt words.

“It’s not that I’m worried. He was injured, so it’s just on my mind a little.”

At her answer, his gaze grew even sharper.