Chapter 44
“Doesn’t everyone know that His Imperial Majesty cherished only the late Empress from the beginning?”
“……!”
“Is it so strange for me to emulate His Imperial Majesty, Sir Deneb?”
In truth, Freesia considered the Emperor a peculiar old man.
‘How could I view him kindly when he used me to vent his frustration?’
But surprisingly, even such a peculiar man had once cherished his wife.
From their engagement until the Empress passed away early, the Emperor’s loyalty and devotion was well-known. Even after the Empress had crossed the bridge to the afterlife, he had not taken any concubines after her death.
Freesia looked indifferently at Albireo, whose eyes had widened.
‘Let’s see him call the Emperor an extinct human from 300 years ago.’
Even if casual affection was the trend in the imperial court, no one could mock the Emperor for it.
And when Albireo had no response, Freesia stood up without any hesitation.
“Then, I shall take my leave first. Being a person from 300 years ago, I get tired easily.”
Her parting words were a mirror of what Albireo had said.
Freesia turned around with an indifferent expression, but internally, she felt quite pleased with herself.
Anyone would think she acted just as a Duchess should.
‘That must have been a sharp retort worthy of a noblewoman.’
After a series of recent failures, she was genuinely proud of this small achievement.
***
After Freesia had left, Albireo was silent for a moment.
“…Hahaha!”
But as soon as the Duchess disappeared around the corner, he burst into laughter he had been holding back.
“Kuh— pfft…!”
The Duchess might not have seen, but there was a large decorative mirror on the wall.
Thanks to that, Albireo had seen the woman’s face as she left.
Her face, flushed and smiling proudly, looked incredibly petulant because of her naturally small mouth.
‘She must have been secretly pleased to have gotten one over on me.’
But when she got up, she had such a haughty, expressionless face!
The more he thought about it, the funnier it became, and he burst into laughter again.
“Hahaha!”
Albireo’s blue eyes sparkled with amusement.
‘Ah, this is really fun.’
So different from the rumors of being ‘a stupid, promiscuous, greedy illegitimate wench,’ which only made the situation better.
But before he could enjoy getting one over on her, a cold voice came from behind.
“What were you two talking about that you’re laughing so hard?”
“Uh…? Duke Arcturus.”
When Albireo turned around, Izar, with furrowed brows, was looking down at him.
Izar had been on the first floor until just now.
He had no intention of returning to his chambers early today.
‘It’s easier if the shepherdess goes to bed a bit earlier.’
Being conscious of the woman curled up in one corner of the bed every night had become a form of torment for him.
Her breathing, the low sound of her turning over, the subtle warmth coming through the blanket. All of it.
Even more so if she were to wake up first.
‘My back is burning from that gaze even now.’
How could he not know the woman was watching him from the second floor?
But he was the one who had scolded her not to act like a wife, so he tried to ignore it.
Then, when he couldn’t stand it anymore and looked up…
The sight before him left Izar utterly flabbergasted.
‘Why are those two together.’
One was a man who had been rude to the woman, and the woman had almost smashed that man’s head in, hadn’t she?
But they continued talking for quite a while.
As soon as the shepherdess left, Deneb burst into foolish laughter.
‘Let’s chalk that up to him being a weird man.’
But it seemed like the shepherdess had also left while smiling.
Her face, flushed and seemingly delighted.
‘Why.’
What’s so fun about whispering with a man she almost had a serious altercation with.
Baffled, he had come upstairs, naturally leading to him glaring at Albireo.
However, Albireo just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
“The Duchess was quite entertaining with her words. She has a way with them.”
“Is that so?”
Izar stared at him coldly.
Sure, the woman could say something funny.
What he was curious about was what this perverse man had said to make the woman smile back.
‘…Forget it, I don’t care.’
That woman means nothing to me.
He wasn’t sure how many times he had to remind himself that she was just someone who needed to recover and then quietly remove from his sight.
Izar sneered.
“But you should restrain yourself. Someone might think you’re interested in that woman.”
“Oh but that’s right. I am interested.”
“What?”
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