Chapter 41
I hope no one gets hurt.
I didn’t want to see children fighting and covered in blood right before my eyes.
‘You’re brothers.’
Through my interactions with Lucas, I could sense the loneliness he harbored. As the Grand Duke’s son, he couldn’t open up to anyone.
A life of pretending, molding himself to fit the image of the genius everyone expected him to be.
‘That’s why he opened up to me so easily.’
He was so starved for affection that he relied on me, a mere fake Grand Princess. He was happy just to be able to talk about topics he enjoyed.
If someday I’m discovered not to be the Imperial Princess and die, would Lucas be alone again?
‘I don’t want that.’
If he could get along with Tristan, he wouldn’t be alone anymore. I watched Lucas, who had abandoned his sword and was now throwing punches.
Thud! Whack!
Lucas didn’t notice the Grand Duke approaching and raised his fist high. His voice, filled with anger, sounded like a desperate cry.
“I’ll fix that mindset of yours!”
“That’s enough, Lucas.”
The Grand Duke grabbed Lucas’s hand in mid-air and twisted it behind his back. Forcibly restrained, Lucas frowned and turned around.
Finally seeing the Grand Duke, the color drained from Lucas’s face. He lowered his head, and his silver hair fell forward like a curtain, covering his face.
“That troublemaker is still your brother.”
For a moment, Lucas turned his head, and his golden eyes gleamed fiercely as he looked at the Grand Duke.
“That’s precisely why, Your Grace. It’s because he’s my brother that I’ve been patient until now, which is why things have gotten this bad.”
“Do you think you did well?”
“…Yes.”
Despite his confident tone, Lucas’s voice lacked strength. Tristan, sprawled on the floor, had already lost consciousness.
Tristan, who had genuinely cast dangerous magic at Lucas, and Luca,s who had beaten his brother. I didn’t think either of them had done well, but personally, I wanted to take Lucas’s side.
However, the Grand Duke who had intervened seemed to think differently from me.
“You are the older brother, Lucas.”
“No. I’ve never had a brother like him. Rather than him, I’d prefer…”
He glanced at me briefly before closing his eyes with an expression of restraint. The veins on his tightly clenched fist stood out prominently.
The Grand Duke’s gaze darkened as he looked at Lucas, who had closed his mouth.
“Lucas.”
The Grand Duke forcibly lifted Lucas’s head.
Then, with a violent impact, Lucas’s cheek swung sharply to the left. I opened my mouth as I watched Lucas’s cheek turn red and swell.
The Grand Duke murmured with a cold face devoid of any emotion.
“Don’t you disappoint me, too.”
Dazedly holding his cheek, Lucas slowly got off Tristan. The knights who had been waiting carried Tristan away.
“Even if Tristan acts out, you shouldn’t cross the line either.”
“….”
“Lucas. You wouldn’t say you’ve forgotten the promise you made to me directly, would you?”
“I remember it.”
“A nobleman should know how to take responsibility for his words. That’s why you were struck.”
Lucas’s body was also in poor condition from the confrontation with Tristan. I didn’t like seeing the Grand Duke lecturing a child in such a state.
‘He’s still a child.’
Even if I had no right to interfere as someone who wasn’t really family, I couldn’t stand by and watch anymore.
I blocked the Grand Duke’s path and spread my arms wide.
“Lucas did his best!”
I wrapped my arms around Lucas, who had his head bowed as if he had committed some terrible sin. I knew how hard-working this boy was.
“Don’t be angry at Lucas! He protected me. He’s a wonderful knight. Just like Kashian.”
“…You.”
Lucas remained motionless in my embrace. From the dampness spreading across his shoulder, I knew he was crying.
As I expressed my determination to protect him somehow, the Grand Duke’s eyebrows curved slightly.
‘Huh? Did he smile?’
For a moment, I thought I saw the corners of his mouth turn up slightly. When I strained my eyes to look again, his face was just as indifferent as before.
The Grand Duke stepped back at my intervention, left a warning, and turned away.
“End this foolishness here.”
After the Grand Duke and the knights left, silence fell in the drawing room. I loosened my embrace and tried to examine Lucas’s tearful expression.
“Don’t let go of me.”
He raised his index finger and gently stroked the back of my hand as if tickling it. His voice that followed was so small that I could barely hear it.
“…Next time.”
“Yes?”
“Next time, I’ll protect you properly. I… because you…”
“I know.”
While responding to Tristan’s attack, he had still tried to protect me—he was already an excellent knight. Far better than the coward I had been in my previous life.
‘You are so kind.’
No matter how mature he seemed, he was still only twelve years old.
***
A dysfunctional family.
That was my conclusion after witnessing the series of events.
I could understand Tristan being disciplined, but Lucas, too? The Grand Duke didn’t seem to care that Tristan was the cause of the fight.
‘There’s a limit to being strict.’
I could understand why Lucas had trained until his hands were ruined. There were no sensible adults around to stop him.
‘It’s amazing he hasn’t become twisted.’
Having confined Lucas to his room, the Grand Duke comfortably entered the meeting. I calmed my frustration as I looked at the vassals filling the meeting hall.
The main agenda of today’s meeting was the Imperial ball to be held in a few months.
“The Imperial family has sent a document requesting tax payment before the ball.”
“Here is a list of regions with poor harvests this year. These regions are deemed unable to pay taxes.”
“Our region has had good income from tourism recently, so we will pay a bit more.”
Typically, noble meetings were filled with people eager to shift responsibilities onto others. But there was no such indication among the Grand Duke’s vassals.
Rather, they were actively proposing solutions to resolve the situation.
“Then let’s purchase specialty crops from those regions so they can pay their taxes.”
“Holding a festival with the purchased crops will help those regions become self-sufficient.”
“How about connecting with other regions? It seems to complement well with our region’s specialties.”
Their attitude in dealing with crisis situations was evident in the serious conversations.
It was worlds apart from when they wore cat or dog ears and held welcome parties. This kind of atmosphere wasn’t possible through rule by fear alone.
An environment where responsibility overflowing with a sense of duty—rare among nobility—was considered normal.
This meant only ‘those kinds’ of people remained.
Step by step, ensuring that those who weren’t suitable would naturally be weeded out. I could understand what it meant for the entire Grand Duchy to be in the Grand Duke’s hands.
‘A frightening person.’
How could someone so adept at handling people be so inept with his sons? As the meeting gradually became boring, I fidgeted in my seat.
“Is the Grand Princess bored?”
One of the vassals who had been watching me carefully took out some candy from his pocket. He spoke to me in a small, hushed voice.
“I happened to bring some candy. Would you like to try some?”
At those words, the conversation in the meeting abruptly stopped, and the vassals’ eyes lit up.
“My goodness, what are you doing in a meeting? Grand Princess, candy will rot your teeth. Have some of this fruit jelly instead.”
“Chocolate is better than jelly!”
“If you taste the special homemade cookies baked by our chef, you’ll feel better.”
The barrage of words made me feel dizzy. The vassals laid out their snacks on the meeting table like offerings and waited for my choice.
‘This was definitely planned.’
I wondered if the Grand Duke had given them advance notice that he would bring me to the meeting. Otherwise, I couldn’t explain the prepared snacks being offered.
“Go ahead, Grand Princess, choose!”
“I should mention that this pastry has syrup on it and is very delicious.”
“My chocolate is special, directly imported from the capital.”
“Nothing surpasses the taste of strawberry candy.”
Just as I was about to greedily gather the snacks in both arms, the Grand Duke, who had been quiet, intervened.
“It will rot your teeth.”
The Grand Duke’s inconsiderate hands took away the snacks from my arms one by one. My hands, which had been full of delicious treats, were suddenly empty.
As I made a sad face in bewilderment, something dropped onto my empty palm.
“Eat this instead.”
“Chocolate cookie?”
“It’s what you like.”
The Grand Duke smiled confidently, as if it were some great secret. Of course, it was true that I liked chocolate cookies.
But I also liked candy, pastries, syrup, and chocolate—all of them.
‘So I’m supposed to eat this and be content?’
It was frustrating that the variety of snacks in my arms had been reduced to a palm-sized cookie. Everyone needed to know how stingy the Grand Duke was.
The Grand Duke tapped my cheek with his fingertip as I chewed the cookie with displeasure.
“You should eat slowly if you don’t want to get indigestion.”
There was a hint of playfulness in the Grand Duke’s eyes as he pinched my cheek.
As I glared at his softened expression, I noticed the silence around us. The Grand Duke’s face changed back to winter-cold, as if switching masks.
“What’s wrong?”
The vassals each turned their heads and cleared their throats. Then, one of the vassals who had been pretending not to notice cautiously asked the Grand Duke.
“By the way, are you taking the Grand Princess to the Imperial ball this time?”
The Imperial ball, held once a year, required the mandatory attendance of anyone with the rank of Viscount or higher. However, not every member of a family had to attend.
‘Lucas or Tristan could go instead.’
Lucas, in particular, seemed like he would handle such formal occasions well. But the Grand Duke made a statement no one had expected.
“Everyone will go to this ball.”
“Everyone, Your Grace?”
“Yes. I plan to take everyone—Lucas, Tristan, and Liat too.”
At the Grand Duke’s calm declaration, a stir spread among the vassals. I thought of Lucas and Tristan, who had been fighting as if trying to kill each other.
Putting that aside, making me join that chaos, too, was too much.
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