Chapter 13
“...Pardon?”
“I’m telling you this for your own good, so make sure you remember it.”
If April were to hear herself being called the princess, she would likely unleash a torrent of anger and cruelty.
“I’m going to rest for a bit, so don’t let anyone into the room.”
The maid, still looking bewildered, nodded slowly.
“Yes, my lady.”
Despite everything, she continued to address me as the princess.
* * *
‘Why is he acting like this today?’
Avid, who was in the same office as Lian, glanced at him with curiosity. Lian, who had just returned to work after some time, should have been handling his duties swiftly, yet the paper in his hand hadn’t turned a page in over twenty minutes.
There were only a handful of people who could have such an effect on Lian. Judging by the rumors circulating throughout the capital, it seemed that his gloomy state was due to none other than his youngest sister, the princess.
Given that the news of “Princess April has returned” was spreading throughout the capital, one would have expected Lian to be all smiles. But instead, he looked more despondent than when he first heard of April’s accident—perhaps even more so.
To an outsider, he might have looked like a man who had just been rejected by his lover.
Avid knew that bothering Lian in his current state would lead to nothing good, but just as he was about to carefully say something, there was a knock at the door. It opened before permission was given.
“Commander Lian.”
A clear, melodious voice filled the heavy atmosphere of the commander’s office. Lian, who hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings, snapped his head up to see Adonis Vetriche.
Like Lian, she was dressed in uniform, but hers was gilded, indicating her position as a member of the Crown Prince’s personal guard.
Avid offered a brief salute and quietly exited the office, closing the door behind him.
“Sir Vetriche.”
Lian, who had been sighing heavily, awkwardly stood up from his seat.
“What brings you here?”
“We’re alone, so please speak comfortably.”
Adonis offered a light smile as she poured herself a glass of water from the table in the commander’s office. Lian, the youngest commander of the Royal Knights, and Adonis, the first woman to join the order and a member of the Crown Prince’s personal guard, had been senior and junior at the academy.
To Lian, Adonis was not only a talented subordinate but also a peer of his youngest sibling.
“You too.”
Adonis gave a small shrug as if she had no intention of speaking more casually, despite her suggestion.
“Is it that His Highness called for you?”
“No, that’s not it.”
She noticed that Lian wasn’t his usual self, his expression clouded with concern, and a slight frown appeared on her smooth forehead.
“I heard the princess has returned?”
It was a rumor spreading rapidly through the royal court. From the lowest ranks to the highest nobles of the royal family, everyone had heard about it, and surely Crown Prince Ferpone had as well.
Although Ferpone hadn’t mentioned Princess April to either Lian or Adonis, everyone in the royal court knew.
“It’s reached your ears already?”
“I think there’s no one in the capital who doesn’t know. The gossip papers are already writing about the princess.”
“People are quick.”
“And she’s His Highness’s fiancée, after all.”
Lian accepted the gossip paper Adonis handed him with a self-deprecating smile. Seeing how they were already speculating about the engagement between April and the Crown Prince made his mouth dry.
He barely managed to skim the first page before tossing the paper onto his desk and rubbing his face with his hands. Some nobles had already congratulated him on the princess’s recovery, but he couldn’t take their words at face value because the person currently at the ducal estate wasn’t April—it was Irina.
Over the next few months, as the gossip papers and yellow press continued their speculations, there was a chance that the engagement between April and the Crown Prince would be called off.
“You’re not quite as I expected.”
“What do you mean?”
Lian, who had just managed to tear his gaze away from the gossip paper, looked into Adonis’s clear green eyes.
“I thought you’d be overjoyed at the princess’s return.”
True to her straightforward nature, she didn’t mince words.
“I don’t seem happy?”
“No.”
Lian gave a bitter smile at her honest reply. Of course, Adonis couldn’t understand the situation, so it was natural for her to feel that way. After all, it wasn’t April who had returned to the ducal estate, but Irina, pretending to be April.
April’s condition hadn’t improved during her convalescence at the villa, and Irina’s relationship with the ducal family hadn’t reverted to what it once was. If Irina had returned to the estate with even a sliver of hope, her father and he had likely only hurt her again.
It was like rubbing salt into an already deep wound.
“You truly are like someone from the Rise family.”
Irina’s hostility toward the ducal family was far greater than he had anticipated. Had the trauma of being cast out three years ago affected her that deeply? Then again, what else could he expect?
It must have been a deep shock, especially since she had once accepted them as her family.
No one in the household had ever called her by her real name, Irina.
“April, oh! My dear child. My sweet girl.”
His mother’s obsession with Irina had turned on its head the moment April appeared. Once April entered the picture, Irina spent two years in the house, belonging nowhere.
“So, I’ll be going now, brother.”
Why had Irina returned to the ducal estate, knowing she would be used again? She must want something.
When Irina smiled at him, it was with the same face he remembered from the past. It was as if she had forgotten the past or as if she had never been hurt.
That smile was exactly the same as the one he had known her to have before, making it impossible for him to treat her simply as April.
Irina was just pretending to be fine—she wasn’t truly okay.
‘Even so...’
He wouldn’t blame anyone if they said he was being naïve, but he had seen his father’s genuine longing for Irina.
Lian knew all too well that his father’s steps still paused in the garden that Irina had tended while pretending to be April. Even if there was no bond of blood, the affection of eight years couldn’t be ignored.
The traces of Irina embedded in the house were hard to erase. The garden she had tended, the villa they visited every summer—it was all still there, now tinged with April’s presence, but the remnants of eight years were still visible.
‘Even so...’
Even if her reason for returning was money, there was still a chance. If they sincerely apologized and cared for her over the next year, perhaps she could forgive them.
“If she’s returned, doesn’t that mean she’s fully recovered?”
“...Yes.”
Lian smiled faintly in response to Adonis’s question.
What on earth was his father thinking? Wasn’t he considering what would happen when Irina left in a year and April returned? What if April returned to the ducal estate without having fully recovered? Everyone would find it strange.
“His Highness must be aware that April has returned?”
“Yes. He likely heard the news before anyone else.”
“Yet he’s made no move... It’s strange.”
Adonis refrained from mentioning that Lian had called her here to ask about Barack.
It made sense why Lian had looked as if the world was ending.
‘So it’s because there’s been no word from His Highness.’
Everyone in the social circles and the royal court knew that Princess April and the Crown Prince’s engagement was anticipated. The story of childhood friends turning into lovers was something straight out of a romance novel.
Though Adonis knew the truth, she didn’t mention it. Working in the royal court, she had learned that the most important thing was to guard one’s mouth and eyes. One had to pretend not to see, and it was best not to speak at all.
And Lian, knowing this well, didn’t intend to pry through her either.
“But something seems off.”
“What is it?”
Lian looked at Adonis as she tilted her head slightly, her short red hair brushing against her ear.
“It’s about Barack Hill Rise.”
“What about Barack?”
Adonis asked as if Lian should already know.
“The princess has returned, yet Barack Hill Rise hasn’t shown his face. Isn’t that strange?”
The man who was known for being obsessively protective of his younger sister.
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