The Empress' Scandalous Paramour - Chapter 50

But it’s surprising that he’s being so polite all the time.

I thought he must have been well-educated, and my fondness for the Grand Duke grew with every exchange.

“Anything is fine.”

“Then this time, I’ll ask for permission first. May I order both?”

There’s no reason not to.

The more we order, the longer we’ll be able to sit here.

I was curious about Shylo Silverrose.

“The North is quite far from here.”

I gave up on using honorifics. Even so, Grand Duke Silverrose doesn’t seem particularly offended.

This was another surprising point.

“Yes, it’s very far. The seasons are the opposite of here too.”

“So how did you end up here…?”

“Hmm.”

After the main dishes were cleared away, chocolate ice cream was served for dessert.

The Grand Duke picked up a silver spoon and tapped the candied cherry on top of the ice cream.

“I came to warn about the strange flow of magical beasts.”

No, I mean, why are you on my cruise? If you want to warn about that, shouldn’t you go to the imperial palace…?

Just as I thought that, he added, as if reading my mind.

“It was urgent, but when I went to the imperial palace, they said His Majesty the Emperor was here too.”

“???”

I’ve never received any such report.

Why on earth is Enrique here?

I was dumbfounded, but there was no need to show excessive agitation.

The Grand Duke didn’t seem to have mentioned it to test me either.

“Was that a sufficient answer?”

“Is it okay to tell a maid all this?”

“Hmm. Usually it wouldn’t be, but…”

The Grand Duke rolled his eyes. Then he quickly came to a conclusion.

“Since I’ve already said it, let’s just say it can’t be helped.”

It’s quite a refreshing tone.

Rolling the candied cherry on my tongue, I bit down on it with my molars along with a sigh.

‘Although the number of magical beasts has been steadily increasing over the past few years, for something so strange to happen that the Silverrose Grand Duke would come out from the North.’

And Enrique, who should receive that report, is said to be on my cruise.

‘The country’s in great shape.’

It was absolutely maddening.

“Are you interested in magical beasts, Lady Arti?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so. Now there are even magical beast guidebooks, so information about them is widely available. As a Grand Duke, I manage the named beasts that inhabit the North.”

Magical beasts were basically fragments of magical power.

Not something intentionally created by someone, but rather a naturally evolved species that came to life as magical power discharged from the magical realm gathered and intertwined.

Most weren’t very threatening, as they would quickly disappear even if they were born.

However, among these magical beasts, there were beings that had distinct forms and gained intelligence, which were called ‘named beasts’.

Typical examples are minotaurs, basilisks, and griffins.

Such named beasts are threatening because they form groups with others of their kind and create colonies.

Ah, of course, I meant threatening from a human perspective.

“I’m appealing to you right now, Lady Arti. That’s how strong I am.”

It was then.

The Grand Duke stopped speaking, rested his chin on the back of his hand, and smiled broadly.

He seemed to have noticed that I was lost in thought, and his skill in bringing my attention back to him with a pretty remark was considerable.

‘He really has a personality that’s hard to dislike.’

Looking at such a Grand Duke naturally reminded me of Mereum.

Unlike this man who seems to have only received love since birth, Mereum has only received wounds.

He hadn’t even slept comfortably until I took him in.

It’s the law of causality and balance that if someone in the world has a lot of luck with people, someone else must have that much less… but it left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

Because Mereum was mine, the pain he had to endure according to natural law felt pitiful.

“The reason I boarded this cruise is… the sirens I’ve been monitoring recently disappeared.”

“The sirens?”

“As you know, sirens lure people with their songs, make them fall into the sea, and then eat them. I understand they’re hunting to survive, but it’s problematic for an entire colony to disappear.”

Sirens are sea magical beasts with the oldest female as the leader.

It’s a matriarchal society, where females create songs and raise children. Meanwhile, the males hunt to feed the colony.

The number of individuals in a colony is usually 50, or up to 100 if it’s large.

‘It doesn’t seem right to simply say it’s troublesome when an entire colony like that has disappeared.’

The reason sirens are tricky is because their habitat is the sea.

How on earth would you catch those deep in the water?

Even if you throw and pull a strong net, sirens have scales as sharp as blades on their arms and legs, making them difficult to catch.

The only countermeasures available to humans were firing cannons or throwing harpoons.

Neither was particularly effective.

“When I traced the flow, it seems they’ll come to this sea in a few days. I was quite flustered at first, but… it’s like magic that I met you, Lady Arti.”

Speaking sweetly, the Grand Duke scooped up some pudding with his spoon and held it out to me.

It seemed he wanted me to eat it.

“Do you usually like feeding people like this?”

“Only to those I’m fond of. I don’t do this to just anyone.”

When I inevitably ate the pudding, the Grand Duke made a happy face.

It was fascinating to see such positive emotions break through the surface of his face, so I stared at him, and he soon blushed.

“You’re the first, Lady Arti. The first person to recognize my magic.”

“…?”

“I don’t have any other family members who can use magic. My father passed away early, and my mother doesn’t know magic. I’m an only child.”

“Ah.”

Is he saying he was lonely?

Saying it like that, I understood the goodwill he was showing me.

“When you recognized the essence of my magic, Lady Arti, I felt a sense of belonging for the first time in my life. It’s such an unfamiliar feeling that my heart is still pounding.”

The Grand Duke’s voice became dreamily soaked.

“Because you’re different from others, because you’re exceptionally strong, because you have a special power… you must have been inevitably lonely.”

“That’s right! It would have been nice if I had siblings.”

Sea-colored light particles rippled and danced around the Grand Duke. They soon transformed into pure white sea foam, then became beautiful flower petals that fluttered down onto his hand.

“You need to be careful, Lady Arti.”

His white hand came close to me and tucked a strand of fallen hair behind my ear.

“Sirens are dangerous, so prepare wet cotton. Put it in your ears and lock the door. If you hear even a single syllable, you’ll be enchanted right away, and there’s no way to prevent it.”

It was quite a romantic warning.

‘He has a talent for saying scary things so casually.’

I fiddled with the flower tucked behind my ear and fell into deep thought.

‘Wet cotton, huh.’

It doesn’t seem like it would be enough for just me to do it.

‘I should have Faibel prepare it right away. And ask Mereum if he can track their movements.’

I’m glad I knew in advance.

As I was recalling the things I needed to do as an empress, I suddenly became curious.

The question didn’t stay in my head but quickly fell from my lips.

“But why didn’t you tell Her Majesty the Empress about this?”

“I don’t know what Her Majesty the Empress looks like.”

…Don’t tell me he didn’t come to the wedding?

I was momentarily at a loss for words, but it made sense.

The Silverrose Grand Duke I was seeing was no pushover.

If I had to compare, I’d say he was more upright and internally solid than any human I’ve met so far.

Soft on the outside, but like a glacier on the inside.

‘Above all, those eyes without desire. Those are the most dangerous.’

He’s someone who has everything, so he doesn’t need to want anything more. He’s never desired anything, never loved anything deeply, and never suffered a loss, so he’s never felt wronged.

Such complete and flawless eyes.

Well, someone like that might not have come down to the capital whether the emperor got married or not.

Even though he could come and go long distances with just one teleport without any hassle, he was the kind of man who wouldn’t move a single step if he didn’t feel the need to.

“Oh dear. I hope I haven’t taken up too much of your time.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Then have a good day. And… if possible, I’d like to meet again tomorrow.”

While escorting me to the entrance, the Grand Duke subtly requested an after.

Since there was no reason to refuse, I looked up at him and nodded.

His silver hair that seemed to reflect sunlight was beautiful.

The blue eyes beneath it were also a combination that suited the Grand Duke very well.

“Then I’ll be waiting on the deck tomorrow.”

“What time?”

“Come out when you feel like seeing me. I’m constantly curious about you, Lady Arti… I hope you’ll be curious about me too.”

It was a clean flirtation without any unnecessary additions.

If there were a textbook, this would probably be exactly what it would be like, an excellent dating manual, so to speak.

Since the first meeting wasn’t arranged by a matchmaker, he lightly suggested a meal, and we got to know each other bit by bit through various conversations.

After showing plenty of his good sides, he naturally suggested the next step.

He didn’t try to change me, nor did he try to pry into my affairs.

It wasn’t that he was uninterested in me and just rambled on about himself, he showed sufficient interest while also being considerate.

I couldn’t figure out where on earth this mirage-like man had popped up from.

‘Are all northern men like this?’

If so, I should have gone to the North from the beginning instead of looking in the capital.

“May you have an afternoon blessed with good fortune.”

At the entrance of the restaurant, he took my hand and lightly kissed the back of it.