The Archduke’s Flower Is in Danger - Chapter 11

The atmosphere within the dining hall where the four sat was subtle. It was like being in the eye of a storm, currently still but holding an unpredictable wind that could blow at any moment.

“Is the food not to your liking?”

Kaeron Roman de Helios asked as he noticed the plate that remained untouched and the hands holding the cutlery nearly still. At his question, Idel Fleure shook her head and offered a faint smile.

“No, it is a magnificent meal.”

Seeing the smile that vanished as quickly as it appeared, Kaeron studied her face with concern. Pascal’s eyes widened at the sight of his brother being so attentive, while Roseline gritted her teeth, her hands trembling with a sudden surge of emotion.

“Your Grace is so kind to my sister.”

Roseline, who had been watching them for a moment, marveled with a smile so bright it felt exaggerated. She had long since hidden the face distorted by jealousy.

“I cannot tell you how relieved I am that sister is marrying Your Grace. If it had been with the Marquis of Chalet… Oh my!”

Roseline covered her mouth with her hand, wearing a flustered expression as if she had made a slip of the tongue.

“I am sorry. I brought up something unnecessary.”

“The Marquis of Chalet?”

Pascal did not miss the name that had been uttered so distinctly and questioned her.

“Why is the Marquis of Chalet being mentioned all of a sudden?”

A corner of Roseline’s mouth twitched upward as if she had expected this reaction, but she quickly lowered her gaze and answered as if confessing something difficult.

“Well, the truth is… how could I hide anything before Your Majesty? Sister was actually betrothed to the Marquis of Chalet first.”

After speaking, Roseline stole a glance at the Grand Duke sitting across from her. With an unreadable expression, the Grand Duke was looking at her with his arms crossed. His face seemed to invite her to continue as much as she liked.

“Is that true? Then the prospective Grand Duchess broke her engagement with the Marquis and then with my brother…”

“I was very surprised as well. I hadn’t heard anything from sister until the Marquis of Chalet visited to prepare for the wedding. Afterward, once Your Grace came to the Count’s estate, sister requested an annulment from the Marquis.”

She didn’t use a tone that explicitly blamed Idel for the sudden declaration, but the content alone was enough to paint her as insolent.

“The Marquis of Chalet was so shocked and hurt that day… Oh! Of course, in the end, it is a much better thing that sister is marrying Your Grace.”

She did not forget to subtly emphasize the shock the Marquis must have felt. Pascal knit his brows and looked between the Grand Duke and the prospective Grand Duchess.

“Did the Grand Duke know about this beforehand?”

Considering that Roseline was an outsider compared to the prospective Grand Duchess, Pascal addressed his brother by his formal title. Kaeron tilted his head slightly and looked at Pascal.

“Whether I knew beforehand or not is of no importance. Only the choice of the prospective Grand Duchess matters.”

“Hah! The prospective Grand Duchess is a more formidable woman than I thought. I have never seen anyone dare to place the Grand Duke on a weighing scale.”

Pascal’s cold eyes turned toward Idel. His tone suggested he found it offensive that she had weighed a marriage between the Marquis of Chalet and the Grand Duke of Helios.

Idel hesitated for a moment. She wondered if she should speak honestly to the Emperor about the contract between herself and the Grand Duke. However, she could not bring herself to speak out while Roseline was present, and her lips merely trembled.

As she gripped her dress over her lap in hesitation, a large hand was placed over hers.

“!”

Startled, she looked to her side. Kaeron looked back at her and gave a slight shake of his head. It was a sign to say nothing. Turning back to Pascal, Kaeron spoke with an unwavering expression and tone.

“It was I. I was the one who asked her to annul her engagement with the Marquis and marry me instead.”

“What did you say?”

“I fell for her. At first sight. My Grand Duchess.”

The words were so sweet it was hard to believe they were spoken by the man known throughout the Empire as the cold Grand Duke.

“Brother… no, the Grand Duke said that?”

Pascal’s mouth hung open in shock at this side of Kaeron, which he was seeing for the first time. He had assumed Kaeron entered the engagement because he had some level of affection for her, but he never dreamed such an emotional expression as “fell in love at first sight” would come from his lips.

“So, do not trouble her.”

The words were directed at the Emperor, but his sharp gaze was fixed on Roseline. At the gaze that seemed to pierce through her, Roseline’s eyes wavered violently and she bit her lip hard.

Roseline’s gaze avoided the Grand Duke and landed on her sister’s face. At a glance, Idel appeared calm, but Roseline could read the emotions hidden in the faint flush on her pale cheeks and the soft swaying of her eyes.

It is too early to be happy, sister.

Roseline curled her red lips upward as her eyes burned with malice. She hadn’t expected the mention of the Marquis of Chalet to shake the Grand Duke’s heart. Was he not the one who had already shielded her sister and left with her in front of the Marquis? It was merely a polite background explanation for the Emperor who knew nothing.

Now that the curtain has risen, the main play must begin.

“Falling in love at first sight… how romantic!”

Smoothing her expression, her eyes sparkled as she began the performance she had prepared.

“I have always wished for sister to be loved by someone. I am so glad!”

Roseline pinched her own thigh as hard as she could, forcing tears into her eyes.

“In our family, sister always looked so lonely. It wasn’t even her fault…”

Lowering her gaze with an infinitely piteous and sad expression, she murmured as if to herself.

“Ah… what is it about that ‘scent’ anyway…”

Since she was the only one speaking in this performance, the monologue-like words emphasizing a specific term were heard clearly by everyone. At the word “scent,” a minute crack appeared in Kaeron’s previously calm expression. He stared at Roseline with an even sharper gaze.

“Scent?”

Pascal questioned her, looking puzzled.

“Oh dear! I’ve made another slip of the tongue.”

Roseline made another calculated mistake. She widened her eyes and covered her mouth, wearing a troubled expression. Then, as she always did, she naturally checked Idel’s face.

As if dark clouds had suddenly shrouded a clear sky, Idel’s complexion had darkened. Looking at the light green eyes trembling like grass in a violent storm, Roseline felt a thrill rising from deep within.

Sister, you can never be happy. You are nothing but a fake, artificial flower.

Hiding a fishy smile, Roseline played innocent and knit her brows with an even more troubled expression.

“Please forget my slip of the tongue. This is a secret of our family…”

“A secret? There are no secrets before the Emperor. Tell me exactly what you mean.”

Unable to contain his curiosity at Roseline’s words, Pascal urged her for an answer. After hesitating for a long while and fidgeting with her fingers, Roseline spoke at the moment the audience’s attention was most focused.

“Well… there is a hereditary trait in our Fleure family.”

“A hereditary trait?”

“In truth, we are born with the scent of our birth flowers on our bodies.”

“Scent… comes from your body?”

Pascal asked in shock. At the same time, Kaeron’s gaze shifted to Idel. Her face, with her head slightly bowed and eyes lowered, showed no sign of emotional agitation. However, beneath his hand, he could feel her skin grow rigid and tremble minutely. Kaeron’s gaze deepened.

“How fascinating. So that is why such a thick scent of roses comes from you!”

Pascal said in admiration, his eyes full of interest. The dining hall was filled with the scent of roses even though there were no rose petals present. At first, he thought it was a perfume Roseline had sprayed, but to think it was her natural scent.

Stroking his chin, Pascal suddenly looked at Idel, tilting his head as if something were strange.

“But from the prospective Grand Duchess… I don’t smell any particular fragrance?”

“That is because…”

Roseline paused for a moment, leaving the highlight for last. She continued in a voice full of feigned pity.

“Sister was born ‘without’ a scent. She is the only one in our family who is so…”

“The only one without a scent? What is the reason?”

When Pascal asked in confusion, Roseline shook her head innocently as if she truly wanted to know but didn’t.

“I wonder. I am very curious as well. However… since sister and I have different mothers, perhaps the late Countess who passed away might have known the reason…”

She spoke naively as if she had heard it from someone else, but it was enough to cast doubt upon Idel’s birth.

Though it was a story she had heard for a long time and was familiar with, Idel’s entire body went rigid as if her breath had been cut off. Her vision blurred and she felt dizzy. Had it been only in front of the Countess and Roseline, her emotions would not have been shaken this much… but in this moment, she felt as if the warmth covering her hand might disappear at any second, and her eyes grew hot.

He… will also… despise me.

Idel was gradually consumed by the anxiety that her existence would be denied by him as well. She wanted to turn her palm upward and hold his hand, but she could not find the courage to do so.

It was then. His hand, which had been lightly covering hers, slid his fingers between hers and gripped them in a firm lock.

“Your Grace!”

Startled, Idel raised her head and looked at Kaeron. Her voice, calling him faintly, was thick with unshed tears. Seeing her reddened eyes, he tightened his grip on her locked hand. Kaeron’s stiffened gaze turned toward Roseline.

“Your concern for your sister is very impressive.”

Roseline, who had been secretly wearing a triumphant smile, froze solid at the Grand Duke’s glare. The words sounded like a compliment on the surface, but the voice was chillingly cold.

“There is no need to worry so much anymore.”

Kaeron gently pulled the woman’s hand that he held and brought her wrist to the tip of his nose. He slowly touched his lips to her racing pulse and then pulled away.

The action of kissing a lady’s hand in greeting was familiar and common. However, kissing the inside of the wrist rather than the back of the hand was strangely suggestive.

“Gasp…!”

Watching the scene, Roseline let out a sharp breath. Shuddering at the thick emotion reflecting in the Grand Duke’s eyes, she swallowed the groan that threatened to escape her lips.

“For even now. I am sufficiently intoxicated by her.”

His movements were as elegant as a refined gentleman, but his eyes surged with raw possessiveness. Like a predator guarding its mate whom no one else dared touch, his deep blue eyes turned even darker, leaving everyone watching breathless.