Your Grace, It Was a Mistake! - Chapter 15

Isabel kicked Lennox over one more time for good measure and then scurried over to Vivian. Seeing Vivian flinch, she flashed a radiant smile and held out her hand.

“Sweetie, aren’t you hungry?”

Salad, pudding, roasted vegetables, bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, roast beef, mushroom cream soup…

Maids of the Grand Ducal household, dressed in crisp uniforms, continuously brought out dishes. I sat dazed before the table. What was this sudden luxury?

The noblewoman who had burst in was none other than the Grand Duchess Dowager, the Grand Duke’s mother. She was a woman of incredibly high standing, an Imperial Princess of our empire!

‘And a person like that…’

After giving the Grand Duke a sound beating, she had been treating me exceptionally well. Before sitting at this table, I had been treated to a luxurious bath and changed into clothes so magnificent they made my eyes pop. The Grand Duchess Dowager had even personally brushed and braided my hair!

My hands still shook at the memory.

‘I’m proud of myself for not fainting…!’

“Go on, eat. You must be starving. That brat Lennox kept you hungry…”

The Dowager urged me to eat while glaring at the Grand Duke. Sitting beside me, the Grand Duke looked utterly dissatisfied but couldn’t find a word to refute her. I was struck with fresh admiration.

‘The Dowager is amazing…’

As I clasped my hands and looked at her with sparkling eyes, a strange glint appeared in her golden eyes. The next moment, she covered her mouth with her hand, wearing an indescribable expression. Then, she suddenly stood up, leaned over, and pulled me into a tight embrace.

“My goodness, you’re too cute…! How can such a tiny, adorable creature exist!”

“…?!”

She even gave me a quick peck on the cheek. I froze like a block of ice, having no idea what was happening. What on earth was going on?

“Mother, please sit back in your seat. You’re interfering with Vivian’s meal.”

I heard the Grand Duke’s voice, sounding somewhat suppressed. The Dowager, still hugging me, shot him a glare. I’d been thinking this for a while, but their mother-son relationship was quite peculiar. Rather than parent and child, they felt more like… friends?

‘Is it because the Dowager looks so young?’

I knew she was forty-six this year, but she looked like she was in her early to mid-thirties. With ebony hair, brilliant golden eyes, and sharp features, she was a stunning beauty. I heard that before she married the late Grand Duke, suitors used to line up all the way outside the capital gates.

‘But she doesn’t look much like the Grand Duke.’

Does he resemble his father? Would I meet him too? The thought made my heart race with nervousness.

‘I really need to explain my relationship with the Grand Duke properly…’

The Dowager clearly believed we were in a serious relationship. I was terrified of incurring her wrath later.

‘I don’t think I can swallow this food.’

When I let out a deep sigh while holding my spoon, the Dowager panicked.

“Sweetie, do you feel unwell? Never mind the food, shall we start with some warm tea? Hmm?”

I couldn’t bring myself to say her presence was overwhelming, so I just nodded with a faint smile. She practically carried me to the sofa. Her attitude, treating me like a fragile glass ornament, made me feel incredibly awkward.

‘Grand Duke, what do I do now?’

I looked at him with teary eyes. ‘Please, say something! Before the misunderstanding gets any deeper!’

Perhaps he sensed my desperate gaze, for he finally spoke.

“Mother, Vivian and I are going to get married.”

“Pffft!”

I sprayed the mouthful of tea I was trying to sip. To show such unseemly behavior in front of the Dowager! My face flushed red with shame.

‘Wait, Grand Duke, what are you saying—’

As I pressed a handkerchief she gave me against my mouth, the conversation between mother and son continued.

“Of course you should get married! Were you planning not to? After doing this and that and everything else?”

“I haven’t done everything yet. Don’t distort the facts.”

“How far have you two progressed?”

“Would you believe me if I said I’m on the verge of becoming a monk?”

“What? Really?”

The Dowager burst into laughter. I sat there, dazed by the conversation that had just swept past like a hurricane.

‘…What did I just hear?’

My mind was a mess. The room felt like it was spinning. This and that…? Progress…?

“Are you serious, Lennox?”

“Don’t make me repeat something so obvious.”

“Honestly, that attitude of yours when talking to your mother…”

The Dowager shook her head. She shot him a glare, took a sip of tea, and then looked at me. I hiccuped reflexively.

“Hic!”

“Oh dear, startled again? How can you be so like a little rabbit~?”

“…”

I felt a bit wronged, as if I were being teased. When I looked like I was about to cry, the Dowager’s cheeks flushed, and she stared at me with twinkling eyes.

“Lennox… I think I understand why you like this girl.”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t.”

The Grand Duke answered curtly and stood up. He strode over, grabbed me by the shoulders, and lifted me up.

“She’s mine.”

“Oh, who’s taking her? I’m just saying she’s cute.”

“You were looking at her like you wanted to keep her.”

“Goodness~ with a look like that, could you ever let her outside? Are you going to lock her in a room and look at her yourself?”

The Grand Duke looked at me with a serious expression and muttered in a voice that sounded quite sinister.

“Locking her up doesn’t sound like a bad idea…”

“…As expected of my son. Not in his right mind.”

Just as I was about to lose consciousness from the sheer absurdity of the conversation, the Grand Duke sat back down on the sofa with me in his arms.

‘Wait, hold on.’

I was mortified. Was it really okay to sit on the Grand Duke’s lap in such an unseemly position right in front of the Dowager? But she didn’t seem to think much of it, which made me even more confused. Just what kind of family was this…?

‘This is… so different from what I imagined.’

As I sat there trembling with my hands clutched to my chest, the Grand Duke popped a small meringue cookie into my mouth.

“…!”

I reflexively chewed and swallowed. The meringue melted on my tongue, spreading sweetness throughout my mouth.

“Is it good?”

“…” Nod.

“Want more?”

Blink, blink.

When I answered with my eyes, he gave a faint smile, held a meringue in his mouth, and leaned his head toward me.

“Grand—!”

Before I could shout in surprise, the meringue was in my mouth, and his lips briefly touched mine before pulling away. I glanced over to see the Dowager watching with an intensely interested expression.

‘Hee…!’

I burst into tears. I wanted to dig a hole and hide in it forever. ‘So embarrassing!’

My eyes were wet. The Grand Duke watched me curiously and gently wiped away my tears with his finger.

“Is it that delicious? Enough to make you cry?”

“…”

I couldn’t tell if he genuinely misunderstood my reaction or was doing it on purpose. My gut told me it was the latter.

‘He really is a sadist!’

I glared at him with wide eyes. In response, he chuckled and kissed my forehead.

‘Ack!’

I felt so frustrated being teased so helplessly. Was I really that insignificant in his eyes?

“Vivian, when you’re this cute, it makes me want to tease you.”

“…”

Across from us, the Dowager nodded her head in agreement. I decided I needed to escape this household as soon as possible.

‘I need to write a letter to my parents…!’

“By the way, does the Lewis family know Vivian is here?”

My ears perked up at the question. The Grand Duke answered.

“I sent a communication about four hours ago.”

“And what did they say? You kidnapped her on a whim, didn’t you, Lennox?”

“Vivian agreed to it.”

“Do you think that child had a choice? She probably just nodded because she was scared of you.”

When the Dowager spoke as if it were a given, the Grand Duke looked at me as if asking if it were true. I stammered and answered in a small voice.

“That’s not true…”

“Hmm? Say it a bit louder.”

The Grand Duke’s blue eyes went wide, and the Dowager urged me gently. I put strength into my voice.

“I didn’t agree because I was scared. I… I like the Grand Duke…”

The moment the words left my mouth, my face flared up. I had confessed to his face once again!

‘Uaaah.’

As I hung my head in shame, the Dowager let out a laugh of surprise, and the Grand Duke suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.

“Vivian, you’re so cute I’m going crazy.”

“…!”

Don’t say such embarrassing things so casually, Grand Duke! I can’t lift my head!

“You’re right, she really is cute… Can’t I hold her once?”

“No.”

The Grand Duke flatly refused his mother’s request. The Dowager grumbled about how raising a son was useless. Hearing that made me think of my own parents, and I felt a pang of guilt.

“Well, at least it’s a relief you didn’t just kidnap her against her will. So, Vivian likes Nox too, right?”

“…!”

The natural use of his nickname. I felt a strange sensation, like a tickle in my chest. What was this feeling?

‘Do I… do I want to call the Grand Duke by a nickname too?’

I slowly lifted my head and spoke. “I really do like the Grand Duke…”

“Oh—tell me more.”

The Dowager’s eyes sparkled with interest. Her eyes looked like golden stars. I hesitated before speaking timidly.

“I… I fell for the Grand Duke at first sight.”

“Aha, how classic. Well, his face is decent enough.”

“The Grand Duke is… really cool…”

“My son is handsome, I’ll give him that. But his personality…”

At that moment, a dark aura emanated from the Grand Duke—a silent pressure to stop talking. The Dowager turned her gaze away, feigning ignorance. I looked between the two and continued.

“I’ve liked him since I was fourteen. Just looking at him makes me happy, so—”

As I reached the ultimate point I wanted to make, my voice trembled. But I had to be brave.

“—We don’t have to get married.”

When I peeked up, both the Dowager and the Grand Duke looked shocked. I bit my lip nervously. I felt like the Grand Duke felt a sense of responsibility toward me, and I wanted to tell him he didn’t need to. In the beginning, everything started with an accident…

“…Wait a minute. I think things have gotten tangled up here.”

The Dowager raised her right hand. She seemed to be thinking hard before suddenly asking the Grand Duke.

“Lennox, have you proposed yet?”

“…I will.”

“You will? You brat!”

The Dowager sprang up, pried the Grand Duke and me apart, and began to smack the Grand Duke on the back.

Smack! Smack!

‘That looks like it hurts.’ The sound was no joke.

“You should have proposed properly first! The child is under a misunderstanding! Have you even confessed properly? Hmm? You hopeless boy!”

Smack! Smack!

As I watched the scene in a daze, I heard the Grand Duke’s blunt voice.

“I was in the middle of talking to Vivian properly when you interrupted, Mother.”

“What talk! It looked like you were just one-sidedly kissing and hugging her!”

Her words brought back the memory I had momentarily forgotten, and I turned beet-red once more. After a moment, the Dowager stepped back, huffing. She placed her hands on her hips and warned him sternly.

“We’re going to have a formal talk later, including your father. Talk to Vivian properly before then. Understand?”

“…I understand.”

The Grand Duke answered sullenly but obediently. It seemed his rank in the family was far below the Dowager’s.

‘It’s like a family of wolves.’

“Well, I’ll be going now, so have a good talk. Sweetie.”

The Dowager turned back to me, stroked my hair, and flashed a smile before leaving the bedroom. Then, silence fell. It felt like a storm had just passed. Only the Grand Duke and I remained in the room.

“Ugh…”

I flinched at the sound of the Grand Duke groaning as he stood up. As I curled up on the sofa and glanced at him, he spoke with a dejected face.

“I won’t eat you, Vivian.”

“…”

Support Your Grace, It Was a Mistake!