chapter 47
My gaze, along with Kenigh’s and Gerard’s, was drawn to the letter Maria had sent.
We hadn’t opened it yet, so I didn’t know the contents, but even just from the subtle aura it gave off, I could tell its purpose.
This was surely…
“An invitation!”
And it was definitely a proposal disguised as an invitation.
“What’s this after being quiet for so long?”
The first to speak was Kenigh. He looked somewhere as if to scold.
It was at the pile of letters stacked in front of Gerard.
Envelopes that looked expensive, adorned with flashy seals, shining in the light.
Clearly, all of them served the same purpose as Maria’s letter.
“Not even four days since the rumor spread, and already this many invitations have arrived.”
Even with the letters stacked like a mountain, Gerard calmly gathered them together.
“Rumor?”
“Yes! It seems Duke Kreutz has finally awakened to the opposite sex.”
He said it with a barely contained laugh, clearly finding it amusing.
“Awakened…?”
Awakened to what…?
I was so shocked that I dropped the walnut I was eating.
Kenigh Kreutz, who possessed only a god-given face and figure, wealth, and power—has he awakened to the opposite sex?
Not lost his mind?
Unable to believe what I had heard, I stared at Kenigh in disbelief.
The man himself looked just as bewildered, staring back at Gerard as if to say he couldn’t believe it either.
More precisely, it was like he was silently cursing with his eyes.
“You said you saw a mysterious woman in your bedroom, didn’t you?”
Gerard tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what he had done wrong.
Watching him restrain a smile that was trying to escape from his tightly closed lips, it was clear he was teasing Kenigh.
A mysterious woman…
It had only happened a few days ago.
The story went that Kenigh, intoxicated by poison and overwork, had encountered a mysterious woman in his bedroom.
“That’s me, isn’t it?!”
Had Kenigh realized that what happened back then wasn’t a dream?
It seemed he hadn’t figured out yet that the mysterious woman was me!
I swallowed the walnut I had been eating and listened closely to Gerard and Kenigh’s conversation.
“I only reported it to my grandfather because that woman came up in conversation three times after that day. Gerard Viper here was only happy to pass on the news.”
“So Sir Viper, having heard your story, reported it to your grandfather?”
Kenigh tapped his head, as if it made sense.
Then, with a look of disdain, he glared at Gerard, who merely shrugged his shoulders.
“I only shared personal information when my grandfather asked about recent events.”
His expression of pretending to know nothing was infuriating.
Kenigh said that soon, he would have to lock that loose tongue and those nimble hands.
But honestly?
I swear on my precious walnut, that alone wouldn’t stop that little weasel.
Gerard Viper was the kind of man who, if he couldn’t use his mouth or hands, would even write letters with his toes.
“It seems the news I shared with the few noble families Ferdinand interacts with has already spread throughout the empire.”
In other words, the letters arriving today were only from the quick-acting few families.
“They’ll probably keep coming from all over the empire for the next week.”
After speaking, Gerard gave a sly smile and looked at me.
Why is he looking at me…?
I stepped back nervously.
It was because of my role in the office.
As a working “squirrel,” I mainly handled destroying the secrets of the duke’s household.
Please don’t tell me he wants me to shred all these letters…
I gingerly touched my front teeth.
With so many letters, it would probably be faster for my front teeth to break than to finish shredding them all.
But the surprises didn’t end there.
“Ah, unfortunately, none of these many letters contain a woman to your lord’s taste.”
“What… taste?”
Kenigh’s taste?
Kenigh and I both looked at Gerard simultaneously.
“A woman with silver hair that seems to gather moonlight, and cherry-colored eyes that look as if soaked in water.”
Gerard spoke as if recalling a woman from his imagination.
He had a talent for combining the most embarrassing words without changing a single expression.
But wait…
Silver hair and cherry-colored eyes…
Gasp!
I almost spat out the walnut I had swallowed.
Kenigh had only glanced at my face for a moment.
Even after that, he immediately lost consciousness.
Yet he remembered my facial features in such detail.
He didn’t really realize it was me, did he?
A fearful heat rose to my face.
Could it be that my face is Kenigh’s type?
The answer to my question came shortly after.
“Two days ago, you even asked in the office whether anyone had entered your bedroom.”
“That didn’t happen.”
“That’s not true? But it is? I even saw you ask the guards! It’s the first time you ever mentioned a woman, so I remember it clearly.”
Gerard provoked Kenigh as if he had two lives.
Hmm, two days ago… That was during the height of the cold war between Kenigh and me.
So it made sense that I hadn’t heard anything.
I glanced at Kenigh to see what expression he was making.
Looks the same as usual.
Except for the 15-degree increase in his anger, his sharp eyes and firm lips were unchanged.
Huh? But…
Did I see that wrong?
Kenigh had slightly turned his head, making it hard to see, but the tips of his ears were red.
His neck looked like it was turning red too.
I stepped closer to get a better look.
Then…
“Shh.”
Our golden eyes met directly.
“….”
Normally, he would have said something.
But Kenigh said nothing.
Instead, he pressed his large palm down firmly on my head.
“Sh-shh!”
Touching my head again without permission!
Why is he doing this now?
I had no idea.
I struggled to get out from under his hand, but Kenigh didn’t budge.
Yet I noticed one thing.
Warm…?
From Kenigh’s palm, which had always felt ice-cold, I felt a slight warmth.
Could it be… that Kenigh Kreutz was embarrassed?
A strange anticipation rose, but it was met with a cold voice blowing like the wind.
“You talk too much.”
He was back to his usual self.
He frowned deeply and glared at Gerard.
“What? No… You said the woman had silver hair that gathered moonlight, round eyes… and a halo shining from behind!”
“Enough.”
Kenigh cut off Gerard’s words decisively, as if no more needed to be said.
“I was only concerned because I thought I saw someone suspicious. I’m not thinking about marriage, so you’ll handle whatever you caused.”
“Y-yes…? You want me to respond to all these letters by myself?”
Gerard protested unfairly, but Kenigh stood up firmly.
Then he turned to look at me.
The corners of his lips were twisted in a very unsettling way.
“Even if you have squirrel hands, lend them a hand.”
“Sh-shh?”
Wh-why is this happening all of a sudden…!
Because we had teased Kenigh Kreutz, Gerard and I had to deal with the many letters.
Of course, most of the work fell to Gerard.
“Miss Cherry, if you keep dawdling, you might not even have time for snacks tomorrow.”
“Sh-shh!”
I’m trying my best too, you know?
Opening letters sealed with solid wax, removing the contents…
Why did they all enclose portraits with the invitations?
I needed more than two bodies just to keep up.
Furthermore, many of these letters came from familiar names.
Maria, Titania, Selvia…
Classmates from the academy.
Of course, I can’t exactly call them friends.
Seeing their faces from the past made my head spin.
If I had safely graduated from the academy…
If my family hadn’t been wiped out by intruders…
Wouldn’t I have sent invitations like these to friends and favored suitors in the social world, like ordinary noble girls?
My mind became cluttered with such pointless thoughts.
At the same time…
I absolutely… cannot stand it…
My whole body trembled.
The people who had tormented me might become the Duchess of Kreutz.
I was so furious that I felt like I could explode.
They would lock me in a small room and destroy the things I cherished right in front of me.
“Sh-shh!”
That was absolutely not allowed.
“Miss Cherry? Miss Cherry, hurry to the next stack… ugh, aahhh, Miss Cherry!”
