Selena never blinked and answered calmly.
"Yes. It's been three days since we last saw each other. I didn't bring the handkerchief you lent me back then. Forgive me, Your Highness. I didn't expect to see you again today."
The handkerchief that he gently gave back then to Selena when he found sweats on her forehead at the Banquet Hall.
Ikshid then replied to her hastily.
"Don't mind it. It was a handkerchief left on the Imperial Ball."
"Since when have handkerchiefs been left in the Imperial Ball, Your Highness?"
Tashian opened his mouth when he noticed that he had never heard of Ikshid's story and cut off his words at once.
"Your Highness, may I ask for you to shut up momentarily. By the way, what brought you two here today…?"
Eun-woo doubted whether Ikshid was really unaware of that situation. However, seeing his desperate attitude in front of Selena, she decided to close her eyes only once today, pretending what she found.
"With Lady Miller here, I was taking lessons from the very competent butler of the Duke. Ah, Duke. Thank you again for preparing us a place and time."
Selena bowed her head toward the duke in such a polite manner that was a virtue of a lady. Tashian, too, bowed slightly to her, giving her a blunt courtesy.
Judging from the expression of Ikshid who witnessed the scene, Eun-woo felt a strange surprise that the next successor's class would be held at the Imperial Palace.
Ikshid hastily opened his mouth between Selena and the Duke.
"Well, let's leave it at that. Lady Wellwood, why don't you take a moment to review and discuss with me what you've learned today? They say that the dahlias in the backyard are very beautiful… Isn't that right, Lord?"
Tashian's eyes wandered for a moment, unable to find anything to reply to Ikshid's well-intentional expression.
".... That's right."
At the prince's sudden request, Selena looked up at the Duke and asked carefully.
"Pardon? One, the backyard of the Duke's Mansion… Wouldn't it be more polite to visit after getting permission from Duke Verk here?"
"Of course! It's all right, isn't it, Lord? Isn't it something that I've already asked for your permission beforehand?"
Tashian frowned at his absurdity.
When in the world did Ikshid ask for his permission?
But in the end, he answered with a sigh.
"…. Of course."
When he gave his semi-forced permission, Selena looked back at Eun-woo, as if implying to understand her situation. Eun-woo smiled and gestured to Selena, to follow after Ikshid.
She had learned a lesson since the last masquerade.
It was that the flow of Crown Prince's wishes can't be resisted.
'No matter how hard I try on my own, the relationship I met may eventually come to an end.'
As an example, the meeting between the two main characters of the novel, which she tried to prevent from happening, had taken place in a place that she had never thought of.
Of course, that didn't mean that she would just wait and watch as the future unfolds which would lead to the worst scenario. However, it was necessary to admit that the direction of the novel had changed a tan.
If she forcibly created the relationship that should have been made for nothing, it would only make the reverse effect worse.
Eun-woo wanted to put off her worries about what to do in the future and bless the future of the two new lovers. And with that thought, she looked at the back of Ikshid's disappearance with Selena.
'How come the petals are strangely scattered only on the side of Imperial Brother… it must be my mistake.'
Eun-woo shook her head inside, looking at Selena, who was walking upright without any disruption, and Ikshid, who was constantly leaning toward Selena.
'I still remember that Crown Prince Ikshid made a name for himself as a playboy… How did it happen?'
But there was one fact that she had overlooked.
That Ikshid was not the only man who fell in love on the spot.
Eun-woo didn't notice much, but the Duke, who stood next to her like a regular monk, was also another man blinded by love in the eyes of others in the novel.
"How was Johannes's lesson? Did it help you a little?"
As soon as Ikshid disappeared, Tashian took a long step toward Eun-Woo and asked,
"Oh, Tashian. Today is my first day, so I'm just on my way here with a brief explanation of the role of the head of the household and his work."
Of course, even the content was not simple.
Tashian muttered, looking worriedly at her strangely distorted face.
"Is there anything you don't understand?"
Eun-woo liked the interest he showed to her, so she tried to answer the truth, but again changed her mind. It would be so heartbreaking if he thought she was an idiot.
She was determined to remember his back, who always sat at his desk in the office and handled his duty every day. She can't believe he has been carrying all these troubles on his own. Suddenly, she felt sorry for him.
Eun-woo smiled brightly at Tashian and replied.
"No, but I have a lot of things to study. I'm afraid I'll have to stay up all night?"
Tomorrow, there was a small tea party with young ladies who were close to each other who were also at the masquerade ball, so she only had time this evening to prepare for the second class the day after tomorrow.
Tashian, looking carefully at her face with a thoughtful look on his face. He asked, pointing at a piece of parchment in her hand.
"What's that?"
"Oh, here's the stuff Johannes gave me. It will be more helpful if I learn it while watching….."
However, Eun-Woo's expression was troubled when she said that. The data Johannes gave her weren't just words, but in fact, they were like real documents used when working. The document was full of jargon that seemed alien to her, who was not yet accustomed with all these. They were documents that would only amplify her confusion.
Tashian, who was struggling with something, suddenly rejoiced and said to her,
"I have something for you. Can you follow me for a second?"
Eun-woo nodded with her puzzled expression .
After a while, he led her to the Duke's bedroom on the third floor. It was the room opposite the corridor, facing the Duchess' bedroom, which she uses as a temporary residence.
"Tashian, this is…."
Eun-woo was constantly looking around, with her cheeks reddened because of the servants gazing at them.
Looking at her, Tashian comforted her affectionately.
"Don't worry. I'm just going to take out something and get out right away. And I have given strict orders on the third floor so that only the maids I gave access to can enter."
"S, still…."
It was rather unpleasant that two unmarried nobles, a man and a woman, entered the same bedroom in broad daylight.
Eun-woo pushed Tashian, who was covering the door and opened her mouth.
"We, well, I'll just wait outside. Please bring it out quickly."
Then Tashian stiffened his face as if she was talking nonsense.
"What are you talking about? It's even weirder to wait outside. What are you going to say when someone sees you?"
When the door was opened half, he added, gently pulling her wrist back inside.
"No one can enter my bedroom without permission, so don't worry, come here."
Eun-woo couldn't find anything to refute his serious voice.
And while hesitating, Eun-woo was dragged into the bedroom with her wrist held by him.
Eun-woo, who entered his bedroom, gulped down as she looked at the dark and empty room compared to the other bedrooms.
He was a man who had been on the battlefield for three years. When he came back, he ate and slept in the office because of her, and it was strange that his bedroom smelled like there was a person coming here every day.
Tashian, who had brought her into the bedroom, strode to the table beside the bedroom without hesitation, and began to search inside the drawer.
Eun-woo stared at him with a baffled look and glanced at the room.
"… Doesn't this look very different from the duchess' bedroom?"
Eun-woo opened her mouth, looking at the gray room landscape, where even the common frames and candlesticks were not found. To her question, he searched the drawer and answered.
"It's like that. The bedroom you are using is a newly renovated room. Originally, there was nothing special about that bedroom."
The only people who could use the third floor of the duke's main building were the duchess and their young children. But it was a long time ago that she heard a baby crying in the duke's house.
The new owner, who was born at least, also had more time to leave the country due to frequent wars and overseas work than to stay in. Naturally, his bedroom became a place where he could not play more than a place to sleep by accident rather than a warm resting place with a warm warmth.
Tashian muttered as he continued to search for what he was looking for.
"I didn't use this room as a bedroom much before you came. I also didn't like this room very much. I usually sleep in the office actually…."
Eun-woo waited for an answer, wondering what he couldn't say. But Tashian did not speak any more.
Then he finally found something in the bottom drawer of a large closet in a corner of the bedroom.
"I found it."
Eun-woo rushed to his side and watched him shake off a fairly large bundle of parchment dust with his forearms.
A fairly large bale of paper, one or two spans thick, was tied with twine with a faded leather cover.
Eun-woo then asked in a curious voice.
"What book is this?"
"The notes that I took down when I first learned how to manage housework."
Replied Tashian, as if it was nothing. But Eun-woo looked at him with her eyes wide open in surprise.
"You've learned to do the housework, too…?"
When Eun-woo asked, Tashian looked as if he could not grasp the intention of her question.
Eun-Woo was flustered.
"Ah, No… … Of course, everyone has their first times, but at least as much as you, it seems like you've been holding a quill and signing documents since you were born… ?"
The way she had seen him was always a competent duke who was good and tidy. She can't believe he also has a student side in him. There was no image that came to her mind at all. Because she didn't think he was the first person to learn something.
Tashian answered her, handing the book to her.
"What are you talking about? Of course I learned how to work at first. Johannes is a gifted genius who doesn't understand why others don't understand his explanation. I also had a hard time waking up while learning from her. But if you study hard enough, I can assure you that it will definitely help you later. She is such a capable person."
Eun-woo took the booklet from him and was surprised at the heaviness of the weight.
Then she heard him move his body.
Before Tashian knew it, he approached his bed and sat there slightly. Looking at Tashian, Eun-woo hesitated for a moment whether to follow him and sit together or leave the room after thanking him.
Tashian spoke, beckoning to her. He had a smile on his face.
"What are you doing? Come here."
With his natural gesture and expression as if luring a wary stray cat, Eun-woo approached him and sat down as if she was attracted to a magnet.
This was largely due to the innocence of his expression. And besides that, there was also a reason why there were not many opportunities to be alone with him these days.
Either way, her heart swelled with anticipation.