Chapter 63

The Sleepless Night of the Maid — Chapter 63

“Ah!”

Edward turned in surprise at the call of Count Holland. Suddenly, something flew and felt like it fell on his heart. There was no way to describe why he was surprised. Whether the surprise appeared when Count Holland called or before that.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Nothing. What’s going on?”

He hardened his voice pretending to be calm so as to not show embarrassment. He couldn’t tell him that there was a woman and Eva came to mind when he saw her. Wouldn’t it be funny if he yelled loudly not to worry and brought up her story again? Strangely, he didn’t want to be caught up in this matter even though he wasn’t the type to be wary of others.

“I was asked by the Duke of Kensington to attend the morning tea time. We should get ready.”

“…yes.”

With that answer, Edward slightly turned to look back toward the wagon. Neither the young man nor the woman from the side were seen anymore. Only the workers of the wagon and the servants of the household were carrying luggage.

He laughed in vain and sank into the chair next to him. It was so funny to think of Eva because the woman had the same hair color.

He thought he would forget her as soon as he got busy, but he didn’t. Throughout the trip, Eva settled in Edward’s head and constantly bothered him.

Was he that into Eva?

This was all because of his dream. Little Eva caught him, and Eva, who became an adult, was crying. Those images stuck in his head and kept bothering him.

“The Duke is a self-proclaimed principlist. As he said, he should side with His Highness, who officially earned the title of Crown Prince. However, the situation is a little unusual.”

“What do you mean it’s unusual?”

Edward quickly shook off misconceptions at Count Holland’s report.

“After the meeting of the senators last time, the Duke was called up. He stopped by the salon. The widow there is the mistress of Marquis Stoku, and Marquis Stoku is the Empress’s cousin.”

“So, the Duke of Kensington started leaning toward the Empress”.

“According to three pieces of information, I don’t think that’s it yet. They made generous conditions, but they pulled out, saying they would watch a little longer.”

“Does that mean you’re going to stay here?”

“I don’t know about that. So first of all, I think we need to figure out what he wants while maintaining a good relationship with the Duke.”

“My head hurts.”

On the front lines, swords were wielded to live without measuring this or that. The fight of wits with those who were old like the Duke was very tiring.

“Let’s go.”

It was tiring, but it was also part of his job. Whether he used his body or his brain, the game always made him feel unhappy. Realising he had a frown, Edward walked with a restrained smile.

“Welcome, Your Highness and Count Holland. Did you rest comfortably?”

As Edward and Count Holland entered the drawing room, the Duke greeted them and asked how they were doing. He felt relaxed and confident at the same time as the Duke, who had a flawless attitude and a full smile.

“Thanks to you, I rested well.”

“Since you’re here, it’d be nice if you stayed longer, but you’re leaving right away?”

“As you know, I did something to be scolded by the Imperial Family. If it’s too late, I’ll be scolded by the Empress, so wouldn’t it be better to hurry up and avoid getting beaten?”

Edward jokingly answered and lightly reminded Is the Duke of his situation. Giving the Imperial Family’s false vacation date, taking care to separate the break from him in advance, and meeting close people. It meant that they shouldn’t get to the point of having to think about what to say.

The fact that the Duchess and Olivia did not appear at tea time anyway meant that the Duchess wanted to talk privately with the two. It also meant that the Duke was guessing why Edward and Count Holland visited here.

“Hit doesn’t mean you’ll get hit. Seeing that you have met Lord Dantes, Your Highness doesn’t seem to care about your surroundings.”

The Duke skillfully followed the topic of conversation, but rebelled against Edward. It was not known whether the words were defending Edward or blaming him. As a smart person, he would not deliberately make remarks that deviated from the middle. It was Edward’s job to get a glimpse of the Duke’s intentions in it.

“You don’t have to be wary of your surroundings when you’ve only been to the hospital.”

“After that, you came to meet me, so you’ll be on alert now.”

“Should I pay attention to other people’s misunderstandings?”

“Don’t you still need to be careful? I can feel the gaze of the Imperial Palace here.”