CH 78

Returning to his mansion, Ciel felt empty. A letter had been handed to him by the head butler. In his haste, he had ignored everything just to go straight to the temple, but he was not unaware of the disloyalty he had displayed today.

Despite it all, the crown prince was still thinking of Ciel’s well-being. He read the letter that was from the crown prince as he leaned back heavily into the sofa.

“Your Grace, shall I bring you a glass of cold tea?”

The head butler, conscious of Ciel’s visible exhaustion, suggested as such, and Ciel answered briefly.

“Yes.”

After the head butler left the room, Ciel read through the letter again. The crown prince had personally sent a letter to the temple, apologizing as he said that he’d be keeping the saintess at the palace for the time and would return tomorrow instead.

Ciel did not know how to tell the truth to the crown prince, who was not the slightest bit aware that Seo-yoon was a fake saintess.

In all honesty, Ciel thought, would the crown prince even believe him? For him to say that he had gone back in time, to an imperial citizen who believed God entirely—it was simply beyond belief.

All of a sudden, he felt an onslaught of loneliness. He alone remembered a time that no longer existed, and it sometimes felt heavy.

“Will it feel lighter if I confide in someone?”

Looking out the window, Ciel thought of Irene, who must also remember that time.

“Imprint… Real saintess…”

He murmured the important aspects he had gleaned from today.

In the meantime, the head butler brought back some simple refreshments and an ice-cold glass of tea. He also set the table and began to talk about the invitations and letters that were sent to the household while the duke was away.

Aside from that, the head butler also informed Ciel of the visitor who had come before.

“…Lastly, Count Ashur had visited in your absence.”

Count Ashur, the very person who wished to have the duchy for himself, always vigilant as he made each move under the pretext of doing what’s best for Ciel’s aunt.

Ciel already knew what the count was here for since he had already experienced the same thing in his past life, but he asked the head butler anyway.

“What did Uncle say he was here for?”

The head butler answered with a troubled look.

“That’s, well… He was here to insist that someone needs to take charge of the household’s internal affairs as soon as possible, and so he mentioned that he had someone he’d like to introduce Your Grace to. He also said that all that’s left to be done is to set the date.”

“Tsk.”

That man had not changed a single bit. It’s obvious that he would be introducing a daughter of one of his vassals.

Irritation surged up within Ciel, and he tried to temper it by drinking his cold tea, but an idea suddenly popped up in his mind.

“Idiot…”

Why didn’t he think of that before?

Unlike Korea, the Stern Empire was a class-based society. It would rather be considered a low blow, but he thought of one good way to have Irene.

Ciel quickly gulped down the rest of his tea and let the head butler take it away.

Alone now, his thoughts ran a mile a minute.

“She probably wouldn’t like it, would she?”

Before they went their separate ways, Ciel thought back to how Irene frowned only whenever she looked at him.

But he was in a hurry now, and in his impatience, he couldn’t think of any other way.

“Huu…”

It hadn’t even been long since he’s been away from her, but it felt as if impure energy was rising each second he was not with her.

Unable to endure how uncomfortable he felt, Ciel stood up from his seat.

He hurried to his office, calling for the head butler again as he took out some stationary paper. Just before he could write down the first word in the letter he was about to send her, the tip of his pen shook ever so minutely.

“Is this the first time…”

Never once before had he sent a letter to his wife. Of course, there was no need to write letters in Korea because of the convenience of communication through mobile phones, but still.

As subtle sentiments grew within him, Ciel slowly began to write her name.

〈 Dear Lady Closch, 〉

At the detestably perfunctory salutation, Ciel smiled self-deprecatingly. She used to be the closest person to him, yet right now, she felt farther to him than anyone else.

Slowly writing down the phrase, he gradually tightened his grip on the quill. Soon, he wrote down everything he needed to say, hoping that this letter could reach her as soon as possible.

Right. There’s no other way.

This alone was the most straightforward method.

As he finished writing the letter, the head butler entered the office.

“You called me, Your Grace?”

“Yes. There’s something I need you to do tomorrow.”

“Yes, please tell me what I shall do.”

“I will be sending a proposal letter to the Closch Barony, so I want you to prepare a corresponding gift.”

The head butler was the kind of man who would never get surprised, whatever was thrown at him, but for the first time here, he looked quite obviously taken aback.

“I beg your pardon, Your Grace?”

“Ah, it would be good to choose something from my late mother’s repository. Since she loved jewelry so much while she was still alive, I’m sure there must be at least a few things worth using there.”

“…O-Of course.”

“Ah, and find out which one is the most popular boutique in the capital right now. I know her measurements, so send their representatives to me.”

“……”

“And, oh, choose and prepare only specialties from the Leopardt Duchy. Right, yes. Why don’t we prepare gifts for every citizen of the Closch estate? I want everyone to know.”

Everyone needed to know that he was in love with her.

That way, no one would dare try to covet her.

His anxiety from being away from Irene turned into anticipation. Ciel continued to list down more and more items to be gifted, unaware that the head butler’s face was increasingly turning as white as a sheet.