Translator: Nox

Chapter 40

“I thought you would never visit this old woman again.”

Theodore let out a short, dry laugh and sat across from the elderly woman. His fingers were long and straight as they naturally grasped the water glass. He took a sip as if it were fine liquor, then set the glass down with a faint smile.

“You sent a woman through Edgar, yet you claim you didn’t expect me to come? Your jokes are getting sharper, Grandmother.”

“I see you met Hailey. What did the Duke think of her?”

“I hadn’t realized you intended to push the Mortons on me instead of the royal family.”

With his upright posture, flawless face, and an elegant yet powerful physique, he was more than a mere sculpture. A clear sense of pride flickered in Grace’s eyes as she looked at her grandson. Even in the midst of her rising anger, she couldn’t help it.

“She must be quite lovely, even in a man’s eyes.”

Just then, the butler brought out a tea set and placed a cup before Theodore. The young Duke lowered his gaze without an answer, but a sudden smile touched his eyes—as if he were savoring a memory that was either very pleasant or worth remembering.

It was a reaction Grace hadn’t expected at all when she sent Hailey Morton. The mere hope that there had been progress brought a flush of color to the Dowager Duchess’s wrinkled face.

“If you say she is acceptable, I will drop the matter of the royal marriage here.”

“She is not acceptable. And I would appreciate it if you would reject the proposal from the royal family as well. If only for the sake of the Princess’s honor, so she isn’t left on display after being rejected by a mere naval officer.”

“Do you truly despise the idea of marrying the Princess that much?”

“Let me ask you this. Does the family truly need a marriage with the royal house?”

“Battenberg has no need for it.”

“Then.”

“You need it, Duke.”

Two pairs of identical blue eyes locked in midair. The tension between them was fierce, neither side willing to yield an inch. Her brilliant grandson seemed to have already guessed the words she dared not speak aloud.

Only someone of a Princess’s stature would make you even pretend to consider marriage. Even if I had to force you to the altar, only the royal family would have the standing to interfere in the Duke’s private affairs.

“…….”

Unable to bear the lengthening silence, Grace slowly lifted her teacup to her lips.

“Since you are here, meet the Princess. Don’t just think of her childhood; Her Highness has grown quite beautiful with age.”

“No.”

The teacup, moving in an elegant arc, stopped abruptly in midair. The elderly woman’s fingertips tightened as she set it back down on the saucer.

“Are you determined to end the family line?”

“Removing one bloodline won’t cause a problem for the succession. It’s not as if there are no replacements.”

“…Theodore, please.”

A hint of desperation colored her normally composed voice. At the plea from his grandmother, who was now showing her true feelings, Theodore lifted his gaze from the table.

“Do you know something?”

A calculated smile played on the Duke’s otherwise indifferent lips.

“You only call me that when you have a favor to ask. And I was foolish enough to be swayed by it.”

“…….”

Grace swallowed a groan like a sigh. He was her only grandson, the apple of her eye. She had raised him with her own hands from start to finish, but the burden he had carried since childhood due to his parents’ mistakes was immense. To ensure he wasn’t crushed by that weight, and to prevent him from following the failed path of his father, she had chosen to be a stern teacher rather than a tender relative.

Because she didn’t want him to be a weak man who staked his life on something as trivial as love. Perhaps that had been her mistake….

“You won’t be able to shake me with ‘such things’ anymore.”

Just as Theodore had anticipated her words, she understood the words he had swallowed. He was telling her that he had lived as a puppet for so long, enduring the thin affection his cold grandmother occasionally offered. He had believed that if he brought glory to the family, if he became the perfect Duke, a better reward would be waiting for him….

Theodore was, in fact, her masterpiece. He was more perfectly a Battenberg than any other she had raised with her own hands. Beyond her husband, beyond her son, he was finally the one. The faint regret in Grace’s wrinkled eyes was replaced once more by resolve.

“…You must remember how much I detested your decision to join the navy, leaving behind a guaranteed future.”

“Serving in the military is an honorable thing. I do not regret it.”

“Even an old woman in the back room has ears. I am not trying to blame you for it now. Considering the times, you made the best choice, Duke.”

“…….”

“Even so, the world will always find you lacking. To prove your patriotism, a time may come when you must even abandon the family name, just like Windsor.”

In truth, the name Battenberg sounded foreign in Ingram. Decades ago, they had inherited the name used by a ducal house that had defected from Erman. No matter how loyal the Battenbergs were to Ingram, things that were never an issue in times of peace were often called into question during war.

It was that kind of era. An era where goods overflowed from years of sustained peace, where territories carved out centuries ago felt too cramped, and where the scent of blood spilled to protect the land had faded into a distant story for the general public. An era that held up heroes made by packaging the suppression of a mere island as a war, and used them to stir up the shallow patriotism of the youth.

In times like these, even a small spark was bound to lead to war. Even the newsboys on the street were shouting about the unstable political climate.

“In times like these, a marriage is the most appropriate means to prove our loyalty.”

“…….”

“These are things Hailey sent to me.”

At the sudden change of subject, Theodore tilted his gaze downward. The Dowager Duchess had pulled out a flat box. Inside were all sorts of trinkets.

“Whenever you were away, she came to keep this old body company. At first, I didn’t realize how much I hurt her with my needless prejudices.”

“…….”

“The Mortons are a founding family of Ingram with an excellent reputation. If you truly loathe a royal marriage, the Mortons are your best option. I would be satisfied with her.”

“Grandmother.”

“Meet her three times. After that, I will respect your decision.”

Theodore looked at the items Grace had presented with a sense of disbelief. They were such trivial things that he couldn’t find any value in them. Dried flowers, a handwritten copy of a rare book of poetry, fallen leaves for some unknown reason, a handkerchief embroidered with a bird of fine feathers, and….

‘A photograph.’

The inscription written underneath—Please think of me whenever you see this—was absurd. Theodore stared at it for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. Something he hadn’t noticed when she was sitting in front of him became clearer in the stillness of the captured image.

Her features, made distinct by the loss of color, and the woman’s face as she smiled brightly at the camera, triggered an old, buried memory. Theodore reflexively reached out and covered the woman’s eyes in the photograph.

The moment the vague sense of unease became clear, he let out a dry laugh. Now he understood. He understood why his grandmother was trying so hard to push this woman on him. And why Hailey Morton’s bright, sunny face had been so irritating.

Morton had been his mother’s maiden name.

---

It was a reunion after three full days. They kissed as if quenching a thirst, clinging to each other as if to soothe the wounds they had received in their respective places. The man who had returned from the capital was more urgent in every way than usual. It was to the point that everything they had learned of each other’s bodies felt irrelevant; in the darkness of the night where even his features were invisible, she felt as if she were being held by a complete stranger.

When she bit her lip and let out a moan, he pressed his thumb between her teeth to pry her lips apart.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

Vanessa shook her head, her face wet with tears. She preferred the pain. Because even her complicated thoughts vanished completely in this moment. In fact, she didn’t mind if he hurt her a little more.

“Just keep going, like this….”

“Tell me if it hurts. Don’t swallow it alone.”

“It’s alright….”

River Ross’s forearms, braced against the bed, flexed with tension. The man’s face was far too handsome. He was flushed, feverish, and beautiful. Like this deep blue, aching summer.

I wish your hair were as long as mine. At her faint, slurred voice, he lowered his head. He listened as if he wouldn’t miss even her smallest whisper.

She meant it. She wished his hair were very long, and hers was very long too, so they could braid themselves together as one.

Like two trees meeting and tangling from the roots up. Like tying a knot that would never, ever come undone.