199 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
Blinded Duke, Engaged 199
Only then did Dia belatedly come to her senses and turned around.
“Ah, they are my younger siblings.”
“We are Garnet, Rubiana, and Peridot of the Count Adria’s family, and we greet His Highness the Crown Prince.”
As practiced beforehand, the siblings greeted him in turn.
“Welcome, all of you. Please, sit down.”
As the Crown Prince offered them seats with a welcoming smile, the stiffly standing siblings sat on the sofa.
Dia watched her nervous siblings and suppressed a laugh.
They didn't need to be so nervous.
She felt proud and concerned that they seemed to be trying harder, fearing they might cause trouble for her.
Knock, knock.
Just in time, a maid knocked and entered, bringing refreshments before leaving.
Alecpet picked up a teacup first and offered it to the nervous siblings.
“Drink.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Garnet lifted the teacup like a stiff wooden doll.
She, who had not been intimidated even before the Duke of the West, seemed to be nervous before His Highness the Crown Prince.
Alecpet noticed this and smiled gently, crinkling his eyes.
“Lady Adria.”
The three Lady Adrias raised their heads simultaneously.
At that, Alecpet looked at Garnet with an apologetic face.
“May I call you by your name?”
“Of course. And please, feel free to speak comfortably.”
Garnet, who had been spending most of her time with the Knights Order lately, spoke stiffly like a knight.
“Shall I?”
“Yes. Please do.”
As Garnet bowed her head and requested, the Crown Prince smiled gently and spoke again.
“I heard you are learning the Sword?”
“…Yes.”
Garnet answered hesitantly with a flustered face.
“I hope you will be recorded as the first female knight in the history of the Empire.”
Alecpet said kindly with a smile on his lips.
The first female knight recorded in the history of the Empire. Garnet clenched her fist tightly, overwhelmed just by imagining it.
Yes, I will work hard and definitely become one.
Alecpet turned his gaze and looked at Rubiana this time.
“I heard Rubiana likes books?”
“Yes.”
The always kind Rubiana answered coldly.
Dia watched her younger sister with surprised eyes.
“What kind of books do you like?”
“I'm reading novels these days.”
“Can you explain what they are about?”
“It's about a Crown Prince and a noble lady falling in love, but the Crown Prince betrays the noble lady and marries a princess from another country. So, the noble lady takes revenge.”
Rubiana explained firmly, looking straight at the Crown Prince with piercing eyes.
At that, Dia and Garnet looked at Rubiana with bewildered faces.
Her imaginative younger sister seemed to have superimposed the Crown Prince in the novel onto the Crown Prince in front of her.
No wonder Rubiana seemed so determined.
“Hahaha.”
Alecpet burst into laughter.
In the letter, Dia had pointed out Rubiana as the sister who would be most favorable to him, but she wondered what was going on because the way she looked at him was unusual.
“Rubiana. I will be different from that Crown Prince, so don't worry.”
“How can I believe that?”
Rubiana narrowed her eyes suspiciously and asked.
Garnet was startled and poked Rubiana in the side.
“That hurts, sister.”
“Stop it.”
“I have to protect our eldest sister. What if our eldest sister is betrayed?”
“Could you not use your imagination in such a place?”
Garnet rebuked her in a low voice, watching the Crown Prince's reaction.
“Why are you like that, sister? Who was originally the most wary person?”
“What about me?”
“You fell for the first female knight thing.”
“That's……”
Garnet, who was hit in the bullseye by Rubiana, lost her words for the first time in a while.
At that moment, Dia, who had been watching the two, called Rubiana in a gentle voice.
“Ruby.”
Rubiana carefully watched Dia's reaction. She couldn't easily defy her eldest sister.
“Did the noble lady in that novel succeed in her revenge?”
“Yes.”
“If His Highness the Crown Prince betrays me, I will take even more revenge than the heroine in that novel, so will you trust your sister?”
“I trust you, sister.”
Alecpet's eyes trembled at the two's conversation. To openly declare revenge in front of him like this.
From the day they first met, and with Dia's unusually strong appearance that he occasionally saw, he felt embarrassed and his heart fluttered.
Does he like strong women?
Alecpet chuckled and slightly turned his head, making eye contact with Peridot.
“Peridot.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Impressive.”
“Thank you.”
Peridot answered with a proud face.
In fact, all of this conversation had been taught to him by Dia in advance.
Alecpet asked Dia with a face asking if he did well, and Dia smiled sweetly and nodded.
\ \ *
Marin and Dia were contemplating for a long time, looking down at the dozens of invitations placed on the table.
It had only been three days since they arrived in the capital, but invitations were flying in almost every day.
“I don't think we can avoid them all.”
“I agree.”
Dia also stared at the invitations with a slightly tired face.
“We have to go to a few places for Dia's sake.”
Dia would remain in the capital after the wedding. Even if she started building social connections now, there wouldn't be enough time.
“I know, but I don't want to go.”
It was then that Dia sighed softly and revealed her honest feelings.
Knock, knock.
As Elmis opened the door at the knock, Idre stood in front of the door with an anxious face.
Marin found Idre and was about to happily tell her to come in, but Idre was one step ahead.
“Lady Marin!”
Her eyes, exhausted from continuous work, held a strange madness.
“Designer, what's wrong?”
“I need Yuria!”
Idre stretched out both hands forward as if pleading. Her shining eyes revealed her obsession with Yuria.
She had heard that Yuria's fingertips were skillful, so she had worked with her while coming to the capital. Yuria was really good at her job and had plenty of ideas.
However, after arriving in the capital, Yuria's help had ended because she had to stay by Marin and the Viscountess's side.
Marin, who had guessed the situation, looked at Yuria.
“What do you want to do, Yuria?”
Yuria lowered her head, looking helpless.
Making dresses was fun, but her duty was to be a maid.
Attending to the Viscountess and Lady Marin should be her top priority, but was it okay to be absorbed in something fun?
Marin guessed Yuria's feelings when she saw that she couldn't answer right away.
“Yuria. Elmis is here for me, and my mother has other maids, so don't worry.”
“…Then I'll help a little.”
“Yuria, you can take a break from maid duties until the work is finished. Actually, the wedding dress is more urgent.”
As Marin drove the wedge in, Yuria nodded with a determined face.
“Yes. I will do that.”
Idre grabbed Yuria's hand tightly, afraid that she might change her mind.
“Good, Yuria. Let's go on a journey to hell together— I mean, a pleasant journey.”
Idre awkwardly changed her words, but Yuria, who had already experienced Idre's Spartan work style in the carriage, smiled.
“Yes.”
Idre, who was about to go back to work, stopped when she saw the invitations on the table.
“Um……. You two, have you heard any rumors about Lady Adria?”
Where had her initial forcefulness gone? Idre hesitated and spoke.
“What rumors?”
Marin asked with a curious face.
Dia had only met the Crown Prince after arriving in the capital.
On the other hand, she had heard that Idre had visited dress shops and famous jewelers to find out about the trends in the capital.
“It's a bit difficult for me to say it myself…… but I thought it would be better than being caught off guard.”
Idre hesitated and pointed to the invitation with her finger.
“There's a rumor going around that the wedding of His Highness the Crown Prince and Lady Adria was suddenly arranged because a new life was conceived…….”
Marin widened her eyes in surprise, and Dia blushed and picked up her teacup.
“Such nonsense is going around?”
“Besides that, there are many rumors floating around, such as His Highness the Crown Prince having an incurable disease and rushing the wedding.”
Marin looked at Dia with a hardened face for a moment and said to Idre.
“Thank you for telling me. It was a great help.”
“Yes. Then I'll go back to work. Yuria, let's go.”
“I'll be back. Lady.”
“Okay. Good work.”
Idre quickly dragged Yuria away and disappeared.
As the two left in an instant, Marin and Dia made eye contact.
“I think we need to decide quickly?”
“I agree. We can't keep getting such misunderstandings.”
Dia, still with a red face, nodded while fanning herself.
With enthusiastic faces, the two read the invitations one by one, looking for invitations that would be helpful.
