I Never Wanted His Child - Chapter 102
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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Princess Verne blushed. She had thought the Duke might be a prince from a fairy tale when she first saw him.
He was more impressive than she had imagined.
From the moment she saw Mikhail, Adrian barely registered in her sight. Despite his cold gaze, Mikhail’s appearance was striking. His mere presence exuded dignity.
“What brings you to this part of town?”
“I needed something for the wedding, so I stopped by briefly.”
“Surely the royal household has already prepared everything you need.”
Adrian’s gaze drifted to the store Mikhail had just exited.
He soon noticed a box in Mikhail’s hand marked ‘Delan.’
“Oh, it looks like a wedding ring from Delan! Your wife will surely love it,” Princess Verne said, clapping her hands.
The jewelry shop Delan was well-known even outside the Bartsch Kingdom.
“Is that so.”
“I hope you picked a beautiful ring. It must be custom-made, right? I’ve heard that men from the Bartsch Kingdom have excellent taste. Men from Eponsen just buy any ring, calling it extravagant. Not only that, they wouldn’t hesitate to sloppily fit it on the fourth finger.”
Princess Verne shook her head as if annoyed, then realized both men were looking at her and blushed.
“Oh, I’ve spoken too much. It must be the romance of Bartsch getting to me. I hope you gentlemen understand.”
“Please, don’t apologize. I’m here to fulfill your romantic ideals,” Adrian responded.
Princess Verne laughed cheerfully.
“It suits you well. I look forward to a perfect spring in Bartsch.”
“You are very kind.”
“Then I’ll look forward to our next meeting.”
As Princess Verne spoke, Mikhail smiled lightly and was about to leave.
“Just in time. Duke, since I’m here, would you help me choose a gift accessory for the princess?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have much of an eye for such things.”
“There’s no need for formalities. It’s actually good timing that I ran into you here because I was about to go to the ducal residence; I had something to discuss.”
“I wouldn’t want to interrupt your outing. I’ll schedule an appointment and visit the palace later.”
“That would be preferable, Your Majesty. While I do enjoy our conversations, Duke, I would rather not have it interrupted today.”
“See you at the wedding.”
Mikhail promptly bid farewell and climbed into his carriage.
* * *
Once inside the carriage, he placed the box he was carrying on the seat beside him.
“I think I understand why that old fox brought the Princess of Eponsen.”
Adrian had not lost interest in Emilia, so she had played her hand.
“But was the Eponsen princess’s hair red?”
He decided he would need to find out more about the Princess of Eponsen as soon as he returned to the ducal residence.
Back at his office, Mikhail placed the box containing the wedding ring on his desk and took off his jacket. He rolled up his sleeves while browsing the books in his study. While he had books about Valoh and Bartsch, there were none on Eponsen.
He knew vaguely about its culture and etiquette but not much about its royal family. His interest had always been focused solely on Bartsch.
“This leaves a bad taste.”
It should have been a trivial matter, yet it was irksomely persistent in his mind.
Even the sight of her blushing, resembling that woman… it couldn’t be. That’s why it felt so peculiar.
“Damn it.”
Mikhail exhaled a frustrated sigh.
He couldn’t shake it off. The image of Adrian standing next to the princess overlapped with the times he saw him with Emilia at the ducal residence.
‘Damn it all.’
Mikhail wished he could peer into Lady Luther’s mind.
It was an obvious move, after all. Seeing the princess would remind everyone of Emilia.
At least, that was Mikhail’s impression after seeing the princess.
Even the princess herself would likely think the same if she met Emilia.
There was the possibility that Adrian had intentionally brought the princess to town to spark an absurd scandal.
Yet, such a scandal would be mere happenstance. Adrian had no apparent reason to orchestrate it deliberately.
Still, Adrian was not one to dance to Lady Luther’s tune so predictably. He wasn’t without his own schemes.
After all, apart from having similar hair and eye colors, the princess and Emilia didn’t look exactly alike.
Most likely, Adrian had merely used the princess as a pretext to leave the castle.
“Kartho, can you get a portrait of the Princess of Eponsen?”
“I’ll see what can be done. It shouldn’t take long.”
“The sooner, the better.”
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m hoping my suspicions are wrong.”
Mikhail ran his fingers through his hair.
“And that woman?”
“The Madam tried on her wedding dress and then went to the library.”
“The library?”
Mikhail straightened his attire and ran his hand through his hair.
“Make sure no one comes in.”
“Understood.”
With that, he promptly made his way to the library.
