Grand Duke, Please Stop Obsessing Over Your Wife! - Chapter 8

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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8.

⟡Chapter 3⟡

Moonlight Ball

Before long, the day of the Emperor’s birthday banquet had arrived.

It was an Imperial Court event held after several months.

On top of that, there was news that both the Crown Prince and Annelize, the talk of high society, would be attending simultaneously.

Nobles excited about the long-awaited banquet filled the ballroom to capacity.

Annelize quickly entered during the early evening when there were few people and tucked herself away in a corner behind a pillar.

‘I’ll kill time here until the appointment and disappear before the Crown Prince arrives.’

She couldn’t be more grateful that the Imperial Family entered later than the nobles.

Annelize let the nobles’ murmuring go in one ear and out the other.

“Look over there. It’s Count Solariccen’s daughter.”

“She was said to be ill, but she looks healthier than before.”

Thank you. It was thanks to regularly sunbathing and photosynthesizing while at the manor, following the Duke’s advice.

She thought things would pass quietly like this, but occasionally people with initiative would appear.

It was when Annelize was re-reading the script for her presentation titled 【Marriage Proposal – For the Prosperity of the North】 that she had prepared all night.

“Oh my, Count Solariccen’s daughter. You came to the banquet too?”

It was one of the young ladies who had sent her tea party invitations.

Ah. I’m busy thinking about how to appeal my advantages as a spouse to the Duke.

Still, Annelize greeted her appropriately according to etiquette.

The young lady fluttered her fan while glaring at Annelize.

“I was truly shocked when I heard the news. I came because I was worried about Count Solariccen’s daughter.”

How kind of you.

Of course, naturally, she hadn’t really come out of worry.

“To refuse the Crown Prince. I thought your eyes must be set above the heavens. Of course, his personality is a bit peculiar! But where in the Empire could you find a better marriage prospect than His Highness the Crown Prince?”

I’ve heard this kind of talk about five times since earlier.

Instead of answering, Annelize pulled out a paper from under her report.

When she slyly slipped the paper into the young lady’s side with a smiling face, she became flustered.

“What is this?”

Annelize whispered secretively.

“If he’s such a good marriage prospect, how about you try to have him?”

“Pardon?”

The paper Annelize showed contained everything about Crown Prince Robert.

What his hobbies were, what food he liked, where he usually appeared, and so on.

“I’m only giving this to you. I stupidly threw away that good marriage prospect, but I think you could have him.”

“Me?”

“I believe in you. I wish you luck.”

“Thank you? I’ll try my best?”

She accepted the paper with a bewildered expression.

As she carefully read through the paper, her eyes gradually filled with emotion.

“My goodness. How very thoughtful.”

When did she stop glaring? Now her face was full of favor.

“So as not to shame Count Solariccen’s daughter’s advice, I’ll really try my best!”

The young lady bowed her head and hurriedly walked toward the place Annelize had told her about.

Problem solved.

Using this method, she had defeated a total of six noble young ladies today.

‘Why do they keep picking fights with me over the Crown Prince? If they’re so jealous, it would be more productive to make an effort to catch the Crown Prince’s eye instead of wasting time picking fights.’

So she helped them engage in productive activities.

‘Please, bother the Crown Prince for as long as possible.’

Annelize sincerely wished for the young ladies’ success.

A moment later, another person approached Annelize.

Annelize, who was about to pull out her seventh paper, relaxed when she confirmed who it was.

“Miss Annelize. I bring word from Her Highness the Princess.”

The ‘Crown Prince’s close associate’ she had mentioned to Anna Rose was actually Princess Rosellia.

The Princess’s maid quietly delivered the Princess’s note and disappeared.

Annelize hid behind the pillar, avoiding other people’s eyes, and unfolded the note.

Annelize. Be careful. It seems my brother is preparing a public proposal at the birthday banquet.

Oh, I received the freesia bouquet you sent well. I’ll definitely deliver it to Mother. Did you grow them yourself? The fragrance is very strong, so Mother will like it too.

She clicked her tongue while reading the contents of the note.

I knew this would happen.

‘A public proposal. Just hearing about it sounds terrible.’

It was fortunate that she had asked Princess Rosellia for cooperation in advance.

This afternoon, before the banquet began, Annelize had gone to see the Princess.

Even aside from Crown Prince matters, she and the Princess had been acquainted for some time.

Despite being born and raised under the same parents, Princess Rosellia was clever and thoughtful, unlike the Crown Prince.

The Princess, who had greeted Annelize with a smiling face, soon became serious after hearing her proposal.

[What? You’re going to propose to Duke Aperhis today? Annelize. Don’t misunderstand and listen. Are you… having a very hard time lately?]

[No. I’m perfectly fine.]

Even though she said she was okay, the Princess didn’t seem to believe her at all.

[Marriage to the Duke? No matter how difficult things are, you can’t make such an extreme choice.]

[Is it that serious?]

[Annelize. I’ve seen that man’s face. That… wasn’t a human face.]

‘The Princess’s reaction must be how ordinary people react, right?’

Rather, such an extreme reaction made her even more curious about the Duke’s face.

[It was terrible. It was unbearable to look at, really ugly.]

[Ah, I understand. Your Highness. I get it, so please calm down for now!]

She was so disgusted. It was quite difficult to soothe her.

[Don’t tell me you’re trying to sacrifice yourself instead of me because you’re worried the Duke might be angry about that day? Why are you so kind? So just accept my brother’s proposal…]

She seemed to have some misunderstanding, but it was complicated to explain, so she left it alone.

‘Anyway, Her Highness said she would do her best to stop the Crown Prince, so isn’t that good?’

Annelize ended her brief recollection and straightened her attire.

It was time to leave.

The corridor of the North Tower, the meeting place, required a bit of walking from the banquet hall.

‘I know the North Tower hasn’t been used for a long time.’

Though it received ceremonial maintenance, the corridor of the tower with no permanent staff created an eerie atmosphere.

When she reached the stairs connecting the banquet hall building and the North Tower.

She heard footsteps following the path she had walked.

‘Who is it?’

Annelize quickly hid in the empty space below the stairs.

The one who had followed her with urgent steps was the Crown Prince.

“Annelize? I definitely saw her back going this way…”

Her face automatically crumpled upon hearing his muttering.

‘Even with the Princess and other young ladies attached to him, he stubbornly broke free.’

It’s supposed to be his mother’s birthday banquet, but is this the time to chase after a woman’s back!

What an unfilial son.

‘As expected, that guy doesn’t suit being Emperor. Anna Rose needs to hurry up and bring the Third Prince.’

She waited for him to leave, but the Crown Prince was persistent.

He went up and down the stairs, looking around, and finally walked near where Annelize was hiding.

It happened to be a dead end. There was nowhere to escape.

‘The place where the young lady who received my note earlier was going was the Imperial Palace Gardens. I need to somehow lure him there.’

Annelize tried to go outside while holding back a sigh.

Just as her body was about to step out.

Her mouth was covered.

She felt an arm firmly wrapped around her waist.

“Shh.”

Someone whispered in Annelize’s ear.

* * *

On a night when the ball was in full swing at the Imperial Palace.

A man dressed in black secretly entered the Imperial Palace building.

It was where Kukseo, the current Emperor’s husband, resided.

“Count Solariccen seems to be holed up in his estate for the time being, using poor health as an excuse. Only the Count’s two daughters are in the capital.”

“We’re a step too late.”

The mercenary’s report was disappointing.

Kukseo, Ramiere Hildegard, frowned.

The plan to summon him to the capital and keep him there as long as possible had gone awry.

“He’s someone who rarely comes to the capital anyway since his leg injury. This has become troublesome. Tsk.”

To summon the Count with a plausible justification, they had no choice but to wait for the next opportunity.

Ever since Annelize Solariccen rejected the Crown Prince’s proposal, Ramiere had been in a bad mood.

‘It should have proceeded according to plan. Why did she refuse?’

Wasn’t she just gentle and obedient in nature?

Who would have thought she had the audacity to reject the Crown Prince’s proposal.

‘She showed no signs of it at all, so there was no time to respond.’

Where did things go wrong?

Thanks to that, they wasted more time than expected revising the plan.

‘Especially during this busy period with the Third Prince’s affairs.’

The mercenary who was kneeling and waiting for orders asked a question.

“What should we do about the Duke? Should we try to obtain other treasures to win over the Duke?”

“Forget it. Since the Duke refused to deal with the Imperial Family, he’s useless now.”

They had arranged the marriage with his daughter because he would be a great help if he became an ally.

But as expected, the Duke was not an easy opponent. Ramiere swallowed his disappointment.

“As rumored, he really has no interest in the opposite sex. Tell him to stay holed up in the North. He can remain as he is now, neither ally nor enemy.”

The Duke had never once interfered in the Empire’s politics until now.

‘So he won’t side with the Third Prince either.’

“He’s probably returning to the North by now. There’s no reason for him to stay in the capital any longer.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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