Me, a Princess? My Lord! - Chapter 47
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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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Chapter 47
Inside the carriage returning to the estate, Deshion silently stared out the window. He pressed his eyelids firmly as a sudden wave of fatigue washed over him.
‘My chest feels stuffy.’
Deshion loosened his cravat and leaned his head against the window. As the cool air from the window seeped into his skin, he felt as though he could breathe a little easier.
How long had he endured? Finally, the carriage passed through the main gate of the Count’s mansion, and the familiar garden scenery filled his view.
That was the moment. Two familiar silhouettes caught the edge of Deshion’s vision.
Two people standing on the steps in front of the building, engaged in conversation.
It was Eloise and Heidi.
“Have you arrived, Master?”
After responding lightly to the butler’s greeting, Deshion’s head slowly turned.
“…”
Where his eyes stopped was Heidi’s profile. The red light of the sunset was painted like watercolor over her marble-white cheeks.
‘It’s been several days since I’ve seen her.’
Even though they lived in the same estate, there had been few opportunities to encounter each other.
Perhaps sensing his gaze, Heidi turned her head. Her eyes widened slightly.
“You’re back.”
“Yes.”
“I heard from the butler. That you were meeting with Princess Anastasia…”
“There wasn’t much conversation.”
“Ah…”
After the brief exchange, an awkward silence settled in. Deshion, who had been standing there blankly for a moment, parted his lips.
“…Then I’ll be going inside now.”
“Yes, please rest.”
The two people exchanged distant greetings and turned away. Heidi toward the garden, Deshion toward the estate.
When her footsteps could barely be heard anymore, Deshion looked back. Heidi’s face, smiling brightly at Eloise, was etched into his eyes.
“…”
At that moment, the words Heidi had spoken several days ago came back to life in his mind.
“Then anyone I want… I could obtain them?”
“If I wanted you? Would you stay by my side too?”
Deshion vividly remembered everything about the moment those words flowed from Heidi’s lips.
The air in that space, the lighting, the fragrance. Heidi’s slightly trembling voice and wavering eyes. Her fingertips gripping her skirt tightly and her pressed lips.
All of it was as clear as if it had happened a minute ago.
It was natural since he had mulled over that moment dozens and hundreds of times.
He had tried not to think about that day’s conversation anymore, but even the attempt not to think about it always brought that moment back to life.
“I’m sorry if my feelings confused you. I’ll be more careful with my conduct from now on.”
When he recalled the sparkle in her eyes that had dimmed at his response and her strangely subdued voice, a corner of his chest throbbed sharply.
To be honest, it wasn’t that he had been completely unaware of Heidi’s feelings.
Her face that would brighten unusually whenever they met.
The laughter she would burst into even at trivial words.
The glances that would follow him around or her odd questions.
‘I thought it was just passing curiosity.’
In fact, Deshion’s thoughts hadn’t changed much even now.
They had spent a lot of time together. They had gone through countless ups and downs together too.
Moreover, he was the person who had provided the things Heidi desperately wanted. He had treated her sick parents, built a new house to replace the old one, and promised enough money to last a lifetime.
From Heidi’s perspective, it might have been natural for her to develop feelings for him. Even if the price had been a gamble dangerous enough to risk her life.
‘Heidi will understand someday too. That I’m not such a good choice.’
It was just a momentary wavering. Like a passing breeze.
Deshion repeated to himself over and over. That just because Heidi was wavering didn’t mean he should lose his center too.
Gritting his teeth, Deshion turned and began walking. The laughter of Heidi and Eloise gradually grew distant.
Entering the estate, he passed by his study unusually and headed straight to his bedroom.
‘Why does my body feel so heavy? My head is throbbing too.’
Was it because he had focused too much on the uncomfortable meeting? Or was his mind disturbed by the matter with Heidi?
Deshion entered the bathroom with a pale complexion.
‘It would be better to go to sleep as quickly as possible. There’s nothing urgent that needs to be handled right away…’
But for some reason, after washing his body with warm water, the headache came rushing back several times stronger. At the sensation of his breathing becoming constricted, Deshion clutched the front of his robe.
“Huff.”
He approached the balcony to get some cooler air.
‘Cold air. I need cold air.’
Staggering.
Barely managing to grip the railing, Deshion repeatedly exhaled and inhaled deeply.
‘…Could it be.’
The tea he had drunk with Anastasia flashed through Deshion’s mind.
‘But Anastasia drank the same thing too?’
However, the suspicion didn’t last long.
It couldn’t last.
“Ah…”
Letting out a short groan, Deshion felt his entire body stiffen and collapsed as he was.
* * *
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of tossing and turning filled the quiet room.
Heidi, who had been turning her body this way and that for quite a while, suddenly sat up.
“Ah, really, why can’t I fall asleep?”
She was strangely wide awake. She usually slept soundly as soon as she lay down anywhere, but this was an odd night.
Leaning her back against the soft pillow, Heidi suddenly recalled a scene from the evening.
The moment she encountered Deshion in the garden.
“…”
His eyes that widened slightly in surprise when their gazes met. Recalling his uncharacteristically hesitant attitude, strength entered her hands as she gripped the blanket tightly.
Since Deshion had gently rejected her feelings, Heidi had been diligently avoiding him.
Hoping alone, jumping to conclusions alone, and being disappointed alone.
She didn’t know how pathetic she must have looked. The shock from his words that he had no heart to love was brief, but embarrassment and shame overwhelmed Heidi.
‘How much did I kick off the blankets.’
If she had to face Deshion’s face every single day, it really would have been difficult.
Fortunately, Count Haizen’s mansion was vast, and Deshion was very busy. Busy enough that she couldn’t even catch a glimpse of his face for days on end.
‘He looked tired.’
The appearance of Deshion she encountered was a little different from usual, when he was always neatly put together.
His disheveled hair and the deepened shadows under his eyes, even his cravat that was messily loosened as if roughly pulled.
What was really annoying was that even that appearance looked somewhat attractive to Heidi’s eyes.
‘My pride is hurt.’
Heidi, who had drawn up her knees, pouted her lips slightly.
‘…But is something wrong?’
The Deshion that Heidi had observed from nearby wasn’t someone who easily showed signs of difficulty. Rather the opposite.
Even when facing major problems, he was always calm and never showed his emotions outwardly.
‘If it’s something that would make such a person so disheveled…’
Thud!
Just then, some dull sound intruded into Heidi’s thoughts.
“What was that sound?”
Did she hear it wrong?
After pondering for a moment, Heidi got up from the bed. Somehow feeling uneasy about ignoring it, she quietly went out to the balcony and looked outside.
“What? There’s nothing there?”
Deflated, Heidi let out a deep sigh. Just as she was about to turn around, thinking she should just go to sleep.
“…What is that? It looks like a person?”
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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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