2674-chapter-19
Chapter 19
‘Am I seeing this wrong right now?’
Astonishingly, the owner of that laughter was Heinox.
As though he’d just heard something genuinely amusing, he was openly laughing out loud.
“Why are you laughing…?”
I asked in bewilderment, and Heinox replied with lingering amusement still on his face.
“Because it’s absurd hearing my daughter demand workplace negligence.”
“I-I didn’t mean it exactly like that….”
Embarrassment hit me belatedly, and I awkwardly scratched my head.
Meanwhile, Heinox slowly composed his smile, his blue eyes gleaming.
“There’s somewhere I absolutely have to go today.”
‘Was he overworking himself because he had to finish everything before being gone for a day? Just where is he going?’
“Where are you going?”
When I asked with wide eyes, Heinox curled the corner of his lips slightly.
“The Imperial Palace.”
“Ah….”
The moment he mentioned the Imperial Palace, unpleasant memories resurfaced, and I instinctively shut my mouth.
“T-Then please travel safely.”
“Would you like to come with me?”
“Huh? Me?!”
Startled, my shoulders jerked upward, while Heinox calmly looked at me.
“Why would I go there…?”
“If you don’t want to, then you don’t have to.”
‘He says things so casually that now I’m curious why he even invited me.’
My first impression of the Imperial Palace wasn’t exactly good.
I still vividly remembered the hostility I’d felt at the imperial banquet hall during my first visit.
And that place certainly couldn’t be pleasant for Heinox either.
‘Still… if he’s going there anyway, I kind of want to know why.’
Curiosity slowly surfaced, and I cautiously asked,
“Why… are you going there?”
Heinox stared quietly at me before propping his chin on one hand and speaking lazily.
“There’s something I need to warn them about.”
‘Warn them?’
Surely he didn’t mean the Emperor himself? No matter how powerful Heinox was as head of House Tanzeric, wasn’t that a bit extreme?
Unsure how to react, I merely rolled my eyes around nervously.
Seeing that, Heinox smiled faintly.
“I can practically see every thought running through your head.”
“Ah!”
I immediately lowered my gaze in alarm.
‘His instincts are ridiculously sharp.’
While I grumbled inwardly, Heinox continued,
“Just think of it as advice.”
‘Advice, my foot.’
With that terrifying expression, there was no way he intended to merely offer “advice.”
‘There’s definitely another reason….’
“So? Will you come? If it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to—”
“I’ll go.”
One of Heinox’s brows twitched slightly at my quick answer.
“There’s no need to force yourself.”
“No! I want to go.”
‘Who knows what kind of threat disguised as a warning he’s planning to throw at the Emperor this time. He’s already being watched enough as it is.’
After boldly blurting out my answer, I tried recalling whether anything important happened in the original story whenever Heinox visited the Imperial Palace.
The palace in the original story had been incredibly luxurious, extravagant, and…
‘The library! The Imperial Library!’
One of the most important things I needed to do in the future was uncover the secrets of the Temple.
Because of that, I’d been trying to think of ways to learn more about the goddess and the Temple, but no clear method had come to mind.
The Imperial Library supposedly contained every book in existence.
Which meant even books impossible to obtain anywhere else in the empire would be gathered there.
And among them, there had to be books related to the empire’s goddess.
That thought had come to me during one of Dikal’s lessons.
During our lesson on imperial history, while learning about the empire’s founding and the descent of the goddess, I’d suddenly asked:
“Where can I read books about the Goddess?”
“There are many rumors regarding Goddess Artana, but almost no factual records. The only properly documented source is a single book written by the First Emperor, Mateusmus, during the time of her descent. Even that book is stored inside the Imperial Library, so ordinary people cannot access it.”
This might be my chance.
A chance to read that book!
“Please take me with you.”
Heinox studied me with unreadable eyes for a moment before eventually nodding.
“Very well.”
“We’re leaving today? When?”
“Now that I think about it, it’s probably too late today.”
Heinox glanced outside the window.
“It would be better to depart early tomorrow.”
Just as he said, the sun was already beginning to set outside.
Even if we departed now, we’d surely arrive deep into the night.
“Okaaay. Then we’re going tomorrow?”
As I stopped swinging my dangling legs while trying to climb down from the sofa, Heinox—still staring out the window—quietly called my name.
“Roxina.”
“Yes?”
“……Never mind.”
‘What was that?’
Tilting my head at Heinox, who’d suddenly stopped himself mid-sentence, I climbed down from my seat.
“Then I’ll head out now.”
“Very well.”
Leaving behind Heinox, who still looked lost in thought, I exited the office.
“Young Lady, you’re going to the Imperial Palace today, correct?”
“Mhm.”
After answering Anne while she brushed my hair, I took a bite of a cookie.
“What are you going there for? As far as I know, there’s no banquet scheduled.”
“Mmm, I’m just following the Duke.”
“Just because?”
“Yep.”
While holding up different ribbons against my half-tied hair, Anne murmured,
“There’s still some time left until the festival though….”
“Festival?”
When I asked curiously, Anne smiled softly.
“It’s a festival held in celebration of spring. It takes place in the capital, and I heard it’s quite large.”
“Have you been there too, Anne?”
“No. Unfortunately, I lived in the countryside before coming here, so I’ve never actually visited the capital.”
“Then how do you know about it?”
“Oh, I haven’t gone myself, but my older sister has. She has a lover in the capital. They’re not engaged yet though.”
“Anne, you have a sister?”
That honestly shocked me a little.
Anne was so mature that I’d vaguely assumed she’d have younger siblings instead.
“Yes, I have one older sister. She’s four years older than me.”
‘So she must be around twenty-two.’
Come to think of it, Anne mentioned her sister had a lover.
But how did the daughter of a provincial noble family end up engaged to someone in the capital?
As I furrowed my brows and seriously pondered the issue, Anne laughed quietly.
“You’re wondering how her lover ended up in the capital, right?”
“Mhm….”
Fixing a pale green ribbon into my half-tied hair, Anne explained,
“They met at a debutante ball.”
‘A debutante?’
Most debutantes happened around eighteen or nineteen years old.
Which meant they’d probably been together for over three years now.
‘That’s unexpected.’
Nobles usually married for political reasons.
Especially among insignificant provincial noble families, it wasn’t uncommon for daughters to be married off to wealthy older men.
‘The heroine almost ended up like that too.’
In the original story, there were several shameless older nobles who approached the impoverished heroine and demanded she become their concubine.
‘Though the male lead dealt with them eventually…. Most powerless women had no choice but to marry whoever they were told to.’
Anne’s family was probably similar.
She’d started working for the ducal household at such a young age, which likely meant her noble title existed in name only.
‘Still, if her sister has someone she genuinely loves, isn’t that a good thing? Since they met at a debutante, the other person must be a noble too.’
But unlike my expectations, Anne’s expression darkened slightly.
Confused, I tilted my head, and Anne forced a small smile.
“The problem is… he’s from too high-ranking a family. His family opposes the relationship.”
“Ah….”
That explained why Anne looked troubled despite her sister being in love.
‘So the issue is their difference in status.’
Anne’s sister came from a small provincial viscount family, while the other person belonged to a prestigious noble house in the capital.
‘You don’t even need to see it to know how that story goes.’
His family clearly didn’t approve of Anne’s sister.
Most nobles wanted their children to marry someone beneficial to the family.
“Anne… are you okay?”
Anne waved her hands dismissively.
“What would I have to be upset about? I’m just… worried about my sister.”
“Where is your sister now?”
“She’s currently working for a count’s household in the capital.”
“I see….”
As I looked up while clutching the hem of Anne’s skirt, she returned to her usual warm smile.
“It’s alright, Young Lady. Someday… my sister will probably meet someone better and get married. For now, I’ve decided to simply support her.”
“Mhm….”
When I lowered my head and answered quietly, Anne picked me up.
“Now let’s go, Young Lady! The Duke must be waiting.”
“Mhm.”
I buried my face against Anne’s shoulder as we left the room.
When we reached the first floor, I saw Heinox sitting on a sofa in the reception room, reviewing documents.
‘He’s working again! Again!’
Why was someone who used even tiny moments like this to work pushing himself so hard just to go to the capital?
“Duke.”
‘I told you to slack off a little.’
I called out to him with a displeased expression, and Heinox—previously absorbed in his papers—turned his head.
“You’re here.”
“I told you to laze around.”
I even glared at him disapprovingly.
In response, Heinox handed the documents to Cain and stood up.
“That’s exactly why I’m working now.”
“Huh?”
As I stared at him in disbelief, Heinox took me from Anne’s arms and said,
“As you instructed, I was lazing around, so now I’m only getting to work.”
‘Ah! When did he—’
His movements had been so natural that I was once again reminded this man was the empire’s second most powerful person.
‘Seriously, Dukes aren’t just anyone…. Why is he so smooth about everything?’
Was this effortless skill the reason nobles always became nervous around him?
‘He could probably swindle someone blind right in front of their eyes.’
If Heinox used that experienced silver tongue of his, the other party probably wouldn’t even notice if an entire contract clause got changed.
‘Maybe it’s actually fortunate this person is my father.’
Though honestly, I wasn’t sure whether I should be happy about that or not.
Feeling conflicted, I climbed into the carriage.
‘Still… it’s probably better than being complete strangers.’
“What have you been thinking about this whole time?”
Crossing his arms, Heinox looked at me suspiciously.
“You look like you’re about to say something ridiculous again.”
“I wasn’t thinking anything.”
I blinked innocently like I had during our previous meal.
After quietly studying me for a moment, Heinox placed a hand atop my head.
“Sleep. It’s a long journey.”
“Okaay.”
‘My hair’s going to get ruined.’
I immediately worried about my carefully arranged hairstyle.
‘Anne worked hard on it too….’
When I tried pushing Heinox’s hand away, he simply pressed down more firmly instead.
‘Sorry, Anne.’
I decided to give up.
There was no way this tiny body could overpower Heinox’s hand anyway.
I felt bad thinking about all Anne’s effort, but eventually I cleanly abandoned all hope of preserving my hairstyle.
‘Fine. I’ll just sleep.’
Having woken up early to prepare, my body was already exhausted.
After blinking heavily a few times, I quickly drifted asleep.
“Wake up.”
When I opened my eyes at Heinox’s voice, we had already arrived at the Imperial Palace.
‘We’re here already?!’
I hurriedly looked outside the carriage window.
The sun was high overhead, and standing outside was a familiar face.
“We greet the head of House Tanzeric and the Young Lady.”
The head attendant looked just as polite as before.
‘Even Heinox can’t nitpick this time, right?’
I glanced at Heinox, who had already lifted me into his arms while stepping out of the carriage.
‘Last time, it was so uncomfortable when the head attendant had to apologize over and over.’
This time, things should pass peacefully.
But I had overlooked one very important fact.
Heinox was always someone who exceeded my expectations.
Staring indifferently at the bowing attendant, Heinox finally spoke.
“At least you’re still somewhat useful.”
Good grief.