Chapter 4

At my answer, Linus broke into a bright smile, showing his neatly aligned upper teeth, and seeing that, I felt like if he threw a ball, I might just fetch it for him.

Still smiling, Linus asked again.

“How about tomorrow?”

“Sounds good!”

I replied with a wide smile, and Linus showed another refreshing grin.

When we first got sucked into the dungeon, I thought this life was ruined too, but… isn’t this actually pretty good?

I even gained a honey-faced walking companion.

Just as I felt relieved and took a step toward the gate, Linus grabbed my arm.

“Ayrbet, if this is the same thing we were pulled into earlier, it may be dangerous to enter as we are.”

“What part is dangerous?”

“This thing… it was floating in the air. If we fall, we may get hurt.”

As Linus said, the gate had formed above our heads.

Judging from the memory of getting pulled in during the energy backlash, it had been about five or six meters above the ground. That height was dangerous for a normal person, even if an awakened one would be fine.

Since I couldn’t exactly say I’m an awakened person so it’s fine, I simply stared at Linus’s face. He then extended his hand.

“If you don’t mind, allow me to assist you.”

I only understood what he meant after I took his hand.

Linus lifted me into his arms and stepped toward the gate.

“Hold on tight.”

As I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck, he leaped toward the gate without a moment’s hesitation.

It happened so quickly I didn’t even have time to tell him he was the one in danger.

The next moment, a cloudless blue sky spread out before my eyes, and Linus landed safely while holding me.

My walking partner had exceptional athletic ability.

Linus gently set me down and even bent to straighten the wrinkled hem of my dress.

My walking partner’s manners were as exceptional as his athleticism.

When I lifted my head to look at the sky, the gate that had spat us out was already gone without a trace.

The talking chubby cat I’d met before getting sucked in had also long vanished.

Under the warm spring sunlight, the Butterfly Garden looked peaceful, making everything that had just happened feel like a dream.

I truly wished it had all been a ridiculous dream.

I pinched my cheek just in case, but the sharp sting made me sigh.

I turned gloomily to Linus and said,

“Let’s go back. I’ve been gone too long.”

“That would be best.”

Linus said he also had someone he was supposed to meet and quickened his pace.

We walked briskly back toward the center of the garden where the tea party had been held.

Judging from the atmosphere, the announcement of Heide and Larienne’s engagement must have already finished. People were preparing to leave, and the area felt a bit chaotic.

I searched for Rene and Christine, who had been at the same table as me, when Father spotted me and approached.

“Ayrbet, where have you been?”

“Father.”

“I searched everywhere. A child in frail condition shouldn’t wander around without saying a word.”

His voice was blunt and scolding, but his violet eyes, the same color as mine, were filled with unmistakable concern.

My father, Duke Lloyd Titanoa.

A stalwart supporter of Crown Prince Heide, and a character who appeared several times in the novel.

There had been no mention of him having a daughter trapped in a coma, but well, that daughter was me now.

It was said that Lloyd had used magical power to hold on to the life of the daughter everyone had told him to let go of.

And he did so for over ten years.

Though the novel portrayed him as a cold, stern figure, he couldn’t have done something like that without deep affection for his daughter.

He simply didn’t know how to interact with a child who woke up after ten years, so he was awkward.
And honestly, I was just as awkward about having a father, so we were a pair of strangers bound by blood.

“I just took a short walk. I’m sorry.”

I chose a brief apology instead of a long explanation.

I couldn’t exactly say I went to a dungeon.

Lloyd frowned at my inadequate answer, but Linus stepped forward.

“I am the one who kept her. Ayrbet merely showed me around the garden.”

I worried he might tell the truth, but my exceptional walking partner also possessed exceptional tact.

Linus offered a perfectly plausible excuse and even gave me a small wink that only I could see.

When I smiled in appreciation of his thoughtfulness, Father’s frown deepened.

He looked Linus up and down, clearly displeased with him suddenly addressing his daughter by name, and asked,

“Who are you?”

“Please forgive my discourtesy. I am Linus Piction.”

“Linus… Piction?”

Come to think of it, this was the first time I had heard Linus’s full name.

Since it was unfamiliar, I naturally assumed he was just a background character… but Father’s expression softened noticeably.

“You are the Duke Piction? I heard you had come to Arendel, but I did not expect to meet you like this. I am Lloyd Titanoa. I was very close to your father.”

What?

Linus… was a duke?

He had quite the extraordinary specs for a background character.

And on top of that, he was the son of my father’s old friend.

I looked at Linus with new eyes, and he shook Father’s hand with a poise befitting a duke.

“I will arrange a proper meeting another time. I am busy today, so I must excuse myself.”

Father ended his short conversation with Linus, then turned to me.

And he delivered news I never expected to hear.

“The Crown Prince’s engagement announcement has been canceled. Return home for now.”

“What?”

Canceled?

But that engagement announcement was the very first scene of the novel The Butterfly Garden’s Secret Affair.

A dungeon appeared out of nowhere, and now even the original plot was starting to twist.

* * *

When I returned from my short outing, all of House Titanoa was in chaos.

The maids, who treated me like fragile glassware, fussed over me nonstop, and even our family physician clung to me in concern.

After a thorough examination, the doctor declared that I was perfectly healthy and finally left.

But the maids, and especially Ruby, my exclusive maid, still couldn’t calm down.

“My lady Ayrbet, you must be tired. Why don’t you rest a bit?”

“Ruby, the sun isn’t even down yet. If I sleep now, I won’t sleep at night.”

“Then at least lie down. If you’re bored, shall I bring you a book?”

“I’ll just sleep.”

I pulled the blanket up to my chin and squeezed my eyes shut.

The books Ruby chose were all boring anyway.

She had been working tirelessly lately to help me gain the knowledge and refinement befitting a noble young lady.

They let everything slide for now because I had “slept for ten years,” but apparently I couldn’t live in ignorance forever.

It looked like they were planning to assign me a tutor soon too.
Living a honey-sweet life was not easy.

And now even dungeons were appearing. Just where was my life heading?

Fortunately the dungeon had vanished without incident, but I had almost ended up fighting a monster right in front of Linus.

Ah… Linus.

I gave up pretending to sleep, shot upright, and asked Ruby,

“Ruby, do you know anything about Duke Piction?”

“Duke Piction? The one who passed away recently?”

“No, not him. The new duke. Linus Piction.”

“Oh, you mean that mysterious duke?”

Mysterious? Linus was a honey-faced, honey-hearted gentleman. What was with that weird title?

“Mysterious how?”

“The previous Duke Piction had no official heir. Everything from his death to the succession happened so suddenly that society is full of rumors about the new duke’s true identity.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“Not good ones. Some say he’s an illegitimate son, others say he’s a fake and not the previous duke’s blood at all. There are even rumors that he’s… strange.”

Fake news existed in this world too, apparently.

Strange? In what way was he strange? Linus was practically a romance-fantasy male lead-level perfect man.

If anything was strange, it was the character balance of this world, where someone like him was supposedly just a background character.