126. In the Carriage

‘Who was the crown prince’s bride again?’

The carriage had finished its long journey and was entering the capital, heading toward the Grand Duke’s townhouse.

‘First of all, it definitely won’t be Caitlyn. I’m pretty sure the crown prince had a bride in the original story……’

The people who possessed characters in romance fantasies that I’ve read seemed to remember even the names of passing extra supporting characters. They must all have been extraordinarily gifted with memory.

Now that I’ve come this far, I can’t even clearly remember whether the crown prince in this novel had a bride or not.

Well, since the female protagonist has disappeared, it wouldn’t be strange if the crown prince’s bride isn’t determined according to the original story.

“What are you doing?”

Darius, sitting in the seat across from me in the carriage, asked. His low, husky voice sounded sexy.

Throughout the carriage journey to the capital, Darius had been sitting properly despite the long trip, but now he had his arms firmly crossed and was slightly slouched. Of course, that was entirely my fault.

“I was thinking about who might become the crown prince’s bride.”

“You’re thinking about that while playing such games?”

The tip of my foot, without shoes, was climbing up Darius’s ankle. When he subtly warned me not to play around, I smiled innocently as if I knew nothing, causing his eyebrows to rise.

Tap, tap. Each time I touched him with my toes from across the carriage, my skirt hem rolled up along my raised leg.

“My legs felt numb from sitting in the carriage for too long?”

My foot, which had diligently climbed up Darius’s leg, now rested on his knee. My slender leg, hidden under stockings, brushed against his knee and thigh.

In the past, Darius would have seduced me, and I would have nagged him about what he was doing in the carriage.

The fire of passion finally ignited in his black eyes, which had been precariously maintaining their composure, making his chest grow hot.

As I tried to withdraw my foot, he quickly caught it and lifted it up, slowly bending his head toward my ankle.

That brief moment when his black hair spilled over my ankle felt like an eternity.

The breath I felt through the thin fabric was ticklish. Just as I was anticipating an even more thrilling sensation…

“Neeeigh!”

Without warning, the carriage came to a halt.

I swear it wasn’t my intention to kick Darius squarely as he had his lips buried against my calf.

“Ugh.”

“Eek! Darius! A-are you okay?”

It was Newton, no—the law of action and reaction that ruined the mood.

Uncle Newton, you’re not even from this world, why are you doing this to me?

* * *

“I’m so sorry!”

The coachman who had been driving our carriage dismounted after the sudden stop and repeatedly bowed in apology.

“You’ve been driving the Grand Duke’s carriage for more than a year or two, why did you suddenly do that?”

Darius asked the coachman, appearing outwardly unaffected.

I rubbed Darius’s chest where I had kicked him and looked at him with teary eyes.

It must hurt, right? Even if he’s pretending to be fine, it must really hurt.

I couldn’t possibly admit that we were getting caught up in the mood, failing to maintain public decency in broad daylight, especially inside a moving carriage.

If someone asked why the Grand Duke was rubbing his chest when the carriage suddenly stopped, I would have no explanation.

“Oh my…… Madam must have been so startled she can’t even lift her head. I’m truly sorry. Actually, someone ran in front of the carriage.”

Soldiers were already controlling the road as the Grand Duke’s carriage passed through? Indeed, there are brave souls who jaywalk in a hurry everywhere.

“It wasn’t close enough to hit them, so we didn’t need to stop…… But the face I glimpsed looked familiar. I thought…… it was someone I knew, so I was too surprised.”

The coachman continued speaking incoherently, seemingly flustered. He sighed heavily as he explained, insisting he couldn’t have been mistaken.

“That was definitely Boyer’s Ann.”

Boyer, Inkheart’s most skilled blacksmith. I had thought his lost daughter was one of Lady Ygret’s victims. What’s going on here……?

* * *

〈Young people are naturally drawn to glamour and comfort, aren’t they? A few months ago, when a traveling theater troupe came here, something came over Ann and she had a huge fight with her father about leaving the North for the capital. And after that, Ann disappeared.〉

After arriving at the townhouse and unloading our luggage, I was still troubled by what had happened earlier.

We couldn’t just stay there searching for the person, so we had moved on. We had sent people to search the area based on the coachman’s description.

The Grand Duke Inkheart’s townhouse in the capital, purchased when Inkheart was wealthy, had spacious grounds.

There was a hall large enough to host a small ball, and the central staircase descending from the second floor was as elegant as those seen in movies or dramas. Even the furniture was uniformly antique.

At this point, it was surprising that Inkheart, which had been struggling financially, hadn’t sold this townhouse.

Caitlyn came down the stairs, gripping the elegant second-floor railing with her head held high. She was acting as if this townhouse belonged to her.

“Hmm, at least the townhouse is decent. I guess Inkheart, being a Grand Duke’s family, built something respectable in the capital? Even though their castle was completely shabby.”

“Why are you here instead of at your own townhouse?”

“Since you promised to help me, of course I should stay here!”

“What I promised was to file the marriage registration as quickly as possible so that the Pochet family name could be listed on the Golden Plate, not to feed and house you. Now that we’re in the capital, go to your own home. The Pochet family must have a townhouse too, right?”

“This is outrageous. Where in the world would you find a protégé separated from their patron?”

Caitlyn’s face reddened as she firmly expressed her intention to stick around.

While at Castle Inkheart, she had complained endlessly about the castle being old and drafty. It seemed that even to Caitlyn’s eyes, this townhouse was far better than that of the Pochet family.

Since I had promised to help her become the crown prince’s bride, giving her a room wasn’t difficult, but I didn’t like how she had entered without the owner’s permission and chosen her room as she pleased.

“Get your things out.”

“Hey!”

“You don’t want to? Then obediently follow my words. Apple! Choose the smallest guest room and give it to Caitlyn. You, if you complain about it being cold or hearing wind noises this time, I’ll kick you straight out to your townhouse, understand?”

“Yes, Madam.”

“With so many rooms, how petty! Since the couple will share a room anyway, shouldn’t I get at least the second largest room?”

“Did you pick my room? Haah. Apple, I’ll feel uncomfortable if I find any trace of her when I enter, so please sweep and clean thoroughly until I go in.”

Caitlyn wasn’t wrong that Darius and I would use the largest room, but I deliberately criticized her because I disliked seeing her shamelessly coveting the second largest room in the house.

“Hey, are you ignoring me? Don’t walk away! Heeey!”

I passed by the constantly complaining Caitlyn and went to Darius’s room.

Darius, staying in the largest room on the second floor, was opening the window and looking at the residential area. He smiled refreshingly as he faced the incoming breeze.

“Ah, Anette.”

I felt my irritation from Caitlyn subsiding as soon as I saw Darius’s face. Love is truly great. I silently embraced his neck.

Darius talked about how we would spend our time now that we were in the capital, such as when to file our marriage registration and which balls to attend to introduce ourselves as a couple.

I enjoyed hearing about our future in his voice.

“What’s wrong?”

As I was just quietly nodding, Darius asked again, perhaps thinking I wasn’t interested in these matters.

“Is there something you don’t like?”

How could I not like it? I like everything about you.

“I just love Darius’s voice, so I was just listening.”

Darius smiled.

Then, he continued talking in the voice I loved.

I liked how he spoke to me in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, with a rhythmic cadence, and I liked how he noticed my childish behavior and comforted me.

When Darius’s hand, which had been touching my head, was about to leave, I whined for him to stay with me.

“Hmm.”

When I firmly held his arm to prevent it from leaving me and looked up at him, he smiled awkwardly.

He pressed his body against mine and whispered in my ear.

“I want to touch you more than this.”

His voice sounded mischievous as he asked when we could continue what we had started in the carriage earlier.

My ears, which had been still, turned bright red as if they had been bitten.

The bed was right behind us.

* * *

Morning dawned. As he tried to put stockings on me, I quietly watched and then raised my foot to tickle him. He playfully made a “tsk” sound.

“Stay still.”

“No.”

My foot, which had brushed his chest, pressed against his shoulder and soon found its place beside his neck. I could feel his heart pounding beneath my foot that wrapped around his neck. I stuck out my tongue and licked my lips.

“Thinking about what happened yesterday.”

My foot pushed him without warning. He fell onto the rug with wide eyes. It resembled the position when I had accidentally kicked him when the carriage suddenly stopped.

The foot that had pushed him stayed pressed against his shoulder as I leaned forward. Grabbing his collar, I urgently pressed my lips to his.

“I realized I regret not finishing what we started in the carriage last night.”

I wonder if he understood what I said between the busy collision of hot lips.

He embraced my waist with practiced ease. His movements were natural as he got up from the rug and took me back to the bed.

“Who was it that pushed me away earlier, saying we had a lot to do today and needed to exercise restraint?”

“We can do it tomorrow.”

Even I thought so.

Morning sunlight streamed through the drawn curtains.

* * *

Enjoying carnal pleasures until the deep night, then emerging from bed late the following afternoon—truly a noble’s schedule.

I used to not understand people who lived like this, but after experiencing it firsthand, it was quite satisfying. Both Darius’s and my faces were filled with the joy and afterglow of sufficient rest.

The maids, without being instructed, had perceptively prepared bath water.

After drying off and getting dressed, I headed to the reception room where Darius was waiting for me.

“Let’s go to the dress shop first. On our way here, I saw many dress designs in the capital that would suit you.”

“Oh my, are we going to a dress shop? I want to go too!”

Caitlyn, who had come down to the living room as late as we had, brightened at those words.