TLNTAAM Chapter 22

Become My Lover

"True. A mistake I wouldn't have made if Your Grace hadn't come in."

"I didn't think you'd lose your footing!"

"I wouldn't have, if Your Grace hadn't come in."

"I didn't go in there to cause that!"

"Even so, it was because Your Grace insisted on coming in that I was hurt."

The more I pushed with words, the redder the Grand Duke's face got. That's what you get for starting this.

Leo shook his head and contributed cheerfully:

"Correct!"

I looked at him. The way he stood there enjoying this without involving himself was genuinely aggravating.

The Grand Duke muttered, deflated:

"I wanted to confirm the rumors about my brother quickly."

"Then come here like you did today, with a knight, and confirm it."

When I raised my voice, the boy took one step back. Leo stroked his chin and added:

"That's the right answer!"

I looked at Leo again. He really was just enjoying this.

The Grand Duke's face went stricken.

"Do you see me that way, Sir Leo?"

"Because Your Grace is also a man."

Oh, the knight had a surprisingly firm philosophy. Clearly forged through considerable experience.

"No! Trust me! I'm a chosen person!"

Back to square one. I exhaled in pure frustration.

"I've been thinking this from the beginning—what does being a chosen person have to do with walking into my quarters uninvited?"

"I—I mean that I'm royalty!"

"Royalty who walked into my quarters!"

"I am proud to be royalty!"

I thumped my own chest from sheer exasperation. Leo shook his head. Diomede had given up any pretense of working—he had set his documents down and was simply watching now.

I wanted to hit this boy so badly my fingers were trembling with it. That was when the Grand Duke said something unexpected.

"I—I meant that I'll take responsibility!"

What does that mean. Is he saying he'll give me money? I looked at the other two, baffled. They clicked their tongues in unison.

"Good lord..."

"Of all things..."

What was that reaction about?

"You—you are of low birth."

Was my social standing really that low? Was I supposed to feel bad about that?

"I am royalty."

"I know you're royalty, Your Grace—you've been announcing it since you arrived. So what's the point?"

"I cannot marry you."

For a moment I nearly swung a punch. What on earth is he talking about? Why would I marry you?

The fury shot straight to the top of my head. I breathed in as hard as I could. I wanted to flip this entire room over.

'Calm down. Stay calm.'

They say writing the character for patience three times can avert even murder. I clenched my fist. My whole hand was shaking with the force of holding it.

"But I will take responsibility."

So what kind of responsibility. Is he literally going to give me money?

"Become my lover."

A short, humorless laugh came out of me. I felt something like blank white paper fluttering through my head. So that's what they meant—when a person is angry enough, everything just goes white.

"I will give you a manor and lands in my territory. As chosen royalty, I will take responsibility for you to the very end."

I'd heard enough. I turned away from him entirely and addressed Diomede.

"Is there a crime of assaulting royalty here?"

"There is."

Leo cut in with a grin:

"Direct action would be punishable, though?"

I understood immediately. Indirect action, then, would be fine.

"What about the crime of insulting royalty?"

"It hasn't been enforced in a hundred years, but it exists."

"That was also only enforceable for direct action. Probably."

Indirect again, then.

"Thank you, both of you."

I turned back to the Grand Duke. He stood there looking proud of himself, chest out, entirely satisfied with what he'd said.

I shifted my gaze upward. This was a room where books were stacked in mountains. The ones not shelved looked particularly precarious.

"My ankle isn't fully healed yet. It's quite worrying."

The Grand Duke looked at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Like this."

I leapt—a proper running jump, right there in the laboratory. My skirt billowed in a wide circle. I smiled into the resistance of the air.

I landed on my left foot. Not a trace of pain.

"Oh, I can't—keep—my—bal—ance!"

There was something deeply satisfying about delivering each word in separate pieces. I staggered sideways and knocked the books stacked directly above the Grand Duke.

CRASH!

A beautiful sound filled the laboratory. I shifted just enough out of the way to let him take the full impact, all while maintaining the perfect pretense of reaching to cover him.

'Give a little, take a lot!'

A few books clocked me on the head, but I was too delighted to feel it. When the last one had fallen, I crouched down and threw my arms around the Grand Duke where he'd collapsed on the floor. The final book struck my shoulder. I didn't care.

Good timing. Now I had the excuse of saving him.

All that remained was a flawless performance.

"Goodness, are you alright? I'm so sorry. My leg isn't fully healed yet and I couldn't keep my balance."

I made a fuss as convincingly as I could, but the Grand Duke had been hit by an unexpected ambush and was adrift somewhere in a sea of shock—he just stared at me, completely blank. This kid looked absolutely beside himself.

Then Diomede's voice came from across the room.

"Remarkable."

"Wow, kid. I'm genuinely impressed."

The gallery applauded. I settled the Grand Duke carefully on the floor, stood up, and curtsied to both of them.

"Thank you."

"She violated not a single law."

I directed a slow wink at the monocle. Let's not spell it out loud when we both already know. Why are you like this.

"I have no idea what you mean. I was shielding the Grand Duke—hearing that hurts my feelings. Please don't misunderstand my intentions. If I end up punished for this later, I'd appreciate your testimony. My leg isn't fully healed yet, isn't that right?"

I wobbled deliberately and smiled. Leo and Diomede looked at each other and nodded in unison.

'A perfect crime.'

I was so proud of myself I could burst. Where did that idea even come from? This was Lee Hwayun. The shark's teeth, alive and well.

The Grand Duke was still sitting on the floor.

'He's had a sheltered upbringing. Is this really so shocking?'

I extended a hand and bent down.

"Were you very frightened?"

The Grand Duke looked up—and the moment our eyes met, he dropped his head immediately. What's the matter with you. Did you have a heart attack?

I asked Diomede:

"Does the Grand Duke have any chronic conditions?"

"Not that I know of."

Good. I nearly would have been liable for that.

But why is he so limp. Get up. You're brothers with the king—how are you this different from him? His Majesty picks me up like it's nothing.

I extended my hand again, but the Grand Duke only stared at my open palm without moving. I had absolutely no idea what he was trying to do.

I crouched down and put myself at eye level with him. A perfect crime was best seen through to the very end.

I tilted my head.

"Your Grace?"

The golden-haired boy met my eyes again—and immediately looked back down.

"Are you hurt somewhere?"

His eyes were unsteady. His face was very red. He'd been flushed from the moment he walked in, but this was past a blush now—it had gone somewhere else entirely.

'Is he actually injured?'

And then, all at once, he scrambled to his feet.

"I—I'm not hurt!"

That was all he said, and then the boy bolted straight out of the laboratory. It happened so fast I just stood there staring at the door he'd gone through.

'What was that.'

He was moving well enough. Probably not injured. But running out like that was strange.

"Well, now."

Leo hauled his heavy armor over to my side. Diomede had returned to his documents.

"I see."

"Is that so?"

These two had a suspiciously perfect rhythm going. But what was I see and is that so about. What was it that only they understood?

"Do you know why he did that?"

Leo took my hand with a bright grin and helped me up. I must have looked thoroughly baffled, because he lightly patted my head.

"Kid, you're sharp, but you're dense, you know that?"

"What does that mean. How can someone be sharp and dense at the same time?"

"Maybe because you're still young."

An even less comprehensible statement. I took his hand and stood, brushing off my apron.

Either way, the Grand Duke was gone, and I needed to get back to the waiting room.

"I'll be heading off."

"I'll head out too."

Diomede said, without looking up:

"Clean up before you go."

Oh, right.

I looked at the pile of fallen books. The room, already cluttered enough to begin with, had been turned into an absolute disaster.

I made the mess. I should clean it. Nearly forgot.

I crouched down quietly and began stacking the books back where they'd been. Leo, watching me, went to retrieve one that had slid far away.

"I'll help."

"Thank you."

"It's nothing. But kid—where did you learn to do that?"

"Do what?"

The two of us made quick work of it. No matter how you looked at it, the chaos in this room was entirely attributable to the sheer volume of books.

It was Diomede who answered.

"Feeding someone their own actions and then claiming ignorance—that's a classic aristocratic method."

"Is it? I had no idea."

"How did you come up with it in that moment?"

I picked up a book and dusted it off. More came out than expected; I suppressed a cough.

"I don't know. I was just so furious I couldn't see straight."

I looked at Leo putting books away and smiled.

"But I don't think I'll regret it."

Even if I went back, I'd probably do the same thing. That had been some truly spectacular nonsense.

Two people made quick work of it.

"All cleaned up. I'll be going."

"See you around, Dio."

The red-haired man didn't stop me this time. Permission to leave, then. I stepped out of the eventful laboratory and into the corridor.

Nothing had been resolved. Not a single thing. But because of that spectacular nonsense, something in my chest had crept forward and shown itself.

'I'm going to collect that compensation. Properly.'

I'd planned to receive it anyway. Now it was going to be very sufficient. The Grand Duke had inflicted emotional damages in a truly unique method.

I ground my teeth and clenched my fist.

My knuckles were aching with it.