Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 9 Part 8

With the remaining cookies in hand, the two of them stepped outside, searching for a place where the sky was clear and undisturbed by others. Lennoch spread out a handkerchief for Eleanor to sit on. Her voluminous dress spread out widely on the green grass. Lennoch then took off his jacket and gently placed it over Eleanor’s shoulders.

“This isn’t necessary,” Eleanor protested.

“The wind is chilly. Please keep it on,” Lennoch insisted, gently stopping her from removing it. He then offered her some cookies.

“Aren’t you having any, Your Majesty?” Eleanor asked.

“I’m not fond of sweets,” Lennoch replied. He had brought the cookies solely for Eleanor’s enjoyment. To make it easier for her to eat, Lennoch held the cookies up for her, serving as a makeshift plate. Though she felt a bit embarrassed, Eleanor couldn’t resist the temptation of the cookies he offered.

Crunch.

Lennoch watched her eat with amusement. “Are you sleepy?”

“No, I’m fine,” Eleanor replied.

“If you feel tired, just let me know. I’ll take you back,” Lennoch said, showing concern for even the smallest details. Touched by his attentiveness, Eleanor paused from eating and turned to look at him. He was exceptionally kind, almost as if no one else in the world could treat her better. The memory of their first encounter drifted into her mind like a passing thought.

“Lennoch,” Eleanor began, stopping mid-bite.

“Yes?”

“Did you know who I was before we met?”

“Hm? Is this our first meeting?” Lennoch teased playfully.

“No, that’s not what I mean…” Eleanor’s tone grew serious as she asked, “When we first met on the street near the boutique… did you know me long before that?”

Understanding her question, Lennoch nodded. “When the merger with Hartmann was being discussed, I had to learn about certain things in advance.”

“Oh.”

“You may not have known me back then, but I had to know you.”

For a merger, it was necessary to conduct thorough research on the other country, which explained why Lennoch had acted so familiar with her from the start. Though it seemed overly friendly for someone who only knew her for political reasons, Eleanor couldn’t think of another reason, and her curiosity quickly faded. She resumed eating the cookies, finding the taste even better under the starry night sky.

“Eleanor, may I ask you something?” Lennoch inquired suddenly, his gaze focused on her.

Eleanor, without thinking much of it, nodded. “Yes, go ahead.”

“What kind of person were you in Hartmann?”

“……?”

“Were you the same as you are now?”

Freed from formalities, Eleanor felt at ease, and the conversation naturally drifted into topics she usually wouldn’t discuss. It had been a long time since anyone asked about her childhood in Hartmann. Memories of her past life flashed before her eyes like a slideshow. After some thought, Eleanor decided to share a memory from when she was eight years old.

“As a child, I was very reckless,” she began.

“……”

“Quite different from how I am now, right?” Eleanor laughed as she spoke, sensing Lennoch’s silence as a sign of surprise.

“My nanny used to say she had never seen a more unruly child. She worried that I’d fall out of favor with my father if I kept behaving that way.”

While speaking, Eleanor realized she had finished all the cookies. She brushed off the crumbs from her lap and wrapped her arms around her knees.

“One day, I even tried to set fire to the hair of my father’s favorite maid. I couldn’t stand how she acted like she was the one receiving all my father’s love, as if I didn’t matter. It upset me to the point of wanting to burn her hair.”

“Did you succeed?”

“No,” Eleanor replied with a sheepish laugh. “She woke up before I could even start the fire.”

“I see.”

“And I got severely scolded by my father. I cried all day out of sheer frustration,” Eleanor reminisced. “I wouldn’t do anything so reckless now. I’ve learned it’s dangerous.”

“We’re alike in that regard,” Lennoch remarked.

“…Pardon?” Eleanor turned to him, her eyes wide with surprise.

Lennoch met her gaze with a grin. “I also got into a lot of trouble when I was young.”

“Mm.”

“What’s that reaction?” Lennoch asked, feeling slightly wronged by Eleanor’s nonchalant response.

“I somehow expected that,” Eleanor said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Lennoch couldn’t argue back because she was right. As a crown prince, Lennoch had frequently been scolded by his father for his mischievous pranks. He smiled ruefully.

“I had to take over the throne when I was only ten years old,” he continued.

“……”

“But I was too young, so my mother had to step in for me.”

Eleanor was well aware of the story. The previous emperor’s death in a carriage accident had been a widely known event across the continent. But for Lennoch, recalling that period brought more embarrassment than sorrow. During the Empress Dowager’s regency, Lennoch had been a walking disaster, causing all sorts of trouble as he struggled through his turbulent adolescence.

“Those years are difficult to talk about…”

“Really? I told you about how I almost set a maid’s hair on fire,” Eleanor said, feeling a bit indignant. She had shared something so personal, yet Lennoch seemed hesitant to reciprocate.

Seeing her furrowed brow, Lennoch burst out laughing. “I’m afraid you might dislike me if you knew what I was like back then.”

“Even so…”

“But I can tell you this much—it was a really difficult time for me. I was so angry at everyone who pressured me to become emperor so soon after my father’s death.”

Lennoch’s face grew serious again as he spoke. Eleanor quietly listened, observing the shift in his expression.

“Ernst helped me a lot during that time.”

“……!”

“If it weren’t for him, I would have gone even further off the rails.”

Ernst’s title as the Emperor’s closest friend wasn’t just for show. Lennoch was genuinely grateful to him. The fact that both of them had lost their fathers in the same accident created a bond of mutual understanding. Ernst, who had been reserved compared to his peers, became cold and distant after the incident, while Lennoch turned into a walking bomb, causing trouble wherever he went.

“I see,” Eleanor murmured softly. Ernst was someone she found difficult and uncomfortable to be around, but Lennoch’s words revealed that he was a genuinely good person.

‘Maybe that’s why he pushed for this marriage,’ Eleanor thought, reconsidering their relationship.

“Sorry, that was a boring story.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Eleanor shook her head.

Mentioning Ernst brought another wave of awkward silence. With nothing else to say, they both naturally looked up at the sky. The stars, scattered across the black sky, continued to twinkle. Occasionally, a shooting star would streak across, drawing a long line in the sky. The hill behind Winston Palace was indeed close to the sky, as Lennoch had said. It felt as though they could reach up and catch a falling star.

As Eleanor reached out toward the sky, she heard a low chuckle beside her. It was a sound filled with genuine amusement. When she turned to meet Lennoch’s gaze, she found herself smiling too. Somehow, it felt as though the invisible wall between them had crumbled just a little.

They spent the night watching the stars together, returning to the palace just before dawn. Despite staying up almost the entire night, Eleanor felt surprisingly energized. Perhaps the conversation with Lennoch had rejuvenated her tired body.

As she changed into a dress for the morning’s work, a maid informed her that Ernst had visited the night before. However, Eleanor didn’t dwell on it.

The biggest issue in the palace today was Childe’s trial.

Childe, who everyone expected to be unanimously sentenced, had unexpectedly put up a fight, causing what should have been a swift judgment to drag on. During the trial, Childe expressed deep remorse for his crime of defaming the imperial family and confessed that he had been manipulated by money without knowing anything. He even pointed out one of the jurors as the mastermind behind the plot, throwing the courtroom into chaos.

The accused juror vehemently denied the charge, but when it was revealed that the juror was secretly the editor of Eros, the scandalous publication, the case spiraled out of control. Additional hearings were held for several days after that.

***

A few days later, a secret note arrived in Eleanor’s room. Returning home with her arms full of documents, Eleanor noticed the note placed on her desk and slipped out discreetly. She made her way to a secluded, quiet spot, where Childe, who had been hiding, stepped forward as she approached.

“Have you been well?” he asked.

“Lord Childe,” Eleanor replied, removing the hood of her cloak so that they wouldn’t be seen.

Childe gazed at Eleanor’s face, illuminated by the moonlight, as if mesmerized. He quickly snapped back to reality and continued, “Thanks to His Majesty, everything worked out.”

“……!”

The last thing Eleanor had heard was that the jury had been split down the middle in Childe’s final verdict. It seemed that Lennoch had intervened somehow.

Childe smiled broadly. “On the last day, one of the jurors was replaced. It turns out he was being investigated for tax evasion.”

“I see.”

As expected, it was Lennoch’s doing. Childe explained that although he wasn’t fully exonerated, he received a one-year sentence. Normally, he would still be in prison.

“Then how are you able to meet with me now…?”

“It’s all thanks to His Majesty.”

In the time they hadn’t seen each other, Childe had grown to almost worship Lennoch. Although Lennoch had only acted because Eleanor was concerned, Childe interpreted it differently. When the judge’s gavel struck, Childe had made up his mind—he would try to find a new path in life.

“I wanted to meet you in secret today to thank you, Madam,” Childe said, his tone devoid of the flippant gaze he once had. He now carried himself with the clear resolve of someone who had found his purpose.

Eleanor was inwardly surprised by how much he had changed.

“And I will give my life to His Majesty whenever he desires it.”

“……!”

The old Childe had died during that trial. Near the end, Childe learned that his father’s close friend had requested a torture device that would shatter his legs and that the jurors had already planned to add that to his punishment. Had things gone as they intended, Childe wondered if he would have gone mad or ended his life from the unbearable pain. Though he had prepared himself, the realization that he had come so close to death sent shivers down his spine.

If His Majesty hadn’t come to see me at the last moment…

“From now on, my life belongs to His Majesty.”

Though Lennoch was unlikely to actually demand Childe’s life, Eleanor understood this as Childe’s way of expressing his deep gratitude. It was a satisfying thought—that Childe had found a reason to live and that she was being thanked for it. Eleanor smiled warmly.

“It’s time for me to go,” Childe said. Their meeting time was short. Reluctantly, he pulled the hood of his cloak back over his head. He wouldn’t be stepping foot on this land for the next year, but he vowed to return after his sentence was over.

“When I come back, I’ll stand proudly before you, Madam.”

“I look forward to it.”

“I’ll come back so impressive that even Ernst will be nervous.”

“……?”

Eleanor tilted her head in confusion, wondering why Ernst was mentioned.

Childe continued, “That man doesn’t deserve you, Madam.”

“……!”

“I won’t lose the next scandal.”

Eleanor’s eyes widened. Childe, with a childlike, bright smile, placed a light kiss on the back of her hand.

“When I return, I’ll recite a beautiful romantic poem for you.”

It seemed that Childe still hadn’t given up on poetry. Watching him smile so innocently, Eleanor hesitated. She didn’t want to crush the hopes of someone who had just found a reason to live… but she also didn’t want him to be disappointed by false expectations after a year in prison.

After a moment of deliberation, Eleanor decided to be honest with him. It was for Childe’s growth, after all. She called out to him just as he was about to leave.

“Um, Young Lord.”

“Yes?”

“That poem… I’m sorry, but it’s not really my taste.”

“……”

“It’s a bit overwhelming.”

For the second time since the ball, Childe was rejected by Eleanor.