The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 90

Chapter 90. Jealousy (3)

At the entrance to the path leading to the field, Jamie and several escort knights were waiting on horseback.

“Where is the Grand Duchess?”

Louid, who had stopped his horse in front of the knights, asked Jamie.

“Her Highness said she would go horseback riding in the field. She said she would only ride nearby and return, but she hasn’t come back yet, so we were just about to go look for her.”

“I’ll go and bring her back.”

“Yes, understood.”

Louid had once thought that it would be nice to ride across the field together with Emilia someday. There hadn’t been time for them to ride together, but today seemed like a good opportunity to ride across the field together. It was also just the time when the sunset Emilia liked was approaching. With a slight smile, he urged his horse forward at high speed toward the field.

“…?”

However, a short while later, Louid, who had been riding straight toward the field, slowed down abruptly.

In the distance, two people were riding together on horseback. The moment he recognized who they were, red flames flared in Louid’s eyes, and thick veins bulged on the hand gripping the reins.

“Louid.”

At the entrance to the field, Louid was standing there atop his black horse, Blian. When she spotted him, Emilia’s face brightened.

“Prince, please go over there.”

Emilia pointed toward where Louid was standing. Ian had already noticed that the Grand Duke was at the entrance to the field, but he hadn’t told her. Now that Emilia had seen him, there was nothing he could do. With an unwilling expression, he slowly turned his horse in Louid’s direction.

Louid, who’d been standing there watching the two of them, also urged his horse forward toward them. Soon, in the middle of the field, the black horse and the white horse came to a stop facing each other.

“Grand Duke, it’s been a while.”

Ian greeted him in a cheerful voice.

“He was out for a stroll and fell off his horse and got hurt,” Emilia added an explanation.

“So you came quite far on your stroll, Prince.”

Louid spoke with a cold expression. His gaze quickly swept behind Ian. He couldn’t see the soldiers assigned to Ian or the horse the prince had ridden. His red eyes glared fiercely at Ian.

“I haven’t yet seen all of the imperial capital, so I wandered wherever my feet took me, and due to my carelessness I fell from my horse. The horse ran away as well, so it could have been dangerous, but Her Highness saved me,” Ian replied in a polite tone, adding exaggerated gestures. But without showing it, he was carefully sizing up the Grand Duke.

“The prince hasn’t eaten yet. Prince, since you’ve come all this way, let’s have a meal together.”

Emilia suggested a meal, thinking that she should treat and care for Ian before sending him back.

At her words, Louid’s expression visibly hardened. He seemed angry about something, but Emilia didn’t notice.

“Get down, Emilia.”

Jumping off his horse, Louid stretched both arms out toward Emilia. Emilia also reached out toward him and turned her body to the side.

“It seems fine to just ride back like this, Grand Duke.”

Ian’s voice came from behind her. Emilia, who had been about to get down from the horse, froze.

Surely Louid isn’t telling me to ride together with Prince Ian? No matter how formal our marriage is, it’s too much to let me ride with another man when my husband is right here.

Confused about what to do, Emilia glanced at Louid to read his expression.

“…?”

At that moment, two large hands grabbed her waist and lifted her cleanly up into the air.

“Ah!”

Emilia opened her eyes wide and braced her hands on Louid’s shoulder. The moment their eyes met, her body was turned like an acrobat’s, and in an instant, she was seated on the black horse.

“The Grand Duchess will go with me,” Louid said in a blunt voice.

“Yes, understood, Grand Duke. I only said it because I thought it might be troublesome for the Grand Duchess to move over. Haha.”

Ian replied with a calm smile. Louid, still wearing a cold expression, climbed up behind Emilia with a thud.

“Follow us, Prince.”

“Yes.”

Blian, carrying Emilia and Louid, ran first, and behind them Zelda, carrying Prince Ian, ran.

‘Thank goodness. I almost would’ve been embarrassed in front of Prince Ian.’

Emilia let out a sigh of relief inside. What if Louid had told her to ride together with Prince Ian just like that? Then Prince Ian would have thought it was strange.

Even though it was a marriage without love, she didn’t want others to find out that she and Louid were only a formal married couple.

When they arrived at the grand ducal manor, Louid got down from the horse first, then lifted her up and set her down on the ground.

“Since he is an honored guest, treat him well.”

“Yes, understood.”

Emilia had the servant who came out to greet them guide Ian to the guest bedroom.

“Prince, I’ll see you in the dining hall in two hours.”

“Thank you, Grand Duchess.”

“Tell the physician to treat the prince.”

Emilia gave the servant another instruction.

“The physician isn’t necessary. I’m not hurt enough for that. I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

Then Ian waved his hand and refused.

“Even so. You’re hurt enough that you can’t even walk properly.”

She looked at Ian’s dirt-covered clothes. Since he had fallen hard and rolled on the ground, the only injury couldn’t be his knee.

“This is nothing, it’ll heal quickly. You don’t need to worry, Grand Duchess.”

Ian was stubborn.

“…Yes, alright. Then rest, Prince.”

Since he insisted so strongly, she couldn’t force him.

Emilia went straight to the kitchen, asked the head chef for a special dish, and for Prince Ian, who would be hungry, she sent tea and refreshments through a servant.

Guided to the guest bedroom, Ian went to the window and looked outside. The grand ducal manor was not as large as the imperial palace, but it was a natural fortress surrounded by mountains and a river. The mountain was thick with dense growth like a jungle, and the river was structured like a moat to defend against enemies so they couldn’t invade.

‘If it weren’t for the Grand Duchess, I wouldn’t even have been able to come in.’

The Grand Duke would never invite a hostage from an enemy nation, and the manor’s security was tight, so if he sneaked in, he would be discovered right away. Just in time, there were no soldiers guarding the fence, and maybe it was coincidence, but he met the Grand Duchess right away, so it was certain that divine fortune had come to him.

“This is good. The gods are on my side.”

Smiling with joy, he washed the dirt off his body in the bathroom, then opened the closet in the dressing room. Several sets of clothes with refined designs were hanging inside. Ian took out brown pants and a white shirt that suited him and put them on.

‘All the clothes are refined.’

Were they chosen by the Grand Duchess? Since she was the lady of the house, it probably was. The clothes for guests were usually chosen by the lady of the estate. A woman who was beautiful and also had refined taste. The more he saw, the more he liked her.

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded, and a servant came in carrying a tray with tea and refreshments.

“Her Highness the Grand Duchess sent this.”

“Tell the Grand Duchess that I’m grateful.”

She sent him refreshments because she knew he would be hungry. She was a woman with a delicate and kind heart.

His mind returned to Emilia’s face in the field.

The image of her staring down at him with eyes open wide, like a blue sky and a worried expression, wouldn’t leave his mind.

‘Damn that Grand Duke.’

He wanted to ride horseback with Emilia for a long time, but that man had interfered.

Of all times, he showed up then.

Ian glared with sharp eyes toward the main building visible outside the window.

Before dinner time, Ian slowly looked around the grand ducal manor. The corridor with several large framed paintings, the splendid lobby decorated with gold patterns, even the layout of the main building and the annex, he took note of every corner.

“Prince, didn’t you say you were hurt?”

At that moment, the Grand Duke’s voice came from behind him. When he turned around, Louid was glaring at him with a displeased expression.

“I have a constitution where I can’t feel pain even if I’m injured. Haha.”

“A constitution where you can’t feel pain? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

“Yes, I’ve been like that since I was young. All the palace physicians said it was fascinating.”

“How did you get into the forest?”

Louid asked the question he had held back in front of Emilia. In the meantime, he had already figured out the route Ian used to enter the grand ducal manor.

“I got lost while horseback riding, and there was a fence locked with a padlock, so I broke the padlock and came in. I’ll compensate you for the cost of the padlock.”

Ian shrugged and answered brazenly. His attitude was as if padlocks existed to be broken.

“Oh? You two came together?”

As the two of them faced off, Emilia appeared from down the corridor in a neat evening dress.