Sharing the Same Thoughts
“For now, I’ll just keep an eye on it.”
Manuella set her teacup down and spoke.
Andes Lascaci heard the words but could not nod right away.
On his face, agreement and unease appeared at the same time.
“You won’t try to stop Prince Ruang… will you?”
Manuella asked.
“You didn’t seem to like the nobles of my faction very much either, did you?”
“That’s true, but…”
Andes trailed off.
There was no other choice.
Nobles were mostly alike.
They intertwined through bloodlines, bound by marriage, and the longer they sat on their privileges, the more similar they became.
They were conservative.
It was enough to protect what they had.
Their bellies were full, their homes were warm, they had servants, and they had dignity.
There was no reason to want change.
The nobles of the Manuella faction were no different.
They did not openly oppose giving land to Ruang.
If they fought openly, they would upset Manuella’s feelings.
So they endured instead.
They moved slowly, postponed decisions,
“It still requires review.”
“The timing is not good.”
“Coordination with other houses is needed.”
They kept repeating the same words.
Manuella could not force them to move.
After all, they were his allies.
So another way was needed.
By attaching the mad dog at their backs.
They would move as if their tails were on fire.
The Lascaci family was perhaps the best of the bunch.
Their thinking was a little more awake.
Otherwise, Manuella would not have entrusted him with the secret liaison network between himself and Ruang.
Andes also wanted to strengthen the empire.
Even if it could not return to how the old Human Empire had been, he wanted to organize trade routes, strengthen arms logistics, and slowly change its character.
Even if he had to slightly suppress the nobles.
Manuella spoke slowly.
“So this duel will be led directly by you.”
Andes’ eyes widened slightly.
“Is that all right?”
This duel would undoubtedly become famous.
Both had bled, their mana had clashed, and in the end it had nearly ended in a bare-handed brawl.
Anyone who had seen it with their own eyes would never forget the spectacle.
Not only the participants Ruang and Gaien, but the name of the baron who had hosted the duel, Torna, would spread as well.
And most of all, the one who had acted as mediator was Andes’ daughter, Bianca Lascaci.
Manuella pointed that out.
“Your daughter acted as mediator.”
He smiled faintly.
“But she couldn’t actually mediate and it turned into a duel. Thinking of Ruang’s character, it was difficult to stop it from the start.”
Andes’ expression darkened subtly at those words.
Manuella raised an eyebrow.
“Why so?”
Andes hesitated briefly before speaking honestly.
“I feel sorry for my daughter.”
“For Miss Bianca?”
“Yes. If she is at Prince Ruang’s side… this commotion, and even in the future, she won’t be spared trouble.”
It was a natural worry as a father.
Manuella had already mentioned several times in conversations with the Lascaci family that Ruang would act impulsively.
Andes was a man who observed etiquette toward royalty.
But when it came to his daughter, the matter was different.
Ruang’s character flaw.
Precisely, he could not help but worry about his mad, impulsive actions.
Manuella fell into thought for a moment.
The scene right after the duel came to mind.
When he approached Ruang, Bianca was wiping the blood from his face.
The one who should have been at the center of the duel, Angela, fidgeted beside him and couldn’t even place her hands properly.
But Bianca was different.
She was startled, yet her hands were precise, she kept distance yet her gaze was meticulous.
She treated Ruang’s body carefully and familiarly, as a wife welcoming back a husband from the battlefield.
And at that moment, Bianca’s eyes—
It looked like she was truly worried.
“Wait a minute. Not just Angela… but Bianca too?”
“Why do you say that?”
Andes’ voice pulled Manuella back to reality.
“It’s nothing.”
Manuella shook his head as if it were nothing.
And continued calmly.
“Worry not too much. Even if Ruang looks a bit strange, he won’t retaliate unless he is first attacked.”
On the surface, it was quite reasonable consolation.
But Andes remembered the words Manuella had spoken earlier.
If commoners bring their own honor, Ruang might challenge nobles to duel.
It sounded contradictory.
But in noble society, it was not a contradiction.
Nobles considered those who joined their retinue as their own limbs.
To touch a servant was to touch the master.
To touch a vassal was to trample the honor of that house.
In other words, the moment you touched someone under Ruang, there was a high possibility that Ruang would interpret it as challenging him.
Andes nodded slowly.
“That’s right…”
He was proud of having raised his daughter well.
Bianca was sharp-witted and good at reading situations.
She could even read Ruang’s feelings and mood and act accordingly.
The problem was.
He was afraid that she would fit too well.
Looking at Andes’ expression, Manuella changed the subject.
“Anyway, it was you who advised me.”
“Huh?”
“You confirmed through Miss Bianca that Ruang’s ambitions have grown, and based on that, you planned this duel.”
Andes immediately understood the meaning.
This was giving credit not only to himself but also to Bianca.
The duty of the master of a house was not simply managing the household.
Dealing with information, managing servants and attendants, controlling the words that come in and out, and when necessary, sifting out the wicked.
In that sense, the rumor that Bianca was involved in this plan could even raise her value.
If the negative evaluation of being entangled with Ruang was interpreted as a sacrifice made in arranging the great board, the score would rise.
Andes bowed.
“I am grateful that you give credit to me and my daughter.”
“It’s nothing much.”
Manuella dismissed it lightly.
And immediately brought up the next matter.
“I have one more favor to ask. This is a task that must be done quickly.”
“What kind of task?”
“Without others noticing, I would like you to send a letter to Miss Rosefield.”
Andes’ gaze sharpened slightly.
Already knowing that he was in charge of the secret passage meant that a system for secretly transporting letters existed.
Of course, connecting it all the way to the outside would take more effort, but it was far better for Andes to handle it himself than to entrust it to others.
Manuella spoke low.
“The Rosefield family is probably already gathering information from the capital now. I don’t know how accurate it is… but given this commotion, there’s too much risk of noise mixing in.”
That was correct.
The rumors already circulating among the nobles were already quite extreme.
Prince Ruang fought with knights by beating them bare-handed for the sake of love.
Even this was still tolerable.
If it spread a little more, the flesh would stick.
It was said he killed the opposing knight.
He swept away two great warriors single-handedly.
He laughed covered in blood.
He made the floor of the duel arena flow with human blood.
If it was about Ruang’s reputation, exaggerations and malice would naturally attach.
The problem was Rachel.
If she heard such rumors and misunderstood?
She was moving far away for the sake of marriage.
Physically and mentally, she would have to be sensitive.
If she heard these provocative stories one after another in that state, impulsive actions would not be strange at all.
She was the only successor of the Rosefield family.
A successor in a state of accumulated stress could be a bomb more dangerous than a blade.
Andes asked.
“Will it suffice to write only the truth in the letter?”
“Yes.”
Manuella nodded.
“There’s no need to reveal our inner feelings to Miss Rosefield. Just fill it with the content that a noble fought for his own honor.”
At those words, Andes quickly recalled the structure of the letter.
This duel had started with Angela’s confession to Ruang.
But Patrick had confessed to Angela in that duel.
Ruang did not consider it an insult and instead accepted it head-on.
“He told me to attack like a man.”
Andes pressed his lips together for a moment.
This part was quite important.
Even at the moment the opponent was frightened and wanted to retreat, the one who still charged forward.
This was the kind of man who looked perfect for someone who appeared to be a mad romantic obsessed with dueling rather than love.
“Good. If I include this, Prince Ruang won’t misunderstand that he went mad for love.”
Because of his daughter, Andes wrote the letter with a very slight bad feeling toward Ruang.
Not because he was mad with love, but as if he were running wild from the heat of the duel.
But even that was in the direction of respecting Manuella’s wishes.
So that the one who would become the official wife would not be unnecessarily hurt, and that Ruang’s madness would be conveyed with the adjustment of “in which direction.”
And then the duel with Gaien.
It was a fierce battle that used up their mana, and Ruang had pushed to the end like he was drunk on blood and won.
The opponent had not died.
And the nobles in the audience had cheered at Ruang’s declaration.
This part was important.
The nobles who were there cheering meant that at least that scene had not completely crossed the line by noble standards.
Andes organized the conclusion of the letter in his mind.
With this much, she would not misunderstand and would accept the truth of the rumor.
He was not a complete madman who had gone mad, but someone with whom at least conversation and political marriage were possible.
And so Andes slowly began preparing to send the letter.
It would take a little time to create a contact who could communicate with the outside.
*****
At that moment.
What letter was Rachel receiving?
The contents of the letter she received were as follows.
At the banquet, Ruang and Angela had been entangled on the ground, or so it went.
No, that had been corrected. It was Angela who had confessed to Ruang.
And at the banquet, the collision between Manuella and Ruang had been officially formalized.
Ruang had personally come forward for the sake of the Rosefield family.
The next report that came was even more interesting.
Ruang had become close with the Goldren family, and even sent them an etiquette teacher.
Rachel sat by the window and quietly looked at the documents, then murmured softly.
“…Ruang.”
The moment she said that name, her heart inexplicably beat once more.
She wondered for a moment.
When they first met, how should she call him?
“Prince Ruang.”
In official settings, of course, she had to call him that.
But when they were alone?
Would it be all right to just use his name?
From the rumors, he was a human a little removed from the noble dignity.
So perhaps just using his name would be natural.
But Rachel was the only successor of the Rosefield family.
She had dignity and elegance even toward herself.
It felt oddly awkward to just call him by name.
At some point, she thought a little honorific should be attached.
Rachel slowly brushed the edge of the paper with her fingertips.
“You… what are you thinking?”
To live as a noble, the ability to read others’ thoughts was important.
The banquet was a place where conversation battles happened in real time.
There were too many listening ears.
One wrong word and it was sealed.
One mispronunciation and a nickname would stick, and ten times harassment would follow from that nickname.
But Ruang had dodged the etiquette of that noble society straight on.
Even at Manuella’s banquet, where he was a rival, he did not hesitate to do actions that would lower his dignity.
He even attached his etiquette teacher to the Goldren family, who were looked down upon as mere merchant nobles.
Rachel had investigated the Goldren family separately.
A newly risen noble from the time of the previous emperor.
They were restrained by the existing nobles of the capital, but possessed vast gold and powerful finances.
Yet they were an unfortunate house that had not been able to find even one proper etiquette teacher because of noble interference.
Ruang had pulled such a house up one step.
The existing nobles would surely feel uneasy and angry upon seeing it.
But recalling his attitude at the banquet, it seemed he didn’t care about such gazes at all.
Even if it was a loss, he would hold on to his own side.
Rachel felt an odd warmth at that point.
At the same time, she also felt heat.
Ruang’s warmth would not disappear as long as his madness did not go out.
He did not look back.
He ran straight in one direction.
Therefore, that directionality was something she could trust.
The problem was that he could not monopolize that flame by himself.
Rachel was not yet at Ruang’s side.
But Angela was already at his side.
Physical distance did not necessarily mean emotional distance.
But it was true that when bodies were close, hearts became easier to approach.
So when she thought that Angela might take even more away from him—
Rachel’s heart flared hotly.
Precisely.
It was unpleasant.
At this very moment, she was thinking only of Ruang.
But perhaps Ruang was thinking of another woman.
That was true.
It was an unpleasant feeling.
Rachel slowly closed and opened her eyes.
Perhaps because she had not yet met him, she was imagining Ruang to be even better in her mind.
When she met him directly, she might be disappointed.
He might be even more crazy than the rumors.
Or conversely, he might be too gentle than expected and even more dangerous.
But the feeling she was feeling now was clear.
The first love.
And the first jealousy.
Both were emotions that kept people long.
Especially the first jealousy felt as clear and tenacious as love.
Rachel slowly folded the letter in her hand.
And whispered in a low voice that no one could hear.
“Wait for me, Ruang.”
Her eyes narrowed thinly.
“I will check directly what kind of person you are.”
From afar, the sound of carriage wheels could be heard.
The successor of the Rosefield family was now
Thinking like a woman in love, yet like a lord preparing for war.