The Grand Duke's Daughter, Blackout
The name hit like a truck. Grand Duke's daughter. Yeah, now I finally got why old man Valek had been sweating bullets. Even I, who prided myself on rarely getting rattled, had gone completely blank the moment I heard it.
No matter how prestigious the Helios Marquisate was in the empire, we were still just a marquis family. There was no competing with the Leonhardt Grand Duchy, the sole bearers of the unique title of Grand Duke. One word. One action. That family held the power to sever the neck of any noble house on the slightest pretext.
“I heard you were looking for me.”
Still, I kept my composure as best I could and spoke to the Grand Duke’s daughter. She turned her light purple eyes—exactly the same shade as her hair—toward me.
“I’ll leave you two to talk. I still have some matters to attend to.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
When my father rose with perfect timing to give us the room, the Grand Duke’s daughter offered a faint smile and dipped her head. The fact that my father was willing to step aside like this was proof enough that she didn’t harbor any particular ill will toward me. Feeling a little more at ease, I took the seat across from her.
“It’s been a long time, Kallion.”
“……Pardon?”
The greeting that came the instant I sat down left me blinking slowly. Well, we must have crossed paths somewhere. I used to show up at social gatherings when I was younger, and back then I didn’t have quite such a trash reputation.
“Yes. I hope you’ve been well, Lady Irien.”
I didn’t remember her, but there was no need to be rude to her face. Besides, it didn’t sound like she actually remembered me either—just a standard polite greeting. So I answered mechanically.
“…….”
But my response must not have sat right with her. The Grand Duke’s daughter stared at me with an oddly unsettled expression. When I blinked back at her, she seemed to snap out of it, offered a gentle smile, and continued.
“It seems I’m late with my introduction. I am Irien von Leonhardt, eldest daughter of the Leonhardt Grand Duchy.”
Her name was impossible to forget—in the best possible way. The only daughter of the empire’s one and only Grand Ducal house. The person the Iron-blooded Grand Duke cherished to an almost terrifying degree. Everywhere you went, people spoke of her unmatched dignity and grace.
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Kallion del Helios, second son of the Helios Marquisate.”
“……As I thought.”
At my perfectly courteous self-introduction, Irien tilted her head with a crooked smile. Her innate nobility made even that smile look refined, yet somehow it sent a chill down my spine.
“You really don’t remember me?”
“……I’m sorry?”
What? I frowned at the sudden question. Still smiling, she took a calm sip of her black tea and exhaled softly.
“I have been waiting all this time.”
“Uh……”
“Even as that little girl grew up, the fire lit in my heart never went out.”
Her voice was soft and gentle, but those light purple eyes had gone strangely cold.
“What the hell is that supposed to—”
Bullshit. Who the hell sets someone on fire? I swear on my life I’ve lived like a model citizen and never committed a single act of arson. And besides, the “fire” she was talking about clearly wasn’t literal—it was the kind of thing that happened between a man and a woman.
I’m not some alpha male protagonist, damn it.
None of this made any sense. But Irien wasn’t finished. If anything, she had a lot more to say. Her lips kept moving without pause.
“You came to the Grand Duchy just a few days ago, yet you never came to see me.”
“……Pardon?”
The more she spoke, the stranger the feeling grew. The way she talked made it sound like we had known each other for a very long time… no, like we had been intimately close for years. For some reason, it almost felt like she was sulking and complaining to me.
“And then I heard you got engaged.”
With a slender finger, Irien traced the rim of her teacup and met my eyes. I had no choice but to swallow dryly.
“I wondered why… and it turns out…”
“You forgot me. Completely blacked me out.”
Uh, pretty sure I’m the one who got blacked out here. Why is she the one saying I went dark on her?
In truth, even as she said all of this, I still couldn’t recall a single memory of her. That was only natural—I hadn’t possessed Kallion after he had already grown up. I had been Kallion since he was a child; everything he experienced was essentially something I had experienced too.
The only guess I could make was that during one of the social gatherings I had attended, I must have gotten entangled with her without realizing it.
……Hmm.
Even the most recent social event I could remember—excluding the banquet at the Grand Duchy this time—had happened ten whole years ago. It wasn’t easy to dredge up those memories. And besides—
Who the hell holds onto something from ten years ago and comes looking for the person involved?
If it were a serious grudge—like I had killed her parents or something—I could understand. But to think she still remembered a brief childhood encounter so clearly that she would seek me out? That had never even crossed my mind.
Whatever it was, if it hadn’t left any impression on me, it must have been just another ordinary day in my life.
“It seems you still don’t remember.”
A sense of unease crept up my spine. Irien’s tone and expression remained peaceful and gentle, but that only made it more terrifying.
“I’m…”
“……”
“So, so disappointed.”
This woman. If she said something like that in front of the Grand Duke, she could flip the entire empire upside down. Setting that aside—
I seriously don’t remember.
I couldn’t just come out and say that. I felt like I was going to lose my mind.
“I’m sorry. It was so long ago that I don’t recall it clearly, but—”
“But?”
“I’m not the kind of person who goes around setting fires in people’s hearts. So maybe…”
“You think I’m mistaken?”
It was possible. Both back then and now, I hated anything troublesome or bothersome. Irien picked up where I left off, flashing a bright smile as she continued.
“That is absolutely impossible.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because from that day onward, not even once—”
“……”
“Have I ever forgotten you.”
……Huh. What the hell. This person’s heart is way too heavy.
It was a massive, towering wall of gray stone.
A great wall built to protect something precious inside.
A majestic wall erected by those outside according to their own whims.
And so the girl inside had always looked only at the sky.
No matter where she turned, all she could see were those impossibly high walls. Perhaps even above her there was nothing but more wall.
That was why she chased it even more desperately—the world beyond the wall.
The blue sky. The vast open plains. The lush forests. The flower fields blooming in riotous color.
She chased the world that lay past that wall, the one that would show her those sights.
Some might call it a spoiled complaint. Others might say it was all for the girl’s sake.
But she had chased it all the same.
That day was no different from any other.
She had spent it moving from one banquet to another social gathering, showing her face, letting people know her name. Smiling amid crowds of people, learning names, remembering faces, building connections and friendships. It had been that kind of day.
She had stepped out into the garden for a breath of fresh air—and that was when she saw him.
Among the flowers blooming in brilliant, chaotic color, a boy had casually spread his jacket on the ground and was lying on it without a care in the world.
Escaping the noisy, crowded party to bask alone in the warm sunlight. The moment Irien saw the boy, she was drawn to him as if in a trance.
Kallion had been lying there with a relaxed expression, eyes closed. When he heard the girl’s approaching footsteps, he slowly opened his eyes.
“Ah, hello.”
“……Did you come out here to rest too?”
At Irien’s greeting, the boy glanced at her and asked the question plainly, without any extra words.
“Yeah. It was a little stuffy in there.”
“It does get like that.”
Irien found it fascinating that Kallion remained completely unfazed even after seeing her. The rudeness of not introducing himself or asking her name like everyone else actually felt refreshing.
“Can I sit here too?”
“This isn’t my spot. Sit wherever you want.”
Even though, as a noble, he had shown a sight that others should never have seen, he remained perfectly casual. He even willingly made room for her beside him and offered her half of his jacket.
“Now you’re an accomplice too.”
“Accomplice……?”
“Yeah. Don’t go around telling people you saw me here.”
“Okay.”
His easy comfort. His small consideration. His indifferent tone. His languid profile.
They began to shake the heart of one young girl.