The Secret Boyfriend Who Was Never Here
What did you say?
Idel turned her icy gaze on him without a word. Patrick laughed again, clearly enjoying the silent fury radiating from her.
Only when Idel’s brows drew into deeper wrinkles did he finally stop smiling and continue his explanation.
“There are always surprises waiting in those places, you know. Miss, aren’t you interested in treasure hunting?”
“Ha! I’m not a child anymore…… I don’t care about any of that. And why did you suddenly start speaking so casually? I never gave you permission.”
“Oh dear!”
Patrick dramatically pressed his forehead before flashing a sheepish grin.
“My apologies. I forgot myself in the presence of such a great lady.”
“So what is this about?”
“Hmm?”
“Why did you sneak after me alone?”
Idel’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. She felt uneasy that the person who had marked her with his cursed seal had been watching her more often lately, and now he was here on a day she was alone. Even after leaving her brother behind.
‘It sounded like something straight out of a strange rabbit hole.’
Had he sensed something off about her? Or had he caught her planting a false lead to lure Melissa?
‘……No, if that were the case, he wouldn’t have mentioned treasure hunting or wells.’
Then what was it?
Idel narrowed her sharp gaze, hiding her complicated suspicions, and simply raised an eyebrow.
Even after Idel’s repeated urging, he blinked slowly before finally speaking.
“Well…… I wasn’t sneaking after you from the start. I saw you crouching in the bushes and wondered what was happening.”
“What?”
“I’d heard of some great lady who once fell asleep in the bushes, so I thought I’d check.”
“What nonsense. You attacked me? Right now?”
Idel’s eyes turned into slits. Patrick quickly raised both hands in surrender.
“I’m just joking. Lady Veronica was worried and asked me to safely escort you back to the room.”
“What unnecessary worry.”
“You think so?”
He observed Idel with a mysterious gaze before shrugging.
“Well, I’m a knight who values his promises, so…… I’ll see you to your room. If you say no, I’ll carry you just like last time.”
“Fine, then move.”
“Very well. Oh, by the way, you’re not interested in rabbit holes or treasure hunting, are you? Since I love exploring abandoned places, I actually find quite a few treasures in those spots.”
Idel walked past him without a word, the clear message that she had no interest in answering.
‘Is that it? He’s just trying to stir the pot?’
The possibility was high. After all, she had already been on edge since he threw a tantrum about having no loyalists earlier, and he had hidden the school advertisement. That suggested his anxiety was definitely rising.
‘Melissa’s plan is working quite well.’
Of course, Patrick didn’t care. He had already bet on the “riddle.”
Pretending to know nothing, he walked beside Idel and continued chattering away about various things. It was exactly the same friendly demeanor he showed Dante Knightray.
The only difference was that, unnoticed by Idel, his gaze had briefly landed on the red hair that so closely resembled Melissa’s.
A fleeting moment, but enough to notice.
A few days after Patrick dropped those strange remarks, Idel was spending time that erased everything he had said from her mind. Naturally. The servants who had only been cursing her with words had finally begun to move.
“Miss Idel, a sample doll has arrived from Velliana’s Dress Salon.”
“Why did you bring it? Where is Diane?”
“Oh, Diane is on a short break! Shall I call Lady Veronica or Lady Rose instead? But since Miss Idel assigned Diane to wait on you and they are currently occupied with other duties, we…….”
The maid fidgeted with the edge of the box, looking troubled. Idel, however, already knew her true intention. The corners of her mouth were just barely twitching upward.
‘Because of the plan, you cleared out the maids on purpose? Now you’re stirring up a scandal that isn’t even one.’
Idel secretly watched the maid’s stubborn refusal to back down while her eyes darted around, and a small laugh escaped her.
‘Good. Just as expected.’
Small annoyances and distractions like this only grew more prominent after something major happened. Idel opened her mouth with a heavily displeased expression.
“Enough! Open it.”
“Then I’ll open it.”
The maid, who quickly opened the box out of fear she might change her mind, spoke in an overly polite tone.
“Please compare them and tell me which dress pleases you.”
Compare……
Idel peeked inside the box and let out a small, bitter laugh in her mind.
“What is this?”
“Huh? What is this?!”
The maid, startled by Idel’s irritated voice, covered her mouth with one hand as if in shock. That was only right. The sample doll inside the box was filthy beyond belief, even if it was a copy. The dresses themselves were also far from perfect.
“No, how could this happen…… It seems there was a mistake when they sent the sample from Velliana’s Dress Salon. I’m sorry, Miss Idel! Should I remove it right away?”
“From the dress salon? Why? You’re not trying to make me look bad, are you?”
“Pardon? Oh, miss, what kind of words are those?”
“Did you take out your anger on my doll instead?”
“I-I don’t know how this happened, but we truly didn’t do anything, miss! Please believe us!”
The maid, lowering her body in response to Idel’s scolding, desperately covered her mouth again. Her feet were shifting nervously, as if she didn’t know what to do with her fear.
But Idel bet her breakfast that under that hand was a smile.
‘Even if my breakfast itself was missing a few items.’
Yesterday, one side dish was missing to go with the main course, and today it was orange juice instead of the milk she actually liked. She could overlook the missing side dish, but how could the “second rumor” who was avoiding her be so calm after seeing the orange juice she hated?
Idel had been furious with the servants that morning. She had added the irritability of someone who had just woken up to the usual childlike tantrums.
Yet even after all that noise, milk never arrived at her table. They used the excuse of “something came up.”
‘It was only a few hours ago, and they’re already playing these tricks. They’ve become bolder than ever.’
Idel stared at the soot-blackened doll face and the torn ribbon, and a genuine laugh escaped her in her mind. They couldn’t possibly have done something like this at the dress salon. Velliana’s Dress Salon was renowned among the empire and high nobility for creating meticulous sample copies of the requested dresses. In other words, from the salon’s perspective, this doll was Idel’s “double.”
‘Which tailor dares to disgrace the client’s double with such behavior?’
It was one thing to anger a noble by insulting their honor, but losing trust in the clothing itself was simply unacceptable. Of course, Idel had no intention of saying any of it. Instead, just like an ordinary angry child, she tossed the doll aside and vented her frustration at the maid.
“Ha! How could something like this even happen? What about me? Did you think I was supposed to just let it pass? There are identical dolls being torn apart right now!”
“I’m sorry, Miss Idel, but……”
“But what?”
“To file a complaint with Velliana’s Dress Salon, we must go through Lady Veronica…… Miss Idel said earlier that the lady……”
The servant lowered her gaze, pretending to check Idel’s reaction. The reason was simple. Idel had completely rejected every single thing Lady Veronica had offered—visits, letters, gifts.
If asked why, the answer was equally straightforward. It was the only way to ensure the servants continued to see Idel as an easy target and began these direct pranks. In fact, the servants only began to act when no further contact came from Lady Veronica.
‘They thought she had given up on me.’
Of course not. Given Lady Veronica’s personality, which was still far from blackening, she had likely decided to wait. She was waiting for Idel to open her heart even a little. Lady Veronica’s decision was undoubtedly out of caution, but……
‘Looking at it this way, it’s a handshake.’
If Idel had been an ordinary child, she would never have understood Lady Veronica’s true feelings. Just as the servants had misinterpreted “giving up” as her intentions.
In any case, since the day Lady Veronica stopped contacting her, Idel had become extremely sensitive and irritable in every situation. She began to get angry at the fact that no letters had arrived and at the absence of gifts.
‘She threw the tantrum first, and now she’s truly being discarded. She must be panicking.’
“M-Miss Idel……?”
“W-What?”
“Should I tell Lady Veronica about the doll from the dress salon?”
Idel, hearing the maid’s words, kept her mouth shut in pretended displeasure. She would never say she had come to Lady Veronica for help first.
“……Enough! Diane, take this away!”
“Yes? Yes! Miss!”
A servant’s mouth twisted into a smirk as she glanced at the crossed arms and smug expression of Idel, who was puffing out her chest.
‘Heh. You’re happy, aren’t you?’
She had been turned around and mocked, and there was no one left to tell. But right now, the one who was happiest was none other than Idel herself. She exchanged a meaningful look with Diane in secret and threw the blanket over herself in a fit of anger.
Soon. When this atmosphere lingered just a little longer and her stomach started rumbling……
‘I’ll go see Sylvia soon.’
Especially when she was with her fiancé.