Chapter: 4
“Please bring me the letter from Duke Allen Pianus that was sent to my mother.”
“…?!”
Shock flashed across Rupert’s face, which had been full of guilt only moments ago.
“Y-Young miss… how did you…?”
Allen Pianus—he was Roselyn’s former lover, Ludiana’s mother, and the Duke of the East. Shortly after Roselyn’s marriage, several letters had arrived from him, but she had refused to reply to any of them. The final letter had not even been opened.
After that, no further correspondence came, and Jonas paid the matter no mind. In time, even Rupert had forgotten the name.
And yet, just a few days ago, a letter bearing that very name arrived at the estate once more.
“Dispose of it.”
In the past, Jonas had ordered Rupert to deliver every letter from Allen to Roselyn. But this time, without even opening it, he commanded that it be destroyed.
Rupert had been flustered by the unexpected order. Still, he could not bring himself to throw away a duke’s letter unopened, so he had merely stored it.
“Rupert, for the three of us to survive, we need that letter.”
The small, delicate young lady looked straight at him. In her eyes were yearning, desperation—and fear.
“In the end, Lea Werther will become the Countess of Nuremberg. She’ll want the position of the legal wife no matter what. Even if she has to kill my mother to get it. Father won’t particularly care.”
“Miss…!”
“You know it too, Rupert. Father has no interest in anyone except his heir. What matters most to him is protecting the business rights he gained through marriage.”
Despite her words, her expression was resolute.
“……”
In that moment, Rupert realized what his precious young lady was truly asking of him.
And what she intended to do next.
She spoke of the letter—but what she truly wanted was something else entirely.
She’s planning to leave Nuremberg.
Yet after seeing her face, Rupert could not refuse her request.
To turn a blind eye to a young lady desperately struggling to escape a tragic fate—Rupert cherished her and Irene far too much for that.
“…Very well.”
Though Ludiana tried to refuse, Rupert wiped the dust from the chair and table until his gloves were thoroughly soiled. He seated her, poured her tea, then left the room.
Yes!
Ludiana finally released the breath she had been holding—pah!
At that moment, footsteps sounded outside the door Rupert had just exited.
It wasn’t that the room lacked soundproofing; it was simply so quiet that outside noises carried clearly.
Already?
No—too many footsteps, and too light. Ludiana quickly got up and hid beside the bed.
Then—
Click.
The door opened, and women’s voices poured in.
“Huh, I thought I’d check just in case…!”
“What on earth was the butler thinking….”
“Is the young miss gone?”
She sensed them looking around, but fortunately, Ludiana—hidden beside the bed—was not discovered.
“The tea’s gone cold. Looks like her little escapade is over.”
“Good grief. Does she want someone to lose their head….”
With a clatter, the sound of dishes being cleared followed.
“Cough, cough. Ugh, who’d want to eat in a dust pit like this?”
Their grumbling voices continued until they removed the entire tea set and left the room. The moment they were gone, Ludiana quietly rose from her hiding place.
A neatly cleared table—and a room thick with dust.
Right. This is what my reality is supposed to be.
She curled herself back up beside the bed, sitting in a small crouch. Though no one was likely to enter an unused empty room, her anxiety made it impossible to relax.
After some time, the door opened cautiously, and Rupert entered.
“Miss…?”
The tea set he had prepared was gone, and the young lady was nowhere to be seen.
Startled, Rupert scanned the room—then spotted the small figure curled up beside the bed.
“What on earth happened here?!”
“People came in and cleared everything away.”
Rupert looked back and forth between her and the table, bewildered. Ludiana, meanwhile, stood up calmly, brushing off her skirt.
“While you were here, Miss?!”
Rupert’s voice rose—just slightly, but noticeably.
“They didn’t know I was here. I hid.”
Ludiana shrugged and approached Rupert.
She was looking at what rested in his hands—the silver tray and the letters.
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
Rupert’s face twisted with pain. His heart ached at the thought that she couldn’t even enjoy a simple tea time in peace in an empty room.
“More importantly… is that the letter?”
“Yes. Here it is.”
Two envelopes lay carefully placed atop the silver tray.
One bore the marks of time. The other—
This is it!
Without hesitation, Ludiana tore the letter open.
[To Madam Nuremberg…]
The letter stated that he would be waiting at a clubhouse in the capital on the day before the Emperor’s coronation.
The Emperor’s coronation!
Clutching the remaining letter, Ludiana looked up at Rupert.
“Rupert! Please—call a carriage!”
“We’ve arrived.”
A plain rental carriage, without any escort. Ludiana had refused Rupert’s suggestion to use the family carriage and requested a hired one instead.
Rupert has already done everything he can.
Just from the servants’ reactions while clearing the dishes, she could tell how much risk Rupert had taken. If Lea learned that he had even provided a carriage—when others felt danger over something as trivial as tea time in a dusty room—she would never let it slide.
After confirming Ludiana had disembarked, the driver departed without hesitation.
“Haa….”
So far, so good. But could she persuade him?
What had Allen Pianus been thinking when he sent that letter to her mother?
Gripping the hem of her dress—now short enough to reveal her ankles—Ludiana climbed the steps.
Her coarse but sunlight-glinting black hair, pale skin in contrast, and peach-tinted cheeks drew attention.
Against her worn, outdated dress, her appearance stood out, and gazes gathered around her.
“I’ve come to see Duke Allen Pianus.”
Ludiana showed the clerk at the entrance the letter bearing the Pianus family seal.
“…This way, please.”
After a brief hesitation, the clerk’s attitude shifted the moment he saw the seal.
Good thing I brought the letter.
Ludiana knew how she appeared objectively.
That was precisely why she had brought it. No one would believe that a teenage girl in a threadbare, unfashionable dress had come to meet the Duke of the East otherwise.
“The Duke is upstairs.”
Orient was a clubhouse created for noble tea times and social gatherings.
Most clubhouses were frequented primarily by men, but Orient was popular among nobles of both sexes. Still, high-ranking nobles disliked mingling with those beneath them and wanted their own exclusive spaces.
Reflecting that demand, Orient restricted its second floor to counts or higher—and their guests.
Though Ludiana was the daughter of the Count of Nuremberg, she had never dared set foot in places like this as a child due to Lea Werther. After coming of age, she married Viscount Fonedo and visited a few times alongside him—but never once had she been to the second floor.
Back then, I was always dragged here against my will….
It felt strange now. To think she had come here of her own accord.
This was, in truth, her first time visiting by her own choice.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Ludiana scanned the area, searching for the Allen she remembered. He was seated at the best spot—a private terrace table.
A gentle breeze passed by, stirring his ethereal silver hair.
“Duke Pianus, you have a guest.”
The blue eyes that turned toward her—urgently yet discreetly—were filled with nostalgia.
But the moment his gaze met Ludiana’s, wariness surfaced in those eyes.
“Good afternoon, Duke. I am Ludiana Nuremberg.”
“Nuremberg…?”
“Yes. I came after receiving the letter you sent to my mother.”
His long, dark eyelashes lifted, and his eyes widened.
The moment he learned who she was, Allen saw Roselyn through her.
Her hair, her eyes, her features—and above all, Ludiana’s calm, gentle voice resembled Roselyn’s so closely that memories of the past surfaced unbidden.
As Allen stared at her in silence, Ludiana continued evenly.
“Please save us, Duke.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
Allen’s voice dropped low.
“Jonas—our biological father, Jonas Nuremberg—will eventually let my mother die.”
Ludiana’s eyes burned fiercely, utterly unbecoming of a girl still in her teens.
