Chapter 26

 

Chester was startled by what I said.

 

I could clearly see his eyes shaking.

 

Perhaps for him, it felt like a bolt out of the blue.

 

He even confessed to me, but what returned was a ban.

 

“Yu…lia?”

 

“You said you loved me. Was it a lie?”

 

“…I mean it.”

 

“Then please think of it as proof.”

 

“……Okay.”

 

He gently stepped down. He was so gentle that it felt strange.

 

His hand digging into the hem of my dress was retracted, and he put my cheeks on his hand instead.

 

With a very handsome face, even only with a slight smile, he could make a person fascinated.

 

“If I had to do that so that you could trust me, I’d be happy to do that.”

 

“……”

 

“I don’t want to be hated by you, Yulia.”

 

He stared at me as if he was seducing me.

 

But soon the gaze disappeared.

 

Chester closed his eyes and rubbed his face on my palm like a puppy.

 

“Yulia. I’ll listen to you well from now on.”

 

Chester kissed my wrist and looked down at me with a drowsy smile.

 

“So see you tomorrow, Yulia,”

 

He kissed the back of my hand, staring straight into my eyes.

 

My heart thumped and reacted to him.

 

How could a person be this handsome? Isn’t it cheating?

 

Who would be calm if he smiled and acted like that with that face?

 

“Yulia. I won’t eat you up. I won’t touch more than your lips until the period you said.”

 

“……Chester.”

 

“Yes, Yulia.”

 

“If you want to make me trust you, can you move away from me for now?”

 

He seemed to have no intention of moving away.

 

I think I have to say it out loud for him to get out of the way.

 

Chester stood up without saying much.

 

“Cherster. You really love me, right?”

 

“Yes. I love you very much, Yulia.”.

 

“…You only love me, right?”

 

The word “not pretending to love” did not come out of my mouth.

 

I wanted to believe that he loved me without any conditions or reasons, but I couldn’t believe as much as I wanted to.

 

“If I don’t seem to love you, and you feel it, I’ll break up the marriage.”

 

“…Really.”

 

“Yes. That’s how confident I am and above all, I mean it.”

 

Can I really trust him?

 

Looking at him described in the original, he was not such a reliable person, but he seemed to have already deviated from the details of the original.

 

So, can I trust him?

 

“I love you. I mean it, Yulia.”

 

“……”

 

“Come to me early tomorrow, Yulia.”

 

I nodded unconsciously.

 

***

 

I washed up, picked out a dress, and sat on the dressing table.

 

The maids displayed the jewels.

 

I point a finger at accessories that would go well with the sky blue dress I was wearing.

 

“Nanny.”

 

“Yes, princess?”

 

“…It should be okay, right?”

 

“Of course. There is no one more perfect than the Duke of Siegbert if you’re going to get married.”

 

“That’s…right.”

 

“There’s no age difference, and he’s handsome, his other qualifications are great.”

 

“……”

 

“The best thing is his face. And since His Excellency demanded marriage with the princess first, he must have liked you.”

 

“Does the nanny think Duke Siegbert likes me?”

 

“At least, I don’t think he doesn’t have any feelings.”

 

My nanny smiled slightly at my question.

 

I hugged her tightly.

 

In the past, I could only reach her stomach, but now I was so big that I could engulf her.

 

She patted me on the back.

 

My mind gradually regained stability.

 

“What is my princess worried about?”

 

“It’s just so weird.”

 

Especially when he said he loved me. Why is he so hard to believe?

 

Because he’s the villain? Or is there any other reason?

 

“Why did the Duke of Siegbert do that to me…”

 

In fact, I didn’t fully believe the words when he said he loved me.

 

No, it was suspicious.

 

It was strange for him to suddenly change his attitude like that.

 

“…Did he want the marriage? To connect with the imperial family?”

 

“The princess is the most noble person in the empire. There is no woman in a higher position than the princess, so be proud!”

 

“……”

 

“And above all, the princess resembles the late empress, who was famous for her beauty.”

 

I couldn’t get out of my mother’s shadow.

 

What would it have been like if I didn’t resemble my mom and looked like my dad?

 

If so, would he have loved me who didn’t resemble my mother?

 

It’s better now, but it was so hard right after my mother died.

 

“…I’ll go now.”

 

“Yes, princess.”

 

But now I have a different feeling than before.

 

At that time, I felt repulsed because I forced myself to do things I didn’t want to do.

 

I don’t know if I’ve arrived at my destination, but the carriage stopped.

 

I could see Chester outside the door of the carriage.

 

“Yulia.”

 

Chester held out his right hand to me, as if to escort me. I gently put my hand on his.

 

“Why did you come out?”

 

“You said you were coming, so I should be waiting.”

 

“…Are you okay? What about your wound?”

 

“I’m glad you worried about me, but I’m fine. You don’t have to worry.”

 

“……”

 

“If you’re so worried, you can check it out.”

 

Chester held out his left hand to me. On the outside, it looked nothing out of the ordinary, but I couldn’t tell exactly.

 

Is he pretending to be okay when he’s sick?

 

Because I didn’t know if he was really fine.

 

“Yulia.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Don’t make that face. From now on, you’re going to date me, but if you make such a face even before dating, I’ll be upset.”

 

I stared at his left arm.

 

“If you’re that worried, check it out yourself.”

 

“……What?”

 

Without hesitation, he took off the bandage wrapped around his left hand.

 

Fortunately, the bandage worked properly, and blood did not come out like yesterday.

 

Still, there was a blood stain on the bandage.

 

“Because I’m fine, don’t worry, Yulia.”

 

“…I trust you.”

 

“Can I walk with you for a while before I go on a trip? There’s a place I want to show you here too.”

 

I nodded at his words.

 

Then he smiled, pulled my hand and took me toward the garden.

 

As it was a place where I didn’t even intend to look before, I didn’t show any interest. But now, I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

 

The garden in my eyes now had numerous flowers planted here and there that he had sent me before.

 

“Yulia. I can’t tell what you like, so I only decorated it this much. If you tell me what kind of flowers you like, I’ll tell them to grow a new garden.”

 

“…Lisianthus.”

 

“The next time you come, it’ll be filled with Lisianthus.”

 

Chester’s smile felt warm.

 

But doesn’t it feel ominous? Still, he looked handsome because of that face.

 

“After marriage, I want everywhere in the mansion to be plastered with your taste. Can I?”

 

“……”

 

“If you want, I’m willing.”

 

Chester pulled my hand and kissed my palm.

 

“You don’t have to be wary of anyone, change everything in the mansion as you want.”

 

“Why do you say that? Is it really okay for me to do that?”

 

Chester kissed my cheek.

 

Earlier, he kissed my palm. This time, it was a cheek.

 

I was surprised and took back my hands that his lips touched.

 

“Is there anyone who won’t be okay? You’re the wife of Duke Siegbert anyway, so of course it’s okay.”

 

“So where are we going?”

 

He led my hand instead of answering and put me in a carriage with the patterns of Duke Siegbert.

 

He won’t answer me until the end?

 

“It’s a secret. Yulia.”

 

“You’re not really going to tell me?”

 

“No. It won’t take very long. I hope you like it. Will you like it?”

 

“I don’t know!”

 

Chester smirked. I didn’t hate his expression.

 

His face somehow reminded me of someone.

But the memories aren’t clear.

 

‘If I meet you again, please stay with me then!’

 

I couldn’t remember the face of a boy my age who had black hair and held my hand eagerly.

 

No, it was when I couldn’t see properly in the first place.

 

Therefore, I had no confidence in my memories. I’m just being suspicious.

 

“Chester.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“…Nevermind.”

 

I called him, but couldn’t ask him.

 

I’m not sure if he noticed that.

 

Chester gently stroked my cheek and whispered gently as if not to feel burdened.

 

“If you want to ask me anything, ask me. I’ll answer you.”

 

Sitting face-to-face with Chester as he stroked my cheek, I didn’t feel repulsed anymore.

 

Rather, I stared at his face enough to pierce it.

 

It could have been an illusion.

 

No, there was a high probability that it was an illusion.

 

Still, I felt like I needed to ask just in case.

 

Both of them had the same hair color after all.

 

Although he was too different to be the same person as the child,

 

“Chester.”

 

“Yes, Yulia.”

 

There was no guarantee that Chester was not him.

 

“Have we met before?”