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Chapter 28.2

“The stableman might have lied,” Ivan suggested.

Even though it had been hard to see, as the robe had covered it, the pin in her hair was made with genuine ruby and sapphire stones. There were very few commoners who could afford such a luxurious item. Therefore, it would be easy to find someone who had that kind of money among them.

“I would like to see the stableman.”

“What? But...”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, sir. I’ll go find him.”

Claude thanked Ivan as he saluted and then headed toward the townhouse. He was going to do whatever he could to get rid of this awful and perplexing feeling. Perhaps this lady might be the answer. No, this lady might be the only way to calm down his ridiculous desire.

Claude climbed up the stairs in a wide stance, and the person that awaited him greeted him pleasantly. He was the owner of this perfect world. There was no reason for him to look back or go around the hard way.

Claude had big plans for his life. After he graduated from the Academy, he was going to join the navy and become a general. Then after he got married, he would inherit the title of Duke and have a child. And then, one day, his child would become the Duke as well. He did not need complications in his life. The person that the wife of Marquis had sent to Cosoar was not an imitation of Kieran but rather more confusion for him.

When Claude returned to his room, he saw there was a vase of flowers on the console. It was a bouquet of fully bloomed hydrangeas with the thorns removed, and it was somewhat bent. He took one stem and sniffed it. But he couldn’t smell anything from the hydrangea, which was a scentless flower. He turned his gaze to look out the window and watched as the sunset painted the Leon River red. Lost in thought, he looked at the people in front of the statue of Saint Mateo, packing up for the day.

Claude finally realized that the flowers that grew along the riverbank were all hydrangea. That meant it wasn’t something that only grew in Canillian Vale’s garden. Although they were beautiful to look at, they had no scent, so he may as well throw them away. It was a justified impulse because the scentless flowers were purely ornamental.

***

“Is it the candy’s problem?” Ian asked as he entered the room. Lia was glaring at the jar of candy. After finishing the meal, she’d gone to sit in the drawing-room. Once Ian finished showering, he had stubbornly gone to sit right next to Lia on the sofa.

She lifted the candy jar that Claude left, and she asked, “Was it you, Prince Ian, who send the candies to me in Cosoar?”

“Yeah. It looked interesting, so I told the servant to send it to you. Why, did the servant not tell you it was from me?”

“It’s not that. Sorry, would you like one?” Lia was confused because someone had said that Claude left the candies. Hadn’t he also admitted it in the car on the way to the capital? She recalled that he’d asked how they had tasted as well.

Lia opened the jar and took out a blue cloud candy. It had a cotton-like softness and tasted delicious! She handed it to Ian, leaning against the back of the sofa, and he took her wrist and brought it to his mouth. Ian put his mouth around her finger and nibbled it as if he were going to bite it off. And then he proceeded to lick the stickiness of the candy on her hand. Lia immediately freaked out and felt chills run down her spine from the tickling sensation of the red tongue wrapping around her finger, and she yanked her hand out of his grasp.

“Prince Ian! What are you doing? Pepe! Please bring a wet towel!” She shouted, and her face went pale. Raising her voice in anger, Lia demanded to know how a member of the royal family could behave in such a disgusting manner. Ignoring her shouting, Ian packed up laughing and held on to his stomach.

But this wasn’t a laughable matter, sucking on someone’s finger! It was not a joke by any standard. Lia jumped up, hugging the jar under her arm, and looked at him with a blank expression on her face. “I’m going back to my room, so I suggest that you rest up. The moment you are well-rested, from the travel, I’ll take you to the townhouse.”

Ian lifted his head unperturbed by her outburst and said, “Let us chat. It’s the first time we’ve been able to talk without any disturbances.”

“But I have nothing to say to you?”

“Well, I do.”

Lia stared at Ian, who had an arrogant smile on his face. The atmosphere was different when he wasn’t in uniform and wore casual clothing. But even if the atmosphere became more comfortable, he was someone who knew that she was a woman. And the reason she’d kicked Claude out in such a hurry was that she was worried that Ian might slip up and expose her gender. She didn’t want to give any more reasons for Claude to doubt her.

Reluctantly, Lia sat back down, holding the candy jar like it was a treasure. “Go ahead. I can’t give you too much time. I have to go to the Academy tomorrow.”

Ian smiled and moved closer to her on the sofa. Lia immediately moved as far as she could to the end of it, but he followed her. She knew that he was the same age as Kieran, but he acted much more childish. “Prince, talk.”

“Duke Claude doesn’t know you’re a woman.”

Her fingers that were holding the jar turned white. Lia looked around and sighed as she spoke, “People are listening. Why are you bullying me? This conversation is uncomfortable.”

Ian narrowed his eyes when he spoke again, “Until when are you going to live like this?”

“That I can’t answer.”

Suddenly, Ian put his face directly in front of Lia, who was now twiddling her fingers, and his big gray eyes reflected her face. At that moment, she froze in surprise. “Your father wants to marry me to a noble in the Cayenne Empire. Marriage is the easiest way for diplomacy.”

“If it’s some suggestion you want, I don’t know anything about ladies,” Lia replied, trying her utmost to remain calm.

“It doesn’t matter if you do.”

“Then why are you telling me this?” Lia replied while frowning. There was no longer playfulness on Ian’s face as he stared at her red lips.

“I will put a formal marriage proposal to Marquis Vale.”