I Will Disappear, Grand Duke

Standing in front of the tightly closed door, Fernan dropped his gaze.

 Julia was still so far away.

 If she could just look at him with her gentle glowing eyes, that would be enough, but her warmth didn't turn toward him no matter what.

 After staring at the door where Julia had disappeared for a long time, Fernan turned around.

 His heavy footsteps headed for his office on the first floor.

 “Oh, Your Highness.”

 Lloyd, who was standing in front of him, bowed in silence and then suddenly approached.  Then he held out the letter and reported.

 “This is a letter from the Imperial Palace.  It is said that the emperor's servants visited the castle twice.”

 Currently, Fernan has been away from the castle for a long time without revealing where he was.  As a result, the imperial servant often went back in vain.

 As a result, the Emperor seemed to be angry.

 Fernan, who received the letter with an expressionless face, ripped open the envelope.

 “It seems that the emperor was even more angry because you did not attend the Empress’s birthday celebration.”

 Lloyd sighed and continued.  That day, Fernan found Julia and brought her back from the Holy Land, so there was no time for banquets or anything like that.

 Even so, the Emperor has been suffering from severe anxiety since the disappearance of Julia.  Probably because he was afraid of not being able to keep Fernan on his side any longer.

 In the meantime, Fernan didn't even attend the big ceremony of the imperial family, so an uncomfortable feeling must have risen to the top of his head by now.

 “…  ”

 Fernan read the letter contents with a cold gaze.

 The letter said that he no longer wanted to doubt the Grand Duke's true intentions, so he had to visit the Imperial Palace as soon as possible.

 He twisted one of his lips with a smirk. This kind of crude threat doesn't seem to change over the years.

 From a very young age, Fernan rolled like a chess piece on the Emperor's political board. Even then, the Emperor's pattern was always the same.

The Emperor told his young nephew, who had not come of age, to show evidence of allegiance every day.

 Otherwise, he had no choice but to doubt Fernan’s sincerity.

 “Even if it is cumbersome, I think it would be good to visit this time.  After you leave, finish the mining industry and take a look around the local estates."

 Lloyd suggested implicitly. It was true that he hadn't been to the capital for a long time, so he needed to visit at least once.

 The Emperor was an old man who was good at scheming.  As his dissatisfaction grew more than this, he didn't know what other schemes the Emperor would use to frame Fernan.

 “Are you concerned about Grand Duchess?”

 Lloyd asked cautiously, looking at Fernan, who was lost in thought for a moment.

 She was the only subject that had been occupied with his nerves recently.

 It's been almost two months since he left the castle and moved to this villa to stay with Julia.

 "Don't worry too much. Adrian isn't left. We've placed enough knights around."

 Despite Lloyd's words, Fernan didn't answer, he just tapped and tapped the desk.

 Fernan knew that the quiet Julia, who was full of thoughts of leaving him at any time.

 So he was still anxious.

 Fernan, who had been silent for a while, opened his mouth with his eyes organized.

 “Tell them we’ll visit the capital soon.”

 ***

 While Fernan was away from the villa for the first time, Julia spent time alone.

She told Melissa, who went to mail the letter, to take a few days off.

 When she returned to the villa after her walk, she saw someone standing in front of the entrance. It was Adrian, Fernan’s lieutenant.

“Grand Duchess.”

 Adrian bowed his head towards her.  At that moment, Julia’s eyes began to widen as she glanced at his face.

 For some reason, it was an unfamiliar face.

"Your Grace, is there anything you want me to do?"

 Adrian opened his mouth, straightening his posture.  However, Julia just stared at him in silence.

 It was only when Adrian showed an embarrassed expression on his face that Julia took a step back.

 “Oh, I’m sorry.”

 She was sure she had seen him before, but she couldn’t remember exactly.

 How many times did she see him by Fernan’s side at the Grand Duke’s castle?

 Julia, who was tilting her head as she felt something, took her steps.  Adrian let out a sigh of relief as he saw Julia passing him.

 For a moment, he thought she recognized him.

 Adrian was a knight Fernan had planted in the Holy Kingdom a while back.

 He pretended to be a follower and stopped by the monastery several times to check on Julia's current situation.

 She might remember him passing by, although they never really met each other.

 “No, I think it's better for her not to remember….  ?”

 Now Julia only knew that Fernan had brought her here by force.

As Julia lost her memory, she had no choice but to misunderstand it like that, but Fernan just left her misunderstanding intact.

 Contrary to her misunderstanding, Fernan would have brought her if the Holy Kingdom had not been invaded by demons.

 As it was the case for half a year, he would want her to continue to live peacefully by protecting her from afar and helping her to live without any lack.

 So he must have been broken and withered day by day.

 Even now, he has been hiding her survival without letting anyone know.

 It meant that he would not force Julia back to her place.

 “… Phew."

 Adrian sighed briefly. As Fernan’s long-time subordinate, this situation was only hopeless.

 ***

 Central palace.

 As he walked down the long hallway, the attendants bowed their heads in unison towards Fernan.

 Eventually, when he arrived in front of the Emperor's reception room, the servant opened the door politely. Fernan, who entered the room slowly, bowed to the emperor with an expressionless face.

 “Have you been well, Your Majesty?”

 As always, he seemed polite, yet somehow arrogant. The emperor opened his mouth without hiding his displeasure.

 “Have you finally come? Seeing that you made me wait so long, the Grand Duke must have been very busy.”

 Despite the sarcastic remarks, Fernan responded without changing his expression.

 “Yeah, many important things have happened.”

 “…  ”

 The Emperor frowned and shook his head in disapproval.

 Fernan was then seated in the seat opposite the emperor.

 Taking a deep breath, the emperor returned to his normal expression.  The voice that came out was as kind as possible.

 “Yes, I won’t call you anymore.  I am well aware of the many territories ruled by the Grand Duke, but I can't help but feel disappointed about this."

 “It’s a relief to hear that you understand.”

 The emperor, who was slowly stroking his beard as if examining Fernan's expression, looked away only after someone knocked on the door.

 “Your Majesty, I have brought the Young Lady.”

 “Yes, come in.”

 The emperor, who immediately gave permission, looked at Fernan and smiled generously.

 "I'd like to introduce a precious guest to the Grand Duke today."

 As soon as the emperor finished speaking, the servant opened the door and went inside.  Behind the servant, a woman cautiously appeared.

 When the emperor nodded happily, the woman quietly walked up to him and gracefully greeted the emperor.

 “Were you tired of waiting?”

 “No, Your Majesty. I lost track of time talking to the maids.”

 The woman with a gentle expression smiled at the emperor and then turned to Fernan.

 Fernan wrinkled his eyebrows softly as he looked at the woman who blinked her eyes shyly towards him.  Because he knew at once what this sudden situation meant.

  The emperor smiled softly at Fernan and opened his mouth again.

“She is the famous daughter of Viscount Cerevis.  Not long ago she went studying abroad, she recently moved to the Capital.”

 The emperor looked at Fernan and the woman with a happy face and spoke.

 “I heard you declared that you would not accept courtship, but you can’t leave the position of the Grand Duchess vacant forever. The age when the Grand Duke was just too prosperous has passed.”

 In the following words, Fernan made a harsh sneer.

 This must be the Emperor’s real purpose for sending people and annoying him so many times.

“ I thought hard and agonized as it is my only nephew’s new marriage. Viscount Cerevis is one of my long-time vassals, and he will be a good partner with the Grand Duke."

 Seeing the emperor talking about his marriage as if it was natural, Fernan's face changed cold.

 It was as if he (emperor) was convinced that he (Fernan) could not disobey his order.

 The emperor feared and restrained his powers, but at the same time treated him as nothing but his young nephew.

He (emperor) still couldn’t admit it. His nephew, who was thrown into the battlefield with no one by his side (Fernan), returned with power that threatened him.(emperor)