Now she understood why the head maid had seemed so excited.
‘That person is a knight? He’s seriously handsome.’
A blond, strikingly handsome man with a longsword at his waist stood leaning casually against the door.
His face was as finely crafted as porcelain, and he curved his eyes into a crescent as he smiled.
At a glance, his eyes appeared to be silver.
“Hello, Lady Anneliese Solaritzen. I’ve come to deliver a message from His Grace the Grand Duke.”
He greeted Anneliese with a gentle smile.
In the reception room of the Solaritzen estate,
Anneliese pretended to lift her teacup while subtly observing the man seated across from her.
He had introduced himself as a guard knight serving the Grand Duke of Apherhis.
Though he wore a loose white shirt and black trousers instead of a uniform, the greatsword at his waist was unmistakably real.
‘Rather than a knight serving a master, he looks more like a noble young lord… or even a royal heir.’
A man as beautiful as an angel from scripture.
And yet, Anneliese felt oddly uncomfortable around him.
‘He’s smiling sweetly, but something about him feels suspicious.’
For example—his gaze.
‘It’s like he’s observing me as if I’m something interesting.’
At least he wasn’t trying to win her favor like other men.
Still, she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
It was a different kind of unreadable from the Grand Duke’s indifferent gaze.
Their eyes met by accident.
The man smiled and spread his arms wide.
“Isn’t it tiring to keep sneaking glances? You’re free to observe me openly.”
His personality was… questionable.
Pretending not to hear him, Anneliese changed the subject.
“You said you serve His Grace the Grand Duke. What should I call you?”
“You may call me Isaiah.”
Isaiah?
At the name, Anneliese’s expression subtly shifted.
It was a name no citizen of the Empire would fail to recognize.
‘The name of the king of an ancient desert kingdom who was punished by divine wrath for his arrogance.’
It was even said that he never repented and eventually became something no longer human.
A taboo name within the Empire—so much so that in all its long history, only that one king had ever borne the name “Isaiah.”
‘Oh dear… how rude of me to react like that right in front of him.’
Her surprise quickly settled.
‘His parents might have simply wanted to give him that name. My own name comes from the first saint, after all.’
She quickly composed herself.
“Then I’ll call you Sir Isaiah.”
Isaiah looked at her reaction with curiosity.
“You’re not very surprised. Most people avoid me, saying it’s an ominous name.”
“What’s ominous about it? It’s just a name.”
“Hahaha!”
There was nothing particularly amusing about her answer, yet Isaiah burst into laughter.
“Honestly, just going by how it sounds, I think it’s quite pretty.”
“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that… but well, it’s not bad.”
He covered his mouth with his hand as he smiled—this time, it felt more genuine than before.
“Anneliese is pretty too.”
—He meant her name, right?
“Thank you.”
He shrugged, looking even more pleased than before, and continued.
“Ah, this is fun. Should I say you’re free of prejudice? I can understand my lord’s reaction now. I heard you suggested meeting at the Emperor’s birthday banquet?”
Looking slightly embarrassed, Anneliese explained,
“I heard that His Grace dislikes such events. Did he say he didn’t want to attend? If so, please let him know we can change the location.”
Isaiah shook his head.
“No, not at all. Surprisingly, he said he would attend the banquet himself.”
Whew. That’s a relief.
Anneliese let out a quiet breath.
He continued,
“My lord said he would wait in the corridor of the northern tower next to the banquet hall.”
“I see. I know where that is.”
“Are you aware that the stairs leading up the tower are rather steep? If it’s too bothersome, just wait near the stairs. He’ll come to meet you himself.”
“Ah… alright.”
Even unnecessary tips, too.
She found herself admiring his tearful loyalty—so willing to inconvenience his own master.
“Now then, my task is complete… shall we move on to the main point?”
Isaiah straightened from where he had been leaning against the sofa, as if he still had more to say.
“Pardon? Wasn’t that what we were just talking about?”
“Of course not. The meeting place could’ve been sent by letter. The real reason I came here…”
He smiled faintly.
“…is to give you a warning.”
“A warning?”
“In case you end up running away in tears after meeting my lord.”
Isaiah’s eyes gleamed.
“Please keep this in mind. It’s advice from my lord’s right-hand man—you should take it seriously.”
Calling himself the Grand Duke’s right hand already made him hard to trust.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to listen.
She decided to humor the self-proclaimed “right hand.”
“What is it?”
“Ah, first of all, you don’t need to worry about violence or affairs. Despite the rumors, he’s quite diligent and well-behaved. However…”
Isaiah trailed off.
“My lord has lived alone for a very long time—since before the Empire was even founded.”
That was clearly exaggerated.
‘Humans don’t live that long… he must mean he’s been alone for a very long time.’
Given his lack of interaction, it made sense that there would be differences in expression.
Anneliese filtered the information accordingly.
“He had neither parents nor friends. The only sibling he has has a terrible personality, so they’re not close.”
So he has a sibling. And it sounds like his parents passed away early…
“Did the previous Grand Duke and his wife die young?”
Isaiah raised a brow as if he’d heard something strange.
“No. He never had any to begin with.”
“…What?”
“Well… it’s hard to explain. His origins are rather complicated.”
Isaiah brushed it off.
‘So there’s some family matter he wants to hide.’
Such dark histories were common among noble families.
She decided not to pry further.
“In any case, because of that, my lord doesn’t concern himself with social conventions and is indifferent to interpersonal boundaries. He finds such things too trivial to bother with.”
“Ah…”
Anneliese had already experienced that during their first meeting.
His complete disregard for noble etiquette and conversational norms.
‘If that’s the kind of environment he grew up in, it makes sense.’
She had almost mistaken him for simply being rude.
‘Turns out he’s just rude—with a backstory.’
As if he knew what had happened between them that day, Isaiah lightly waved his wrist.
“You must have noticed that to some extent.”
“I suppose you heard that he complained my wrist looked as thin as a twig?”
Suppressing laughter, Isaiah looked off into the distance.
“No… more like… never mind.”
‘What on earth did the Grand Duke say about me to get that reaction?’
Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t flattering.
“He may say things that catch you off guard, but he doesn’t mean any harm. He truly speaks without thinking.”
“I understand.”
In short, Isaiah’s “warning” was simply that the Grand Duke lacked social skills due to his circumstances, and she should be understanding.
‘That much I can easily accept.’
Any minor flaws had long been overshadowed by one overwhelming advantage.
‘That’s hardly even a warning.’
The thing she truly cared about was something else.
This was the perfect opportunity.
‘I should ask why he wears that mask.’
Roselia, the imperial princess, had fainted upon seeing the Grand Duke’s face.
‘But the rumors that his face is horrifying enough to cause that don’t match what I saw.’
She had only seen the area around his eyes, but he definitely wasn’t ugly.
If there was no special reason, she intended to tell him he didn’t need to wear a mask next time.
“Sir Isaiah, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“Ask anything. If I can answer, I’ll even spill my lord’s weaknesses.”
“Oh, nothing that extreme… though, does His Grace even have any weaknesses?”
“He doesn’t.”
Then why say that?
Anneliese shot him an incredulous look.
“One must always leave room for possibilities. Someone so precious they become a fatal weakness might appear someday.”
His tone was meaningful.
‘And what am I supposed to do with that? Why tell me?’
She returned to her question.
“Anyway, what I wanted to ask is why His Grace wears a mask.”
“To avoid troublesome situations. As you may have noticed… my lord’s appearance is somewhat difficult to behold.”
After saying that, Isaiah carefully observed her reaction.
“I didn’t see his entire face, but it definitely wasn’t horrifying.”
Isaiah raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised.
“You felt no discomfort after seeing his face? No sense that you were looking at something you shouldn’t?”
“Not at all. Aside from feeling a bit intimidated and nervous.”
Why is he reacting like that? Is there something wrong?
