Night of the Abandoned Duchess

Suddenly, Rosalind dropped the bouquet she was holding onto the ground. She stood there still, not even thinking of picking it up.

Kyle got up and slowly walked towards her. As if he was really going to propose, he knelt down on one knee in front of her. She had never expected his words and actions. Because of that, she was surprised and her eyes widened.

Suddenly, a box wrapped in luxurious cloth was in his hand. When the box was opened, the ring inside was revealed.

“…It is true that a lot has happened between us.”

It was a ring with a large centerpiece embedded in it that seemed like it would be difficult to wear just by wearing it on her hand. At a glance, it looked expensive, and the craftsmanship carefully put into it was evident.

“So, let’s start over… We can start all over again, starting with marriage.”

His voice grew more serious.

“We live together like couples who are in love, and like a couple who have gone through a lot and become stronger…”

…With me.

Rosalind didn’t say anything, and she stared at Kyle for a long time. Flowing from her mouth, she retraced his words quietly.

“Like a couple…”

“Yes. We are a couple.”

Hearing his words, she suddenly burst into tears again for no reason. Even though she still shed a lot of tears, she didn’t know why she was crying even more today. Receiving a proposal was definitely joyous, but why does she keep crying…?

“When people see me, they think I made you cry.”

“That’s right. The Duke made me cry.”

She spoke, wiping her tears away in embarrassment.

“…Rosalind.”

Rosalind, who was wiping her eyes at the soft voice calling her, paused for a moment. Was he unusually tense?

The protruding neck vein wobbled for a moment.

“I love you. I want to live the rest of my life with you, loving you.”

So…

“Will you accept it?”

Listening to him, she finally burst out crying.

Although it was her emotions, she couldn’t control them. While other wives say that even if they cry when they are proposed to, they shed some pretty tears, for Rosalind, she was crying like a child. It was absurd.

“Stop crying. This will make your eyes swell.”

He couldn’t hide his smile, thinking that she was so cute that he was about to die.

“I don’t know. Please, just put it in.”

She reached out her hand towards him, and at that moment, Kyle took the ring out of the box and placed it carefully on her hand.

Rosalind stared silently at the ring that fit snugly on her hand as if it had been pre-fitted. Then, she stretched out her hand towards the high sky. As the bright sunlight fell on the jewel, it shone even more splendidly.

While she was enthralled by the ring, Kyle picked up the bouquet she had dropped and put it back into her arms. In her hand, holding the golden bundle, there was a ring that shone even brighter than that. Rosalind couldn’t take her eyes off her hand and the ring wrapped around the flower for a long time.

“…The ring is so pretty.”

“They said it was a ring that promised eternal love.”

He brought her hand to his lips and gently lowered his lips over the back of her hand. Like a knight swearing an eternity to his master, it was a graceful but not heavy kiss.

Kyle’s gaze was on her the whole time, with his lips on the back of her hand.

Rosalind could see that love and affection were deeply embedded in his eyes as he looked at her. She was indescribably happy. He looked so happy in his blue eyes, she liked it so much that her heart kept rising.

“…Kyle, from the first time I met you until now, I think I’ve always loved you. I love you.”

“So do I.”

So do I…

‘As it has been so far, and in the future.’

This time he kissed her on the palm of her hand.

The kisses that fell several times, the deep smell of marigold swaying in the wind, and the soft sunlight seemed to tickle her heart.

“Do you know what the flower language of marigold is?”

“I don’t know. What is it?”

“Happiness will surely come.”

Surely come…

Rosalind gently closed her eyes and thought of his words gently. When she first fell in love with him, she had a beautiful and naive dream that he and her would surely meet like fate, and as time passed, she grieved over the fate that got even more entangled.

However, now that a lot of time has passed, she knew — Fate and relationships are not given, they are created by oneself. If she was happy with him now, it was not because they had a special destiny, it was because they love each other.

Even in the midst of any trials and tribulations, nevertheless, they would always come together.

They promised eternity that day through love. As the only love, the companion in life, to be with each other until the end of their God-given days.

For a long time, forever.

Epilogue

Kyle attended the annual masquerade hosted by Count Caprill today.

It was glamorous and luxurious as usual though he did not enjoy such a party. He did not like the characteristic hedonistic atmosphere, nor did he like to hang out with people so he just looked at people with a bored face, hiding his face with a mask.

However, except for Kyle, everyone at the party looked very happy.

With very excited faces, they laughed, raised their voices, and danced together. They were enjoying the masquerade while hiding their identities, hoping that they would get to know each other secretly.

“Masquerade…”

Kyle mumbled softly and picked up the whiskey glass.

Masquerade was popular among the nobles who were bored with their daily life, where they could hide their identity and get along with people. However, there was little chance that Kyle, who was still not interested in the party, would be interested in the masquerade.

Unlike the nobles who prepared a mask a few days before the party started, he just picked up a suitable one and wore it roughly.

After all, people masked the expressions on their faces, so it was not like they knew each other whether they were wearing a mask or not. Thinking so, he moistened his mouth with red whiskey in boredom.

“Can I ask you for a dance?”

A lady wearing a mask embroidered in the shape of a black rose strode towards him. She reached out her hand to Kyle in a rather confident voice.

“I have work to go to. I’m ashamed to be so rude to a lady.”

“…Oh, then there is nothing I can do about it.”

The lady, who nodded her head, could not hide her regret at the end of her words and withdrew.

It wasn’t difficult to say no because he was hiding himself with a mask anyway, so she wouldn’t be able to know who he really was, or if she knew, she would just pretend she didn’t know. Regardless would this be an advantage of the masquerade…?

Kyle took his steps to appease the frustration.

As soon as he got out of the huge door of the banquet hall, he could feel the calm outside air as if he was cut off from the world. The loud sound of music and the light of the chandelier leaked through the thick door, yet it seemed to fade away in the stillness of the night as he went further away from the castle.

He needed to take a little walk.

Count Caprill’s garden was particularly famous for its size, so it seemed like a good place to wander to clear his mind. He didn’t want to hang out with anyone anyway, so he was going to kill time and go back.

When he was walking as far as he could and then went deep into the garden.

“…Who is there?”

Suddenly, Kyle stopped. There was a rustling sound in the corner so quiet that no one could feel it.

Was it a rabbit? A small animal…?

He moved closer to confirm the identity. He stared attentively, wondering if it was a lost and sneaking animal, and he saw a white, slender neck.

…A person?

Apparently, she was a participant in the party. A woman in a colorful mask sat crouching in the grass and staring at him with great tension. She was wearing an ivory-colored dress and curled her body, so at first glance, he thought she was an animal.

Kyle stared at the girl, her eyes really round like a rabbit.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was resting… for a moment.”

“Really? It’s the first time I’ve seen anyone cry while resting.”

He smiled and replied, but when he got a little closer, the woman’s eyes were messed up with tears. It didn’t match the mask she was wearing, so it felt a bit amusing. Unlike the gorgeous mask full of feathers and sparkling jewels, the woman was forced out of it.

Does this girl also not enjoy parties?

“Why were you crying?”

He asked the girl, who was hurriedly wiping her tears away. In fact, even when he asked the question, he was surprised himself because it was an impulsive question.

In the first place, he wasn’t the kind of person to ask such impulsive questions to strangers since the kind of questions he posed were always ceremonial and things that he had to respond to as the Duke’s son.

“…I don’t want to dance.”

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to dance.”

As soon as he answered indifferently, a calm voice replied. At that, the girl quickly shut her mouth. It seemed that the truth had come out without her knowing.

That look was a little funny. She seemed honest.

She did not speak for a long time before she opened her mouth very carefully again.

“…I have to dance. If I don’t dance properly, I might get hit.”

“By whom?”

“…Father.”

Maybe, that was true.

The moment he heard those words, Kyle felt like he got caught in a stone unintentionally. Even though he didn’t even know it was in front of him, it felt like he was tripped over by something he didn’t expect at all.

He tried to think that it was someone he didn’t know, something he couldn’t do anything about, but the sniffling kept bothering him.

Why was she crying so sadly…?

No, it was because she was crying while pretending to be okay, which made it even more bothersome.