Looking for My Fiancé's Lover

“Isn’t it already time to set a date? His Majesty must have already told you, I assume?”

Ever since Lockherd followed Nezar and made great contributions, the Emperor’s favour towards Ezelot had been increasing by the day. In addition, while most heirs to the throne got married before the age of 20, Nezar was in his mid-20s with only the engagement pledge established. From the Emperor’s point of view, it was certainly worrisome.

To Lockherd’s question, there was no response from Nezar. Instead, he was just staring at him with his arms folded in silence, exuding a chilling air. There were very few people who could blatantly perturb Nezar, and he could handle them just fine.

Soon, Lockherd sighed deeply and opened his mouth.

“Just in case, do know that I didn’t mean any pressure.”

Nezar seemed to be quite tired both externally and internally. At Lockherd’s half-playful words, he still couldn’t erase the rigid look on his face.

“Could it be because of my father?”

“There is no way the Count will refuse.”

“Then could it be that Kate…asked to postpone the wedding? And it’s the marriage to no one else but you, the crown prince?”

He talked of it in a joking manner, but seeing Nezar’s grave expression, he must have hit the point. The headache, which seemed to have been relieved a little, felt like creeping up again. Lockherd pressed his temples as he continued.

“According to my recollection, as soon as the engagement pledge was written, she tried to become a decent lady, I thought she had gone crazy or something… The shock at that point is still vivid to me, it’s like witnessing the sun rise in the west. Did her love for you fade in the meantime? Well, since you’re older, I guess it makes sense.”

The last sentence was an obvious mistake. It was something to be kept inside when talking to Nezar. At that, Nezar threw a deathly glare at Lockherd, but he pretended to be ignorant.

“Is that why you’re in a bad mood? Were you mad at Kate, who changed her mind right then?”

Nezar, who leaned back comfortably on the sofa, answered in a voice so thin that it might disappear before anyone could catch a sound of it.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised.”

Suddenly, he was curious. Kate, who was like an immature child, had now become a woman, and they would not be able to avoid changes in their relationship as both of them had become adults. Among them, there was only one thing Lockherd was curious about. What did Katrina Ezelot mean to Nezar?

He was an enterprising and active man like other young aristocrats, but at the same time, he possessed the unique conservatism of the imperial family and tenacity reminiscent of a fortress. Would Nezar be able to break through the fortress wall and come to feel toward his fiancée, Kate, as a woman rather than his sister? No, even if he could, would he admit that feeling?

“No matter how I think about it, I don’t know what the problem is. Is there a need to consider Kate’s easily swayed heart when you two are already engaged? With His Majesty’s permission and you can proceed with the wedding immediately.”

The maid, who had just prepared an afternoon tea set, served a teapot and refreshments on the table one after another. Unlike before, where only biscuits were served, there were ham and vegetables sandwiched between soft slices of bread. Perhaps Lockherd’s hunger had been taken into account.

Immediately leaning the teapot for some black tea, Nezar said.

“I have already told His Majesty that we will postpone the wedding date to the end of the year. It looks like we will get married in the middle of winter when the whole bouquet might be blown away.”

Lockherd already knew that Nezar pampered her, but he never thought the date would be postponed. Dumbstruck, a corner of Lockherd’s mouth unknowingly curled into a smirk. Promptly, he asked.

“What did he say?”

As if contemplating, Nezar put down the teacup to inhale for a brief moment and met Lockherd’s gaze. Perhaps because of the lack of energy, his entire facial muscles stiffened. Before long, he sighed and parted his lips.

“Nevermind. I’m not going to benefit from asking a guy who has no interest in women like you for advice anyway.”

(T/n: okay now I’m seriously doubting Lockherd’s sexual preference)

“Aren’t you ignoring me too much? Even though it looks like this, we are still siblings, you will never know for sure. Can’t you give me a vital hint?”

Nezar, who gazed up sharply at Lockherd’s words, responded firmly.

“I don’t think you’ll have anything good to say even if you are not ignored.”

Anyone who saw it would think that Nezar, not Lockherd, was Kate’s real brother. After that, Lockherd refrained from saying or doing anything that would irritate Nezar’s nerves, and silently drank water.

Looking back, right before the outbreak of the Northern Expedition War, there was a man that Kate talked about. She even asked to see him, something she wouldn’t normally do. Pancion Entera. However, even if he conceded to Kate’s falling for the young duke, the time did not match, since he had also been out of the Empire for five years.

Don’t tell me that guy Rick said something weird to Kate again.

Grabbing his forehead, Lockherd leaned back against the couch as Nezar did. He felt like he had one more thing to do as soon as he returned to Ezelot.When I opened my eyes, the sun in Entera was already high up in the sky. If it were Ezelot, I would have delayed my wake-up time somehow, but since this was Entera, I couldn’t be lazy. I struggled to pull myself up and get out of bed. Even so, when I finished dressing up and left the bedroom, lunchtime was drawing near.

I snooped around Caron’s room to meet her, but strangely, I didn’t hear a single noise. Usually, the girl would have greeted me first, so I felt somewhat uneasy about it.

While looking at the sky outside the window in a daze, I saw a carriage visiting Entera. At that, I moved to in front of the stairs. On the first floor, a tall and classy woman could be seen talking to Caron.

“Who is that?”

I grabbed a maid passing by and asked her while making a chin gesture. She answered right away.

“Ah, that is lady Elysée Romand.”

“Elysée Romand?”

Romand was a family name that I had heard of for the very first time. The maid, noticing my inquiry, continued in a whispering voice.

“She is also an alumnus of the academy as sir Pancion. After graduation, she often visits our castle.”

The maid’s gaze toward the other woman was not very kind. She spoke mechanically with a straight face, she must have tried to manage her expression, but still, it looked awkward.

After staring at the two people downstairs without a word, I went down with quiet steps. The closer the distance, the clearer the conversation between the two women could be heard.

“It’s really a shame. Somehow I don’t think I can get the timing right. I don’t want much, I just want to talk comfortably with Lady Caron…”

“I feel sorry too, but I think another opportunity will come someday.”

Caron, as always, was smiling so beautifully that the whole world was lit up. However, Elysée, who was standing in front of her, seemed dissatisfied with something, and her hands were fidgeting. Shortly after, she parted her lips again.

“Pardon me but… Lady Caron, do you feel uncomfortable or reluctant by any chance? Since you keep refusing, I wonder if I’m being rude.”

“That can’t be true. My brother’s best friend is a precious guest at Entera. You are not rude at all.”

Caron’s words were a little subtle. The point was to ask if it was inconvenient for her to visit the estate, and to that question, Caron replied that she was an honoured guest of Entera. If my intuition wasn’t wrong, Caron was uncomfortable with Elysée.