The Grand Duchess Escape

What if he didn’t open the door? What if he asked her to go back to where she came from? Or worst case scenario, what if he ignored her altogether?

As Asella waited with an impatient pout on her lips, the heavy door slid open and Ryzen appeared from behind.

“Come in, Your Highness.”

She blinked swiftly.

As he was the closest associate of the Grand Duke, she assumed that he had guessed what had happened last night. Even if he had not heard it directly, he remained as polite as he was yesterday.

“I’ll be outside. Please take your time to speak with His Excellency.”

After a brief silent bow, the door closed.

The Grand Duke’s office had an overall profound and serious atmosphere. It had a dark interior decoration, including the wallpaper, so it was not very bright. Calix’s desk was at the very end of the office, which had three long, wide windows in a row.

Despite her entering, he continued to casually flip through his papers. Asella hesitated, unable to approach him easily because of his cold demeanor and a terrible silence reigned for a while.

After standing there for what seemed like forever, Calix asked in a cold tone, not taking his eyes off the papers.

“Didn’t you have something you wanted to see me about?”

His voice, which was usually low-pitched, was even deeper, indicating his disturbed state of mind.

Asella hid her fingers, which trembled faintly repeatedly, under the hem of her long-sleeved dress. She felt like she was walking a tightrope on the edge of a cliff.

If she was not careful, she would crash far below. This was a quite dangerous act.

She clenched her hands so tightly that the bones on the backs of her hands became noticeably white, hoping that the light makeup she had Margo apply would hide her tense face. Finally, after taking a deep breath, her low-pitched voice poured out.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Say it.”

His calm voice was chilling. Just as before, he was still not looking at her.

Asella squeezed her eyes shut and opened them. She barely managed to open her lips, hardly able to get the words to come out, which she prepared and practiced all night.

“I came to…. apologize… for yesterday.”

She wished she could have expressed something more fluently, but she wasn’t very good at expressing her thoughts.

“Apologize?”

Calix finally raised his eyes. His cold, emotionless stare made Asella tremble like a herbivore pierced by a sharp spear. The awfully blank expression was terrifying.

“You’re early. It seems like the night is over already.”

Asella’s lips moved urgently. The conversation must not end here.

“Yeah, I wanted to come and see you last night, but it was too late at night and I didn’t know where you were.”

“So you purposely waited until dawn?”

“I was so distracted last night that I came to my senses and found myself…”

Calix twisted one corner of his mouth. After scanning Asella from top to bottom, he followed up with a sarcastic remark.

“In the midst of all this, it seems you had the time to dress up.”

“This is….!”

She was about to respond that she had dressed up just to meet him, but then she opted to remain silent. He wasn’t going to believe her no matter what she said.

“Seeing you get all flustered in this situation, I can at least tell that you don’t mean what you say.”

“It’s not that.”

“You may leave now.”

Calix calmly declared.

But Asella couldn’t go out. Because if she left, it would be the end for her and Mariel.

She had anticipated the possibility that he would not meet with her. She was even prepared to kneel down if it came down to it.

At least he was still willing to talk to her for now, this alone was a good start. In all honesty, it was better than ten other hypothetical situations she had thought of last night.

“I’m sorry. I just….”

“Didn’t you hear me tell you to leave?”

“Oh, I still have something to say.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you.”

“Wait… really, just a little bit. I won’t waste your time. Your Excellency, please…”

Calix stared at the woman standing in front of him.

Her voice, which trembled slightly, was pitiful. Although he promised himself that no matter what she said, he would not fall for it. It bothered him to see her struggling to stand with her frail body, which looked as if it would collapse at any moment.

It couldn’t be helped. His twisted heart began to soften a little. He rested his chin against the back of his hand and then shook his head.

“What do you have to say?”

By instinct, Asella realized that now was the last chance he was going to give her so she had to pick her words carefully.

“I know that no words can excuse what happened yesterday.”

“…” 

“You must have been offended by my foolish behavior. Believe it or not, I never meant to insult you. I sincerely apologize, Your Excellency.”

Asella said with her eyes still downcast, but she could clearly feel his gaze fixed on her. She bit her lip in tension and impatience.

After a considerable time, Calix finally opened his mouth.

“Are you done?”