Chapter 23: CH 23

“Now go away!”

At a loss for words, Katya scurried behind him and pushed against Nikolai’s back with both hands.

It was practically impossible with her strength, but he allowed himself to be pushed along by her, turning his head to ask.

“What about my clothes, do you mind if I expose my private parts to other women like this?”

“Eunuch! What do you think is my relationship with the Grand Duke. Come on!”

Just then, Duke Smirnov, returning from an outing, spotted them and approached, feigning ignorance.

“Your Highness, have you come, no, what happened to your clothes……?”

Unnecessarily stung by her father’s voice, Katya swallowed hard and peeked her head out from behind him.

“Katya, were you there?”

“Haha……. Father, you’re here?”

At that moment, Nikolai suddenly made a startled expression and crossed his arms, covering his stomach.

“That’s the thing. Someone tore my clothes off in the middle of nowhere.”

“Huh? Inside my home, Your Highness?”

At the Duke’s question, he merely nodded, his long lashes fluttering.

Katya looked up at him in astonishment at his naturally virtuous behavior.

“How dare. What kind of a ruffian would commit such an outrageous act in broad daylight. Katya, did you see it?”

When he turned to look at her, she hastily hid her hands, which were clasped together under the hem of her dress, behind her back.

At this rate, she was going to be unjustly accused of insolence.

“I, I don’t know, I don’t!”

She spit out the words and the prime suspect scurried away.

Nikolai giggled secretly as he watched her strawberry-colored hair flutter in the wind.

It seemed like the expression ‘so cute I could die’ existed because of Katya.

“That rascal? I apologize, Your Highness.”

“Actually, it was just a joke. It got torn somewhere while I was caught on something.”

“I see. If you’re okay with it, I can lend you some clothes. I apologize on behalf of my attendant for leaving without proper greetings.”

“No need for that. By the way, the Duke’s eldest daughter is very quick on her feet.”

It was a compliment, but the duke took it differently.

It was not proper for a woman to run like that.

Thinking he was making a point, as any northerner would, Duke Smirnov lowered his head in disgrace.

“I don’t know who she’s going to marry, being such an unbridled colt, and by her own admission, she’s going to live with her father for the rest of her life. I don’t mind that, but it’s the hardest thing for a child to take care of old parents. I hope she’ll find a good match soon, and have a family to depend on…….”

The father’s love for his daughter was passed on to Nikolai.

He had never felt paternal love in his life.

He was also separated from his widowed mother at a young age.

“The time I spent with my mom wasn’t long, but it’s a precious memory.”

“I’m the one she carried in her belly for ten months in that weak body and risked her life to give birth to, so I don’t put up with people treating me badly, because she’d be upset if she knew I was going somewhere and being treated like that.”

It made sense that Katya had said that before.

Nikolai felt a little envious of her for having grown up with so much parental love.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Your Highness, I’ve been rambling on about nothing.”

“You shouldn’t worry too much.”

“What?”

“A good man worthy of your daughter will appear soon.”

In the meantime, he didn’t forget to covertly flirt with his future father-in-law.

***

At that time, Bianca was in the marketplace, unaware that she might soon have a brother-in-law.

She had a small hobby of making soap.

The strawberry scent that had so captivated Nikolai was her specialty.

Katya hated perfume due to her sensitivity to scents. She says it gives her a headache, and wouldn’t wear it unless it was her sister’s soap.

When she realized that her sister had washed herself with a different soap at the inn, Bianca, who prided herself on being a soapmaker, felt a sense of crisis.

“I’m going to make sure my sister never uses other soaps again!”

With such a determined goal, she went out to buy the ingredients.

“How are you doing, Princess?”

The perfumer recognized her as a regular and greeted her first.

“What scented oils are you looking for today?”

“I’d like to try a new scent. You know, the kind you can’t stop thinking about once you’ve used it?”

“Are you tired of the soap you used to make? You’ve been buying that combination for a long time, haven’t you?”

“Yes. My sister loves that strawberry jam scent.”

Bianca snapped her fingers, her face full of thought.

She had tried many different scents of soap over the years, but the one that suited Katya best was her strawberry scent.

It had taken a lot of trial and error to get the scent of strawberry dessert.

It just didn’t feel right to change it.

“Then just pack it up as usual.”

“Sure. Is there anything else you need?”

“Well, it’s almost summer and I need a sachet for my dad, so I’m just picking up some materials for that.”

“Sure. Take your time and look around.”

After the perfumer went inside to pack the soap ingredients, Bianca looked around and smelled the various perfumes and scented oils.

She was happily contemplating the many new scents when the door outside opened with a jingling bell and someone stepped inside.

“Hello?”

The man’s question made Bianca turn around.

A tall, light-brown-haired handsome man, almost touching the ceiling, bowed to her.

“Are you the owner?”

“What? That’s…….”

“I’m in a bit of a hurry, but could you please find the perfume I’m describing quickly?”

He must have mistaken her for the shopkeeper.

It was understandable. She always dressed frugally when she came to the market.

Bianca turned her gaze toward the storeroom.

Her orders were always large, as she made soap for the Duchy’s servants in addition to Katya’s strawberry-scented soap.

It looked like the perfumer would be packing for a long time to come.

The man seemed very busy, as he kept glancing at his pocket watch.

Fearing that she would lose the customer because of her, Bianca decided to pretend to be the owner until the perfumer came out.

“What kind of perfume are you looking for?”

“I don’t remember the name, but…….”

“If you don’t know the name, can you describe what it smells like? If I know it, I’ll look it up.”

While listening to the man’s description, Bianca, who had been conducting various scent tests, finally found the perfume he had been looking for.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I won’t hear a single complaint today.”

After a quick checkout, the man patted his chest in relief.

As Bianca wrapped the perfume and held it out to him, she frowned with a knowing look.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“I know, I know. He’s so insistent on getting it.”

“Your master must have a temper.”

Assuming he was the attendant of a demanding nobleman, Bianca lowered her voice to a whisper.

The man blinked in confusion at her words.

“What?”

“It’s hard to be squeamish, isn’t it? You know how noblemen pretend to be so high and mighty in the world, and then treat the commoners so badly behind their backs? We have a big heart and understand.”

Bianca rambled on, remembering suitors who had been rude to her sister.

As the man pursed his lips, unable to find the words to reply, the bell on the door jingled again and another man entered.

“Are you here, young master? What have you been looking for for a long time?”

Upon hearing that, the man dashed towards his servant and gave him a silent gesture, indicating him not to speak.

“How strange. Are you blinking your eyes repeatedly? Did something get into your eyes?”

“Haha… Why are you suddenly using honorifics with me, my lord? Even if you’re angry because I didn’t come quickly, please stop mocking me.”

He lightly poked his attendant’s arm, conscious of Bianca’s presence.

He hated to think that the woman who had been criticizing the nobles a moment ago would be embarrassed to learn of his identity.

“Our lord can be so wicked like this. Hahaha.”

“Then come again!”

Bianca smiled and waved as the man hurriedly led the attendant out.

The attendant who was dragged outside looked up at his master as soon as he left the shop.

“What’s the matter with you all of a sudden, did you just have an accident while you were away from me, like in a play, and have amnesia?”

“No.”

“Then tell me your name, Master.”

“Luka Oblonsky.”

Luka said, running a hand through his light brown hair in annoyance.

He was the third son of the Duke of Oblonsky, head of the Senate, the advisory body to the Grand Duke, and a member of the Boyanin, the collective term for the great nobility of Hersen.

He was probably the least favorite customer in the perfume shop.

Therefore, he continued to act as her attendant, playing along with her misunderstanding.

Little did he know that Bianca was actually a Boyanin like him.

“I’ve never seen a woman so beautiful.”

Luka muttered, holding a hand to his frantically beating chest.

He’d actually fallen in love with her the moment he’d opened the door a few moments earlier and bumped into Bianca.

Even the first words he’d managed to spit out in his panic hadn’t been stupid.

“Is the owner there?” he asked, with the owner still standing.

“She’s beautiful to look at, but you know you can’t let your eyes go to your heart, right?”

“I know.”

Luka replied in a low voice.

He had come down south for a while on business, but soon he would have to return to the capital.

As a Boyanin, he was destined to marry a partner of the same class arranged by his parents.

“Have you found the perfume that His Highness requested? He specifically asked me to bring it when I came from the northern region. But I forgot it, and he was in a lot of trouble.”

“Fortunately, I found it.”

Luka held up the wrapped perfume and smiled.

It was Nikolai, the Grand Duke of Hersen, and a friend since childhood, who had pestered him with this perfume.