Chapter 177

Astelle couldn’t believe what she was seeing now.

A man and a woman were hugging each other in a small pavilion.

The masked man is clearly her brother, Fritz, and the woman with him is Gretel.

Astelle said nothing but looked at the two. She was so shocked that her head didn’t work properly.

‘Why are Fritz and Gretel……?’

When did these two become like that? Could it be that it happened spontaneously because of today’s ball?

In that brief moment, all sorts of thoughts came to mind.

The two of them just stared blankly at Astelle and Kaizen, embarrassed.

There was a moment of heavy silence between the four of them. It was a silence of shock and astonishment, but only one wasn’t too surprised.

It was Kaizen.

He was the first to open his mouth. “We’d better go back now.”

Astelle immediately came to her senses and understood the situation as soon as she heard his calm voice.

At first, she was shocked enough to faint, but now that she came to her senses, she realized that she had interrupted her brother’s tryst.

Astelle hastily hid her puzzled expression.

Likewise, Gretel, who came to her senses, hurried away from Fritz.

As Fritz let go of Gretel’s hand, Astelle clearly saw the bitter emotion in her brother’s light green eyes.

“Sorry if I surprised you.” Fritz apologized to Astelle and Kaizen.

Kaizen muttered lowly, “Rather, I think we surprised you.” He then turned to Astelle who just stared at Fritz and Gretel without a word.

How could this happen? Could it be that they were just meeting briefly since it was masquerade ball day?

It would have been fine if the two showed signs of trying to laugh off this embarrassing scene.

However, not only Fritz but also the easy-going Gretel became stiff and at a loss.

Like people caught in a deep relationship that has been hidden for a long time.

Kaizen turned to Fritz who was standing there silently and asked calmly, “If you don’t mind, why don’t we meet at the Empress Palace in a little while? It’s already late.”

The ball usually ends with rest and conversation.

You can’t talk much while dancing, so after the dance, you sit together in twos or threes, eat snacks, and sit back. Although the main goal is to chat about what happened in the ballroom.

Kaizen’s words meant that they should meet and talk again after organizing their thoughts.

Fritz looked back at Gretel, a little taken aback. He seemed to be worried about whether she would be okay.

Gretel nodded her head, and Fritz immediately answered, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Astelle also agreed after pondering for a moment.

“That would be great.”

She wondered if it would be better for her to just pretend she didn’t know, but since she faced this situation right in front of her eyes, she had to say something.

I can’t talk here, so it would be best to cool off for a bit and then meet them again.

The four of them agreed and parted ways.

The masquerade ball without the hosts was coming to an end before anyone noticed.

Two hours later, the masquerade ended spectacularly.

Everyone went home satisfied with the luxurious night they hadn’t enjoyed in a long time.

It was a ball that everyone was satisfied with except for Astelle, the hostess.

***

“Your Majesty, I brought the tea.”

The lady-in-waiting brought the tea and cautiously entered the drawing room.

Fritz and Gretel came to the Empress Palace as promised after the ball.

Astelle came last after she finished the ball.

The four of them sat down and remained silent.

The lady-in-waiting must have sensed that the atmosphere was not good as she quickly went out after setting down the teacups and simple dessert.

There was still heavy silence in the room. The only person with a nonchalant expression was Kaizen.

He murmured lightly, “I already know you two are close, but…….”

“You already know?”

As Astelle stared at him in surprise, Kaizen’s face also showed a bewildered expression for the first time.

“They two hung out often.”

Astelle was completely unaware of this.

Come to think of it, Astelle had rarely seen the two together.

“I had no idea.”

“I’m more surprised that you didn’t know.”

“I, I…….”

Gretel bowed her head to Astele with a perplexed face.

“I apologize.”

“Gretel?”

“I apologize to surprise you all of a sudden. I should have told you earlier, but…….”

Gretel bowed her head again with her pale face full of remorse.

Seeing Gretel so flustered and apologetic, Astelle felt rather sorry for causing such an uncomfortable situation.

At first, she was terribly surprised, but she was the one who broke into the pavilion unannounced.

Having a tryst in the imperial garden is, of course, a problem.

But today was the masquerade ball day, so it was hard to say that it was rude.

Rather, it was Astelle herself who prepared the place for the young lovers to mingle and play.

Fritz comforted Gretel by holding her hand. Then he turned to Astelle.

“This is all my fault, not Miss Gretel’s.”

“No, I’m the one who asked you to keep it a secret.”

Gretel rushed to defend him.

Astelle listened to the two of them and grasped the situation.

So they’ve been in a relationship like this for quite some time but kept it a secret.

It’s not like Astelle is angry with Gretel.

Fritz is her brother, but Gretel is a benefactor who helped her and even saved Kaizen’s life.

When asked which one she was more grateful for, of course it was Gretel.

She’s not mad at Gretel, but she’s a little mad at Fritz.

“Why did you say you were going to the ball?”

If you have a lover, you should just say so.

But he didn’t. And the clueless Astelle urged him to attend the ball.

Fritz sighed with an embarrassed face.

“After all, you also tried to find a lover for me, Sir Seibel, Hannah, and Miss Naen as well. Isn’t that why you wanted me to be at the ball so badly?”

Astelle remained silent.

Her brother was right, but she didn’t want to tell him that apart from him, the other three people hadn’t even gotten as far as him.

Kaizen, who was just listening, asked her in surprise, “Did you throw the masquerade ball with that intention?”

“…….”

Only then did she remember that she hadn’t told Kaizen the exact intentions of the ball.

It was because she was afraid that he would be mad at her for worrying unnecessarily during pregnancy.

Kaizen looked at Astelle who remained silent and then turned his head and muttered under his breath.

“I shouldn’t have let it happen.”

It was a voice of deep disappointment.

“Yes?”

“Never mind.”

Astelle glared at him, then turned her gaze back to the two people across from her.

“You don’t need to be sorry. You two are adults and it’s not even my business. I just wish you’d told me earlier.”

Come to think of it, it makes sense to keep it a secret.

The difference in social status between the two is so great that they probably can’t date each other publicly.

“How long has it been? Since when…….”

Brother Fritz and Gretel?

It was a combination she had never thought of before.

Because in her opinion, the very polite and sincere Fritz, and the easy-going and free Gretel, did not completely suit each other in the least.

Gretel bit her lip in an awkward way and glanced at Fritz.

She answered, “Since we were in the South together in the winter.”

***

The relationship between the two began last winter. Gretel headed for the Southern Mountains as soon as winter began.

Astelle decided to build a greenhouse in the southern mountains and a plantation to grow herbs, and Gretel proceeded to work there step by step as she had planned.

The job itself was very easy.

It was because the lord of the region had already finished the basic preparations and the other officials were very sincere and cooperative.

When Gretel arrived, the greenhouse was almost finished.

No one ignored her because she came under Astelle’s orders.

‘Her Majesty’s power is so good,’ she thought.

Although some people were a little rigid after hearing her identity. But after a while, they became overly polite.

It was because Fritz visited the mountains to check on the progress.

From the first time Gretel saw him, she had a crush on Fritz.

‘He is a handsome man from the capital.’

Of course, His Majesty the Emperor is also ecstatically handsome, but he was so intimidating and terrifying that she didn’t see him as a man.

‘This handsome man is Astelle’s brother.’

After hearing about Astelle’s circumstances, Gretel thought that Astelle’s father and brother were very bad people.

She naturally imagined that they were both arrogant and self-important nobles.

However, Fritz whom she met in person was a polite and kind handsome man.

‘He looks like Astelle. Although they seem to have very different personalities.’

Back then, she just had a crush on handsome men, which was her taste.

The reason the two got close was when she told Astelle that she was being watched.

From that day on, Fritz often visited her and even invited her to his mansion.

During the months Gretel stayed in the capital, she became increasingly intimate with him.

Even in the mountains, Fritz tried to help Gretel by respectfully being polite to her.

“The Duke ordered it.”

Along with the words, new bedding and furniture came in, and delicious food kept coming.

“These are all rewards for those who work hard in the mountains,” Fritz said so, but it was too much for simple welfare benefits.

One day she heard that the official who had been rigid with her had left.

When she asked where he went, the answer came back that the Duke had transferred him to the farm’s caretaker.

“He’s on the farm?”

He was a clerk in the estate under the mountains, but being a farm’s caretaker was a pretty severe demotion.

“He must have been rude to the Duke.”

When she asked why, the servant only said so and ran away.

After that incident, the officials and servants around Gretel treated her much more carefully than they did before.

The lord of the region even treated her very well as if he was taking care of a princess.

“…….”

Gretel wasn’t a fool either.

She sensed that Fritz was being overly nice to her.

Still, when they stayed in the castle in the mountains, there were a lot of people watching, so there was still some distance.

It was when they went down to the bottom of the mountain range that the distance collapsed.

The southern mountains are rugged terrain that runs from east to west and north to south.

There is a large lake at the end of the ridge of the mountain range to the west.

On the last day of the year, Gretel simply packed her things and prepared to head down the mountains.

“I’m going to the New Year’s market.”

“Is there a market around here?” asked Fritz.

“It’s not usually there, but there’s a market by the lake around this time.”

The lake below the mountain range is a large lake that straddled the borders of the three towns.

In every town, boats and merchants come and go by the lake every day.

In particular, the village below is where there is a marina over the lake, so there is a small market on special days like now.

Gretel had been waiting for the New Year’s market to open for a long time.

“Do you mind if I come with you?”

“Yes?”

Gretel was taken aback by the sudden offer and asked in a panic, “If you need anything, can I buy it for you?”

Gretel herself thought it was a really stupid question to ask.

There’s no way he, a Duke, would need anything in such a town market, and if he had something to buy, he would have sent his servants a long time ago.

Fritz smiled slightly embarrassed but with a bittersweet look.

“I don’t feel comfortable seeing Miss Gretel go alone.”