I Will Disappear, Grand Duke

Judy was called back, and when she saw the letter in Julia's hand, she was surprised and said.

 “Oh, that…  !  I’m sorry.  I must have dropped it without knowing it.”

 Julia asked carefully, returning the letter to Judy, who politely held out her hands.

 “Judy, this letter… Who is it from?”

 Apparently, the letter from Vanosa, Julia’s mother's hometown, contained information about her search for her daughter. Perhaps it was a letter from her mother who was looking for her. Julia couldn't help but feel anxious.

 “Ah, that’s…. the letters keep coming, we don’t know where they come from.”

At Julia's nervous-looking attitude, Judy answered curiously but calmly.

 “Then the owner hasn’t been found yet.”

 Julia nervously clasped her hands and looked at the letter in Judy's hand.

 “If there is another letter from Vanosa, could you tell me first?”

 At her words, Judy widened his eyes and tilted his head slightly.

 It was because she could not understand why the Grand Duchess was concerned about such a shabby unknown letter.

 Still, Judy nodded her head sincerely.

 "Yes!  If another letter arrives, I will bring it to Your Grace first.”

 “Thank you, Judy.”

 Judy bowed her head and then left the bedroom.

 Julia, who was left alone, looked away from the closed door and bit her lips. There was no certainty that the letter was from her mother.  Still, she was already impatient.  Since her childhood she was taken to the capital by the Marquis, she has never had contact with her mother.

The only time the Marquis mentioned her mother was when he threatened her to listen carefully, so there was no way to know where she was.

 So Julia had been thinking that she might be living a new life, hiding in a place where no one knew about.

 After all, there was no way to know if her mother was still staying in Vanosa. Although Vanosa was a small land, there was no guarantee that there would be no workers from it.

 So, first she had to wait.

 Julia gently pressed down her anxiously swollen heart. If her mother was really looking for her, she would send her a letter again.

  After trying to erase her thoughts, she sat down at the table. Soon it was time for Kalosa to visit.  Quietly waiting for him, Julia slowly released her nervously clasped hand.

 At the same time, Lloyd approached Fernan, who was standing in front of the office window.

  “Your Highness, the Emperor has yet to show any signs of anything.”

 Thanks to the more thorough defense of the borders of the Grand Duchy, the area around the territory was peaceful without any turbulence.

 But Fernan asked with a disinterested face.

 “How about the Elody family?”

 "As the marquis succession ceremony is ahead, no one shows any other movement outside.”

 Due to the death of the Marquis, his eldest son, Grayson, assumed the title earlier than planned.  Grayson was rarely seen in politics.  He had no previously held business or title.

 It was said he had not been greatly involved in the affairs of the family because he was either incapable or unwilling to run the family.

 So it was most likely the Marchioness, not him, who gave the emperor the information.

 Naturally, getting rid of the Marquis does not mean that Julia can completely escape from their shadow.

  “Negotiations with Geranian are going smoothly, so it doesn’t seem like there is much to worry about for now.”

 As long as Julia continued to stay here safely, as Lloyd said, there was nothing to worry about right now.

 Now was the time to focus on negotiating with the Geranian.

 Until a few months ago, the Geranian Kingdom was a place where the national marriage with the imperial family was exchanged.

 Those who were narrowed down to the candidates were the third and second son of the third Prince, a family contributing to the founding.

 However, neither of them was a satisfactory match for the royal family of the Geranian.

 The third son of the imperial family without power, the second son without even the right to be a head of state, was not worth matching to the one and only princess of Geranian.

 As a result, national marriage was postponed, and there was still a tight check between the two countries in the frontier.

 Fernan took advantage of the opportunity to contact the Prime Minister of Geranian.

 Geranian responded favorably to Fernan's negotiation proposal, as the Geranian had a very bad relationship with the Imperial Family.

 Fernan pledged to stand on the side of the Geranian on the matter of dealing with predators on the frontier.  In addition, he gave the Geranian the right to trade at sea first.

 As a condition of that, Fernan offered to form a close alliance with himself, not the imperial family.  By forming an alliance with the Gerranian, he could advantageously check the center of the capital controlled by the emperor.

 “In order to finalize the negotiations with certainty, Your Highness will have to meet in person with the Prime Minister sooner or later.”

 Lloyd added quietly.  Fernan, who turned away from the window and raised his eyes.

 “The deadline is two weeks.”

 Fernan did not intend to turn a blind eye to the emperor's tyranny any longer.  He was determined to get his hands on one of the alternatives to get the Emperor. 

Crossing the office, he opened the door and went out.

 His cold, sunken eyes did not change as he climbed the stairs and passed the hallway.  Eventually, when he stopped in front of Julia's bedroom, his heavy momentum was temporarily lifted.  Fernan lightly knocked on the door with the back of his hand.  The door opened immediately. 

 “Oh, Your Highness.”

 Julia, who appeared in front of the door, had a serious expression on her face, but as soon as she saw him, she slowly released her expression.  Then, as always, her face was flushed as tenderly as ever.

 However, Fernan, who had clearly seen the worries that had passed on her face a moment ago, asked.

 “What happened?”

Looking down, Julia hurriedly shook her head.

 "No.  Nothing happened.”

Julia, who answered clearly, held his hand and led him inside.

  Fernan, who was meekly led by her, continued to look at her complexion.  However, seeing Fernan’s serious face, Julia raised the corners of her lips slightly.

 “The priests will be visiting soon.”

 Hearing her words, Fernan then quietly nodded.  That was the reason why he came to her at the right time.

 There was still no significant change in her memory, but Kalosa said that the stimulation her memory system was receiving was growing little by little.

 So, she was now more likely to recall the afterimage of her past.

 Perhaps because he felt impatient after hearing that, Fernan did not want to be separated from Julia for even a moment these days. He wanted to treasure their sweet moments as long as he could until Julia’s memories came back.

 "…By the way, Your Highness.”

 Julia, who sat down at the table, spoke.

 “Did my family contact you by any chance?”

 Fernan, who was sitting opposite her, caught her gaze.  Before he could ask why she cared about that, Julia continued.

 “My father often writes to me… These days, no letters come.”

 In the past, Julia had always been troubled by the reminder letters from the Marquis.  However, his letters, which came to her at random, were cut off at some point.

 She wondered if the Marquis was asking for something directly from Fernan instead of her.

 “There wasn’t at all.”

 Fernan immediately gave an answer.  As if he knew she was worried, he added.

 “And you are no longer involved with the Marquis family.”

 “…  ”

“ So no need to worry.”

 At those words, Julia's eyes widened slightly.  She lowered her eyes, and nodded.

 "No, I won’t.”

 The voice that followed was small, as if she was trying to hide her excitement somewhere.

 Even now, and perhaps even before she lost her memory, Julia was still in the shadow of the Marquis.

 Hearing or mentioning the story of that family made her flinch without realizing it.

 However, Fernan’s words a while ago threw away her greatest pressure, which had suppressed her unconsciously, at once.

 Because those words were the words that Julia wanted to hear from him the most.

A reminder that her new family was this man, not the Marquis who was like hell.

 New family… .  Just by chewing on those words, Julia felt like she was being engulfed by her euphoric joy.

 “Your Highness, the priests have come.”

 Moments later, she heard the voice of the maid outside the door.  Julia, who pressed her excited lips, answered immediately.

 "Yes, let them in."

 The door opened, and Kalosa, with his hands behind his back as usual, slowly stepped inside.

 Cedric was standing next to him as usual.

 Unlike Julia, who welcomed them, Fernan couldn't hide his uncomfortable expression for a moment.

 It was because of Cedric, who followed Kalosa every time, trying to get Julia’s attention.