Clearly, he had taken her first love away - Chapter 97
"Your Majesty, Duke Pioneira has requested an audience."
Aster tilted his head as he looked at the duke who had suddenly requested a meeting.
The man who entered the office looked paler than usual.
After a slight bow, he hurriedly got to the point.
"I need to go down to where my daughter is for a moment."
Aster was taken aback by the serious look on his face.
"Has something happened to the duchess?"
"Karina is fine. It's just that..."
The duke's face darkened.
He seemed reluctant to reveal the matter.
Aster, at least knowing it wasn't related to Karina's safety, shrugged.
"Go ahead. You were planning to take a leave anyway for your overseas tour, right?"
After dismissing the duke, Aster called the head butler.
"Did you call for me, Your Majesty?"
"Have a report on the duchess prepared."
"Yes, I will bring the report shortly."
He had secretly assigned someone to keep an eye on Karina, but out of a sense of conscience, he had only stored the reports without reading them.
'No matter what, I promised not to read them.'
His weak resolve crumbled easily in the face of a small unease.
Not long after, the head butler entered with the report.
"Here it is, Your Majesty."
The more Aster read, the stiffer his face became.
"The Grand Duke was in the south?"
"Yes, he joined Sir Wilhelm here."
"Did he follow the duchess?"
"That... doesn't seem to be the case."
It seemed too coincidental that he was always around her.
The strained relationship between Andrew and Tatiana was now a well-known rumor in the social circles.
Rumors began to circulate that Raymond and Daniel also had a falling out with the Grand Duchess.
In the midst of all this, the person they were trying to approach again was Karina.
Aster's expression grew darker.
"And this report was submitted recently. It seems the duke is going to Laresi because of this matter."
The last report he received mentioned that the head of the magic tower, Freya, had been in an accident.
"The head of the magic tower?"
"Yes. They are still investigating the exact cause, as only a few people know about it."
The head of the magic tower holds an extraordinary position.
If there were any rumors about her safety in the empire, things could get quite complicated.
Thoroughly separating public and private matters was truly in line with the Duke Pioneira's character.
"I understand. You may leave."
After the head butler left, Aster tried to focus on his work.
He closed the documents and stood up.
The air in the office, filled with the setting sun, felt more stifling than ever.
He wanted to go to Laresi where Karina was right now.
After some hesitation, he shook his head and sat back down.
He was determined to keep his mind on work.
But his body betrayed his mind and headed towards her.
In the end, Aster left for the south with only a brief note.
At the hotel where he went to meet Karina, only the flustered duke was waiting.
"I came to see the duchess for a moment. Do you know where she is?"
"Ah, please wait a moment."
At the duke's nod, the maid who always accompanied Karina replied.
"Miss is out for a walk. She's at the beach behind the hotel."
Hearing the maid's words, Aster immediately headed for the beach.
The knights who recognized him bowed.
Aster briefly acknowledged them and approached the bench where Karina was sitting.
"What is the duchess doing here alone at this hour?"
Karina turned to him with a startled look.
Her eyes were slightly red, as if she had been crying.
"How did Your Majesty find your way here?"
"I was worried you might be blaming yourself..."
Before he could finish, Karina suddenly reached out and hugged him around the waist.
The coolness of her body against his made Aster flinch.
Aster, flustered, tried to push her away but stopped when he saw her shoulders shaking.
He placed his hands on her shoulders without a word.
As he slowly patted her, her sobs grew louder.
Like a dam that had burst, Karina collapsed.
Aster was relieved that the person she met now was him.
He couldn't imagine what might have happened if someone else had reached out to her in her vulnerable state.
The thought alone made his spine shiver.
After crying for a long time, she seemed to calm down and took a step back.
As the warmth of her body left, a sense of emptiness washed over him.
Aster looked down at Karina, trying to hide his disappointment.
"Are you feeling better now?"
Her flustered expression made him smile.
"Sorry. Did I surprise you?"
"I was surprised, but..."
He thought he hated physical contact, but with Karina, it was different.
He wanted to stay in contact with her for longer.
"Is it because of the head of the magic tower?"
Karina had a strong attachment to her family.
In this world where there were few people she could trust, her parents were the only ones on her side.
"I can't deny it, showing you this side of me."
Her weak smile made his heart ache.
"To be honest, I'm a bit tired. Every time something like this happens, everyone whispers behind my back. Even when I first met Your Majesty, they said I was a disgrace for proposing a marriage even after the engagement was broken off."
On days when she heard such words, she sometimes thought.
If she hadn't appeared in the original story, things might have been a little different.
Thinking about the extras who were involved with Tatiana made her feel even more so.
They all faced miserable situations before meeting her.
"You've only done your best in your own affairs. Why should you be criticized for that?"
Aster's words made Karina smile slightly.
It had been a long time since someone had stood up for her.
"I understand their perspective. I must seem like a duchess who takes charge and works without any human touch."
"Those people would have criticized you no matter what you did."
Aster's words made Karina's eyes widen.
"If you had used others to do the work, they would have called you lazy and refused to acknowledge your efforts."
It sounded like he was talking about himself.
"Everything you just said, did you experience it?"
A bitter smile appeared on Aster's face. He nodded and muttered.
"The late emperor never liked or approved of anything I did. Even when I tried to please him by doing things his way, he grew tired of it."
Karina thought Aster was similar to her.
But unlike her, who had her family on her side, Aster's family was his enemy.
"I respect what Your Majesty does. I think it's cool. I admire your dedication to your work."
Aster turned to look at Karina.
The words she spoke were what he wanted to hear from someone, but not from her.
He wanted to hear something other than admiration or praise.
"I also think you're amazing. No matter what others say."
Her long hair fluttered in the sea breeze, making her stand out even more in the dark.
Her hair, deeper than the bright night sky filled with the moon and stars, made Karina even more prominent.
Aster reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.
Love wasn't a necessary condition for all marriages.
Especially for Aster, it was even more so.
He believed mutual trust and political goals were more important than love.
At least, that's what he thought when he proposed to Karina.
Aster held her cold hands, warmed by the night breeze.
He rubbed her hands with his fingers, as if to push away the chill, and whispered.
"If things are settled in the south, will you agree to be engaged to me?"
Seeing Karina's flustered expression, he suppressed a smile.
After all, it was he who had rejected her proposal just a few months ago.
Back then, Aster thought he still had the patience to wait until he fully won Karina's heart.
'To think I believed that was possible.'
Winning her heart completely could wait until after they were married.
Aster pressed his lips to the back of her hand and whispered.
"Karina Pioneira, will you marry me?"
On her blue eyes, all the emotions he had hoped to see—surprise, gratitude, worry, and trust—surfaced.
This time, he would reach her first.
He embraced Karina as he watched a figure disappear into the distant darkness.