Irene carefully stepped back. If she moved any closer, then their already narrow distance, would be breached. If she shifted herself a little forward, she would end up touching him. She looked up at the handsome face, slightly breathless and a light flush crossed her cheeks. Irene could not help but feel a bit embarrassed at her forward interaction. Noel looked amusingly at the small figure in front of him.
“I have heard about your story.” She started.
“Of course, who has not? I’m aware, it is the most frequently touched topic these days.” Noel casually answered Irene’s words.
From his answer, Irene wondered how much he had heard. What would pass through to him, when people talked about him?
“…I also heard that you would not be able to inherit the Kristen dukedom.”
Noel lifted his eyebrows at her blunt remark. The story that had just come out yesterday had already spread throughout the empire. Someone must have started the rumor on purpose. For Noel, who had been subject to extreme bias his entire life, he knew the culprit without having to look for them.
The clouds cleared and Irene’s eyes gleamed with a sense of determination. Then, Irene straightforwardly spoke to him.