CH 17

It felt like time was frozen for a moment.

He seemed to be waiting for her to take off his mask.

So Isabelle mustered up her courage and took off the mask that was covering the Duke’s face.

It was probably natural for her hand to lose strength and drop the mask. 

Isabelle paused for a moment, staring blankly at the face in front of her. 

The face that she saw for the first time was that of Duke Cardiago, but also belongs to her familiar childhood friend. 

“·······!”

Isabelle was speechless and unable to say anything.

Riggs broke the ice with a wink and straightened her up.

“Isabelle, are you okay?”

“….uh, are you really Riggs?”

“How can you not even recognize your childhood friend’s face?”

“Riggs is Felix Cardiago?”

“That’s right. You’re the only one who calls me that.”

He laughed shamelessly.

Isabelle couldn’t get the words out of her mouth as a lot of things were going on in her head, all she could do was pout.

It was as expected; in her head she already thought Riggs was Duke Cardiago.

But when she saw the baby deer in a gorgeous uniform with well-kept hair, her eyes hurt.

Riggs was so relaxed when he held Isabelle’s flowing ribbon and said.

“Rosa, it seems that my fiancée is uncomfortable with her shoes. Help her change to something comfortable.”

“Eh, Riggs, you, wow… you….”

Riggs furrowed his eyebrows.

As Isabelle followed Rosa, she kept looking at him as if she had been scammed. But letting her go was inevitable. 

‘······going crazy.’

The heat he had been suppressing rushed through and colored his cheeks. Riggs pretended to wipe his sweat and covered his face with his hand.

He couldn’t believe his name came out of Isabelle’s mouth.

A sweet voice continued to ring in his ears.

‘Isabelle called me by my full name.’

The moment the question in her sky-blue eyes turned into certainty. Her body trembled as Duke Cardiago and Riggs, who had been completely separate to her, were merged into one.

Had he looked a little longer, he might have wanted to devour her. There was a need for him to distance himself and quench his thirst. 

It just so happened that Isabelle was uncomfortable with her awkward high heels.

Being away from her for a while was a good decision in many ways.

“Bill, will you bring me a cold drink?”

“There’s good quality wine here. I’ll bring it to you.”

“……ice water.”

Hearing the trembling master’s voice, Kiel burst into laughter.

Ice water. Cardiago doesn’t get drunk even if he drinks alcohol like a fish.

“Hyung, what are you going to do in the future if you’re this nervous already? I heard you’re getting married two weeks after you proposed today.”

“……noisy.”

Riggs cooled off his inner heat by drinking the ice water that Bill handed him.

***

Meanwhile, Isabelle, who had changed into low-heeled, flexible shoes, was cooling her face with her fan.

How on earth could this happen?

‘Riggs is the Duke of Cardiago… Huh…’

No wonder she was dumbfounded, as she had seen her baby deer being beaten dozens of times.

No, was it true that the legitimate heir of Cardiago, who was born during the solar eclipse, was really beaten?

‘Didn’t you get hit on purpose? But why?’

No matter how hard she thought about it, there’s no reason for him to come to her crying after being beaten on purpose, so this assumption was put on hold.

But there were many other charges against Riggs.

‘It was all a lie to say that he changed jobs frequently. He said that he earns what he needs for his day-to-day life…!’

Even though she was upset to think that everything her best friend had told her was a lie, she could understand his feelings to some extent.

‘If I had known that Riggs was Duke Cardiago, I would have felt burdened. I wouldn’t have been as close to him as I am now.’

No, it’s still not something that could be done with a little bit of discomfort.

It was strangely embarrassing to remember she was worried that Riggs might not have enough money to feed her.

‘It wasn’t something I should have worried about!’

Rosa smiled and said to her diligent fanning.

“Lady, does your heart race at the sight of His Highness the Duke?”

“I’ve never seen him like that before.”

“We are also surprised by the unfamiliar appearance of His Highness these days. He’s a quiet and cold man.”

What did she mean the baby deer was cold and quiet?

Isabelle repressed her desire to refute her and went back into the hall. 

Riggs, who was more relaxed, looked at her and gave her a welcoming look, making her feelings more complicated.

She felt like she wanted to slap him on the back and ask him how this happened, but there were too many eyes.

‘·····I’m scared of the reapers. I don’t know what will happen if I hit their master.’

Isabelle decided to take Riggs to someplace private to have a conversation between the two of them. Of course, everyone else had to be left out.

But she didn’t know what to call her friend. ‘Riggs’ seemed too polite. ‘Duke Cardiago’ she also disliked because it felt too distant.

After contemplating for a while, Isabelle opened her mouth cautiously.

“…Felix.”

“Yes.”

For some reason, it looked like his ears perked up, making her speechless. He didn’t seem to bother with titles.

“You called my name, Isabelle. Is there anything you want to say?”

“I’d like to talk to you on the balcony for a moment. Just the two of us.”

“You don’t have to speak formally. You’re my fiancee and an old friend. I know you’re doing so because of the ball.”

Riggs’ voice was full of leeway. It was the same even when the two of them entered the balcony.

“What are you going to say in this mundane place?”

“Riggs, why… did you hide everything from me?”

Riggs explained the reason step by step with an apologetic face, but his voice didn’t match.

“At first, I hid it because you lived in the Pilsburg Temple. Pilsburg doesn’t like Cardiago. Once I missed the timing, it was hard to open my mouth.”

“······.”

“Every time I went to see you at the temple, you played a part in making me busy. You didn’t give me time to talk.”

“No, that’s…”

“You made me do the laundry and the dishes for the first time. I’ve never done anything like that in my entire life.”

“·······.”

Isabelle was silent for a while because she had nothing to say.

Riggs smiled lightly and ruffled his hair. From the moment he realized his feelings for Isabelle, it was an action he always did.

“So is that all you wanted to ask after bringing me out here? Aren’t you curious about anything else?”

“Anything else?”

“Like why did I bring you to the castle?”

“……Riggs didn’t buy me.”

Even though he was caught lying for their entire friendship, he was relieved that she still seemed to trust him. Riggs affirmed Isabelle’s comments.

“The person who bought you was Baron Iron. The same man who broke into the temple. He’s the head of a Baron who used to do chores for Cardiago. I think someone bribed him and he sold some of my information.”

“…..That’s why Priest Matteo sold me.”

“The Baron is now in custody of the Duke of Cardiago. Priest Matteo has been dealt with on the spot, so you can rest assured for the time being.”

There was subtle intimidation in Riggs’ voice, saying that he had subdued someone. Isabelle was surprised at herself, feeling relieved by only a few words.

“I didn’t know that and asked you to marry me. That’s a relief. Now such a thing as a fake marriage…”

“I have no intention of breaking off the marriage.”

Isabelle, who was relieved, was a little startled by his firm voice. His eyes were clearly different from before.

“Riggs, what do you mean you don’t want to break off the marriage?”

“Literally, you know very well that the Duke of Cardiago is unmarried. Your situation is not so good either. I don’t think there is any reason why we shouldn’t be married.”

Before it felt like she was having a conversation with her friend of 10 years Riggs, now she felt like she was facing Duke Cardiago. Isabelle swallowed without realizing it.

“Isabelle, you said you wanted the man you were going to marry to kneel before you and propose to you.”

He knelt down.

“You said you’d engrave your husband’s name on the inside of the engagement ring and kiss the ring whenever you missed him.”

Riggs pulled out a small jewelry box from his arms.

The crest of the family was embroidered with gold thread on top of the reddish-brown ribbon, the color of Cardiago.

“Open it. I hope you like it.”

Isabelle opened the jewelry box carefully. Clicking, there was a pleasant sound and a ring with a large jewel on it.

The other person’s name was imprinted on the inside of the ring, just as she told Riggs was her sweet dream.

Felix Cardiago.

The name of the noble Duke of Cardiago, an Emperor candidate.

Isabelle read the engraving silently. Her face was filled with satisfaction and a little longing.

“This is Riggs’ real name, isn’t it?”

“So you think I engraved another man’s name on it?”

For a moment she didn’t know if he was laughing or upset, but then soon whispered in a soft voice.

“You asked me to marry you first, so you can’t say no. I’m the closest man to your ideal type among the men around here anyway.”

“Ideal type?”

“Tall and handsome, and at night he smells of soap. And you say you like a guy who sleeps with minimal covering. On the first night you don’t want to sleep, the bed should be busy.”

Riggs said playfully, took out the ring and put it on Isabelle’s ring finger.

“Waking up on the sofa with the curtains we ripped off the night before, and then having brunch together? I can do it all for you.”

He finally spoke in a serious voice.

“I can give you the last name you’ve always wanted. You can use the same last name as me.”

“······.”

“Isabelle, so marry me.”

He knew everything about his childhood friend.