I Don’t Want the Obsession of a Twisted Archduke

Chapter 31 – The Last

As the sun set over the horizon, I took my evening meal as usual.

“Your Highness, did the meal not suit your taste?” Jean furrowed his brow in concern at me.

“What?” I blinked. “No, it was delicious as usual.”

Jean, who was refilling my glass with water, continued to regard me with worry. Of course, I denied that there was anything wrong.

“Then, by any chance, did you lose your appetite?” Jean asked again.

“No, it’s not like that,” I waved my hands to assure him I was fine, “so don’t worry. I just wanted to slowly savor the food today.”

Truth be told, even as I said that, I mentally acknowledged that there was indeed a slew of mixed emotions swirling around in my chest.

Was I troubled because of my obsession with going back to my world? Anxiety, nervousness, expectation, and sadness all roiled against one another. So many other inexplicable emotions were disturbing my mind, so it was understandable that my appetite was affected.

“Your Highness, I promise that I will take you anywhere you want to go next time, so please don’t be sad.”

Fortunately, Jean seemed to think I was still upset that Kyle was leaving me. I felt sorry for causing him to misunderstand me to that degree.

To show him I was really fine and that I could still eat well, I cut a large piece of meat with my knife and lifted it to my mouth with a smile.

“Jean, I’m not that narrow-minded. Or did you misunderstand me because I ate so daintily today?”

He laughed at my teasing. Afterward, he hesitated for a brief moment before opening his mouth to speak. His tone was soft and endearing this time.

“You don’t know how bright the mansion has become these days because of your presence.”

“Your flattery is too obvious,” I blushed.

“Ahh… really?” he smiled.

We laughed at each other.

I was fortunate to have had someone like Jean as my head butler. He was someone who was always so nice to me. Without him, I wouldn’t have adapted to this place so quickly.

When I get back to my world, I won’t be able to see Jean again, either.

The thought did cause my heart to ache, but losing his friendship was not a strong enough reason to cause me to abandon my plans of returning to my home.

Thank you for everything, Jean.

I silently bade him a short farewell.

After going through all this effort to say my goodbyes and make peace with everyone in the mansion, it would be pretty funny and slightly embarrassing if my plan tomorrow didn’t actually work out the way I intended.

At the very least, it didn’t matter too much since I hadn’t said anything out loud, so no one suspected anything. All my thoughts were kept secret in my heart.

Then, I finished the rest of my meal.

****

Before I knew it, night had already fallen on the mansion, and I was laying on the bed trying to organize my thoughts.

I had gone to bed at the usual time but woke up not too long ago. Judging by how high the moon hung in the sky, it was quite late.

I haven’t seen Kyle at all since we had tea earlier today. Is he busy preparing for the meeting?

However, I noticed that the blanket was a little messy, which I took as an indication that he had been here and gone in the night. Perhaps he came and went while I was sleeping.

A bit of remorse clung at my heart. Even if I was going to see him off tomorrow morning, this was likely our last night together, so it was regretful that he was nowhere to be seen.

It would be nice to see him one last time today.

Our tea time had been a little awkward, but I couldn’t help but think fondly back on it since it was our last one.

The last…

Strangely enough, I felt as if I were using that sentiment as an excuse for all my actions. I stared at the clock and then looked toward the door. It was too late for me to go out in search of him, so I decided to sleep because I had to get up early tomorrow.

Though it was not ideal, I tried to make peace with the idea that I wouldn’t get to spend tonight with him, but I would at least get to see him off before his departure.

However, the sound of the door opening interrupted my thoughts.

Soon after, a man stood in the entryway. Needless to say, it was Kyle.

How funny. I had just been wondering what I would say to him if I had the opportunity to meet him again tonight. Initially, I was afraid he wouldn’t want to talk to me and just say I was talking nonsense again, but when I saw him, my worries disappeared and were instead replaced with annoyance.

Only

“Ah,” I glared at him with a pout, “please come in only after you’ve properly dried your hair.”

“I don’t want to.”

Kyle then headed toward the sofa and I grumbled as I hauled myself out of bed to meet him on the couch for our unconventional nightly routine. He was already sitting on the floor as he handed me a towel. I naturally received it and dried his hair, which actually made me a little troubled at how normal that was.

As if on cue, he reached his fingers upward and started playing with the golden strands that were draped over my shoulder from leaning over him.

“Stop touching my hair.”

“I don’t want to.”

Ah, what was I supposed to do about his annoying mouth? I felt his gaze on me as I sighed.

“I heard from Jean that you’re sad because you can’t go to the meeting with me.”