WELCOME THE SPRING

"IS YOUR LADYSHIP sure about this?"

Gypsy smiled at Winston Volk to assure the knight that everything would be okay. "Don't worry about me, Sir Winston. I'll be with Prince Cyrus and Young Master Yvo."

Right now, Winston Volk was in her bedroom.

She summoned the knight inside secretly for two reasons: first, to avoid scandalous rumors from spreading. Second, to show Winston Volk the illusion that she created.

It was the illusion of herself sleeping on the bed.

She shouldn't be creating more illusions since the Illusion Core that she consumed in the past was already weakening after she consumed Yvette's Core. But she had to do that in order to leave the mansion without getting caught by Count Woolsey.

[Yvo can leave the mansion freely since Prince Cyrus requested for the young master to escort him back to the Royal Capital. But I can't leave the duchy, so I have to sneak out.]

"That's what I'm worried about, Your Ladyship," Winston Volk said. "Will you really be alright with the Crown Prince and the young master? I wish I could go with you so I could protect you."

Aww.

She didn't expect that Winston Volk would develop a sense of loyalty to her, but she appreciated it.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm really fine, Sir Winston," she assured him. "Plus, you can't leave. Everyone knows that you're my closest aide, so you must stay here in order to deceive Count Woolsey. You know that, don't you?"

The knight let out a sigh, but he nodded. "I understand my duty, Your Ladyship. I know that I should stay here and prevent Count Woolsey from finding out that you have gone out. Even so, I'm worried about leaving you alone with two predators."

She laughed softly because she suddenly remembered how Yvo would often call her a small animal. "Do I really look that weak and fragile?"

[Well, I can't blame them since I'm really weak.]

"It's not about whether Your Ladyship looks weak and fragile or not," Winston Volk said shyly. And for some reason, he blushed and couldn't look her straight in the eye. "No matter what, I will still worry about you– especially when you're out of my sight."

Hmm?

Could it be…

[Does Sir Winston have romantic feelings for me?]

She suddenly felt shy.

[But it will be more embarrassing if I was wrong.]

"It looks like spring has finally come for noona."

She gasped, surprised.

[Since when did they get here?]

When she turned to her side, she saw Prince Cyrus and Yvo standing on her open balcony. It was funny how the two young men had two different reactions.

The Crown Prince was all smiles while the young master had a cold look on his face.

[If I compare them to seasons, then Prince Cyrus would be summer and Yvo would be winter. The young master is really the heir of the North, through and through.]

Prince Cyrus and Yvo were total opposites, but they somehow meshed well together.

"Noonim," Yvo said in a commanding voice, then he extended his hand to her. "Come here."

Prince Cyrus covered his mouth when he stifled his laughter.

Gypsy, on the other hand, found herself walking towards Yvo while reaching for his hand. And then it finally dawned on her.

[Why do I always answer Yvo's call as if I'm his pet?]

Maybe for Yvo, Gypsy was really nothing but a small animal– HIS small animal, at that.

***

"NOONA, I like the atmosphere between you and Sir Winston Volk earlier."

Gypsy smiled at Prince Cyrus's teasing. "Sir Winston is just being thoughtful, Your Royal Highness.

Right now, she was in a plain-looking carriage with the Crown Prince and the young master. It was the carriage that Prince Cyrus had used to sneak out of the capital to visit the duchy in secret. It looked plain on the outside, but the interior was fancy.

The couches inside the plain-looking carriage were more comfortable that the Woolseys' fancy ones. Plus, it was warm inside thanks to expensive magic stones that served as a heater.

[This carriage truly belongs to a royal.]

"But it doesn't seem that way to me, noona," Prince Cyrus continued teasing her. "I think Sir Volk has a crush on you."

She just smiled at the Crown Prince.

[Welp, I guess I'm right– Sir Winston seems to have feelings for me, indeed.]

"Quit it," Yvo, who was sitting beside the Crown Prince, said coldly at Prince Cyrus. "And why are you bringing that up when it's irrelevant anyway?"

"How is that irrelevant?" the Crown Prince complained at the young master. "Noona is already twenty years old. She's at the right age to marry."

She almost laughed at that, but she held back.

[In Korea, there's no way twenty years old is the right age to marry. But this is a different world. Here, girls as young as sixteen get married, and it's the norm.]

"Moreover, noona is only a placeholder. She's not the grand duchess," Prince Cyrus continued complaining at Yvo. "Once you inherit the grand duke title, noona can no longer stay in the duchy. It would be nice if she married a good man like Sir Volk after she fulfilled her duty."

She had to hold back her voice.

[Yep, it's normal in this world to expect women to get married. Men like the Crown Prince speak like marriage is the only option I have after I fulfilled my duty as the temporary Head of House Woolsey.]

But she didn't resent the Crown Prince for that.

[He's a royal prince, and he's young. His views are still narrow. But instead of telling him my opinion using words, showing him that marriage isn't the only option for a woman like me would be better.]

She wasn't just sure if she'd stay in this world long enough to show Prince Cyrus that she didn't have to get married to be happy with her life, though.

"Why does Noonim have to leave the duchy after she fulfilled her duty?" Yvo snarled at the Crown Prince, then he turned to her with glowing, jewel-like blue eyes. "Noonim will stay with me even after I inherit the grand duke title, right?"

Gypsy was so surprised that she voiced out her real thoughts. "No?"

The anger that crossed Yvo's glowing eyes made Gypsy realize her mistake.

[Oops...]

***

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