Chapter 116
Ramona almost burst into laughter at Adrian’s novel proposal. Barely managing to suppress it, she silently held out her left hand.
Seeing her slender, bare finger, Adrian took the ring from Toto’s paw and carefully slid it onto Ramona’s finger. It was certainly not a ring passed down through generations of the Cassius Ducal House. Not wanting to give Ramona anything second-hand, Adrian had bought a pair of rings himself and kept them close to his heart at all times.
As he softly kissed her hand, now adorned with a ring featuring a red ruby that matched the color of her eyes, Adrian’s own eyes turned a deep, burning crimson.
Seeing his golden eyes reflecting unfiltered, simmering passion, Ramona set Toto down, stroked Adrian’s face, and spoke.
“What are you doing, Lord Adrian? Hurry up and warm the bed.”
At her words, Adrian willingly surrendered himself to the bed, pulling Ramona toward him. As ragged breaths began to drift through the canopy, Toto lay down on a plush sofa and drifted off to sleep.
***
Kaizen, who had planned a picnic for Ramona—who had been virtually confined to the house—was creaking like a broken hinge from early morning.
“This… this cannot be. Our sweet, innocent Princess with a shameless scoundrel like that…”
Kaizen, who still viewed Ramona as his little sister to be protected, saw Bessie and Fedric standing by the door, pale as ghosts, and tried to rush inside. The two blocked him with all their might until, a moment later, Ramona yawned and casually opened the door.
When she stepped out looking completely disheveled, Fedric, startled, immediately took off his cloak and wrapped it around her. Bessie, who had gone in earlier with wash water, had come out in shock and explained the situation to Fedric to help stop Kaizen.
The sight of Adrian fumbling to put on his clothes through the gap in the door sent Kaizen’s fury to its peak.
“In my opinion, it looks like our sweet, innocent Young Duke Cassius was caught by the shameless Ran—mmph!”
Titiana, who had rushed over after hearing about the standoff between Kaizen and the Bessie-Fedric couple, began to speak without a filter before Spinel quickly covered her mouth. Spinel also wanted to agree that Titiana’s assessment was likely correct, but he couldn’t help but be wary of Kaizen’s mood.
Standing behind Ramona, Adrian used a plump rabbit to hide his torso, as his shirt buttons were nowhere to be found. Though it wasn’t autumn, his bare skin was covered in “crimson leaves”—vivid marks.
Seeing the marks he could never have made himself, Titiana gave the composed Ramona a thumbs-up.
“I apologize for greeting you in such an unkempt state. Ramona was just so… vigorous…”
As Adrian blushed slightly and turned his head like a tragic, innocent protagonist, Kaizen’s blood pressure began to skyrocket.
“How dare you, in this house…!”
“What do you mean ‘this house’? It’s my house. I asked Lord Adrian to come over to check if the security was breached or not. Turns out it was breached in more ways than one.”
Ramona shrugged and casually stroked Adrian’s face. She could feel the heat.
“You feel warm. Did I push you too hard last night?”
“Pwahaha! Our sister really is a masterpiece the more I see her. If Father saw this, he would have collapsed clutching the back of his neck.”
Ramona had been a bold mischief-maker since childhood. Titiana, who had always expected her sister would one day do something to spike the overprotective Kaizen’s blood pressure, laughed heartily. The days of living in silence and suppressing laughter were over, so Titiana clutched her stomach. She then stripped the cloak off Spinel and handed it to her future brother-in-law.
“Is there any clothing that fits the Young Duke? His build is similar to yours, Brother. Lend him a set.”
“No! Why should I!”
“Oh, so you want the whole world to see and gossip about the masterpiece Ramona painted on the Young Duke’s body?”
At the words of Titiana—who had returned to her original personality since Ramona’s return—Kaizen sighed and told Antonio to bring a change of clothes.
“I must have lived too long. Our youngest, at night, in a room with a man…”
“Dear, you used to shove your face into mine and talk about sharing a room even before we were married. When my family tried to protest, you suppressed them with money and power…”
Kaizen hurriedly covered Camilla’s mouth as she spoke quietly from behind.
“Ahem, I don’t recall…”
“Do you also not recall making our Lionel before marriage?”
“No, that’s not it… Well, anyway, let’s go to the dining room and wait.”
Looking thoroughly flustered, Kaizen hurried Camilla toward the dining room. On the way, Camilla turned back to Ramona and gave her a wink. Once Kaizen disappeared, those left behind finally found peace and burst into laughter.
“It really is all about the face for men, isn’t it, Sister?”
“You’re asking the obvious. We’ll go down first, so take your time coming down. Dear, let’s go. Hurry!”
“Yes, I understand. Ahem, Young Duke Cassius, let’s try to get along as fellow men in the same boat. I’ll see you later.”
Though he was originally a knight of a family and Adrian was a future Duke, Spinel didn’t mind. Perhaps because he had married into such a prominent family, he had become quite bold himself.
“Yes, future Brother-in-law, and future Sister-in-law! I will see you shortly with Ramona.”
At Adrian’s greeting, while clutching Spinel’s cloak over his chest, the two headed downstairs with very satisfied expressions.
***
Rumors that Ramona and Adrian had spent the night together had already spread throughout the estate. Before long, it seemed the news would jump the walls, pass through Eclipse, and reach everyone in the Empire.
In the end, a weeping Kaizen had no choice but to grant permission for Ramona and Adrian to marry. It was said that after giving his consent, Kaizen locked himself in his room for an entire day and wouldn’t come out. Occasionally, a tearful voice could be heard calling for his mother and father.
In contrast, Ramona, who had personally driven a nail into her brother’s heart, found her outings became very free. The popularity of the daughter of Marquis Caspian, Princess of Leander Empire, daughter of Grand Duke Ayla, and future Duchess Cassius reached the heavens.
Dozens of invitations to tea parties and gatherings poured in daily; ten versions of herself wouldn’t have been enough to attend them all. Since she had never been active in society, she made it a point to attend at least one gathering a day to expand her network.
Though she was a newcomer to the social scene, no one dared look down on her. Even when Ramona made a mistake, everyone laughed it off. The Imperial family had also accepted Grand Duke Ayla’s request and did not officially register her as a member of the royalty, but since they treated her as a niece, even those with ill intentions couldn’t harm her.
“My Lady, I’m worried you’ll be exhausted.”
“I’m fine. If I complained about this, I wouldn’t be the daughter of the great Marquis Caspian.”
When Ramona arrived at Duke Cassius’ townhouse by carriage with Bessie, she was greeted with bright smiles.
“Welcome. We were just waiting to see when you’d arrive.”
“Lord Adolf, I hope you have been in good health.”
“Of course. I’m still honing my body and mind while looking forward to handing over full authority to Rian. But let’s not stay out here; let’s go inside.”
Despite her change in status since leaving the place, Ramona remained the same. Everyone flocked to her, greeting her warmly. Watching this from the side, Bessie looked on with pride.
“Sister, you’re late! The young master was waiting for you in his room but fell asleep for a bit. Please, go see him.”
At the news of Raon, who had returned home for the weekend, Ramona hurried to her son’s room. Brown, who had been covering the sleeping Raon with a blanket, smiled and quickly stepped aside.
Sitting beside the sleeping boy, Ramona gently brushed back his messy hair. As she did, his golden eyes snapped open as if he had never been asleep.
“Mom! I missed you!”
Ramona smiled warmly as she held Raon in her arms.
“Our Raon, you’ve been doing well and studying hard, haven’t you?”
“Yes, but Dad bragged to me the other day that he went to see you. He’s so mean every time he does that.”
Raon made a slightly dissatisfied face but immediately buried his face back into Ramona’s lap. Ramona gently patted his back as he acted like a spoiled child for a while. Then, she spoke with a serious expression.
“I came today because I have something to say to you. I need to receive something from you, my son—and no one else.”
“Hmm, I don’t know what it is, but I’ll give you everything. I’ll even give you Dad for free, so please just take him.”
“…”
Ramona had been about to say, “My son, please give your father to me,” but her quick-witted son had beaten her to it, attempting to sell off his father at a bargain price.
