Chapter 161: A Secret
"See," Cedric spoke up as he looked in the direction Adrian and the Grand Duke were coming, "I told you he’d be fine."
Renelle’s attention was also pulled towards the said direction and she noticed Adrian and her father walking towards them.
Though they both seemed expressionless, she couldn’t help but notice the amicable aura around the two.
Almost as if they had come to some sort of agreement.
"It seems the Grand Duke is quite pleased," Sebastian, who was standing beside them, spoke up as he looked at his master.
The headmistress glanced at them before chuckling, "Well, he is, after all, Avera might soon change."
"Whether that is a good thing or not," she continued, "remains to be seen."
"We’re leaving," the Grand Duke said as he reached the table.
[Did something happen?] Renelle asked mentally as he looked at Adrian.
[Hmm,] Adrian nodded before smiling, [but it’s a secret between the Grand Duke and me.]
Renelle narrowed her eyes immediately.
[A secret?] she repeated suspiciously.
[Indeed,] Adrian answered with the same calm smile, [the Grand Duke requested my silence.]
Renelle immediately turned toward her father, "Father."
Boreas calmly ignored her gaze and instead looked toward Sebastian.
"Prepare the Vehicle," he ordered, "we’ll depart immediately."
"Yes, Master Boreas."
Sebastian moved instantly without daring to waste another second.
Cedric, meanwhile, looked between Adrian and Boreas before letting out a chuckle, "Oh, this is definitely suspicious."
[Since when does my butler hide secrets from me?] Renelle turned back to Adrian with a frown on her face.
Adrian looked at Renelle for a brief moment before answering mentally,
[Since the Grand Duke specifically ordered me to.]
[You follow my orders first,] Renelle immediately shot back.
[I do.]
[Then tell me.]
[I refuse.]
Renelle’s eye twitched slightly.
[You are being strangely stubborn today,] she said mentally.
[The Grand Duke was quite persuasive.]
That only made her more suspicious.
The Grand Duke noticed the interaction and silently shook his head.
Honestly, at this point, he wasn’t even sure whether Renelle understood just how terrifying her Butler truly was.
Then again, perhaps it was better this way.
Isla suddenly tugged on Adrian’s sleeve the moment he got close enough.
The little girl looked up at him quietly before extending her arms.
Adrian stared at her for a second before smoothly lifting her into his arms without resistance.
"Have you been good?" he asked.
She simply nodded before resting comfortably against him as though that was the most natural thing in the world.
Cedric watched the scene with visible disbelief, try as he might, the kid refused to get close to him.
At first, he blamed it on the fact that he was of the opposite gender, but the scene before him told him otherwise.
"Am I losing my charm?" Cedric dramatically let out as he placed a hand on his chest.
He then paused and looked at Adrian before adding, "No, this is all your fault."
"You stole my little sister," Cedric was being as dramatic as possible as he pointed towards Adrian, "and now, this cute little creature won’t allow me to pick her up."
"..."
Adrian continued looking at him with a blank expression, but he was far from done.
"I challenge you to a duel," Cedric added, "if I win, you surrender your love to me."
Isla let out a chuckle at his antics, causing him to grin at the sound.
Renelle let out a sigh before she muttered, "brother."
"What?" Cedric defended himself shamelessly, "I’m simply reclaiming the affection that criminal Butler stole from me."
"You’re a grown man," She said, "what will your fiancée think seeing you act like this?"
Cedric immediately went silent, standing straight again, "Erm....she doesn’t have to learn about this."
"Then stop bothering my Butler," Renelle answered.
"Fine, fine," he answered before turning to Adrian, "lucky you."
The next moment, the bus pulled up and as it turned out, Sebastian was the one driving.
"Let’s go," the Grand Duke said as he walked towards the bus and stepped in.
"Thank you for taking care of my students," headmistress Evelina said to the commander who could only bow in response.
With that, she also walked towards the bus.
The rest of the students, who were back from the resting quarters, soon followed her into the bus.
But not before Lucian and Noelle received a glare from Cedric who very clearly didn’t like the two.
Well, that much was to be expected, especially after she heard of how the prince had broken off the engagement.
He was only restraining himself from forever trapping the prince in ice because his sister seemed happy for now.
Lucian visibly felt the temperature around him drop after meeting Cedric’s gaze.
The prince remained calm on the surface, but internally, he was fully aware that if not for Renelle’s current mood, the final year student before him might’ve genuinely attacked him.
Cedric didn’t bother glancing at Noelle a second time, after all, even though she was the reason for the engagement being annulled, he didn’t blame her too much.
After all, if the prince truly respected his sister, then the engagement would’ve been avoided.
Or at the very least, he would’ve avoided breaking the engagement in such a manner.
The prince only felt the pressure on him disappear the moment he got out of Cedric’s sight.
Renelle, meanwhile, also walked into the bus with Adrian, who still carried Isla in his arms.
She was now peacefully asleep as they got into the bus, taking a seat a small distance away from the Grand Duke and headmistress.
"Are you certain you won’t tell me what you discussed with my father?" Renelle whispered as they sat down.
"The Grand Duke prefers telling you himself," Adrian muttered with a chuckle, "so for now, my lady will just have to be patient."
Renelle leaned back on the seat, clearly dissatisfied, but she had no choice but to wait.
Though she wondered what was so important that her butler refused to tell her anything.
"Fine, I’ll wait."
