The Princess' Harem-Chapter 31: The Day She Had to Returned

A horse-drawn carriage sped through the gates of Duke Callisto's residence, scaring away the birds perched on the trees around the garden.

Before the carriage could stop in front of the entrance, its door swung open abruptly, and a short, stout man with a balding head hurriedly got out.

He half-ran toward the manor's entrance. His face was flushed and slightly sweaty, even though he had only run a short distance. As he reached the butler, who was about to greet him, he shouted, "Where is the Duke?"

The butler, already accustomed to the attitudes of the Duke's noble guests, bowed respectfully and said, "The Duke is in his study, Count Richard. I will take you there."

"Hurry up!" the Count shouted impatiently, but the butler simply walked calmly, maintaining the composure befitting a butler.

With a scowl on his face, the Count followed behind until they reached the Duke's study.

Once the butler had closed the door, the Duke, showing clear annoyance at his visitor's arrival, asked, "What is it? Why do you come here like you're being chased by a demon?"

"My great Duke," the Count's face, which had been fierce when barking at the butler, now turned pleading. "Help me," he begged, his face now pale.

The Duke set down the pen he had been using to sign documents. Narrowing his eyes, he stared at the trembling Count standing before him. "What is it now?" he asked.

The Count, noticing that the Duke was clearly not in a good mood, hesitated. He wanted to turn around and leave, but the matter he came to discuss was too important.

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Stammering, he tried to explain, "W-well, Your Highness... P-please forgive me for only informing you now. Our men... I-I mean, one of them just told me..."

"Speak clearly!" the Duke snapped impatiently, cutting off the Count's hesitant explanation and causing him to blurt out what he had been holding back.

"Our man just informed me that the logbook, the one recording all the shipments including the slaves, is missing!" the Count half-shouted, his voice trembling as though he might cry.

The Duke slammed both hands onto his desk and stood abruptly. "What did you say?!" he shouted, making the Count step back in fear.

"M-my apologies, Your Highness..."

The Duke advanced toward the Count, who continued to retreat with every step the Duke took forward. Eventually, the Count cowered, his back pressed against the door, facing the Duke who now stood before him.

"Do you know what it means if that logbook goes missing?!" the Duke growled, grabbing the Count's collar.

The Count's face turned completely pale. He was unable to utter a single word as he faced the Duke's wrath, his expression showing he was on the verge of tears.

"Find it! Search properly until you recover it!" the Duke roared, releasing the Count's collar before stepping back toward his desk.

Without waiting for further anger from the Duke, Count Richard quickly left the study, leaving the Duke leaning heavily on his desk with pale face.

***

After the Count had left, the Duke leaned back into his chair.

"Why am I getting pulled deeper into this mess? I only gave advice or accepted gifts. Now I have to handle everything," he muttered, massaging his temples.

Suddenly, the sound of laughter from several women and a man in the garden near his study window caught his attention.

The laughter grew louder as they approached, and the Duke recognized one of the voices as belonging to his daughter, Olivia.

Hearing the laughter so close, the Duke stood and walked toward the window of his study. "Olivia! Why are you being so noisy around here?!!" he shouted.

Startled, Olivia, who had been joking with some servants and her lover, quickly responded, "I-I'm sorry, Father."

The Duke snorted in frustration and shut the window harshly. "Why can't that foolish girl be more like Princess Viana..."

His words hung in the air as a thought suddenly struck him.

'Viana is in Valendale...'

Remembering this, he quickly wrote a small note, rolling it tightly until it was compact.

Then, he walked toward the falcon's cage in his chamber, opened the cage door, and carefully took out the bird, feeding it some food.

He inserted the rolled-up note into a small tube attached to the bird's neck.

Once everything was ready, he reopened the window of his study and released the falcon into the air.

And the bird soared away, disappearing into the vast sky beyond the Duke's residence.

***

The sound of a bird on the balcony outside the room woke the person sleeping inside from their nap.

When they opened the window curtains, they saw the falcon they recognized, the one they had lent to Duke Callisto of the Elysia Kingdom. If anything truly urgent arose, the Duke would send a letter to them quickly via this falcon.

"Hi, Hero. It's good to see you again," the person said, opening the window and approaching the bird.

They stroked the bird's head gently before retrieving the letter attached to its neck. The falcon closed its eyes, enjoying the affectionate touch of its original owner.

Suddenly, the person clenched the small letter he was reading in anger.

***

After spending several days in Valendale, the time had come for her to bid farewell and return to the Elysia Kingdom.

She and her entourage were escorted warmly by all members of the royal family of the Valendale Empire, including Prince Rayne and Prince Arin themselves.

Everyone saw them off with genuine warmth, exchanging promises to visit one another someday.

However, Prince Rayne seemed different from usual. Viana noticed that the Prince spoke less and acted distant, particularly whenever Reyes was by her side.

Now, the Prince observed that the gaze of the Princess had changed when looking at Reyes, her eyes now showing something more adoring.

Viana, who couldn't quite understand why the Prince had changed or why there was still no appearance of a Love Percentage screen, could only climb into her carriage, sitting with a faint feeling of disappointment.