EnShiLada

(Rather than a synopsis, this is more like a prologue.)

"P... please marry me, your grace!"

She shut her eyes after saying those words. Her face gradually reached the brightest shade of red in embarrassment, excitement, and also... fear of being rejected.

After a few seconds of silence, and waiting for a definite response, she instead heard a gentle laugh that was on par with the music of the gods being played by angels, filling the entire room.

Slowly, Pepper opened her eyes, mesmerized by the sight. She buried the image of the man in front of her, laughing as his fist covered his slightly open lips. The wrinkles around his closed eyelids emphasized the tenderness of his calm face. 

It was not the kind of laugh mocking Pepper or what she said, rather, it was more like a surprised laugh that escaped his mouth that one couldn't help but say...

'He looks kind and sweet.' 

Embarrassment struck her once more as the Grand Duke opened his eyes and met hers. She immediately lowered her head, pretending to watch her shoes squabble. She hoped that he didn't see her ogling in front of his face. 

"U...uhmmm"

Pepper could still hear his quiet laughter as she watched his long fingers reach for his teacup on the glass table. She couldn't deny that seeing the silver ring on one of them reflected brilliantly on the glass affected her, but she didn't have the right to talk about it. 

Pepper had only realized how guilty she felt for the late duchess for committing such an inconceivable thing, but she knew she had to go through with it.

She wanted him. 

'Please, late duchess, bestow your blessings on us. I swear I'll take care of him, so please, please... I hope he accepts my proposal.'

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Yes, yes finally! I am graduating from college, hopefully, *fingers crossed*. Finally have some spare time to write. And, please excuse my poor written and bad synopsis, that's my most hated part in writing so I didn’t go all out here.

I am fond of reading historical, fantasy romance that’s why I am setting this story bet. 17-18th century because that’s the most appropriate age for my dramatic story (lol), I guess? Anyways, this may not be much like the other well-written novels out there but, if you're here, I hope you enjoy.

My inspiration for writing this one was the anime Ristorante Paradiso, I recently re-watched the anime and *Italian chefs kiss* to the level of maturity of that anime!

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Beloved, Pepper

After a few days of deliberation and consulting with her best friend, Sunny, the second daughter of George Countship and the only friend she could confide in with her secrets. Pepper finally voiced out her not-so-vague feelings, since she knew and understood her inner self better than anyone else. She wasn't an idiot who couldn't think for herself, she just wanted assurance and support from someone who would root for her objectionable desire.


Sunny flipped her hair to the side as if she was certain that her hunch was always right from the start. She knew as soon as she saw Pepper early in the morning—with a smile wider than the river in their backyard—that this girl was definitely like the season they were in, in her springtime. She was like an open book to her, she had known her since they were brats that she could read her even if her eyes were closed.


"Those feelings you mentioned, I felt all of that when I first saw the crown prince. He's so dreamy that I fell in love right away, to the point where I wanted to marry him on the spot."


Sunny's pupils dilated while thinking about the crown prince of the empire. Then, after a few seconds, she looked at Pepper with a smirk. She couldn't imagine her best friend turning to her with this kind of talk, yet the unexpected came. Even though Pepper always said that 'Love is only for dumb', this very same Pepper suddenly said that she wanted to marry a man she only saw once, a complete stranger.


Well, she couldn't blame her since they were unexpectedly the same, comparably dumb for romance.


"So who's the gentleman you want to ask your parents for marriage?"


Pepper, who had been composed earlier, couldn't retain her composure and finally explode with denial.


She grew dizzy as his name was about to come out of her mouth.


Irritated, Sunny drew closer to Pepper and squeezed her face with her sweaty hands. 


As if reacting to a hot pot that touched her skin, Pepper yelled the name she had been meaning to say since the day she saw him.


Chapter 2 - Definitely inlove