Isekai: Princess Marquess Becomes Entrepreneur of Tempe

Chapter 68. Qitara

Next day.

“Why did the horse train stop?”

Louis, on his way home from school to his home, was astonished when the wheels at the bottom of the cabin of the horse-drawn carriage he was riding had stopped turning. The man opened the window and turned his head, then asked a bodyguard who was walking next to the horse. The rain fell quite heavily, but did not cover the look of the bewildered face of the bodyguard.

“There's a faint, Young Master. In the middle of the road.” replied the bodyguard.

“Hah? Who?”

“It looks like he is a duke who has just been crowned.”

“What?!” Louis was surprised to hear it. “Take umbrella. I want to see it for myself.”

Louis walked out of the cabin of his chariot to the unconscious figure, accompanied by the bodyguard who was holding him from behind. After approaching, the figure of Arthur Eckart who had just been crowned duke, fainted with a body that drooped limp in the streets.

“Hoi, Eckart! Wake up! Hey!”

Louis woke Arthuir by patting his shoulder, but in vain. Then, by sticking his palm on Arthur's forehead, to check his temperature. His forehead feels so burning.

“She has a fever.. Besides what is she doing here until she faints like this?”

Louis looked around, and there was a mansion whose owner he knew, not far from Arthur's stupor.

“Oh... basic..” Louis nodded his head looking understood. Then, Louis turned to his bodyguard.

“Guard, get him into the cabin, and take him home to Eckart's residence. After that come back here. In the meantime, I want to stop for a while here.”

*****

At Locke's residence, in the capital.

"Elona, open the door, honey! Forgive Brother yes, I didn't mean to make you sad!"

Iris shouted while banging on the door of Elona's room, but the answer received was the same as Arthur before. Silent.

"Elona...! Open the door first! Elona.. ugh! My stomach..."

The excited cries from Iris turned into groans of pain. "Servant..my stomach hurts...! My baby..."

The door to Elona's room suddenly opened, and its occupants poured out. Elona found her sister-in-law lying on the floor holding her stomach while grimacing in pain.

"Sister... why? His stomach hurts, huh? Shall I call a doctor?" ask Elona to panic. “Come, Brother, sit first in my room!”

Elona led Iris's hand, still grimacing in pain, to her bed. As soon as the two of them had sat on the edge, suddenly Elona's hand was firmly gripped by Iris. The woman looked at her sister-in-law's face and smirked cunningly.

"Well, get you! Hehe!"

Elona was shocked when she realized she was being framed. Iris was just acting so Elona would open the door.

The girl patted Iris's hand. "Sister! Don't make anyone panic!"

"You are stubborn! If not in this way, how could you possibly want to get out!"

"Tch"

Elona clicked her tongue, before the two of them finally stood up from her position.

"Listen, I didn't mean to help her hide her identity. Our meeting in your field that day started it all. I didn't know anything." Iris explained.

"When did you know, Stefan had a fight with Art?" ask Elona. Iris nodded as well.

"Your brother was the most defiant when I helped Arthur hide his identity from you. Arthur loves you so much, he's willing to do all that for you."

“But..” Elona wants to deny Iris' words, but she actually has no doubts about the man's sincere feelings for her. Only, she was disappointed why Art did not inform her after such a long time and so was able to meet, Elona instantly learned of her lie.

What is this, the secret that Art wanted to tell me? About his true identity, if he was a duke's son?

He was a son of the duke all this time, and I treated him like a commoner, and told him to come and help me in the fields?

And I even gave him a daily wage like any other worker?!!

In that instant, Elona's face flushed. The girl covered her face with both hands and then half-screamed, “Stay! It sucks! I'm so embarrassed because I've been treating him like a regular citizen, sister!”

Iris was so stupefied at the words of her sister-in-law. “So actually, you're not mad at him at the moment, but just shy? Hahahaha!”

“Ya, yes! I treated him like another worker! I even gave him a daily wage! But it turns out he's even richer than our family! Aghs! I'm shy!”

Elona ran to the window with laughter from Iris. Elona peeked out the window for a moment. It's raining hard out there. Elona thought that Art was still standing there waiting for her, after a night of being left on the cold streets. But in fact, Art was no longer in his place.

Where's she? Did he give up and go home?

“She's not there.”

A voice came from the direction of the room door that was wide open. Louis Vandyke came in with the tip of his suit slightly wet with splashes of rain.

“Louis? You're here?!”

“Sorry, I went straight up to your room without telling.” Louis said with a smile, then looked around. When they were little, Louis often invited Elona to play in this room.

“By login?” ask the man for permission.

“Sure, please! Sit!” sahut Iris's.

“Ah not necessary. I'm just for a second. I just wanted to let you know that your boyfriend just fainted on the street and his temperature was so hot. Looks like a fever due to rain last night.” explained Louis, making Elona flabbergasted.

“What?! Art fainted?”

“Iya. Just got my bodyguard to drive him home in my horse-drawn carriage.”

Elona was stunned to hear Louis' explanation. The man she loved had to faint just because he was staying out there, in the rain, just to wait for the girl to open the door so she could give an explanation.

Louis watched his former fiancee's behavior, then sighed. “If I may advise, meet him.”

“Remember all the good he ever did for you. All his sincerity, his hard work, just so that his identity is not revealed. Since he is afraid, your attitude will change after knowing the truth, then he always keeps it a secret.”

“Louis..”.

“Do not until you regret, Elona. Lest you regret just because you can not lower your ego just a little to forgive him.”.

Elona was stunned to hear Louis' words. Her memories instantly floated, reminiscing about the first time the girl met the injured Art back then, how Art helped her work selflessly, she said, when Art was willing to go home at night just so that the soy field was quickly finished, when Art saved him when he fell from the cliff of a waterfall.

“You're right, Louis. Alright. I will meet him now.” said Elona, accompanied by a small cheer from Iris. Louis smiled at him.

“Then I go home first, yes. Remember, don't fight again when you meet him.”

“Hehe, yes, I promise!”

Louis came out of Elona's room, back to the front yard, where his chariot was waiting for him. After boarding the cabin, Louis glanced at the window of Elona's room.

Don't be sorry, Elona. Don't be like me, who just because of my own ego, now has to lose you.

Louis stared long enough at the window, a room he might never see again. Louis gave a smile, and he closed the cabin window, and the horse-drawn carriage headed towards the Vandyke residence.

*****

At the residence of Eckart, in the capital.

“Yeah, my husband! Arthur's so hot!”

Nania shouted hysterically as she touched her son's forehead with her palm. The woman was surprised to find that Arthur's body temperature was so high. The Eckart family is currently in Arthur's room, after a bodyguard from the Vandyke family delivers the young master of the house in a fainting state with a high fever.

“Iya be patient, Nania. I have called the best doctor in the capital.” replied Ron Eckart who was next to him.

Hearing his mother's hysterical scream, Arthur sobered up and blinked his eyes. Once the man realized he was in his own bedroom, Arthur immediately tried to get up. Dizziness in his head strikes as soon as he tries to get out of bed.

“Arthur, where are you going?? Your body has a fever!”

“You go to the house of Elona. until she opens the door of her room and forgives me..” said her son in a raucous voice because of fever.

“Wait until your fever heals, yes. Not now!” exclaimed mother.

The woman learns that her son ran away from the coronation as soon as the ceremony was over, and apparently went to Elona's house because the girl accidentally came to the event. Then Arthur didn't come home all night, didn't eat anything, and was wet with the heavy rain all night outside the house.

Many times Nania asked her bodyguards and servants to take her home, but the results were nil. Arthur insisted on waiting for Elona under the rain until the conditions became like this.

“Can't... I want to meet with Elona now..”.

“But, Nak-“

“I'm here.”

A girl's voice rang out from the direction of the door, cutting off Nania's words. Elona Locke came with a basket of fruit in hand.

“Elona...” Arthur's face immediately looks cheerful when he sees the girl, although his eyes still look haggard.

Elona turned to face duke Eckart's partner and said, “What's okay, I talked alone with Arthur?”

“Sure, Dear. Please!” said Nania who participated in the sumringah. The girl he had predicted as a son-in-law had come for his son.

Nania pulls her husband's arm out of Arthur's room and closes the door. While walking down the corridor, the woman said to Ron, “Cancel the arrival of her doctor. There is no best doctor for a man who is sick in love, unless his own woman comes!”

*****

Elona and Arthur looked at each other, before the girl finally stepped in annoyance to the side of the bed and placed her fruit basket roughly on the table next to her.

Brak!

The sound of a fruit basket being stomped onto the table was quite surprising to Arthur. “Elona... You are still angry..?”.

Arthur asked hesitantly out of fear. And the girl he was asking was glaring back at him.

“Of course! You can ghost me!”

“Ah? Gho- what?” ask Arthur not to understand.

“Ghosting! The name in my home world used to be for a man who just left his woman without giving news, without giving certainty, just disappeared, like a ghost aka ghost! Like you did yesterday!!”

Elona lands a crushing blow on Arthur's arm, causing the man to complain. “Hey, Elona! Yes, yes, I was wrong.. I'm sorry, yes..”.

“I don't care!”

With a quick movement, Arthur caught Elona's hand hitting him, and linked his own, turning him into a handshake with the girl.

“We start again everything from the beginning of the introduction, you want?” asked Arthur softly. Elona nodded slowly.

“I was yes. My name is Arthur Eckart, currently serving as duke in the Lightz Kingdom, one of the 3 dukes in the country. I lead the province of Nuuburg which is in the south of the country, which means I also lead the cities in it, of which two are Rudiyart and your city, Armelin.

Now introduce, what's your real name?”

Elona took a deep breath before exhaling it. “The story will be very long.”

“I've had time all my life to listen to you.” said Arthur without hesitation.

“Alright.. in my home world, I have the same fate as Elona Locke. No parents, no friends. The difference is, Elona still has a sister, while I am an only child. And there I am a commoner, unlike the noble Elona.

Oh yeah, in the world people call me Tara. My name is Qitara Putri Ariwilaga.”.

That afternoon, Arthur and Elona spend time together telling each other about their true identities, until the sun nearly sets.

*****

...\=\= original writing by @author.ryby \=\=...

...\=\= cover art by @fuheechi_ \=\=...