Chapter 2 Part 11 – A Change Honeymoon

Their meal was quiet. Only the faint clinking of tableware could be heard.

Marie was intently observing Ruby, especially the slight grimace on her face, as if something didn’t sit well with her. Ruby found amusement in this reaction because she knew Marie’s likes and dislikes quite well.

Marie was particularly sensitive to minor but crucial etiquette that highlighted her aristocratic status, and she felt more distaste for herself when she transgressed them. From the way she held her glass to the precise manner of consuming light food before moving to heavier dishes, she believed these were the elements that enabled her to maintain her aristocratic elegance. Ruby was well aware of this fixation because she had tried to instill such quirks to emphasize their household’s status and propriety.

Meeting Marie’s gaze, Ruby smiled mischievously as she purposefully took a bite of the kind of rich, fatty meat Marie disliked.

Marie’s forehead wrinkled even more deeply in response.

***
Eli had definitely changed. Marie wanted to believe that his behavior the previous day was just a dream, but now she was certain.

“Miss Bennette, could you come here for a moment?” Marie called Bennette, who was almost like her confidant, as soon as she came downstairs.

Marie’s voice quivered with suppressed frustration. “Can you tell me everything that has happened between those two?”

Bennette continued, “Young Lady Ruby came to the capital, and a few weeks later, the Marquis also arrived.”

Marie pressed her further: “But what happened? Tell me every single detail.”

Bennette continued to describe the events, “However, the Marquis acted strangely from the day he arrived. He appeared to have hurried here as if he couldn’t wait. His departure from his home was unexpectedly swift, even though I was told it would take a long time. Even the butler, Damon, looked surprised.”

Marie gestured for her to continue, “Go on.”

“As soon as he arrived, the Marquis was looking for Lady Ruby. But that day, Lady Ruby had gone to a party, so the Marquis headed directly to the same party.”

Bennette added, “The rumor about Lady Ruby started at that party .”

Marie now had even more questions about her son’s involvement in Ruby’s rumored man.

‘Did he know, and if he did, did he condone it? 

As Marie heard this, her curiosity grew. Why had her son not mentioned this before? She thought,

“Then what happened next? Tell me.”

“Marquis and Lady Ruby grew closer. They started having meals together and even shared a room.”

Marie wanted to know about the change that had recently occurred in Eli’s behavior, so she asked again, “What changed, though? Tell me about the other changes.”

She was becoming impatient, and she needed more specific details about the recent events.

“He changed. He became extravagant. The Marquis changed all the carriages as soon as he arrived. He replaced them with strong carriages that wouldn’t break under normal weight.”

Marie was puzzled by this information.

“But carriages should be replaced if they’re old or worn.”

Bennet explained, “They hadn’t been made for long, yet he replaced them. It didn’t seem like the Marquis.”

Marie wanted to know more about the changes. “What else? In what ways was he extravagant?”

Bennet answered, “Well, he bought some expensive jewelry as a gift. I heard it was for Baroness Blora’s wedding, but I don’t know more about it.”

“Tell me about these gifts. What else do you know?” Marie inquired further.

“That’s about all I know,” Bennette replied.

Marie was concerned and anxious about her son’s actions. If Eli know about Ruby’s engagement in something improper, this was very wrong.

Marie felt a sense of urgency. If Eli had truly changed, if he was spending every night with Ruby, it couldn’t continue like this. She needed to take action. Marie became restless, and her nervousness showed as she started fidgeting with her fingernails, which broke with a snap.

***

The next day arrived, and it had been relatively peaceful considering Marie’s presence. The main reason for this was that Eli rarely left Ruby’s side, making it difficult for Marie to find an opportunity to harass Ruby.

“Would you like to play together?” Emily approached Ruby, taking her hand. She gazed at Eli hesitantly as if seeking approval.

“Can I play with Ruby?”

“Play with me…? Together?” Ruby questioned, initially thinking she must have misheard.

“Yes. I want to play with sister,” Emily replied, gaining confidence as she grabbed Ruby’s hands.

Ruby glanced at Eli, who was pretending not to look at them. It was unusual for Emily to seek someone else’s company over Eli’s.

Ruby wasn’t exactly sure what to do, but she decided to be accommodating and said, “Alright, sure, let’s play.”

As Ruby turned to look at Eli following Emily’s gaze, he turned his head away, trying to conceal a smile. It seemed that Emily wanted to play with Eli, but he had been sticking with Ruby all the time, which was likely why she changed her target. Maybe Eli had given her advice.

Ruby’s hunch was right. These past few days, Emily had noticed that Ruby had become her brother’s main focus. Since the day they arrived at the Grit’s estate in the capital, something felt off. During dinner, Eli displayed an entirely new side of himself.

He had been paying undivided attention to Ruby, serving her food when she needed it, and ensuring that menus from a distance were brought closer to her. It was as if Eli was observing every little detail of Ruby’s daily life.

Apart from the meals, Eli was also there with Ruby, having tea, going for walks, reading books, and occasionally watching opera and theater performances together. Emily couldn’t deny that Eli and Ruby’s relationship had truly changed. 

Emily couldn’t help but acknowledge that the relationship between her brother and Ruby had truly changed to a degree she could feel. It was not just a simple change in their relationship; it was more than that. People had changed. While Ruby’s transformation was indeed a change, to Emily, Eli’s transformation had a greater impact.

Clearly, his affection for her remained the same, but he no longer played with her. Her brother, who had always come to her first, was no longer there. Instead, there was just a husband who put his wife first.

That’s why Emily decided to win over Ruby.

***
“I want to go horseback riding today.”

Since the day she approached Ruby instead of Eli, Emily had been expressing her desires to Ruby.

“The weather is so nice.”

“…”

“The breeze is going to be so refreshing.”

“…”

“With all the open space, it’ll feel…”

“Okay let’s go.”

“Yeah!” Emily exclaimed and tightly held Ruby’s hand. Initially, Ruby was taken aback by her actions, but by now, she had grown somewhat accustomed to it.

Emily glanced at Eli, who was guarding Ruby like a knight by his side. She knew from experience over the past few days that his opinion wasn’t really worth asking. When Ruby made a decision, Eli simply followed suit – it was the natural order of things.

“Hurry, let’s go outside,” Emily said, excitedly pulling Ruby’s hand.

***

Since they were planning to ride horses soon, there was no need to change into a dress. They soon approached the three people waiting for the horses.

However, there were only two horses coming out of the stable.

“Huh? Why are there only two horses?” Emily asked, looking puzzled. Ruby seemed to share the same thought.

“Can you ride for a little while?” Eli, who had mounted Ruby on the horse first, asked.

“Sure.” Ruby had occasionally ridden horses to go outside on the rainy days in the small estate.

He then helped Emily to get on the horse as well.

Eli patiently taught Emily, who was almost a beginner when it came to horse riding. Ruby, with the sound of horse hooves beneath her, walked slowly while watching Eli instruct Emily. It was so peaceful that it felt like a dream. 

Then she realized how strange it was to be part of the scene that she used to envy and watch from afar back in Shuban. Being a part of that scene she used to envy.

“Ruby.”

Eli was suddenly beside him. His role as Emily’s instructor was now taken over by Leton.

“Just stay like this for a while.”

Then, in an instant, he mounted behind Ruby.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m already done with the instructions, now it’s time to practice.”

“But shouldn’t I ride by myself, If I have to learn this?.”

“Have you ever ridden a horse before?”

He asked naturally, adjusting the reins that Ruby was holding tightly, which brought them closer.

“Yes.”

“Alright then, I understand. Hold on tight.”

Eli tightened his grip further to ensure Ruby wouldn’t be startled and then spurred the horse forward.

Abruptly, as the horse picked up speed, Ruby grabbed the reins with one hand and held onto Eli’s arm with the other. Without stopping, Eli seemed to have a destination in mind as they rode out of the mansion for a while. They finally stopped on a small hill on the outskirts of the estate.

“Are you okay?” Eli got down from the horse first and extended his hand to Ruby.

“You should have asked before riding like this” Ruby responded, taking his hand carefully as she dismounted from the horse.

“Then I guess you wouldn’t have come with me.”

“I really wanted to show you this place,” Eli added, and his expectations were not entirely wrong, as Ruby didn’t say anything further.

“Where is this place?” Ruby asked.

“The best place to watch the sunset.”

It seemed they had ridden for quite a while after spending time at the estate and teaching Emily, as the sun was now setting in the wide open sky. Ruby couldn’t take her eyes off the orange sunset that seemed to paint the world in its hues.

“Seems like a good place for some practice, don’t you think?”

Ruby wanted to say it was not the time for a smug smile, but the sight before her pierced her conscience, and she closed her mouth once again. Eli quietly watched the sunset alongside her.

Eli, too, quietly watched the sunset from the side.

A little later, Emily and Leton arrived.

“Big brother, I flew on the horse!”

Excited, Emily ran over to Ruby as soon as she dismounted and her eyes sparkled.

“You flew on a horse?”

Surprised, Ruby looked at Eli, and Leton, feeling embarrassed, answered, 

“I tried to avoid a collision and ended up jumping really high.”

Hearing Leton’s explanation, Ruby lightly checked Emily’s body to see if she had any injuries. In contrast, Eli nodded and continued to ruffle Emily’s hair, a gesture that implied relief that she wasn’t hurt and admiration for her not crying.

“Now I want to learn horse riding from Leton! I’m going to ride like a pro.”

Emily, impressed by Leton’s riding skills, praised him.

Fortunately, Emily seemed fine, and she didn’t appear too surprised, so Ruby let out a relieved laugh.

“It looks like my enthusiastic student disappeared,” Eli remarked, joining in Ruby’s laughter.

“Well, it can’t be helped. We’ll have to recruit someone else.”

“Could it be Miss Eve?” Eve, who was more interested in dresses, would learn horseback riding.

“We should first train our current student who has completed the practice, like Emily, so she won’t run away.”

Eli playfully kissed the back of Ruby’s hand, and when their eyes met, his eyes revealed affection. That affection, like the red sunset spreading out behind Eli, seemed to have slightly colored Ruby as well. You could see that he was a bit excited in his playful smile.

However, Ruby knew that this peaceful time wouldn’t last long.

Under Eli’s orders, Marie rarely encountered Ruby within the estate, as they resided in separate houses. Occasionally, when they did cross paths, they exchanged nothing more than displeased expressions, without taking any particular action.

However, Ruby knew that this calmness was akin to the calm before a storm. Despite being in a separate house within the capitol, it was still a space arranged for guests, albeit the size of most mansions. To Lady Marie, who was the mistress of the Grit estate, this was a situation that could be seen as shameful.

Therefore, she had no intention of retreating. Ruby, who seemed to be waiting for Marie’s reaction, smiled without responding to Eli. There might be excitement visible in that smile that she couldn’t hide, but there was nothing she could do.

Eli didn’t say much either, except to grip Ruby’s hand a bit tighter. They stayed there until the sunset disappeared.

And the day Ruby had anticipated came sooner than she thought.