Chapter 3 – Part 10

“What’s up with you this morning?” Viscount Kane asked.

Yawning, Kane looked tired.

“Ruby is a morning person.”

Eli, without waiting for Kane’s guidance, sat on the sofa in the drawing room as if he belonged there, crossing his legs.

Kane nodded as if to say, “I see.”

“But what does that have anything to do with coming early?”

“I have to be there before Ruby wakes up. It’s just like I wrote in the letter. I’m going to put an end to Ruby’s rumors.”

Eli looked at the watch he was carrying.

“How are you going to do that?”

“I’m going to pretend that I’m partnering with Viscount Del to help him with his diplomatic endeavors.”

Kane, with a slightly furrowed brow, questioned Eli’s claim about being close to Del.

“Isn’t he the one who had a scandal with a lady?”

“Rumored.”

Eli corrected Kane’s statement.

“How will you involve him?”

Kane asked, his expression saying, “Go on, I’m listening,” after correcting himself by changing the word from “scandal” to “rumor.”

Eli had a persistent side in strange places.

“We became acquainted with Del during the affairs of the Caines Kingdom. We received his help at that time.”

Kane, urging Eli to continue, raised an eyebrow.

“I received help from him again recently, just before the civil war in the Caines Kingdom broke out. Thanks to his quick information, I returned without much damage.”

Eli smoothly explained his pre-prepared plan. It wasn’t entirely false. In his previous life, he suffered during negotiations at the table, and a civil war had erupted immediately afterward. Although he had eventually returned to the capital, he had lost some of his companions and had spent quite a long time in the capital for treatment due to the injuries on his body.

Kane applauded as if Eli had said something impressive.

Eli casually shrugged, as if to say it was no big deal.

“Do we have to go this far?”

“It has to be.”

Eli thought of Ruby a few days ago.

She seemed obedient now, but her eyes were always full of the desire to leave his side.

She never talked to him about their future. That always made Eli uneasy.

“Is it settled with Del?”

“Of course.”

“Alright. I’ll take your word for it.”

Once Kane’s definite response was over, Eli got up from his seat.

“Are you going now?”

“I have to be in the mansion before Ruby wakes up.”

“Why?”

“I want to be the first person she sees when she wakes up.”

A morning-only Ruby existed.

When she woke up from a deep sleep, she would try to wake up in Eli’s arms, or she would easily wake up with a nod like a child. Eli was always moved by those moments.

Eli left Kane, who was left alone in confusion, and exited the drawing room.

“Is he going to die?”

Kane mumbled to himself, left alone.

***
As Eli hurried towards the Marquis, a flower shop caught his eye.

“Wait a moment.”

Eli entered the flower shop after instructing the coachman to wait.

“Do you have a specific flower in mind?”

“This one.”

He carefully selected a flower.

“Is this the one you want?”

As he nodded, the owner of the flower shop picked a red rose.

It was a red rose resembling Ruby’s eyes.

“It looks like a confession.”

Eli looked at her with a questioning gaze.

“The language of this flower is ‘I ardently love you.’ Ever since an article about the language of flowers was published in the newspaper, these have been selling a lot.”

Eli didn’t know the circumstances, but a flower resembling Ruby, with a meaning that suited his feelings, appealed to him.

“Make it beautiful, please.”

While the owner went to arrange the bouquet, Eli couldn’t take his eyes off the rose.

He thought about ordering the gardener to plant it in the garden when he got back home.

Arriving at the mansion with anticipation, Ruby was no longer there.

“The Dowager went out with the Marchioness.”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop her?”

Eli asked with a fierce aura.

“The young lady is very firm. I apologize.”

Damon bowed his head.

“Where did they go?”

“They went to Lady Starlet’s tea party.”

Eli immediately ordered the coachman to go to the Starlet Viscount’s mansion.

***

When Eli arrived, it seemed the tea party was already in progress.

Whether it had started or not didn’t matter; he was planning to take Ruby out anyway.

“Lord Grit.”

The butler of the Starlet Viscount’s mansion rushed to greet him.

“Could you guide me to the tea party venue?”

“If you could wait a moment…”

“I have something to deliver, and I’d like to come with you.”

Without giving the butler time to hesitate, Eli continued walking.

Despite his calm appearance, Eli was far from calm. His chest was filled with anger.

He was anxious because of Ruby, who had no intention of giving up on divorce, and irritated by his own mother, who kept making the situation worse.

The experienced butler of the Starlet Viscount’s mansion seemed to notice Eli’s mood and gestured to the maid to inform Lady Starlet.

Eli nodded to signal the maid, who hurriedly relayed the message.

As the voices of people talking got closer, the grip on the bouquet tightened.

“Oh, why would you say that? Lady Grit is just very kind.”

One of the noble lady’s comments brought Eli’s attention back, and he tried his best not to be rude.

“She was simply helping someone who happened to not be a lady. Even if it had been a noblewoman or a noble’s daughter who was in a difficult situation, Lady Grit would have offered assistance.”

“Oh my, I didn’t know Lady Grit was so kind.”

Despite their obvious intent to mock, Ruby’s voice did not come through.

“That’s how aristocratic society works. Even small matters get blown out of proportion. That’s why you always have to be careful and considerate in your actions. We aristocrats can’t live as freely as we might want.”

Instructing as if giving a lesson, Eli’s mood sank even lower than before.

“Don’t take it to heart. People often categorize nobility as one group, so when one person makes a mistake, it affects the reputation that everyone has worked hard to build. It’s an unavoidable sense of shared destiny.”

“Ah…”

Ruby laughed as if he had just realized something.

“I’ll take it as your concern for me since I’ve only been married for a year. Otherwise, you’d have to be an entirely unreasonable person to bring baseless gossip to the tea party where you invited the Dowager Marchioness Grit herself and her daughter-in-law.”

Ruby’s words left everyone silent. Eli was happy with Ruby’s cold and strong rebuttal to the noble ladies who were indirectly disrespecting her.

Eli then gestured to inform the maid to proceed. Stepping away, she received reluctant approval.

“I hope I’m not interrupting your pleasant time.”

Eli’s composed words seemed to hide the anger within.

As Eli approached, he couldn’t help but catch Ruby’s eye. He handed her the bouquet with a light kiss on her forehead.

“I’ve been looking for you. You didn’t tell me you would be attending a tea party.”

He pouted.

“It seems my wife would have to refuse my mother’s request today, so I’ll take her with me since we had plans first.”

“Did you come here in a hurry?”

“Wait.”

“Why?”

“Your hair got messed up.”

Upon hearing her words, Eli momentarily stopped.

“Would you fix it for me?”

“Wait a moment. There, it’s fixed.”

He resumed walking, but Ruby sighed softly again once they boarded the carriage.

With that expression, Eli momentarily felt relieved.

However, as soon as they were on the carriage, Ruby let out a small sigh.

“Was it always like this?”

“Like what? The party. Is it always like that?”

Her question seemed to have a different intention.

“Today was relatively fine,”

With a tired face, Ruby answered.

She seemed calm, perhaps because it was so frequent and had become a familiar routine.

He’d known that after all the years he’d been without her, but it was still different to see it in person.

Eli clenched his fists tightly, trying to swallow the anger he felt at himself.

He couldn’t have the good conscience to look at Ruby as casually as he usually did.

He had carried the flower he had chosen for Ruby, but in the short time since, it seemed to have withered.