Chapter 16

Hugo couldn’t help but laugh at the cold reply to his concern.

Even though Carlisle had left the military first, his hard impression and demeanor still made Hugo feel as if he were facing an active colonel.

But just because he seemed unfazed didn’t mean he was truly alright.

“It’s Ethan Inglebert, not just any man.”

As soon as Carlisle heard that name, he drained another glass of whiskey.

People called them classmates and friendly rivals, but Hugo knew their relationship couldn’t be summed up so simply. Even if most people who knew the details were gone now, there were complicated circumstances between Carlisle and Ethan. Neither expressed it, but the fact that they were uncomfortable with each other hadn’t changed. So it was impossible for Carlisle to be indifferent to his wife, who had demanded a divorce, meeting with Ethan.

“You can’t help but be bothered. Are you really okay?”

“I didn’t know the reason you suddenly asked me to lunch was that kind of gossip. Did Ethan even ask you to probe me?”

His tone was sharp and clearly irritated. Even as a friend, Hugo felt a bit nervous recalling Carlisle’s stubborn and cold personality, which could cut ties in an instant.

“Of course not. Ethan and you—both are friends I care about.”

“That’s nice to hear.”

It sounded sarcastic, but twenty years of friendship had built up immunity to such remarks.

“I don’t think Ethan’s intentions in approaching the Duchess are so pure. You probably think the same.”

Carlisle drained his whiskey again, his gaze fixed somewhere on the Luthers River. It looked still, but even in that calmness, the water was flowing somewhere.

“You know. Yvonne is a woman who couldn’t even stand to be with me.”

“As a third party, I don’t know how your marriage was. Whatever the rumors, they’re just the chatter of people who love to gossip.”

“No. Most of it’s true. Yvonne was unhappy with our marriage.”

That’s why, on the day she first saw him, she said what she did. Once, there were so many young ladies who admired him, and she, well-versed in etiquette, committed a rudeness the first time she saw him.

And then, after a month, she said she loved him—how could he accept that without doubt? What she wanted was not him, but the Polshared Duchy. Only the family name.

“That goes for you too.”

The same. It was true. He had been forced into marriage by Earl Sellus’s proposal. A year later, when he realized he’d fallen into the Earl’s cunning trap, he’d wanted to throw away the contract and everything, acting on his temper.

But, uncharacteristically, he postponed that decision, and somehow ended up where he was now.

‘I love you.’

A voice as clear as a bird’s echoed in his mind. As his mood sank instantly, he refreshed his throat with whiskey again.

The formal meal grew noisy at that moment. Hugo squinted, wondering what was happening, as people’s gazes focused somewhere.

What are they looking at?

There was only a normal outdoor cafeteria diagonally across. From their second-floor vantage, he could see guests enjoying tea in the sunlight.

And one couple who stood out.

Oh, no. Of all times.

Hugo pinpointed exactly where the restaurant guests were looking and sighed inwardly.

Yvonne Sellus and Ethan Inglebert.

Hugo swallowed a curse, and was about to suggest moving inside, using the hot sunlight as an excuse, to keep Carlisle from seeing them.

“The spring sun in May is bad for the skin. Let’s go inside…”

But he never finished the sentence.

Carlisle’s sharp gaze was already fixed on that spot.

* * *

“I was so surprised earlier. If you’d given me a heads-up, I could have played along.”

Yvonne had already complained several times to Ethan about the earlier incident at the outdoor performance. It turned out to be a method for engaging the audience and getting a reaction.

Recalling the thrilling moment, Yvonne looked at Ethan, who grinned mischievously as if he’d expected her surprise, with some resentment.

After the show, they had come to Joy Cafeteria, a famous spot on Long Avenue. The weather was nice, so they took a seat at an outdoor table, and afternoon tea was served.

“But wasn’t it fun? Opera is nice, but sometimes those plays are more enjoyable.”

Ethan smiled gently at her complaining, lightly brushing his bangs aside. His softly curled eyes looked even more elegant as his blond hair swayed.

Yvonne, unconsciously gazing at his face for a moment, saw the entranced expressions of young ladies seated far away and quickly looked away.

“Ethan, you’re really handsome. Everyone keeps sneaking glances at you.”

“Ha…You’re only noticing now?”

He let out a wry laugh at her reaction, as if she’d never noticed his charm before.

What had he been doing all this time?

His tone was so nonchalant that it made his deliberate attempts to be charming feel awkward. Most people fell for him at first sight and couldn’t look away, but this woman always met his eyes and spoke to him, rather than focusing on his looks from the start.

That made her feel oddly different, and the more he saw her, the more mysterious she became.

“And I don’t think that’s something you should say to me.”

“What?”

“The men sneaking glances at you are stabbing my back with their eyes right now.”

“…That can’t be.”

Yvonne smiled softly as she brought the sparkling water the staff had brought to her lips, as if his words were ridiculous.

Even the staff standing beside them couldn’t take his eyes off her and blushed, so her modesty was almost excessive.

Or maybe it was genuine modesty.

The more he saw her, the more she differed from the information brought by Avandonasser’s manager. He doubted whether the woman in front of him, rumored to treat people carelessly because of her beauty, was the same person.

Just then, Ethan glanced at the opposite restaurant reflected in the café window, and his lips curled into a smile.

He spotted a woman selling flowers on the street and beckoned with his finger.

The woman, who had been hesitating for fear of being scolded by the café owner, rushed over.

“These are fresh flowers from the garden today. If the gentleman gives them to the lovely lady, she’ll be pleased.”

With a bright face, the woman proudly held out a basket of flowers.

“Give them all. For someone who suits lilies, it should be lilies.”

At his words, the woman, delighted, selected only the pure white lilies and handed them over.

Yvonne, who was sipping sparkling water, hadn’t even looked at the flowers when Ethan paid the woman and handed Yvonne the bouquet.

“Take them, Miss Lily of Sellus.”

Yvonne’s eyes quivered as she saw the flowers suddenly thrust in front of her. She stiffened and drew back.

“No…It’s alright.”

Yvonne leaned back, but Ethan, thinking she was just shy, brought the lilies even closer.

“Take them. Didn’t the Earl import loads of lilies for the garden because he liked them so much?”

Startled by the lilies suddenly close to her nose, Yvonne reflexively pushed his hand away. The flowers fell to the floor.

Ethan’s eyes crumpled slightly as he saw the flowers scattered on the ground. Embarrassed, he clenched his hand, but Yvonne suddenly began coughing, covering her nose and mouth with one hand.

“Yvonne?”

Cough. Yvonne’s eyes turned red as she coughed harder, her shoulders trembling alarmingly.

Screech. The sound of her chair scraping was loud. Yvonne hurriedly stood, and the attention of other guests, who had been discreetly watching, focused on them.

“Did something go down the wrong way?”

Ethan stood as Yvonne’s condition suddenly worsened. He offered her a glass of water, but she couldn’t even take it, instead opening her bag with trembling hands to pull out a handkerchief.

“No, it’s…Sorry, I have to go.”

Yvonne, covering her nose completely with the handkerchief, spoke with difficulty, gathered her things, and hurried off in the opposite direction.

“Wait.”

Ethan grabbed his hat, paid, and chased after her, who was already disappearing, without a chance to stop her.

What sudden change was this?

Murmurs rose behind him as people speculated about what was happening, and irritation flared up in him.