Duke and Duchess Reunion - Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Aneta and Carlos walked along the path to the outskirts until they reached where the carriage was waiting. Their destination was a restaurant that Carlos had reserved in advance.

In the past, Aneta would have returned to the estate immediately after completing their undercover mission, but this time, she followed Carlos as promised.

The restaurant was located in a district close to the royal palace, on a street frequented by nobles.

As their shabby carriage entered the street, which was lavishly decorated with colorful autumn flowers, many people’s gazes briefly converged on them before dispersing.

“Your Grace, the Duke of Baltimor, Your Ladyship, the Marquis of Adenauer, we’ve arrived at the restaurant you mentioned.”

At the coachman’s announcement, Carlos and Aneta disembarked from the carriage.

After handing the coachman money for his meal, they entered the restaurant, causing the staff, who turned their heads at the sound of the door opening, to freeze in shock.

Their shock wasn’t due to the attire of the two, which was not fitting for the establishment’s standards.

The restaurant owner believed that as long as guests paid for their meals, it didn’t matter what they wore. He thought there was no need for discrimination based on clothing since it wasn’t the clothes that paid for the food.

The staff was surprised for a different reason. It was because two high-ranking nobles, recognizable to everyone present, had appeared in the attire of commoners.

However, simply staring wouldn’t provide answers. The staff quickly abandoned any attempt to guess and stepped forward to guide the pair.

“Thank you for visiting us, Your Grace, Duke Baltimor, Your Ladyship, Marquis Adenauer. We will guide you to your room. Please follow me.”

There was no need to ask if they had made a reservation. The staff member, after bowing deeply, politely gestured ahead, leading the way to the room Carlos had reserved.

As their titles were mentioned, even the nobles, who were engrossed in their affairs, reacted.

Though they were equally surprised, the nobles’ reaction was slightly different from that of the staff.

The fact that the two occasionally went undercover was a rumor that had spread among the nobility due to the restructuring of the city’s security forces.

Carlos and Aneta were aware of this, which was why they hadn’t paid much attention to their attire.

As the well-dressed nobles looked on, Carlos and Aneta followed their guide without a hint of hesitation. There was no reason to be intimidated by the attention, and neither of them had such a disposition.

The room they were shown into had an atmosphere that was both lavish and restrained.

The table was already set with dishes, gleaming under the lights, ready for the reserved time.

“I’ve already ordered everything you like,” Carlos said.

No sooner had he spoken than two staff members entered, pushing carts, and began setting the dishes before Aneta and Carlos.

Normally, courses would be served in a structured order, but Carlos had requested that everything, from the appetizers to the main courses, be brought out at once. He wanted to spend uninterrupted time alone with her.

“If you want to order anything else, just let me know.”

Although Carlos had carefully chosen dishes that Aneta liked and ones he thought she would enjoy, he seemed a little concerned that he had taken the liberty of ordering for her.

“This is more than enough. All the dishes I wanted to order are right here.”

“That’s a relief.”

Carlos sighed in relief and signaled the staff member. Understanding the signal to leave them alone, the staff member, who had been about to pour wine, placed the bucket with ice and the wine near Carlos before bowing.

“Please enjoy your meal.”

After the polite farewell, the staff left, leaving the two of them alone in the room. The meal began at Carlos’s suggestion.

As he watched Aneta eat, Carlos took the wine bottle that had been buried in the ice. He thought she might be getting thirsty.

Carlos uncorked the bottle with an opener and then stood up, drawing Aneta’s attention.

She followed him with her gaze as he walked behind her.

Aneta, initially puzzled, soon realized what Carlos intended to do. She chuckled softly, but Carlos, determined to see his plan through, continued moving.

Leaning over from behind Aneta, who was seated, Carlos wrapped his arms around her, reaching forward to fill her glass with wine.

“Is there a need to pour wine like this?”

“There is.”

Aneta watched as the red wine Carlos poured slowly filled her clear glass.

As she spoke, Carlos set the bottle down and placed both hands on the table.

This time, Aneta was completely enclosed in his arms, but instead of being flustered, she turned her head to look at Carlos.

Seeing his blue eyes entirely focused on her, Carlos felt a wave of satisfaction and finally spoke.

“I plan to fully indulge my selfish desires today.”

“Alright, go ahead and try.”

Aneta responded playfully and leaned forward to kiss Carlos on the lips.

In response, Carlos froze, his expression blank, as if he were caught off guard. He could never get used to Aneta’s straightforward displays of affection.

“You’re making that face again. Do you dislike it when I kiss you?”

Aneta asked teasingly, knowing full well he didn’t. She wanted to coax a reaction out of Carlos, who still looked stunned.

“Of course not. Even if the sky were to split in two, I could never feel that way.”

As she intended, Carlos quickly responded, denying her words with the utmost seriousness as he stood up straight, withdrawing his hands from the table.

“Then how about we postpone indulging your desires for a bit and focus on eating? You’ve barely touched your food while watching me.”

Aneta gestured with her eyes toward the untouched food on his side of the table, which was slowly growing cold.

She had felt a flutter in her chest at how he poured out his affection, forgetting even to eat. But now, she hoped he would take better care of himself.

Understanding her concern, Carlos obediently followed her suggestion.

Returning to his seat, he sat down and stared at the wine he’d left on Aneta’s side of the table. A sudden thought crossed his mind.

Should he pretend to be drunk and ask her to stay with him until the morning? Carlos thought of ways to extend his time with Aneta, but unfortunately, his plan was thwarted before it even began by Aneta’s keen perception.

“You told me to eat, but you didn’t say anything about drinking wine. I’ll drink this all by myself, so if you want some, you can have that appetizer wine over there.”

Although the appetizer wine was still alcohol, even Carlos wouldn’t get drunk from it. Knowing it had almost no alcohol content, Aneta hid a smile as she saw Carlos’s face change from excitement to disappointment.

***

“You know, when I did that, Chris…”

Aneta and Carlos were not the only ones who had ended a near-house arrest and were enjoying their newfound freedom.

Vernon had once again come to Lennox’s office to talk about Chris, and Aneta let his words fade into the background as she reminisced about yesterday’s memories.

The time they spent after leaving the restaurant was simple, yet nothing could have been more precious. She never imagined that time could feel so fleeting just because she was spending it with someone.

As much as she cherished those moments, Aneta resolved to spend more time with Carlos like that in the future.

“And so, we decided to get married… Aneta, are you listening?”

Before she could finish her thoughts, Vernon quickly realized that Aneta wasn’t paying any attention to him.

“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?”

“I was listening. You said you decided to get married. That’s great news. Wait, what did you just say?”

As Vernon narrowed his eyes, realizing that she had just repeated his words without thinking, Aneta abruptly stopped.

The news hit her like an unexpected bombshell, leaving her mind momentarily blank. She almost wanted to believe she had misheard.

“I must be seeing and hearing things because I’ve been too idle lately. Say that again. Who is marrying whom?”

“I’m marrying Chris!”

“Vernon, the Day of Barthelot passed a long time ago. I’m not going to indulge in this kind of joke, so if you’re going to keep this up, you might as well leave.”

Despite Vernon’s emphatic declaration, Aneta firmly denied reality, as if she had blocked her ears.

‘Barthelot’ was the protagonist of an old story, a character who loved lies and pranks so much that he lost all his wealth because of it.

‘Barthelot’s Day,’ named after him, was a day when many people played harmless lies and pranks. It was a playful tradition that started among commoners.

As Aneta referenced this, Vernon turned to Carlos with a look of exasperation.

“Carlos! Say something to her!”

“Vernon.”

Carlos, who had been reading a book at his desk, called his friend’s name in a calm voice. The tone helped Vernon gradually calm down and respond.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t go around talking as if your wishes are facts. Even I don’t do that.”

Vernon, feeling betrayed by Carlos’s response, thumped his chest in frustration. But then he suddenly brightened as he felt something crumple inside his inner pocket.

He had proof to back up his claims and confidently pulled it out.

“No matter how much you deny it, the truth is the truth. Look at this. I’ve already commissioned the wedding invitations. This is just a sample.”

Vernon proudly displayed a wedding invitation with his and Chris’s names on it. Aneta, who had picked up her glass, intending to ignore him, dropped it in shock. The carpet was soaked in spilled tea, but that was the least of her concerns right now.

“This is ridiculous. How did you end up skipping the dating phase and jumping straight to marriage?”

In response to Aneta’s question, Vernon explained that on the day he returned from the frontline, they had an emotional reunion, and that’s when he confessed his feelings.

“And?”

“And I asked her to marry me if she felt the same way.”

“And Chris accepted that?”

“Of course she did; otherwise, I wouldn’t have ordered these.”

Vernon smugly waved the crumpled invitation in front of Aneta. His smugness made her frown.

“As Chris’s guardian, I think it’s too early for marriage.”

At Aneta’s sudden claim to be Chris’s guardian, Vernon nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Since when did you become Chris’s guardian?”

“Since you put her under my care, got a problem with that? Even if you do, don’t bother saying it. You owe me for that.”

Aneta looked at Vernon as if he were a vile thief who had stolen her most precious daughter. She wouldn’t have looked at him like this if he had stolen the most expensive item from the Marquis’s mansion.

But Vernon wouldn’t back down.

“And what’s so early about it? You two got married around this age too!”

Vernon brought up a point that Aneta couldn’t easily refute. She knew the circumstances were different, but the fact remained that it was true.