Chapter 2 (Part 7)

At that moment, Rio seemed to sense the heated gaze directed at him and lifted his head.  

Their eyes met, and Rio gave him a sly grin.  

Waving his hand dramatically in the air, Rio shouted,  

“Theo! If you’re done, come join us!”  

Hearing that, Reinis also lifted her head and looked at Theodore, who was standing by the window.  

“Oh, Sir Theodore!” 

Brightly waving her hand along with Rio, a smile spread across Theodore’s face.  

He nodded lightly before turning back to look at his study. His gaze fell first on the still-mountainous stack of documents, then on Heldor, who was diligently working through them.  

“I’ve heard that other nobles leave their work to their aides and enjoy their leisure time.”  

“W-why are you saying that all of a sudden?”  

Heldor, overwhelmed by a sudden wave of anxiety, responded with an awkward smile.  

But Theodore continued speaking, undeterred.  

“Hel, don’t you think you’ve had it pretty easy up until now?”  

“Pardon?”  

“For the time being, you’ll need to work harder.”  

With that, Theodore promptly left the study, giving Heldor no time to react.  

As Heldor let out a sigh while staring at Theodore’s retreating figure, Theodore was already heading straight to where Reinis and Rio were.  

“Oh, you actually came!”  

At Rio’s playful remark, Theodore’s brow furrowed instinctively.  

‘Who do you think I dropped my work for and ran over here?’  

Although Rio could feel Theodore’s irritated glare, he seemed to enjoy it, his face lighting up with a broad grin.  

“I heard you had a lot of work. Did you finish it all already?”  

Just as an impromptu staring contest was about to begin, Reinis spoke up.  

At the sound of her voice, Theodore’s face softened into a warm smile, and he replied gently,  

“Heldor will take care of the remaining work on his own.”  

“Then, Sir, does that mean you don’t need to go back?”  

“No, from now on, I’ll be staying with you, my lady.”  

As the two conversed, Rio placed a hand on his chin with a serious expression and spoke in a low voice.  

“I don’t think this is right.”  

“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”  

Surprised by Rio’s sudden seriousness, she tilted her head and asked.  

“Theo, and you too, my lady…”  

After a moment of hesitation, Rio looked back and forth between the two. Reinis and Theodore waited for his words to follow.  

“You’re not planning to keep addressing each other like that forever, are you?”  

“Ah…”  

Letting out a short sigh, Theodore mirrored Rio’s serious expression. On the other hand, Reinis looked confused, as if she didn’t understand what Rio was trying to say.  

And it was no wonder—she had never considered nicknames or titles to be important.  

She had always been addressed as “hey,” “you,” or “this child.” The only person who had ever given her a nickname, “Ren,” was Chloe, but that nickname had never carried a positive meaning for her.  

Because of this, Reinis, who had never placed much significance on nicknames or titles, simply looked at Rio and Theodore with a puzzled expression.  

Perhaps finding her expression endearing, Theodore’s gaze softened, practically dripping with affection.  

As their eyes met, both quickly turned their heads away, unable to hold eye contact for more than three seconds. Watching them, Rio grinned mischievously and said,  

“Well, well. If I don’t step in, nothing’s going to get done, is it? Let’s start by deciding on how you two will address each other!”  

He had boldly declared that they would settle the matter of titles.  

For Theodore, it wasn’t difficult, as he already had the nickname “Theo.” The problem, however, was Reinis.  

To come up with a nickname for her, Rio began repeating “Reinis” aloud.  

But after saying it no more than three times, Theodore shot him a sharp look and said,  

“Who said you could carelessly call the lady by her name without permission?”  

The thought of him behaving so possessively already made Rio sigh briefly. Ignoring Theodore’s glare, Rio leaned closer to Reinis and asked,  

“Lady, is there a nickname you’d like Theo to call you by?”  

Reinis seemed to seriously ponder the question for a moment, only to shake her head.  

Her expression clearly showed that she had never even considered such a thing, and as she looked at him, Rio turned to Theodore with a pitiful gaze.  

“Theo, you can’t keep calling her ‘my lady’ forever. So, wouldn’t it be fine if I came up with a nickname for her?”  

With an expressionless face, Theodore silently stared at Rio before finally letting out a voice tinged with irritation.  

“Do you not possess the basic common sense that deciding on a lady’s nickname requires her permission, not yours?”  

‘Just a moment ago, he was saying no one should casually use her name…’

With that thought, Rio briefly glared at Theodore before turning to Reinis with a mischievous expression.  

Noticing the look in his eyes, which seemed to demand an answer, Reinis slowly nodded. Seeing this, Rio smiled in satisfaction and spoke.  

“Then how about ‘Ren’?”  

At the mention of the nickname ‘Ren,’ Reinis unconsciously stiffened.  

“Why? You don’t like it?”  

At Rio’s cautious question, she forced a bitter smile and shook her head.  

“If you don’t like it, you can tell me. Is there some kind of issue with it?”  

Realizing that there might be something related to the name ‘Ren,’ Rio asked.  

“Well… someone already calls me that.”  

At her words, Theodore’s shoulders flinched.  

Nicknames were typically used by family members, close friends, or lovers.  

No matter how much he thought about it, Theodore couldn’t imagine her family addressing her with a nickname. That left only close friends or a lover.  

Knowing how poorly Reinis was treated in social circles, Theodore began to worry deeply about the possibility that she might have a lover.  

Sensing Theodore’s thoughts, Rio spoke in a teasing tone.  

“Oh! Is it perhaps a secret lover or something?”  

“Pardon?”  

Not expecting the word ‘lover’ to come up, Reinis looked at Rio with wide eyes. At that moment, she noticed Theodore staring at her with a serious expression.  

“N-No! A lover? I don’t have anything like that! I’ve never even met a man before!”  

Waving her hands in denial, Reinis shouted urgently. Her reaction made Rio burst into laughter, finding it amusing, while Theodore let out a deep breath of relief, his expression still deadly serious.  

“But if it’s not a lover, then who’s calling you by a nickname?”  

“Ah… well… it’s… a… friend.”  

As soon as Reinis finished speaking, Rio looked surprised and asked,  

“A friend? What? You have a friend?”  

Theodore was not someone who would let such an impudent question slide.  

With his face scrunched up, he spoke in a low voice.  

“What kind of nonsense is that to say to the lady?”  

“Why? I just thought she didn’t have any friends. After all, she’s always alone in this huge manor, never inviting anyone over. I figured she didn’t even have a friend to share her marriage news with. If it were me, I’d throw a party and brag about marrying a Duke!”

“……”  

A long silence followed.  

“W-What’s with this atmosphere?”  

Feeling flustered by the sudden silence, Rio looked back and forth between the two. At that moment, Theodore frowned and placed a hand on his forehead.  

‘Damn it, I didn’t intend to reveal that I’m a Duke in this way.’  

“Don’t tell me you haven’t told the lady that you’re a Duke?”  

Rio whispered into Theodore’s ear. Without answering, Theodore glanced at Reinis to gauge her reaction. The moment Rio saw this, his face filled with shock.  

The awkward atmosphere was broken by Reinis, who wore a bitter smile.  

“Marrying someone like Sir Theodore is certainly something to be proud of, but… I couldn’t invite anyone without the Duke’s permission.”

‘Thankfully, she didn’t seem to hear the word “Duke.”’  

At the mention of “Commander” from Reinis, both Theodore and Rio let out sighs of relief.  

But only for a moment.  

“Wait a minute. Something’s not right. Lady, you’ve been calling him ‘Sir’ this whole time, haven’t you?”

At Rio’s words, Reinis slowly nodded. She had decided to pretend not to know until Theodore himself revealed that he was a Duke.  

“Lady, are you really planning to marry this guy?”

“Yes? Yes… Is there a problem with that?”  

“You haven’t told her your identity, have you?”

At Rio’s question, Theodore slowly nodded. Rio, who had been staring at the two of them with a stiff expression, let out a heavy sigh.  

“How can you decide to marry someone without even knowing who they really are? The world is a scary place, you know!”  

“Well… Sir Theodore is the Knight Commander of the Duke’s manor. There’s no way he could be a bad person.”

“That’s true, but… don’t you know nothing about the Knight Commander of the Duke’s manor? His status, his name—nothing. What if he turned out to be a fugitive commoner or a murderer? And yet, you’re marrying him without knowing anything? It doesn’t seem like he’s told you anything about himself.”

Rio, speaking without taking a single breath, made Reinis burst into laughter.  

‘Even when we first met, I didn’t know anything about his status, but we still had such a wonderful conversation.’  

Neither Theodore nor Rio, who didn’t understand the meaning behind her laughter, could hide their puzzled expressions as they looked at her.  

“That doesn’t matter. The fact that the commander is a kind and gentle person to me doesn’t change. Besides, I’m not in a position to judge someone based on their status or rumors. To me, the commander is already more than I deserve.”  

“Wow… Lady, you’re far too good for someone like Theo a hundred, no, a thousand times over.”  

“I agree with that sentiment, but hearing it from you, Rio, makes me feel annoyed.”  

With those words, the awkward atmosphere eased somewhat.  

“By the way, Lady, are you really okay with this guy, no matter what? Are you sure? Even if his status turns out to be lower or higher than you expected?”  

At Rio’s question, Reinis realized why he kept asking.  

‘He must be worried that I’ll fall into prejudice based on the rumors about the Duke.’  

Smiling at his concern, she nodded and replied, 

“I’m fine.”  

Her response made Theodore nod as well.