(9) Too Busy

“Just because. I heard it somewhere.”

“You heard it somewhere? Who would dare?”

Asla found it curious that Enoch showed such obvious signs of embarrassment.

If not, then it’s not.

But soon, his piercing gaze as he questioned her was so intense that Asla answered reluctantly.

“Vice President Robert Hesse……”

“That bastard has been gossiping?”

“Maybe……?”

She avoided his eyes, mumbled vaguely, and then squeezed her eyes shut.

Then she sincerely apologized in her heart to Robert, whom she had never even met.

But what Robert had told her in the dream was true.

‘I’m sorry, Robert Hesse. I will surely apologize and thank you properly.’

While apologizing in her heart to Robert, whom she might never meet, Asla slightly opened her eyes and looked at Enoch.

‘Huh?’

With his mouth agape in astonishment, he looked very unlike himself.

The Enoch Ventus she knew always maintained a proper posture and dignified expression, the epitome of an imperial nobleman.

But the current Enoch looked like a truly ordinary ‘man.’

Of course, this splendid man, who shone brighter than the lake sparkling in the late afternoon sun, could never be ordinary.

Asla smiled, then dropped the corners of her mouth back to a neutral expression.

‘I really am in serious condition.’

To cut off the hope rising from deep within her heart, she spoke as coldly as possible.

“Of course I know that’s not possible. And that Vice President Robert Hesse said something strange. I just wanted to confirm it with you once.”

He lowered both hands that had been covering his face and stared at Asla with a dazed expression.

“Of course it’s not possible.”

“Obviously. Because there’s no way you could be attracted to me.”

Asla found Enoch’s gaze increasingly burdensome.

His eyes trembled, seemingly wounded as he looked at her.

This was truly too much. Why was this person suddenly acting like someone else now?

She felt disgusted with herself for already missing this ordinary time she’s spending with him.

‘I’ve gone mad.’

She hated herself for being greedy when she was about to fold away the many hours she had loved him and waited for him, and leave.

“I……!”

Enoch’s facial muscles contorted as his lips moved, but he couldn’t say more.

Asla, hurt by Enoch’s lack of response and her own words, painfully lowered her gaze to the plate on the table.

You would never love me.

She sighed sadly, thinking that the dream she had was clearly not divine intervention but an illusion created by her own unconscious.

‘The blue waves I saw at the end must have been God’s consideration telling me not to dream in vain and to wake up.’

It was utterly embarrassing.

She had never actually seen Robert Hesse, but perhaps she had encountered him briefly somewhere.

Enoch felt frustrated as he watched Asla sitting weakly with her shoulders rounded.

He was at a loss for where to begin explaining.

A heavy silence fell between the Duke and Duchess Ventus, during which the main course was served.

Asla looked at the steaming steak and spoke to him as sweetly as possible to change the atmosphere.

“Eat, before it gets cold.”

When Enoch stared at her, she opened her mouth while cutting the steak with her knife.

“Ah, right.”

Since things had come to this, she wanted to confirm that it was definitely a dream.

Although she had decided to conclude it was just a stupid dream, some nagging doubts remained, so Asla decided to ask Enoch casually.

“Enoch, you must remember the Continental Emergency Meeting held in the Holy Kingdom seven years ago. Do you happen to know anything about the donation funds delivered to the Holy Kingdom at that time?”

Enoch’s handsome eyebrows twitched as he made a complicated expression, then soon let out a short sigh.

“Well.”

Hearing his ambiguous answer that neither confirmed nor denied, Asla was convinced.

‘As I thought, it wasn’t real.’

This senile god hadn’t shown her the ‘truth.’

Asla felt slightly disappointed, but rather relieved.

She didn’t want to complicate the situation when she was about to divorce him.

Thinking it was easier now that she had given up, Asla was cutting the rest of her steak with her knife when Enoch muttered quietly.

“So Robert blabbed about that too.”

‘What……?’

She felt as if her heart had sunk and her limbs were paralyzed.

She stared blankly at the knife in her hand trembling stupidly, while Enoch continued speaking.

“The purpose of the donation failed anyway, so don’t worry about it.”

Unlike the shocked Asla, he spoke nonchalantly, elegantly picking up his knife to cut a piece of meat, putting it in his mouth, and chewing slowly.

She vividly recalled the dream she had this morning.

“……Did you really donate ten million luan?”

When Asla asked with a trembling voice, Enoch narrowed his eyes.

“You even know the exact amount. If you already knew, why are you only asking now? It’s been seven years, and it’s all over.”

“May I ask why you donated it?”

At Asla’s question, Enoch stared into her eyes for a moment, then smirked.

That smile looked so beautiful yet melancholic.

She felt her breath catch.

“Didn’t Robert tell you the reason?”

“……”

Enoch, who had been looking at the silent Asla with a peculiar gaze, raised the corner of his mouth.

“There’s no reason. The summer rose garden in the Holy Kingdom was exceptionally beautiful that day.”

Enoch spoke dreamily, then looked directly at her with clear eyes and said firmly.

“That’s all. Don’t worry about it.”

‘Lies.’

The dream God had shown her was real. Could there be more hidden truths?

Frightened, Asla prayed to God in her heart.

Please, even if something remains, don’t reveal anything more……

She didn’t want to become more miserable, so why did her sense of indebtedness keep growing?

Asla floundered in a mess of complicated feelings, sadness, and bitterness.

Even though she was sitting in front of a wide-open view overlooking a clear lake, she felt trapped in a maze with no end in sight.

Why had God shown her that dream?

But Asla decided not to believe Robert’s claim that Enoch had been attracted to her.

It hadn’t come from Enoch’s own mouth, and Enoch himself hadn’t given a definite answer on that part.

‘But the ten million luan donated to the Holy Kingdom…… is true.’

Asla’s expression darkened.

Even for the Ventus ducal family, ten million luan was quite a burdensome amount.

Moreover, Enoch was only eighteen at the time, so he wouldn’t have been as wealthy as he is now.

The Ventus family began amassing their formidable wealth after the previous duke died and Enoch received the title of duke. It was because the businesses Enoch started after becoming duke succeeded rapidly.

Steel industry investments, banking, real estate investments, hotel businesses, and more.

Asla found it difficult to understand how the extremely aristocratic Enoch could be so good at business.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve never seen what face Enoch makes when he’s doing business.’

Since he stayed in the capital, the center of the Empire, rather than the Ventus territory, handling most of his affairs there, Asla didn’t know.

The thought crossed her mind that she might know almost nothing about Enoch Ventus.

Perhaps she had been arrogant in thinking she knew everything about the duke while loving him.

I……

Maybe I didn’t love you, but loved the image of myself loving you.

“Doesn’t it suit your taste? Let’s order something else.”

As Enoch, who had been watching Asla lost in thought without eating properly, raised his hand to call a waiter, Asla hurriedly stopped him.

“No. I’m just having trouble digesting the health food I ate earlier today.”

“Do you only eat one meal a day? No wonder you’re so thin.”

“You…… eat more than I expected.”

“This is normal.”

Enoch completely cleaned his plate. Seeing him eat so well made Asla feel somehow full herself.

Watching him neatly and enjoyably finish all his food gave her a sense of healing.

‘Should I cook for him before the divorce?’

Although she had never cooked before, she thought it wouldn’t be impossible.

‘I can learn.’

Asla pondered, rubbing her chin.

Since she couldn’t earn as much money as the donation he had made to the Holy Kingdom, she wanted to do at least this much for him.

Her heart felt very heavy.

If the money had actually been used for the purification of the Holy Kingdom, that would be one thing, but her father had clearly spent it elsewhere.

She couldn’t bear the shame of that fact.

She thought it was fortunate to know even now, but she resented and hated the god who had told her.

What was she supposed to do? So what? God should repay it Themself.

While Asla was suppressing the anger swirling inside her, Enoch, having finished his meal, stood up and strode toward her.

Standing in front of Asla, Enoch extended his hand.

“Let’s go. Instead of this burdensome meal, I’ll find something lighter and easier to eat.”

“……Alright.”

She wanted to say, “I don’t need to eat,” but fearing that her unusually strange husband might make a scene if she refused, Asla stood up.

A husband behaving oddly friendly and affectionate.

Walking out of the restaurant with her arm linked with Enoch’s, Asla felt inexplicably melancholic.

“Why are you being nice to me?”

“Is this being nice?”

Asla and Enoch differed in height by about a head. Walking while looking straight ahead, she let out a faint laugh when Enoch’s voice echoed from above her.

“Of course. The dress, accessories, shoes, delicious food. And even the gentle escort. It really feels like we’re on a date.”

“……Since my money is your money anyway, buying and sending things can’t be considered being nice. Escorting is basic, so that’s natural too. And dating is natural for a married couple, isn’t it?”

There was puzzlement in Enoch’s voice as he listed these things.

Asla truly found him unbelievable.

That the brilliant and perfect Enoch Ventus could be so lacking in insight.

Asla looked up at his face.

“Natural and normal, you say? But you never did any of this with me for two years.”

“Is that why you want a divorce?”

Enoch’s voice was choked, but Asla calmly added:

“It seems you finally understand properly.”

At that, his face, tinged with the sunset, turned slightly melancholic.

Even while resenting him, Asla found his handsome appearance catching her eye and lowered her gaze.

Enoch said nothing more, and Asla also kept her mouth shut.

Walking through the crowd that had increased as evening fell, they maintained silence for a long time.

“Enoch.”

As the uncomfortable Asla decided to return to the hotel alone and called out to him, Enoch suddenly stopped walking.

“I…… was too busy. Really.”

“……I know.”

I know. I do know.

Enoch’s thick eyebrows twitched fiercely as he watched Asla respond weakly with a sorrowful smile.

“You don’t know at all.”

“What don’t I know?”

Asla blinked several times, not understanding.

She was starting to get genuinely angry.