“Speaking of which, I currently have an overwhelming number of invitations piling up in my study. What do you think about this situation, Noel?”

“…I think it’s unfortunate.”

Noel answered with a face that didn’t look the least bit sorry, causing Yvette to glare at him.

“Half of this is your responsibility, you can’t just end it with ‘it’s unfortunate’!”

“How is that my responsibility?”

“You added unnecessary details to the engagement announcement, causing people to make an even bigger fuss!”

“…Did I do that?”

Noel shrugged, pretending not to know.

Yvette looked around, then lowered her voice so only he could hear.

“Who else but you would spread rumors that we’ve fallen passionately in love?”

“Oh my, my fiancée is sharper than I thought.”

Noel chuckled, apparently having no intention of denying it to the end.

Faced with his brazen attitude, Yvette almost threw the fork on the table at him.

“Why did you spread such rumors? You could have just announced the engagement.”

“Because it was too sudden an engagement. I just threw the dogs some bait to prevent unnecessary suspicion.”

Noel answered nonchalantly as he brought the teacup to his lips.

“Of course, it was also convenient for chasing away the flies that cling to me.”

“So you’re saying you used me as fly repellent?”

“You used me to step on your uncle, so aren’t we even?”

For a moment, Yvette was at a loss for words and picked up her fork with a blank expression. She then stabbed a piece of cake and brought it to her mouth.

The cake filled with lemon cream was tangy and sweet enough to revive even a lost appetite.

‘…What? Is it okay for a cake to be this delicious?’

Yvette momentarily forgot her anger and blushed slightly.

“You seem to like this place’s cake.”

Noel, who had been watching her with interest, spoke up.

Yvette continued to eat the cake as she replied.

“Yes. I like it more than my fiancé.”

Noel let out a short, dry laugh at her pointed response.

“Aren’t you being too cold to your fiancé?”

“My fiancé makes people that way.”

Yvette replied haughtily, then focused on the cake again.

After she moved her fork a few times, more than half of the palm-sized cake had disappeared.

“And here I thought you were grateful to me. I guess it was just words after all.”

As Noel muttered as if feeling hurt, Yvette paused and put down her fork.

She looked at Noel with a softer gaze than before.

“Did I say something to upset you?”

“What if I said yes?”

As he answered with a face devoid of humor, Yvette thought for a moment before speaking.

“…Would you like a bite of cake? This will cheer you up.”

Yvette stabbed a piece of cake with her fork and brought it to Noel’s mouth.

Noel looked at the cake she offered with a somewhat bewildered expression.

“…Are you trying to appease me with cake?”

“People feel better when they eat something sweet. Noel, try a bite too.”

Yvette smiled brightly and made a small “ah” sound.

Noel laughed as if dumbfounded, but obediently ate the cake Yvette offered.

It’s fortunate there’s no one around.

If someone had witnessed this, it would have been more than enough to make the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper.

“How is it? Do you feel better now?”

Yvette asked Noel after neatly finishing the last piece.

Noel elegantly swallowed the cake in his mouth before speaking.

“It’s too sweet.”

“Cake is meant to be eaten for its sweetness. Noel, you don’t know anything.”

Yvette clicked her tongue and put down the fork she was holding.

“Anyway, the cake isn’t important right now.”

“That’s rich coming from someone who’s been staring at the cake this whole time.”

Noel muttered, pointing at the empty plate, but Yvette pretended not to hear him.

“Since we met today, tell me which families I shouldn’t get close to.”

“…Why should I do that?”

“Regardless of the truth, people know me as your fiancée. A so-called fiancée can’t attend parties held by Averon’s enemies, can she?”

Yvette whispered in a low voice so those around couldn’t hear.

Noel tilted his head with a nonchalant face.

“Enemies? Did I have such things?”

“Wow. Do you know how annoying that just sounded?”

As Yvette let out a small exclamation, Noel shrugged lightly.

“I hear it so often, I’m not sure anymore.”

“Stop joking around. Don’t you really have any enemies? At least some rivals that bother you?”

Although she had read the original work to the end, she couldn’t remember the specific details like conflicts between families.

So she asked to avoid causing any trouble, but…

She had momentarily forgotten.

The man in front of her wasn’t the type to leave enemies alone.

“I suppose I’ll find out now. That there’s no family in this empire that dares to consider Averon an enemy.”

Yvette quietly stuck out her tongue at his brazen response.

“That’s quite the confidence.”

“I worked hard to make it that way.”

Noel answered lightly, pointing at the plate Yvette had emptied.

“If you liked it, shall I order more?”

“No, thank you. If I eat too much, my measurements might come out larger later.”

Although she wanted to eat more desperately, Yvette barely suppressed her instincts.

“Come to think of it, you said you came out to buy dresses.”

Noel, who had been leisurely tapping the table with his fingertips, spoke up.

“If you’d like, I can introduce you to my personal designer. What do you think?”

“…Does Averon even have a personal designer?”

“Of course.”

As Noel nodded, Yvette inwardly marveled.

‘As expected of a ducal family, they have everything.’

It was a moment when she truly felt that he was a great noble.

“I’d be grateful if you introduced me, but what if the designer feels uncomfortable?”

“They’ll do it if I ask. That’s the kind of person they are.”

“…You’re not planning to threaten the designer, are you?”

When Yvette asked, half-jokingly, Noel gave a harmless smile.

“Of course not.”

Looking at his seemingly fabricated smile, Yvette thought.

This person will, without a doubt, threaten the designer.

“I’ll just leave it to someone else, so don’t threaten an innocent person.”

Yvette hastily shook her head.

She didn’t want to involve an innocent designer just to make a dress.

Besides, there were many other designers she could commission for a dress.

“The threatening part was a joke. Of course, I’ll ask for her consent.”

“…Your personal designer is a woman?”

As Yvette asked with wide eyes, Noel smiled slyly.

“Why? Feeling jealous because it’s a woman?”

“What? Of course not.”

Yvette shook her head seriously.

“I’m actually much more comfortable with female designers than male ones. This works out well.”

“I’ll ask her when I return today.”

“You know you absolutely can’t threaten her, right? I’ll ask her about it later.”

“Noted.”

With those final words, the two left the café.

Noel said to Yvette while waiting for Sid and Philia to return.

“Leave the party-related matters to me. I’ll choose the less troublesome ones for you.”

“…The less troublesome ones?”

As Yvette asked quizzically, Noel raised the corner of his mouth crookedly.

“You’ll understand what I mean when you go.”

“Now that you say it like that, I’m starting to feel uneasy.”

“There’s no need to worry. You’ll be going with me anyway.”

Noel glanced at Yvette and continued slowly.

“The designer will visit you soon, so get your dress fitted then.”

“Then there was no point in coming to town today.”

As Yvette muttered with a sigh, Noel bent down to meet her eye level.

“How can you say it was pointless?”

He then whispered softly.

“You met me, didn’t you?”