Fingertips brushed against each other.

Caden’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly, barely noticeable.

“……”

He cast a sharp glance to his side, clearly displeased. However, Emma remained calm.

But that wasn’t the end. When a subtle touch brushed near his chest, Caden finally opened his mouth.

“What exactly are you trying to pull right now…?”

A faint grinding sound came from his clenched teeth. Emma unconsciously balled her fists tightly.

‘Am I going to get hit at this rate?’

Her spine felt cold, yet sweat formed on her forehead. But if she backed down now, all her plans would go up in smoke. It was too early to give up.

Feigning composure, Emma forced a smile.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. My hand slipped.”

Emma awkwardly smiled as she placed the teacup down.

Her lips, stretched into a smile, seemed unusually red today. The crimson tint on her lips, as if she had applied rouge, looked moist, almost as if they were wet.

Her slightly parted lips revealed a pair of small, dainty front teeth. And that pink tongue peeking between them…

“Y-you…ha.”

What on earth had she eaten wrong?

Had she sprayed on perfume? Every time Emma moved, a faint rose scent tickled Caden’s nose.

It was a fragrance he usually despised to the point of nausea. Yet, strangely, it didn’t feel repulsive. It just made him dizzy. Perhaps the overly sweet aroma was triggering a headache.

From the temperature of his bathwater to the food he ate and the clothes he wore, Emma had always catered to his preferences perfectly as his capable secretary.

For someone like Emma to behave so provocatively, there had to be a reason.

‘This tiny thing… she has no fear.’

Caden’s lips curled into a smirk. He noticed Emma flinch as she pretended to stumble in front of him.

Without warning, Caden grabbed Emma’s wrist and yanked her forward with considerable strength.

“Ah!”

Emma, now sitting on Caden’s lap, looked up at him with wide, startled eyes.

“Your Grace? Why all of a sudden…”

“That’s what I’d like to know.”

“…Pardon?”

“You. You must have a reason for acting like this all of a sudden.”

His tone was uncharacteristically soft. Emma glanced at him nervously, hesitating to reply.

“Well…”

“Don’t beat around the bush. Just say it. If it’s worth listening to, I’ll hear you out.”

“Really?”

For a moment, her small eyes behind the glasses sparkled with hope. Seeing that, Caden almost laughed despite himself.

‘Am I losing my mind…?’

How could this brazen secretary seem cute? He must not be in his right mind, likely due to the headache. Returning to his usual stern demeanor, Caden gave Emma a warning.

“But.”

“…!”

“If you say something foolish, you’ll regret it. I’m already annoyed enough with the imperial ball, and now you’re adding to it…”

Just as Caden was about to interrogate her further, his lips clamped shut.

Emma had suddenly leaned against his chest. The unexpected rose scent that wafted toward him made his head spin.

“You smell so nice, Your Grace.”

Emma subtly leaned her body against his, rubbing her cheek against his broad chest. Her movements resembled that of a kitten seeking affection.

Caden clenched his trembling fists tightly. If he didn’t, he felt like his hands might act on their own.

His gaze fell on Emma’s tightly shut eyes, her long lashes trembling slightly.

Caden stared down at her small face. Her complexion had turned pale, as if she were extremely nervous. Clicking his tongue in disapproval, Caden thought to himself.

‘What exactly is she trying to say?’

At that moment, Emma, who had been enduring the suffocating silence, finally opened her lips and said something completely unexpected.

“When I’m near Your Grace… I feel thrilled and nervous at the same time. Could this be love?”

“…!”

Caden had noticed before that Emma would occasionally stare at him absentmindedly.

She often showered him with overly flattering praise, so he had assumed she was just an admirer of his looks, a superficial aesthete. But now, out of nowhere, she was claiming to be in love.

It was amusing how she threw out such a bombshell statement and then acted as if she might die from embarrassment.

“Tsk. Breathe.”

“Haa…”

As soon as Caden gave the command, Emma let out a deep sigh, as if on cue.

When she cautiously opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Caden’s dark gaze.

‘What’s with that expression? What’s even happening right now?’

Emma felt utterly confused.

She had no idea how Caden had taken her sudden confession. His cold, marble-like face revealed no clues.

‘The only thing I know for sure is that he doesn’t seem even slightly shaken by my confession.’

Caden was unnervingly calm. And that calmness terrified Emma.

She couldn’t help but wonder if this was the eerie calm before the storm. Feeling uneasy, Emma awkwardly tried to distance herself from Caden’s lap.

“Tsk.”

She heard a faint clicking of the tongue near her ear.

Sitting stiffly on Caden’s lap, Emma froze in place.

‘What kind of reaction is this…?’

She had expected him to either throw her to the floor, press a blade to her neck, or angrily demand that she leave.

This reaction wasn’t in any of the scenarios she had imagined.

Regardless, Emma found herself in an awkward position where she couldn’t get off his lap nor stay where she was.

“Your Grace, I think I should…”

She was about to say she needed to leave when Caden, frowning slightly, interrupted her.

“Explain.”

“Pardon…?”

His habit of speaking in incomplete sentences hadn’t changed. As Emma stared at him in confusion, Caden continued.

“You said you love me, didn’t you? Tell me in detail—when it started and why.”

“…!”

Of course, it was true that Emma had implied as much. But she hadn’t expected him to respond so directly, leaving her completely flustered.

‘How am I supposed to explain something that isn’t even true?!’

Not that she could admit that. While she hesitated, Caden’s voice took on a sharper edge.

“You’re not playing games with your superior, are you? Provide evidence that your words are true.”

His tone was accusatory, as if interrogating a criminal.

“Well…”

Emma’s mouth felt dry, and her throat burned. But she didn’t even have the luxury to ask for a sip of water.

‘Evidence of love? Are you insane?!’

It was as absurd as asking someone who had just confessed to list “101 reasons why I love you.”

Seeing her bewildered expression, Caden let out a small chuckle.

“Who knows? If you convince me, I might withdraw my order.”

“Your order…?”

Emma’s throat bobbed visibly as she swallowed nervously.

Caden’s lips curved slightly as he noticed her green eyes darting behind her thick glasses.

“Why are you acting out of character? Just because you’re in love doesn’t mean you’ve suddenly lost your mind.”

“I-I haven’t lost my mind…”

Emma had never lost her top rank at the academy.

‘How dare he call me dumb?’

It was more insulting than being called a country bumpkin or ugly. Before she could protest, Caden continued.

“I’m talking about the order I gave you to find the woman I spent the night with.”

“…!”

“Now that I think about it, it was a rather cruel order. Asking someone who claims to love me to bring another woman to me… Even with my reputation as a lunatic, that’s a bit much.”

His voice was deceptively gentle, almost enough to fool her.

“Ha…ha…”

Of course, it is. Emma wanted to retort sarcastically, but all she could do was awkwardly mimic a laugh.

“So I’ve decided to give you a choice. Tell me why you love me, Emma Brown. If your reasoning is convincing…”

Caden deliberately dragged out his words as he stared at her. Though Emma knew he was watching her reaction, she couldn’t help but take the bait.

“If it’s convincing?”

“I’ll revoke my original order. That doesn’t mean I’ll accept your feelings, though.”

“…!”

‘Excuse me, Your Grace? I don’t have feelings for you either, you know?’

She wanted to snap back immediately, but she couldn’t.

‘Wait. Maybe this isn’t such a bad idea…’

Emma began weighing the pros and cons.

On second thought, it wasn’t a terrible proposal. In fact, it might even be a good one.

Just because she claimed to love the Duke didn’t mean they had to end up together.

‘Maybe I can just ask for some time to sort out my feelings.’

It would be a slightly awkward arrangement, but it might allow her to keep her job as his secretary.

‘If I can keep working here… my family won’t be thrown out onto the streets.’

Recently, her landlord back home had doubled the rent. Emma had been forced to use the lump sum she had borrowed as part of her employment benefits to pay it off.

Though she had managed to put out the immediate fire, the problem was the cost of living and her siblings’ education.

As long as she worked at Blackwood, she could manage. But if she were fired?

‘I missed the deadline for the imperial civil service exam, so I’d have to wait another year…’

Even though she had submitted her resignation, she was deeply worried.

If she had to survive on part-time jobs for a year and retake the exam, there was no way she’d receive the same benefits as a new civil servant that she currently enjoyed.

‘He said he wouldn’t look for her! If I’m careful, I might be able to get through this. There’s no evidence, after all! If I deny it, what can he do without proof?’

The more she thought about it, the less terrible the idea seemed.

A glimmer of hope sprouted in Emma’s heart.

She had written countless essays and papers during her time at the academy. Framing this as a writing assignment—“Reasons I Love Caden”—didn’t seem impossible.

“So, the reason I fell for Your Grace, to be honest…”

Caden’s dark eyes gleamed with interest as he looked at her.