‘W-What the…?! That’s ridiculous—who’s calling me the duchess…?’

Liriope stared in disbelief at the shopkeeper who had just uttered the outrageous title. But unlike her, Theo looked quite pleased, even smiling as he spoke to the merchant.

“I’ll take all ten boxes at 300 gold each. Have them delivered to the ducal estate today.”

“Oh—thank you very much, Your Grace!”

“What?! 300 gold?! I told you it should be 200 gold per box!” Liriope exclaimed.

In the original story, the price of the tea leaves had definitely been 200 gold per box—a considerable amount in this world. That’s why Rosearin could only afford to buy one box. Whether she ever managed to buy the remaining nine boxes was never mentioned.

“But you haven’t sold a single box because they were too expensive, right?” Liriope added.

“H-How did you…?”

The color drained from the shopkeeper’s face as he stammered, and Liriope folded her arms and put on the most intimidating expression she could muster.

“You really thought you could get away with this kind of markup? Trying to sell something you planned to offer at 200 for 300? I happen to know the price you paid to import this isn’t even a quarter of that.”

“……”

“You keep scamming people like that, and you won’t be in business long, mister. And to think you tried it on the Duke himself—if His Grace decided to have your head taken off right here and now, no one would bat an eye.”

“P-Please, have mercy!”

The shopkeeper fell to his knees, pale as a sheet.

Watching from the side, Theo’s lips twitched ever so slightly. Anyone who saw him in that moment would have easily sensed it—just how utterly charmed he was by Liriope.

Still grinning, Theo grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her out of the shop. He led her toward the street, closer to where the carriage waited, and said,

“In the Empire, it’s customary to pay extra for imported goods, Duchess.”

“Still, that doesn’t mean…”

Then it hit her—how strongly he’d emphasized Duchess with that final word. Her face instantly turned bright red.

‘Duchess?! Who is he calling Duchess?!’

She had a feeling that Theo had decided to throw in an extra hundred gold simply because the shopkeeper had referred to her that way.

‘Unbelievable.’

Flustered, she tried to cool her burning face with her hand, then quickly hurried over to Theo, who was glancing back at her.

***

She had only intended to buy the tea leaves and return to the Duke’s residence, but somehow, they ended up sitting together for a meal at a restaurant.

Feeling hungry and curious about what kind of food was served at the bustling restaurant, Liriope happily accepted Theo’s suggestion to dine together.

However, sitting by the window on the second floor of the restaurant, which was reputedly quite famous in the Empire, she suddenly felt a twinge of regret as she became aware of the stares from around her.

Given that there were many people curious about her engagement to Theo, this could easily be misunderstood as a blatant date.

Liriope felt increasingly flustered, swearing that she had never intended for such a situation to happen.

‘And the worst part is… my heart just keeps racing around that Northern bastard.’

Worried that things might really get out of hand, Liriope decided to change her approach.

Just then, Liriope remembered running into Rosearin at the boutique. It also reminded her of the handkerchief that connected her and Theo—something that hadn’t appeared in the original novel.

Since things had come this far, she figured maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let them meet even before the original story began at the Harvest Festival. If the two had met sooner and fallen in love quickly, maybe her foolish heart would calm down just as fast.

“Um, Theo.”

‘Ugh, I shouldn’t have called him.’

As soon as Liriope spoke, the deep black eyes that had been looking elsewhere turned to fixate on her. The moment their gazes met, her heart dropped like a rock and then began pounding wildly again.

‘Seriously, that face is bad for my heart.’

Trying to cool her flushed face, Liriope brought the glass of water to her lips. The cold water sliding down her throat helped her regain some composure, and she set the glass down before continuing.

“Well, Lady Rosearin will be visiting the duke’s estate this weekend… Would you like to join us then?”

“……”

When Theo didn’t answer, Liriope—who had been staring down at her cup—turned to look at him.

Their eyes met instantly. Theo was staring at her with a rather unreadable expression.

“I’m not sure what that invitation means.”

He responded in his usual smooth, deep voice.

“Your meals have arrived.”

Just then, their conversation was cut short as the steaks and side dishes were served. Liriope’s attention was immediately stolen by the sight of the juicy steak—she was hungry, after all—and she couldn’t help but gasp, 

“Wow, wow.”

Thanks to the delicious spread laid before them, their conversation was put on hold as they began eating. Liriope practically melted from happiness at the way the steak dissolved in her mouth, while Theo calmly cut his portion and ate in silence.

Then suddenly, a scene from the novel popped into her head—when Rosearin fell for Theo during a shared meal. Mid-bite, Liriope glanced at Theo’s face, curious about how he looked while eating.

Since he was born and raised royalty, it was no surprise that his table manners were refined and dignified. Even the crown prince likely ate similarly.

But the way Theo held his knife to cut the steak, the clean, even pieces he sliced, the way he quietly chewed without making a sound—anyone, not just Rosearin, would probably fall for a man like that.

For the first time, Liriope realized that even the act of chewing in silence could look handsome—on him, at least. And when he lowered his eyes to gaze at his plate… it stirred such a strong urge in her to take a picture and keep it forever.

‘So ridiculously handsome. For absolutely no reason.’

She had to break free from that devilish face. And the best way to do that would be to push the heroine and the male lead together as soon as possible.

“Um, about what I said earlier…”

Liriope brought it up again, hoping to officially invite Theo on the same day Rosearin was set to visit.

Theo, who had been looking at the steak he was cutting, shifted his gaze back to Liriope. He stared at her for a moment like that, then finally set down his knife and fork.

Then, with a graceful motion that would be hard for anyone to imitate, he lifted his water glass and took a sip. Even the subtle movement of his throat as he swallowed made her think he looked… absurdly handsome.

Which didn’t make any sense. How could she possibly be thinking someone’s Adam’s apple was good-looking?

She couldn’t believe her own brain.

At this rate, Liriope feared she might really fall for Theo so completely that she wouldn’t care even if it led to some tragic end—whether it was death by charm or whatever else. So she tried to steady herself in advance.

“I really hope you’ll come too, Theo. It’s not like there’s going to be a fancy tea party with a bunch of noble ladies—only Lady Rosearin will be there. I’ll help make sure the two of you get to talk a lot. Oh, and I’m planning to give her the tea leaves from earlier as a gift. Is that okay? Anyway, you don’t need to feel burdened being caught between two women, and….”

Theo, who had been silently listening to her rapid-fire words, finally cut in.

“So, basically—”

His sharp gaze moved curiously, as if trying to understand the meaning behind her invitation.

Liriope, avoiding his eyes on purpose, continued.

“Y-you gave her a handkerchief, didn’t you?”

“…Hmm?”

“Lady Rosearin said she wanted to thank you—she said you helped her and gave her a handkerchief.”

At her words, Theo frowned slightly, as if confused. Then, after a moment, his expression changed to one of realization.

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

‘Seriously, what were you two doing meeting like that even before the story officially began?’

Annoyed for no particular reason, Liriope took a sip of water to cool off.

As she set the glass down, she said to Theo, 

“So I thought maybe you could come that day and get it back then.”

“……”

“I mean, of course, you could meet her another time to get it back if you prefer. What I’m trying to say is, it’s not because of the handkerchief or anything, just that—”

“You seem to think,”

Theo, who had been sitting straight in his chair, leaned back slightly and tilted his head.

At some point during the meal, his hands had moved from the table to being crossed over his chest. His expression now was unmistakably one of dissatisfaction.

“You seem to think I’m the kind of trash who chases women around despite having a fiancée.”

His unexpected words made Liriope’s eyes go wide.

“…Huh? No, not at all! That’s not what I—”

“I’ve never done anything I’d be ashamed of in front of you—neither before we got engaged, nor after I decided I wanted to be.”

“…What?”

Liriope blinked, bewildered, trying to process Theo’s cryptic statement. Then, Theo—who had been leaning back—suddenly leaned in closer toward her.

He placed his arms on the table, bringing his body even nearer to her, and spoke in a low, almost whispering voice.

“In my entire life, there’s only ever been one woman—you, Riri.”

At those words, Liriope’s already large eyes widened even more, practically bulging from their sockets.

Then Theo leaned back in his chair again, his tone returning to calm composure.

“And of course, in the rest of my life to come, it’ll still be only you.”