Chapter 52

Hugo quietly watched Catherine. Perhaps because it had been a while since he last saw her, she looked even more beautiful today.

Seeing her beauty made him feel even more embarrassed about the contract he had written in the past.

‘To think I tried to bind Catherine to my side with something as trivial as a contract.’

Hugo spent the entire previous night reflecting on his actions.

Because of this, he hadn’t yet decided how to handle the contract he had with Countess Bedwig.

So Hugo felt he needed to keep his distance from Catherine for a while, but he couldn’t resist wanting to see her.

‘Just a quick look.’

Hugo checked his watch and fixed his gaze on Catherine.

Her focused profile was more entertaining than any play.

She furrowed her brows as if something was serious, and moved her lips side to side.

Occasionally, she let out a brief laugh and shook her head.

‘What is she looking at?’

He was curious about what her shining eyes were focused on.

Hugo leaned his face near Catherine’s shoulder and followed her gaze.

At the end of her gaze was a neatly dressed man drinking champagne with a dissatisfied expression.

Surprised that Catherine was looking at another man, Hugo took a deep breath and slightly stepped away from her.

“Ah, Hugo! What are you doing to my ear?”

That breath reached Catherine. She jumped and glared at Hugo.

Hugo, who unintentionally received her gaze, smiled broadly, liking even her reproachful look.

“That was an accident.”

“Blowing air into someone’s ear? Even children don’t play such pranks, Hugo.”

Catherine firmly misunderstood that Hugo did it on purpose.

Hugo considered explaining but decided against it.

Whether or not he blew air wasn’t important; he liked that Catherine was focusing on him.

So Hugo decided to ask what he was curious about now that he had her attention.

“Do you like that man, Catherine?”

“Who?”

Hugo subtly pointed at the man Catherine had been watching, who was holding a champagne glass.

“Do you mean Lord Strain?”

Catherine asked in astonishment.

***

Calvino Strain had one reason for attending the party. The hostess, Eliona, was his aunt.

Eliona, who was close to Calvino’s mother, felt as regretful as his mother that he was still single at twenty-seven.

The two women, who adored Calvino, teamed up two years ago to find him a match.

And they had failed so far.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.

The two women managed to get Calvino to the party, but they couldn’t make him talk to women or dance like other men.

Last year, his mother gave up on Calvino, who only earned the title of ‘arrogant and haughty man.’

However, Eliona, who practically raised Calvino from a young age, didn’t give up on him.

She continued to contact Calvino, who kept making excuses to avoid parties.

And today, she succeeded in getting him to attend.

That doesn’t mean Calvino agreed with Eliona’s hope that he would stay long and find a bride at the party.

Calvino planned to sneak out when the opportunity arose.

Eliona asked him to attend, but she didn’t ask him to dance or bring a woman.

So he didn’t leave immediately.

Calvino stayed at the party, timing his exit. It was because of the music.

The reason Calvino liked Eliona more than his other aunts and stayed at her house instead of his own was the music.

Unlike his father, who scoffed at the idea of a man being interested in music, Eliona taught Calvino various instruments and took him to all kinds of concerts.

Thanks to her, Calvino met many artists from a young age.

Thinking of the artists he met as a child, Calvino smiled.

He envied their carefree lives.

Envy drove him to wander here and there every vacation during his academy years.

This led to loud arguments between Eliona and his father.

His father’s stern command came two years ago when his mother started insisting on marriage.

• If you don’t come home immediately, I’ll cut off all support.

Freedom and fun require money. Calvino wasn’t naive enough to deny that.

A few months after his father’s ultimatum, Calvino rented a mansion in the capital and settled down.

His father continued to send him a living allowance as promised and even promised to give him a part of the territory if he married.

That territory was enough for him to live without financial worries even if he gave the title to his brother.

So, with thoughts of marrying, being filial to his mother, and getting along with his aunt, he attended parties for a while.

But there was no woman who caught his interest. They all had the same expressions and were uniformly boring.

It wasn’t Calvino’s fault that he gained the reputation of being ‘arrogant and haughty.’

He couldn’t possibly smile while conversing with them.

Women either tried to please Calvino or expected him to please them.

With no intention of doing either, it was inevitable that conversations with women would go awry.

Calvino brushed his rigid face and muttered.

“Boring.”

It was the same this year.

Though he attended due to Eliona’s insistence, the faint hope that this year might be different was shattered.

‘Just this one more drink.’

Calvino picked up his fourth glass of champagne.

After emptying it, he headed to the garden without hesitation.

***

“Hugo, he left! You need to catch him.”

While Catherine was having a brief conversation with Hugo, Calvino left the party.

“Catch that man? Why?”

“Because I want to get to know him.”

“Is there a reason you need to befriend Lord Strain, Catherine? If you need a favor, ask me instead.”

“I need a personal connection.”

“Then I’ll befriend him. How close do you need to be? Enough to have tea? To have a meal?”

“Hugo.”

Catherine didn’t understand why Hugo was holding her back.

Was he acting jealous?

Catherine didn’t have time to converse with Hugo.

The moment she saw the man listening to music idly while sipping champagne, she was convinced.

Calvino Strain is the match for Brooke!

He had the same expression as Brooke.

Catherine felt urgent to speak with Calvino and introduce him to Brooke before he completely left the party.

“Hugo, it was nice seeing you.”

Catherine ended the conversation since she didn’t have time to argue with Hugo.

As she turned to leave, Hugo blocked her path.

A shadow fell over Catherine’s head. When she looked up, she saw Hugo’s chin avoiding her gaze.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t go, Catherine. Stay with me. Please? I think I twisted my ankle.”

Suddenly, Hugo feigned injury. It was obvious he was lying since he couldn’t even meet her eyes properly.

“Hugo, don’t use cheap tricks.”

“I dislike it. I dislike it so much that I resort to ridiculous lies because I hate you following that man.”

But why!

I’m not going to do anything with that man, just make an acquaintance!

Catherine stomped her feet in frustration. Hugo was secretly relieved that she didn’t push him aside and leave.

He gently placed his hand on her hip.

“Don’t go, Catherine.”

Hugo spoke almost pleadingly. Just like when Catherine held him back from going to war.

Catherine recalled that time.

When I held Hugo back then, what did I hope for him to do?

I knew he had no choice but to go to war. At that time, I hoped Hugo would.

“Come with me, Hugo.”

I wished he would take me even to the battlefield.

So Catherine grabbed Hugo’s hand without hesitation.

And before he could react, she went outside to find Strain.