T/N: I miscalculate when dividing the chapters so this is short

What’s he doing with a cane he never usually carries? Though it was his freedom to carry one or not, it just irritated her for some reason.

Lenore barely lifted the corners of her mouth before lowering them, trying to pass by him. Seeing him made her anger rise again.

But Daniel blocked her path. He leaned one shoulder against the wall and looked down at his wife. That wasn’t the only strange thing. There was an eerie musical sound coming from somewhere, though no musicians were in sight.

What did it matter if there was a band or not?

Lenore tried to pass by him. But again, Daniel blocked her path.

What is he doing?

Usually when they met in the hallway, they would just exchange brief greetings and pass by, but why was he acting like this suddenly? When she frowned and glared at him, Daniel spoke.

“I’ll be late today.”

“I see you have business. Very well.”

Though she acknowledged it, he seemed flustered. She wondered what kind of response he wanted, his eyes shifting uneasily.

“Do you have something important to attend to?”

This time it seemed to be the response he wanted, as his shifting eyes steadied. He lifted one corner of his mouth and leaned in closer, almost close enough to touch her face.

“You shouldn’t try to know, Lenore.”

What’s really going on? Did he eat something strange?

It was odd that the man who always carefully called her ‘wife’ suddenly used her name. His tone was also strangely arrogant. It’s strange because his voice was stiff like someone nervous.

“All you need to do is spend all day brushing this silk-like hair, and when I return, first get on the bed…”

Very unfamiliar words were coming from his mouth, yet they felt strangely familiar. As Lenore wracked her brain trying to remember, she soon realized why it felt familiar.

It was the dialogue from when Count Tivonne, after his beloved woman discovered his feelings, abandoned his previous passive attitude and began actively courting her.

Thinking about it that way, the cane he suddenly brought was suspicious too. Because in the novel, the Count always carried a cane.

“How dare you l-look, no, emb– I mean…”

As Lenore frowned, Daniel’s flustered speech became more and more tangled. If he was trying to say what Count Tivonne had said, it should have been something like ‘wait for me in an embarrassing pose that would tempt me.’

“Just go to sleep!”

Just when she thought he might try to copy that too, Daniel shouted and ran away. When he disappeared, the eerie music also stopped.

Lenore blinked as she watched his retreating figure. She couldn’t understand what had just happened or what Daniel had done.

Did he really try to imitate Count Tivonne?

Lenore couldn’t just leave him be. She was curious why he was imitating Count Tivonne. Or if he wasn’t imitating, why he was acting so strangely. She walked in the direction he had fled.

Before long, she found Daniel banging his head against the wall and repeatedly punching it with his fist. The eerie music was back too. It was as if the music was following him around.

“After all that practice, why did you freeze up, you idiot…!”

Practice? He practiced? What exactly?

Hidden behind a pillar watching, Lenore held her breath to hear what else he would say.

“I should have gotten an actor to coach me instead of just practicing alone in front of the mirror.”

So that strange behavior earlier really was him trying to act like Count Tivonne. She couldn’t stand it anymore. Lenore came out from behind the pillar and approached him.

“Count.”

When Lenore called out, Daniel jumped in surprise. He was so startled that he stumbled backward and kicked over a bucket that a maid had left for cleaning.

Daniel hurriedly picked up the fallen bucket and mop and set them right. He cleared his throat a couple of times and tried to act natural, but couldn’t meet Lenore’s eyes.

“Wife.”

Gone was the ‘Lenore’ from earlier, back to ‘wife.’ Lenore pretended not to notice and asked,

“What were you doing looking at the wall?”

“Ah, there was some bothersome dust on the wall, so I was looking at it.”

It was a poor excuse since she had been watching everything from hiding. Lenore just nodded as if accepting it. When she seemed to let it slide, she could feel Daniel stealing glances at her in relief.

“So what was that about acting practice?”

“Hic.”

Daniel swallowed hard at the sudden question. Lenore seized the moment and moved closer, narrowing the distance between them. Trapped between her and the wall with nowhere to escape, Daniel desperately avoided eye contact.

Looking at him with his suspicious behavior and ears turning bright red, Lenore became certain.

This man must like me?