Chapter 2.2

By now, Berry had completely lost interest in Jeffrey. In truth, she’d given up because she had no way of knowing when he’d stop talking. And at that moment, Berry’s eyes met those of the man.

“……Kuh.”

“???”

What… what was that?

The man laughed. It felt as if he found something genuinely amusing.

‘Is there something strange about the way I look?’

She felt a sudden pang of annoyance, but she couldn’t just walk over and ask about it. Jeffrey was still lost in reciting what was clearly a cheap poem he’d memorized somewhere, completely absorbed in his own feelings. She might have moved if he’d just finished talking, but he never gave her the chance, stringing his words together endlessly.

The man’s gaze swept over the back of Jeffrey’s head with a look of deep interest, but there was a chill in his eyes.

‘Is it because Jeffrey’s being so loud? That actually makes sense.’

The truth was, Jeffrey was causing a bit of a nuisance. The couple who had been standing to her right had slipped away, and no one else dared approach. The only one left nearby was this unknown man.

“……So, Miss Swanton, would you consider dating me with marriage as the premise?”

“……”

“Miss Swanton?”

Berry, distracted by the stranger, didn’t catch what Jeffrey was saying. She’d caught bits and pieces, and it seemed he was seriously asking her out. Only after that long-winded love poem did he finally get to the point—not her style at all. Berry preferred to hear the object of the sentence first. She hated having to wade through a sea of adverbs and adjectives just to figure out what someone was trying to say.

For that reason alone, even if she didn’t have a fiancé, Berry could never date a man like this.

Listening to his pointless talk felt like it would waste half her day.

“Sorry, Jeffrey. I didn’t quite catch what you said.”

Berry frowned and shook her head slightly. She saw Jeffrey’s face twist as he stared at her.

“No, Miss Swanton. A woman of dignity should always pay attention to a man’s words. Letting your mind wander as you just did is unbecoming behavior.”

Now he was lecturing her.

Berry, unable to believe what she was hearing, pressed her forehead with her hand. Still, Jeffrey didn’t stop talking.

“If you become my wife, I’ll make sure to break you of such bad habits. Have you heard of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’? There was a wild woman just like you, Miss Swanton. But under her husband’s guidance, she was disciplined and transformed into a refined and elegant lady.”

Honestly, what was she thinking, even considering a relationship with someone like this?

To be frank, she never expected the son of a country baron to lecture her, the daughter of Earl Swanton, about a woman’s duties and proper behavior. None of the men in the capital’s social circles had ever spoken to her like this.

In truth, the notion of a woman’s duty was just an outdated guideline now. These days, women who spoke their minds and expressed their feelings honestly were admired. What age was this, anyway, that women were still expected to obey and listen quietly to men?

It was about time those roles were reversed.

Especially now, when her status and wealth were clearly greater than his.

So Berry didn’t bother to hide her displeasure.

“It seems you’re the one being unbecoming, Lord Gixson. I don’t think I need to listen to you any longer.”

“Excuse me? What did you say?”

“Oh my, a man who doesn’t pay attention to a woman’s words must have indecent thoughts in his head. You should listen quietly to what I say, so I don’t have to repeat myself.”

“……?”

Jeffrey didn’t seem to understand her at all. His face gradually turned red. He probably felt insulted, but Berry had completely lost any interest in him.

“Well then, goodbye.”

Berry offered only a curt farewell and spun around. Marriage, he says. Wasn’t that almost delusional at this point?

“Hey, stop right there! Miss Swanton! After dragging a man to such a vulgar place, you—!”

“I can’t listen to your nonsense any longer.”

At that moment—

Just as Berry stopped to retort, a voice intervened.

The only person left nearby, thanks to Jeffrey’s nuisance, was that man from earlier.

‘Goodness, even his voice is wonderful.’

His deep baritone, as if echoing from the depths of a cave, wrapped gently around her ears. It was the kind of voice that would be described in romance novels as sending a shiver down one’s spine. Even after hearing just a single word, her skin prickled.

Suppressing her faintly pounding heart, Berry turned again under the bright lights.

Here, she could see his face even better.

Even if she couldn’t have a taste of that cake, was it a crime just to look?

One step, two steps.

The man emerged from the shadows into the light.

He was, as expected, a stunning stranger. There was something oddly familiar about him, but she was sure she didn’t know him. Jeffrey stared at him too, and though he’d tried to act tough at first, he suddenly sucked in a breath.

“Who are you to say such things… Hiiik!”

Did he know the man?

Like a salmon facing a grizzly bear, Jeffrey recoiled. From where Berry stood, she couldn’t see exactly what happened, but it looked like the man offered a handshake—so why was Jeffrey reacting like that?

Even from the back, it was obvious Jeffrey was breaking out in a cold sweat. He seemed genuinely afraid.

“It would be best if you apologized to Miss Swanton for what you just said.”

“Uh, well…”

“Apologize. If you’ve been rude, you should bow your head.”

The man’s tone was gentle, yet firm. Strangely, Jeffrey couldn’t even meet his eyes. He shrank like a squeaking mouse, muttering in a defeated voice.

“I’m… sorry, Miss Swanton.”

“You don’t sound very sorry.”

Berry found the situation so amusing that she didn’t want to let Jeffrey go just yet. Now, following her own curiosity, Berry was excited to see what would happen next.

“I misspoke. Miss Swanton… you shouldn’t have had to hear such things from me, so, um, I’m… I’m sorry.”

Jeffrey apologized earnestly, but of course, Berry wasn’t even looking at him. Realizing that she was ignoring him completely, Jeffrey’s face flushed once more. Berry, having decided to thoroughly disregard Jeffrey for his stupidity and outdated, seriously flawed views on women, didn’t care what he did.

Instead, her attention was on the man standing behind Jeffrey, looking down at him.

Jeffrey hurried away as if fleeing, and now only the two of them remained. At some point, the fireworks had stopped, and the noisy music and chatter seemed to drift in from a far-off place. The sound of waves slapping against the ship felt even louder in that moment.

The man, eyes curved as if smiling, strode over to her…….

“Kya!”

He lifted Berry up by the waist. Just like picking up a bundle or a small child!

“Hey, put me down! Put me down right now!”

“Stay still, Berry. You weren’t exactly in the right either.”

“What did you say? Who are you? Why are you doing this to me? Put me down this instant!”

“……Don’t you remember?”

As she struggled, flailing her arms and legs, the man spoke in a tone one would use to soothe a child. Berry, utterly flustered, only became more frantic, missing the genuine confusion in his voice.

“Ha, you should apologize to me too!”

“It seems you’ve just forgotten me… That’s rather upsetting. I even sent you a new portrait every year so you’d remember, but now it’s clear you never looked at them.”

“What are you talking about?”

One of Berry’s flaws was that when she was furious, she wouldn’t listen to anything around her.

“Maybe this will jog your memory.”

“Wha—!”

Muttering to himself, the man lightly pinched Berry’s cheek and let go. Berry, too stunned to be angry, took a few seconds to process what had happened. Then, unable to suppress the boiling rage, she was about to explode.

She wasn’t a child anymore—she was a grown lady!

To treat a lady of marriageable age like this—

‘And the only one who ever did this was Damian…?’

But Berry couldn’t scream. She opened her mouth wide, then closed it again. Like a carp in a pond, she just opened and closed her mouth a few times. In her dazed eyes flickered the look of ‘No way.’

“From your eyes, it seems you’re starting to remember. Still, I never thought you’d forget your fiancé, Miss Berry Swanton.”

“!!!”

No way, why is this man here?!