Chapter 3.2

“You really haven’t changed in that way.”

“Sorry?”

“You’ve disliked the crust since you were little. So whenever we ate together, I always gave you only the soft part. I guess you forgot.”

Oh, did he? 

She honestly couldn’t remember, since she’s been so young. After all, there was quite an age gap between Damian and her.

Berry was the youngest child of the Swanton family.

Her older brother Philip was twenty-six this year, and Damian was a year older, twenty-seven.

So, if he’d been giving her bread when she was about seven, Damian would have been fourteen. It was only natural that she couldn’t remember, unlike Damian.

‘Is he disappointed because I don’t remember well?’

Berry tilted her head and looked at Damian. He didn’t seem interested in the baguette himself; he just watched her chew, not eating anything. He only drank coffee, and Berry, who couldn’t understand what was so good about that bitter roasted bean drink, just sipped her own strawberry juice.

“Is there anything you’d like to do after breakfast?”

Before long, a mountain of wonderful food was piled up on their plates. As Berry enjoyed tasting a bit of everything, Damian asked her that question.

She hadn’t really thought about it, and her cheeks were stuffed full of melon and ham at the moment, so she could only shake her head. Damian put down his knife and took two tickets out of his jacket’s br*ast pocket, handing them to her.

“Actually, since we have plenty of time this morning, I reserved these as well… If you’d like, how about listening to some music?”

Berry’s eyes widened in surprise at his preparedness. Just how many things had he arranged while she was asleep

She quickly swallowed the melon and, looking at the performer’s name on the ticket, barely managed to suppress a cheer.

Oh, my goodness!

“Th-this is a special ticket for the Royal Section only! The one with Emilia Bush performing!”

“Yes. I’m glad you’re pleased.”

“Of course I am! Goodness, Emilia Bush only sings for Royal Section guests—I thought I’d never get to hear her!”

Even though it was a cruise party, not every passenger stayed in the same class of room.

The cabins were clearly divided by class.

For example, Berry had purchased a second-class ticket. If she’d come with her parents, she would have naturally stayed in a first-class cabin, but this ticket had been secretly bought with her own allowance, so she had no choice.

Second-class cabins were on the lower part of the ship and had no windows. First-class was the level above, and had windows.

And then, the Royal Section.

Damian’s ticket was for the best room—large windows, a luxury bed, and, above all, both a maid and a servant.

But even that wasn’t the only reason for the astronomical price of the Royal Section.

Every cruise held special performances exclusively for Royal Section guests, and on this ship, the most famous singer these days, Emilia Bush, had been invited. Berry knew this, but since Royal Section tickets were strictly checked at the entrance, she hadn’t even considered sneaking in to hear her sing.

‘But now, I get to see the performance!’

It was the perfect thing to boast about to her friends. Before, one annoying friend had gone to a special performance and bragged endlessly about it. Now it was Berry’s turn.

“Excuse me, um…”

But Berry’s mood, which had soared as if she could fly, came crashing down a moment later.

“Aren’t you Damian Houndworth, by any chance?”

It was a foreigner she’d never seen before. The young woman, dressed in a silk gown with gloves—clearly from the upper class—didn’t even glance at Berry and addressed Damian.

“I don’t recall you.”

Damian calmly wiped his mouth with a napkin and replied to the woman. Berry, glancing back and forth between him and the stranger, felt her pride stung for some reason. Of course it was because she’d been ignored, but it was also something else.

An unreasonable sense of possessiveness and jealousy raised their heads.

“Oh, I knew it was you. I’m Elena. Don’t you remember?”

“No. I don’t.”

“How cold. We went to the same school. We were in the same class the whole time.”

“I don’t remember everyone I meet. Especially not someone as rude as you.”

At Damian’s cold words, the woman called Elena’s face turned red, then blue. Berry stared at Damian’s handsome profile, eyes wide.

Wasn’t he just so sweet to her moments ago? But now, Damian’s eyes were so cold they could have been carved from ice. A perfect rejection, leaving not a single opening. That was the Damian before her now.

“Oh my, rude? What do you mean…”

Elena was persistent, seemingly unable to feel the chill in the air. Yet, she still didn’t spare Berry a single glance.

What would happen now? At first, Berry had been angry, but now she was so intrigued by the unfolding situation that she decided not to step in. Normally, she would have immediately overturned the table and pointed a finger at Elena, but Damian’s reaction was too interesting to interrupt.

But she hadn’t expected him to go this far.

Damian gently covered Berry’s hand, which was resting on the table. Then, as if to show off, he laced his fingers between hers.

“She is to be my wife. If you see someone spending precious time with their partner, it’s polite not to interrupt. And if you must come over, it’s only proper to greet the other person first.”

With each of Damian’s firm, pointed remarks, Elena’s face turned red, then pale. She seemed to be struggling to hold back her anger, and Berry couldn’t help but let out a stifled laugh.

“Well, I suppose I was rude. To be your wife—what an elegant young lady she must be.”

Elena immediately redirected her attack at Berry. Perhaps it was a way to mask her own embarrassment, but Berry wasn’t someone who would just sit and take such things.

“Yes, hello. But to suddenly approach someone else’s future husband, even when you don’t even confidently know his name, and start a conversation like that… You seem a little too forward for my taste, so I can’t say I’m pleased.”

Berry did not lose her composure. In fact, she smiled brightly. Ever since she was young, even when she argued with someone, she never hardened her expression. In business, the one who gets angry first loses. Showing one’s emotions is foolish. Berry had been taught business etiquette by her father since childhood, so she was skilled at responding to opponents.

“So, would you please return to your seat now? Miss Elena, you’re interrupting our date.”

“…Ha!”

Anyone could see that, objectively, Elena was at fault, so she had no choice but to retreat. Watching Elena leave, not even recovering her dignity after starting the conversation, Berry giggled and tried to withdraw her hand.

“That was amusing. Do you really not remember who she is?”

“No, I don’t.”

Even after Elena left and the attention of those around them dispersed, Damian still didn’t let go of her hand.

Berry tilted her head and gave their interlaced hands a little shake. Still, Damian remained silent, showing no intention of letting go.

‘Really, why does this make my heart flutter again?’

Unlike her, Damian truly seemed to regard her as his future wife, refusing to even interact with other women. He knew her name so well, yet he couldn’t remember other women’s faces.

‘Admirable. Truly admirable.’

Berry nodded to herself. There was now one more reason she thought marriage with him wouldn’t be so bad.

Thump, thump.

It felt as if her pulse was beating through every joint of their intertwined fingers. Of course, medically that wasn’t possible, but poetically, that’s how it felt. These interlocked fingers felt like a path for Damian’s heart to flow into hers.

Embarrassed, Berry tried to drink more juice, but suddenly her gaze fell on Damian’s lips.

Those lips, so gentle to her but sharp to others, were the ones she’d kissed last night.

Gulp. She swallowed.

Berry, staring at Damian’s lips, hurriedly shook her head to chase away such improper thoughts.

‘I need to think proper thoughts. Proper thoughts.’

But it wasn’t easy. The memory of last night’s enchanting kiss kept surfacing, making Berry want to hide her face behind her glass of strawberry juice. As if that could really hide her.