Chapter 5.1 – The Swindler

“It’s meaningless to wonder when this happiness will end. Because where there is love, there is happiness, and love will be eternal.”

“That’s a verse from Jeffrey Sun’s poem, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. My, you know this poem?”

How long had Berry been lying there, wrapped up in the blanket? She kept drifting in and out of sleep, yawning deeply. Then, suddenly, she recited a line from a poem, and Damian responded as if he had been waiting for it. Berry looked up at him, a little surprised.

“I know a little. That’s a famous line, so I remembered it.”

“That’s right. It’s my favorite part, too. Romantic, haam, isn’t it?”

Another yawn escaped mid-sentence, so Berry had to cover her mouth. She rubbed her eyes and nestled her head against Damian’s chest.

“You didn’t fall asleep?”

“Not quite.”

“You’re healthy.”

“You’re not hurting much, are you?”

Damian gently stroked her hair. She had wished countless times that her hair was blonde or maybe silver, but now, her red hair felt oddly pleasant. Maybe it was because she’d learned that this color looked like the sun to someone.

Berry smiled sheepishly and traced Damian’s chest with her fingertips.

“It didn’t hurt much. I don’t know about tomorrow, though.”

“I’ll call the maid. She’ll give you a massage.”

“Mmm, that would be nice. But not right now.”

“Then how about some water?”

“That sounds good.”

Damian was calm and caring. The way he checked if she was uncomfortable made Berry even more confident in her choice.

Berry swallowed dryly as she watched Damian’s broad, straight back, worrying she was staring too much and forced herself to look away. The clinking sounds suggested he was making ice water.

“Come to think of it, the gentleman who was with us a few days ago was named Jeffrey too. Is there a connection?”

Damian asked the question carelessly with his back turned to her. Then, he handed her a cold glass, and Berry scratched her cheek as she accepted it.

“Well, about that…”

Honestly, there was a bit of a connection. She couldn’t say there wasn’t. Jeffrey Sun was her favorite poet. Not just one of her favorites, but the only one. Her absolute number one.

Jeffrey Sun mainly wrote about lovers, love, partings, and farewells. He wasn’t very famous, but at least to Berry, he was the greatest poet in the world.

“I liked every poem Jeffrey Sun ever wrote. So, just because Jeffrey Gixson had the same name as my favorite poet, his favorability score went up by about five percent.”

Berry spoke honestly, without beating around the bush. Damian smiled, finding her amusing.

“It would have been nice if my name were Jeffrey, too.”

“No, what are you talking about? I like that you’re ‘Damian’, Damian.”

Now that she thought about it, her lover’s name was truly pretty. Damian. She rolled the name in her mouth once more, and her lips were immediately claimed by Damian.

“Mmm…!”

“You’re so lovely, Berry.”

Her whole body felt warm and relaxed. With the love he gave, she felt full even without eating, and happy even without doing anything.

“Let’s have a meal later at the restaurant on the deck.”

“Okay.”

At her whining, Damian kissed her forehead. Berry didn’t fight the drowsiness that came over her and simply closed her eyes.

If she’d known love felt like this, she would have done it sooner.

She regretted learning Damian’s feelings so late, but she could love him more from now on. Berry burrowed into his strong embrace and enjoyed the sweet sleep.

“Good night, my love.”

With Damian’s words, Berry fell deeply asleep. She didn’t wake again until exactly four o’clock in the afternoon.

* * *

“I can’t believe we’ll be disembarking tomorrow.”

At dinner, Damian kept his promise and took her to the restaurant by the deck. Berry ordered a simple salad and drank water, but thanks to last night’s wine, she could still taste the grape aroma even while sitting still.

Damian seemed to anticipate her hangover and had prepared medicine in advance. It was a thoughtful gesture.

“Ah, I received word earlier that Earl Swanton himself will be coming to greet you.”

“Huh… My father?”

“The Countess and Philip, too.”

“Aha.”

Her brother coming didn’t mean he was worried about her. He was probably curious about what happened between her and Damian.

Berry looked at the ring on her left hand with great satisfaction.

‘Mmm, very nice.’

Last night proved that he wasn’t some strange pervert in bed. She had worried that his member might be small, but that wasn’t the case. Damian was perfect in every way.

Berry crunched her salad and watched the sunset. Leisurely passing the time felt wonderful. She wished this moment would never end.

“Oh, Damian. People are flocking into the restaurant. Is there some kind of event?”

“Would you like to go see?”

“Hmm… mmm.”

She wanted to, but honestly, getting up and sitting down was a bit uncomfortable. She wasn’t completely pain-free below. Still, her curiosity remained…

Seeing her expression, Damian smiled.

“Then I’ll go check it out. I’ll see what’s happening and come back.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Damian rose from his seat gracefully, without even a sound from the chair. Berry poked at the tomato in her salad bowl with her fork, playing around. She would keep doing this until he returned.

“Berry Swanton.”

If it hadn’t been for the man’s voice she really didn’t want to hear at that moment, she would have kept at it.

Berry snapped out of her daze and glanced at the man casting a shadow over her head.

“You fooled me, acting all innocent! Flirting with me when you already had a man?”

His voice, shrill with excitement, was truly pathetic. She had told him not to meet again, but it seemed Jeffrey Gixson hadn’t understood, standing before her in his usual ridiculous outfit.

“I thought I made it clear our connection was over. Are you having difficulty with hearing?”

“Over? Who says? Who made me buy these expensive tickets by seducing me?”

“Oh my, did I seduce you? Wasn’t it you who wanted to get close to me and bought them? Besides, I paid for my own ticket. You paid for yours. If anyone heard you, they’d think you paid for both.”

Berry lifted her fork elegantly and spoke each word sharply. It was only natural that her tone turned prickly in response to such crude accusations. She was tired and dealing with someone like Jeffrey Gixson was just bothersome.

Berry quickly continued, hoping he would just go away.

“Did you think I’d cry out of embarrassment if you came here and blamed me like this? Well, sorry to disappoint you. I have something to say, too.”

“W-what? If you keep talking back like that, you’ll have a hard time getting married! You have no manners at all. I’ll spread it all over the social circles about how you shamelessly flirted with me. You little wench!”

He couldn’t possibly think that such words would truly make her tremble with humiliation.

Berry let out a deep sigh and raised her fork. He was standing while she was sitting, but Berry didn’t feel intimidated at all. Even with people glancing over, it was the same.

Because right now, Berry really did have something to say to Jeffrey Gixson.

She had intended to swallow it and let it go out of courtesy, but in the end, he forced her to spit it out.

Berry shook her head and spoke her first words.

“First. The way you dress is terrible.”

“What!”

“Regardless of the trends, your outfit is just weird. Do you know how embarrassed I was to be seen with you?”

Attacking someone personally is the lowest form of argument, but since he started it, she had no reason to lose.

Berry took a deep breath and launched her next attack right away.

“Oh, and you should pluck your nose hairs. How can you be a noble and not take care of your appearance?”

As soon as she mentioned nose hairs, giggles spread around them. In fact, a few strands were sticking out of Jeffrey Gixson’s nose right then.

Berry swept her hair over her shoulder and let out a big, mocking snort. She remembered how much she had been teased as a child for her red hair. Giving a man who tried to torment her a taste of his own medicine was as easy as eating cake.

“Ugh!”

When a pathetic man loses in an argument, there are usually two reactions: either he cries out for his mother, or he acts like this. He gets angry and raises his hand. Maybe he thought she would get scared, but Berry still found Jeffrey Gixson ridiculous.