Chapter 74

Thanks to two days of cleared schedules, the couple finally had the rare opportunity to spend uninterrupted time together. 

As the weather had improved, Lennox took Harriet to a nearby river and placed her on a small ferryboat. While the ferryman, seated at a distance, rowed and sang, the two sat facing each other, enjoying the serene river and basking in nature.

“How do you like this kind of afternoon?”

Lennox asked.

“It’s nice. Leisurely enjoying nature is good too.” 

Harriet replied with a soft smile, reaching out to touch the river water. She felt the cold current and deeply inhaled the fresh air.

The boat entered a course where trees crowded the riverbank, creating a canopy of shade under which the boat slowly drifted along the current. Feeling the sunlight filtering through the leaves, Harriet murmured, 

“This reminds me of our honeymoon. It wasn’t that long ago, but still.”

“Ah…” 

Lennox chuckled lightly, nodding as if recalling the same memory. 

“You took me to a cave, didn’t you? It was unique and fun.”

“You were the first person I ever brought there.”

“Really?”

Harriet found it fascinating that the man before her, now her husband, Lennox Diorne, had once been a young, innocent boy. A boy who had been lonely due to the absence of his mother—a simple, ordinary boy.

Perhaps, because he was such a lofty figure with a high rank, no one could easily comfort him or come close enough to embrace him. 

If he had been the son of an ordinary commoner, perhaps the neighbors might have taken better care of him and consoled him. 

The thought struck Harriet as strangely ironic.

“If, hypothetically…” 

Harriet suddenly spoke impulsively, 

“If you weren’t a Duke, and I weren’t the daughter of an Earl, what do you think we’d be doing? What kind of relationship would we have now?”

“…I don’t know. What do you think you’d be doing?”

“I think I’d still be doing this kind of work. Managing would be hard, but I’d probably be in charge of promotions and sales.”

What had started as a desire to be recognized and stand out had turned into something she was genuinely good at.

“You’d do an excellent job.”

“Of course.” 

Harriet grinned and turned the question back to him. 

“Now it’s your turn. What do you think you’d be doing?”

“I…” 

Lennox paused for a moment, as if contemplating, before speaking slowly. 

“I think I’d be a fisherman. Or maybe a ferryman.”

“…What?” 

Harriet blinked, her lips parting slightly in surprise. She hadn’t expected that answer at all.

“Really?”

“Why? Does it not suit me?”

“Well…” 

It didn’t suit him at all. With his aristocratic demeanor, atmosphere, and even his graceful actions and movements, he seemed far removed from such work. 

It wasn’t that she looked down on fishermen or ferrymen, but for someone like Lennox, a high-ranking noble to his core, such a job seemed completely out of character.

As if reading her thoughts, Lennox added, 

“Believe it or not, I once led a rowing team to victory in a competition. It was during my time studying abroad.”

Harriet’s mind naturally conjured an image of him in a uniform, standing on a boat, commanding his team with precision. The image surprisingly suited him, leaving her momentarily speechless. Then, she softly teased him, 

“As a leader, you probably didn’t row, did you?”

“Caught me.” 

Lennox admitted with a small smile.

“Either way, whether you were a lone ferryman or a leader, you’d probably have taken on a role like a captain.”

Instead of replying, Harriet simply gazed at him. She looked at his profile as he stared out at the wide, calm riverbank. 

He was someone who carried immense responsibility and bore many burdens, yet perhaps it was precisely because of this that he longed for freedom the most.

Another question escaped her lips, just as impulsively as the last.

“Why do you love me, Lennox?”

“….”

At that moment, the water seemed to stop flowing, and the boat seemed to halt. No, everything was still moving, but it felt as though time itself had frozen. Until the man before her slowly turned his head to face her, Harriet felt as if they were the only two people in a world suspended in time.

“Why do I love you?” 

Lennox repeated.

His expression was like that of a scholar being asked why the Earth rotates or why the sun rises. The look on his face betrayed the bewilderment of someone being questioned about a truth so self-evident that it required no explanation.

Harriet swallowed hard and spoke again, 

“There must have been a reason. I can’t seem to remember, so…”

“…It’s understandable you don’t remember. It was such a long time ago.”

“That’s why I want to know. When did it start?”

“I had planned to keep quiet until you remembered it yourself, but…” 

After a brief silence, Lennox seemed to make up his mind and began to speak.

“That day was the anniversary of my mother’s death.”

“…”

“The mansion was deathly quiet, and my father was absent from the morning, as usual. The butler, perhaps feeling sorry for me, tried to take me somewhere to lift my spirits, but I didn’t want to go anywhere.”

Harriet quietly watched Lennox as he delved into his memories.

“When was this?”

“When I was about sixteen.”

“Ah.”

Around that time, Harriet had been busy preparing for the academy, with barely a moment to spare. Memories from that period faintly surfaced in her mind as she listened intently to Lennox.

“Then Aaron invited me to his house. To be honest, I didn’t want to do anything or go anywhere that day, but he practically stormed the mansion and dragged me out.”

“…”

If it were Aaron, he was certainly capable of such a thing. Of course, it would have been without any ill intent.

“I resisted at first, but in the end, I was taken to the Vanetti Estate by Aaron. And you were there.”

“At that time, I was probably incredibly busy.”

“You were. You didn’t even show your face. I think I was a little disappointed. I thought we were somewhat close, but you didn’t even greet me.”

Even now, Lennox’s long eyelashes lowered slightly, as if he still felt a twinge of disappointment. Harriet, exasperated, retorted, 

“If I recall correctly, that was around the time you were constantly getting on my nerves. Smiling at me all the time with that infuriating grin. Do you think I wanted to see you during such a sensitive period? Besides…”

Besides, she hadn’t even known when the anniversary of his mother’s death was back then. Feeling it unnecessary to say that aloud, Harriet closed her mouth.

“Anyway, so? What happened then?”

“Aaron tried his best to lift my spirits. He even handed me some of his favorite treasures and forcibly tried to draw out fun stories. But the feeling of sinking deeper and deeper didn’t improve at all.” 

Lennox said with a faint smile, continuing his story slowly.

“When Aaron stepped out for a moment, I decided to run away. I just wanted to be alone.”

“Did you succeed?”

“No, I didn’t. My conscience pricked me, and it felt wrong to leave without saying goodbye. That’s when I ended up knocking on your door by chance.”

“…That was when I was extremely sensitive.”

“You flung the door open. You looked tired, as if you hadn’t slept for days. You blinked at me, as if you didn’t recognize me at first, and then asked, ‘Are you Aaron’s friend?’”

Even now, Lennox mimicked Harriet’s tone with a baffled expression, as if he still found it absurd. When Harriet’s face scrunched up, he quickly continued as if nothing had happened.

“Then you waved your hand, telling me to go over there. No matter how long it had been since we last saw each other, I thought it was ridiculous that you’d completely forgotten my face. I got a little annoyed and told you I was new here and didn’t know my way around, so I asked you to take me to Aaron’s room. You were about to call a maid but ended up taking me there yourself.”

“…I probably wanted a change of pace. Being stuck in my room studying was exhausting.”

“Anyway, we had a brief conversation then. I think I naturally mentioned that it was my mother’s death anniversary. I might have even said that I felt responsible for her passing.”

At those words, Harriet frowned.

“She passed away due to puerperal fever, didn’t she? How is that your fault?”

“If she hadn’t given birth to me, she wouldn’t have died.”

His answer was plain and matter-of-fact. Harriet shook her head seriously.

“That’s just a result-oriented way of thinking. It was your parents’ decision to have you, and you were simply born.”

While Harriet was speaking earnestly, Lennox suddenly lowered his head. Wondering if she had said something wrong, Harriet felt uncharacteristically flustered.