1.9

“A letter has arrived.”  

Early in the morning, a letter was delivered to Leon. The sender was Lady Ellen Novary. It seemed that she had sent a greeting letter immediately after they became lovers.  

Leon stared blankly at the letter without reading its contents.  

Unexpectedly, he now had a lover….  

After confessing yesterday, he had a sleepless night. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t make sense of the situation.  

Why did she agree to date me? She was definitely the lady I met two years ago….  

Leon had met Ellen two years ago. She was a woman who had left a lingering sense of guilt in his heart.  

Two years ago, he had unintentionally hurt her. Although he had apologized, the feeling of regret had stayed with him. He never imagined that the woman Logan had pointed out would turn out to be her.  

Ellen Novary, was it?  

Although they had spoken before, he hadn’t known her name. He learned her name for the first time through Logan.  

Even when Logan pointed her out as the target of the wager, Leon hadn’t realized it was her until he saw her face. The moment he recognized her, he was utterly shocked.  

At the same time, he felt relieved. He thought that, having been deeply hurt, she would naturally reject his proposal to date. He assumed she would feel disgusted and express anger.  

If that had been the case, he might have felt more at ease. No, it would have been even better if she had slapped him across the face.  

But instead, she had accepted his proposal, leaving them in an ambiguous relationship that was neither here nor there.  

It was fortunate that Mia was protected from that frivolous man, but this situation brought its own set of problems. He had no idea how to handle it, and his head throbbed with stress.  

Could she have genuinely liked me? Even after my rude behavior two years ago, could she still harbor feelings for me….  

Leon buried his face in his hands.  

“Sigh. Is this my punishment?”  

A bitter smile crept across his lips.  

Having fallen for Logan’s provocation, he had toyed with a young lady he barely knew, and now it felt as though he was being punished for it.  

He knew he should apologize and confess that it had been a mischievous wager with his friends. He had to.  

But he couldn’t stop thinking about the clear, innocent look in her eyes. Especially when he recalled her deep, vivid blue eyes, his guilt only grew stronger.  

The way she looked at him with hopeful, sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks made it impossible for him to say the word “wager.”  

Leon wasn’t usually the type to hesitate or waver, but this time, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.  

Perhaps it was because of the guilt he felt, or maybe it was because she was the woman he had hurt two years ago. Either way, he couldn’t bring himself to admit the truth.  

“What should I do?”  

Since they had already agreed to date, breaking up immediately would be rude to her. If they broke up right away, Ellen might once again become the subject of ridicule in social circles.  

He thought it might be better to pretend to date for a month or two and then break up.  

Would it be better to make her want to break up with me first?  

What was done was done, and he couldn’t change it. Dragging it out for too long wouldn’t be good for either of them. He wasn’t a particularly kind person by nature, nor had he ever been a good man to Ellen from the beginning.  

So perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to let her keep that impression of him. Rather than causing her greater pain, he thought it might be better to take on the role of the villain himself.  

Besides, it seemed less hurtful for her to feel disappointed and step away on her own than for her to be dumped outright. Considering Ellen’s reputation, that would be the better option.  

She had merely been swept up in Logan and Leon’s prank. Logan had chosen her as the target of the wager because he had underestimated her, and Leon couldn’t let her image be tarnished any further.  

It would be better for rumors to spread that Ellen had dumped Leon rather than the other way around. Something like, “He turned out to be less impressive than I thought.”  

The problem was figuring out how to make himself seem like a bad guy.  

No matter how much he wanted to appear bad, he couldn’t resort to rudeness, insults, or violence. Leon had to come up with a way to lower her expectations without hurting her.  

Leon opened the letter and read its contents.  

The letter expressed the excitement of starting a relationship and politely asked for his care moving forward. It also included a request to arrange a meeting. It was a letter filled with regret about how they had parted ways after the confession yesterday.  

What should I do? I’m about to become a bad guy.  

Seeing how genuine Ellen seemed made Leon feel even guiltier.  

“Brother, is it true that you have a lover? The social circles are in an uproar.”  

While Leon was reading the letter, Mia approached him. It seemed the news had already spread.  

Rumors sure travel fast.  

“Yes.”  

Leon replied in a nonchalant tone.  

“Oh my, how did she manage to capture your heart? I’m curious.”  

Mia exclaimed as if something unbelievable had happened.  

“What kind of person is she? To think she managed to win over you, who never even glances at young ladies. Amazing.”  

“….”  

Leon couldn’t say anything about his new lover. He knew almost nothing about her. He had only learned her name yesterday, so there was no way he could know more.  

“What? Is she really your lover?”  

When Leon didn’t respond, Mia looked at him with a doubtful expression.  

“She’s a good person.”  

Not wanting to reveal that the relationship had started because of a wager, Leon roughly tousled Mia’s black hair and gave a vague answer.  

“Isn’t that too vague?”  

Mia grumbled. After a moment of thought, Leon added,  

“She’s gentle yet strong.”  

“Gentle yet strong?”  

Mia tilted her head, unable to understand.  

In truth, Leon couldn’t accurately describe Ellen either. That was simply the best way he could express his impression of her based on his memory from two years ago.  

“Well, anyway, congratulations on finding a lover.”  

Mia still seemed puzzled but offered her congratulations nonetheless. Leon nodded silently. He had to suppress a hollow laugh several times.  

Can we even call this a relationship?  

Even though modern society embraced free love and casual relationships, many people still wanted their future spouse to be someone without a questionable past.  

Thus, Leon resolved not to let Ellen’s reputation suffer because of him. Apart from holding her hand during formal escorts, he vowed not to touch her at all.  

A relationship with a time limit, that was the nature of Leon and Ellen’s bond moving forward.