5.3

“Are you in a relationship with Sir Knight? Are you lovers?”  

Lady Rhoda asked Ellen as she checked the feed for the dairy cows one by one.  

At first, she hadn’t asked, thinking Leon was just someone helping with work. But seeing him wherever Ellen went, she finally asked outright.  

“What? No, we’re not in any kind of relationship.”  

Ellen immediately denied her words.  

“Then is it unrequited love from Sir Knight?”  

After getting closer to the villagers, they began calling Leon ‘Sir Knight.’  

“Unrequited love? That’s not the case. He’s just someone taking a break before returning to the city.”  

Ellen immediately denied Lady Rhoda’s words again.  

Unrequited love from Leon? That was absurd. If anything, it had been her unrequited love, but thinking of it as a thing of the past left a bitter feeling in her heart.  

“No, I don’t think so. From what I see, the way Sir Knight looks at you is not ordinary. Even now, he’s giving you those heated gazes.”  

Lady Rhoda glanced at Leon and grinned.  

“No, you must be mistaken.”  

Ellen pretended not to notice Leon’s gaze.  

“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure Sir Knight likes you. But are you really going to choose Bernard over Sir Knight? Honestly, I think Bernard suits you much better.”  

Lady Rhoda tilted her head and looked at Ellen with regretful eyes.  

“Choose Bernard? Why would I? We’re just friends.”  

People who didn’t know the situation saw Ellen, Leon, and Bernard as a love triangle. Most of them were rooting for Ellen and Bernard to end up together.  

It wasn’t just because the two had been close since childhood; knowing Ellen had once been set to marry Baron Aran, they felt pity for her and secretly hoped Bernard, who was also well-liked by the villagers, would become her partner.  

But there was almost no chance of Bernard and Ellen becoming lovers.  

They were simply good friends with similar circumstances, and Ellen shook her head firmly.  

“Friends can become lovers, you know.”  

“Is that so? Well, I suppose that could happen.”  

But as Lady Rhoda kept trying to pair her with Bernard, Ellen didn’t bother denying it.  

Normally, she would have said, “No, stop it,” but knowing Leon might overhear, she let Lady Rhoda continue with her misunderstanding.  

Ellen felt Leon’s gaze on her and Lady Rhoda. Even though he usually showed no reaction to her curt behavior, his expression changed whenever Bernard was mentioned.  

It felt colder than the indifference he had shown her in the past—as if he was jealous of Bernard.  

Could he really be jealous? No, that’s impossible.  

Ellen shook her head. She didn’t think Leon liked her that much, but part of her wished he did feel jealous.  

“Ellen, could you take a look at this?”  

At that moment, as if he knew they were talking about him, Bernard called out to Ellen.  

“Alright. What is it?”  

“I think changing the cows’ feed might be a good idea.”  

“Really? That might work.”  

Ellen approached Bernard, pretending not to have been talking about him moments earlier. Together, they discussed the cows’ health and feed options.  

Huh?  

Amid their conversation, Ellen felt a cold gaze on her back. Sure enough, Leon’s gaze toward her and Bernard was anything but friendly.  

As usual, he looked at them with a frosty expression—completely different from the look he had when she was talking to Lady Rhoda earlier.  

The strange thing was, Ellen liked his cold gaze.  

Whether it was jealousy or anger, she leaned toward believing it was jealousy.  

Especially when his icy gaze was directed at Bernard, Ellen felt a sense of relief in her otherwise conflicted heart.  

Whatever the reason, at least he was reacting now—something he hadn’t done during their relationship except when trying to seduce her physically.  

Ellen pretended not to notice Leon’s gaze and deliberately acted closer to Bernard.  

“Lady Rhoda said we look good together.”  

She then casually brought up Lady Rhoda’s words, as if for Leon to overhear.  

“What? Us? I guess we look compatible because we’re the same age.”  

“Seems like it. You and I do have a certain rapport, so I guess people see us as a natural couple.”  

“Haha, that’s funny. Well, I do feel comfortable around you, so I tend to consult you about everything. Let’s keep that up.”  

“Sure, anytime. I’ll listen to anything you say.”  

Ellen laughed overly brightly on purpose. Since she and Bernard had no romantic feelings for each other, there was no risk of misunderstanding, no matter what they said.  

That’s why Ellen deliberately brought up remarks to provoke Leon. As expected, she felt his piercing gaze grow sharper.  

Ellen suppressed the urge to laugh and pretended to brush dust off Bernard’s shoulder.  

Normally, she wouldn’t care whether there was dust on his shoulder or not, but knowing Leon was watching intently made her want to do it.  

She felt the murderous glare Leon directed toward Bernard. Glancing briefly at Leon, she saw his expression as if he might rush over, grab Bernard’s hand off her shoulder, and pull her away.  

Fearing she might provoke him too much, Ellen withdrew her hand from Bernard’s shoulder.  

“What? Is something wrong?”  

“No, it’s nothing.”  

Fortunately, Bernard didn’t seem to notice Leon’s gaze, allowing Ellen to calm her tense body.  

That’s enough for today.  

Ellen smiled to herself, feeling satisfied with her small act of revenge.  

Nobles helping with villagers’ work…  

Leon had realized that rural nobles were completely different from those in Melchia.  

In Melchia, nobles engaged in political maneuvering and subtle power plays, whereas here, they helped each other and cooperated. While Melchia focused on commercial exchanges, this village was still centered on agriculture.  

Leon also began to understand why Ellen always gave off such a bright and warm impression.  

However, he didn’t like how the nobles helped each other. To be precise, he didn’t like how Bernard kept approaching Ellen under the pretext of helping with work.  

“They look good together, don’t they? From our perspective, they really suit each other. But Viscount Novary didn’t seem to think so. Trying to marry Lady Novary off to Baron Aran instead of keeping such a fine man by her side—tsk.”  

And what bothered him most was that the villagers were all rooting for Ellen and Bernard to end up together.  

“Well, Baron Aran is richer than the Goat family, isn’t he? Viscount Novary was blinded by money and tried to sell off Lady Novary. I was so shocked when that happened. It’s a good thing the marriage didn’t go through. Now that the engagement is broken, it’s only a matter of time before those two get together, isn’t it?”  

Upon hearing Lady Rhoda’s words, Leon clicked his tongue.  

“That will never happen.”  

“What?”  

Lady Rhoda and her husband turned to Leon with surprised expressions.  

“Those two don’t suit each other, and Lady Novary has someone else who is a better match for her.”