“It’s been a while since you’ve seen each other’s faces. Greet Sir Lauderdale, Diana.”

She had heard from her father beforehand that he would call Edwin to the estate for introductions. She thought she had prepared herself mentally until he arrived, but when she actually saw Edwin’s face, her heart pounded so much she couldn’t calm down.

Her heart had been in chaos since walking into the drawing room, but when she saw his face, it began racing even more. Hadn’t she seen his face at the banquet hall last time? So why was she trembling like this?

Today too, Edwin seemed to radiate a dazzling aura, so Diana had no choice but to lower her head and offer her greeting.

“It’s been a while, Sir Lauderdale. Have you been well?”

“As you can see. How have you been, my lady?”

“I’ve been well too.”

After exchanging a few brief words, their conversation cut off and an awkward atmosphere flowed between them.

Duke Winchester seemed to hesitate about whether to intervene. He moved his lips several times before closing his mouth again. Silence continued to flow among the three people, and Edwin was the first to break it.

“It’s been a while since we talked.”

“Indeed. This is the first time since that day, isn’t it?”

She didn’t need to mention ‘that day’ but foolishly brought it up without realizing it. This caused another wave of awkwardness to permeate the air.

Perhaps embarrassed about his harsh rejection, Edwin wore a troubled smile. Seeing this, she felt she should say something.

“When I heard you became knight captain, I thought it was something to be proud of.”

“Thank you. You’ve also matured considerably since before, my lady.”

“A lot of time has passed since then.”

Her mouth was running away with her. When she could have conversed normally, Diana found herself unconsciously giving Edwin hints.

How could she avoid mentioning anything about that day?

She wanted to continue the conversation naturally, but her mind was blank and she felt confused about what to say. She couldn’t let the conversation end like this, but what should she do?

“By, by any chance. What would you think if you couldn’t become the head of the Winchester family?”

She ended up blurting out words she didn’t need to ask right now. Duke Winchester shot her a sharp glance.

‘I know. I know that.’

Flustered, Diana hastily watched Edwin’s reaction.

“I don’t quite understand what you’re saying.”

Since there had never been a case of a woman becoming family head, Edwin seemed unable to understand her words.

“You might think it’s nonsensical, but I want to become the head of the Winchester family. I’m going to prepare for it step by step from now on.”

Diana deliberately avoided making eye contact with her father while waiting for Edwin’s response.

What would he say?

“If that happens, I will support you from the outside, my lady. Having served as captain of the Imperial Knights, I won’t disappoint you.”

Not a trace of falsehood could be found in Edwin’s eyes. He truly seemed to have little interest in power.

Seeing him like this, confidence welled up in her. Diana looked at Duke Winchester with her shoulders squared proudly. 

‘How about that, don’t I have good judgment?’

When she signaled with her eyes, the Duke nodded reluctantly.

After that, Diana tried to continue the conversation by bringing up various topics, but it simply wouldn’t flow. The awkward atmosphere was still thick, so Duke Winchester, unable to bear it any longer, suddenly interjected between the two.

“You two need time to talk together, don’t you? I’ll step out now, so have a comfortable conversation.”

She thought the atmosphere would become much more relaxed once Duke Winchester left the drawing room, but it didn’t. The uncomfortable tension flowing between the two showed no signs of easing.

Does Sir Lauderdale really have complaints about this marriage? While thinking this, Edwin spoke first.

“Please take care of me going forward.”

“I, I’ll take care of you too.”

Though Edwin had spoken first, their conversation ended with these words. They used to be closer, even playing pranks together, but those days felt incredibly distant now.

The current silence felt like the distance between them, making her heart sink heavily.

* * *

When Diana entered the banquet hall, everyone’s gaze turned toward her. Since this was her first attendance at a banquet after news of her engagement to Sir Lauderdale spread, receiving people’s attention was a natural result.

Diana had deliberately chosen a time when Edwin couldn’t attend the banquet. He was too busy with palace guard duties to have such leisure, but some people would find it strange that she wasn’t receiving his escort.

“I heard you’re getting engaged. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Many people offered Diana congratulations. Most were genuinely congratulating her, but as expected, she could feel that some viewed it unfavorably.

“Sir Lauderdale, I didn’t see him that way, but he’s quite ambitious.”

“He rejected so many noble proposals until now, but seeing him get engaged to Lady Winchester, that’s how it is. We misjudged him.”

She could hear conversations of people gossiping about Edwin without knowing the inside story. They spoke loudly, seemingly wanting her to hear, so even if she didn’t want to listen, she was forced to hear their conversation.

If she stayed quiet like this, people would misunderstand Edwin, wouldn’t they? She was the one who forced the marriage, so why should he receive criticism?

She didn’t want Edwin’s reputation to suffer because of her. So Diana had to speak honestly to them. Though she would receive criticism, hadn’t she already prepared for this?

“Please don’t speak carelessly about Sir Lauderdale. I was the one who wanted it. I requested through His Majesty that I wanted to marry him.”

“I see. Sir Lauderdale suddenly got engaged, so there was a reason for everything.”

“That’s right. Lady Winchester must be happy. Marriage with the man she wanted. If it were me, I’d be flying through the sky. Though the other party might feel like they’re in hell.”

Mocking and sarcastic voices deliberately spoken for her to hear became hammers that wounded Diana’s heart. Though it throbbed like she’d been beaten, she couldn’t make any defense to them.

Everything was her own doing. But at least she had managed to get engaged to Edwin this way.

Cowardice using power. That would continue to hold Diana back, but it was already done. The more they criticized her, the more Diana decided to act shamelessly.

Couldn’t she just capture Sir Lauderdale’s heart?

Diana firmly resolved to show a romantic appearance with Edwin so that no more gossip would arise.

* * *

Moving a person’s heart doesn’t seem easy. Well, she hadn’t been able to capture it before, so could things be different now?

Though she had held an engagement ceremony with Edwin as she wanted, winning his heart was much more difficult than she had thought.

Even when they dated and spent time together, the emotional distance between them wouldn’t shrink at all, so what should she do?

Edwin was faithful to his role as fiancé. He made time despite being busy to suggest dates. He would ask where she wanted to go and accompany her there.

Dates like going to art exhibitions to look at paintings together and going to see plays together.

Even when shopping, he would stand by the door and wait without showing any signs of boredom. Sometimes they went to bookstores, where they would spend time reading books they each wanted.

Since Edwin was so busy, they didn’t have much time for dates, but she could definitely tell he was being considerate. To others, they would seem like a couple with a good relationship.

Their dates were enjoyable, but… when the dates ended, not much remained. When they watched plays, only the play’s content remained, and when they went to exhibitions, only the paintings stayed in memory. When they went to bookstores, she only remembered the titles of books they chose.

Come to think of it, Edwin’s behavior seemed strangely stiff during every date.

His attitude was more like serving a superior than being with a lover, so the more she met with him, the more she felt an inexplicable uneasiness.

If they had been complete strangers before the engagement, she wouldn’t have found this relationship strange. It would be natural for a man and woman who didn’t know each other well to be nervous while getting to know each other.

But Diana and Edwin weren’t that kind of relationship. Hadn’t they known each other since before?

They had been the kind of relationship where they could freely express their inner thoughts. Even though they had become closer now than before, rather than the awkwardness with Sir Lauderdale disappearing, they seemed to be growing even more distant.

It felt more like dates just to kill time rather than the sweet dates between lovers. As a result, the more dates they had, the more empty she felt.

How long would she have to feel like these were obligatory dates? What exactly was the problem?

‘Ah… we didn’t have much conversation time together.’

Come to think of it, they hadn’t really conversed throughout their dates. At art museums they were looking at paintings, at plays they were watching the performance, at bookstores they were looking at books.

Their other dates were the same. Dates should focus on the two people involved, but their current dates felt like being together but playing separately.

It’s just a formal relationship…