Chapter 15

“Leon, what did you just say now, you brat!”

But Edward’s almost shouting voice, which erupted immediately, shattered the brief silence.

His outburst was so absurd that it broke the tension in the other two—Diane and Adrian—who had forgotten how to react.

Duke Adrian cleared his throat, while Diane started hiccuping.

“What! What did you just call me?”

Leon, who was destined to inherit the dukedom, retorted in an angry voice, never having heard such crude words from Edward before.

“Leon Wale, you! You…!”

Edward was about to say more, but when he saw his nephew glaring at him fiercely, he barely closed his mouth.

“Leon! No, Ed! Cough, cough.”

Adrian called out to Leon, who had made such an outrageous statement, then to his brother, who had spoken harshly to his own child, then coughed again, unable to continue speaking.

Surprise and anger were both mixed into the sound of his coughs.

Diane, still hiccuping, was so flustered by both Leon’s words and her own hiccups that her face turned bright red.

Edward glared at Diane.

Receiving Edward’s glare, Diane felt deeply wronged.

She was just as dumbfounded by what she’d heard, so she couldn’t understand why the president was glaring at her.

‘What’s his problem, really! I’m shocked too, you know! It’s not my fault the little one said something ridiculous!’

Even as she hiccuped, her eyes filled with resentment.

While Diane continued to hiccup and endure Edward’s glare, Adrian finally cleared his throat and spoke, as if something stuck in his throat had finally gone down.

“Leon, I don’t know why you’re saying something so inappropriate. Imagine how surprised the teacher must be. Apologize, quickly.”

“Why should I? I didn’t do anything wrong! I waited by the tree, and Teacher came!”

“What?”

Adrian, repeating Leon’s words, suddenly froze.

“Leon…”

A somber look appeared on Adrian’s face.

“I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about, but Leon, that teacher is not your mother. Absolutely not, so stop saying such strange things!”

Edward interjected into the father-son conversation.

Although he spoke harshly, Diane said nothing, since Edward had said what she herself wanted to say and Leon’s face was now contorted.

She was still hiccuping, anyway.

“Liar! Don’t lie to me! I waited for my mother more than a hundred times! And now you say she’s not?”

“Leon!”

Adrian called out, but Leon was already getting up from his seat.

“Don’t lie to me! Teacher came here to be my mom!”

Shouting this, Leon ran out of the formal dining room.

He almost collided with a maid who was bringing in the next course, but the maid barely managed to avoid him, so no accident occurred.

After Leon ran out, only Diane, Edward, and Adrian remained at the table, surrounded by an awkward silence.

“Brother, what’s your son talking about?”

Edward broke the silence first.

“None of your business.”

Adrian’s usual polite and gentle tone was now harsh and his expression gloomy.

At that moment, Roden entered the formal dining room.

He’d come in, realizing something had happened after seeing Leon run out.

Adrian looked at Roden, set down his fork, and stood up.

“Teacher, this must have been your first meal at the Wale mansion, and it must have been uncomfortable. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can continue eating either, so I’ll excuse myself.”

“Ah, yes, Your Grace.”

Almost at the same time as Diane replied, Adrian gave Roden instructions.

“Prepare a snack for Leon in his room later. The teacher is still dining, so make sure she finishes her meal properly.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Adrian immediately left the formal dining room, leaving only Diane, Roden, and Edward behind.

The Duke almost never left the table during a formal meal.

The only difference today was the appearance of a new person, Diane Lina.

Roden’s sharp gaze naturally turned to Diane.

Diane, busy swallowing and bowing her head to stop her hiccups, didn’t notice.

Edward frowned deeply, disliking the way Roden looked at her.

Even though he’d glared at her more fiercely than anyone, he couldn’t stand someone else giving her such a harsh look.

“Roden, can’t you see we’re eating? Get out!”

He spat coldly at Roden.

But even at Edward’s cold command, Roden kept watching Diane.

Edward’s eyebrows twisted in annoyance.

“What kind of law is it in any country that a butler doesn’t obey the master’s orders?”

At Edward’s blatant rebuke—something Roden had never heard before—Roden’s face stiffened as he left the formal dining room.

“What are you doing with the food? Put it down and all of you get out!”

At Edward’s words, the maids, who had been standing there awkwardly with the food, quickly left the room.

Perhaps cowed by Edward’s fierce mood, Diane’s hiccups finally stopped.

“Now it’s just the two of us.”

“Ah…”

At Edward’s words, Diane’s body trembled.

‘Just the two of us,’ he said.

That meant she was the only one left to face the President’s fierce temper.

How frightening.

“Eat.”

Edward even bluntly ordered her to eat.

She felt as if she’d been grabbed by the collar by a wild beast, forced to eat a meal she couldn’t digest.

“I’m already full, and since His Grace also left the table…”

“His Grace? Ha! You can’t see me? I’m eating! The employer is eating, and the employee says she’s full and wants to put the fork down?”

At that moment, Diane thought that taking a nap earlier had been the biggest mistake she’d made in the past three years.

She couldn’t understand how she’d ended up in such a strange situation.

From sitting at this table, to Young Master Leon’s odd remarks, to the Duke’s gloomy exit, and to this President who looked like he might tear her apart.

‘It wasn’t a good opportunity; it’s an extreme job.’

Seeing Diane’s dazed expression, Edward frowned.

“Are you really not going to eat? You barely ate anything.”

From the appetizers to the main course, Diane had eaten almost nothing.

But she was certain that eating now would only make her sick.

“I’m really sorry. I think my stomach is upset. Please eat, President. I’ll just watch… No, I mean, I’ll just sit here.”

Edward clicked his tongue inwardly.

No wonder she always fainted and slept all the time—she never ate properly.

But since her face really had gone pale, Edward didn’t push further.

Still, the way her face had flushed while talking to Adrian, compared to how pale it was now, kept bothering him.

“Just get up! I lost my appetite too!”

“Yes.”

At Edward’s words, Diane stood up immediately, as if she’d been waiting for the chance.

Edward was annoyed even by how she got up without a moment’s hesitation.

‘What’s the rush?’

At least she didn’t move until Edward himself got up; she just stood there, waiting for him.

Finally, as Edward started moving, she quietly followed behind.

Not wanting to walk ahead of her employer, she decided to leave the Formal Dining Room after him.

She followed him to the stairs.

Feeling Diane’s presence behind him, Edward started up the stairs to his room.

Naturally, Diane had no choice but to follow.

She didn’t know where Edward was heading, but she needed to go upstairs to her own room anyway.

So, with him in front and her behind, they went up to the third floor.

Edward, who had been looking straight ahead, suddenly turned around.

Diane, startled, looked up at him.

For a moment, his gaze seemed to fall to her feet.

“My room is in the West Wing on the third floor. Yours is in the East Wing on the fourth, right?”

“Pardon? Yes!”

“Then…”

Edward trailed off mid-sentence.

Diane stared at his face, waiting for what came next, surprised by his hesitation.

“Should I walk you there?”

“What?”

Diane asked back, looking shocked.

‘Should I walk you there,’ he said.

Where did he mean?

To her room on the fourth floor?

Diane’s eyes wavered.

But she quickly shook her head.

She must have misheard.

“President, then I’ll just…”

“You don’t want to?”

Diane’s face went pale.

Apparently, she hadn’t misheard.

She couldn’t understand why the President was saying this to her, but she was scared.

“If you don’t want to, just say so! Don’t make that weird face! Why are you reporting things like that… Does it not bother you?”

Suddenly, Edward spoke as if he was angry.

He mumbled something in the middle that she couldn’t quite make out, but it was clear that President Edward wasn’t normal.

She shuddered, creeped out.

Edward glared at her, then walked off toward the West Wing, where his room was.

‘What’s with him? He’s really strange!’

Watching the strange Edward head to his room, Diane frowned, but also let out a sigh of relief.

At any rate, the eventful dinner was finally over.

However, when she reached the fourth floor, where her room was, she saw someone standing in front of her door.

It seemed her evening ordeal was not yet finished.