Chapter 35

Adrian, almost unconsciously, turned his head again and stared at the teacher’s face visible through the crack in the door.

For some reason, her face was flushed as if she were angry.

He carefully closed the door, making sure not to make a sound, and started walking toward the West Wing where his own room was.

〈I don’t love anyone yet.〉

As he walked slowly and silently, Diane’s voice from earlier replayed in his mind.

Diane Lina.

Yes, that must be it. She wouldn’t be in love.

She was a decent woman.

Polite, kind, and proper.

And, well, honestly, she was quite pretty.

She herself seemed indifferent to her own looks and oblivious to other people’s gazes.

She didn’t even seem to notice how others saw her.

Even when Edward stared at her as if to pierce through her face, she didn’t seem to understand the meaning of his gaze.

She never stepped outside the boundaries allowed by her status and position, but she was never servile.

She seemed naïve, yet she had discernment; she kept her pride, yet was courteous.

So it was only natural.

〈The person I’ll love is definitely not the Duke!〉

To say something like that.

If she had said something overstepping, like ‘I love the Duke!’, it would have been awkward and troublesome.

He still hadn’t replaced Leon’s mother, and he might have had to send her away from the house immediately.

She really was a good woman.

He nodded.

But strangely, his steps kept slowing down.

Far too much.

Finally, when he reached his room, he stopped with his hand on the doorknob and clenched his fist tightly.

“Absolutely not… huh…”

Standing in front of the door, he muttered.

“Hm…”

Facing the door, he turned his head and stared down the dim corridor that stretched toward the East Wing, where Leon’s room was.

In that unseen darkness was a rather decent woman who would absolutely never love him.

❖

Early the next morning, the Duke and the Earl went out, saying they had a Peerage Council meeting.

In the evening, everyone was supposed to go see an opera together, but the Countess and Heina said they would visit the new boutique in Rettrang first.

Many nobles from the capital would attend the opera performance, so the Earl’s wife and daughter wanted to buy new dresses in the latest capital fashion.

Since they hadn’t ordered custom dresses in advance, they were in a hurry to buy ready-made dresses and have them altered, so they left the mansion quickly as well.

With all the bustling guests suddenly gone, Diane finally felt she could relax for the day.

After several days preparing for guests, and especially yesterday when the whole mansion was in an uproar, she hadn’t felt comfortable going out to the garden to read. At last, after several days, she could quietly stroll the garden and read.

She heard the faint sound of carriages departing all the way up to her fourth-floor room and, feeling at ease, headed to the library.

Leon had back-to-back lessons, so the library would be empty.

Indeed, the library was deserted.

She walked over to the shelf with romance novels.

Just looking at the shelves filled with new books made her feel full and warm, even without reading.

Since a large batch of books had arrived recently, more romance and mystery novels had been added steadily, and just a few days ago, they’d brought in another new bookshelf.

With staff benefits this good, even after yesterday’s troubles, she couldn’t bring herself to leave this mansion.

No matter the era, a pretty cover always grabs your attention first. Diane picked up a beautifully bound pink book titled ‘Romance’ and sat in the plush armchair in front of the new bookshelf.

She planned to read the opening and, if it was interesting, take it out to the garden.

“He simply looked down at Hersilia. Then Hersilia spoke to him. Romulus… Because he was Romulus. The Romulus who disappeared fifteen years ago…”

She began reading the prologue aloud, but suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

The morning sunlight streaming in from the window was blocked by something huge, and a dark shadow like a menacing storm cloud fell over her book.

Startled speechless, she looked up in fear at whatever had appeared beside her, with her back to the window.

“Keep reading. You got to ‘the Romulus who disappeared fifteen years ago.’”

The huge figure looking down at her spoke.

“Ha…”

Diane could only sigh in exasperation.

It was President Edward Wale.

He was truly an unwelcome presence. But, having momentarily thought a monster had appeared, she was at least relieved it was a person.

“You look like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have.”

The President stared at her face.

“You startled me. When did you get here? I didn’t hear anything.”

“I was here before you. I was sitting on this sofa, and you came in and started reading.”

“Oh…!”

The new bookshelf had been placed in the center of the library since there was no space left on the walls, and he was sitting on the low sofa right behind it.

Still, if he’d made any sign of his presence when she came in, she wouldn’t have been so startled.

“Do I have to watch myself in my own house?”

He spoke in a way that was annoyingly as if he could read her mind.

Even in your own house, if someone else is around, shouldn’t you be considerate?

“I apologize for disturbing you, President.”

Diane held back her retort and spoke as calmly as possible.

It was clear that having a friendly conversation with this President was impossible.

“It wasn’t a disturbance. What’s the title of that book? Seems like someone disappeared and reappeared.”

She had checked the title before starting, but was so startled she’d forgotten it for a moment.

Diane closed the book and looked at the cover again.

“‘Romance.’”

“Hm… So it’s a romance novel, right from the title.”

Diane felt herself frowning.

She remembered how he’d mocked her for liking romance novels before.

“I’ve only read the first page, so I don’t know the story yet.”

“After fifteen years, they meet again, and the woman recognizes the man right away. Isn’t that so?”

Strangely, President Wale muttered while staring at the book in Diane’s hands.

“He must have been a memorable person.”

“Hmph! What good is being memorable? People just mistake others for him.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

Diane had only read two lines of the prologue.

Yet the President was talking as if he’d read an epic.

He always said romance novels were a waste of time, so why the sudden interest?

“What do they do when they meet again?”

Inexplicably, he kept asking about the book’s content.

How would she know!

She had just opened the book.

She really shouldn’t have tried reading, even for a moment, in the library.

She’d only meant to read a little while picking out a book, but of all times, she had to run into this strange President.

The fact that she and he were talking about a romance novel was absurd.

She needed to end this ridiculous conversation and leave.

“Well, obviously it’s about the two of them meeting and falling in love, isn’t it?”

Diane couldn’t hide her indifference.

“Love?”

As if he’d never heard the word before, he widened his eyes.

Why would a romance novel not be about love?

He clearly didn’t know the first thing about romance.

“It’s a romance novel, as you said, so isn’t that obvious?”

“Is that so…”

For some reason, the President’s face looked a bit dazed.

That couldn’t be right.

He wasn’t someone who ever let his guard down like that.

Anyway, why was he here?

“I thought you’d gone out with the Duke and the Earl. Did you come to read?”

“Why would I go to the Peerage Council! I barely managed to get time off. And there’s nothing here worth reading. I wouldn’t waste my precious time on these trivial books.”

“I see.”

Diane answered flatly.

If his time was so precious, why not go make more money, instead of hanging around here talking nonsense with her?

“Yesterday, today, and tomorrow are my first days off in months. From the day after tomorrow, I’ll be busy and away from home for a while. Maybe two weeks, maybe longer.”

“Ah, I see.”

Whether he was on vacation or not, she didn’t know why he was listing his schedule to her.

Why was someone so busy spending his time like someone with nothing to do, exchanging pointless words with her, reading trivial books? The more they talked, the stranger it seemed.

She hardly ever saw him normally, but today was just unlucky.

“Oh!”

Nodding, Diane suddenly realized the situation was inappropriate: he was standing over her while she sat looking up at him.

She quickly stood up.

“Sit down.”

Whether he meant to let her sit comfortably or was ordering her to sit, she couldn’t tell.

Either way, it was uncomfortable.

“No, I was just going to pick a book and head out to the garden. I prefer reading outside.”

“I know. Is that the book you chose?”

What did he know?

She would need to read more to know if the book was good, but if she wanted to leave right now, she couldn’t pick another.

“Yes, I’ll be leaving now.”

Diane nodded briefly to signal she was leaving and reached for her book.

“Want to go see the opera later?”

She froze at the President’s unexpected question.