Chapter 37

It was true that Diane felt fear at the President’s threatening demeanor, but her disgust and anger toward him were much stronger than her fear.

“Do you think I’m a joke?”

“What did you say?”

“Why you! Why are you angry at me?”

“That’s because! President, you treat me like…”

Diane didn’t even want to utter terms like ‘Professional Beauty’ or ‘mistress.’

Besides, if she actually said those words, the President might just sneer and say, ‘What makes you think you’re a Professional Beauty?’ She was almost certain of it, and if he did, she’d have nothing to say.

She could only infer from his words and actions, and even Diane herself couldn’t really understand why he treated her that way.

Professional Beauties were, first and foremost, noticeably beautiful women.

‘I’m not that beautiful.’

Diane was not aware of her own looks.

Just as she didn’t know that ‘Professional Beauty’ didn’t even exist in Edward’s mind, she also had no idea she was noticeably beautiful.

“What am I!”

“No, President! If you’re going to fire me, then do it. If you keep treating me this way, I don’t want to work in this house anymore.”

She threw words at the now fierce President, a mix of anger rising from her gut and the resolve to accept being fired, and immediately turned and walked toward the door.

“Hey! Diane Lina!”

Bang!

The President called out to her, and she slammed the door shut at almost the same moment, so his roaring voice crashed into the door she’d closed roughly.

Diane glared at the closed door as if she could see the President through it.

That such a man was Leon’s uncle, the younger brother of her Prince—Duke Adrian Wale—and a member of the Wale Duchy, the most prestigious and venerable family in the Traum Kingdom, was almost laughable, even absurd.

‘If you want to fire me, do it! I’d rather go out and do something else than be dragged around by someone like you.’

Breathing heavily, Diane walked down the corridor toward the stairs.

“Ah!”

She realized she hadn’t picked out a book.

It was all because of that insufferable Edward Wale.

But she had no intention of returning to the library.

Instead, she headed up to her room and decided to write letters to Gale and Walt Tertz, whom she hadn’t written to in a long time.

After a conversation like that with such a man, she missed them even more.

❖

‘What did that woman just say to me?’

Left alone in the room, Edward was so dumbfounded he thought he might lose his mind.

‘A woman I can’t manipulate at will?’

“Ha! D*mn…”

Edward was the type to curse at anyone, man or woman, so normally he would have cursed—‘d*mn it’ or something worse.

But the woman who had glared at him with eyes full of hatred was none other than ‘Strawberry.’

He couldn’t curse at his Strawberry.

He wanted to break something, he was so furious, but he held back.

“Manipulate at will? At will? My will? Ha!”

It was almost laughable.

Who was the one who was actually manipulating and driving Edward crazy!

Today’s opera performance was said to be the first show of the year for a particularly famous and popular soprano.

He remembered James had written a lengthy report recommending the performance for the Wale Department Store’s opening event, saying that the singer’s schedule was packed for years and so on, so he’d included that soprano.

Edward had never intended to watch any opera, so when his brother mentioned today’s schedule, he hadn’t even listened.

But last night, seeing Diane Lina’s eyes sparkle as she was captivated by the piano performance, he changed his mind.

At dawn, he sent a message to James to get box seats for today’s opera.

Even a secretary paid five times the average salary would find it nearly impossible to get box seats for the year’s opening performance by a top singer, especially on the day of the show, but Edward didn’t care.

If James found out, he’d probably resign, but Edward just assumed the tickets would be acquired, and racked his brain over when to invite Diane to the performance.

During breakfast, he’d been so distracted by listening to her conversation with Leon that he couldn’t tell if the food was going in through his nose or mouth.

〈Teacher, what will you do while I’m studying? Read in the garden again?〉

〈Yes, that’s the plan.〉

Hearing she’d be reading in the garden, he rushed out as soon as breakfast ended. But once outside, he couldn’t tell if she’d be in the east or west garden, which irritated him.

Then he thought of Bill, the gardener.

He ran to Bill, who was preparing his tools after breakfast, and demanded to know where Diane Lina usually read her books.

〈The teacher mainly reads in the west garden, yes indeed.〉

〈Got it.〉

As Edward hurried toward the west garden, Bill added,

〈Last time she said she picks out a book from the library before coming… She doesn’t come out this early. She stops by the library first, yes indeed.〉

Edward rushed back into the building and headed for the library.

Normally, he’d lose his temper if he had to wait even a minute for anyone, but there, he waited endlessly for her to arrive.

He even sat in the sofa by the window behind the new bookshelf, checking outside in case Diane Lina went straight to the garden instead of the library.

After waiting and waiting, he finally invited her to the opera when she arrived.

Opera.

His late mother would have laughed.

Opera, theater, concerts—those kinds of things were as far from his tastes as the ocean was wide.

He found fierce negotiations and drafting a satisfying contract far more beautiful and artistic.

Still, he’d suggested going because she seemed to like performances, but she refused, saying it wasn’t her job.

‘Fine, if it’s not your job, you don’t have to do anything, just breathe, woman!’

But when he told her to quit, her expression changed.

What was the right answer, anyway!

He was so restless not knowing the right answer.

His late father would have laughed, too.

Diane’s face had clearly shown she didn’t even want to deal with him.

What had he done wrong?

Edward stared at the door she had left through, then looked at the book she’d left on the chair.

『Romance』

It was a word that came from stories of Romans, meaning love stories or tales of war heroes.

‘Well, obviously it’s about the two of them meeting and falling in love, right?’ Diane Lina’s words replayed in his mind.

“Ha! Love? What a joke. It’s a war story!”

Maybe the characters in the story would do something as unfamiliar as falling in love, but he and she certainly wouldn’t.

He felt like he’d lost a fight for the first time in his life, and not just lost, but been beaten to a pulp.

He was angry, but instead of crushing the opponent who’d made him angry, he’d been crushed.

And that opponent was a woman he felt he should carry up to the fourth floor lest she get tired—a woman he needed to protect more than anyone else, his Strawberry.

He shouldn’t even have been in the library at this hour, waiting for her when there was nothing to read.

The opening of the new hotel in Agris was next month.

Normally, he would have left for Agris yesterday afternoon to handle all the pre-opening details.

But he’d postponed his departure.

James had even asked if he was feeling unwell, since he’d taken an unprecedented three-day vacation.

He’d brought Diane home, but felt like he might lose her to Leon.

That Strawberry was his. He couldn’t lose her to anyone, not even his little nephew.

But the woman who had once comforted him and promised to be his girl now looked at him with disgust, as if he were a dirty bug.

“Idiot!”

At last, the curse he couldn’t throw at Strawberry burst out at himself.

He felt awful.

His anger surged, so strong he couldn’t contain it.

He had to resolve it somehow.

He glanced at the clock.

It was still morning, with plenty of the day left.

In his mind, his vacation was already canceled.

He decided to take out his frustration not on an unbeatable opponent, but on someone he could definitely defeat.

There would be plenty of rivals waiting for him in Agris.

James would no doubt grumble about the sudden departure, but right now, Edward didn’t want to see anyone’s face.

Without realizing the new trouble his abrupt departure would cause, Edward left the house and set off for Agris.