Chapter 60

No wonder the envelope looked familiar.

But, absurdly, the President folded his arms with her letter in hand.

As if daring her to try and take it.

What was he doing?

Was he refusing to give her the envelope on purpose?

Diane glared at the President with wide eyes, unable to hide her disbelief.

“President?”

The President, who had snatched the Duke’s mail from the footman, seemed determined not to return Diane’s letter either.

She couldn’t understand his intentions.

Well, how could she understand the mind of someone so petty!

But then, why hadn’t her letter been sent yet?

Her gaze, which had been fixed on the President and the envelope, shifted to the Duke.

She looked at him sharply, expecting an explanation.

From the Duke’s expression, it was clear he immediately understood what she meant.

“I tried to send it that day, but I was late finishing the letter to the Lautrec Earldom, so it ended up being delayed. I apologize.”

“…….”

Why did he say it so confidently?

His apology didn’t sound apologetic at all.

Besides, earlier he’d said the letter to Lady Lautrec needed to be sent express.

He hadn’t sent anything until now, and suddenly it was urgent?

If it was so urgent, shouldn’t he have sent it along with her letter earlier?

For the first time since entering the ducal residence, Diane was looking at the Duke critically.

She even felt suspicious.

Though she wasn’t sure exactly what to be suspicious about, something was definitely off.

“So, you’re saying that is my letter, right, Your Grace?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Now Diane looked at the President.

“President, my letter doesn’t need to be sent express, so I’ll give it to the mailman now.”

She stepped closer to the President.

But he didn’t hand her the letter—he just stared at her.

“President?”

Diane called him again, urging him to hand over her letter.

“Edward, it’s the letter the teacher said she was sending to her brother, so give it to her.”

The Duke added an explanation, though Diane felt it wasn’t necessary.

“President, please give me my letter.”

“Nope, I’ll send this one for you too.”

“……!”

She was dumbfounded.

The mailman was waiting right there—why insist on sending someone else’s letter himself?

“Please!”

Ignoring Leon and the Duke’s presence, Diane raised her voice and tried to snatch the letter from the President’s hand. But absurdly, he raised the letter above his head, out of her reach.

What was this?

Was he teasing her?

She couldn’t stand the President’s behavior any longer.

Did being the employer mean he could handle even his employee’s mail as he pleased?

No one asked him to send it for her!

For a brief moment, she even thought she ought to show Leon what it looked like to stand up to such a rude employer, for the sake of his moral upbringing.

“Give it to me now!”

At Diane’s shout, the President looked at her with wide eyes. In that instant, the Duke swiftly reached out and snatched Diane’s letter from the President’s hand.

Meanwhile, the Duke’s letter to Lady Lautrec remained in the President’s other hand.

“Thank… you.”

Diane started to thank the Duke out of habit as she received her letter, but hesitated.

She couldn’t sincerely thank him—today, he was as strange as the President.

“I’m sorry for the delay.”

Seeing her expression, the Duke seemed to genuinely apologize this time.

Diane said nothing and looked at the envelope.

It was definitely the letter she’d written.

It hadn’t even been sent to Gale yet.

She let out a deep sigh and handed her letter to the mailman, who had been standing at the entrance for some time.

The mailman, perhaps overwhelmed by the strange behavior of the Duke and President, hurried away with her letter.

“Teacher, do you have a brother?”

Despite the commotion, Leon suddenly asked her.

“Yes.”

“Is your brother as pretty as you?”

“Huh? Uh, well… Rather than pretty, I’d say he’s handsome.”

A bit flustered by Leon’s question, Diane took his hand, eager to get to the garden.

“Brother, huh.”

The President threw out a comment as if picking a fight.

“What do you mean, President?”

“He’s not really your brother.”

Diane glared at the President.

What was wrong with him?

She was getting more and more annoyed—there was nothing about him she liked.

“Please don’t speak carelessly.”

Finally, Diane spoke up.

How could the President claim Gale wasn’t her brother when he knew nothing about him?

“Sending a letter to someone who isn’t your brother…”

The President started to speak to her, then turned his gaze to the Duke.

“Duke Wale, the marriage proposal letter to Lady Lautrec should be sent express too.”

Smiling again, he waved the Duke’s letter and left the mansion.

Why insist on someone else’s marriage proposal…!

Ah…!

Diane’s gaze turned to the Duke.

When their eyes met, the Duke simply nodded and walked back up the stairs.

As always, his demeanor was calm and composed.

Watching his retreating figure, still neat despite his battered face, Diane felt a cold wind pierce her heart.

But soon she found herself mocking the pain in her heart.

So what if it’s a marriage proposal.

What does it have to do with her?

* * *

“Sigh…”

Adrian returned to his room and watched Edward’s carriage disappear beyond the main gate, letting out a long sigh.

Edward would go straight to the central post office and send the proposal by the fastest mail.

Now the proposal was an arrow shot from his hand.

Maybe it was for the best.

Hard as it was to admit, his willpower was slipping.

Just moments ago, when he snatched Diane Lina’s letter to Gale from Edward, it wasn’t really for her.

Seeing Edward take off with his proposal, Adrian had acted out of a petty desire to annoy his brother, regardless of what was written in the letter.

Yes, this wasn’t the real Adrian—the Head of the Wale family and the Duke.

Even his earlier thought—‘I want to call off the marriage to Lady Lautrec, I need to stop the proposal from being sent’—showed he was losing his rationality, becoming ruled by emotion.

He had to stop. He couldn’t let his emotions run wild.

Fighting with his brother over a tutor, stealing her letter, making a spectacle in front of his son and the staff…

This madness had to end.

Regardless of how infuriating Edward’s act of sending the proposal was, at least the proposal would put him back on track.

Ah, now what was the mail?

Gathering his thoughts, he noticed the envelope the mailman had delivered, the one that had started all the fuss.

‘Rettrang Compton?’

The sender was the principal of Rettrang Compton School.

Opening the envelope, he found an invitation.

Ah, it was that time of year.

Most central nobles in Rettrang sent their children to either Rettrang Compton, a day school, or Rettrang Eaton, a boarding school.

Though the two schools were completely different in structure, competition to attract wealthy noble children was fierce. Every year, this competition started with invitations.

Compton admitted students at age seven, while Eaton, being a boarding school, admitted at age seven or eight. Both schools sent invitations to their graduates.

Leon would turn seven next year, and Adrian, a Compton graduate, received the invitation accordingly.

Traditionally, the Wale children attended Compton. Adrian himself was proud of his alma mater and would have sent Leon there if not for the lack of a mother.

But Compton, as a day school, required more maternal involvement than Eaton.

So Adrian had reluctantly decided on Eaton.

But…

The situation had changed.

With the proposal sent, the wheels of marriage were turning again. Leon would soon have a mother.

That meant there was no need to send an eight-year-old to boarding school.

Ah… That was the problem.

There was one snag: Diane Lina.

She was expecting to work at the mansion until Leon turned eight. But if he entered at seven, she’d have to leave a year earlier than expected.

In fact, with Compton’s entrance date, there were only a few months left.

Hmm…