Chapter 75

Was he asking her to read as a lullaby, or what?  

When she checked the desk clock, only about thirty minutes had passed since she started reading.  

Diane quietly put the book down and watched him in silence.  

She was supposed to read for an hour, but did that mean she should just sit here and wait while he slept for the remaining thirty minutes?  

Would he wake up and say it didn’t count and ask her to read again?  

She sighed.  

Was he the type who could sleep anywhere?  

He seemed to be in such a deep sleep, his face looked utterly peaceful.  

His slightly tilted head, hair falling to one side, the long eyelashes resting above closed eyelids, the straight nose, bright red lips, and jawline that looked strong yet delicate.  

Beautiful.  

It’s true.  

He really was that prince from her childhood.  

He was truly beautiful, just like back then.  

He wasn’t Prince Ad, but Prince Ed.  

Finally, Diane could recall the prince’s face from Edward’s features.  

The prince she sometimes thought of, whose memory always filled her with gentle happiness.  

“Ed…”  

She softly whispered his name, almost like reciting it.  

Not President Wale, not Marquis Edward Wale, but the prince from her childhood.  

“Why, Diane?”  

Edward answered.  

“Ah!”  

She was so startled she almost screamed.  

Why was he answering?  

Wasn’t he supposed to be asleep?  

She saw his eyelashes flutter and then his green eyes staring straight at her, as if he’d been awake all along.  

“Why did you call me, Miss Diane Lina?”  

He tilted his head the other way, asking as if genuinely curious.  

“Well… I… I didn’t call you.”  

She tried to deny it.  

“You did. You called me ‘Ed.’”  

“No! I couldn’t have. Were you dreaming?”  

“Even if you want to insist it was a dream, you called me so sweetly that I can’t ignore it.”  

“No! Sweet? What do you mean? I was reading the book—the war story…”  

She could only deny it outright.  

To call President Edward Wale ‘Ed’—she must have lost her mind.  

No, it was his fault for pretending to sleep!  

“On the plain between the Rhône and Saône rivers, all the way to Puvier Hill, the number of wounded among our allies from double-bladed spears and wooden lances was impossible to count.”  

Edward said something cryptic.  

“What are you talking about, all of a sudden?”  

“What do you mean? That was the last sentence you read, Miss Diane.”  

“Oh!”  

Diane was at a loss for words.  

Come to think of it, she had read that sentence last before she stopped, thinking it was too quiet.  

He remembered her last sentence that well.  

He really hadn’t been sleeping at all.  

Then why pretend to sleep?  

“I wasn’t pretending to sleep. You were reading at a good pace, so I was just listening quietly. Is it a problem if I’m just listening?”  

Had she said all that out loud?  

He always seemed to know what she was thinking and always had a comeback, leaving her speechless.  

Edward hadn’t said he was sleeping—she’d just assumed it herself.  

“If I remember what you read, does it make sense that I heard ‘Ed’ in a dream? Or did you suddenly get poetic inspiration about the perfect and beautiful creation called ‘Ed’ while reading? You called me sweetly, like you’d fallen for a prince named ‘Ed.’”  

“Ridiculous!”  

Finally, her inner thoughts burst out aloud.  

“The ‘Ed’ who was listening feels wronged. I just said what I heard—why are you so serious?”  

Diane wanted to scold herself for feeling fluttery while watching his sleeping face.  

How could he be so shameless and sly, never backing down even a little?  

He was such a stubborn man.  

“There are twenty minutes left!”  

Diane glanced at the clock and quickly said.  

“Should I close my eyes again? So you can look whenever you want?”  

If only she could smack that mouth, she’d use all her strength.  

“You look like you want to hit me.”  

“Ugh!”  

Diane groaned.  

He was so annoying, she couldn’t stand it.  

“Read. You said there are only twenty minutes left. I actually have to go to Agris tomorrow. I need to make good use of those twenty minutes. Right? This is really precious time for me.”  

Agris?  

As his laughter faded, Diane’s racing heart calmed a bit.  

He was leaving for Agris tomorrow?  

When would he be back?  

No—why was she even thinking about that?  

Edward going to Agris was good news.  

After today, she wouldn’t have to do this uncomfortable reading assistant job until he returned.  

She should just be happy about it.  

“Why? Are you sad? Want to come with me?”  

“No!”  

Just as Diane thought things were back to normal, Edward’s odd remark got her flustered again, and she raised the book up to her face and started reading with renewed intensity.  

“Slowly. Too fast.”  

He started nitpicking again from beside her.  

“Lower the book so I can see your face.”  

His teasing was enough to make her heart thud.  

* * *

Adrian took out a letter from his desk drawer.  

Edward only knew that the Lautrec Earldom had sent a reply confirming the engagement, but he didn’t know that another letter had arrived that day—the one Adrian now held in his hand.  

It was a letter Gale Tertz had sent to Diane Lina.  

Adrian, who was now moving forward with his marriage to Lady Lautrec, realized that Gale Tertz was the one to watch out for.  

Actually, he had no intention of keeping Diane’s letter.  

The footman had left the Lautrec reply on Adrian’s desk, and for some reason, also left Gale Tertz’s letter to Diane Lina there.  

Since Adrian had intercepted Diane’s last letter to Gale Tertz, the footman probably thought Gale’s letter should go to the Duke first.  

He hadn’t forgotten about the letter, just deliberately ignored it, but today he decided he should finally deliver it to Diane Lina.  

But… Gale Tertz.  

A man who hid behind the shield of ‘brother’ to satisfy his own desires.  

If he’d hidden behind that name so far, he should keep living as that forever.  

Even though Gale was staring at Adrian, Edward, and even Leon, he boldly held Diane Lina’s hand, ignored their signals, and claimed ownership over her by touching her shoulder, her hair, and everywhere else.  

How dare he!  

Gale Tertz was too greedy.  

Adrian finally headed to Edward’s room with the letter.  

Edward wasn’t there.  

As Adrian was about to leave, his eyes fell on the desk.  

He saw a book with a pink cover.  

Pink.  

So unfitting.  

He approached the desk and picked up the book.  

“Romance?”  

It wasn’t Edward’s style of reading.  

He didn’t know why such a book was on Edward’s desk, but it was the perfect place to hide the letter.  

‘Gale Tertz’s letter sleeps here.’  

Smirking at the phrase in his mind, Adrian opened the pink book, slipped Gale Tertz’s letter inside, and closed it again.

* * *

The next day, Edward really left for Agris at dawn.  

He was so busy he couldn’t even eat breakfast.  

If he was that busy, why had he wasted time at the flower festival yesterday?  

He should just get on with his work.  

Anyway, since he went all the way to Agris, it would take a while for him to return, and things would be quiet for some time.  

At breakfast, Diane was thinking about how Edward hadn’t shown up, lost in her thoughts.  

She shook her head.  

She’d been having a lot of useless thoughts lately.  

It was because she had too much free time.  

She jumped up and headed to the servants’ hall.  

The servants’ hall had daily, weekly, and monthly newspapers all gathered.  

She figured she should start checking the job listings.  

Of course, the Duke had said she could keep working as a tutor even after Leon entered school next year, but that was really asking too much.  

She already had little to do.  

She’d have to keep working here until Leon started school, but to leave when he did, she should start looking for a good job and set up interviews ahead of time.  

When she went down to the servants’ hall, the footman in charge of mail was reading the daily paper.  

“Hello?”  

“Yes, Miss. What brings you here?”  

“I thought I’d read the paper for a change. I haven’t really read the newspaper since moving in.”  

“Oh, I see.”  

He handed her the other newspapers that were under the one he’d been reading.  

“By the way, have I received any mail? My brother said he sent a letter, but it should have arrived by now and still hasn’t.”  

She remembered Gale had sent a reply.  

“Your letter? Ah, that…”  

“Oh, is it here? Did it arrive?”  

“No, I’m not sure. Maybe it hasn’t been delivered yet…”  

The footman, who seemed about to say something, suddenly looked uncertain.  

“It’s fine. Maybe it just hasn’t arrived yet. My brother is Gale Tertz. If a letter comes from Gale Tertz, could you please give it to me right away? He asked for a reply, and I feel bad for making him wait so long.”  

“Oh! Of course! I’ll do that, Miss.”  

The footman suddenly stood up.  

“Why, are you done reading?”  

“Oh, yes. I think I’ll stop for now. Please take your time reading.”  

He’d been reading the front page, but for some reason, he went straight up to the first floor.  

As if her presence made him uncomfortable.  

Shrugging, Diane started reading the newspaper.  

“There he is again.”  

There was an article about Edward Wale in the paper.