The Creditor Is My Husband? - Chapter 46

She made a sour face, feeling like a zoo monkey, then gave a bitter smile.

The final course of their ‘date’ was here at this restaurant.

She had let Lucas choose the place, thinking they should go somewhere to his taste at least once, after dragging him around all day to places she wanted to go.

It was her way of repaying him for accommodating her tastes and preferences, which were completely different from his own.

“A place like this certainly doesn’t suit me.”

Of course, the dish in front of her was beautiful enough to be called a work of art, and its taste was also superb.

‘But this atmosphere…’

When she was with Lucas, she didn’t pay attention to other things because of his presence, but now that he had left his seat, she felt distinctly uncomfortable.

It also seemed like people were more openly staring at her now that he was gone.

“Hmm. Well… He’ll be back soon. Ah! Yes, I should finish the wine I couldn’t drink earlier.”

Come to think of it, this wasn’t the time to be like this. Giselle deliberately ignored people’s gazes and picked up the wine bottle. She intended to drink it all while he was away.

Today was a day she could act freely as she pleased, after all.

So there was no reason she couldn’t do what she wanted here too.

She giggled softly, shaking off the remnants of the heavy emotions in her heart. As she was about to pour wine into her glass, a small commotion arose from the quiet restaurant entrance.

Giselle instinctively turned her head in response. She saw a group of young men and women entering.

They were showing off their appearance, dressed up as if they were peacocks.

They were clearly nobles, not just nobles in name like her, but high-ranking nobles or those belonging to the wealthy class.

‘Well, I suppose anyone coming to this restaurant would be like that.’

Except for her, who had stumbled in thanks to Lucas.

She watched them for a moment before losing interest and picked up the wine bottle again as per her plan.

‘The aroma is nice, but the taste is bitter.’

Just as Giselle was about to take a sip after smelling the fragrance, the group that had just entered approached her table and suddenly stopped.

More precisely, the woman walking at the front stopped when she saw Giselle, causing her companions to stop as well.

“……?”

Giselle put down her glass and glanced behind her. She wondered if they had stopped because they saw someone behind her, but the tables behind were still empty.

At that moment, the corners of the woman’s mouth curved up as if drawn with a brush.

“Oh my.”

The woman opened her eyes wide and rounded her lips. It was an exaggerated gesture to anyone watching, but due to her glamorous appearance, it didn’t look awkward.

She approached Giselle with her lips still curled up and spoke in a high-pitched voice.

“Could you be Lady Anticia?”

“…Yes, I am. I’m sorry, but have we met before?”

Giselle asked the woman while adjusting her clothes. But it wasn’t a question she asked expecting an answer.

She was certain she had never met this woman before.

She had never once doubted her memory.

Her memory was good enough to recall even trivial sentences from books she had skimmed through out of boredom when needed.

Therefore, it was impossible for her not to remember such a radiant beauty.

No, even if it wasn’t just about appearance, how could one forget someone who harbored hostility towards them?

That’s why Giselle was certain she had never seen this woman who was hostile to her, hidden behind a bright smile.

‘Who on earth is she?’

She tilted her head, unable to guess the woman’s identity. The woman’s lips quivered slightly, and she smiled awkwardly.

“Ah… It seems you don’t know me.”

“Oh my, how could you not recognize Lady Dalton?”

One of the woman’s companions dramatically opened a fan and spoke up, like she was looking at someone lacking basic manners.

‘…Dalton? Could it be the Baronet of Dalton?’

Only then could she recognize the woman’s identity. Giselle gave a slight smile towards the other woman who had just spoken, as a sign of gratitude.

It was probably meant to insult her, but that didn’t matter. Thanks to it, her curiosity about who the woman was, was resolved.

Perhaps because she smiled so nonchalantly.

The face of the woman holding the fan began to change colors vividly, from red to blue. Then, as if unable to contain her anger, she bit her lip and opened her mouth.

“No sense of shame, really…”

“Lady Rufental, you don’t look well. It might be better for you to go to your seat first.”

At that moment, the woman called ‘Lady Dalton’ interrupted in a gentle tone. Although her manner was kind and soft, her words sounded like a command.

“Is there no gentleman among those present who could display some chivalry? I… have something to discuss privately with Lady Anticia, so I can’t help Lady Rufental.”

“Ah! Yes, I’ll escort her.”

“Me too. Lady Rufental, let’s go quickly.”

“Yes, my lady. Let’s go. I’ll accompany you, as there might be something we women can help each other with.”

As soon as the woman finished speaking, those behind her moved all at once.

It was probably because of the word ‘privately’ that came from her mouth.

Giselle glanced at those who had swept away like a wave to the other side of the table in an instant, then turned her gaze back to the woman, presumably the daughter of Baronet Dalton.

“May I sit for a moment?”

The woman sat in Lucas’s seat without waiting for Giselle’s answer. Then she looked quietly at the tableware and wine glass in front of her and curled her lips.

A smile quite different from the one she had just painted spread across her face. It was a gloomy, twisted smile mixed with feelings of envy.

“…I see you came with Lucas. Right?”

Giselle’s fingers, resting on the edge of the table, twitched ever so slightly.

Lucas.

The woman called his name so naturally. As if she had always called him that, without hesitation.

‘That’s not strange, is it? Senior… while he might have some personality issues, he’s not completely inconsiderate. So of course he would have people he’s close to.’

Anyone visiting this restaurant would likely be of a similar level to Lucas, so most would probably be his acquaintances to some degree.

Just look at Marquis Bertan who had approached him earlier.

‘Besides, if it’s ‘Dalton’, they’re certainly worthy of associating with Senior.’

Baronet Dalton was someone Giselle had often heard about through rumors. Moreover, as he had invested quite a bit in Lucas’s business, it was a familiar name to Giselle, who worked in his office.

A man who bought his title with money.

Baronet Dalton could be said to be a prime example of how times had changed.

Born a commoner but had made himself a nobleman.

「They say he donated a huge fortune to the royal family and received a title in return. I wonder how much wealth he offered to be granted a title?」

「Tch, that doesn’t make him a real nobleman. They say true nobles have blue blood flowing in their veins.」

「Blue blood, what nonsense… Look, do you still think that after seeing Anticia? If anything, our President is more suited to ‘blue blood’.」

Giselle slightly furrowed her brow as she recalled the chatter among employees from some time ago.

The conversation that had started with Baronet Dalton seemed to shift to Lucas, and then ended up mocking her.

“But it seems Lucas has left his seat? Leaving such a beautiful fiancée alone like this, I wonder where he’s gone… He’s such an inconsiderate man. At this rate, it seems pointless to have released those articles about the wedding of the century.”

At that moment, she heard the woman’s voice again from across the table. There was a hint of mockery in her laughter.

No, she was definitely mocking her.

Giselle looked at the woman with a hardened expression. The woman looked back at her with a twisted smile.

“What do you mean by ‘pointless to have released those articles’?”

“Exactly what I said. Didn’t you release them? I’m talking about the articles occupying the front pages of newspapers these days.”

“What?”

“I understand the desire to package yourself in such a way when you have nothing else to boast about, but shouldn’t one have some sense of shame? It’s not enough that you shamelessly threw yourself at him…”

“Sigh… How can everyone be so lacking in creativity?”

Giselle sighed and chuckled as she muttered while listening to the woman’s words. The woman’s expression distorted, perhaps because it wasn’t the reaction she had expected. But Giselle continued speaking, undeterred.

“Hmm, why don’t you try to be a bit more creative, Lady Dalton?”

“…Pardon?”

“You see, I’ve heard things like what you just said too many times. It doesn’t really affect me. I’m not particularly hurt either.”