“No, it’s fine.”

It seemed Giselle had ordered this way to spare the employees the trouble of having to serve dishes in sequence. He didn’t want to overturn that decision.

Honestly, he wasn’t a nobleman, so there was no need to follow etiquette for a simple meal.

‘Come to think of it, the real noble is right in front of me.’

He looked at her with a smirk. What noble lady would consider the circumstances of employees and give such orders?

……Though that was just like her.

Seemingly excited by Lucas’s willing permission, Giselle turned to the head maid and spoke.

“Did you hear that? You can leave all the desserts here too.”

“But madam.”

The head maid hesitated with a troubled expression at her mistress’s words. Seeing this, Giselle smiled again and continued.

“It’s alright. We want to eat comfortably, just the two of us. Have everyone take a break until the meal is over.”

“Ah, so the two of you can be comfortable…… Yes, I’ll follow your orders.”

The head maid’s face reddened as she finally understood Giselle’s words. She seemed to have interpreted it as the newlyweds wanting to have an intimate meal without others present.

The maids appeared to have understood similarly, as they nudged each other’s sides, giggling softly before leaving with the head maid.

Squeal.

Just before the door closed, the sound of maids making a fuss could be heard.

Lucas looked at the door for a moment and smirked.

Rumors would likely spread throughout the mansion in an instant. About how the master and mistress were so fond of each other that they chose to dine alone, declining even the service of maids.

‘And that’s not all. All sorts of imaginations will be added as it passes from mouth to mouth.’

Later, rumors might even spread that he had swept all the food off the table and laid her down on it.

He knew well how quickly rumors spread through people’s mouths. Sometimes to an absurd and astonishing degree.

‘But well…… that doesn’t sound bad.’

Lucas unconsciously glanced at the table. Feeling somewhat thirsty, he moistened his dry lips and as he raised his gaze, he met a pair of eyes looking at him.

Innocent green eyes that had no idea what he had just imagined.

“Uh, umm…… I ate a croquette first because it looked so delicious, are you upset?”

Only then did he notice the round potato croquette in her hand. No, the half-eaten croquette in her white hand.

Looking at her fingertips, glistening with oil, he couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh, forgetting his thirst.

“Do you think I’m a child? Getting upset over something like that. If it’s delicious, you can eat it all.”

Lucas smirked and pushed the plate of croquettes toward her. Giselle opened her eyes wide, shook her head, and pushed the plate back from the opposite side.

“Delicious things should be shared. Ah, open up.”

“……What?”

“I said open up. I’ll feed you.”

Giselle put down what she had been eating and picked up another one, bringing it to his lips.

Poised to stuff the entire croquette into his mouth if he just opened it, Lucas instinctively leaned back.

“What…… You don’t like it?”

Misunderstanding his reaction, Giselle’s expression turned sulky. He tried to explain while waving his hands, but then tilted his head askew and asked:

“Didn’t you say we don’t have to go this far?”

“……Pardon?”

Giselle tilted her head in confusion at his unexpected words.

“Besides, as you said, it’s just the two of us now, so there’s no need to be conscious of others’ eyes, right?”

“What do you mean…… Oh!”

She finally understood what Lucas meant. She recalled what she had said to him earlier.

⟨You don’t have to go this far, Lucas.⟩

⟨We didn’t marry because we were passionately in love with each other. Oh, of course that’s what people believe, but still, you don’t need to be this excessively attentive. Besides, no one is watching except the employees.⟩

Oh, goodness.

Giselle stared at him with wide eyes, then spoke while trying to suppress a laugh.

“Don’t tell me you’re just throwing my words back at me? Are you upset……”

“Who’s upset? Do you think I’m a child?”

Lucas denied it before she could finish speaking. But Giselle kept laughing.

He hastily continued speaking, unable to cool the heat rising from the nape of his neck.

“Really. Don’t misunderstand. I just……”

“I was wrong earlier. I’m sorry, Lucas.”

Giselle interrupted his uncharacteristically flustered words.

“You probably rushed here without even changing clothes because you were worried about me, and I misinterpreted your intentions.”

“……”

“Even if we’re not a couple in love, that level of concern is natural.”

Giselle looked down with an embarrassed expression and an awkward smile. Then, after a moment of silence to gather her thoughts, she slowly began to speak.

It was something she couldn’t say earlier, something she didn’t want him to discover.

“……So I acted defensively without realizing it. I didn’t want to show you how badly I treated my mother, and I didn’t want you to see through my mother’s obvious greed.”

After revealing everything about her stepmother’s visit, she let out a small sigh.

Though she had only eaten one potato croquette, no, half of one, her face felt hot as if she had been drinking.

‘Still, it feels good to get it off my chest. Besides, he would have found out through someone else even if I hadn’t told him.’

Giselle muttered to herself and cautiously raised her gaze. Lucas, who had been watching her with tightly closed lips, opened his mouth when their eyes met.

“……?”

Giselle, who had been listening attentively wondering what he would say, looked puzzled. He had opened his mouth but wasn’t saying anything.

“Ah, you said to open up.”

Lucas, unable to bear it any longer, pointed to the croquette in her hand.

“Huh? Ah! Right!”

Giselle finally realized why he had opened his mouth and burst into laughter. Then she put the potato croquette into his mouth as he leaned his upper body slightly toward her.

“How is it? Delicious, right?”

“Anyone listening would think you made the food yourself.”

Lucas replied while chewing.

Normally, it wasn’t something he would enjoy eating. No, the same was true for other foods as well.

He only ate dinner because he couldn’t substitute it with a cup of tea; he didn’t particularly have favorite dishes nor was he a gourmand.

But why?

That small crushed croquette in his mouth gave him a new sensation.

The crispy exterior texture and the moist interior that retained all the potato’s moisture weren’t bad at all.

“I may not have made it, but…… do you have to say it like that to feel better?”

She glared at him with a pouty expression. Yet she scanned the table, cut a piece of the golden-brown sea bass, and offered it to Lucas again.

“Again?”

He narrowed his brow, dumbfounded by her actions. But she nodded and urged him on.

Reluctantly, Lucas opened his mouth to accept it, and Giselle, seemingly enjoying this, began to move her hands even faster.

To the point where more food was going into Lucas’s mouth than her own.

“Wait.”

Giselle’s hand, which was enthusiastically offering a turkey leg to him, was blocked. Lucas looked at the turkey leg in her hand and chuckled.

“Ah…… No, I wasn’t going to give you the whole thing. I was going to cut it up for you.”

The flustered Giselle rolled her eyes as she made her excuse. But it was a statement that even the speaker herself couldn’t believe.

The turkey leg extended toward Lucas was evidence of that.

He held her wrist while suppressing a laugh and pulled it down. After making her place the large turkey leg neatly on the plate, he smirked and said.

With playful formality:

“I’ve eaten enough now, so you should eat this. As the mistress of the Taylor household, you should be able to tear into a turkey leg like this on the spot. Isn’t that right, Giselle?”

“Ah, no……”

Giselle looked down at the turkey leg, which appeared at least three times larger than her hand, then looked back at him.

Her green eyes were wavering, as if asking if he was serious.

Lucas watched her quietly, then burst into laughter as if he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Haha!”

“What is it? You were just teasing me, weren’t you?”

Giselle seemed relieved by his laughter, then immediately confronted him with a sulky expression. Lucas managed to calm his laughter and took the plate placed in front of her.

“Huh? Why are you……”

Before she could finish speaking, Lucas cut the meat from the turkey leg into bite-sized pieces. Then he returned it to Giselle and spoke.

“Don’t just take care of me, take care of yourself too.”

“……”

“We may not be in love, but this much interference is allowed, right? We are married after all.”

Lucas shrugged and gestured with his eyes for her to eat.

Thump.

Giselle unconsciously clenched her hand tightly. Then, like someone startled by her own reaction, she opened her hand and picked up her fork.

‘……Ah, what should I do?’

She held the fork tightly and pressed her lips together. Her heart was beating wildly.

‘This is absurd. Over just a turkey leg…..’

……Is it possible to fall in love?