Chapter 2 (Part 6)
Anthus, who escorted Yuliana to the Earl’s residence, looked gloomy.
“Take care, Yuli. I’ll send a letter soon.”
“Yes, Duke. Thank you for the meal and Lainus’s performance today.”
“I should be the one thanking you for not refusing and watching it with me.”
“No, I should be the one…”
“Then I’ll be going. Please give my regards to Earl Loengrin.”
“Yes…”
Entering the mansion, Yuliana met Matthias, who was frowning.
“Lia… Why did the investigation meeting go so late?”
“I’m sorry, Father.”
Yuliana felt like she had been caught doing something wrong. Although they talked about the investigation over dinner, watching Lainus’s performance had nothing to do with the investigation.
“We talked about the monsters and other things…”
“Other things?”
Yuliana openly told Matthias that she had dinner with Anthus and listened to Lainus Ellermin’s song, which made her late. Listening to her, Matthias pressed his temples as if he had a headache and spoke quietly.
“Lia.”
“Yes.”
“I was worried because you didn’t come home until late at night.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You should have sent a letter home through a servant to let us know and ease our worries.”
“I was thoughtless. From now on, I’ll make sure to contact you and not cause worry.”
Scolded by Matthias, Yuliana trudged to her room. As she entered, Selenia came in with a knock.
“Selenia? Didn’t you go home?”
“How could I go home now? I heard everything from Luda and Yoanna. What happened? A date with Duke Rockbellion!”
“It wasn’t a date! We just met to talk about the investigation.”
“Did the investigation meeting take that long? Even if you had dinner and a one-hour meeting, at most two hours, you should have had enough time to come home. Look at the time. Lia, did you really only have dinner?”
Selenia’s sharp question made Yuliana’s face turn red.
“Why is your face turning red?”
Selenia asked with a playful smile.
“Actually… we also watched the opera together.”
“The opera?”
“The Duke…”
“The Duke?”
“Was Lainus Ellermin’s patron.”
“What? The Lainus Ellermin, who is known to be very selective about his patrons?”
“I was going to part ways after dinner and the meeting… but the Duke invited me to watch Lainus Ellermin’s performance. I couldn’t refuse! You know I can’t resist my fandom for Lainus…”
Knock, knock.
With a knock, the door opened, and a dissatisfied-looking Louis entered.
“Lia! You weren’t threatened by that devil, were you? Otherwise, why would you have dinner with him?”
“Threatened by the devil? What are you talking about, brother?”
“The cold-blooded devil of the battlefield! Duke Rockbellion!”
Seeing Louis badmouth Anthus, Yuliana’s brow furrowed. Although he was nicknamed the war-crazed devil, he was a kind man who took good care of the orphaned Lian and was respected by the knights.
“Duke Rockbellion is not someone who would threaten anyone. And we had dinner while discussing the investigation.”
“I’m suspicious of what that devil’s intentions were in having dinner and a meeting with you.”
Louis now understood why Anthus had habitually said, “You resemble Lady Loengrin.”
“That devil surely has ulterior motives for you…”
“Brother, it’s not proper for a noble to call someone by a nickname others use.”
“Hold on, Louis.”
“Huh? Sellie, why?”
Louis tried to speak further, but Selenia’s call stopped him.
“We’re having a conversation among women, so please leave for now.”
“Sellie!”
“Please leave, Louis Loengrin.”
Seeing Selenia’s firm stance, Louis reluctantly left the room.
“Thanks for getting rid of him. You’re truly the future Countess of Loengrin.”
“Lia, I heard Duke Rockbellion escorted you into the Earl’s residence and affectionately called you by your nickname.”
Selenia spoke with a satisfied smile.
“That’s… the Duke… calls me that at his discretion.”
“You just let him call you by a nickname? Calling someone by a nickname implies a certain relationship between the two.”
Selenia’s words made Yuliana’s face flush, and her heart began to race irregularly.
“Do you realize you look like someone who just received a confession?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“I was joking, but did you really get a confession?”
“He said he’d wait for my answer…”
“Are you going to accept it?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“Enjoy this dilemma. It’s a worry you can only have now. When you look back on it as a memory, it will be very exciting.”
“Is that your experience, Sellie?”
Selenia laughed softly.
“You should brace yourself from tomorrow.”
“Brace myself?”
“The social circles will be buzzing with stories about you and Duke Rockbellion.”
Yuliana tilted her head in confusion.
“Yes. You don’t often attend social gatherings, so you might not know, but the cold-blooded Duke Rockbellion, who has no interest in women, took you to a crowded restaurant and then to the opera. Do you think no one saw that?”
Listening to Selenia, Yuliana recalled the faces of people who had stared at them.
“There will be rumors that you two are lovers.”
“Rumors that the Duke and I… are dating?”
“Yes. The rumor might have already spread.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s true.”
Thinking, ‘No way, no way, no way,’ Yuliana fell asleep that night.
* * *
After escorting Yuliana to the Earl’s residence, Anthus returned to the Duke’s residence, grinning as he stamped the documents Ferrell brought him.
“Master, the rumor of you dating the future Duchess at the restaurant is spreading quickly.”
“Ferrell!”
Anthus called sharply.
“The sound of ‘Duchess’ is quite pleasant.”
“Haha, I also find the term ‘Duchess’ very fitting.”
“Keep calling her that.”
“Of course. I will call her that until the day I die.”
Anthus had kept women at a distance to make his moments with Yuliana appear dramatic to others. As expected, the impact was tremendous.
“Did you enjoy the date?”
Ferrell asked with a pleased smile.
“It was good. Very…”
The feeling of their knees touching inside the carriage. The sensation of their arms brushing past each other while watching the opera. Thinking about Yuliana turning her head and covering her red face with her hands made Anthus’s whole body stiffen.
“I keep thinking about it.”
She was embarrassed every time their bodies slightly touched on the narrow sofa, but she didn’t avoid it. He could feel her breathing getting slightly heavier.
And he heard it clearly. The sound of her heart pounding. From that, he knew. Yuliana was aware of him as a man.
“I wish she would quickly fall for me…”
“Master, if you approach too hastily, won’t the Duchess be startled?”
“If she is so startled that she falls backward, I’ll just catch her.”
“You are right, Master. Then I will prepare more to enhance your charm.”
“You always work hard preparing, Ferrell.”
“It is natural. Your face is an important weapon to seduce the Duchess. Paying utmost attention to it is the most important duty of a butler of the Rockbellion family.”
After a long time of grooming his face and body, Anthus lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He quietly closed his eyes, contemplating and planning how to make Yuliana fall deeper for him.
* * *
The next day.
The story of Anthus and Yuliana’s date began to spread rapidly. Starting with the tale of Anthus, who was known to detest women, serving Yuliana at a restaurant, and the news that they enjoyed an opera from a box seat at the Moon Theater reached even Beonar, Yuliana’s former fiancé.
“Yuliana and Duke Rockbellion are in that kind of relationship?”
Beonar suddenly felt a surge of irritation.
How long had it been since our broken engagement, and she already found a new man? And to date Duke Rockbellion…
And he wondered why it made his chest feel tight and angry. People saw Anthus, who was famous for hating women, serving Yuliana at the restaurant, and many witnessed them watching the opera together in a box seat. Beonar felt a chill down his spine.
“They often went on expeditions together… Could it be… They were secretly having an affair? Yes, that must be it. That’s why she didn’t cling to me when I suggested breaking the engagement! I should have been suspicious when she accepted the breakup so easily!”
Having finished his wild thoughts, Beonar stood up abruptly. He couldn’t stay still.
“Damn it! Damn it! That filthy woman! She was waiting for me to break the engagement! How dare she two-time me with Duke Rockbellion during our engagement?”
Beonar stormed out, cursing.
He thought that the reason Yuliana avoided physical contact with him was not because she was embarrassed but because there was another man.
His insides twisted and burned. It felt like a boiling pot inside him.
“After the breakup, she shamelessly clings to Rockbellion, spreading such filthy rumors to make me uncomfortable!”
Beonar even thought that Yuliana might have been secretly happy about their broken engagement.
“Yes. She prefers a Duke over a mere Marquis.”
Beonar stomped down the hallway, fuming.
“Brother.”
Beonar frowned deeply and turned his head, knowing who called him.
“Maxwell… Didn’t I warn you not to call me brother?”
“I’m sorry. Where are you going? Father is calling for you.”
“Tell him I had to step out for something urgent. You filthy bastard.”
Maxwell bowed to Beonar with a serene smile.
“Understood, brother.”
Beonar approached Maxwell and stopped.
“What did you just say?”
“I said, ‘Understood, brother’. Oh… I’m sorry. You told me not to call you that.”
“I clearly told you…”
Beonar’s right hand shot up.
“I told you not to call me brother, you filthy bastard!”
He slapped Maxwell’s left cheek with all his might, causing Maxwell’s head to snap to the side.
“I’m already in a foul mood.”
“I’m sorry.”
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