Chapter 1 – She Was Greedy (Part 8)

At that moment, the door opened.

Edwin, snapped out of his reverie, turned to dismiss the uninvited guest.

“I…!”

It was an unexpected person.

“Uh… where’s Philip?”

The slightly lower, clear aristocratic accent belonged to Lorraine.

Though she sounded a bit tired and drawn out, she always spoke calmly.

“…In the basement archive.”

“Oh, we must have missed each other.”

Lorraine shrugged, disappointed, and began organizing the remaining documents. Edwin, watching her quietly, asked,

“Is something wrong?”

Lorraine looked around. Then, pointing to herself, she asked back.

“…Me?”

‘Who else is here but you?’

Edwin wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut, fearing another resignation letter might pop out from the pile of documents.

“Paul’s face looked serious.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just… that….”

While organizing the documents, Lorraine explained, but then suddenly stopped and looked at him sharply.

“Am I being suspected again?”

Seeing him at a loss for words, Lorraine shrugged and continued labeling the documents.

“It felt like a leading question. If not, then never mind.”

“…I’m sorry.”

She frowned at the unbelievable words.

“Pardon?”

Lorraine’s brain worked faster than ever as she put down her pen and pushed up her fallen glasses.

“…….”

But with no response, she shrugged.

‘Is he tired…? Am I hearing things? Edwin Duncan, apologizing…?’

‘…That would never happen, right?’

The moment she was about to ask if it was a joke,

“I was wrong.”

Lorraine stared at him, dumbfounded.

He tried to appear nonchalant, but his ears were red, as if they were about to catch fire.

A question popped into her mind.

‘Suddenly? Like this?’

The sound of the pen dropping snapped her out of her thoughts. She cautiously asked,

“…Suddenly?”

As if waiting for her to ask, Edwin responded.

“It’s not exactly sudden if you think about it.”

“It’s sudden enough.”

“You’ve been angry all this time.”

Lorraine’s eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“What? Me?”

In a tone that suggested she had no idea what he was talking about, Lorraine asked, and Edwin rubbed his forehead.

After a long silence, as if organizing his thoughts, he finally spoke.

“Anyway, I apologized.”

If Philip had heard this from the basement, he would have grabbed the back of his neck.

“Pardon?”

“I apologized. Don’t bring it up later.”

Lorraine, shifting her blue eyes as if trying to grasp the situation, cautiously asked,

“…Am I the only one not understanding this conversation?”

First, he apologized out of the blue. Then he told her not to bring it up later. It was unlike Edwin.

Just as she was about to ask if this was some sort of punishment,

“Don’t misunderstand.”

Edwin blurted out another cryptic statement.

“…What? Me?”

“You looked at me like that.”

Edwin genuinely wondered how he had ended up in this situation. If he could, he would go back and give his past self a good beating.

Unlike the troubled Edwin, Lorraine, who was maintaining her composure, slowly replayed their conversation.

And soon, a short sigh escaped her lips.

“Oh.”

It took her going back to a specific point in the past to understand the conversation. Edwin, with a reddened face, stood up abruptly.

“I apologized.”

Leaving only those words behind, he walked out of the study before she could even stop him.

Left alone, Lorraine stared blankly at his retreating figure and chuckled.

“…Leaving your seat like that?”

She shook her head, causing her silky hair to sway.

“Just when I thought I understood him.”

It was the moment when the undefeated iron knight, Edwin Duncan’s, history began to crumble.

***

Back in Empress Dowager Eleanor’s greenhouse.

“This way, Your Grace.”

Following the head maid of the Empress Dowager, Edwin stepped into the greenhouse and immediately stopped upon seeing the numerous figures seated with the Empress Dowager.

The atmosphere was palpable.

‘I should have known when she asked me to come to the greenhouse.’

He wondered whether he should blame his overly keen eyesight or his momentary lack of awareness.

Feeling a tightness in his throat, he loosened his cravat slightly.

He stood at a crossroads, having to decide whether to storm out or to sit down soullessly.

At that moment, Lorraine’s words echoed in his mind.

「It’s an important meeting. Attend no matter what.」

Why those words kept bothering him, he didn’t know. Edwin unconsciously raised his hand to ruffle his hair.

“…ha.”

Then he remembered that his hair was perfectly slicked back and lowered his hand.

“Your Grace!”

A clap resounded right in front of him.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Edwin looked at the head maid to assess the situation.

“Is something the matter?”

The head maid asked.

As Empress Dowager Eleanor’s most trusted confidante, she had an exceptional ability to read people’s expressions.

She smiled knowingly, as if she understood exactly what he was thinking.

“There were orders not to let you leave, even if something urgent came up.”

His escape route was instantly blocked. Edwin nodded in defeat.

“…Yes. Let’s go.”

Following her to the center of the greenhouse, he saw Empress Dowager Eleanor and five other ladies engaged in conversation.

“Duke Duncan has arrived.”

Eleanor turned to the five young ladies and spoke.

“Everyone, greet him. It’s not like you’re meeting him for the first time.”

Despite the hostess’s permission, no one spoke first.

They exchanged subtle glances, seemingly assessing their competition. The first to speak was Juliet Roben, the eldest daughter of Marquis Roben.

“It’s been a while, Your Grace.”

With her characteristic eye smile, she fanned herself.

‘It hurt my pride a bit that he didn’t ask me to be his partner at the last party… but I’ll let it slide with my generous heart.’

Juliet took pride in being the only one among them who had spoken to him before.

Thinking thus, she naturally tried to link arms with Edwin, who had sat next to her.

“I thought Her Majesty was the only one here.”

He spoke to Eleanor, smoothly avoiding Juliet’s touch.

‘Hoo.’

Eleanor, who had been setting the stage and observing, smirked slyly.

“As I get older, I tend to chatter more…. I boasted that I would introduce them to the Duke, so don’t be angry.”

“It’s fine.”

“And your mother, Monica, the Duchess of Duncan, also requested it.”

It was as he had expected.

Edwin silently took a sip of the tea prepared before him.

“You’re not exactly young anymore… Monica, I mean, the Duchess of Duncan, has every reason to worry. Even I do.”

Eleanor’s face looked somewhat forlorn as she propped her chin on her hand.

“…….”

“I’m not telling you to decide here. But do you think you or His Majesty can avoid marriage forever?”

“I understand.”

“Everyone gathered here with good intentions, so at least have a conversation. What would I be if you stormed out?”

True to her reputation as a formidable woman who once ruled inside and outside Moses with the former emperor, Eleanor was eloquent. However, she had momentarily forgotten something.

“…I’m sorry to bring this up, but I must be going now.”

Firstly, Edwin Duncan was quite shameless-.

“Duke…?”

“I remember making a lunch appointment only with Her Majesty.”

-Secondly, he was as eloquent as she was.

Edwin’s eyes were dry, showing no sign of being moved by her earnest words.

“I will pay for today’s rudeness, so… may I leave now?”

Edwin’s calm golden eyes looked at her as if seeking permission.

‘Is this what it feels like to have your nose cut off….’

Eleanor, looking at her friend’s son in disbelief, reluctantly nodded.

Upon receiving permission, Edwin swiftly exited the greenhouse. His speed was a stark contrast to when he had entered.

‘He’s so much like his father….’

Eleanor swallowed a sigh.

The awkwardness was left for the remaining people to deal with. Eleanor forced a smile and began to speak.

“I’ve been rude. To you all and to the Duke. It was foolish of me in my old age.”

Eleanor had to make various promises for quite some time to ease the atmosphere.

***

“So?”

Lorraine responded with an indifferent face.

At this moment, the most important thing to her was the approval documents Edwin had his elbow on.

Whether he knew her desperate feelings or not, Edwin spoke with a vacant expression.

“So? This is the most important part right now….”

It was clear that he wouldn’t sign the documents until he finished his story.

‘Sigh… what a nuisance.’

Lorraine barely resisted the urge to shout, asking if he knew she had been hearing this story for the past week.

She forced a smile and said,

“Can’t you sign the documents first? If we don’t send them by today, the port of Tarf will be in chaos.”

-And she couldn’t bring herself to say that she could tell the rest of the story without hearing it.

“Oh, right.”

Nodding, Edwin began to review the documents.

The thick stack of papers quickly flipped through his fingers. His golden eyes moved rapidly from side to side. In less than five minutes, he finished reading the documents and asked,

“Have you reached an agreement with the trading companies on the tax increase?”

A slight crease appeared on his forehead, as if calculating the increased tax rate in his mind.

Lorraine pushed up her slipping glasses and nodded.

“Yes, there was some noise, but we reached an amicable agreement.”

“We’ll reduce the port usage fee instead….”

Muttering while touching his forehead at Lorraine’s response, he soon signed the approval section.

“This should do.”

Having signed, he closed the document folder with a snap and handed it to Lorraine.

“Yes, I’ll proceed as planned.”

She tried to take the document folder.

“…….”

“Your Grace…?”

Had he not been holding onto it.

Lorraine tried to pull the folder from his hand again, just in case.

But the file slipped easily from her grasp.

‘What is he doing now?’

Lorraine’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“What are you doing?”

Despite her pulling the folder towards her, it didn’t budge.

“I’m busy. Please hand it over.”

“Prepare some gifts to send to the Empress Dowager’s palace. And….”

His eyes narrowed as if recalling faces, and he listed several families.

Lorraine let go of the folder and opened the notebook she had tucked under her arm. As she hurriedly wrote down the names he mentioned, she suddenly asked Edwin,

“…Why the sudden gifts?”

“I said I’d repay the rudeness, so I must. Accommodate their wishes as much as possible.”

Lorraine inserted her pen into the notebook and muttered with a disinterested face.

“If you hadn’t stormed out, you wouldn’t need to do this.”

“Be quiet.”

“…….”

“If you’ve written everything down, take the documents and leave. Bring the gift list as soon as it’s ready….”

He waved his hand dismissively, as if annoyed. Then, as if recalling something, his eyes shifted around, and he granted a very generous permission.

“No, handle it at your discretion.”

“Pardon? You’re not even going to check the list?”

“You know better than I do.”

‘He has a way of saying he’s too lazy to do it.’