<Chapter 1> Engagement News (Part 1)

“Ellie, what are you thinking about?”

“Just, remembering the day we first met.”

“Ah, that day.”

Kiern put down the morning newspaper as if it were nothing and put a cigar in his mouth. The sharp scent of the cigar lingered at the tip of Elizabeth’s nose.

After the Duchess died, he started smoking cigars. It was said to be the cigar the Duchess smoked when she was healthy, and after finding it among her belongings, he smoked it out of curiosity and soon only smoked that.

He always had a faint earthy smell and a woody scent, as if in the middle of a cypress forest.

Elizabeth liked that refreshing scent, but when it mixed with the heavy, rough smell of the cigar, it somehow felt unfamiliar.

It felt as if the boy she met had disappeared. And just like that feeling, Kiern at the age of twenty had changed.

The man he had become was distinctly colder than when he was a child. Also, the subtle cracks caused by the absence of the Duchess were gradually widening. No, it was more accurate to say he was being eaten away.

“That day, Ellie, you blushed when she saw me. I don’t think you could even meet my eyes.”

“Don’t tease me. I was just a little surprised because you acted so gentlemanly.”

“Then do you think I’m not a gentleman now?”

Kiern asked softly, folding his eyes gently. When he tilted his head to meet her eyes, his blue eyes seemed to sparkle.

Elizabeth stared blankly at those eyes and blushed again. She could never get used to that gaze. Somewhere broken, he seemed pitiful, sorrowful, and also wretched to her.

“Stop it. This isn’t gentlemanly at all.”

“My apologies, Miss Elizabeth.”

Kiern replied in a playful tone and moved back, and the smell of the cigar emanated from him.

He was always like this. He would suddenly approach her and then move away as if nothing had happened. He was a man who made her impatient.

Elizabeth quietly looked at Kiern with an inexplicable heaviness and changed the subject.

“When is the Duke coming?”

“This weekend, I think. He said he’d be back before the anniversary, probably.”

The weekend was the anniversary of the Duchess’s death. The Duke wasn’t a loving husband, but he never forgot to commemorate his deceased wife’s anniversary.

So everyone praised him as a devoted husband. They all said he kept the Duchess’s position vacant because he couldn’t forget his deceased wife.

Elizabeth thought this was somewhat true. She thought it was the Duke’s way of expressing love, realizing her value only after losing her. Although Kiern didn’t acknowledge it.

“Still, seeing him return home in time for the anniversary, the Duke must miss Madam too.”

“You tend to see the world too straightforwardly. Father just acts that way because he’s conscious of people’s eyes. There’s no other reason.”

“Kiern.”

Elizabeth frowned at Kiern’s words, mocking the Duke. He became sharp whenever the topic of his father, the Duke, came up.

His appearance, as if he were defending himself like an attacked person, even felt pitiful. He acted as if it were the Duke’s fault that he was broken.

Elizabeth couldn’t understand why he hated the Duke so much. When she looked at him with a firm face, Kiern smirked.

“Why? Was that not gentlemanly either?”

“Kiern, is there something between you and the Duke?”

Kiern stared at her intently when she asked out of concern. After a moment, he let out a deflated laugh and said,

“Ellie, being naive out of ignorance is actually bad.”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said.”

Kiern crushed the cigar in the ashtray and stood up. When Elizabeth got up as well, he said,

“Don’t follow me. I’m going to see Abigail.”

Elizabeth flinched at the mention of Abigail, then mustered the courage to grab his sleeve and ask,

“Kiern, are you really thinking of getting engaged to Lady Prairie?”

At Elizabeth’s question, Kiern stood still and quietly observed her. His blue eyes sank calmly as if assessing something. Elizabeth asked again.

“Aren’t you?”

Abigail Prairie was the second daughter of the Marquis of Prairie. It was a family that had been in shipbuilding for generations, but recently, with the flourishing trade between kingdoms, it had achieved rapid growth.

Thus, there were talks of engagement between Duke Agaphel and Marquis Prairie’s children. The union of the two families was expected to bring great benefits to future businesses.

“Why do you think not?”

At Kiern’s gentle voice, Elizabeth hesitated.

Would he think I was being unreasonable because I didn’t want to see him with another woman?

In fact, she couldn’t say her feelings weren’t mixed at all. However, if the Duchess were alive, she wouldn’t have allowed such a political marriage.

“Kiern, you must marry someone you love.”

Had he forgotten what the Duchess always said?

The Duke and Duchess’s marriage, which was a political arrangement, was not harmonious. It was a barren marriage for a romanticist like the Duchess to endure.

The Duke was indifferent and selfish. Now, with belated regret, he doesn’t bring in a new wife, but that won’t bring back his deceased wife.

Perhaps the Duchess’s illness worsened due to loneliness. She was a lonely person who withered away without receiving her husband’s love.

Therefore, she hoped her son, Kiern, would meet someone he loved. Not for the family’s interests, but for his heart’s desire. So that he could live overflowing with love and being loved.

Elizabeth firmly believed that until the Duchess’ dying moment, she only wished for her son’s happiness. So, beyond her feelings, she asked the question hoping Kiern would marry for love.

“If necessary, I must.”

Kiern replied in a dry voice. Even though he knew what she meant, he acted nonchalantly. Unable to hold back, Elizabeth grabbed his wrist.

“Do you love Lady Prairie?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does. At least Madam wished for you, her son, to marry someone you love.”

“Then I’ll try to love her.”

A man who would try to love.

Elizabeth felt that Kiern seemed broken from deep within. Love wasn’t something you had to put effort into. It was something that happened naturally without realizing it.

Elizabeth was sure Kiern didn’t like Abigail. Because if he did, he would have said so.

Besides, when he looked at Abigail, his gaze was filled with emptiness. Like the Duke’s actions towards the Duchess when she was alive, just formal actions without any feelings.

It wasn’t the look of someone in love. At least Elizabeth, who knew love and was already in love, could feel that.

“Madam would be sad to know. That her son ended up in a marriage he didn’t want.”

“Who says I don’t want it?”

“Because that’s not the look of someone who wants it.”

“Don’t assume you know everything about me, Elizabeth. And where did you hear about the engagement?”

It seemed he was puzzled because of that earlier. In fact, Elizabeth had known for a while but hadn’t dared to ask.

She had delayed and delayed, fearing his answer, and only hurriedly asked when the Duke was about to arrive.

“……I heard from Mother. The Duke proposed the engagement with Lady Prairie.”

“Interesting. How is Stella so quick with news?”

Kiern’s lips twisted. It was a habit that showed when he was displeased with something.

Elizabeth was puzzled about what had upset him, but she answered his question obediently.

“Mother is close with the head butler. And since Madam passed away, she occasionally serves the Duke, so she overheard and told me.”

“I mean, why is your mother so close with Gilbert and even enters my father’s room?”

“That’s because the Duke often calls for her…….”

Trailing off as if making excuses, Elizabeth belatedly realized the intent behind his question and frowned.

“Kiern, what are you trying to say?”

“Exactly what I said.”

Kiern shrugged and played dumb. But Elizabeth, knowing what misunderstanding he had and what he meant, trembled with anger.

Her mother, Stella, was the Duchess’s loyal confidante. She was the most cherished maid and friend of the Madam. How could he make such disgraceful assumptions?

Moreover, according to her mother, before the Duchess died, she asked her to take care of the Duke.

Because of that will, her mother stayed at the castle even after the Madam’s death, taking care of the Duke. There was no reason for such a misunderstanding.

“Don’t insult my mother.”

Elizabeth protested quietly, biting her lower lip. Seeing her expression, Kiern burst into laughter.

“Right. It was too lowly a rumor for naive Ellie to hear, wasn’t it?”

“Kiern.”

“Well, it’s a well-known fact that Stella is loyal. Even after Mother died, she’s been working tirelessly here, day and night.”

“Stop it, Kiern Agaphel.”

“Yes. I was about to say something else, Elizabeth.”

Kiern mumbled softly and gently removed Elizabeth’s hand. Only then did Elizabeth realize she had been holding his wrist all along, and her face flushed with embarrassment. Watching her for a moment, Kiern continued.

“Don’t call me that outside anymore. Especially in front of Abigail. As you know, she and I might be engaged soon.”