She wants me to ride this?

Raymond had come by carriage too.

Even now, his coachman was waiting for him, looking at him with bright, expectant eyes.

Why so suddenly…?

He looked at Charlotte again.

She was smiling, but her expression seemed tense somehow.

There was clearly something going on.

…Does she have something to tell me?

If it was something she had to say inside a carriage right this moment, then it must be a fairly urgent and important secret.

What could it be?

For now, Raymond decided to pretend not to notice and get into the carriage.

It was hardly difficult.

He gave his coachman a nod. It was a signal to follow them on his own. Once the coachman understood and nodded back, Raymond said to Charlotte, “Then excuse me for a moment.”

Raymond was about to offer Charlotte his hand.

After all, helping the lady board first was what a gentleman did.

But before he could even properly extend his fingers, her small hand gently pushed against his back.

It was an insignificant amount of strength, but Raymond, startled, was helplessly pushed along by that touch and had no choice but to enter the carriage.

Wh-what is this?

Raymond, forced into the carriage, stood awkwardly with his large body folded inside.

His eyes widened in bewilderment, looking as though they might pop out, and in them appeared Elena, who covered her mouth while giving him an awkward, smiling squint.

Why was this woman here?

“Oh my, Mr. Bayen. Fancy seeing you here.”

The carriage was not especially deep, and yet he had failed to notice Elena’s presence until he was already inside.

Raymond was dumbfounded.

But the reason his heart was pounding, his body temperature had suddenly risen, and even his face had turned red was not Elena.

Raymond turned slightly and looked at Charlotte, who had put him in here.

Charlotte was wearing an embarrassed smile.

“Please sit wherever you’re comfortable.”

She was making the offer very graciously, but where in this carriage was there a comfortable seat?

Raymond sat across from Elena.

After all, he could not sit side by side with Elena.

“If riding backward is difficult for you, shall I change seats?”

When Elena tried to rise, Raymond swallowed a sigh, squeezed his eyes shut, and said, “It’s all right.”

“Ah. Yes.”

Once Charlotte had boarded as well, the carriage began moving slowly again.

Inside the carriage, which was far less comfortable than his own, Raymond raised one eyebrow and said, “May I ask why you had to put me in here?”

Because if Mrs. Spencer sees you, the situation will become complicated.

If Mrs. Spencer saw Charlotte and Raymond together, she would persistently ask how the two of them had come to know each other.

No matter how much Charlotte tried to hide it, Mrs. Spencer would eventually find out what had happened between them.

Because of money, she was going around with that dreadful man?

How did that make any sense?

I can clearly picture Mrs. Spencer flying into a rage, so how could I just stand by and wait for that to happen…?

Charlotte could not explain that situation to Raymond and ask for his help.

After all, who could comfortably say, There’s someone who hates you! to a person’s face?

“I was happy to see you. And you said you had business with me, didn’t you? I thought it would be nice to talk together in the carriage.”

Charlotte spoke with a gentle smile.

Raymond pressed his lips shut.

He wondered who on earth would do something like this just because they were happy to see someone, and yet he did not dislike hearing those words.

“An invitation came from House Noves. I came to ask whether you would be attending.”

“Ah, yes. I plan to attend. That’s why I’m now…”

Charlotte could not continue.

Saving on the price of a dress would not allow her to repay fifty gold. Moreover, Raymond had already written it off, so it was no longer a debt.

Even so, it was not easy to say in front of him, I’m going to spend money.

“I’m now?”

“I thought I might buy… a small gift to bring with me.”

Charlotte felt Elena’s gaze on her, as though asking, What are you suddenly talking about? But she could not look back at her.

“Who brings a gift just because they’ve been invited to a party?”

Raymond asked in a displeased tone.

“Rather than because I was invited to the party, it’s because I received a gift from him before. So while I’m at it…”

“Only a pin…”

Raymond, who had been muttering, widened his eyes.

Now that he thought about it, in Charlotte’s hair…

“That is the pin you received then.”

“Oh my. You have sharp eyes.”

Charlotte touched the pin and gave an embarrassed smile.

Raymond’s insides grew complicated.

There was nothing wrong with Charlotte wearing the pin itself. She had received it as a gift, so of course she could wear it.

His mind understood that.

But why did it displease him so much?

He wanted to snatch the pin away this instant and throw it out the window.

Did he dislike Ferris enough to feel such an impulse?

Yes. I dislike him that much.

Just then, Elena’s eyes sparkled as she exclaimed, “Oh my, oh my.”

“That was a gift from Mr. Ferris? It suits you so well. Mr. Ferris really does have good taste, doesn’t he? Ah, by the way, did Mr. Ferris not ask you to be his partner?”

“Goodness, of course he didn’t. I only learned about the party because Mrs. Spencer told me.”

“He did? I wonder why Mr. Ferris did that. Ah! I know. He must have thought Charlotte would be reluctant to attend the party. If Charlotte says she’ll go, then he’ll immediately—”

“Ahem!”

Raymond cleared his throat loudly.

Elena, who had been chattering like a sparrow, clamped her mouth shut.

“I did not come only to ask whether you would attend the party.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, we were in the middle of hearing what you had to say.”

Charlotte and Elena both looked sheepish.

Raymond nodded and said to Charlotte, “I wondered whether you might attend the party with me.”

“What? With me?”

“Yes.”

Charlotte was about to ask why he would make such a request of her, then remembered what he had said before.

He had said he declined because he felt uncomfortable attending parties alone.

Knowing his character, it probably was not because he felt embarrassed attending alone. More likely, he disliked being constantly bothered by people who wanted to dance with him.

It would be a problem even after the party ended.

Once countless people saw him attending someone else’s party, their eyes would gleam, and they would start sending invitations. On top of that, requests to be his partner might come pouring in as well.

Originally, it was standard for a man to make the request to be partners, but…

Judging by Baron Ziave’s daughter, it seems young ladies here sometimes approach first too.

Charlotte gazed at the man who had been born with a fate that would never allow him to live quietly, simply because he excelled in so many ways, and nodded.

“I will.”

Meanwhile, Elena found this situation bewildering.

Raymond, who had never shown so much as a strand of hair at other people’s parties, was suddenly attending House Noves’s party?

And on top of that, he asked Charlotte to be his partner?

As expected, perhaps this man really did have special feelings for Charlotte.

A beautiful woman he had met as if by fate in a resort town! Wanting to hold on to her, he had used the fifty gold as an excuse to ask her on a date!

Oh my, oh my!

And perhaps Charlotte had feelings for him too. Otherwise, there was no way this cautious young lady would have agreed so readily!

But she’s wearing the pin Mr. Ferris gave her!

Also, Charlotte had not wanted to attend this party, yet because it was hosted by Ferris’s family, she had decided to swallow her reluctance and go.

It seems Mother’s request played a part too, but in any case, judging from all this, she seems to think of Mr. Ferris as rather special as well… Gasp! Could there be two men in Charlotte’s heart?

That did not mean she was in love with two men at the same time.

Women Charlotte’s age did not look for men to date casually.

They looked for husbands.

And after going through such an experience, she had no choice but to be careful—extremely careful—when choosing a marriage partner.

So perhaps she was experiencing both men and considering which of them was more suitable as a husband.

Ahh. Who should I support?

First, there was Raymond, right in front of her.

He was one of the wealthiest men not only in his own homeland, but in this country as well. On top of that, his face was astonishingly handsome. It seemed easier to find a man as rich as him than to find a man with looks like his.

Could there be any man more perfect than this?

His personality is a little unusual, but…

In contrast, what about Ferris, whom she had been supporting from the beginning?

He was unique too, but it was because he was unique that he was a good person.

A man full of romance, not bound by status, treating everyone as someone higher than himself, living while chasing the wind and flowers.

And he was handsome.

His family is quite well-off too!

Ugh. What should she do?

Who on earth was she supposed to support?

Hmm. For now, I should help Charlotte spend plenty of time with these men.

That way, Charlotte would learn more about them, and choosing would become easier.

As soon as they arrived at the shopping district, Elena hurriedly stepped down from the carriage.

“Ohoho. Mr. Bayen would surely be better at choosing a man’s gift. I’ll look around separately and return on my own, so Charlotte, I think it would be best for you to spend time with Mr. Bayen.”

Charlotte gladly said she would.

If she took care of Raymond, Elena could comfortably have her dress fitted.

But seeing Elena disappear like an arrow, smiling all the while, Charlotte naturally tilted her head.

Why does she look so happy?

With Elena’s personality, leaving Charlotte behind and going alone to have a dress made should not have been all that pleasing.

This feels suspicious…

Just as Charlotte’s eyes narrowed slightly, Raymond said, “I’m sorry to Ms. Spencer, but I have no intention of helping with something like that.”

“Then I’ll go alone…”

Before Charlotte could even finish speaking, Raymond frowned, swiftly bent his upper body, and came right before Charlotte’s nose.

Startled, Charlotte’s head tilted slightly backward.

“!”

Her flustered eyes blinked without rest.

But soon, confusion rose above her bewilderment.

Because Raymond, who had clearly approached her of his own accord, was staring at her with widened eyes, looking even more startled than she was.