Chapter 11

“Please, sit comfortably.”

Marquis Aberdeen, who had taken his seat at the dining table first, offered Killian a seat. Even on a day like this, he said nothing at all to Lizette. As it was something she was used to, Lizette quietly walked to the seat where she always sat, as though it were nothing.

She felt Killian’s gaze brush over her once. Lizette straightened her shoulders for no reason. At the head of the long table sat Marquis Aberdeen, and to his left were Lavinia and Graham. Lizette sat beside Killian and looked at the two of them across from her.

“You must have been surprised by the sudden visit, but I did not know you would welcome me so warmly.”

When neat dishes were lined up across the table, Killian was the first to speak.

“It may be modest, but I hope it suits your taste. Everyone, please eat.”

At Marquis Aberdeen’s short reply, the sound of knives and forks moving and the quiet sound of food being chewed filled the room.

‘Is this what it means to be sitting on pins and needles.’

Lizette stole a glance at her father. The Marquis was moving his fork, but he did not look as though he were enjoying the food. For Lizette, who had spent many years living while reading her father’s moods, the Marquis’s discomfort was plain to see.

“It may be lacking in many ways, but please understand generously, Your Grace.”

As the Marquis continued eating in silence, Lavinia, watching the atmosphere, cautiously opened her mouth. It was an attempt to somehow change the uncomfortable mood.

“Not at all. The food is excellent.”

“Oh my, I’m so relieved that it suits your taste.”

Lizette looked at Lavinia, whose expression became satisfied at Killian’s answer. As he had said, it was a table that showed traces of care.

Steak served with fragrant romaine, salad made with fine cheese and well-ripened tomatoes. It was a meal that was not too heavy for lunch and yet whetted the appetite.

‘This is because of Killian, not me.’

The moment that thought came to her, Lizette could not help but feel bitter. This was reality. The people in this family would not be thinking that she was marrying Killian, but rather that Killian was graciously marrying Lizette. The reason her family, who had neglected her all her life, were suddenly showing such care was obvious as well.

Simply because the person sitting beside her now was Killian Cedric.

Lizette felt as though she had become the heroine of a third-rate play. The scene at this table made her desperation seem colorless.

The fact that the man who had never once acted as a father for even a moment was occupying the seat of honor as if it were only natural was enough to make her feel almost amused.

“Still, compared to the food you usually eat, Your Grace, it must be lacking by quite a bit.”

Her stepmother Lavinia wore her usual light smile. She seemed busy trying to please Killian.

Lizette looked at Killian’s face. He merely wore a formal smile while gazing at Graham across from him. Following Killian’s gaze, she saw Graham chewing his food with an expression thoroughly mixed with discomfort and displeasure.

‘Please, just let this pass quietly.’

Even without wanting to know, one could feel that Graham was quite seething with resentment.

Whenever his parents were away from the estate, he would reign like an emperor and control Lizette. Graham had surely believed that Lizette would never be able to escape him.

‘If it weren’t for Killian, that probably would be true.’

Lizette knew it. The fact that Killian was beside her now was a stroke of luck that would never come again.

Perhaps the seat beside her might have belonged not to Killian, but to some old noble twenty years older than she was. The people in this house would have gladly accepted it even if that old noble had asked for Lizette as his second wife.

“It seems that rather than me, the young master is the one who can hardly eat properly.”

A gentle voice sounded beside her. Just from that quietly probing voice alone, Lizette could picture Killian’s relaxed expression in her mind.

“……I’m eating well. I believe I’m simply tense because this is my first time at a gathering like this.”

A cracked voice escaped from Graham. As though he had wrung the answer out by force. Seeing Graham press his lips tightly together, Lizette silently lowered her gaze.

‘Damned bastard.’

Graham swallowed the curse inwardly. Killian’s neat, handsome face and composure irritated him especially. And what of Lizette? Makeup she normally never even touched, and a splendid dress that fit her body perfectly. It made him want to drag her out by the wrist right this instant and lock her away somewhere.

Lizette was a treasure he had devoted a long time to shaping. If it had not been for Killian suddenly appearing and talking about marriage, she would still have been his. Anger surged through him, and he ground his molars while forcing himself to swallow a piece of meat he had not even properly chewed.

“You must naturally be tense at sending away your only younger sister.”

At Killian’s words, which knowingly scraped at his insides, flames rose inside Graham. He felt as though he were some being trampled beneath Killian’s feet. His pride was shattered to pieces. But there was nothing he could do.

“Oh dear, it seems I forgot to offer my proper greeting.”

Killian opened his mouth with an apologetic expression. Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned toward him.

“I consider it an honor to welcome Lizzie as my wife. I assume that arranging a gathering like this today is the Marquis household’s answer to my proposal. I could not be more pleased.”

The moment those words ended, everyone’s hands stopped at the same time, as if by prior agreement.

An honor.

There was no one at this table who did not know what those words meant to a knight. Everyone present was surprised by how serious Killian sounded, but the one most flustered of all was Lizette. It was the first time in her life she had ever become someone so precious.

—And do not forget who the man is that you have standing beside you.

Without realizing it, Lizette recalled the words Killian had said to her earlier.

‘He said standing beside me.’

It was not that she was beside Killian. The voice that had reminded her that Killian was beside her echoed in her mind.

Lizette calmed her heart by repeating to herself Killian’s words, words that had made her the center of this situation. She also swallowed down the words that had almost risen to her lips in surprise. Killian was taking the lead in this gathering for her sake.

‘Stay calm. You’ve already done things more daring than this.’

Lizette, now somewhat calmer, turned her gaze toward Marquis Aberdeen. Marquis Aberdeen had stopped moving his hand. As always, he wore not the face of a father, but that of a calm businessman. He was surely calculating this situation rapidly in his head.

‘He has no grounds to refuse, but accepting too easily must make him feel as though he is giving me away too cheaply.’

Even if she was not a precious daughter to him, his pride would at least still be wounded if he gave her away so readily. But Lizette knew. In the end, Marquis Aberdeen would pretend he had no choice and agree to Killian’s words.

Seeing the faint tremor at the corner of Marquis Aberdeen’s eye, Lizette became certain. And at the same time, Marquis Aberdeen nodded.

“……Haha, why would I refuse? There is no one in the Luan Empire more trustworthy than you.”

Marquis Aberdeen matched the atmosphere with a joking tone, as though he had never been quiet at all.

“Exactly. Where in this Empire could there be anyone more dependable than you, Your Grace.”

At his side, Lavinia supported Marquis Aberdeen’s words. Lizette saw Graham, seated across from her, furrow his brow briefly. It was only a fleeting change of expression, but even without that, Lizette could not help noticing his discomfort. Graham’s hand kept rolling his fork over the empty plate.

Lizette knew that when Graham suppressed his emotions, he had the habit of hiding his anger through such small motions. By now, he was surely pouring every possible curse at Killian in his head.

‘If that is the case……’

For some reason, Lizette grew uneasy. Graham’s gaze kept turning toward Killian over and over. Graham had a fairly strong patience when it came to protecting his status and appearances, but once his emotions reached the extreme, all of that became meaningless. Just like the day not long ago when he had wrapped his hands around Lizette’s throat.

And Lizette’s premonition was not wrong.