Chapter 122

Chapter 122

I slipped the gleaming silver bracelet over his wrist. The Duke watched the whole process with a light laugh. I stole a glance at his profile from the corner of my eye. Seeing him pleased with my gift was rather pleasant to behold. A ticklish warmth rose in my throat, enough to coax a smile out of me naturally.

“This is so touching that I can’t refuse it.”

The Duke kept speaking, his gaze fixed on the bracelet. But I couldn’t catch his meaning right away. I quickly schooled my expression and opened my mouth in puzzlement.

“Huh? …What do you mean?”

“You asked me to court you.”

“That—!”

I clapped one hand over his mouth in a hurry. I couldn’t bear to hear any more from the Duke. Of course, I was the one who’d first suggested we get together, but hearing his answer made me dizzy with embarrassment. The Duke, however, looked perfectly unbothered. He just chuckled softly and pushed my hand away.

His eyes, trained on me, curved wide. He wasn’t saying a word, but it felt like he found me adorable. If this was a positive response to my confession, it should have been welcome. But somehow, the shame came crashing down harder. Maybe that’s why I felt another surge of pique. I bit my lip hard, then turned away from his gaze and leaned my head as if to push against his chest.

“Laura?”

“Not now. I can’t look at Your Excellency’s face right now.”

“It’s not that—you’re too close…”

“…”

At that, I slowly raised my head—only to find his face right in front of me. His expression was as calm as ever, save for the flush spreading across his ears. In that state, he raised both hands to cup my face, as if to hold me still so I couldn’t look away again.

“Laura. Truth is, I wanted to say the same thing. A shame you stole the lead on me, though…”

“…What do you mean…?”

“You asking me to court you?”

“Y-yes…”

I answered in a petulant mumble.

Then you should have spoken up sooner! Before I made myself look foolish with a public confession!

And in that moment, the eyes of the ladies-in-waiting and the butler who’d watched me sprang to mind. The thought of facing them again left me dizzy with mortification. That must have been why—I wanted to be a bit more spiteful. Since I was dying of embarrassment, I wished the Duke would feel the same shame.

“Then, say it again, Your Excellency. Say you like me. Give me something grand and wonderful. I want to hear that kind of thing too.”

“…Laura. I like you. Very much. More than you can imagine.”

“……Ugh. No. No, this isn’t right.”

I’d lost. I’d stubbornly dug my heels in for nothing. From the start, this had been something I couldn’t possibly withstand. The heat spread past my face, until my whole body felt like it was burning red. At a loss, I could only flounder and stammer. Meanwhile, the duke simply held his gaze on me and continued with what he had to say.

“I’m not good with fancy words. But I’ll tell you something from the heart. Laura, thank you for coming to Cuvershaiden. I can’t tell you how lucky I am to have met you. Every single day with you, I’ve always looked forward to it. And somewhere along the way, I grew greedy. I think I like you. No—I do like you. A lot. So… stay with me.”

I just nodded, my head bobbing frantically. How could I possibly refuse? He was the person I liked… I wasn’t foolish enough to reject such fortune outright.

“All right, no backing out now.”

The duke’s face suddenly leaned close to mine. I rolled my eyes back and forth before squeezing them tightly shut. A moment later, a warm touch met my forehead and slowly drew away.

* * *

My feet wouldn’t carry me toward the dining room. I couldn’t muster the confidence to face the ladies-in-waiting at all. In my mind, their embarrassed faces from my public confession were still vivid.

“Hah… with all that fuss, rumors are bound to have spread by now…”

I felt like crying again. But there was no running away now.

Alright, if they want to tease me, I’ll just take the teasing. It’s not like I’m leaving this place anyway.

Steeling myself, I flung open the dining-room door. A naive thought crossed my mind: even if they teased me, it’d probably just be some silly taunt.

“Oh, Madam! You’re here?!”

But my friends weren’t so easy to handle. Seeing them leap up from their seats to greet me with such fervor, I promptly stepped back out and closed the door.

“Madam, why did you suddenly step out again?”

“Madam, we’ve kept the seat of honor open for you. Please, come dine.”

The ladies-in-waiting were right behind me in an instant. And just like that, I was dragged back inside the dining room.

“Madam, shall I add more meat to your plate?”

“Stop calling me Madam… And why’s your tone like that?”

“Then what shall we call you, Madam?”

“Oh, enough. Just stop…”

For some reason, they seemed absolutely delighted. They were clearly having fun at my expense. With no other choice, I threw out a few half-hearted retorts and slipped into my seat. Then I picked up my fork and knife to cut into a piece of meat—just as Sonia’s voice cut in.

“I thought… you were the Young Marquis…”

She furrowed her brow hard and shook her head. It was such an utterly unexpected, absurd reaction that I felt a wave of bewilderment wash over me as I turned to look at her.

“Huh? What? Where did that come from all of a sudden?”

“Haah… so my judgment was dead wrong… feels like I poured investment into a failure.”

“No, I’m asking what you’re talking about?”

I grabbed Sonia by the shoulders and shook her, but she just crossed her arms without bothering to answer.

“Eish, you were a bit clueless. I knew this day was coming!”

This time Ann giggled and chimed in.

“I thought the same thing, but I was rooting for the young marquis! They have similar looks, so I thought they’d match better…”

Sonia let out a deep sigh. Good heavens. At this point, I couldn’t pretend not to notice anymore. I could even feel my face flushing bright red on its own.

“You… knew? Since when?”

I asked them in a tone of utter perplexity. Honestly, even I hadn’t had the faintest clue things would turn out this way. And yet here they were, talking as if they’d known all along.

“Hey, when people date at work, everyone always catches on. In this manor, everyone except the fireplace knows.”

“Nope. Now even the fireplace will know.”

“Yeah, it’s probably burning right now, going, ‘Those two are an item.'”

The maids each added their own two cents, and I found it harder and harder to keep listening. So I quickly shoveled the food on my plate into my mouth and hurriedly got up from my seat. I felt like I needed to make a swift escape before the teasing dragged on any longer.

“Huh? You’ve finished everything, madam?”

“Yeah. I’m off.”

I left the dining room behind, leaving the maids who were itching to tease me more. Then I headed straight for the study. On the way, I suddenly ran into the butler in the corridor. Seeing his utterly dignified demeanor compared to the maids, a sudden warmth of familiarity welled up in me. So I raised my voice and gave him a polite bow.

“Hello, butler.”

“A bit early, isn’t it? Are you heading to the study?”

“Yes, that’s the plan. It’s the Duke’s day to commute to the Imperial Castle anyway. I thought I’d get there early and finish everything that needs to be done.”

“I see. But there’s something I’d like to say regarding that matter… may I have a word?”

His reply had grown remarkably formal. Suddenly, his demeanor began to bother me intensely. But I brushed it off as my imagination and gave a vague nod.

“Yes, of course. There’s no reason you’d need my permission for something like that, is there?”

“Yes, well… allow me to speak. I have placed a few documents on your desk, young lady. They aren’t related to your current duties, but they are matters you will need to attend to eventually. Please take your time studying them.”

“Oh, yes. Understood.”

Having said his piece, the butler offered one more polite bow and withdrew. I hurried back toward the study myself. Once inside the Duke’s study, I took my seat and, almost unconsciously, let my gaze fall on the documents lying atop the desk. Then, abruptly, I noticed something odd.

‘Huh? What’s this?’

The contents of the documents were entirely different from the work I’d been handling up until now. They were about the household management of the Cuvershaiden estate—servants’ wages, cash flow, and the like. The kind of thing a lady of the house would handle.

Aaah! Butler! What is all this fuss?! Don’t you think you’re getting a bit too carried away?!

I shoved the documents aside with a sweep of my hand.

I could understand the maids, but the butler too…! All I felt was a burning urge to flee out of sheer embarrassment. Still, I forced those feelings down, swallowing them deep, and threw myself into my secretary work. I strained every nerve to push out the other thoughts trying to creep into my mind.

But the image of the Duke from last night kept surfacing, churning through my head. After my parents died, I’d never even dreamed of such happiness, yet now it was seeping into my life so naturally—it felt unbearably sweet.

“Laura, you’re still here?”

Just then, the study door opened and the Duke stepped inside. It seemed it was already time for him to return from the Imperial Castle.

“Ah! Your Grace. You’re back?”

I rose from my seat and greeted him warmly. Today, more than ever, I had so much I wanted to tell him. I felt like pouring out everything that had happened to me, almost like a child complaining.