TBKU 05

Chapter : 5

Sheila’s chest rose and fell heavily as she breathed in short, hurried breaths.

‘They could have shown me something like this in a dream beforehand.’

Blaming the useless dreams, she tried to calm her startled heart.

Her cheeks felt hot, as though she had been caught by the owner of the estate despite not even sneaking into the garden.

The moment her eyes met those of someone standing by the illuminated window and she realized it was Lennon, she had no idea what to do and simply froze.

It was only after staring at him for quite some time that she finally thought she should avoid his gaze.

‘Is he still looking?’

She had hidden herself beneath a large garden tree, but she did not feel as though she had completely escaped Lennon’s line of sight.

Perhaps it was because this was his garden.

‘Still…’

She was curious.

Those gray eyes that had gazed at her as though indifferently, yet persistently, kept lingering in her mind.

In the end, overcoming her fear with a small dose of curiosity, Sheila gathered up the hem of her skirt and cautiously peeked out from behind the tree.

Perhaps the distance between them gave her a little courage.

“Ha.”

A deflated sigh escaped her in disappointment.

The window glowing with bright light was already firmly closed.

As though there had never been anyone there in the first place.

“What was I even doing all by myself…”

She had not even been at the ducal estate for a full day, yet she had already done so many foolish things that she had lost count.

Sheila sank down where she stood, crouching and burying her face in her knees.

Even in a moment like this, the scent of flowers carried on the gentle night air was irritatingly pleasant.

Sheila always woke up early in the morning.

To save money, the viscount’s household gas lamps had never been lit unless absolutely necessary.

Since there was not much to do after sunset, she had naturally developed the habit of going to bed early and waking up early.

“You’re up early, Lady Sheila.”

“Mm-hm.”

“But you look tired. Did you not sleep well?”

“A little…”

“Ah! I suppose it’s because everything is unfamiliar.”

Kate spoke to her cheerfully as she brushed her hair.

Sheila looked up at Kate’s reflection in the mirror with a hint of envy at the vitality she herself lacked.

“By the way, how was dinner last night?”

“…Hm?”

“The Duke liked it, right? Even I thought you looked absolutely beautiful!”

“Ah, well…”

Sheila had spent quite some time in the garden last night, until Kate had finished cleaning up.

It felt awkward to simply walk into the mansion as though it were her own home.

Later, she had gone upstairs, asked for a place to sleep, and immediately fallen asleep, but apparently Kate had been curious about Lennon’s reaction.

Should she honestly say that she had eaten alone?

The words did not come easily.

It was difficult to say aloud that she and Lennon were nothing to each other.

If she said that, Kate’s kindness toward her would disappear like melting snow.

She knew all too well what the gaze and attitude directed toward someone who meant nothing were like. She knew it so well that it made her shudder, and so she could not help feeling afraid.

While Sheila hesitated, Kate seemed to reach her own conclusion and continued chattering.

“I asked something that was obvious, didn’t I? I’ll put your hair up like this today!”

“Okay.”

“But how did the two of you meet?”

“…”

Just as Sheila was relieved that she did not need to answer, Kate’s questions continued once again.

“Of course, since the Duke never attends any other social gatherings, you must have met at a ball. We were all in such an uproar when he brought Lady Sheila here, especially since he didn’t even blink at all those marriage proposals piled up around him!”

“I see.”

“To be honest, we all naturally thought he would marry Her Highness the Princess. She’s the only person the Duke has ever been close to, and the two of them suit each other so well…”

“Her Highness the Princess?”

“Ah! I’m sorry! Please don’t misunderstand! I mean, that’s what we thought before Lady Sheila came, but we don’t think that anymore…”

Kate’s face reddened as she realized she had spoken without thinking.

So he had been close to the Princess.

Sheila firmly restrained the corners of her mouth, which threatened to droop at the unexpected revelation.

“It’s all right. I won’t misunderstand.”

Forcing a smile was nothing.

As though reassuring Kate, Sheila smiled and lowered her eyes.

An uncomfortable emotion hung heavily from her shadowed eyelashes.

“Are you really going to do this?”

“What?”

Donovan clicked his tongue as he watched Lennon tilt his head as though he genuinely did not understand.

He had gone to the temple at the crack of dawn, persuaded a busy priest, and brought him all the way to the ducal estate.

He had no idea what would happen if the priest found out that the compensation being offered was equivalent to the donations Lennon had made to the temple over the past three years.

Well, considering it the cost of the wedding, it was pocket change.

In any case, after going through all that trouble to bring the priest here, Donovan had at least expected Lennon to set up a wedding arch in the garden.

But this could not even be called a wedding.

No, it should not be called one.

“A wedding in the study?”

Donovan looked around the study with an expression of disbelief.

It would be better not to hold a ceremony at all than to get married here.

“The two people getting married are here, the priest is here, the documents are here, and there’s even a witness and a guest… So what’s the problem?”

Lennon gave Donovan a casual nod of his chin.

His face went pale.

“Even so, you are the Duke of an entire kingdom…”

“Which means it doesn’t matter what I do.”

That was true, but…

Donovan was rendered speechless and merely opened and closed his mouth.

That was the position of House Higgins in the Kingdom of Roches.

Whatever the Duke of Higgins did became something grand and meaningful.

The same was true of the people around him.

If the Duke of Higgins kept someone by his side, that person became an object of envy regardless of their status.

Our esteemed Duke could hardly be unaware of that.

Whether the wedding took place in the study or in the stables, this marriage would carry significance simply because it was the marriage of the Duke of Higgins.

After scribbling his signature at the bottom of the marriage vow, Lennon glanced at the now-silent Donovan.

“Relax your face. When you get married, I’ll give you a very grand ceremony. You’re the only aide to the one and only duke in the kingdom, after all. How about it?”

“…I’m very grateful, but I’ll just accept the sentiment.”

The words At least give me time to find someone to marry before saying that rose all the way to the tip of Donovan’s tongue.

Perhaps sensing the resentment in his eyes despite his answer, Lennon adjusted his disheveled cravat and spoke as though comforting him.

“Just tell them we were so desperately in love that we couldn’t bear to waste time preparing for a wedding, so we held the ceremony in a hurry. Say that the Duke cherishes his wife so much that he is even reluctant to let her go outside. Is that enough of an excuse?”

“Yes…”

He was not particularly fond of it, but it was at least a sufficient justification to present to outsiders.

Showing the Duke of Higgins as a devoted husband and refreshing the public image surrounding him would not be a bad thing either.

While Donovan calculated this and that in his head, an elderly priest appeared through the open door.

“Ah, it seems the priest is ready.”

“What on earth was so urgent… But didn’t you say this was a wedding?”

The priest, who had been grumbling, looked Lennon up and down suspiciously.

He had come to officiate the Duke’s marriage vows, yet Lennon was dressed no differently from usual.

“That’s right.”

“…Then is someone other than the Duke getting married?”

“I am.”

“No…”

The priest looked back and forth between Lennon and Donovan with a bewildered expression.

He clearly wanted an explanation for what on earth was going on.

“The Duke said he wished to be with the lady as soon as possible, so he insisted on proceeding this quickly. I ask for your understanding, Priest.”

“Hah. Good grief.”

As he had prepared beforehand, Donovan gave a deliberately dignified excuse.

The priest coughed awkwardly in disbelief before beginning to wonder about the lady who was about to become the Duchess.

What kind of woman was she that the Duke of Higgins was so impatient to marry her?

“Ah, she’s here.”

A picture-perfect smile appeared on Lennon’s face.

Donovan flinched at the rare expression and followed Lennon’s gaze.

Sheila, her cheeks flushed, was lingering by the doorway.

“Ah! That lady…”

The priest quickly searched his memory.

Quite a number of nobles visited the temple, and he had met most of the notable people in the kingdom himself.

But no one came to mind.

“Come this way.”

Watching Sheila cautiously take a step forward at his gentle voice, the priest whispered to Donovan.

“Which family’s daughter is she?”

“She is the young lady of House Reebrook.”

“Ah…”

The priest pulled a name from the depths of his old memories.

‘The Viscountess was very ill.’

He also remembered the Viscount pleading with them to save his wife, only to later become furious and call them frauds.

Needless to say, he had come to the temple every day and caused a scene.

Looking at Sheila standing beside Lennon, the priest wore a complicated expression.

He felt that Viscount Reebrook was nowhere near adequate to become the Duke’s father-in-law.

‘It will be fortunate if he doesn’t get any grand ideas later.’

The wrinkles on the priest’s forehead deepened.

He had a bad feeling about this, but what could he do?

Seeing Lennon glance at him impatiently, the priest nodded.

“Given the circumstances, let us proceed simply.”

“The Duke said he wished to be with the lady as soon as possible…”

Sheila’s face flushed again at the words she had heard before entering the study.

She had come up to the study immediately after finishing getting ready when she was told that he was looking for her, but she had never expected to hear them talking about something like this.

Even though she knew it was not true, she could not stop her heart from pounding.

After hesitating, she stepped inside.

When she raised her head and looked ahead, her eyes met Lennon’s, who had been watching her.

“Ah, she’s here.”

He smiled at her.

The gray eyes that had held nothing but indifference until yesterday now glowed warmly as they welcomed her.

Sheila thought her heart was beating so fast she might actually die.

“Come this way.”

She had been staring blankly at Lennon as he smiled brightly at her, but at those simple words, she approached him as though entranced.

“You look lovely.”

Lennon spoke softly as he looked at the ornament in Sheila’s hair.

Because he had come close enough for their breaths to touch, Sheila unconsciously held hers.