Chapter: 121
As I thought that without realizing it, I humbly admitted to myself.
‘I really am wearing some serious rose-colored glasses.’
Somehow, I felt like I could understand why the young lady was so disgusted by him…
“Come to think of it, Eva, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while.”
At the same time, the Duke narrowed his eyes and looked at the bracelets on the young lady’s and my wrists.
“What on earth is that bracelet?”
“This?”
It had only been a moment ago that she had been glaring at the Duke and shuddering in disgust.
Yet the young lady proudly held out the wrist adorned with the bracelet.
“Lari and I got matching ones.”
“What? You got them ‘together’?”
“Yep. We wanted to commemorate Saint Laila’s feast day, so we gave each other these as gifts. What do you think? Pretty, right?”
“……”
A deep furrow appeared between the Duke’s brows.
But the young lady, who was positively thrilled, didn’t care one bit about the Duke’s mood…
“Look. See this heart-shaped pendant?”
The young lady pressed herself right up against me and deliberately placed our wrists side by side.
“This pendant becomes a complete heart when you put the two pieces together!”
“……”
The furrow between the Duke’s brows deepened even further…
A moment later.
The Duke opened his mouth with an extremely uncomfortable expression.
“Isn’t that accessory a little too intimate for something friends would wear?”
“Why? What’s wrong with it?”
The young lady retorted provocatively.
“If you’re jealous, just say you’re jealous. Acting all dignified like that only makes you look more pathetic.”
“……”
That was right.
The more he tried to say anything here, the more he would lose…
In the end, the Duke shut his mouth with a sullen expression.
Just then, a maid approached and placed a cup of chamomile tea in front of each of us.
‘I specifically asked for chamomile because I heard it helps with fatigue and insomnia…’
I glanced sideways at the Duke.
‘Hopefully, it helps him even a little.’
Just as she was reaching for her teacup, the young lady snapped at him.
“Brother, do you really have to work even on a day like this?”
“Ah, sorry.”
The Duke looked somewhat sheepish as he put down the documents he had been holding.
‘Huh? What are those documents?’
I widened my eyes in surprise.
And for good reason, because the title written in huge letters on the very first page was…
<Feasibility Study Regarding the Establishment of a Childcare Foundation>
“Are you planning to establish a foundation related to childcare?”
As far as I knew, didn’t he regularly donate to the Grand Temple for that very purpose?
The Duke answered without batting an eye.
“Yes, that is what I have in mind.”
“I thought you were leaving that to the Grand Temple?”
Instead of answering me, the Duke simply smiled.
…But was it just my imagination, or did his eyes look strangely cold?
At the same time, the young lady folded her arms and nodded emphatically.
“I’m in favor.”
“Pardon?”
“You see, the orphanage support program is under the jurisdiction of High Priest Evans.”
The young lady narrowed her eyes.
“Honestly, I never liked the fact that High Priest Evans was living high on Claudius’s donations. So bringing it under our own foundation wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
Then she glanced sideways at the Duke.
“Before, you said there was no need to deliberately make an enemy of the Grand Temple…”
Does that mean it wouldn’t matter if they made an enemy of them now?
Why all of a sudden?
As I wondered in confusion, I flinched.
The young lady was looking at me with a meaningful gaze.
It was almost as if the reason for establishing the foundation had something to do with me…
The young lady flashed me a grin before picking up another document.
“Oh, Brother. Looks like a new researcher has joined the Claudius Medical Research Institute this time?”
Perhaps because it was the end of the year, all sorts of reports had arrived from the various places Claudius had invested in, detailing their progress.
The young lady furrowed her brow as she read the name.
“His name is… Simon? Since he doesn’t have a family name, I suppose he’s a commoner.”
Ah.
I widened my eyes.
I remembered Simon.
He was the student I had exchanged greetings with when I attended the end-of-semester party at Wilson University with the Duke.
“To graduate from university as valedictorian runner-up despite being a commoner… That’s impressive. He must be incredibly intelligent.”
The young lady couldn’t hide her look of surprise.
“Most of the other students must have been children of noble families… He must have had a really hard time among them.”
“Well, someone has to be that talented to receive Claudius’s support.”
The Duke shrugged lightly.
The young lady flipped through the documents, then gave a bitter smile.
“Still… It seems the research is progressing slowly.”
…They must be talking about research into the disease that had caused the deaths of the previous Duke and Duchess.
The Duke continued soothingly.
“Well, if they keep researching steadily, won’t they eventually get results?”
“Right? Who knew you could actually say something sensible for once, Brother?”
As though trying to shake off the increasingly heavy atmosphere, the young lady deliberately answered in a bright voice.
But then.
“Excuse me, Young Lady.”
The butler cautiously addressed the young lady.
“Pardon me. If you aren’t busy, there is something I would like to discuss with you regarding the budget for repairing the kitchen…”
At that, the young lady lifted her chin and turned to look at me.
‘See? I’m a proper lady of the house now.’
Her eyes were filled with exactly that meaning.
Come to think of it, the servants were now coming directly to the young lady to discuss problems without going through the Duke.
That was truly a huge step forward.
“All right.”
The young lady nodded and rose haughtily from her seat.
Then she smiled brightly at me.
“I’ll be back.”
“Yes. Take care.”
The young lady straightened her shoulders and walked out.
Pride practically radiated from her retreating figure.
As I watched her disappear with a fond gaze,
I felt a slight sense of incongruity.
‘Huh?’
Would someone normally come to make such a request while the head of the household and his family were taking a break?
If it was merely a matter of the budget for repairing the kitchen, it didn’t seem urgent enough to warrant interrupting them.
And from what I had observed several times, the Claudius butler wasn’t exactly someone who was oblivious to social cues.
At the same time,
“Phew…”
The Duke let out a long sigh and dropped his head onto my shoulder.
Then he lifted his gaze slightly and looked at me.
“It’s really difficult for us to be alone together.”
A satisfied smile appeared on the Duke’s lips.
“Still, the butler chose the perfect time.”
At that moment,
I realized the source of the strange feeling and asked in shock,
“Don’t tell me… Did you order him to do this beforehand?”
The Duke’s shoulders stiffened in a start.
“……”
“……”
Silence fell.
I stared intently at the Duke,
and after avoiding my gaze several times, he finally slumped both shoulders.
“…But Eva should occasionally give Lady Ansi up to me, shouldn’t she?”
The Duke muttered dejectedly.
“We’re lovers, after all.”
Lovers.
That word struck me with a strangely ticklish feeling.
The Duke grumbled again, looking genuinely disappointed.
“But Lady Ansi went and got a friendship bracelet with Eva in the meantime…”
“I-I’m sorry.”
For some reason, I felt as though I had done something wrong, so I awkwardly apologized.
The Duke immediately straightened his expression and raised his head.
“Do not apologize.”
“Pardon?”
“Lady Ansi did nothing wrong. If you haven’t done anything wrong, then don’t apologize.”
The Duke’s gaze as he looked at me was more serious than ever.
“I… don’t like it when you lower yourself as though it’s only natural for you to do so.”
