Chapter 6
I snapped back to my senses as though waking from a dream and quickly stepped backward.
Richard’s gaze followed me.
Without even noticing, I pressed a hand against my pounding heart.
What on earth did I just do?
Even if there haven’t been any scandals worthy of the name in high society for the past few years, there’s no way I can end up on the front page four days in a row.
I had to somehow salvage this situation.
Completely consumed by that thought, I finally managed to recall what Richard had said.
“A promise! Of course I’ll keep my promise! If you let me know when you’re available, I’ll send an invitation to the Winston estate.”
I let go of your hand. I did! I even stepped back! So why are you still staring at my hand like that?! Stop glaring at it and just play along!
Perhaps my desperate prayer had been answered, because Richard, who seemed to be suppressing a sigh, soon replied in an even tone.
“Everyone here heard what the Duchess said, so I suppose you’ll have to keep that promise.”
“I told you I would!”
I was actually starting to feel wronged.
When had I ever failed to keep a promise?
“Well. As for whether the Duchess is someone I can trust, I think that deserves some reconsideration.”
“Are you saying you don’t trust me?”
“Not to that extent, but… even now, you only suggested having tea without giving an exact date. That does make me suspicious.”
Do you really want to sit across from me and have tea? Seriously? Even though you still hate me this much?
“If you tell me which days work for you, I’ll make time.”
I forced a smile as I conveyed my meaning, and the corner of my mouth twitched.
Richard’s dark red eyes quietly watched me before he let out a faint chuckle.
Then he took a large step forward, closing the distance I had just created.
The backs of our hands casually touched.
As though it were an accident.
I had to make an enormous effort not to startle like an idiot at the unexpected contact.
As though mocking my attempt to naturally pull away, Richard’s hand slowly came to rest on the back of mine.
Or perhaps even that was merely my imagination.
Why?
I raised my head, and our eyes immediately met.
Unable to read his thoughts from his inscrutable gaze, I swallowed nervously.
What on earth are you thinking, Richard?
“Then.”
Richard politely leaned his upper body toward me.
Surrounded by gazes sparkling with interest, I had no choice but to stare at the man who was being both polite and incredibly rude at the same time.
“Should I trust you one more time?”
His voice whispered right beside my ear, unbearably low.
Trust me about what?
The question I wanted to ask was swallowed the moment I met Richard’s eyes.
I instinctively knew.
If I asked him what he meant, I had a feeling that this time, he really would look at me with contempt.
And I also knew that he had taken my silence as an affirmative answer.
For the first time, a faint smile passed over Richard’s lips.
“Then let’s do it today.”
“What…”
“I happened to have some time today, so I said I would accept the Duchess’s invitation.”
Even if I had said I’d adjust my schedule to his, wasn’t this a little too sudden?
As I stared at him with a dazed expression, Richard drove the point home.
“I trust you’re not planning to run away again, Duchess.”
They say ten years is enough time for even mountains and rivers to change, but even so—
Has this man really changed this much?
More importantly, did he really intend to have tea with me?
Sit across from me?
What was he planning to say?
For the first time, a hint of amusement appeared in Richard’s gaze as he looked at me.
Everyone was straining their ears, waiting for my answer.
Just as I parted my lips, feeling as though I had been pushed to the edge of a cliff—
“After waiting and getting no response, I came out to see what was going on, and what exactly is this mess?”
A familiar voice tinged with irritation came from behind me.
Damon Filiard.
The Imperial Crown Prince appeared with his usual languid attitude, adding the final touch to the already chaotic scene.
“I sent you an invitation, and you said you’d come over immediately, so I wondered what was going on…”
Damon’s voice trailed off as he tilted his head to the side.
“Don’t tell me you’ve decided to pick up the stray dog you abandoned a long time ago, Bella?”
“I’ve never raised, abandoned, or picked up a dog, Your Highness.”
“Ha-ha-ha! Oh, my. Sorry, Bella. I keep forgetting that you’re terrible with figurative expressions.”
It’s not like I actually didn’t understand what you meant.
I gave him an awkward smile.
Fortunately, Damon didn’t continue dragging Richard into the conversation.
Still, judging by the way he kept glancing at him, it seemed he was bothered by his presence.
That’s surprising.
Why?
Because I hadn’t thought he was capable of that much situational awareness.
Damon Filiard.
Twenty-eight years old this year.
The Crown Prince, who was the same age as me, had little to offer beyond his handsome face. From his abilities to his personality, there was hardly anything worth praising.
The only thing that could be considered an advantage was that he was the Empire’s sole heir.
The sole heir, that is.
Now that the Princess everyone had thought dead had returned, that description was technically in the past tense.
In any case, Damon was arrogant and conceited, just as one would expect from a Crown Prince who had lived his entire life without a rival.
As the sole heir, there was no one he needed to be cautious around.
He was practically the perfect example of a spoiled young master who had lived however he pleased since childhood.
Even though our relationship was officially a contract based on mutual necessity, he hadn’t even bothered to hide the fact that he was seeing courtesans while he was supposedly my lover.
How much of a disaster must he be for even the Emperor to refuse to hand over the throne despite his long illness?
Still, all the useful nobles are on Damon’s side.
After my father’s death, there had been some changes in the hierarchy that had once seemed as impenetrable as a fortress.
The Marquess of Frost, who had been eyeing my father’s vacant position, had been pushed aside by Count Kindel and was now nursing a grudge.
But that wasn’t what mattered right now.
I subtly looked around.
How am I supposed to handle this awkward situation?
Damon and Richard are one thing, but…
Why was Her Imperial Highness the Princess walking around so amicably with Damon?
Perhaps she sensed that something was strange about the atmosphere, because Sasha, who had been clasping both hands together, suddenly lifted her head.
Something resembling determination flashed through her eyes.
No.
Wait.
That doesn’t look like a very good idea…
“I’m so happy that all the people I like are gathered here!”
Ah.
Why were bad premonitions never wrong?
Sasha had never experienced high society before, and she didn’t seem to realize what she had just done wrong.
If this had been a salon or banquet hall, the ladies would have laughed mockingly.
The gentlemen would have given awkward smiles or looked away.
Damon… Of course.
Just as I was about to help Sasha—
“Yes, indeed.”
Richard responded to Sasha’s words.
My mood instantly sank.
That’s right, Sasha. He’s always been kind to you.
Just as those words implied, Richard was smiling kindly at Sasha.
Throb.
No. Don’t.
My heart, which had foolishly gotten its hopes up, seemed determined to torment me.
I finally realized how ridiculous the misunderstanding I had fallen into in the corridor had been.
The kind Richard looked like that.
Not the cold and detached man I had seen in the corridor.
So don’t misunderstand this.
I was the one who abandoned him.
Don’t expect anything.
Damon, who had been looking back and forth between us with his arms crossed, spoke with a sour expression.
“Hmph. I’m not happy at all. Just seeing the man Bella used to date nearby annoys me.”
“Oh my! Goodness! Were the Duchess of Bellua and Richard involved with each other?”
“What? You didn’t know?”
“No. No one ever told me.”
“You’ve been back in the capital for several days now. Haven’t you made even one friend in all that time?”
Oh, for goodness’ sake.
Damon’s rudeness snapped me back to reality as though someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over my head.
What the hell is this idiot saying?
I hurriedly stepped between the two of them to smooth things over.
“Damon is simply very concerned about Her Imperial Highness. He said he was worried because she’s his cousin whom he hasn’t seen in a long time. Isn’t that right, Damon?”
At my question, Damon raised one eyebrow.
He looked as though he were asking what nonsense I was talking about.
I’m not the one talking nonsense. You are!
“And Damon, Her Imperial Highness has plenty of friends. Count Winston, who is right here, is one of His Highness’s friends too.”
“…Friends between a man and a woman.”
Don’t trail off like that as though you’re implying something.
Damon gave a faint chuckle before nodding toward Sasha in apology.
“Sorry. I didn’t realize you had such a good friend.”
“Oh. No, it’s all right. I just learned something I didn’t know myself.”
Sasha’s face turned bright red as she hesitated.
For some reason, I had a bad feeling about this.
It seemed safer to move away from the question of who was friends with whom and talk about something else.
But what am I supposed to say?
While I was thinking, Sasha gathered her courage again and spoke first.
“But were the Duchess and Richard in a relationship?”
Her eyes were sparkling.
Rather than having gathered courage, it might have been more accurate to say she was thoroughly fascinated.
“It was a long time ago.”
I answered instinctively.
Then, realizing my mistake, I glanced at Richard’s expression.
Did I just say something… wrong?
“It was about five or six years ago.”
I had been slowly avoiding his gaze, but the moment I heard Richard’s answer, I whipped my head around.
Richard was sitting crookedly at the end of the sofa.
As though responding to my gaze, he twisted his lips.
His expression seemed to say,
What?
Why is he acting like this?
Fine, I could understand that he hated me.
But I couldn’t understand why he kept cutting the amount of time since our breakup neatly in half whenever he talked about it.
It wasn’t as though that would actually make the time we’d been apart any shorter.
Unless…
Is this that famous battle of wills?
