TFLMLD 25

Chapter 25

 A Little Something Prepared, From Here to There

Before I knew it, he had come right up to me, his face now filled with laughter as he looked at me.
How much was Macaron laughing at me inside?
That sly, smiling gaze might be overflowing with disappointment.

Perhaps he wanted to say something like, “I didn’t know my lady was such a person,” but was holding it back.
If only he had stayed quiet, then I could’ve just pretended ignorance and brushed it off.

The moment I turned my head away from Macaron, afraid my expression would give me away, more dresses were brought in one after another.

Those aren’t the dresses I saw yesterday…?

On closer look, they were gowns for adults, embroidered with gorgeous patterns I had never seen before.
While I was staring blankly at them, an elegant woman in a fedora walked up and greeted me.

“Hello. I’m Frill, the owner of Frill’s Boutique.”

The hand she extended belonged to none other than Coral’s role model, the famous designer herself.
I barely managed to accept her greeting, when Macaron’s familiar scent reached me from behind.

“I didn’t know your tastes, so I prepared these as I pleased.”

“……!”

Today, Macaron seemed determined to kill me.
The dresses, adorned with refined patterns, were so obviously luxurious and exactly my style.

But now… was it really okay for me to accept these?
Just thinking of how I acted yesterday made me too embarrassed to even raise my head.
Lowering my gaze, guilt gnawing at me, I mumbled softly.

“You don’t even know my preferences… and yet you prepared so much….”

“I only prepared a little. If you don’t like them, please let me know.”

This is “a little”?
It looked like he had brought the entire boutique here.

Watching all this like a mannequin off to the side, Duchess Frill wore a dreamy, romantic expression.

But no—this wasn’t “romantic,” this was death by romance.

Despite her elegant appearance, she gave a hearty smile, glanced at Macaron, then leaned toward my ear to whisper.

“Thanks to His Highness, I think I can add another floor to my boutique.”

I thought she was just joking.
But seeing her serious expression, it seemed she really meant it.

Perhaps because she was pleased, or maybe simply out of professional pride, Duchess Frill was doing her very best.

“Hoho. After meeting His Highness, I finally understand why he works so hard every day.”

Knowing nothing of my heart, she fanned herself lightly as she continued,

“Seeing you today, I can understand why His Highness is so smitten.”

Macaron is smitten with me?

From her words, all of Macaron’s actions until now had been for me.
The more I heard, the more I felt like the narrow-minded fool in this story.

What could Macaron be thinking now?
What kind of expression was he making?

I was curious, but I didn’t dare turn to look.

Just as cold sweat began to trickle down my temple, his voice tickled my ear.

“I’ll head in first. Please speak comfortably. Would that be all right, my lady?”

His kind tone sent goosebumps crawling across my skin.

Was he acting because of the outsider present, or was he hinting that I should be ready later?

Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed his smile, and memories of the past rushed back.
That day he had seized the medicine and, for more than a month afterward, tormented me relentlessly….

Once his self-praise had gone on long enough, he even created the perfect stage for her before leisurely stepping away.

Watching him leave, Duchess Frill murmured “romantic” under her breath, smiling sweetly as she added fuel to the fire.

“You must be so happy. I didn’t know His Highness could be like that….”

“…Pardon?”

“Forgive me if I overstep. It just seems he truly cares for you in every way.”

In every way?

Were Macaron and Duchess Frill already close?
From the way she spoke, it seemed like they knew each other well.

As I puzzled over it, she launched into a long explanation about the dresses she’d brought.

Of course, the better the fabric, the more beautiful the pattern, the higher the price.

And with that, my guilt swelled heavier and heavier.

But I didn’t want Coral, brimming with joy at my side, to catch on to this mood.
So I forced a smile.

After her lengthy speech, Duchess Frill wrapped up with a request to visit her boutique and a polite farewell.

“I look forward to serving you again, Your Highness.”

Watching her retreating figure, only one thought filled my mind:

How on earth am I going to deal with this?

Should I just flip my attitude around?
Pretend to know nothing and shamelessly act like I had all along?
Or…

When I entered the drawing room, Macaron was waiting leisurely, like a hunter biding time for its prey.
His red eyes gleamed as he fixed them on me, a predator who had found its meal.

This must be what it felt like to have cold sweat running inside your brain.

I couldn’t even bring myself to properly look at him.

But then, contrary to my fears, his voice was soft as custard cream.

“I’ve been waiting to hear something from you.”

That gentleness only shrank me further.
I couldn’t speak at all.

In those brief moments, everything Macaron had done since the “medicine incident” flashed through my mind—
the breakfast preparations, escorting Coral to and from school, the sunflowers in the east annex, and more….

What was I supposed to do now?
At this point, I felt like I could do anything as long as I wasn’t kicked out of the house.

But then—

“Do you like them?”

What was this situation?
Why not just get angry instead?
Was he trying to kill me slowly with this?

But thinking back to how I had used and abused him in the past, even if he was trying to kill me slowly, I had no right to complain.

“Yes. Coral loves them, too….”

Was that not the answer he wanted?
Before I could even finish, he pressed me with more piercing questions.

Yet, still, there was no sign of anger on his face.

“And you, my lady?”

With each word, my heart plummeted heavily.

“Of course I love them too. I’ve never seen such beautiful dresses.”

I tried my best, but compared to his efforts, it was laughably insufficient.

What more could I even say now?

Tense, I found myself speechless.

Macaron studied me quietly, then curved his lips into a crooked smile.

“But you don’t seem to like them.”

“…What?”

“You look… uncomfortable.”

“That can’t be true.”

In the dim light, his presence radiated the aura of a beast.

Even his cool scent felt terrifying to me.

Yet, across his face, a faint shadow of sorrow flickered.

Is this the end?

Then he struck me with a cutting question.

“Are you still angry with me?”

If I said no, that would be admitting I had been angry before.
But pretending I’d never been upset at all—it was already too late for that.

His expression said as much.

“You’ve seemed upset since this morning. I wondered if I made some mistake.”

“……”

“If I did, I want to correct it.”

“……”

“Shouldn’t we avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future?”

“…!”

Wasn’t it time to reach a conclusion already?
Even when he toyed with people, he did it in such a maddening way.

Fine. A rat, cornered, will even bite a cat.
If I had to die, I wouldn’t die twice.

No use crying over spilled milk.
Let’s just go shameless.

After all, hadn’t someone once said that attack is the best defense?

“You know, don’t you?”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“The reason I was angry… you knew it all along.”

My sudden change in stance turned his voice mechanical, like a robot.

“No. I swear… I did not.”

Macaron was hopeless at lying.
His stiff tone, the unnatural way his muscles moved….

It was practically written on his face: I’m lying.

“Did you enjoy playing with me?”

“Back then… I truly didn’t know.”

So he hadn’t planned it from the beginning?

But what did that matter now?

I thought about pushing harder, but guilt from my own misdeeds held me back.

Above all, when I thought of the babies, my heart softened.

“Let’s just… call it even.”

I knew I was being a little shameless.

“What do you mean…?”

Surprise flickered across his face.

Was this really the wife he thought he knew?

But come on, if I was this smart, sensible, and sexy, shouldn’t a little shamelessness be forgiven?

Sometimes, throwing away a bit of conscience makes life easier.

“We’ve each misunderstood once. Why not treat it like nothing ever happened?”

At least I wasn’t completely without conscience.
That was a fair trade, wasn’t it?

But apparently, that was just my opinion.

“That’s a bit…”

“You mean you don’t like it?”

“No, it’s just… haven’t you already excused my wrongs as if they never happened?”

Huh. So he could be annoyingly sharp in strange places.

“And who said that?”

“……”

“If you don’t agree, fine. Then I suppose I’ll just carry this to the grave, forever.”

“……”

“Have your tea times alone from now on. Well, not alone—you’ll still have Lord Momont.”

At the mention of tea with Lord Momont, his face twisted beautifully in distaste.

“…Very well. Let’s do as you say.”

“Do what?”

“As my lady wishes.”

Even after we agreed to “call it even,” Macaron’s efforts remained unchanged.

The days passed as usual, with only the warming breeze to remind us that the seasons were turning.

Kai safely passed the preliminary rounds of the Imperial Academy’s swordsmanship tournament.

Afterward, he threw himself into training for the competition, often eating breakfast separately.

The closer the tournament loomed, the harsher Duke Schupen seemed to make the training.

Though I had once dismissed Kai as immature, he endured it all with quiet determination.

All I could do for him was apply ointment to his blistered hands.

At first, I had thought about confronting Duke Schupen.
But I couldn’t bring myself to.

I knew better than anyone how earnestly he was dedicating himself to Kai’s training.

Even so, I couldn’t let go of all suspicion.
Sometimes, in the breaks between drills, he looked at Kai with a strange intensity.

There’s a story behind that gaze…

It puzzled me, but after months of watching, there was nothing suspicious—aside from the fact that he was the guildmaster.

Am I just being too sensitive?

Still, it wasn’t possible to treat him the same as before knowing the truth.

I found myself uneasy around him.
So I began sending things like chain potions by leaving them at his door with a note—this time, a year’s supply.

He was sharp enough to know I was avoiding him, but Duke Schupen never said a word.

Because I kept watching him, I felt guilty for neglecting Coral.

Meanwhile, Coral busied herself, parading around in the clothes Macaron had bought her, flitting between the Academy and the estate like a little fairy every day.

Today was no different.

Coral, my angel—!

Who else’s daughter could she be?

Surely her real job was “angel without wings,” and her side job, “fairy.”

At that moment, she was tinkering away with her tiny hands again.

Looking closer, I saw it was the doll Macaron had bought for her.