Chapter 30

Chapter 30
“Do I need a reason?”

“……Well. I suppose not.”

Elio shrugged, nodding as if tonight’s dinner were no big deal. Feigning composure, she straightened her back and drank a full glass of water before finally opening her hesitant mouth.

“Um, excuse me.”

“Mm.”

She managed only a single word before drinking more water.

“The day Sir first saw me… when my father hit me…”

Carlos raised his head.

“Did you talk to Sir Greeta… about that? About me getting hit?”

“No. Why would I tell her that?”

Carlos raised a brow, as if it were the most absurd question he had ever heard.

He looked so nonchalant and unbothered that Elio blinked her eyes a couple of times and nodded.

“Aren’t you cold?”

The man narrowed his eyes as he looked at her sleeveless dress.

“Put on a cardigan. It gets chilly at night.”

‘Then how could Sir Greeta be so sure I grew up being beaten?’

Muttering darkly to herself, Elio swallowed her inner thoughts. She had no desire to go into detail about her upbringing anyway.

“I’m not cold. I’m warm.”

The man watched her in silence before pouring her a cup of hot tea.

Elio stole a glance at him. With his bangs swept back, his sharp, handsome features were fully on display. She poked at her medium-rare beef steak.

…Why is he wearing a formal uniform, anyway?

The crisp, neatly ironed black collar and the taut muslin cotton stretched tightly across his broad chest suited him exceptionally well.

“Why aren’t you eating your carrots? Don’t just eat what you like.”

“…It’s not like I particularly like these either.”

“I had them prepare everything you like. Eat the salad and the fish, too. You have to eat what you dislike to stay healthy.”

Elio blinked her large eyes as she looked at the table, which was filled with all her favorites—sweet pumpkin soup, beef, mushroom risotto, green grapes, and peaches.

“…Do you know what I like?”

“Soft things. …Which is why you glare at me whenever you see me, I suppose. While you look at a soft peach so lovingly.”

Elio bit the inside of her lip to keep from letting out an embarrassed laugh.

“You have to eat a balanced diet to grow properly. To control your mana well, your heart needs to be strong too. Carrots and blue-backed fish are—”

“Am I a child? Please stop telling me to grow. Because you act like that, Sir Greeta keeps treating me like a child, too.”

Elio spoke firmly, her face flushing red.

Carlos paused as he reached for the salad plate and looked up. He quietly observed the woman, whose face had flared up red like a strawberry once again.

“Greeta is five years older than you. Of course she treats you like a child.”

“I am a lady. Sir Greeta and I are noblewomen of equal standing.”

“Right. Then am I a man to you? You look like a woman to me.”

Carlos abruptly unfastened the tightly bound knots at his cuffs and rolled his sleeves up past his thick forearms.

“I’ll hire a governess for you, so stop reading those books. Or I can fetch the instructional manual from Dowager Lady Elliot—”

“…No, you don’t need to get one. I already know everything I need to know. I’m really fine.”

“What could you possibly know from just reading those books?”

“……If there’s something I don’t know, my husband will guide me through it. …I’ll trust my husband.”

“…….”

Without a word, he placed another piece of beef steak onto Elio’s empty plate.

“…I’ve already eaten a lot. I’m fine. You eat it, Sir.”

“…You said you wanted meat. Eat more.”

Elio stared quietly at the finely sliced steak before gently picking up her fork again. Truthfully, she could eat one more piece.

Her unsettled stomach suddenly felt ravenously hungry. Just a moment ago, she hadn’t wanted to eat a single bite of meat.

“……It really is delicious, though. The Duke’s estate chef must be very skilled.”

He gave a slight nod. In the quiet dining room, even the soft chewing sounds felt amplified. Uncomfortable in the silence, Elio curled her toes when the rustling sound of the linen curtains caught her ear.

“……I need to hang the curtains again. I just pinned them up with thumbtacks.”

“I’ll hang them for you.”

Elio nodded.

“…….”

“…….”

Elio felt awkward at the table where the conversation kept dying, but not knowing what else to say, she deliberately chewed the small piece of steak much longer than necessary.

It felt as though even small talk was leading to awkward exchanges. Now wasn’t the time for this. Replaying the words she had rehearsed in her head, she let out a sigh.

…I already asked him this afternoon whether he truly has no interest in the throne… and I already asked if he used me to avoid marrying the princess…

The man who had answered ‘yes’ to everything, assuring her she wouldn’t lose out, seemed so unbothered that his true intentions were completely unreadable. Does he have no emotions other than anger? Frustrated, she bit her lip.

“Have another steak—”

“You know, I understand you, Sir.”

Speaking at the exact same time, Carlos looked up.

“P-Please speak first.”

“No. I was just telling you to eat more. Go ahead.”

“I just meant… I understand you, Sir.”

Elio clenched her fists tightly. The words she had arranged and practiced in her head countless times while cleaning the house while waiting for him spilled out rapidly without pause.

“I didn’t get angry because I didn’t understand. If we correct the rumor that I seduced and jumped you first, it would mean you intentionally broke the betrothal with the princess of your own free will. So I understand why you can’t correct it immediately.”

Carlos’s pitch-black eyes stared at her intently.

“You’d be dragged away for defying an imperial decree. You said yourself that you’re on bad terms with both Her Majesty the Empress and the Papal Faction. Well, even if we did clear my name, just as you said, I’d only end up being used and torn apart in parliament’s political feuds.”

Pausing briefly, Elio swallowed her dry saliva and put strength into her voice. She tried her best to calm her mind, but she couldn’t hide her flushed face.

“The rumor that I coveted your wealth, power, and everything about you—that I even fed you forbidden illicit liquor to ruin your marriage with Her Imperial Highness.”

“…….”

“I’ll accept it. For the remaining two months.”

Elio clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

She resolved not to let herself be pushed around by this brazen man. If it was inevitable, she had to face it with dignity.

“I won’t ask you to actively defend or clear my name, Sir. Instead, for the remaining time, please pretend to like me too. Shouldn’t the young Duke pretend to be genuinely in love with a trashy young lady so that it’s fair for both of us?”

Elio barely managed to pull up the corners of her lips into a smile at the man, who maintained an indifferent expression as if listening to someone else’s story.

“Even if I am an impudent, shameless lady who lusted after your body right before your marriage to the princess… please make it seem like you fell for me in the end, too.”

“…….”

Chirp, chirp. The night insects buzzed outside. Since when had they been chirping? Was there any need for them to sing so loudly? As she waited for his answer, Elio’s fingers twitched against her will.

“That I fell for you?”

Carlos repeated her words, his gaze never leaving her reddened face. Elio felt her face grow even hotter at the ridiculousness of her own request. Guilt-ridden, she retorted sarcastically:

“Yes. Let’s just pretend that after two months, we grew tired of each other. That it was a mistake driven by first-sight attraction to a ruined lady, but after living together, the flame died out. As long as you clear the rumor that I took advantage of you while you were unconscious from illicit alcohol, I don’t care what reason you give for getting tired of me.”

“…….”

She would have preferred it if he looked baffled by her request or cursed at her instead. But he remained entirely silent. Elio found it impossible to tell when this man—who could be terribly fierce at times—felt anger or showed emotion.

“…I just mean that during the engagement period, please respect and cherish me in front of others. …Though acting in love must be endlessly bothersome to you, Sir.”

Elio hid her slightly trembling hands beneath the dining table once more.

“A young girl who grew up being beaten, unable to protect herself… if a knight doesn’t take pity on her, he hardly deserves to be called a knight at all.”

The moment the image of Greeta, who had smiled so pleasantly, flashed vividly across her mind, Elio forced her stiffened lips back up into a smile.

“So that I don’t look like a greedy woman who acts out of lust only to be pitied and looked down upon by you. Please cooperate so it looks like a normal romance. I think you owe me at least that much, Sir.”

The man, who had been quietly watching her as she spoke steadily in a faintly trembling voice, reached his arm toward her face.

Just as Elio flinched and tried to pull back, his long fingers touched her first.

Using a wrapped handkerchief, his finger brushed past the corner of her mouth and gently rubbed against her lips. Elio held her breath and scowled at the strange sensation of her lips being softly squished.

A tiny trace of sweet steak sauce transferred onto the white handkerchief.

Just a tiny bit.

She snapped her head away and rubbed her hot lips vigorously.

He didn’t even need to wipe it—why were his hands always so quick to touch? Just how much experience with women did he have? Had his affectionate gestures toward a past lover simply become a habit?

“…Don’t touch my face so casually. I don’t like those habits of yours, Sir.”

It was a quiet, muggy night filled only with the sounds of summer insects. Without saying a word, he pulled his hand back and resumed cutting his steak.

“Isn’t this what pretending to be in love is like?”

“……Are you saying you’re going to try pretending to love me?”

“Yes.”

His face didn’t change in the slightest, making him look like an ironclad statue. It was absurd how he answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“You agree to my terms? Really?”

“Mm.”

“Love… you said it was a hassle.”

“I’ll give it a try.”

As if he were already pretending to be in love right now, Carlos answered nonchalantly.

Exhaling a hot breath, Elio narrowed her eyes. Feeling defeated, drained, and sullen at the man’s unexpected attitude—acting as if her long speech were nothing at all—her mood sank.

“Is pretending to love someone, pretending to treasure them, that easy?”

“What’s so hard about it? I’ll just act like I suddenly gained a three-year-old child.”

At his dry, sarcastic reply, Elio let out a hollow laugh. With heat rushing to the top of her head, Elio glared straight at him.

He twitched a eyebrow, as if asking what her problem was.