Chapter 099. Just One Night Away
Deborah heard the story on Saturday afternoon, when the day’s work was almost over.
While finishing the last cleaning and organizing the tray, she suddenly heard the door open.
Naturally, her head turned, and at the end of her gaze was Robin.
Though he paused for a moment the instant their eyes met, he soon returned to a calm expression.
Whether he was still trying, as he had said the other day, it was still a little awkward, but the atmosphere was much softer than when he had been so prickly that she couldn’t even speak to him before.
“His Grace is looking for you.”
At Robin’s words as he approached, Deborah’s eyes widened slightly.
Of course, that was probably the biggest reason he had come looking for her, but it was still a little strange because it was so late.
“Now……?”
“Yes, he’s waiting in the study on the second floor.”
At the urging to hurry over, Deborah nodded that she understood.
After Robin left, Deborah quickly straightened her clothes.
While lowering the rolled-up sleeves and frantically brushing off the clinging dust, what suddenly came to mind was the thought:
“I wonder why he’s suddenly calling for me…….”
That was understandable, because this was the first time he had summoned her since that incident a few days ago.
Even though it was a moment she had secretly been waiting for, for some reason an inexplicable anxiety followed right behind the joy.
Was it because of the man’s attitude that had somehow felt a little cold at the end, after that intensely hot moment had passed?
Or because nothing about their cold war had been clearly resolved?
The more thoughts piled up, the more anxious her heart became.
“…….”
Deborah shook her head hard once, as if to shake off the ominous feeling that had crept into her mind.
For now, the priority was to go to where he was waiting.
Then she would find out what it was about, whether she wanted to or not.
Deborah took a deep breath and finally opened the door and stepped out.
* * *
Knock knock.
Not long after knocking, a voice from inside told her to come in.
Deborah took another breath, then pulled the handle.
Perhaps because it was late, the already quiet study felt even more still.
The stifling air made the palms of her hands grow damp with sweat without her realizing it.
At the end of each careful step she took, the man’s figure finally came into view.
Whether something troublesome had come up, the desk where he sat was covered with a mountain of documents.
The atmosphere made it hard to speak first, so she hesitated—right then, the man’s gaze, which had been fixed on the papers, lifted.
“…….”
The moment she met those blue-water eyes straight on, her heartbeat began to quicken a little more.
The same reaction every single time she faced him.
Trying not to let it show, Deborah spoke in the lowest voice she could manage.
“You called for me…….”
A soft, quiet voice.
The man looked at Deborah’s face for a moment, then stood up abruptly from his seat.
“Go sit over there.”
At the words pointing to the sofa, she flinched without meaning to.
The reason was that what had happened on that sofa with him not long ago instantly came to mind.
Heat rushed to her face in an instant.
“Don’t think about it, I mustn’t think about it…….”
Following the back of the man walking ahead, Deborah kept repeating it to herself over and over.
Whether the spell worked, by the time they reached the sofa she had fortunately calmed down somewhat.
In contrast to her, the man sitting across from her looked completely unfazed.
As if he had forgotten everything that had happened not long ago.
“Do you have any plans tomorrow?”
The question came flying the moment he leaned back on the sofa.
The sudden timing was surprising enough, but the content was so unexpected that her face became even more bewildered.
“Plans……?”
“Yes.”
At the light nod, Deborah thought for a moment.
She was puzzled why he was suddenly asking that, but there was indeed a plan, as he asked. The promise she had made with Hannah.
She could just answer honestly, yet for some reason the words wouldn’t come out easily.
If she was reluctant to say it was her birthday, she could simply say a few close friends were going on a picnic.
“I do have something…….”
After a long pause, that was all that finally came out.
The man’s reaction to that half-answer was no different this time either.
Or rather, it felt like he didn’t particularly care what answer came.
“If it’s not important, postpone it.”
“……Pardon?”
At the abrupt order to postpone without any explanation, Deborah’s brows furrowed slightly.
Just as she was about to ask what on earth that meant, once again the other side spoke first.
“Tomorrow you’re coming with me somewhere.”
“…….”
She forgot what she was going to ask and instead became speechless.
After days of silence, he suddenly calls her and says they’re going somewhere together…… and on the very day before, out of the blue.
Her mind went blank for a moment, unsure how to respond to that absurd statement.
But that was nothing compared to what came next.
“I already told Charlotte you’ll be staying out one night, so prepare accordingly.”
At the consecutive bombshells, Deborah’s eyes grew wider and wider.
Staying out one night?
After sitting there stunned for a long while, Deborah finally came to her senses and opened her mouth.
“One night……?”
“Yes.”
“You and I…… staying out overnight…… is that what you mean?”
Raymond nodded again as he watched Deborah blinking her wide-open eyes repeatedly.
“We’ll leave early in the morning, so come to the inner courtyard around nine, like last time.”
“Where…… are we going?”
She asked because she was curious where on earth he would take her for an entire day.
But strangely, even as she asked, she somehow had a vague idea of what answer he would give.
In other words.
“You’ll know when we get there.”
……Yes, exactly that.
Perhaps not liking the look on her tightly closed lips, the corners of the man’s mouth, who had been spitting out only what he wanted to say, curved faintly.
“Are you upset that I’m deciding everything on my own?”
At that sight, Deborah shook her head slightly.
“……No, it’s not that.”
She wasn’t upset. Though the man’s overbearing behavior was a little flustering, it didn’t feel particularly unpleasant.
There were just a few things that bothered her.
The first was her promise with Hanna.
Tomorrow’s gathering had been arranged especially because of her, unlike usual.
Of course, it was under the pretext of her birthday, but that had been the original plan.
Having to break it herself was one thing, but how on earth was she supposed to explain to Hannah that she had to clear an entire day—thinking about it alone already made her head throb.
And the other was the suspicious eyes inside the mansion that were surely watching.
Thanks to Madam Charlotte’s warning, they were keeping quiet for now, but if any of them happened to witness tomorrow’s situation……
Honestly, all these thoughts made her uneasy.
It might be needless worry, but given Deborah’s position, it was a concern she couldn’t help having.
But……
Deborah’s gaze lingered for a moment on the man’s lips that had curled up slightly.
A smile that had finally appeared on a face that had been expressionless the whole time.
Looking at it, all the worries from earlier seemed to fade away.
Deborah eventually shook her head left and right.
“……No, it’s nothing.”
Anyone watching might call her foolishly naive, but she didn’t want to break this peace that had finally returned after the cold period.
As if that had been the right answer, the smile on the man’s mouth deepened a little more.
* * *
—Really? Well, nothing we can do about it, I guess……
Remembering Hanna’s face full of regret made her heart feel heavy right away.
Another lie had been added, making her heart grow heavier, yet why was the sky so clear today of all days?
“Haa…….”
Looking up at the white clouds floating leisurely across the blue sky, Deborah let out a long sigh.
“Is the ground going to collapse that much?”
At the voice from behind, Deborah quickly turned around.
The person standing there was, of course, the duke.
She had already recognized it the moment she heard his voice.
But her breath stopped for an instant as she watched the man approaching from a few steps away.
Wearing a dark navy frock coat that clung perfectly to his body and white trousers that highlighted his long legs, the man was dazzlingly beautiful today.
She wasn’t sure how the word “handsome” would sound when applied to a man, but there was no other way to describe him right now.
Before she knew it, the man had come close to the dazed Deborah.
Taking the old bag from her hand, he raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Pretty light.”
At the remark with his head tilted, Deborah finally snapped out of it and reached out.
“Give it ba—”
Lightly blocking her hand, the man wrapped one arm around Deborah’s waist.
“…….”
The distance closed in an instant.
Looking down at her completely frozen, the corners of the man’s mouth slowly began to curve.
“Shall we get going then?”
Deborah stared at the brightly smiling man as if entranced for a long while.
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