Chapter 13
“Phew.”
Riding in the carriage of the Angel ducal family? That was a completely absurd lie.
If it had been the sharp-eyed butler Marina, she would have seen through the lie immediately, but the kind-hearted coachman believed what I said. I was truly relieved.
“A public carriage… It’s my first time, but I should be able to use it well.”
Ines looked around. This was the bustling city center in the southern part of Eltra, where a large clock stood; the place was extremely crowded with people coming and going.
However, this was not a place frequented by many nobles. Nobles preferred the western square where more luxurious shops were gathered. For Ines, who did not want to be seen with Cedric, this was fortunate.
A carriage is a very expensive means of transportation. One must own both a stable to manage the horses and the carriage itself. Public carriages were used only by commoners who lacked such financial means, so it was impossible that Ines had ever used one.
But even so, she could not hesitate. Hadn’t she already experienced during the previous sick visit how suffocating it was to be in an enclosed space with Cedric? For Ines, the very idea of riding in the Angel ducal family’s carriage was something she didn’t even want to imagine.
Today, she intended to thoroughly become a thoroughly boring woman to Cedric. Since Cedric was a smart person, he would soon realize it after spending a little time together. That Ines Greenwood was not someone suited to the Angel family. That was also the reason she had dressed in unfashionable clothes.
She would spend a moderately boring time, then make various excuses and leave her seat. The public carriage would serve as an excuse for returning home early. She could part from him early as she wished without hurting Cedric’s pride. It was a plan that was good for everyone in many ways.
It took exactly one week for the wound on Ines’s foot to heal completely. She needed a bit more recuperation, but upon hearing that Cedric had come to visit her while she was ill, her satisfied father summoned not only the family doctor but several famous physicians. Among them was an imperial physician sent by her aunt.
Thanks to her family sparing no expense, the wound caused by stepping on glass shards healed cleanly without leaving a single scar.
In the meantime, more than three letters had arrived from the Angel ducal family.
They were all letters in which Cedric’s gentle tone naturally came through. When Cedric asked in his letter whether he could visit her while she was sick, her father pressed her to reply immediately that he could. Enduring her father’s pressure over the past week had been overwhelmingly difficult for Ines.
It would probably get worse and worse.
As the spring of the following year, when she was supposed to become engaged to Cedric, approached.
“If possible, I want to end everything today.”
Thinking that, Ines unconsciously cast her gaze toward the shop window where she was standing.
A faint smile leaked out at the sight of her unfashionable appearance reflected in the glass. Passersby also seemed unable to imagine that she was Lady Greenwood. Ines was reasonably satisfied with her appearance, which lacked any charm, when she realized the ribbon at her chest had come undone.
As she skillfully tied the ribbon, she paused her hands for a moment and fell into thought.
Should she tie the ribbon haphazardly to look a bit more disheveled?
Because of her father, who always emphasized a flawless appearance, neatly arranging her attire had become a habit.
As her father said, a tidy and clean appearance evokes favor from others. Then, what she needed most right now was a messy, unkept appearance.
“Surely… no one would want to marry a woman who can’t even tie a single ribbon properly.”
Even though she thought it was a somewhat complacent and foolish idea, Ines was desperate enough that she couldn’t ignore it and seriously considered it.
In her previous life, she and Cedric had been quite a loving couple. That meant that if she showed the complete opposite of her past self, she might be able to earn Cedric’s disfavor.
After retying the ribbon several times, she finally tied it carelessly and looked up.
It was still far away, but Ines recognized him at a glance.
He didn’t wave or anything. He just looked at her with a slight smile on his face.
It was an expression all too familiar to her. The gentle face of the husband who always looked at her.
Ines hurriedly turned her body. She was considerably flustered by Cedric suddenly entering her vision without time to think. Facing the wall, she quickly muttered.
“Don’t be mistaken. Don’t be mistaken.”
That person is not your husband.
That person is not even your fiancé.
He is just someone you must pass by.
Never desire him.
Never.
“Lady Ines?”
Meanwhile, Cedric’s eyebrow raised at Ines’s reaction of suddenly turning to face the wall after their eyes seemed to meet. He stared at her back for a moment, wondering what emotion he was feeling right now. It was an unfamiliar emotion that had no connection to him.
It wasn’t unpleasant. Just……
“Feeling hurt?”
Letting out a hollow laugh, Cedric cursed himself.
“You crazy bastard.”
To feel hurt just because she avoided his gaze once. Afraid that Ines would notice his petty feelings, Cedric skillfully hid his expression and quickly crossed the street.
“What’s wrong? Could it be that your leg still hurts?”
With a worried face, Cedric placed his hand on her shoulder. Startled by the sudden contact, Ines dropped her handbag on the ground.
“Oh no, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s, it’s alright.”
Before Ines could react, Cedric quickly bent down to pick up the bag; his expression had slightly hardened. The emotion he thought he had just suppressed was rising up his throat again.
Ines’s reaction of being so startled by even light skinship felt exactly like she was pushing him away. The hurt he had felt from her merely avoiding his gaze became more concrete and bloomed in his heart.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you. Duke Angel.”
Again, she didn’t meet his eyes. At Ines’s reaction, Cedric felt a suffocating frustration, as if his throat were being choked.
He wanted to ask right now why she was acting like this.
Why she turned her head the moment their eyes met.
Why she was so startled by light skinship.
Why she wouldn’t meet his gaze.
But Cedric’s pride would not allow him to question a woman he liked like that.
“No, it can’t be.”
It was just overthinking. Thinking that, Cedric barely composed himself.
She was Ines, who had openly liked him for so long that no one in high society was unaware of it.
To suddenly hate even meeting his eyes—there was no reason for her to suddenly hate him that much.
Instead of such absurd, stupid thoughts, Cedric found a more plausible reason for Ines’s awkward behavior.
“Maybe I grabbed her shoulder too hard.”
Cedric recalled the thin, fragile shoulder blade of Ines that had been under his hand.
As his thoughts went there, he immediately felt embarrassed. He didn’t know if all women were like that or if Ines simply had particularly delicate bones.
“…I should have touched a woman’s shoulder before.”
He didn’t think he had used much strength, but he belatedly regretted his careless action, wondering if she had felt pain.
Holding the bag tightly, Cedric cautiously asked Ines, who had tensed and hunched her shoulders.
“Did I perhaps grab your shoulder too hard?”
Surprised by the sudden question, Ines widened her eyes and looked up at him. Thanks to that, their eyes finally met.
“Huh? No. It’s, it’s fine.”
“I’m not used to treating women. I was worried I might not have controlled my strength properly.”
Only after meeting Ines’s eyes could Cedric feel relieved. He smiled, softly narrowing his eyes.
“That’s a relief.”
The body doesn’t lie. The tips of Ines’s ears, which had been avoiding his gaze, were dyed red. She was still tense, but her complexion was definitely better than during the last sick visit. Only then did Cedric, regaining his composure, take in her appearance.
The sight of Ines wearing a yellow dress and holding a small handbag was inevitably new to him. Unlike the glamorous appearance she had at the ball, her natural outing attire simply felt cute.
In fact, Cedric had recognized her at a glance from far away. It was because she was wearing a yellow dress that was far from the current fashion.
If he said he couldn’t take his eyes off her while she was adjusting her clothes, she would surely be flustered.
The only images Cedric had of Ines were of her freezing up at balls, hiding in corners, or awkwardly avoiding his gaze whenever their eyes threatened to meet. So a natural and ordinary Ines simply felt new. Cedric couldn’t hide his strangely excited mood.
They say a light compliment about clothes eases the tension of a date. It wasn’t just because he suddenly remembered the nagging the head maid had given right before going out. Feeling he absolutely had to say it, Cedric called Ines’s name.
“Lady Ines.”
“Yes, yes?”
“The yellow dress suits you very well.”
“Huh?”
At those words, Ines’s eyes shook wildly as if shocked.
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