Chapter 17
“Take care on your way.”
Leaving behind the shop owner who had come all the way to the door to say goodbye, Cedric and Ines left the shop.
At Cedric’s gentlemanly manners as he held the door, Ines felt a strange ache in her chest.
It was because memories of her past life, which she tried so hard to forget, came back to her along with his habit of holding the door for her wherever they went.
No. That’s not right.
Ines shook her head slightly.
The more this happened, the more she had to pull herself together, instead of falling into sentimentality.
‘He called this our first date.’
A first date.
She must not allow a stain like herself to smudge this noble schedule.
Walking down the stairs beside Ines, Cedric spoke in a soft voice.
“Thank you for choosing such a wonderful gift, Miss Ines.”
A warm energy overflowed in his blue eyes.
To anyone watching, he looked perfectly like a man in love.
“No. I am the one who is grateful for the wonderful gift, Duke of Angel. I will use it well.”
Ines spoke in a rapid tone.
Her words were so fast that she had finished speaking before they had even reached the bottom of the stairs.
Whenever they talked, the conversation would somehow flow according to his intentions.
Because of Cedric, who led the conversation however he pleased no matter what she said, things were not going as Ines had planned.
Since she had no way to win an argument against him, her best option was to give conventional answers.
Ines’s words were effective.
At her reply, a flicker of disappointment passed through Cedric’s eyes for a moment.
The part that made him feel particularly disappointed was the way she addressed him.
Duke of Angel.
Since inheriting the title at the age of seventeen, he had likely been called by that title more often than by his own name.
Yet, why did that title coming from Ines’s mouth feel so regrettable?
‘It would be nice if she called me by my name.’
Cedric gave a hollow laugh at his own thought.
Was this not merely their first date?
Even though he knew Ines—who had been so firm about calling off the engagement only a week ago—would not suddenly call him by his name intimately, a vain greed had preceded his reason.
‘…Time will solve it.’
Cedric stroked the back of his neck.
People in the world talked grandly about Ines Greenwood’s unrequited love, but in reality, that was incorrect.
If the feeling Ines had for him was an unrequited love, then what he felt for Ines should also be called by the same name.
It had started so long ago that it was hard to gauge exactly when he began to harbor such feelings for her.
By the time he realized it, it had already taken deep root.
It was his first date with a person he had cared about for such a long time.
Spending time together was much, much better than he had expected, far more than when he used to steal glimpses of Ines standing alone at the edge of ballrooms.
From the moment the engagement with Ines was decided, he had waited for this day quite sincerely.
However, seeing Ines’s reaction, it seemed he had moved too far ahead.
‘It’s only the first date, after all.’
Thinking that there was an infinite amount of time left and that he shouldn’t be too impatient, Cedric still couldn’t take his eyes off her.
He felt like a foolish young child excited by his first love.
The two, between whom conversation had vanished, walked slowly down the stairs.
Unlike Cedric, who could not take his eyes off Ines, she walked looking only straight ahead.
With every step, the rounded green tips of her shoes appeared and then vanished beneath the hem of her dark yellow dress.
It was an outfit far from the current fashion, one that anyone could see did not suit her.
The clothes her maids had tried to talk her out of all morning could not possibly look good on her.
How could she hate a man who told her that even this unsightly appearance was beautiful?
“If, during our date, Miss Ines finds a flaw in me so great that you cannot accept the engagement, I will give up cleanly.”
The confident voice of Cedric came to mind.
He was right.
The more time she spent with Cedric, the worse it was for Ines.
When they reached the last step, Ines pulled her hand from Cedric’s arm as if she had been waiting for that moment.
“Um, I really had a wonderful time.”
Her rushing voice trembled slightly.
“Miss Ines?”
She said it was a wonderful time.
Cedric stared at her blankly, not understanding the implication of her words.
Ines avoided his gaze while clutching her skirt.
“I think I should probably head home now.”
At those words, Cedric’s gaze turned toward the clock tower.
Barely an hour had passed since they had met.
“Are your legs hurting, perhaps? If that is the case, I have actually planned the next location as a place where you can rest comfortably.”
“No! My legs don’t hurt. I’m really fine. But you said we should stop by a shop that sells teacups and tea sets, right? Now that the business is done, I want to go home.”
Cedric did not answer.
Instead, he recalled the plan he had made for today, having agonized over what she might like.
First, they would stop at a place famous for delicious tea and cake to spend some time talking, and finally, to celebrate her full recovery from her injury, he intended to stop by a flower shop to gift her a bouquet.
He knew nothing much about Ines other than that she liked tea.
Cedric wanted to know much more about her.
When Cedric didn’t respond, Ines, becoming anxious, spoke again.
“I… I am truly grateful for the gift today. I will cherish it as a wonderful memory.”
Because she felt she knew why he wasn’t answering and what he was thinking, Ines pushed her point like a stubborn child.
Even just choosing a teacup together made her feel this happy; if she spent more time with Cedric, her heart might soften and spread thin.
The petty greed of wanting to stay by his side even a little longer, even if her life was terminal, might raise its head again.
That must not happen.
Ines struggled to remain cold toward Cedric.
Cedric, who remained silent for a while even after she finished speaking, only opened his mouth after some time had passed.
“Did I perhaps make a mistake?”
“Pardon?”
“I am sorry. This is my first time on an outing like this, so I prepared in my own way, but there may have been some deficiencies. If you tell me what was uncomfortable, I will be able to do better next time.”
“O-Oh, no, it’s not that…”
Ines’s lips wavered.
My goodness.
She never imagined Cedric would react this way.
She thought he would confidently try to persuade her, or become offended, or give a cold response because his pride was hurt.
Flustered by Cedric’s reaction, which did not match any of her expectations, Ines stammered.
Cedric leaned his face in toward Ines, who was avoiding his eyes, and finally met her gaze.
His blue eyes were full of worry.
“You said your legs don’t hurt, but perhaps walking more than usual was a burden. I was thoughtless. Shall we go to the opera next time? The House of Angel has a terrace on the top floor. I will prepare it so that we can watch comfortably away from other people.”
“O-Oh, no! It’s really not like that. I told you my legs are fine.”
“Then was there something in my behavior that you didn’t like?”
“It’s not that either…”
Since Cedric had been worried after leaving the teacup shop that he might have acted too hastily in his excitement, he couldn’t help but be nervous at her every gesture and word.
Only after hearing Ines’s answer did he show a smile of relief.
It seemed he hadn’t lost points due to his behavior, at least.
“Fortunately, it seems you haven’t found a major flaw worthy of breaking the engagement yet. Then, could you give me a little more of your time?”
“That is, I mean…”
“There is a place I definitely want to go with Miss Ines today. I am asking you.”
“But…”
“It is not a crowded place. You do not need to worry.”
In Cedric’s confident words, Ines could feel how much he had considered situations she might find uncomfortable, and a corner of her heart began to ache.
How could she refuse such a request?
It was too difficult a task for Ines, who lacked eloquence in the first place.
Ines eventually had no choice but to nod her head with a troubled face.
Thus, the two walked along the path.
On a fresh afternoon, the somewhat chilly but crisp winter air brushed past the tip of her nose.
The surroundings were full of pleasant vitality from energetic merchants and passersby.
However, the expressions of Ines and Cedric remained serious, unlike the surrounding atmosphere.
When they think they’ve grown closer, they run far away.
When they think they’ve grown distant, they are suddenly chasing fiercely right behind.
This terrible contradiction, like a game of tag, made both of their heads ache.
‘Just why.’
The two asked the same question in their hearts.
Just why.
Why aren’t they responding the way I thought they would?
The directions were opposite, but the question they wanted to ask was ultimately the same.
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