Chapter 18
Walking the path in silence, Cedric recalled the situation from a moment ago with a complicated heart.
‘I certainly thought she would be happy.’
Ines’s reaction—pouring out words like a waterfall about wanting to go home as soon as they left the teacup shop—was definitely outside his expectations.
He was finally able to respond to Ines’s feelings toward him. Now that he had a proper pretext called an engagement. A pretext to be honest and say that he was the same as her, that he had kept her in his heart for a long time, without being restricted by her family or environment.
Looking forward to the first date, he had even lost sleep at night as if he had become a young boy again. Unlike himself, Ines’s reaction of only trying to move away caused a gentle ripple in Cedric’s heart.
Could it be that he was far too late? Was that why Ines’s heart had cooled down?
Cedric stole a side glance at Ines.
‘My fiancée.’
Then, the storm in his anxious heart gradually subsided.
Yes. Ines Greenwood was his fiancée. The woman who would one day become the Duchess of Angel.
Even if it were far too late, it was fine. Even if her heart had cooled a little, it was fine.
Because he would make her heart turn back again. Cedric sincerely thought so.
He intended to do his best even more because he was late.
As time passes and passes like this, the day will eventually come when he calls her by her name intimately instead of ‘Miss Ines,’ and she calls him by his name instead of the stiff title of ‘Duke of Angel.’
‘Right now, it’s just that some time is needed.’
Thinking that way, Cedric refreshed his mood.
“Miss Ines.”
“Yes, Duke of Angel.”
Without a word, he pretended not to notice as he took her hand and tucked it into his arm. Then, he held her hand close and firm so it wouldn’t slip out.
“The road conditions are not good for walking in heels. I was worried you might fall.”
Making a clumsy excuse, Cedric feigned innocence.
A familiar kindness.
At this kindness that should not have been familiar, Ines bit her lip hard like someone holding back tears.
* * *
The place Cedric brought Ines to was a nearby tearoom.
Ines knew several famous cafes. She had never been to them before marriage, but afterward, she had occasionally visited them with Cedric to drink tea.
That was precisely the reason she had tried to end the meeting with Cedric early. Visiting a famous place would draw the attention of others.
She did not want to show herself officially roaming around with Cedric among people. It was to prevent Cedric from getting caught up in unnecessary gossip after the engagement was broken in the future.
However, the tearoom Cedric brought her to was a place Ines saw for the first time. There was no one in the small shop.
“They say they only take one reservation a day. I looked into this place because I thought Miss Ines would find crowded places uncomfortable. Do you like it?”
At Cedric’s gentle question, Ines nodded. If it were a place like this, one cup of tea seemed fine.
“Wow…”
Now that the part she had worried about was resolved, her heart felt much lighter. Only then did Ines look around the interior of the tearoom with a comfortable mind.
The small tearoom was decorated entirely with stained glass, across all four windows and even the ceiling. Outside was a noisy downtown, but inside the tearoom, it was quiet and peaceful.
“I knew you would like it.”
At Ines’s softly blooming smile, Cedric felt a sense of pride.
It was fortunate that it was a sunny day.
Warm green light that came through the colored glass of the stained glass on the walls and ceiling billowed inside.
“They said it’s a place where you can feel spring even though it’s winter.”
However, no answer returned. She seemed too preoccupied with looking around to even hear his words.
The southern city district is not a place that nobles usually visit. For that reason, he had a bit of trouble thinking of a date course. Cedric felt sincere gratitude toward those who told him about this place.
After sitting and waiting for a short while, a server of advanced age in neat attire came out and showed them the menu.
“Miss Ines, could you choose the tea for me instead?”
Cedric handed the menu straight to Ines.
“Miss Ines, who even did a background check on me, probably knows a lot about me, but I don’t.”
Smiling slightly with playful eyes, Cedric continued speaking.
“I want to know more about Miss Ines in detail. So, I ask you to order.”
At Cedric’s words, Ines had no choice but to receive the menu. Since she had said what she did at the teacup shop, it was difficult to refuse now, and choosing tea instead was not a very difficult request.
“Hmm…”
After thinking for a moment, Ines decided on the menu.
“Then I will order lemon tea and milk tea.”
“Lemon tea? Not black tea?”
Cedric, who was looking at Ines as she read the menu with her chin resting on her hand, asked with a slight surprise. Recently, black tea was the fashion in Eltra society. Since he was inwardly expecting Ines to choose black tea, this decision felt very interesting.
“Yes. You do like black tea, but don’t you usually enjoy lemon tea in the winter?”
Ines, who did not feel anything strange about his question, answered casually.
“I do?”
Cedric asked back with a slight smile.
“I don’t think I’ve ever drunk lemon tea outside.”
The head maid of the House of Angel was a woman with a firm belief that lemon tea was the cure for colds, and because of that, Cedric had also enjoyed drinking lemon tea from his childhood until now. However, only at the Ducal residence. It was fascinating that Ines suggested lemon tea when there was no way she could know this habit of his.
When coincidences repeat, it is called fate.
“Is this also a story you heard somewhere?”
Recalling the sense of déjà vu he felt at the shop, Cedric’s eyes took on a peculiar light as he looked at Ines.
The more trivial the information, the harder it is to leak out. Because it takes a lot of effort while the reward for it is too small, making it not cost-effective.
It was a matter that could be passed over casually, but was Ines not the woman who always watched him alone from a corner of the ballroom without a single close person in society?
It wasn’t that she did a background check like the words he said as a joke, so how on earth did she know these trivial pieces of information about him and his family?
Curiosity and enjoyment preceded unpleasantness. He became even more curious about what the secret she was hiding was. So much so that he definitely wanted to find out.
At that reaction from Cedric, Ines realized her mistake and quickly changed her words.
“O-Oh, no. I didn’t mean that the Duke of Angel enjoys it, but that many people, many people are like that. I am like that, too.”
Rolling her eyes here and there, she added words as calmly as possible.
“Besides, it’s winter, so your throat must be very dry, so lemon tea would be good.”
At Ines’s words, the server nodded.
“Understood, milady. Is there nothing else to order?”
“What kinds of desserts are there?”
“There are types of cakes and scones.”
“Is there lemon pound cake too?”
“Yes. It is prepared.”
“Then I’ll go with that.”
“Yes. I will have it ready for you shortly.”
After taking the order, the server left a polite greeting and disappeared. Cedric was still looking at Ines with interesting eyes.
“Did you perhaps really know?”
“Pardon? What?”
“That I often drink lemon tea in the winter.”
“No! No. I really didn’t know at all, at all.”
Ines opened her eyes wide and denied it adamantly.
“More people than you think like lemon tea. How could I know that the Duke of Angel usually drinks lemon tea often?”
“Hmm. I see.”
Smiling slightly, Cedric nodded his head.
“I just said it just in case. Please forget it.”
However, unlike his words, he did not look like he believed her excuse at all. Rather, the way he wore a playful smile as if he were enjoying himself felt quite annoying.
“I’m telling the truth.”
“Yes, I know.”
“It’s the truth.”
“I said I know. Still, my personal wish is that it’s fine to do a background check, so I hope you take more interest in me.”
“That is…”
“I feel better than I thought. The fact that the other person knows me well. So, until the next date, I will also work hard on a background check on Miss Ines.”
At a statement that was unlike the always-discerning Cedric, a laugh eventually leaked out of Ines.
“Ah, I’m sorry. A background check… it’s a word that doesn’t suit the Duke at all.”
At Ines’s words, Cedric raised his eyebrows slightly and asked.
“Is that so? A word that doesn’t suit me well.”
At the question asked with a slight smile, Ines nodded.
The Duke of Angel doing a background check. The Cedric Ines knows is an upright and moral person. Shady things like background checks do not suit him at all. Thinking once again that it was a nonsensical story, a smile lingered on Ines’s lips.
“Miss Ines thinks of me as a good person.”
The gaze of Cedric, who was looking at Ines with his chin resting on his hand, was meaningful.
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