TLSD 30

Chapter 30

“Do I need a reason?”

“……Well. Not necessarily, I suppose.”

Elio shrugged, nodding as if tonight’s dinner was no big deal. Straightening her back as though nothing were amiss, she drank down a full glass of water before finally opening her hesitant lips.

“Um, you see…”

“Go on.”

After managing to utter just a single word, she took another sip of water.

“The day I first met you… when my father hit me.”

Carlos raised his head.

“Did you… mention that to Sir Gritta? That I was being beaten?”

“No. Why would I talk about that?”

Carlos raised one eyebrow, looking as if she had said something utterly absurd.

Seeing him look so unfazed and confident, Elio blinked her eyes twice, then 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 on earth did Sir Gritta become so certain that I grew up being beaten?

Muttering darkly to herself, Elio swallowed hard, refusing to delve into the painful story of her beatings.

“I’m not cold. I’m hot.”

Silently watching her, the man poured her a cup of warm tea.

Elio cast a sideways glance at the man—whose neat features were thrown into even sharper relief now that his bangs were swept entirely back—and stabbed a piece of semi-cooked beef steak.

…Why on earth is he wearing a military uniform anyway?

The stiffly ironed black collar of his shirt and the muslin fabric stretched taut across his broad chest suited him exceptionally well.

“Why aren’t you eating the carrots? Don’t just eat your favorites.”

“…I don’t particularly like them anyway.”

“The whole meal was prepared with things you like, you know. Eat the salad and the fish, too. You have to eat things you dislike to stay healthy.”

Elio stared with wide eyes at the table, laden with sweet pumpkin soup, beef, mushroom risotto, green grapes, and even peaches—all her favorite things.

“…You know my tastes?”

“Soft things. …Which must be why you glare at me every time you see me, while looking at soft peaches so lovingly.”

Elio bit the inside of her cheek, momentarily tempted to let out a hollow laugh.

“You need to eat a balanced diet to grow up properly. Your heart needs to be strong to properly manage your mana, and carrots and blue-backed fish are—”

“Am I a child? Stop telling me to grow up. When you talk like that, Sir Gritta keeps treating me like a kid, too.”

Elio said firmly, her face flushing.

Carlos reached for the salad bowl, then stopped and raised his gaze, silently watching her flush bright red like a strawberry.

“Gritta is five years older than you. Naturally, she’s going to treat you like a child.”

“I am a lady. Sir Gritta and I are equal noblewomen.”

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

Carlos casually undid the tight knot of his sleeve and rolled the thick cuffs up past his forearms.

“I’ll find you a tutor, so stop reading those books. Or I’ll get you the Dowager Duchess’s etiquette manual—”

“…You, you don’t need to get me one. I know everything I need to know. I’m really fine.”

“What could you possibly know from reading garbage like that?”

“……If I don’t know something well, my husband will guide me, won’t he? …I’ll trust my husband.”

“…….”

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

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

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

Elio gazed quietly at the finely sliced pieces of steak, then slowly picked up her fork again. Truth be told, she actually had room for more.

The nausea in her stomach seemed to give way to a sudden, ravenous wave of hunger. Just a moment ago, she hadn’t even wanted a single bite of meat.

“…It really is delicious, though. The chef at the ducal estate must be quite talented.”

He gave a short nod. In the quiet dining room, even the small sound of her chewing felt amplified. As Elio curled her toes in awkward tension, the sound of linen curtains brushing against the frame caught her ear.

“…I need to hang the curtains back up. I just pinned them with thumb tacks.”

“I’ll put them up for you.”

Elio nodded.

“…….”

“…….”

Elio felt uncomfortable with the constant pauses in their conversation, but having no idea what else to say, she chewed the small piece of steak a bit longer than necessary.

Awkward words seemed to pass back and forth over trivial matters. This isn’t the time for small talk. Rehearsing the speech she had prepared in her mind, she let out a sigh.

……I already asked this afternoon if he really didn’t care about the imperial throne… and I already asked if he used me to avoid a marriage with the princess….

The man had simply replied that it was true and that she wouldn’t lose anything by it, remaining so utterly detached that it was impossible to read his inner thoughts. Does he feel no emotion at all except when he’s angry? Feeling a wave of frustration, she bit her lip.

“Another piece of steak—”

“Look, I understand you.”

As their words overlapped, Carlos raised his head.

“Y-You go ahead.”

“No. Eat more. Speak.”

“I just meant… I understand you.”

Elio gripped her hands tightly together. While cleaning the house and waiting for Carlos, she had mentally organized and rehearsed what she wanted to say over and over again, and now she poured it out rapidly, without pause.

“I wasn’t angry because I didn’t understand. If we correct the rumor that I seduced and forced myself onto you first, it would look like you broke off the engagement with the princess of your own accord. So I understand why you can’t just correct it right away.”

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

“You’d be dragged away for defying an imperial decree. You said yourself that you’re on bad terms with both the Empress Dowager and the clerical faction. Well, no matter how much we correct it, like you said, I’d just end up being dragged into the parliamentary political struggles and torn to pieces.”

Pausing for a breath, Elio swallowed hard and forced strength into her voice. Though she forced her mind to remain calm, she couldn’t hide her burning face.

“The rumor that I was so greedy for your wealth, power, and everything else that I slipped you forbidden moonshine and ruined your marriage to the princess.”

“…….”

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

Elio clenched her fists until the backs of her hands turned white.

Let’s not just get pushed around by this shameless man. If it’s something I can’t avoid, I’ll face it with dignity, she told herself, steadying her resolve.

“I won’t expect you to actively clear my name or defend me. Instead, for the remainder of this period, you need to pretend you like me, too. Don’t we need to keep things balanced so it looks like a young viscount deeply and hopelessly in love with a garbage noblewoman?”

Elio managed to pull the corners of her lips upward, speaking to the man whose expression remained as calm as if he were listening to someone else’s story.

“Even if I’m a shameless, trashy noblewoman who lusted after a man about to marry the imperial princess… at least make it look like you fell for me, too.”

“…….”

Squeak, squeak. The grasshoppers chirped. How long have they been crying, and why are they being so loud? While she waited for his answer, Elio’s fingers twitched outside of her control.

“You want me to pretend I’ve fallen for you?”

Repeating her words, Carlos never once tore his gaze away from her flushed face. Elio felt her face grow even hotter at how absurd her own demand sounded. Striking back out of self-consciousness, she retorted defensively:

“Yes. After two months, let’s just say we got sick of each other and broke up. A mistake born of a sudden attraction to a fallen noblewoman, but we grew tired of each other once we started living together. As long as you correct the rumor that I took advantage of you while you were out of it from moonshine, I don’t care what excuse you give about why you got sick of me.”

“…….”

Rather than acting baffled by her demand or cursing at her, he remained entirely silent. Elio sometimes found it impossible to figure out when this fiercely intimidating man would actually get angry or show emotion.

“All I’m saying is that for the duration of the engagement, you should respect and cherish me in front of other people. …Acting like you’re in love with me might be endlessly bothersome to you, though.”

Elio hid her slightly trembling hands beneath the tablecloth once more.

“A young child who couldn’t even protect herself and grew up beaten… If one didn’t feel pity for someone like that… they wouldn’t dare call themselves a knight.”

As Gritta’s neat, polite smile flashed vividly through her mind, Elio forced her stiffening lips back up into a smile.

“So that I don’t look like a greedy woman who received nothing but pity and contempt from you after acting out of sheer greed. Please cooperate so it looks like a normal romance. I think that’s the bare minimum you owe me.”

As she spoke every word clearly with a slightly trembling voice, the man watched her quietly before reaching an arm out toward her face.

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

Using a finger wrapped in a handkerchief, he gently brushed past the corner of her mouth and rubbed against her lips. Holding her breath, Elio winced at the strange sensation of her lips being softly mashed.

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

Just a tiny bit.

She jerked her head away and rubbed at her hot lips fiercely.

There was no need to wipe it, why are his hands always so quick to move? How much experience does he even have with women? Did he turn the affectionate habits he used with past lovers into a second nature?

“…Don’t go touching my face so casually. I hate that habit of yours.”

In the quiet, humid night filled only with the sound of summer insects, he silently withdrew his hand and went back to slicing his steak.

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

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

“Yes.”

With a face that didn’t change a single expression, he looked like a statue cast out of iron and blood. The fact that he answered without a moment’s hesitation left her dumbfounded.

“Are you agreeing to what I just said? Seriously?”

“Mhm.”

“Love. …Didn’t you say it was bothersome?”

“I’ll give it a try.”

As if he were merely agreeing to something completely trivial, Carlos answered casually—as though he were already pretending to be in love right now.

Letting out a hot breath, Elio narrowed her eyes. The man’s completely unexpected reaction—treating her long, impassioned speech as if it were nothing—drained the wind right out of her sails, leaving her feeling hollow and subdued.

“Is pretending to be in love, pretending to cherish someone, really that easy?”

“What’s so difficult about it? Just treat it like raising a three-year-old child.”

Elio let out a dry laugh at his dry response. Heat rushing straight to the top of her head, she glared fiercely at him.

He twitched an eyebrow, looking genuinely puzzled as to why she was reacting that way.