- Declaration of separation
Chapter 1
It was a perfect afternoon.
Tea time with a gentle breeze that is neither cold nor hot, a silver tray piled with sweet desserts, and the highest quality black tea.
Moreover, sitting in front of her was her lover, the Duke of Edmund Serwell, a beautiful and perfect man as if he was drawn by the creator himself.
A man so wonderful that I feel embarrassed even to call him my lover.
Edmund had a look that made you glance sideways even while drinking tea.
He was sitting leisurely on the backrest with one leg crossed. He was extremely comfortable yet overflowing with dignity, and had the appearance of a great nobleman.
His face, which portrait artists were eager to draw, was a masterpiece created with perfect proportions given by God.
Dark eyelids reminiscent of a calm blue lake and sparkling
platinum blonde hair. Even his somewhat languid and indifferent expression was just one piece that completed his appearance.
Diana was having tea in the tea room of the Duke of Serwell, a noble family of great renown, by whom everyone in society wanted to be invited, along with that meticulously carved man.
A sweet tea time with a lover who has promised to marry you.
As usual, all Diana had to do was sit comfortably in the carriage he sent. The dress, hat, and shoes to wear today were all sent under his direction.
Whenever Diana went to Duke Serwell’s residence, her cousin Agnes made a fuss and applauded.
“Oh my god! No one is invited to the Duke’s residence. He sees you as his future wife.”
But in reality, she only had a heavy heart.
‘I have something to say.’
It was something that had been put off for several days already. Since I was the other person, I couldn’t say anything hastily. If not today, when can I say it again?
“Doesn’t the tea suit your taste?”
“Oh, no.”
Stuttering like a fool. Diana bit her lip.
“I feel like you barely drank anything.”
The Duke’s cool blue eyes looked down at the teacup in Diana’s hand.
“No. it is delicious. The scent and the taste is on the tip of my tongue… … .”
Diana answered in gibberish and quickly took a sip of tea. The taste of the specially blended tea that could only be consumed at the duchy’s residence lingered on the tip of her tongue.
“Or maybe you just didn’t like cake or snacks… … .”
“It can’t be. It is so pretty that it is a shame to eat it.”
Diana picked up a fork and cut a piece of strawberry cake the size of her palm and brought it to her mouth.
Tuk.
Perhaps because I was too hasty, the cake topped with pretty pink cream and strawberries ended up falling all over the dress.
The cake that suddenly fell on the chick-like yellow dress was absolutely hideous.
While Diana was embarrassed, Edmund carefully wiped Diana’s dress with a handkerchief. The neatly folded handkerchief was instantly covered with strawberries and cream.
“I’m sorry, please excuse me….”
Diana muttered, her face turning red.
“What do you mean?”
He narrowed his eyes and smiled.
“Handkerchief… Because of me it got dirty.”
Edmund laughed as if he found that answer amusing.
“Then how about making me one?”
“Oh, that’s… … .”
Instead of willingly offering to make it, she bit her lip.
“I thought it was boring to recieve a handkerchief from a lover, but if it was made by Miss Diana, I would be happy to carry it.”
“… … .”
Diana hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Okay… … I guess. But promise me.”
“What?”
“That you will not send any other gifts in return.”
“What do you mean?”
“You always buy me things that are several times, or even dozens, times more expensive than what I gave you. I hope you don’t do that. Like the last time when I lost my handkerchief… … .”
Diana lost her handkerchief, which she had always carried with her since she was young, while boating with him. On his way back that day, Edmund stopped at a general store and bought a very pretty embroidered handkerchief.
What he bought that day wasn’t just a handkerchief. All the expensive and pretty items in the store, such as a crystal music
box decorated with a golden lark that made a beautiful sound when turned, a parasol with roses embroidered with gold thread, and pretty colored porcelain dolls, were all packaged according to his instructions.
And before she could stop him, the gifts, which had already been paid for, were sent straight to the mansion of Diana’s aunt, Viscountess Pamina.
“That’s because you lost it because of me.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Duke. It was my fault. You didn’t even have to buy me a present… My aunt and Agnes also didn’t know what to do because they received too many presents.”
“Are you burdened by the things I gave you?”
“Well, I… … .”
Diana bit her lip several times, at a loss for words.
“I’ll tell them to prepare for another dress. Maybe we can prepare it before Miss Diana returns to the mansion.”
“You don’t have to do that, Duke.”
Diana quickly shook her head.
“If a lady goes out and comes home with different clothes, then others… specially my aunt will be shocked.”
“Because it’s bad for your reputation?”
Edmund completed the remaining words himself. The words were so sharp that Diana’s face turned red.
“By the way, didn’t Viscountess Pamina go on a vacation to the island?”
“Yeah, that’s true, but… … .”
Diana was a little surprised that Edmund knew that fact. When had she ever told him that her aunt was going on a trip to the island? Diana took a moment to delve into her memories.
“Miss Diana told me this before.”
“Ah yes.”
As if he had read her thoughts, he answered first.
“Anyway… let’s leave the dress like this.”
“All right.”
He nodded obediently. Diana let out a small gasp as she dropped her tensed body, fanning herself with her hands. I suddenly felt like the temperature around me had risen significantly.
“Is it hot?”
“Oh, no… … .”
Diana clenched and unclenched her hands, not knowing what to do.
It was nothing short of tacky. Unlike Edmund, who is sophisticated and urbane, she is just a down-home woman who came to the capital from a countryside.
Although every moment I spent with him felt like a dream, it was true that it felt uncomfortable, like wearing clothes that didn’t fit my body.
“Did Viscountess Pamina go with Miss Agnes?”
“Yes, she likes going on a cruise.”
Viscountess Pamina suddenly went on a vacation and a long trip with her daughter Agnes a few days ago.
“I’m going to take the ‘Pearl of the Ocean’ to the island. It’s a cruise ship owned by Count Colan. The Empire also recognizes the shipping industry of Count Colan. It is an amazing cruise ship that is called a paradise on the sea. It’s a difficult ticket to get, but luckily I got it. Plus, it’s a special seat!”
Viscountess Pamina looked excited the entire time she was preparing for the trip. Luxury cruises were an object of envy even amongst nobles.
Even if you had money, it wasn’t easy to get a ticket. Competition for special seats on luxury cruise ships was so fierce that it was said that all seats were fully booked for several years. Viscountess Pamina’s shoulders soared to the sky after receiving such an honor.
Originally, Diana was also scheduled to join the trip, but the Viscountess went on a trip leaving her behind, wondering how she could leave the capital without the duke. She didn’t forget to tell her to enjoy her dates to her heart’s content while she was away.
However, despite that consideration, Diana has been quite idle recently. Even before Viscountess left, the number of times she saw him could be counted on one hand.
Even though her aunt could not have been unaware of it, the fact that she left the words telling her to enjoy her date to the fullest was just a hint to hold on to him so that he wouldn’t look away.
But the Viscountess did not know, that her niece didn’t had that kind of talent.
“How long until Viscountess Pamina returns?”
“My aunt probably won’t be back until another week.”
“You’ll be all alone in the mansion, aren’t you scared?”
“I am really fine. There were many times when I was alone in the countryside.”
“She must have been very sad to leave her niece all alone.”
“No. It’s because she is considerate of me.”
Diana added quickly, fearing that he might misunderstand her aunt. If she was going to discriminate based on things like her vacation, she wouldn’t have brought her to the capital in the first place, dressed her up, taught her, and searched for her, a nice husband.
Edmund’s eyes narrowed as he saw Diana waving her hands and embracing her aunt’s memories.
“You know what?”
“What, what?”
“It was the first time you voluntarily asked to meet me.”
“… … .”
Diana looked at his face blankly, at a loss for words. Because Edmund’s words reminded her of what she had to say to him today.
“It was nice to be asked out on a date.”
As he said, this meeting was at her request.
I don’t know how long it’s been since I sat face to face with him like this. Edmund seemed quite busy these days, so Diana didn’t even have time to meet him.
So, for the first time since I met him, I gathered courage and asked to meet him. I had something to say, and I felt like I would end up missing the time if I kept putting it off.
As soon as Edmund received the call, he invited her to the Duke’s residence and they had tea together.
“… Thank you for your time.”
“Thanks? I don’t think it’s something that should be said between lovers.”
He said while tilting his head.
“You seem busy these days, so I was wondering if I could take up your time.”
He let out a small laugh at those words.
“Is it okay to listen to a lover’s complaints?”
“That… … .”
Diana blushed and lowered her head. She couldn’t help feeling embarrassed at the thought of how she must have sounded. How childish it must have sounded.
“It seems like Miss Diana has forgotten about me.”
“… Yes?”
Diana’s eyes grew wide in surprise.
“You’ve never contacted me before. I told you to contact me anytime through Osborne.”
Osborne was his loyal butler.
“I heard from Osborne that there was no communication from you until this time.”
“That’s … .”
Because he looked busy. Because she didn’t want to bother him…
Edmund was the head of the Serwell duchy and ran several businesses in his family. It seemed like just spending his inherited wealth would be enough, but he was unexpectedly making money through various businesses.
His business acumen was so good that it was even predicted that the assets of the Duke of Serwell would surpass those of the royal family.
As such, he was a great person, and also her lover.
So it was natural that he was busy, and she thought that he
didn’t have time to meet her and chat with her, but she was preparing herself mentally.
Now, the time has come to end it.
“Actually, I just bought a castle.”
“Castle…?”
“They say it’s been about a hundred years since it was built. I plan to use it as a vacation home.”
It was something that ordinary people would never have thought of. Buying a castle itself was amazing, but renovating and repairing the castle to make it livable also costs a lot of money.
“It’s almost finished.”
“Really… … I think it would be awesome.”
Obviously, if he had chosen it, it would have been a large and beautiful castle.
“The spires and stone walls are a beautiful combination, just like a painting. Since it’s deep in the forest, there aren’t many people there, so it would be a good place to spend some quiet time.”
Diana heard the words “quiet” especially loudly. Perhaps Edmund wants to spend time quietly alone without anyone disturbing him.
“Don’t you want to see it?”
As he asked her with a smile, Diana felt a pain rising from deep in her chest.
Diana swallowed her dry saliva as she looked at him intently, as if looking for an answer, and answered.
“Yes, I want to go.”
But that won’t happen. That’s just a courtesy.
“So, what do you have to say to me?”
“That is…….”
Diana answered without thinking and was taken aback.
“Yes?”
Edmund’s smiling face was reflected in his widened eyes.
“How did you know?”
Today’s tea time was just conducted at her invitation. On a sunny day, all she could say was to invite her to the duke’s residence for tea time. But he was speaking as if he could see right through me.
“You tend to show your thoughts on your face, Miss Diana.”
He smiled and took away his handkerchief.
“It felt like you were constantly watching to see when you would speak up about it.”
“… … .”
I was embarrassed. That’s because what I had to say today was by no means a pleasant story. That’s why I couldn’t speak about it the entire time. But what if she got caught?
“Let’s stop meeting.”
Diana spoke quickly. It was at a time when she herself was embarrassed by her sudden words.
“Miss Diana?”
He tilted his head and looked at her. A look of slight embarrassment passed over his face, which was always as calm as the surface of a lake. It was worth it. Because now she has kicked out the best husband material in this empire.
