Chapter 3
Of course, such stories were not regarded as nothing at all. Even now, in conservative families, there are many cases where a line is drawn against a woman who caused a scandal before marriage.
Nevertheless, it was nothing compared to my parents’ generation and that of their parents.
“So, the Duke and I can meet better people in the future.”
At those words, the corner of Edmund’s mouth slightly rose. Diana, who recognized the meaning of his subtle laughter, blushed and lowered her head.
What I say to him will always be funny.
The Duke of Serwell doesn’t care how many women he meets before getting married. He will be able to treat his short relationship as nothing and have as many beautiful and good-born women as his lover and wife.
The problem was Diana herself. After breaking up with the duke, who will propose to her? But I no longer wanted to risk my life in
this suffocating relationship.
“I hope so, Miss Diana.”
As I was looking at my fingertips with my head down, I heard Edmund’s concise congratulations.
“… … .”
Diana’s hand, which had been working hard to smooth out the wrinkles in her dress, stopped.
Alas…
It was just as I thought. The Duke of Serwell wanted to break up with her, and hoped that it would come out through her own mouth. But what immediately followed was completely unexpected.
“You mean I was boring ”
“No, no.”
Diana shook her head in confusion.
“I can’t help but think that’s what you were thinking.”
He smiled faintly. When Diana saw that, one side of her chest felt like it was tightening.
“No, I would never… … .”
“It’s okay if you don’t comfort me. I guess I wasn’t fun to be with.”
I wanted to deny that it was anything like that, but his next words were faster.
“I have no intention of forcing a romantic relationship. If we have different paths to take, we have to follow them.”
“… … .”
When the words to end this relationship came out of his mouth so calmly, Diana felt like her heart sink.
I practiced countless times. It took Diana a great deal of determination to say these words. But he is so calm. He’s fine. Although she had expected it, she couldn’t help but feel gloomy.
Even though I was the one who came to end it, I was afraid when the end came.
It’s okay, it’ll be okay. It wasn’t even a normal romantic relationship in the first place, right? Diana thought to herself
several times.
The duke has shown nothing but a warm and thoughtful side throughout their relationship. Everyone envied them and she always felt jealous eyes on them. As soon as she started dating him, the number of men following her everywhere increased.
The Duke of Serwell was a man who shined a halo on her just by standing next to her, but unfortunately, she was not in a position to receive that light. Because it’s all fake. Because it’s not mine. It was a play to get out of a crisis anyway, so there is nothing to be sorry about.
Nevertheless, the voice of the man calmly accepting the breakup brought disappointment to her.
“Then, Diana. finally.”
“… … .”
“Let’s have a farewell drink.”
Edmund said, while tilting his head in the other direction.
“I… … .”
Before Diana could reply, he rang the bell to summon the
servant. She gave instructions to her maid who opened the door and came in. Soon, a glass of wine and a bottle of sweet-smelling liquor were placed on the table between them.
He poured alcohol into two glasses and pushed one glass in front of Diana.
“Drink it.”
He pointed to the glass with his chin. His fingers gracefully shook the glass as he picked it up, causing the red liquid inside to gently shake.
“… … .”
At that moment, Diana hesitated as she felt a tightness in her chest without knowing what it was.
If you drink this.
It’s really over with him.
She will be breaking up forever with the man who treated her like a real lover.
That’s what I hoped for.
A chance to end a strange romantic relationship that started with a lie. Wasn’t that exactly what I had been waiting for today’s tea time? But why does my heart rattle like a broken hinge?
“What is it?”
He asked, while crossing his legs. The wine in the glass in his hand sloshed a little louder.
“You wonder if I have put something into it?”
“Yes?”
Diana opened her eyes wide in surprise.
“What… No… please don’t say that.”
“You never know.”
He twirled the glass in his hand again. Strangely enough, every time he turned the glass with a graceful gesture, Diana felt like she was the wine in it. Just as he shakes it, she gets swept around… … .
“I don’t have that misunderstanding.”
Diana shook her head.
“The Duke is not that kind of person. You helped me out from that trouble… you have been protecting me ever since. All this time…”
“I know that the Duke will never be like that. So far to me… you’ve never been rude to me.”
He never treated Diana poorly. He never touched me suddenly or kissed me carelessly. Light hugs, light kisses, and holding hands were all the skinship I shared with him.
It was a very healthy contact that made me wonder if this could be done with dolls or even dogs.
Diana, of course, was not a child, so she knew that this was not a normal occurrence in a romantic relationship.
I remembered how my cousin Agnes would make noises with her red, swollen lips whenever she returned from a secret meeting with her lover.
“How persistently we clung to each other. I had a hard time taking it off. He won’t leave me alone even for a moment. If would have he fussed, then I wouldn’t have made it back before mother woke up.”
Agnes was in the middle of grumbling and asked Diana with shining eyes.
“Did the Duke say the same thing to you?”
Diana couldn’t give any answer to that question. Instead, she just scrunched up her red face. Agnes, who saw that, seemed to let her imagination run wild and kept saying “Oh my”.
“You look completely different with that stoic face! They say all men are beasts.”
Diana could not bear to tell the truth to Agnes, who was shouting excitedly.
The Duke doesn’t even lay a finger on me. He has never held her warmly, never tangled with her tongue in a promiscuous way, and has never been itching to drag her into his bed.
He has no affection for me.
That’s what Diana realized while being a superficial lover with this man for the past few months.
So it had to be corrected before it was too late.
After Diana made up her mind, she slowly sipped the alcohol in
her glass into her mouth. As the bitter and sweet taste tingled across the tip of her tongue, she closed her eyes and took a gulp. Then, I gently opened my eyelids and met Edmund’s eyes.
He was looking at her calmly with a glass of wine to his mouth. His face looked completely different from usual, as if she had become drunk at the same time as he was drinking.
What on earth is that?
She slowly closed and opened her eyes. She couldn’t read the expression on the other side of the glass.
What are you going to do by reading it? That the relationship has already ended. I’m just doing this out of pointless regret. As soon as she announced their breakup, wasn’t she the one who gave him a breakup note?
As if shaking off any remaining regrets, Diana drank every last drop of it.
Completely finished.
And then she put the glass down loudly on the table. A slight smile crossed his face as he looked at the empty glass. Upon seeing that expression, Diana became a little more miserable. Even though she was clearly the one who said goodbye to him first.
