Margaret Chesworth’s schedule was very regular.
At 8 AM, she would go to the port to check imports and exports. After that, she would have a light lunch, stop by home to handle paperwork that needed review, then go to the branch office of the Duke’s business in the capital to submit necessary documents and attend meetings. She would finish work at 5 PM.
Very occasionally she worked overtime, but her routine was similar every day except weekends.
Today, she had an audience with the Crown Prince, so her work finished later than usual.
Margaret naturally got into the carriage that was always waiting for her in the same place.
Up to this point, it was no different from any other day.
“Sigh……”
Once in the carriage, Margaret finally relaxed her rigidly straight posture and leaned back.
Another day had passed. But she was unusually tired today, not because of increased work.
‘Why is he saying he has something to tell me now, after crying and begging me to pretend nothing happened?’
Margaret sighed deeply, pressing her forehead.
Though there seemed to be a limit to avoiding it, Margaret didn’t want to have this conversation again.
‘Anyway….’
Margaret quickly shook off the thought that was about to continue.
The problem wasn’t what she thought.
‘It’s about firmly preventing the rumors about that night from spreading properly.’
She wasn’t naive enough to think that no one would know they had spent the night together.
Eyes that see and ears that hear are everywhere, day and night.
Therefore, there would already be a few people who knew about that day, and if they had more private meetings from now on, strange rumors would surely spread quickly.
The reason rumors hadn’t spread yet was because the place where the two met that day was an official setting.
So it was right to be more careful now.
If coincidences piled up, anyone would become suspicious.
‘Besides, it seems Elisha has noticed something strange about me too.’
Margaret sighed, pressing her temples against the oncoming fatigue.
Although Louis had adapted to the capital, he didn’t know better than Margaret how quickly rumors spread in the capital.
‘So I have to clean this up too.’
To continue working as before, it was right to avoid romantic relationships as much as possible.
When she went out for work, everyone always hoped Margaret would make even a small mistake, and they didn’t miss the opportunity to pull her down.
“Then they’ll probably criticize not just me, but also the few other women we’ve hired.”
Margaret clicked her tongue. It was absurd for an individual’s actions to represent a whole group, but people around her had been particularly treating Margaret as a representative of women, pressuring her.
‘If I do well, it’s an easy win, but if I make a mistake, they’ll foam at the mouth saying this is why women can’t do it.’
Perhaps due to being on edge for so long, she desperately needed rest.
She thought she should get some good rest, and if there’s a chance to meet for official business later, she’d give a brief heads up then.
“Resting is the priority for now.”
Her feet were swollen from standing for long, and her eyes were dry from constantly losing sleep.
Margaret noticed something strange after leaving the capital while looking out the window at the familiar scenery.
“…Huh?”
Margaret stretched her neck to check outside the window.
It was clearly not the way back home.
Originally, noble ladies always had maids accompanying them like shadows, but it was a mistake to go alone while working because many people would disrespect her with a maid present.
She had an aide, but was it a problem that she sent him to rest first since today was important?
Thinking she couldn’t rest easy for even a day, Margaret quickly surveyed her surroundings to assess the situation.
‘What’s the purpose here?’
If she made a mistake like calling for help here, it would only make the coachman look down on her more.
Margaret opened the window and called out to the coachman.
“Hey, I don’t think I said I was going anywhere else today.”
She tried to sound calm, but her voice trembled slightly.
The man sitting in the driver’s seat was silent for a long time.
“Can’t you hear me?”
At Margaret’s urging, a response finally came from the driver’s seat.
“…Perhaps you didn’t hear what I’ve been saying until now?”
It was a familiar voice. Surprised by the unexpected voice, Margaret belatedly remembered who it belonged to.
“…Why are you…Viscount…?”
“I wanted to talk.”
“…Like this?”
“I explained as soon as we got onto the main road in case you might misunderstand, but you didn’t hear.”
“I had the window closed, so I couldn’t hear anything.”
“…Ah, I’m sorry. You must have been very surprised.”
“Yes, I was surprised. Do we really need to talk about that night to this extent?”
“…Yes.”
“Why?”
When Margaret expressed her doubt, Louis was silent again for a long time. This time, Margaret didn’t urge him to answer.
“…Because I must have made a mistake, but I can’t remember.”
“…What?”
“I’m sorry.”
“…You can’t remember?”
An unexpected answer came back. She had assumed he wanted to talk in order to develop something based on that night’s events.
She felt ashamed to the point of going crazy for thinking that work was more important right now.
While the other party didn’t know anything.
“Yes.”
At Louis’s dejected answer, Margaret could only press her forehead.
Her face turned bright red at the realization that she had thought ahead to the second and third verses by herself.
She had thought he was chasing after her to keep her quiet in case someone he liked heard about them spending the night together, but that wasn’t it.
‘So the reason he chased after me to keep talking was simply because he wanted to talk.’
Only then did Margaret understand why Louis had pursued her to talk. Although she could have been angry at Louis’s confession of not remembering, Margaret rather thought it was fortunate.
She thought it was better than trying to silence her for someone else’s sake.
However, that didn’t mean she wanted to share the embarrassing story of that night.
It wasn’t only Louis who had been drunk, and Margaret also intended to pass that day off as a mistake.
“There are few mistakes adults can make together. It’s okay.”
Margaret tried to wrap up the conversation gracefully.
But Louis didn’t seem to want to end the conversation so easily.
“…I was worried that I might have forced you somehow…”
She wondered where such a misunderstanding came from if he couldn’t even remember.
“What?”
Margaret asked back in a bewildered voice. She was rather relieved it was like this. There was no chance of anyone overhearing, and no one would see her blushing face, right?
“I thought there would be no reason for you to avoid me otherwise.”
“…Ah.”
At Louis’s explanation, Margaret finally let out a low exclamation. It seemed he had thought she was avoiding him for a different reason.
She understood how misunderstanding led to misunderstanding, leading him to think he had forced her somehow.
“No. Nothing like what you’re thinking happened.”
Margaret wiped her sweat with a handkerchief. It was a great relief that her voice didn’t come out trembling.
“Then why have you been avoiding me?”
“…I was just being careful in case rumors spread.”
“…”
Louis, seemingly relieved, remained silent for a moment.
“By the way, I didn’t expect you to act like this, Viscount.”
At Margaret’s remark, Louis, who had been consumed with the thought of resolving this situation, seemed to suddenly realize how rude his actions were and hurriedly replied.
“I’m sorry. I was consumed by the thought of talking to you.”
“And how did you steal the carriage? The coachman should have always been waiting.”
To Margaret’s question, Louis briefly defended the coachman who had given up his seat trusting Louis’s status.
“…I asked for his understanding.”
“Ha!”
“I made an excuse that I had more to say about today’s announcement.”
He must have handed over the carriage without a shred of doubt because he’s seen me so often while working.
Louis squeezed his eyes shut at Margaret’s incredulous chuckle.
“Really, I must have been possessed by something for a moment. I’m sorry.”
In the end, all she heard were apologies.
This is why she didn’t want to talk more.
Louis’s desire to keep talking to Margaret wasn’t due to any particular emotion, but simply because he couldn’t remember.
Margaret pressed her fingers firmly between her eyebrows.
She felt relieved that he hadn’t come after her to silence her.
If it had been for the reason she thought, it would have been more miserable, but she couldn’t believe she felt better just because he couldn’t even remember.
She must be crazy.
Margaret spoke to compose herself,
“We agreed to treat it as if nothing happened, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Then let’s go back. Even if tomorrow is a day off, I can’t not return to the mansion without saying anything.”
“Since we’ve come this far, how about we go to the destination and rest for a bit?”
“…There’s nothing more troublesome than rumors spreading when we’re not even in any kind of relationship.”
“It’s a lakeside with few people, so it should be fine.”
“…Do as you wish then. As long as we can return on time.”
“I will.”
“I don’t understand why we need to go, though.”
“Because I feel like you’ll avoid me again if we part ways like this. Please don’t avoid me next time.”
Louis said good-naturedly. He thought it was just a mistake between adults, and that Margaret, whom he had come to know, would respond within bounds that wouldn’t make either of them blush, regardless of her feelings.
“Of course I won’t for official matters.”
But Margaret drew the line again. After taking a deep breath while gripping her dress skirt tightly, she spoke in a voice so firm it was hard to believe she had just said that.
