004. Invitation (1)
Rumors spread through high society.
The rumor was that Duke Verdun responded to the interest of Lady Edelte.
The source of the rumor was none other than the garden party hosted by Lucia.
Those who witnessed the two talking at the event hurriedly spread the word, and with everyone eagerly participating, the rumor spread rapidly.
Naturally, the rumor reached both Duke houses.
In Lucia’s case, she was satisfied with the rumors.
It didn’t mean she liked those who thoughtlessly spread rumors about her.
It was just an exceptional situation.
It was a well-known fact that Lucia wanted Owen.
If it were someone else’s affair, there might have been comments about how pathetic or ignorant they were. However, the central figures involved were Lucia, the lady known as the flower of high society with the name Edelte.
Those who were familiar with her influence couldn’t easily bring themselves to talk.
Moreover, the person involved with her was Owen, the head of the Verdun family.
There was no one who dared to gossip about the involvement of the only two dukes in the empire, Edelte and Verdun.
At least, not in front of Lucia and Owen.
Behind the scenes, the story was different.
That was only natural; the backstories of the imperial family circulated freely behind the scenes.
With all the majesty and laws of the imperial family.
They preferred conversation and laughter over those things.
Were there any differences between the two dukes?
In front of Lucia and Owen, people tried hard to impress her, but many of them behind her back mocked her actions.
Would Duke Verdun really be interested because of such rumors?
If such rumors spread…
Those who ridiculed her from behind would also be silenced.
That’s why Lucia didn’t stop the rumors.
And Owen…
“…Are you really going to let the rumors spread like this?”
“Is there a problem?”
He didn’t have much intention to stop the rumors.
“Aren’t the rumors true?”
Even with the butler’s question, Owen didn’t stop writing, but rather casually responded.
“Do you think so?”
“Of course. Your Grace, you’ve discarded everything Lady Edelte sent so far…”
“…”
He threw it away.
Owen inwardly muttered a curse.
Damn protagonist, doing his duty excessively.
No matter how others expressed curiosity or admiration, he remained as impervious as a fortress.
Until he met Bella, he wasn’t interested in reason, let alone others as individuals.
Indeed, the male lead, who existed solely for the female lead Bella, used to only have eyes for her. Thanks to this, all the gifts Lucia had sent so far had been treated as trash. Letters and invitations were thrown into the fireplace and burned. Therefore, the butler’s reaction could be considered natural.
“…That’s how it was.”
“Yes, Your Grace. How could you possibly have an interest in Lady Edelte?”
The butler asserted.
The assertion seemed quite plausible.
If it followed the original story, it must have been true.
In the original, he relentlessly drew a line, ignored Lucia, and poured all his attention on Bella whenever she appeared. If the formerly disdainful Lucia committed a misdeed, he would undoubtedly punish her without hesitation. Yes, it must have been that way if it were the original Owen.
However, the current Owen was not that person.
The present Owen was nothing more than another person wearing the outer shell of ‘Owen.’
And he, who had no intention of following the original story, had no intention of conforming to the original Owen.
“Logan.”
Whether he entered the novel knowing the ending or not, now this was his world, and he was Owen.
So why should he be dragged along by someone else’s will?
He had no intention of blindly following a novel with an unwanted ending.
If he had to continue living here, he had to twist the original.
He was someone who didn’t even have a bit of interest in the female protagonist Bella.
“You seem to know little about the human heart.”
“The human heart, you say?”
“Yes, the human heart.”
Since he had no intention of being dragged along as dictated by the will of others, he needed to change the perception of the people around him. Otherwise, even if it wasn’t him, those around him might fall into the original.
So, he decided to erase all traces of ‘Owen.’
His concepts, values, and interests, everything.
Thus, he planned to fill all the gaps anew with his own.
“It seems you don’t understand the cunning that can change for any reason at any time.”
“…”
At Owen’s words, Logan remained silent.
The meaning behind Owen’s words was clear.
“Did that explain it?”
At Owen’s question, Logan reluctantly nodded.
It was unbelievable, but it seemed the rumors were true.
The rumor that Duke Verdun responded to Lady Edelte’s interest was indeed spreading.
* * *
The instigators of the rumors didn’t try to stop the gossip, allowing it to spread like wildfire. Lucia found the situation perplexing. While she could understand her own actions, it was strange that Owen didn’t try to quell the rumors. He was someone who usually detested troublesome matters. Allowing such bothersome gossip to spread without doing anything seemed out of character for him.
‘It’s strange…’
Starting from the garden party, Owen’s recent actions had been unusual compared to his usual self.
‘Without any apparent reason.’
Initially, Lucia thought there might be some hidden purpose, perhaps related to family matters or business. Owen was originally someone who devoted himself to work, so that seemed more plausible than a simple newfound interest in her.
‘But there was no connection at all.’
The problem was, no matter how much she looked, there were no family or business issues between the Duke Verdun and the Duke Edelte that could justify Owen’s behavior. Unless he was planning to start a new business, which didn’t seem likely.
‘If that were the case, he would have gone to see my father in the first place.’
Thanks to the events since the garden party, Lucia found herself entangled in such thoughts. Why Owen attended that day’s garden party, why he suddenly invited her to the mansion, and why he let the rumors spread as they did.
“I can’t figure it out, no matter how much I think about it.”
Lucia, who had been contemplating it earnestly, sighed deeply while touching her forehead.
She had tried to gather the latest information about Owen from the information guild, even hired people to tail him, but the results were meager. He was living his life as usual, not bothering to hide it even from the guild members who followed him. Despite being a Sword Master like Owen, the Duke Verdun’s knights, who were of a high caliber, should have noticed the guild members tailing him. Lucia could imagine how disappointed the members of the information guild and the mercenary guild must have been when they heard the news.
He had mentioned that there were only two exceptions to the rule: the garden party a few days ago and letting the widespread rumors be. Lucia was well aware of these facts.
‘What I need is the cause.’
Since only the results were evident, and the cause remained unknown, her mind became complicated.
‘I have to go and ask him.’
Although she had tried to find out alone, there was no substantial gain. So, there was only one method left: to induce him to talk about the matter.
Today happened to be the day she was invited to see him. When Lucia tugged at the string, the maids knocked on her door and entered her bedroom.
“We’ll help you with your dressing.”
They brought out the dress prepared for today from the dressing room and arranged the matching accessories one by one.
Lucia had been working hard to find reasons behind Owen’s sudden actions, but she wasn’t solely focused on that. She had also prepared for her meeting with Owen today.
Unlike the previous garden party, where he unexpectedly attended without her knowledge, this time was different.
This time, Owen had personally invited her.
To his own mansion.
Considering the importance of the occasion, Lucia couldn’t just wear anything. She had been wandering around the salon district for a while, diligently choosing the best dress and selecting the jewelry that matched the dress by visiting all the jewelers in the capital.
The prepared outfit seemed perfect in Lucia’s eyes, at least.
She could have prepared even more perfectly if she knew Owen’s preferences, but there was nothing she could do. Owen had never dated anyone before, nor had he ever liked anyone, so there was no way to know what style of clothing he might prefer.
‘But he said something like that last time.’
Lucia believed only in one thing: the words he whispered at the last garden party.
– I’m the same way.
Since he had confessed to liking beautiful things, she had confidence. No one else roamed around choosing beautiful things as much as she did. The dress and accessories she had chosen, having gone to great lengths, would undoubtedly look beautiful.
“Do you like it?”
After finishing the makeup, Lucia checked her appearance one last time in front of the full-length mirror.
“Yes.”
This was sufficient.
The dress, accessories, and makeup all harmonized well with each other.
With everything prepared, Lucia got on the carriage waiting in front of the mansion, heading towards the Duke Verdun’s mansion.
* * *
“You arrived a bit early.”
“I was waiting up front.”
Lucia was surprised to see Owen standing in front of the mansion. She hadn’t imagined that Owen would personally greet her.
“I can’t wait for you inside when I’ve invited you personally.”
He said so, extending his hand to Lucia as she descended from the carriage. Lucia gently placed her hand on his, adorned with white gloves. The warmth between the pink lace gloves and his gloves was exceptionally comforting.
“…It suits you well.”
As Lucia stepped out of the carriage, Owen whispered.
“I’m relieved.”
Her heart pounded loudly at his words, but she maintained as much composure as possible. She was confident in having an eye for beautiful things, but she had been tense until Owen mentioned that it suited him. Now, her heart raced for a different reason.
“Do you like pink?”
The dress she had carefully chosen was a lovely pink one, adorned elegantly with frills and lace, and small but expensive jewels embedded. The accessories were also in the same resolution color to match the dress. The necklace and earrings were elegantly designed, shaped like droplets with pink diamonds.
She usually preferred something more extravagant, but she restrained herself a bit today, in case Owen happened to dislike overly ornate things.
“I like it.”
“…I thought you liked red.”
Owen muttered, recalling the setting of the novel. Lucia quickly added.
“I like red as well.”
“I see. Today, I just chose something to match the spring flowers.”
“I thought you liked cherry blossoms.”
Owen said, thinking of Duke Edelte’s mansion by the lake. Lucia nodded slightly.
“Cherry blossoms are beautiful.”
“Yes.”
“What flowers do you like, Your Grace?”
Owen turned his head to look at her in response to Lucia’s question. His obsidian-like eyes gazed straight at her.
“On a personal level, I like roses.”
