Chase hurriedly checked his attire.
It was exactly as it had been before, with not a single button undone.
Fortunately, she was also dressed properly.
“Phew…”
Chase let out an ambiguous sigh that was neither a sigh of relief nor a sigh of regret.
“Ah… You’re awake?”
Lizelle woke up from her light nap at the sound of rustling next to her, rubbed her eyes with one hand and raised her upper body.
“Yawn. I must’ve dozed off for a bit too.”
Still groggy, she let out a small yawn.
“Why are you here…?”
Chase looked at Lizelle, his face confused and at a loss.
His eyes trembled, it was astonishing they could even waver this much.
“Your Grace, this…”
When Lizelle glanced down, Chase followed her gaze.
And then he saw it—his hand, clasping hers tightly on the bed.
“What in the—!”
Startled, he released her hand in an instant.
“You were holding on so tightly… I can finally feel the blood flowing back.”
Lizelle opened and closed her freed hand. Then she glanced at the frozen Chase and stood up.
She walked to the door, picked up the honey water left there by Merhyn, and returned to Chase.
“Your stomach must hurt. Drink this.”
She held out the glass of honey water to the dazed man.
“Come on.”
She pressed the glass into his still frozen hands.
Chase stared at the glass in his hands for a moment before gulping down the honey water.
If he wanted to regain his composure, drinking this was a start.
“The sun is setting.”
Lizelle, after confirming he drank the water, turned to the window.
Through the glass, the room was bathed in the crimson glow of the sunset-painted sky.
She thought it was just a brief nap, but quite some time had passed.
Whenever she looked at him, she was reminded of the hand that caressed her cheek, leaving her confused.
Even when she tried not to think about it, it lingered in her mind.
Even the faintly trembling fingertips.
“My lady.”
Chase finally seemed to regain his senses as he called out to Lizelle standing in front of the sunset.
Hearing her name, she had no choice but to turn back.
“Did I… make a mistake?”
“Do you not remember?”
“…”
“You don’t, do you?”
Chase racked his brain, trying his best to retrace his memories.
But everything after the conversation with the baron about Lizelle was gone, as if cut out.
He swallowed nervously, his entire body stiff with tension, fearing he had done something foolish.
“Haha! You didn’t make any mistakes, so you don’t need to be nervous.”
Seeing his increasingly serious expression, Lizelle forced a laugh.
Even though his drunken actions were seared into her memory, she pretended not to know.
That he touched her cheek and murmured incomprehensible things. That he asked her to call him by his name, not his title.
Those were embarrassing things to even think about, let alone bring up herself.
Especially to someone who couldn’t remember.
She was curious about the meaning of his words and actions but decided not to ask.
If he dismissed it as nothing, it wouldn’t sit well with her.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Are you feeling okay?”
When Chase asked again, doubtful, Lizelle shrugged.
“I’m fine. My apologies for any inconvenience.”
Chase let out a breath of relief, wiping his face with his dry hand. The thought that he might have spoken nonsense made him shudder.
“Would you like to take a walk?”
They say fresh air helps with a hangover.
Chase nodded readily to Lizelle’s suggestion.
* * *
“I was surprised.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your acting today was better than I expected.”
“Then that’s good to hear.”
Chase and Lizelle were strolling together in the garden.
“Thanks to you, my parents seemed reassured. Thank you.”
She sat naturally on a bench in the garden.
At first, she thought they were screwed when she saw the gift Chase prepared, but fortunately, things worked out well.
Both her father and mother seemed to like Chase.
“We’ll keep the ceremony simple, right? Since it’s just a fake marriage and the ceremony is only a formality, there’s no need for anything grand.”
Lizelle was a little grumpy and deliberately emphasized the fact that it was fake.
After all, while he remembered nothing from his drunken state, she couldn’t stop thinking about what happened earlier.
Until then, she hadn’t thought much of him…
But now she found herself bothered. Why was she worrying so much.
“All right.”
Chase’s expression hardened as he sat beside her.
His tone cooled noticeably.
Though he was the one who proposed the contract marriage, hearing the word fake grated on him.
“Then how about holding a small ceremony in the temple two weeks from now?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
She had spoken without much thought, but Lizelle would soon regret it.
His idea of small was completely different from hers.
Wilhazelle and Chase continued sitting in the garden, enjoying the fresh air.
His faint lingering drunkenness had already evaporated into the cold wind.
Chase stole a glance at Lizelle, who was sitting next to him, and asked the question he wanted to ask since before coming here.
“Would you be able to spare a day a week from now?”
“For what?”
“For the birthday banquet of Lady Selena Humphrey, the daughter of Count Humphrey.”
“A birthday banquet?”
“Yes. Most of the nobles I know will be there. I’d like to introduce you formally.”
An invitation was sent to Chase the day before yesterday.
Normally he would have burned it without even reading it, but it was sent by Count Humphrey himself.
He checked the contents and it was a polite request to attend the birthday banquet of his daughter who was becoming an adult this year.
Count Humphrey was the only person around him who did not flatter him or make unreasonable requests, so he accepted the invitation without much hesitation.
It wasn’t difficult to just take a moment to show his face.
But he wanted to go with Lizelle, not alone.
He wanted to officially announce their relationship in front of many people.
So that no one would dare approach her recklessly.
“Yes, I’ll go.”
Lizelle didn’t think much about it.
Since he handled everything so well today, she thought it was only fair to play her part for him.
When she accepted so readily, the one surprised was Chase.
Once the contract marriage ended, she would be left with the label of a divorcee. The gossip would spread throughout social circles.
For Lizelle, a baron’s daughter, and her family, it could be an extremely challenging situation.
Of course, Chase had no intention of letting her go.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“The more our relationship is known to society, the more attention it draws, the harder it will become for you.”
“Are you talking about after the contract ends?”
When Chase nodded silently, Lizelle smiled as if it was no big deal.
“I have no intention of starting a new family after divorcing Your Grace. So, I’m not too worried about what people might say. And my family….”
Her parents would undoubtedly be heartbroken.
They always believed their daughter would live happily ever after. For her to end up divorced and the subject of gossip would be devastating.
But she had come to terms with it.
There would be chaos for a while after the divorce, but time would resolve it.
Rumors only spread when there’s smoke in the chimney.
Once the story faded from people’s memories, her parents would no longer be so troubled.
“It’s something I’ll have to deal with. But everything will be fine.”
“Then I’ll come to pick you up on that day.”
“Alright. I’ll do my best as well.”
She spoke with determination.
Just as Chase executed his role flawlessly, she had to do the same.
The challenge lay in the audience—it would be difficult to conceal the nature of their one-year contract marriage unless she performed perfectly from the start.
“It would have been nice if Raphel had been with us today as well.”
Lizelle murmured softly, a hint of regret in her voice.
If Raphelion had been there, her parents would surely have been happy as well.
Raphel often talked about how much he missed his grandparents, and it was a shame he couldn’t be there.
“You don’t need to worry about Raphelion. He’s doing just fine on his own.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried.”
She nodded in relief.
The last image of Raphel remained stuck in her chest like a thorn.
She wanted to tell him herself that they would meet again soon, but she hadn’t wanted to wake him from his deep sleep and only looked at his face before leaving. It was a decision she deeply regretted.
“He got into a fight yesterday but wasn’t hurt.”
“He… what? Raphel got into a fight?”
