After the jeweler left, Ian escorted me to the tea room, saying we should have tea.
“You seem quite pleased.”
Ian remarked as I set the jewelry case down on the table with satisfaction, just before the servant arrived with the tea.
“Yes, I am quite pleased.”
Though, truth be told, it was more about my plan going smoothly rather than the brooch itself.
“You, on the other hand, don’t seem so pleased.”
I said, recalling his indifferent attitude throughout the day.
He nodded without any attempt to hide it. And then, once again, he uttered something maddening.
“Using your words, I find no reason to go to such ‘extravagant’ lengths by wearing matching accessories.”
He looked thoroughly unimpressed.
“I still don’t understand what significance there is in wearing the same accessory. I’ve never heard of relationships being redefined by something as trivial as a piece of jewelry.”
If someone who truly loved Ian had been sitting here, they might have fainted from shock at his appalling honesty. I was momentarily at a loss for words.
If I left him like this, he might go on to spout the same nonsense in front of Diana too.
I looked down at the velvet case beside me before asking him,
“Speaking of significance, is that why you don’t wear a wedding ring?”
“It’s cumbersome. Besides, we never agreed on such a thing.”
Seriously? You might as well draft a contract and seal it with a fingerprint if you’re going to fuss over wearing a brooch.
“Well, why don’t you take a moment to think about it, then? Why do people exchange rings or share similar tokens?”
Ian continued to look at me with a discontented expression, clearly still confused and unwilling to think it through.
‘I expected too much from him.’
As I looked at him, an image of Diana came to mind—her trembling hands offering Ian a brooch. My heart tightened at the thought.
‘My poor Diana. You have everything, yet your taste in men is absolutely terrible, my beloved Diana.’
I had to force my clenched fists to relax.
“As you said, if it held no meaning, why do lovers exchange rings, and why do close friends share matching accessories?”
“……”
“It’s because feelings aren’t visible.”
Ian furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
“People want to show that they have a special connection with someone, that their relationship is solid. But since feelings, love, and relationships aren’t visible, they substitute them with something tangible.”
I shrugged lightly and gestured between him and myself with my hand.
“Simply put, it’s a way of saying, ‘This person and I are connected.’”
I looked at him, waiting to see if he understood.
Ian stared at me for a moment before lowering his gaze to the brooch case.
“Is that why you made the suggestion to me?”
As if.
“Our situation is a bit different, isn’t it? The duke and I don’t love each other.”
“……”
“As I mentioned, in our case… it’s for show. Whatever our actual relationship may be, to others, it will look like a symbol of our connection.”
I offered a clear explanation, tilting my head slightly for emphasis.
“Does that make sense now?”
After a brief pause, Ian nodded.
“…I understand, for now.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
I smiled and added, “Well, if you ever find someone you truly care for in the future, perhaps you’ll remember my words.”
Ian shook his head resolutely, as if dismissing the idea entirely.
“You’re making meaningless assumptions.”
“Well, you never know what might happen,” I replied with a sly smile.
But I knew exactly what would happen: He would eventually fall deeply for Diana and get completely swept away.
Seeing the pleased look on my face, Ian leaned back slightly, an uneasy expression on his face.
“…I don’t know what you’re thinking, but that will never happen.”
Ugh, for someone who doesn’t know what’s coming, he sure is feisty. Sometimes he’s not just prickly; he’s as haughty as an angry cat.
“Yes, for now, let’s just say that,” I answered lightly, smiling mischievously. Ian frowned at me.
Just as he was about to say something more, several servants entered, pushing trolleys laden with tea and refreshments.
As they placed a cup in front of me, I remembered something and spoke up.
“Oh, by the way, regarding the party.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’ve realized that it won’t be necessary for you to stay with me the entire time.”
Ian looked momentarily taken aback by my brazenly cheerful smile.
“…Didn’t you ask me to escort you to the party?”
“I did, didn’t I?” I responded with a shrug, completely unfazed.
My plan at the party is to assess which people, including the princess, would be beneficial or detrimental to me. But I can’t do that if I’m stuck by Ian’s side the whole time.
Why am I telling him this now, you ask? Because if I had asked him to simply escort me to the door and leave, he wouldn’t have agreed to pair our brooches. And I wouldn’t miss this chance to mess with him a little.
“Upon further thought, I realize you must be quite busy with work. Besides, I have some personal matters to take care of. So, I’d only need you to escort me to the front of the party. Does that sound alright?”
Ian’s expression turned rather complicated at my sweet suggestion.
“Is there something else you want to say?”
“…No. That’s fine,” he answered after a moment and picked up his teacup with a soft clink.
“Would you like to have a cup of tea before you leave?”
“I’ll be going now.”
“As you wish.” I replied, watching Ian rise without a hint of hesitation. I picked up my own cup of tea, watching his retreating back.
The scent of the well-dried floral tea seemed especially fragrant today.
❖ ❖ ❖
After parting ways with Eloise, Ian returned straight to his office and sat down. In his hand was a brooch case identical to Eloise’s.
“……”
Leaning back against the chair with a blank expression, he lifted the navy velvet-covered brooch case. He still didn’t fully understand why this had ended up in his hands, but what lingered in his mind even more was Eloise’s behavior.
Ian recalled the expression on her face when they had been sitting together just a little while ago.
“Well, if you ever find someone you truly care for… perhaps you’ll remember my words.”
she had said with an unusually bright smile.
‘Since when did she change like this?’
The Eloise he once knew was just as guarded as he was, someone who rarely revealed her true feelings. She had never been the type to act so whimsically or to deliberately provoke him.
And Ian had never realized that Eloise was capable of smiling like that.
Not only had she changed suddenly, but her recent behavior had been full of oddities. She spoke of improving their relationship and working on their marriage, only to draw a clear line when it mattered most.
She made a fuss about matching brooches, yet in the next moment, she talked about someone else. She had asked him to escort her to the party, only to quickly change her mind, saying they didn’t need to spend the entire evening together.
Was she really planning to remarry and move on? But that didn’t seem right, given how much she cared about not only her own reputation but also Ian’s.
Ian had never given much thought to Eloise before, but now, it wasn’t just her change in personality that made her difficult to grasp.
“……”
Why did her ambiguous attitude bother him so much?
He stared at the case for a moment before clicking it open.
Inside was a brooch, shining with a brilliant violet light. It was, just as Eloise had said, a gemstone that resembled Ian’s eyes.
Tanzanite, if he recalled correctly. It was surrounded by an ornate half-heart design.
‘A lover’s heart, huh?’
He grimaced as he recalled the jeweler’s elaborate explanation. There could be no such thing as a lover’s heart between him and Eloise. In fact, there would never be anyone with whom Ian would share half of his heart.
‘Nonsense.’
Was there anything more meaningless to Ian than talk of lovers and love? At the very least, it was an emotion he was sure he would never feel in his lifetime.
As he glanced at the brooch without any real interest, the door to the office opened. It was Kyle.
“My lord, the documents you requested… uh? What are you doing?”
“You’re ten minutes late,” Ian snapped, closing the brooch case with a loud click. But Kyle’s gaze had already fixed on the case.
Kyle blinked in confusion for a moment before belatedly covering his mouth.
“…Oh my. You’re looking at something other than documents?”
“……”
“That’s jewelry, isn’t it? I saw it. I definitely saw it!”
Ian’s eyes narrowed at Kyle’s astonished muttering.
“Don’t push it.”
“Was it that obvious?”
Kyle shrugged playfully.
“Well, considering you act like a minute of wasted time could kill you, seeing you distracted like this is quite a shock. Wait, don’t tell me…”
“……”
“Are you trying to win the duchess back with a mere piece of jewelry now?”
The veins in Ian’s hand, which held a pen, started to show.
“Kyle Elzeir.”
“I apologize!”
♧♧♧
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