The next day, I woke up feeling refreshed, greeted by Vivi as usual.
“Are you awake, Madam?”
There was a slight change in her demeanor, as if she had grown more affectionate since I smiled at her yesterday.
“Yes, Vivi.”
“Then I’ll help you get ready so you can head to the breakfast hall right away…”
“No, I won’t be going today.”
“Pardon?”
Vivi’s freckled face was filled with confusion.
I smiled brightly.
“Call the butler and prepare to go out.”
“R-right now?”
“Yes, right now.”
It took Vivi a moment to snap out of her daze before she hurriedly began to move.
“I’ll get everything ready, Madam!”
Watching Vivi rush out of the room, I let out a small sigh of relief.
‘Yesterday’s negotiation was a success, but…’
On second thought, I realized there was no need to have breakfast with Ian every morning. Why force ourselves to eat together when neither of us enjoyed the company?
Judging by his attitude during our last breakfast, Ian probably wasn’t too thrilled about it either.
‘Let him wait for me and have a lonely breakfast by himself.’
This was a small act of revenge for all the times he had stood Diana up. Of course, he wouldn’t be affected at all by me standing him up or disappearing on him.
‘The more I think about it, the more irritating he is…’
How could the male protagonist be so insufferable? I was genuinely curious about the author’s taste.
As I was seriously pondering how to get back at Ian, there was a knock on the door.
“Madam, may I come in?”
“Yes, come in.”
With my permission, Vivi returned to the room with a group of maids.
“Madam is going to the marketplace today, so everyone, pay extra attention to her attire.”
“Yes, understood!”
The maids nodded vigorously at Vivi’s instructions and started bustling about with excitement.
“Madam, should we put your hair up? Or would you prefer it half-up, half-down?”
“Since you’ll be walking a lot in the marketplace, I’ll pick out loafers instead of high pumps. You’re tall enough, so it’ll still look stylish!”
“A light dress would be better than a formal gown.”
All I asked for was to prepare to go out, but it seemed like all the maids were overly enthusiastic. More than five maids were buzzing around me, bringing this and that, making me feel a bit overwhelmed.
‘I thought I could just throw on some clothes and head out…’
I had underestimated how seriously the nobles took their outings.
As I was surrounded by the maids, busy with preparations, the butler knocked on the door.
“Madam, it’s Harold, the butler.”
“Come in.”
“I was told you called for me.”
“Yes, I’m planning to go out to the marketplace today.”
“Ah, it’s been a while since you’ve gone on an outing.”
I nodded at the butler’s comment and smiled.
“So, please prepare a blank check for me immediately. Let’s start with… two should be enough.”
“A blank check, Madam?”
Harold gave me a look similar to the one Vivi had earlier. I narrowed my eyes.
“Why that look? Surely, you don’t mean to say you can’t give it to me?”
“N-no, of course not.”
Hearing the subtle warning in my tone, Harold quickly bowed his head.
After giving him a cool once-over, I turned my attention back to the mirror.
“Then get it ready. We’ll be leaving in thirty minutes.”
“Yes, understood. But…”
Harold hesitated before speaking.
“What about breakfast…?”
That damn breakfast.
Was there some rule in this house that not eating breakfast was a catastrophe?
I clicked my tongue loud enough for the butler to hear.
“I’m not interested, so pass the message on to His Grace.”
“…Understood.”
The butler bowed his head and quietly retreated.
After confirming that he had closed the door and disappeared, I hummed again and continued to prepare.
“Finish my hair.”
❖ ❖ ❖
“…So, Madam has said that she will not be attending breakfast today.”
The first floor dining hall. Ian’s gaze briefly flickered to the seat on his right before falling away.
Eloise, who had never been late to breakfast, had not come down even after 20 minutes, which made him wonder.
But instead of coming herself, she had sent the head butler with the message, “I don’t plan to attend breakfast today.”
“……”
His brows furrowed.
“Alright, you may leave.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The butler withdrew silently, his footsteps barely making a sound.
As Ian watched him disappear, he finally picked up the cutlery that had remained untouched until now.
In the silence, the faint clink of utensils echoed through the room.
‘What on earth is going on?’
Everything from last night to this morning had been strange.
Eloise, who had suddenly come to his study last night, had been very different from usual.
From the way she had thrown scandalous rumors about her in his face while shoving papers at him, to her sharp and biting tone.
On top of that…
“I’m going to fix the Duke from now on.”
“It seems the Duke is a lost cause.”
Since when did Eloise become the kind of woman to use such vulgar language?
No matter how much he thought about it, there were no answers.
Ian Claude had never taken enough interest in her to be able to discuss what kind of person she was.
Ian glanced at her empty seat.
‘Yesterday, she came to me out of nowhere, and today, she skips breakfast.’
In their two years of marriage, unless something extraordinary happened, the two of them always had breakfast together.
Neither had suggested it, but it had naturally become an unspoken rule.
That was probably because, aside from breakfast, they rarely had any other opportunities to speak to each other.
The butler had reported that Eloise had been busy preparing herself since early in the morning.
‘She took the blank check too.’
A woman who was extraordinarily distant from luxury had suddenly demanded a blank check.
Ian’s actions slowed as he mechanically chewed his food. Once again, Eloise from the day before came to mind.
“If you want, I can even grant you a divorce.”
She had said it in a tone that almost seemed like she was doing him a favor.
In truth, whether Eloise discussed divorce or not was none of Ian’s concern.
As she had said, all Ian needed was a duchess who could manage the estate’s finances and uphold the dignity of the title.
Eloise was indeed a suitable candidate, but she wasn’t an indispensable or irreplaceable presence.
In that regard, the conditions Eloise had presented to Ian the previous day were clearly advantageous to him.
However…
‘It’s bothering me.’
Clatter.
He set the cutlery down with a sharp noise. Even though he had been eating soft meat the entire time, his expression was as if he had been chewing on gravel.
Naturally, his plate was left barely half-finished.
“Clear this.”
Ian, his expression hardened, left the dining hall.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Ah, the weather’s nice.”
I smiled slightly as I stepped out of the carriage, basking in the sunlight.
“Vivi, did you bring everything?”
“Yes, yes, Madam. I brought the blank check and all the documents.”
“Good.”
Vivi, who was hurrying along behind me with quick steps, asked again,
“Are we really going to the dress shop?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve never seen Madam go to the dress shop before.”
Vivi added with an excited face.
In truth, the reason I had come to the bustling streets so early in the morning was something else. Now that I had decided to live in this world, I couldn’t just stay cooped up in the mansion.
Of course, until Diana returned, I could spend my time fixing Ian’s mental state while fulfilling my duties as the duchess.
But since it had come to this, I decided to prepare a smooth path for the return of my love, my goddess, my favorite, Diana.
To do that, I needed to run around tirelessly.
“Well then, shall we get going?”
For my love, my goddess, my dearest Diana’s happiness!
♧♧♧
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