Chapter 29
“I can’t believe you actually believed I was going to kill you.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
I felt like I owed him an apology for something, so I politely clasped my hands together and bowed my head.
“For what?”
“Ju-judging by the atmosphere here and there, I’m pretty sure it was…”
“What do you mean here and there atmosphere?”
Raynan seemed really curious about the reason and asked, leaning forward with his upper body.
After looking at his concentrated face for a moment, I took a deep breath and confessed that I had overheard his conversation with Roman the other day.
“For some reason, I thought there was someone there.”
“What?”
“No. Why did you think it was about you?”
“Because I’m the only woman close enough to influence young master Edwin.”
“I see.”
Raynan nodded and leaned back on the sofa.
“You’ve really misunderstood. I can’t tell you who it is, but it’s not about you, Renee.”
“Pardon?”
I thought the only thing left to do was to get scolded for secretly eavesdropping on the conversation. Raynan simply corrected my misunderstanding.
“Ah…”
After understanding his words, a belated sigh came out.
“Then I guess you’ve heard my answer now.”
“What answer are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you tell me to save you?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I mistook myself and made a fuss.”
“You seem to have an active imagination.”
“But how did you know I was leaving? And how did you know it was today…?”
“If you didn’t want to get caught, you should have acted like you normally do.”
I was acting normal! I worked so hard to achieve it.
I felt a surge of resentment as Raynan’s words trampled over all my hard work in an instant.
“Like now. It’s impossible not to notice because your behavior was noticeably strange.”
He said, pointing to my face. When I didn’t understand what he meant, Raynan kindly added an explanation.
“It stands out quite well. I think you thought you were acting as usual until now?”
Are you reading my mind? Or was I really that obvious.
“Then you’re not really going to kill me, are you?”
I can’t put my mind at ease, so I checked again.
“That processing. In the first place, I didn’t mean to kill someone, but to move her work location.”
“Moving her work location?”
“Yes.”
No, but why do you use the word ‘process’ and why do you create such a bloody atmosphere?
Raynan’s words made me blush. What the hell was all this fuss about?
“It seems like the misunderstanding has been resolved. Would you like to hear the answer to my question now?”
“I think I misheard you.”
“What did you hear?”
“Oh, that we should get married…”
It didn’t make any sense, but I couldn’t figure out what he said. I felt like I wanted to hide in a rat hole because I had to say it out loud.
“You heard me correctly.”
“What? You actually asked me to marry you?”
I couldn’t believe my ears again. Raynan frowned slightly as if he didn’t like something about me.
“I never guessed…”
The words slipped out of my mouth like an apology.
“So what is the answer?”
“No?”
I raised my voice without realizing it, so it sounded like a question, but Raynan seemed to understand what I meant. His face crumpled more noticeable than before.
Did I offend him by rejecting it so bluntly?
“Why?”
“Why…”
Raynan seemed to have never expected my rejection.
You didn’t expect me to clasp your hand and say, “Thank you!” when you asked me to marry you out of the blue.
Obviously, I was flustered by the situation, but at first glance, he seemed more flustered.
“… Why do you refuse?”
“It’s not like the Duke and I are close enough to marry in the first place….”
I didn’t know why I had to explain this. But Raynan seemed like he wouldn’t stop asking questions until he was convinced.
“More than that, I heard that you are going to marry a lady from the Krause family. Why are you asking me that?”
It was my mistake to misunderstand. Please stop saying that.
Marrying Raynan? I had once thought of Raynan and his marriage to Bella.
To think I might end up in that bleak, dry landscape.
When I saw Raynan and Edwin earlier, I wondered if I should have run outside instead of stopping in surprise.
“You’re wrong about that, too.”
“Wrong?”
“Yes. I have no intention of marrying Bella Krause. I know there are rumors like that, but I’m letting them be.”
“Although she is a Marquis, the Krause family has considerable wealth and a good connection… But you’re a much better match for me than the lady from the Krause family.”
His expression grew grimmer as I continued to argue my inadequacy as a match for Raynan.
“I saw her before, she was definitely a beauty…”
“Renee.”
“… Yes.”
“I didn’t ask you to find someone suitable for me.”
“Yes.”
“If marriage is too sudden, an engagement is fine.”
“That also means you promise to get married in the end…”
Raynan looked puzzled at my words, which came out like a lament. As if her thoughts and work were going very differently.
Raynan was deep in thought for a while. Since we hadn’t finished the conversation and I couldn’t get up, I waited.
Occasionally, his gaze would linger on mine. With mixed emotions.
Raynan, who had been silent for a long time, clasped his hands together and opened his mouth.
“Let’s first listen to the conditions and then decide.”
Quit your current job and move to a better job?
With that feeling in mind, Raynan began to recite the conditions clearly.
“The period is one year. We’ll talk about an extension again in a year.”
From the first conditions, it wasn’t much different from my feeling that it was more like a job change than an engagement. Upon seeing her puzzled face, Raynan immediately started the second condition.
“Your salary will be doubled, and after the engagement is over, if you want…”
“If I want?”
Raynan took a deep breath and spoke as if he had made a big decision.
“You can leave. And I’ll make sure you don’t run out of money or anything else you need, but I want you to say goodbye to Edwin properly.”
“Are you saying it’s okay to leave?”
“Of course you can stay at the manor, and I’ll put you as Edwin’s nanny or in any position you choose, if that’s what you want.”
“Duke, I have a question.”
“Duke, I have a question for you.”
“What?”
“You’re talking about an engagement, right?”
“Yes.”
I was confused as to whether Raynan’s definition of engagement was different from what I knew, or whether it was because of the different worlds he and I lived in.
No matter how you look at it, it’s more like scouting than an engagement.
“I need an engagement now. And no matter how you look at it, there is no one more qualified than Renee.”
“Why me?”
“I would like to be seen as a person who is blinded by love and unable to see between what is right and wrong.”
Blinded by love? Can’t tell the difference?
Those words don’t suit him.
“First of all, it’s for Edwin’s sake, so I hope you’ll think about it carefully.”
“What do you mean, for young master Edwin’s sake?”
“Death is always close to Loerian’s successor. Have you ever heard of such a story?”
“No.”
I had never heard of it. I don’t know if there was a story like that in the original, but I didn’t remember it.
Since I didn’t have much time to hang out with other people when I came here, I didn’t know about the rumors, so it might have been natural that I didn’t know.
“It’s a pretty famous story in the Empire, so I’m surprised you’re hearing it for the first time.”
“Oh, now that I think about it, I think I’ve heard a similar story somewhere…”
I added quickly because it was strange that I was the only one who didn’t know a story that everyone else knew.
Fortunately, Raynan continued his explanation, he also didn’t think it was strange.
“Loerian’s successors suffered from unknown illnesses or were seriously injured or died in accidents.”
“Ah….”
That was a story I also knew. Is that why it was a rumor?
“The reason there is no threat to Edwin yet is because only a few people believe that he is the heir. But the atmosphere has changed these days.”
I knew that as Edwin started taking various classes, the way people looked at him was changing little by little.
But I didn’t realize it meant he might be in danger.
“If people believe that I am obsessed with the maid and can’t make good decisions, the number of people who believe that Edwin will be the successor will also decrease.”
So you’re saying I’m more qualified than Bella.
“Do you feel like giving a different answer now?”
*****
Even after hearing Renee’s answer that she would not leave, Edwin couldn’t shake off his anxiety.
It was Roman’s job to soothe Edwin.
“Rene said it herself, so believe it.”
“I trust Renee. However…”
“Yes. It’s natural to feel anxious. For now, it will be much better if you sleep today and meet Renee tomorrow.”
After barely comforting Edwin and seeing him asleep, more time had passed than I thought.
As soon as he left Edwin’s bedroom, Roman ran towards Raynan’s office.
This is because I was worried about whether Renee and Raynan could finish this important story together.
In another sense, wouldn’t it be that two people who are clueless in many ways are making things complicated again?
Although he put on a brave face in front of Edwin, Roman was equally anxious.
But it seemed like the two had already finished talking before Roman arrived. In front of the office, I ran into Renee who was just about to leave.
“I never thought it would be tonight.”
As soon as I saw Renee, the thoughts that came to my mind flowed out of my mouth.
I didn’t know Edwin’s intuition would be so correct. Did Raynan know that and matched Edwin’s instinct?
“Yes?”
“No. I’m more concerned about the future…”
For the first time in a while, someone was giving serious advice, but Rene stepped back. Her eyes filled with wariness.
Well, last time I tried to give good advice, but it ended up giving her a hard time.
“It’s not that… You can always come to me if you have any questions in the future.”
He said it in a somewhat friendly voice with apologetic feelings.
But the wariness on Renee’s face only intensified.
“It may be too late now, but I take back the advice I gave you before.”
“Pardon?”
“I too sometimes misunderstand the Duke’s intentions. I’m sorry for confusing you.”
Roman’s neat apology did little to ease Renee’s wariness.
“It’s okay not to be so wary. After all, you were caught trying to run away today, weren’t you?”
“… I did.”
“You can’t think about running away for a while. Even if it’s because of young master Edwin.”
“… I guess so.”
The tense wariness was gone in an instant, and instead Renee answered in a downcast voice.
“Which is why I want you to come to me in the future, especially before you do something like this.”
“Why?”
“It’s because I feel like I too would be quite bothered or distressed by your trivial actions. So let’s do it for all of us.”
Renee’s guard was down, but she still didn’t nod easily.
“Anyway, it’s better than having no one to ask you.”
“That’s right…”
“Just remember, I’m very sincere and I don’t mean any harm.”
“All right.”
She had a very shocked expression, but he couldn’t force her any further.
“You’ll have more trouble tomorrow. Go back and get some rest.”
“Yes… I’ll go back first…”
Renee greeted me with an even more tired face.
The sight of her running away, holding her bag tightly, made me worry for a moment that she might run away again.
