“D-Duke?”
Even as I stammered in shock, Raynan remained unwavering. His deep, steady gaze settled on me, and suddenly, my heart pounded.
What is this?
Maybe if I looked away, escaping his gaze, I could think more clearly.
But his eyes felt like an invisible force holding me still. I couldn’t even blink as I stared back at him.
“Will you marry me?”
As Raynan spoke, he lifted my hand. A moment later, I felt something slip around my finger.
He lowered his gaze to my hand, his fingers brushing against mine.
As if entranced, I followed his gaze.
A ring with a clear gemstone now adorned my fourth finger.
I stared at it in a daze.
Unlike the crystals shimmering in the candlelight, the gem on the ring seemed to glow from within.
“Renee? It’s not good to keep me waiting like this.”
His voice finally snapped me out of my trance.
Keep him waiting?
The unexpected words made my eyes widen in surprise.
And then, I froze.
The man before me, always calm and composed, was now unable to hide his nervousness.
His eyes, filled with both anticipation and anxiety, stayed locked onto my lips, waiting for my answer.
Seeing him like this, I spoke without thinking.
“Ah… Yes! I will!”
My answer came out far too enthusiastically for the atmosphere.
Raynan’s face slowly broke into a smile.
It was a strange night.
I had never expected to see so many emotions on his face.
And now, I was even witnessing them spread across his features.
Of course, this wasn’t truly his real feelings.
With the servants and maids present, this dinner and proposal were undoubtedly part of his plans.
That thought helped calm my racing heart.
But as my heartbeat slowed, a new, unidentifiable emotion surfaced.
Raynan slowly lowered his head and kissed the ring he had placed on my finger.
His movements were so graceful that the act seemed almost ceremonial.
I held my breath, looking down at him.
Lifting his lips from the ring, he gazed up at me and said,
“I’m relieved. You have no idea how much I worried you might refuse.”
“Refuse…? That would never happen.”
My voice was barely above a whisper, but Raynan seemed to hear it.
He smiled in satisfaction, though he didn’t seem to notice the faint disappointment lingering in my tone.
He gave my hand a firm squeeze before finally returning to his seat.
After that, silence filled the dining room.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one caught off guard.
At Raynan’s subtle gesture, everyone suddenly snapped back to their senses and scrambled to resume their tasks.
With the arrival of dessert, the dinner neared its end.
Under normal circumstances, Edwin would have excitedly reacted to the sight of sweets, but he was unusually quiet.
Noticing this, I turned to him.
He was staring between Raynan and me, his expression dazed.
“Young Master Edwin?”
“Ah… um, so then…”
Edwin, who usually spoke with confidence despite his young age, was now fumbling over his words.
Worried that something was wrong, I started to rise from my seat—
But Raynan’s voice stopped me.
“Now that I think about it, I should make things clear.”
I could feel the entire room’s attention sharpening at his words, not just Edwin’s and mine.
“Edwin.”
“Yes, Father?”
“As you just saw, I’m going to marry Renee. Not right away, of course.”
“Yes!”
“But since our marriage is certain, from now on, you should consider Renee your mother.”
My eyes widened.
I had planned to discuss how Edwin should address me in the future, but…
It was nice that Raynan was settling it so clearly, but… Mother?
That seemed like a rather big leap with no middle ground.
I wasn’t sure how these relationships usually worked, but judging by the way the maid pouring water had completely frozen in place, it didn’t seem like an unreasonable reaction.
“Yes, Father!”
Edwin’s cheerful, energetic response seemed to shake everyone from their stunned silence.
The momentary stillness broke, and movement returned to the room.
Although everyone tried to keep a composed expression, they couldn’t fully hide their surprise.
“It’s not just Edwin. Everyone here should remember this fact and treat her with the proper respect.”
The second Raynan finished speaking, Roman, who had been silent until now, finally responded.
“Understood. I will serve her well.”
“Yes. I will treat her with the respect she deserves.”
Following Roman, Amelia also answered in a serious tone.
Only after they had spoken did the servants and maids in the dining room lower their heads in acknowledgment.
And so, dessert was eaten in an odd atmosphere—quiet and tense. I could hardly taste it.
Edwin, sitting right across from me, seemed to be in the same state. Instead of eagerly devouring his dessert, he would take a small bite, glance at me, take another bite, and then look at Raynan.
As the long dinner finally ended and we stepped out of the dining room, I heard a small voice call from behind.
“Mother?”
I turned around to see Edwin looking at me with the same nervous and anxious expression that Raynan had worn earlier.
“Ah…”
I wanted to answer him immediately. I could tell what kind of feelings had gone into him calling me that.
But changing a title I had been used to for so long wasn’t easy.
I repeated his name in my head a few times, hoping my response would sound natural.
“Yes, Edwin.”
As I smiled and answered, emotion slowly filled Edwin’s face.
“Good night!”
“Sleep well, Edwin.”
His face brightened even more, and he nodded enthusiastically.
I liked seeing him happy, so I just stood there watching him for a long time.
It seemed he felt the same—his smile didn’t fade. In fact, it grew even bigger as he kept looking at me.
Raynan didn’t rush us. He simply leaned against the wall and waited patiently for us to finish our unusually long goodnight.
The walk back to my room was quiet.
A mix of emotions swirled inside me—excitement, a fleeting moment of disappointment, warmth, and fondness when looking at Edwin.
So many small, nameless feelings jumbled together, making my thoughts a mess.
Caught up in them, I almost forgot to say goodnight to Raynan and was about to enter my room when he gently grabbed my arm and opened the door to his chamber.
“Stay for a moment. Let’s talk.”
“Okay.”
I thought we had already finished our conversation, but I followed him inside anyway. After all, we could finally talk comfortably.
His bedroom was simpler than I expected. Though, perhaps simple wasn’t the right word.
The spacious room was neatly arranged with luxurious furniture and decorations. There weren’t many items, which made it feel more open than I had anticipated.
But somehow, the atmosphere suited him perfectly, and I couldn’t help but smile a little.
“You must have been caught off guard, but you handled it well,” he remarked.
“Oh, I was very caught off guard. It would’ve been nice if you had told me beforehand.”
“That would’ve made it more awkward.”
I opened my mouth to argue but closed it again.
Because, in the end, I agreed.
If I had known, I probably would have acted more awkwardly.
“That’s true.”
Hearing my resigned tone, Raynan chuckled and sat down on the sofa, gesturing for me to take a seat as well.
“We’re announcing the engagement tomorrow. No matter how much we try to control the rumors, tonight’s events will spread one way or another.”
“I suppose so.”
“This much should be enough to convince everyone. Things will be much easier for you from now on.”
“Really?”
I asked without thinking, a hint of excitement in my voice.
Raynan frowned slightly.
“I’m not saying you can do nothing at all.”
“Right…”
So, I still had to maintain this affectionate act whenever we were seen together.
“What was it you wanted to ask this morning?”
“Oh, I was going to ask how I should address Edwin, but that’s already been settled.”
“I see.”
“Actually, there is one more thing…”
“What is it?”
“Are you aware of the rumors about me?”
“There are too many rumors about you. Which one are you referring to?”
“Well… the one that says I’m… pregnant.”
“Oh. The rumor that you’re carrying my child?”
His matter-of-fact response made my struggle to bring it up feel pointless.
“Yes. I mean, it’s obviously not true, but that one feels a bit much…”
“Ignore it. It’ll fade soon enough once people find something else to talk about. Besides, thanks to that, announcing our engagement now won’t cause too much of a stir—it actually worked in our favor.”
I immediately understood what he meant by this much.
He was referring to his proposal at dinner.
I had already assumed that was the case, but hearing it from his own mouth drained the last bit of excitement I had left.
I felt a small pang of disappointment creeping in, so I quickly changed the subject.
“But Edwin…”
“Edwin,” Raynan corrected me immediately.
I had thought that maybe, when we were alone, it wouldn’t matter.
But the firm look in his eyes made me reconsider.
“I’m worried about him. He really believes we’re getting married. He’s bound to get hurt later.”
Raynan didn’t respond right away.
He just stared at me.
His expression held concern, but strangely, I felt like he wasn’t worried about Edwin—he was worried about me.
“This isn’t something you need to worry about.”
“But wouldn’t it be better to at least give him a hint? Or… would that just hurt him more?”
The way he had been so happy about becoming family, the way he had called me Mother so carefully…
The thought of it made my heart feel heavy.
Maybe, out of everything, Edwin was the one thing that made this whole situation the hardest for me.
“Edwin is much smarter than you think,” Raynan said.
“But he’s still a child.”
“If we explain things properly, he’ll understand. And he needs to understand if he’s going to take his rightful place.”
His words were cold, but oddly enough, I could sense his trust in Edwin through them.
He was right. But it didn’t make me feel any less sad.
Noticing my expression, Raynan reached out and held my hand.
His grip wasn’t tight, but it was warm, comforting.
“Edwin is stronger than you think. So trust him.”
“Okay.”
“As long as you give him all the love and care you can, that will be enough for him.”
Hearing that, I slowly started to feel at ease.
Or maybe it wasn’t his words but the way he was looking at me.
For the first time, Raynan didn’t look like a cold nobleman.
He looked like a father.
