Chapter 62
It had been quite some time since Harold left.
Evan walked anxiously in front of the mansion doors, biting his nails.
‘When are they both coming back?’
Recently, Diana had seemed deep in thought, and Harold had been paying close attention to her.
Then, Harold suddenly received an urgent message from Anais, the guild leader.
Evan couldn’t bring himself to ask Harold about it as he rushed out.
All he knew was that Harold left because of something related to Diana, and his expression had been serious.
Since then, Evan had been nervous, desperately hoping for Duke Baisen to build a happy family with her.
‘It’s nothing serious, right?’
It had better not be. If something bad happened, who knew what the Duke, with his unpredictable personality, would do…
Just then, Harold returned to the mansion, and Evan rushed toward him like lightning.
“Where’s Diana?”
“She hasn’t returned yet.”
“Oh… really?”
Evan studied Harold’s face and was shocked.
‘That expression…?’
But with so many people around, he swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue.
Following Harold into the study, he shut the door firmly behind them.
“Did everything go well at the guild?”
“Yes, it went well.”
Sure. You really look like it went well.
“If it’s not too much to ask, may I know what the issue was?”
That was what Evan was dying to know. He had asked about the outcome, which only led to this question.
Harold sat at his desk, staring at Diana’s desk beside his own.
Then, the corners of his red lips lifted lazily.
“Diana likes me. She was curious about my feelings.”
“……”
“She said she wants to confess in person.”
Evan’s jaw dropped. Then, he raised his hand and slapped his own cheek.
Slap!
Ow, that hurts.
Slap!
It really hurts!
Slap!
This isn’t a dream!
Slap!
This is real!
“Hahaha!”
Fireworks exploded in his head. Today was a festival, a national holiday—at least for him.
Evan burst into laughter, unable to contain his joy.
“Haha…! Hah… sniff… wahhh!”
And then, he broke down, sobbing his heart out.
“You’re making a mess. Stop crying already. And stop slapping yourself.”
“Sniff! How can I stop, sniff, crying?! The tears just keep coming! And my cheek… sniff!”
Evan wanted to say he kept slapping himself to confirm it wasn’t a dream but swallowed the words with his tears. This was all an effort to ensure their love wasn’t jinxed!
“Sigh… If you’re going to keep crying, just get out.”
Harold rubbed his forehead, pulled out a handkerchief from his drawer, and tossed it at Evan.
“Yes, sir. Sniff. I’ll go.”
Evan clutched the handkerchief tightly and stumbled out of the study.
“Sniff… I’m so happy.”
As he wiped his tears and snot, he walked down the hall.
“Oh my! Sir Evan!”
Anna, walking from the opposite direction, widened her eyes at the sight of him.
“Did something good happen?”
It was no secret among the mansion staff that Evan cried whenever something good happened.
“Yes, something, sniff, very good happened.”
“Whatever it is, congratulations!”
Anna clapped her hands and smiled brightly. Evan hesitated for a moment, looking around.
No one was around.
After confirming they were alone, he lowered his voice.
“Miss Anna, this is a secret, but I heard that Madam wants to do something special for His Grace.”
“Huh? Even as her personal maid, I haven’t heard anything about that.”
“Shh! I happened to overhear it by chance. Anyway, if you ever get the chance, make sure they can be alone together! Quietly!”
“Yes! I’ll make sure of it!”
“As expected, Miss Anna, you’re reliable. I’ll be on my way now, sniff.”
Seeing Anna’s determined nod, Evan felt reassured.
‘This should make it easier for Madam to confess.’
Tears streamed down his face again as he walked past her.
Anna watched him leave, then turned away, lost in thought.
So… Madam wanted to do something for His Grace?
‘Oh my! Could it be an event?!’
Just the thought made her heart race, and she blushed.
“You two really are so sweet.”
With renewed determination, Anna clenched her fists. Her brown eyes sparkled with excitement.
A week later, after finishing my lunch, I called for Anna before heading to the study in my room.
“Anna.”
“Yes! Do you need anything?”
Her eager expression reminded me of a puppy waiting for a treat.
“No… I just wanted to tell you I’ll be in the study for a while, so you can take a break.”
“I see… If you need anything, please let me know!”
“Uh, sure.”
Anna had always been a diligent worker, but lately, she had been unusually proactive.
Did something change?
I entered the study and sat at my desk. Then, I pulled out a book from the drawer: Super Easy! Learn the Prolang Language in One Month for Beginners!
‘Alright, let’s do this.’
I opened the book. Since I was still at the basic alphabet stage, it wasn’t too difficult.
I lost track of time as I studied.
Knock, knock.
A sudden knock snapped me out of focus.
Oh no!
Like a guilty thief, I hurriedly stuffed the language book back into the drawer and shouted, “Come in!”
Harold entered the room. With his long legs and wide strides, he reached my desk in no time.
“You’ve been coming to the study every day lately.”
“I’ve been reading.”
I casually tapped the book in front of me.
Just in case someone visited, I had placed it on the desk in advance. No one had disturbed me all week, so I had relaxed, but now…
My heart was still racing.
Checking the time, I saw that thirty minutes had passed.
“I was planning to read for another thirty minutes. Did you need something?”
“Hm. Just came by.”
Yeah, right. Like he had time to wander around aimlessly.
Just then, another knock sounded.
At my permission, the butler stepped inside.
“Good afternoon, Madam. Good afternoon, Your Grace.”
“Good afternoon, Butler. What is it?”
“I’ve brought letters and invitations for Madam.”
“Oh? They’re early today.”
I accepted the letters and invitations he handed me.
Looking at the thick stack of papers, I felt a strange sense of wonder.
Ever since the royal event, the number of letters I received from nobles had tripled.
Most of them were similar.
Pages filled with overly flowery language, all summarizing the same thing: ‘It was nice to see your change. Let’s get along in the future.’
“…You really never know what the future holds.”
Even after several days, it still felt surreal how differently people treated me.
Thinking back, the turning point seemed to be the Eclipse Hunting Tournament, when Viscount Handley spoke up for me.
“Haha, there have been many happy events lately.”
“That’s true.”
I smiled softly.
Personally, not everything had been good, but that was my own issue. Overall, things had been going well.
I decided to look through the letters later and set them aside.
At that moment, the butler spoke in a polite tone.
“Your Grace, Madam, I have a suggestion. To celebrate the recent joyful events, how about hosting a party?”
“……”
“If we host a party where young ladies and gentlemen who haven’t found their match yet can meet, it will strengthen your position even more, my lady.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
Following the deep, pleasant voice, I looked at Harold. He was leaning on the desk with one hand, looking down at me.
“What do you think?”
“I like it too.”
As the saying goes, ‘strike while the iron is hot.’ Strengthening a positive image at this moment wouldn’t be a bad thing.
After finishing the conversation about the party, the butler left the room, closing the door behind him.
‘Harold isn’t leaving? Why did he even come here?’
As I turned to look at Harold, still standing there, I gasped, swallowing a scream.
