“Vivi! Why are you running like that!”
Startled by my dramatic entrance, Sasha jumped up. I was already sweating from the slight exertion, my forehead glistening. Sasha tried to wipe my forehead with a handkerchief, but I refused. My brother was worried that I, having lost my composure, might cross a river from which I can’t return from.
“Brother, please step outside for a moment.”
“What?”
“Just for a moment. Please.”
Sasha didn’t listen. He was determined not to leave, fearing I might cause some trouble.
However, Sasha had no choice but to leave the room. Armin Grey, with a laugh in his voice, said,
“Please do as she says, Lord Roha. I also have something to discuss with Lady Roha, so it would be good if you could give us some privacy.”..
With Armin Grey saying that as well, Sasha had no room to resist.
I ordered all the maids to leave the room as well. Once everyone had left, only Armin Grey and I remained in the drawing room.
Armin Grey, who had been staring at me, spoke first.
“Did you receive the gift?”
“Gift?”
“I asked my mother to write a letter for you. Have you not received it yet?”
“Oh! That? Yes, I received it. Very well!”
I crossed my arms and glared at Armin Grey. It was the most intimidating pose I knew. When I did this, Sasha would sweat profusely and try to appease me. However, seeing Armin Grey’s smiling face, it didn’t seem to have much effect on him.
“You don’t seem very happy.”
“Why should I be happy?”
“Didn’t you say you liked that book?”
Seeing Armin Grey’s puzzled expression, I almost lost my temper. But being a rational person, I suppressed my anger and spoke.
“I have a question.”
At my words, Armin Grey’s shoulders moved slightly, indicating for me to go ahead.
“The heretic inquisitors. Do they still exist?”
“Heretic… inquisitors?”
Armin Grey’s expression darkened.
“It seems you didn’t pay much attention in your theology classes. The ethical barbarism of heretic inquisitions is often criticized.”
In other words, it was all a lie.
“Then… then why did you say that to me that day?”
My question trailed off, unable to finish asking why he had said that to me. I wanted to grab him by the collar and shake him vigorously.
Oblivious to my feelings, Armin Grey answered casually.
“Just…”
“Just?”
“It was a simple prank.”
A mischievous smile flickered across Armin Grey’s face and disappeared.
“Your moment of panic was quite amusing.”
I finally screamed.
“Hey!”
“Hey?”
“Yeah! You! Who do you think you are? First, you scare me with talk of heretic inquisitors, and now you’re saying it’s a book your mom wrote?”
‘Has he ever even heard the informal term “hey”?’
For a moment, his finely drawn, painting-like face froze. The look of confusion was unfamiliar on him. It was clear that he was not a man who was often taken aback.
Seeing his expression, I suddenly realized my mistake. But it was too late; the water had already been spilled. His bewildered face annoyed me, so I continued to shout.
“…Did you get scared?”
“Obviously!”
Although I switched to polite language afterward.
Being angry and digging your own grave are two different things. Even if it’s humiliating, there’s nothing you can do. Everyone has experienced it. Fighting with your mom, slamming the door, and then cautiously opening it again the next day, making an excuse like, ‘It wasn’t me, the wind did it!’
Fortunately, using polite language seemed to help, as Armin Grey didn’t seem too angry about the previous informal address.
“Why is that obvious? To me, it’s more surprising that you believed it.”
“Well, that’s because… that’s because you were talking about scary things like demon worship!”
“Leaving aside your lack of knowledge in theology,” Armin Grey said, looking puzzled.
“You could have just asked your brother and found out immediately.”
I was speechless. He was right; if I had casually mentioned it to Sasha or anyone around him, I would have known right away.
A sense of shame washed over me. Misdirected anger leaves you feeling embarrassed. It usually makes the person who took the joke too seriously seem like they lack a sense of humor.
“I didn’t think you’d be scared… I’m sorry.”
His calm voice reached me as I stood there, shouting and then feeling awkward. His apology made me even more flustered, and I rolled my eyes.
‘He’s sorry?’
The Armin Grey I had heard about was supposed to be arrogant and bad-tempered. I didn’t expect an apology to come so easily from him.
However, anger has momentum, and once it starts, it takes time to stop.
I crossed my arms even tighter and said, “Does saying you’re sorry make everything okay?”
“I thought it was obviously a joke since it was such a ridiculous story.”
I stared at him, mouth agape.
“There are things you can joke about and things you can’t.”
“I’ve never tried joking before, so it seems I made a mistake. But listen,”
When apologizing, there’s no need for words like ‘but’ or ‘you too.’ They only serve to anger the person more. Armin Grey clearly had as little experience with apologizing as he did with joking.
“There’s no need to blame yourself entirely. It’s also problematic to believe such nonsense. Even if heretic inquisitors existed, they wouldn’t arrest you just for reading a romance novel.”
I stared at Armin Grey, dumbfounded. So, it really was nonsense?
“Nonsense?”
“The inquisitors wouldn’t be interested in something as trivial as a romance novel.”
“So, are you saying this is my fault?”
Armin Grey chuckled and gracefully set down his teacup.
“It’s not about assigning blame; I’m just pointing out that you’re more naive than I thought. The mistake was mine. I didn’t expect you to be so gullible.”
“But you took the book! You said you needed to investigate it.”
Feeling wronged, I stomped my feet. Seeing my reaction, Armin’s expression changed, reminiscent of the day we met at the palace.
“I thought you’d be happy to receive a letter from the author since you liked the book enough to bring it to the ball.”
It was a strange mix of amusement and mischief. Armin Grey leaned back in his chair, smiling lazily.
“Then why didn’t you just tell me that day?”
“I couldn’t reveal my mother’s secret hobby without her permission.”
That made sense. If Sasha revealed my hobbies to others without my consent, I’d be furious.
I felt a mix of frustration and understanding, with no room to argue further. Armin Grey’s soft laughter reached my ears.
“I’m sorry again. If I had known you’d be so scared, I wouldn’t have played such a prank.”
It was a sincere apology, albeit a clumsy one. I found myself nodding unconsciously.
“Well… okay then.”
“So, how did you like my gift? Were you too angry to enjoy it?”
Quite the opposite. I loved it. It was a limited edition with a signed letter and stamp from my favorite author—how could I not love it?
I shook my head nonchalantly. Seeing my reaction, Armin Grey chuckled again.
“Does that mean you liked it?”
“Very much.”
“Good. It was worth the effort.”
“Effort?”
Armin Grey waved his hand dismissively at my question.
When I came down from my room to the drawing room, I expected some drama, but surprisingly, the situation resolved smoothly.
Only after my anger subsided did I realize I was alone in the drawing room with a man. In this world, it was considered improper for a man and a woman to be alone together in a room.
Feeling suddenly embarrassed, I quickly changed the subject.
“Since we’re done talking, should I call for Sasha?”
“Vivian Roha.”
As soon as I awkwardly finished speaking, Armin Grey called my name. My heart sank.
The situation was unusual, and no one had ever called me by my name like that before. It was a strange feeling I had never experienced before.
I turned my head to look at him, his violet eyes steadily gazing at me with a hint of amusement.
“From our last meeting to today,” he said with a slight chuckle.
“The rumors about you and your actual personality are quite different.”
“Rumors? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Suddenly, the tables had turned. Just moments ago, Armin Grey was the one apologizing, but now I felt cornered. Sweat trickled down my spine.
“Rumor has it that you are a frail and quiet lady.”
Am I really frail and quiet…? I was flustered, unable to respond, as this was the first time I had shown this side of myself to someone outside my family. Before I could gather my thoughts, Armin Grey continued.
“But you laugh well, talk loudly,” he added with another soft laugh.
“And get angry easily.”
