“Have you been waiting long?”
I gently opened the study door and smiled. Seeing me, the Duchess, no, the author, smiled back at me.
“Come here, Lady Roha. I have many questions for you.”
“Me? You have questions for me?”
Oh my goodness. Is this real? The Duchess seated me on the sofa and served me tea. The fragrant scent of chamomile filled the study.
“As you know, I write romance novels.”
“Please speak comfortably.”
“Oh, should I?”
The Duchess smiled brightly as she spoke quickly. At that moment, I couldn’t help but regret that this place was not in the 21st century. Ha. If only I had a camera, I might have been more comfortable as a fan.
I couldn’t believe it. I felt like I was in a dream. I had so many questions and things I wanted to talk about with the author.
We chatted for a long time. The Duchess was so kind and attentive, making me feel at ease. After finishing a pot of chamomile tea, her maid brought in a fresh pot.
“Lady Roha?”
“Yes! I’m listening.”
“How did you meet my son?”
I put down my teacup, almost spilling it. Should I lie to my beloved author or tell the truth? I hesitated, but the Duchess noticed my discomfort.
“No, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I must have made you uncomfortable.”
“No, it’s not that…”
“I understand. It’s hard to talk about such things with someone you’ve just met. You see, I don’t have a daughter, so meeting you makes me feel like I have one. You know I’m an anonymous author, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
“So, meeting someone who loves my books is a rare and precious experience for me. As you can see, my son doesn’t have the personality to enjoy such novels.”
Seeing her genuine interest, I felt guilty for not being honest. I closed my eyes briefly, then decided to tell her the truth about how I got entangled with Armin Grey.
“Oh my, what a story.”
The Duchess listened intently, her eyes wide with surprise and amusement.
“So, Vivian, are you saying that my son is blackmailing you with the recording ring?”
I suddenly realized I had said too much. “No, not blackmail, it’s more like a… a deal! Yes, a deal. Really!”
My hurried explanation didn’t fool the Duchess.
“Blackmailing a lady? That rascal!”
She laughed heartily, genuinely amused. I couldn’t believe she found this situation entertaining.
She rang a bell, and the butler appeared promptly.
“You called, Madam.”
“Butler, go and bring Armin here.”
“No!! Please don’t!”
I tried to stop the Duchess, but her expression was determined and I couldn’t possibly stop her.
Cold sweat dripped down my back. I thought it was a desperate moment. Isn’t this like telling the bully’s mother all about the atrocities he did.
Of course he’ll be obedient in front of her, but I’m in a position to see her twice in the future!
I begged her not to do that, but the Duchess became more determined by my frightened appearance.
The bus for regret had already left. The butler nodded at the Duchess’ order and went outside without time for me to stop him.
“Vivian, don’t worry! I’ll definitely scold him.”
“Oh, you don’t have to…”
If you give him a hard time, I’ll get in trouble again. That’s the reason…
I couldn’t bring myself to speak, so I was only talking like that in my heart.
Knock. After a while, I heard a knock.
Squeak.
The door opened, but I couldn’t bear to look there. I was playing only one song in my head.
Come on, come on, come on.
I had just told the author herself that I was being blackmailed by her son. What would he think? What would he do? My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt like I might faint.
‘I’ll make it home alive today, right?’
I was so nervous that I didn’t know if it was blood, sweat, or tears flowing from my scalp. If I opened my mouth, I thought my heart could pop out.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
What had I said earlier? ‘Actually, I also want to meet you more often.’ ‘I was so excited when you came to pick me up today.’ ‘Did you hear my heartbeat?’ I had said such ridiculous things, And now he was here, probably wondering why I was acting so strangely.
From his point of view, it must seem absurd. Like someone who was excessively throwing flattery to seduce him, just so she could get to his mother. She had no sense of shame, so she twisted her head at an ambiguous angle and tried not to look at him.
“Armin! Can’t you come right away?”
The Duchess called out to her son, her voice stern. I could only stare, my heart in my throat.
I raised my head ever so slightly, and looked at Armin Grey. I ended up making eye contact. His first expression was a look that indicated he did not know why he was asked to be here.
“I’m so disappointed! How can you take the weakness of a vulnerable lady and threaten her. And you call yourself a Grey?”
“What…”
“Enough! Just take off the ring and hand it over. Honestly, how many times do I have to tell you to only wear it for important occasions? Why on earth are you using it for something so trivial?”
The stream of nagging from the duchess, starkly contrasting her stunning first impression, was relentless, like a bombardment.
Armin Grey’s expression began to shift, slowly piecing together the likely story exchanged between me and the duchess. As he took one step closer, then another, I couldn’t help but flinch repeatedly. His face, gradually blossoming into a full bloom of irritation—much like a rose unfolding—was terrifying.
Surely, he wouldn’t resort to violence, right? I mean, he’s still a noble, after all… right?
She stretched out her hand to her son. It was a gesture for the ring. On the other hand, she looked at me with pity. She must have misunderstood something about me shaking like a palm tree.
“Oh, my. What on earth was it about that you’re so scared?”
“It’s okay!”
“Huh? Vivian. What do you mean?”
“No, that! It wasn’t a big deal, so it’s okay. You don’t have to check it out.”
I desperately stopped the Duchess, as it was clear that my image would be destroyed if she heard my recording.
I have never seen any grown-ups who would despise a lady who was modest and somehow disliked her. In other words, the Duchess might come to dislike me if she checked the recording where I spoke informally to her son. It was a no-no even if I died.
I winked at Armin Grey to never deliver the ring, but he delivered it to his mother with an elegant gesture as if laughing at me. It was clear that he intended to inform the author of my true self.
Armin Grey’s voice came to me, devastated.
“It’s a misunderstanding. I was joking, but I didn’t expect you to really believe it.”
“What?”
“I deleted everything that was recorded that day. What’s more, threats? There’s no way I would do that.”
Then, his mouth opened when he shrugged. It was amazing how he lied without blinking. Are you the same person who watched the recording in front of me several times that day?
The Duchess turned the ring around with a little suspicious expression. As Armin Grey said, the ring had no recordings. I was so nervous, a cold sweat broke out on my back.
“Hmm, that’s a relief, my son is not a shameless bulldog afterall.”
“Lady Roha.”
It was a low, soft voice that was pleasant to hear, but I was very frightened and looked at Armin Grey.
“I’m sorry, I must have frightened you.”
“Oh… No, it’s all right.”
“Will you accept my apology?”
Well, given that his eyes were smiling, but his gaze was downright chilling, I didn’t think I had a choice.
“Yes, of course. I’m sorry for misunderstanding…”
“Don’t apologize. From your perspective, it wasn’t a misunderstanding.”
With that, he smiled brightly once more, though the intensity in his eyes made it clear he wasn’t joking.
“It’s not a misunderstanding, it’s not.”
The duchess turned the ring over and inspected it a bit more before nodding as if she’d come to a conclusion.
“Armin.”
“Yes, mother?”
“Can I keep the ring?”
“Of course. I hardly use it anyway.”
His casual demeanor only made the situation more surreal. But then I noticed something that made my heart skip a beat: the ring in the duchess’s hand.
“Huh?”
“Vivian. What’s wrong?”
“N-no! It’s just… the ring is so beautiful.”
I stammered, trying to cover my confusion.
‘Wait a second… doesn’t the color look different from before?’
But with Armin Grey glaring at me like that, I didn’t dare question it further. If I ended up being wrong, the fallout would be far too humiliating to handle.
