I never expected ‘next time’ to come this soon. Meeting him again in less than a day wasn’t part of my plan.
But there’s a saying: strike while the iron is hot. As terrifying as the idea of being alone with Armin Grey was, avoiding it wouldn’t solve anything. And since I needed to fulfill the Duchess’s request, it was essential to at least try to get along with him.
Dating Armin Grey felt overwhelming, but my desire to see the next manuscript outweighed the burden.
As I stepped out of the study, there he was, waiting for me at the entrance hall. When he saw me emerging with the Duchess, he stood from his chair.
Even in the morning, I’d thought he looked like a painting come to life. It was hard not to notice someone who looked that good, no matter how much you tried.
The Duchess even personally escorted us to the carriage. With two signed books clenched tightly in my arms, I climbed in. The carriage began moving.
It was around twilight, the sun starting to set. Like the ride to the Greys’ estate, the carriage was quiet.
I stole a glance at Armin Grey, trying to gauge his mood, but he was the one to speak first.
“What were you thinking when you told my mother about that? Did you consider the consequences of your actions?”
He didn’t hold back. His sharp words made me gulp nervously as I met his gaze.
In the dimming sunlight, his platinum hair seemed tinged with a faint orange hue. His handsome face, now marked with visible irritation, bore down on me.
“Consequences? It was just an accident, an honest mistake.”
He let out a small laugh—beautiful as ever, like an image frozen in time. But the sound of it was steeped in annoyance, making it impossible for me to laugh along.
“Vivian Roha.”
“Yes…?”
I couldn’t help but flinch every time he called my name. His tilted gaze pinned me in place, the playful smile gone from his face.
“After observing you for the past few days, I’ve realized something: you’re quite skilled at lying.”
“Lying…?”
“The first time we met, when I came to your house, and even today.”
I froze, unable to utter a word. Whether it was pretending to be confident or denying a voice recording, I couldn’t deny that some of my actions had bordered on dishonesty.
“…I’m sorry.”
I hesitated briefly, debating whether to explain myself, but in the end, I decided to apologize honestly. There was no way I could smooth over what happened today without feeling a pang of guilt.
“Be honest with me.”
His languid voice was calm, and his expression was neutral, but there was a flicker of expectation in his eyes.
“Was anything you said to me today sincere?”
It felt like we had exchanged quite a lot of words since this morning, but I knew exactly what he meant by “what you said today.” He was referring to the flirting I had done in front of the study to try and coax Armin.
If I had been sincere, those words wouldn’t have come so easily. Every word I uttered was purely with the intent to charm the other person, like a game where my sole purpose was to achieve my goal. Those lies slid out smoothly, as if coated in oil.
If I were to answer Armin Grey honestly, as he demanded, then the truth was that not a single word of it was genuine. If I wanted to appease him even a little, I should’ve mixed in some sincerity, but after all the guilt I felt in the Duchess’s room earlier, I just couldn’t bring myself to lie anymore.
“So, it was all lies.”
“…Yes.”
I could practically hear the sound of this “date” going down the drain. And along with it, my chance at the next manuscript.
The plan Sasha and I had come up with turned out to be utterly useless. A schemer? Forget that—there’s no better way to earn someone’s disdain than this.
No man likes a liar. Even if he had some interest in me before, it probably fled ten miles away by now.
When I saw the flicker of disappointment in Armin’s eyes, the guilt weighed on me even more. Honestly, even I thought I was the worst right now.
Awkward silence filled the carriage.
After a long pause, Armin Grey finally spoke.
“Still, shouldn’t we clarify the terms of our agreement?”
The terms of our agreement only involved meeting twice.
I nodded. Although it was unlikely, Armin Grey looked almost hurt, so I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
If I were him, I’d never want to see me again. It’s not like Armin Grey lacked people to meet—there must be a line of admirers waiting for him. I couldn’t understand why he was insisting on confirming that we’d meet two more times.
“I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow at the same time as today.”
The moment he mentioned visiting my house early in the morning, I instinctively knew. This time, I was sure my hunch was correct.
“Um… should I wear pants, then?”
“Pants?”
“Well, if I’m going to be working… pants would be more comfortable than a skirt. Could you let me know what kind of work I’ll be doing…?”
I spoke in a voice so small it was almost crawling.
I may be skilled at reading the room, but I’m not the type to stoop this low. Yet somehow, with Armin Grey, I kept lying, getting caught, and showing him the worst sides of me.
“I’ve never done it before, but I think I’ll manage. I may lack stamina, but I’m good at figuring things out.”
Anyone overhearing me would think I was some farmhand from the Joseon dynasty. It was embarrassing, but fixing my disastrous first impression was crucial if I wanted to fulfill the Duchess’s request.
For now, I decided to do whatever he asked, work hard like an ox to rebuild my image, and then take things one step at a time. It was obvious he would hate the idea of a date if I brought it up now. He’d probably recoil in disgust.
Armin Grey stared at me, as if I’d just said the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.
“Just wear something casual.”
He spoke slowly, his tone implying he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“The Grey family isn’t exactly short on labor, you know.”
“Then…”
“Do I have to decide what we’ll do tomorrow as well?”
At Armin Grey’s commanding tone, I quickly shook my head.
“No, of course not.”
Seemingly satisfied with my subservient attitude, Armin nodded.
“Think about how you want to spend time with me tomorrow. That’s your job.”
I nodded again. Meanwhile, our house, which had been visible in the distance, was now coming into full view.
After that, Armin Grey fixed his gaze out the carriage window, and the conversation ended. I too, became lost in my thoughts, unable to find the words to break the silence.
It became a moment of reflection. Meeting the Duchess and spending time with her had been enjoyable, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had wronged Armin Grey in some way.
“Think about how to spend time together,” he’d said. What on earth does this man want?
I was deep in thought when, before I knew it, the carriage came to a stop, just shy of arriving at the mansion.
Peering out the window, I saw Sasha waiting by the front door. His face was tense with worry, likely from my absence all day. My heart sank when I saw him look visibly relieved as the carriage arrived before sunset.
I’ll behave myself for a while, I resolved, seeing my brother’s exhausted expression.
“Thank you for bringing me home. Then… I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll… um, really think hard about what we’ll do,” I said.
It was my attempt at showing sincerity, though I couldn’t meet his gaze and stared at the ground instead. Outside the carriage, Sasha, impatient from waiting, began knocking on the door.
Just as I was about to step out, Armin Grey suddenly called out to me.
“Wait.”
I paused with my hand on the door and turned to look back. Armin was rummaging through his pocket, and then he handed me something. A ring.
“Huh…? What’s this?”
The gemstone on the ring was the exact color I remembered.
“You’re the type to worry endlessly if you don’t confirm things for yourself. Check it and make sure the conversation we had is truly erased.”
My thoughts became a tangled mess. If this really was the ring from that day, then the one with the Duchess must be something else entirely.
“Why didn’t you give this to the Duchess properly?” I asked.
He answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“If I did that, it’d put you in a tough spot, wouldn’t it?”
“Well, yes, but…”
Losing points with the Duchess wouldn’t have been a problem for him at all. Why would he go out of his way to be considerate to me in such a way?
I swallowed the rest of my thoughts, unable to voice them aloud.
Seeing this, Armin Grey scolded me.
“You’re too careless. Acting so impulsively will only lead to regrets later on.”
“I understand.”
For once, I couldn’t argue against a man’s nagging, bowing my head instead.
“Get out already. Your brother looks like he’s on the verge of collapsing.”
Just as Armin said, the knocking on the carriage door was becoming more and more insistent. I gave Armin a slight bow of thanks before opening the door.
“Vivi! Why do you look so down?”
Sasha, who had been waiting outside, hesitated when he saw my dispirited expression. Without responding to him, I turned back to the carriage and offered Armin Grey one last polite farewell.
“Then, young Duke, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I forced the brightest smile I could muster and closed the carriage door.
But as I walked back toward the mansion with Sasha, my heart felt unexpectedly heavy—unlike how I’d felt when I’d left earlier that day.
