Chapter 11- Stop by before going back
It was less than an hour after the two had finished their confusing confrontation.
“I’m a little early, aren’t I, Duke Felton?”
Rosaline greeted him with a bright smile through the carriage window.
Edric was annoyed by the visit being three hours earlier than scheduled, but he couldn’t blame her. After all, he was the one who had told her that she could visit whenever she wanted, regardless of the time.
He put aside his confusion caused by Mellie for a moment and tried to greet his fiancée with a faithful attitude.
However, he felt unpleasant again when he saw the familiar young man sitting next to Rosaline through the open carriage door.
‘How shameless. Are these two a set?’
Edric thought as he shook hands pretentiously with Francis
Adele, who had gotten out of the carriage after Rosaline.
‘Surely she’s not trying to drag him into the same bed as we are, is she?’
There seemed to be some nobles who preferred such things, but at least it wasn’t his taste.
“Francis seems to really like this mansion. He said he wanted to come back again, so we came together. Is that okay, Your Highness?”
Rosaline explained the reason for coming together in a charming way.
It was an unpleasant charm, but Edric was not a rookie enough to show a mesmerized look.
“Of course. Come anytime. You can come alone without your sister.”
He readily agreed, and told the butler to open the mansion door to Francis Adele whenever he wanted.
Francis thanked him politely, and Edric personally guided the two to the reception room.
Ada Felton happened to be out.
Rosaline took a sip of the teacup the servant had brought her, and looked surprised.
“The tea tastes really good. How can you make it so smooth and not bitter?”
Edric smiled instead of answering.
‘Your tea doesn’t taste good.’
He had ordered his servants to learn Mellie’s tea recipe after tasting the woefully bad tea at Rosaline’s house the other day. It was to teach Rosaline that ‘tea is just like this’ when she visited again someday.
“I’m glad you like it, Rosaline.”
Edric felt satisfied with the accomplishment of his goal.
It was the only moment he could calm the confusion that had been swirling around in his head all morning.
However, Rosaline stirred up his barely calmed mind again as if blowing dust.
“But where is Miss Mellie? I wish she could sit with me… …”
“… …”
Edric didn’t want to invite Mellie here right now.
“Oh, what should I do? Mellie isn’t feeling very well today. I’d like to have her rest in her room if possible.”
“Oh.”
Rosaline said, her eyes twisting in pity.
“Then can I see Miss Mellie for a moment? I want to see her face and give her some words of comfort.”
Her gentle and lively attitude, along with her beautiful looks, were the elements that made her beloved by everyone in society, but to Edric now, it was nothing more than an inconsiderate act that stirred up the confusion that was barely covered up.
“I’d rather you not do that.”
Edric reassured Rosaline with a gentle smile so as not to show his irritation.
“Actually, there’s a fever going around in the capital right now. I
don’t think Mellie has a fever, but just in case. If she really gets the fever and passes it on to Rosaline, both Mellie and I will be heartbroken.”
“Still… … .”
“Let’s let Mellie get some rest and enjoy a cozy chat today. My mother will be here soon, so it would be nice to have a formal dinner together.”
Rosaline didn’t insist any longer.
She had heard that measles had been going around in the capital recently. I wouldn’t know about other diseases, but she couldn’t catch measles, which could leave scars on her face.
“Then please tell Miss Mellie that I’m very worried about her.”
“Okay. Just a moment.”
Edric got up from his seat.
When he opened the door to the living room, the butler was waiting outside.
“Prepare a formal dinner.”
He ordered the meal to be prepared in a voice that everyone could hear. Then, lowering his voice so that only the butler could hear, he added a secret instruction.
“Go tell Mellie. She should stay in her room.”
***
Edric talked to Rosaline about a wide range of topics, from trivial daily matters to international affairs.
Francis mostly listened, occasionally agreeing with Rosaline’s opinions, but he never felt like he was being superficial.
The three of them were having a good time, at least on the surface.
However, none of them brought up the subject of marriage. It was obvious that the Duchess of Felton, who had been out for a while, would only talk about that when she returned, so they didn’t want to get bored already.
Just as the conversation was getting more lively, Francis suddenly stood up.
“I’ll have a cigar.”
“Let’s smoke it here. I’ll prepare it for you.”
Edric suggested. Francis shook his head.
“That’s not a good idea. Rosaline has a weak respiratory system.”
At those words, Edric’s gaze naturally turned to Rosaline.
She smiled seductively and lowered her eyes. It was a confident smile typical of someone who is loved.
How embarrassing. Being scolded by the mistress of the person who would become his wife.
Edric felt unpleasant, but he didn’t show it and apologized humbly.
“It’s embarrassing that I don’t even know my fiancée’s constitution. I’ll make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
“It’s okay. Just smoke moderately. Actually, Francis is a bit of a heavy smoker.”
Rosaline replied in a relaxed tone.
Meanwhile, Francis walked out of the living room and walked along the corridor he had seen on the way back.
The corridor stretched from the west entrance of the mansion to the granite pavilion at the end of the garden.
Francis, who no longer wanted to be among the fiancés, willingly followed the long path.
He strode briskly to the pavilion, leaned against the railing, and took a long drag on his cigar.
Hoo-.
A sigh escaped his mouth in the form of smoke that soon dispersed. His amber eyes, looking at her, were hazy, almost empty.
‘I followed you for nothing.’
Regret surged in like a tide. It had been five years since he had been adopted into the Adele family.
It had been three years since he had secretly become Rosaline’s lover.
His beloved sister had been his everything for the past three years, but he had no intention of holding her back.
He had started knowing the end, and he was always ready to accept the end.
Francis was even delighted to hear that Rosaline was marrying the Duke of Felton, known for his outstanding character and ability.
If he were to interfere with her happiness, he would gladly end the relationship. However.
‘Nice to meet you, Princess Adele.’
On the day when both families met, Francis did not get as good an impression of Edric as he had been told.
Everything was so neat, like a well-made product, that he felt uneasy.
Behind that false neatness, he seemed to be hiding a meanness that did not care about the means to achieve his own ends, and a meticulousness that designed the situation so that he would be praised as a noble person.
As they met more and more, Edric Felton’s ambiguity seemed even more intense.
He would never be able to make Rosaline happy. Francis was
sure of it.
‘How about someone else? Marquis Michel, who proposed to her before, seemed fine, too.’
He tried to persuade Rosaline subtly. But it was of no use.
‘I must become the Duchess of Felton.’
She believed that the title of Duchess of Felton was the only title that suited her.
That kind of vanity was also a part of her, and he couldn’t regret telling her that he loved all of her more than she did then.
Because of that, Francis himself remained in her memories as a man she briefly enjoyed as a child, so it was like she was stabbing him in the back.
Hoo-.
He exhaled another long puff of cigar smoke and turned around.
Then he leaned against the railing and gazed at the magnificent main building of the mansion.
“It’s so dirty.”
A vulgar exclamation came out of him.
It wasn’t for nothing that they were called the greatest noble family in the empire, boasting a long history.
The neatly sloping main building, with a soft blue glow, radiated a noble charm that money couldn’t imitate.
Each of the regularly arranged windows was as arrogant as the countless Felton lords who had lived in them, glaring down at the world.
Even the cynical Francis bowed his head in awe at the grandeur of the great aristocracy that the new rich could never imitate.
Living as the mistress of a place like this was a privilege not only for Rosaline but anyone would desire for it.
Furthermore, the husband was the empire’s greatest talent, Edric Felton, so who would dare turn down the opportunity if given the chance? Only those who were out of their minds.
‘Hidden nature is nothing compared to visible beauty and audible virtue.’
Francis smiled bitterly and blew out white smoke again. It was
then.
His amber eyes, which had been staring at the smoke, suddenly became vivid.
On the east side of the third floor, he saw someone standing at the glass window.
Brown hair and a small figure.
Francis, who had good eyesight, recognized it right away.
And with his good eyesight, he could tell that she was in good health.
‘Mellie is not feeling well today.’
Francis’s eyes suddenly turned mischievous as he recalled Edric’s words. A meaningful smile appeared on his lips.
There was a place to stop before returning to the living room.
He dropped the cigar he was holding, put it out with his foot, and walked slowly.
