There will never be such a clear answer again.
'He's a swindler.'
Excessive luck that suddenly came my way was usually bound to lead to fraud.
And right now, dating wasn't my top priority.
In the end, I awkwardly smiled with only one corner of my mouth raised and refused indirectly.
"I'm sorry, but my feelings have changed in a short while."
"Yes?"
"I… I now have a daughter to support, and seeing how our timing is so off, it seems we are not meant to be together."
Smiling sweetly with a face devoid of any lingering regrets, I conveyed my refusal to him.
At that, for some reason, Marquis Rivandel's expression became blurry and distorted, looking somewhat dejected yet also pitying.
He remained silent for a long time, unable to open his mouth.
In that long and deep silence, I felt self-conscious for no reason, so I also kept my mouth shut and waited.
Still, if there is one good thing.
'It is touching since there aren't many opportunities to refuse a confession from such a handsome man, but dating a con artist in the midst of this is a bit...'
This was not much different from rejecting Prosecutor Park X's confession.
How dare a mere villain extra like me!
And finally, Marquis Rivandel, who seemed to be gathering his thoughts, raised his gaze and met mine.
The shimmering, beautiful red eyes looked somewhat sad.
"Since you were the first person to express interest in me, I strongly wanted to get to know you. However, now that I have met you again..."
“It’s not that good, is it?”
Just as I said that, Marquis Rivandel spoke.
"I felt a conviction I never had before. So, no matter how long it takes, I will wait."
"...What?!"
Why are you waiting?
I wanted to shake my head and rebut, but the Marquis's resolve was firm.
He took a business card out of his inner pocket and handed it to me.
"Please contact me here if you need me."
"There is no need for that..."
"The reputation of the Count of Delmore is not very good. If you wish to leave, you are free to contact me at any time."
Marquis Rivandel's gaze was resolute as he said that.
"I am telling you this after much deliberation, because letting another opportunity slip away would not suit me."
"...Thank you."
Scammers these days seemed quite persistent.
'Do you happen to know that I have 2,000 gold?'
Other than that, I could not infer his purpose in the slightest.
***
Marquis Rivandel, no, Duke Lakan, who is hiding his true identity behind the title of Marquis Rivandel—in other words, Carcel—was... a virgin.
He had never once received attention from a woman in his life.
He would often mutter to the lady who had arrived first and was loitering around, his eyes shining languidly.
- Do you have something to say?
He was simply curious. Why did they keep hovering around him without any business?
If they wanted to talk to him, couldn't they just say so?
When he thought that and asked politely, strangely enough, the women would break out in a cold sweat, feel uncomfortable, and leave the scene.
Carcel always thought.
'I still don't understand what the problem is.'
It was quite unusual for the head of the Duke's family to remain unmarried even in the year he turned twenty-four.
Carcel, too, always imagined his future living with a happy family.
He also harbored a small wish to have a family to welcome him back when he returned from slaughtering monsters.
However, the problem was... that no woman even attempted to speak to him.
Carcel Lakan guessed that this was probably because he lacked charm.
'Otherwise, there is no way that no one would show interest in me as if by prior agreement.'
Even when he approached first to ask for a dance or strike up a conversation, the women's reactions were not very good.
Rather, most of them looked uneasy or tried to avoid him.
Just when he had half lost all hope and had tentatively given up on marriage, Carcel met Asha.
Normally, there was no way she would show interest in a man like him.
Asha would glance at him out of the corner of her eye, then blush and let out a small sigh.
At first, he thought she was giving him a look to see why he was standing next to her.
However, he soon realized that wasn't the case.
Because whenever their eyes met, she would bite her lip slightly and turn her head away quite a bit.
She even confessed!
Unlike the other women, who would get scared and run away in a panic rather than even looking at him.
Of course, even so, it wasn't that Carcel had any special interest in her.
'It was simply gratitude for the first woman who took a liking to someone as unattractive as me.'
Of course, as soon as he found out she had a fiancé, he dropped even that.
However, Asha's husband soon died for a sordid reason. And once again, as if by fate, he faced Asha.
He merely invited her politely, thinking it might be a revelation from heaven.
'Something is different'
It felt as if his colorless life was suddenly taking on vivid colors.
From the moment he first saw her back until that fleeting moment she first raised her head toward him.
It seemed like everything was moving slowly.
Everything around her became blurry, to the point where Asha's slightest movements were the only thing felt in that space-time.
With a slender, doe-like face, elegant chestnut hair, and large hazelnut eyes brimming with life today, it was hard to take his eyes off her.
On top of that, her cheeks were flushed crimson, which couldn't even be hidden by the bangs peeking out from behind her ears, as if feeling embarrassed.
She was so coy and lovely that he couldn't help but admire her, breaking his duty as a gentleman, thinking, 'So this is what a woman's charm is.'
So Carcel knew that he was more nervous than usual and his words were coming out blunt, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Moreover, she stared with teary eyes as if resenting herself, then lowered her gaze again.
That alone made Carcel's heart start to pound.
"I now have a daughter to support, and seeing how our timing is so off, it seems we are not meant to be together."
Her face, smiling as she rejected him, was faint.
Carcel thought.
"Is it because she is no longer another man's fiancée or wife, so she no longer feels any pangs of conscience?'
That is correct. Carcel, a lifelong single, began interpreting all of Asha's attitudes from his own perspective.
'The sense of responsibility to look after a child all by yourself, the thoughtful heart that considers others' feelings even while having to inevitably reject a confession, and even that vibrant face!'
He ended up becoming convinced that the person he was looking for was Asha Delmore.
In short, all the reasons he rattled off inwardly were just excuses; the truth was, he had simply fallen in love at first sight.
Then Asha opened her mouth.
"Um... I originally had somewhere to stop by on my way home..."
“Please speak.”
Even now, as she spoke with a shy face, her voice trembled faintly.
She looked quite embarrassed that she kept avoiding eye contact.
"I was planning to buy some toys or snacks to take back."
"Is this for your daughter?"
"Yes."
Carcel stared at her for a moment.
She probably isn't even her own daughter.
On top of that, even though they have only been together for a little over two months, she takes care of the child.
As expected, Asha was a kind person.
Eventually, Carcel opened the window connected to the coachman and gave him instructions.
"Go to a high-end store that sells toys or snacks for nearby children."
"All right!"
Carcel closed the window again.
And as soon as he turned his head, he made eye contact with Asha, who was staring intently at him for some reason.
"Uh..."
Carcel smiled at her.
He heard that the very first thing you should do for a woman you like is to smile so that she feels comfortable by your side.
So Carcel smiled at her as kindly as possible.
However, even after entering the shop, the more pitifully Asha lowered her eyelashes, the more pitifully she looked.
'I can't let her go this time.'
Carcel came up with a very devious plan out of desperation.
That's right...
"Give me everything from here to there."
It was a lot of money.
And he began to 'seduce' in earnest.
Although he had never even had a proper conversation with a woman, let alone dated one, he wasn't unaware of the theory.
Basically, fundamentals are important.
Carcel accepted the advice of Matt, his self-proclaimed dating expert assistant.
- You must give her whatever she wants, no matter what. Show her that the Duke is a man who is willing to spend this much for her!
- So you're telling me to show off that I have money.
- However, you must do it naturally no matter what!
Previous Next
Comments
Post a Comment