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chapter 48
D-DATE PROPOSAL!
It felt as if a huge bell was ringing inside my head.
Teansis was asking me out on a date. Could this really be happening?
I froze, stiff as ice, unable to say a word. Teansis glanced at my expression and asked again, teasingly.
“Are you going to refuse? You confessed your love to me in front of the entire social circle.”
His words suddenly reminded me of what I had said in front of Reyjeni:
─I like you, Duke. So don’t touch anything that belongs to you again. Because you’re a man I really… like.
My face flushed as if it had caught fire.
It seemed that Teansis knew what I had done that day. Of course he would—rumors about it had spread throughout society—but I hadn’t expected to confront him like this.
“Th-That is…”
I wanted to come up with an excuse, but everything I could say was true, and I was momentarily at a loss for words.
Teansis stared at me with his violet eyes. His face was so close that I could barely breathe.
“Why? Are you going to apologize again?”
Hearing that, I remembered trying to steal a kiss from Teansis and then apologizing not long ago.
And his words echoed in my mind once more:
─Ladies have a bad habit. They set fire to someone’s heart and then pretend they don’t know.
Around us, the crowd murmured louder. It seemed more onlookers had gathered than before.
But Teansis didn’t care about their eyes at all. His violet gaze was focused solely on me.
My heart trembled wildly.
Having spent nearly forty years caring for a mother with dementia, living unnoticed by others, I had never felt this like a heroine.
With Teansis—the one I’d dreamed of—asking me out right in front of me, I had no intention of saying no. I knew it was more honor than I deserved, but rejecting this would haunt me forever.
“Wh-Where shall we eat?”
Should I make a reservation at a place that serves his favorite food?
Checking the time, I realized it was a bit early for lunch. I didn’t have any classes I wanted to attend, so my schedule was free.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime date with Teansis; there was no time to waste.
“Th-Then I’ll pick the place…”
I tried to stand quickly, but Teansis suddenly burst out laughing. Uncharacteristically, he laughed out loud, drawing everyone’s attention.
With that same amused tone, he said:
“That’s a man’s decision. At times like this, the lady only needs to nod. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“But…”
I couldn’t just sit quietly while on a date with him. I wanted to make the food myself and serve it if I could.
As if he knew, Teansis looked at me gently and held out his hand.
I instinctively took it, and he bent his head to kiss the back of my hand.
A collective gasp rose from the crowd. Everyone, including me, stared at Teansis in surprise.
“It’s been a while since I had lunch with a lady. Perhaps it’s better because it’s a date?”
He lifted his head while still holding my hand with his lips. His intense gaze made it hard to breathe.
Being escorted by Teansis, we arrived at a famous restaurant smoothly, as if it were natural.
It was hard to believe that this was his first kiss with me, considering how effortlessly it all seemed to him.
While I nervously ate my appetizer, Teansis, sitting across from me and watching me quietly, asked:
“What kind of food do you like?”
“Oh, I eat anything.”
“You can’t tell from that. I want to know more about you, so be specific.”
Why did he want to know about me?
Today, Teansis’ direct way of speaking made my face burn with heat that wouldn’t subside.
“Well, I… um… I generally like whatever the Duke likes. I like meat, seafood too, but vegetables… not so much.”
“You know what I like?”
I flinched at his unexpected question but didn’t feel the need to hide it, having already confessed my admiration for him.
“Yes. I told you before. I admired you, Duke.”
“So you also kept my picture, didn’t you?”
“Uh-huh… Y-Yes.”
I was slightly embarrassed by his unexpected question but didn’t want to lie. I had too many secrets I couldn’t share with anyone, so I preferred honesty when I could.
Teansis seemed to think for a moment before speaking in a low voice:
“…That’s unfair.”
“Huh?”
“You’re the only one with my picture. You should give me one of you too, to make it fair.”
What kind of logic was that?
I couldn’t understand why he needed my picture.
He smiled faintly and continued:
“See? You have no sense at all.”
“Me? I’ve never been told that…”
I wondered why he thought I had no sense.
Scratching my cheek unconsciously, Teansis watched me with a peculiar intensity in his eyes.
“May I ask something?”
“Oh, yes. Go ahead.”
“Why… did you admire me? There must be a reason.”
His words brought back an old memory.
There was a time when growing older felt sad and scary.
The saddest year was when I was twenty-nine.
As a child, I thought by thirty, I’d have everything. But in reality, I was just caring for my mother with dementia.
No savings, no accomplishments. I wasn’t married with children, nor did I have a passionate lover. My life felt meaningless.
I only left the house briefly to buy groceries. My mother’s care seemed endless, and I thought my life was over—if not already.
One day, returning from shopping, a child called out:
─Hey! Miss, pick up that apple!
At first, I didn’t realize he was talking to me, but the apple was clearly near me.
As the child ran into the street after another rolling apple, a carriage approached at high speed.
─Danger!
Everyone gasped. I squeezed my eyes shut, as did others nearby.
Then, a miracle.
A boy dashed forward and saved the child.
Even witnessing it, it was hard to believe. But the courage it took to run for someone else was breathtaking.
The boy was a stunning young noble with luxurious blond hair and violet eyes, clearly aristocratic.
He asked the child in a husky voice:
─Are you okay?
─Ah!
The child cried, and the boy merely patted his head:
─Be careful. You could get hurt.
Not particularly soft or kind, but warmth radiated from him.
That was the first time twenty-nine-year-old me saw teenaged Teansis.
Learning his name and family later brought joy. Even though he didn’t know me, he became my life’s motivation.
“How could I ever convey how I felt that day to Teansis?”
“…From afar, I saw the Duke save that child. It was so impressive.”
Teansis asked with a blank expression:
“Did I?”
“Yes.”
Even as a boy, his face was etched in my memory. Though he didn’t radiate the mature charm he does now, I admired him from that day.
Teansis seemed to search his memory but eventually gave up, looking at me:
“I don’t remember, but if I looked impressive to you, that’s not bad.”
He rested his chin on his clasped hands, staring at me as if I were the only thing on the table.
I blushed under his intense gaze, feeling heat all day without relief.
Teansis then looked straight at me, speaking softly:
“So… when should I give you my answer?”
“Huh? What answer?”
I didn’t understand him.
“You confessed to me. Not once, but many times.”
“Ah…”
I had told him I admired him after checking the place where the monster was buried, and again in front of everyone at the social gathering.
Thinking back, I had expressed my feelings to him more than once.
“So what answer will you give me?”
“You confess so passionately, and you don’t want to hear my response?”
“Oh, it’s fine. I know without you saying it.”
Teansis was the kind of man who made you greedy. I impulsively stole a kiss, but I knew my place. We didn’t match.
“I would never do anything to trouble the Duke…”
“No. You don’t seem to know my answer.”
His gaze turned sharp, unlike before, as if displeased with my words.
“You started it, Lady. You looked at me with love, giving everything sincerely. Even if I lied, you would have believed me… You gave me your heart from the start.”
“That’s because I like you, Duke…”
“Then why keep running? You clearly want to be with me, yet you retreat. Why apologize after stealing someone’s first kiss?”
I was speechless.
Hearing it from Teansis made my actions feel different.
“Will you keep pretending you don’t know, after setting fire to someone’s heart?”
“Huh?”
What is he saying?
“I can’t stand it. I worry when something happens while I’m not around. I feel anxious when I can’t see you.”
He ran his hand roughly through his hair. Cold as he was, he looked passionate now. His violet eyes emitted the scent of a male.
“When you run away giving me those longing looks, I want to catch you. Keep you by my side. Let you go nowhere.”
I stared, unable to process his words.
“I like you.”
“…Huh?”
“Not just your feelings, but I like you too. So don’t say it’s unrequited love.”
“…Huh?”
Am I hallucinating?
I stared at him dumbfounded, and he spoke again, as if unable to hold back:
“I like you, Velia.”
I covered my mouth with my hands, unable to speak. Reading my disbelief, he added:
“If you don’t believe me, I’ll keep telling you until you do.”
