🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 16
I’m screwed.
I didn’t even need to think about it to know how this would end.
When the most misunderstanding-prone person walks in on the most misunderstanding-prone situation, the result is always the same—misunderstanding, guaranteed.
Of all times, she won’t even meet my eyes.
Every time I tried to make eye contact, Floria would quickly roll her eyes away, completely avoiding my gaze.
“Floria.”
“Yes, Sister-in-law.”
That response came surprisingly easily.
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s neither more nor less than that. And it’s definitely not what you’re thinking right now.”
“Of course, I understand perfectly, Sister-in-law.”
No.
She absolutely did not.
If she can’t even look at me while saying that, there’s no way she understood me properly.
It felt like she’d listened with one ear and let it flow straight out the other.
“Sister-in-law.”
This time, Floria stopped avoiding my eyes. It was as if she’d decided to face me head-on.
“It seems I’ve interrupted a pleasant moment, so I’ll take my leave first.”
There it was.
She hadn’t taken in a word I said.
I’d expected as much, but I had no idea how to fix this mess.
“I just remembered I had something I was asked to do. I’m the forgetful type, you see. So I’ll be going now, Sister-in-law.”
She clapped her hands lightly and smiled as she spoke, but it looked so awkward that anyone could tell she was lying.
Still, I didn’t call her out on it.
True or not, it meant she wanted to avoid this situation just as badly as I did.
“Enjoy your time, Sister-in-law.”
She left so quickly after opening the door that I didn’t even have time to stop her.
Now, once again, only the two of us were left in the room.
“……”
“……”
Honestly, I felt like grabbing the back of my neck right then and there.
What am I supposed to do with this awkward silence?!
I adjusted my posture as if nothing had happened, sitting on the edge of the bed while my mind raced.
What do I do now?
I wished there were choices laid out for me. Or better yet, a manual.
If only there were a button that could skip time.
Since that was realistically impossible, accepting the situation was my only option.
“Duke.”
“Yes, my lady.”
His reply came instantly.
These siblings really were impressive when it came to answering quickly—like someone was chasing them from behind.
Not that it had anything to do with me.
“I just want to ask, just in case… Is Floria the type whose lips are as light as a feather?”
I took a breath and brought up the most serious issue.
Please let it not be true.
“My lady already knows this well, does she not? She acts quickly, and her mouth is just as light.”
I knew it.
Oh, heavens.
Pressing my temples, I frantically searched for a way to fix this situation.
“Duke, I have a favor to ask.”
This wouldn’t do.
The only way to fight a natural enemy is with another natural enemy.
Time to use the husband card.
“Nothing I say will get through to her, so please tell Floria the truth yourself. Even if she doesn’t believe me, she’ll believe you.”
Why would she trust someone she’d only just met?
But she’d surely believe her own brother.
They might not fully trust each other, but there has to be some baseline level of faith.
Please, let this work.
“If you do that for me, I’ll grant you one thing you want.”
He seemed to hesitate, so I played my final card.
Of course. People only move when there’s something in it for them.
Nothing in this world is free. If I was gaining something, he deserved something in return.
And I’d fulfill it as best I could.
“There’s no deadline. Whenever you want, I’ll do it—no objections, no arguments. How about it?”
“Very well.”
Yes! I knew he’d take the bait!
My husband walked right into the trap I’d so carefully set.
Knock, knock.
Who is it?
Now that I’d secured his promise, I was just about to head outside when a quiet knock came at the door.
“My lady. The personal physician has arrived.”
“Tell him to come in.”
The person who needed to come had arrived. That meant I could leave.
“I have something else to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now, Duke.”
It wasn’t like I actually had anything to do—I just wanted to get out of this room, so I made something up.
He probably wouldn’t question it.
“……”
The moment he nodded without saying anything, I stood and headed for the door.
Click.
“My lady, where are you going?”
“Just for a short walk nearby.”
I’d circle the garden once and come back.
“About last time… I’m sorry, Sister-in-law. I should’ve understood things properly.”
“It’s fine. It’s all in the past.”
Fortunately, it seemed Adrian’s words had worked. When I met Floria again a few days later, she greeted me as though all misunderstandings had completely cleared.
“By the way, Sister-in-law, which one are you planning to take?”
Floria asked quietly as she sipped a drink loaded with sugar cubes.
“What do you mean? Take what?”
Once again, it felt like I was the only one out of the loop.
“Oh, you haven’t heard from my brother yet?”
That one sentence explained everything.
Adrian is definitely up to something.
“No… it can’t be that big a deal.”
That was what I thought—until, while I was eating a strawberry from atop a slice of cake, an unexpected revelation reached my ears.
“He said you seemed disappointed about not being good with your hands, so he’s preparing courses you can take.”
…Who prepared what?
I swallowed the strawberry whole without even tasting it and stared at Floria like a stunned rabbit.
“I checked them out beforehand. Quite a few skilled noble ladies are offering interesting things—flower arranging, basic design, things like that.”
What?
Me? With noble ladies?
What kind of thunderbolt is this?!
Seeing my disbelief, Floria smiled knowingly and placed a paper she’d brought onto the table.
“Take a look.”
This looks exactly like a course registration form.
Every imaginable class aimed at improving manual skills was listed in detail, like an after-school program.
“When I asked why he suddenly prepared all this, he said—”
“……”
“He felt bad that you gave up looking for a new hobby because his hand was slightly injured.”
Oh no.
“But you were injured because of me. I think I should stop looking for a new hobby.”
No—that was just something I said offhand!
I really shouldn’t speak carelessly around that man. He takes even the smallest words seriously.
He might even take a lie as the truth.
For some reason, guilt gnawed at me, like I’d bullied a genuinely kind person.
“So, Sister-in-law. Which one do you want to try?”
Honestly, none of them appealed to me.
What do I do with this?
It was my mess to clean up, but the learning opportunity he’d prepared didn’t excite me at all.
Just attending one of those classes—and managing not to drool while listening—felt like it would be an achievement.
“To be honest, Sister-in-law,” Floria said, “none of these suit my tastes either. They’re great for cultivating refinement, but once you try them, they’re very much a matter of personal preference.”
Fair point.
People even argue over boneless or bone-in chicken—this wouldn’t be any different.
The list was full of things that didn’t attract me in the first place.
“If I say I don’t want to take any, won’t he be upset?”
“Sister-in-law, preparing something for someone takes sincerity, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept it. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. There’s no obligation.”
True. There wasn’t.
But I can’t imagine Adrian’s expression if I refuse.
He was the type to take lies seriously—so I couldn’t imagine what face he’d make if I rejected it outright.
That made me hesitate.
“By that logic, if someone proposes to you, you’d have to accept whether you like it or not. Accepting something you don’t want is its own kind of unhappiness.”
“That’s true.”
“If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. Forcing something unwanted onto someone is wrong. Look at me, Sister-in-law. I’m happy staying single. If you don’t like the list my brother recommended, just say you don’t want to do it. That’s all.”
Her words felt like she was telling me not to fear what would come after saying no.
“Thank you. Then… I’ll refuse.”
“If that’s how you feel, my brother will understand. He may not be very dependable, but he does have some understanding.”
She said it so naturally that it was clear—their relationship was neither especially close nor especially distant.
Alright. Today, I’m definitely refusing.
What was so hard about refusing once?
Even after coming all this way, I kept missing the timing to go in, hand hovering on the doorknob.
“My lady, what brings you here at this hour—”
“I have something to say.”
After repeating to myself not to fear what came after refusing, I finally regained my confidence, threw open the study door, and stepped inside.
“I heard from Floria. That you prepared several things so I wouldn’t give up on finding a new hobby.”
The steps that had felt so heavy on the way here now felt impossibly light.
“If I say I don’t want it, could you cancel this?”
“Pardon?”
“I have no lingering attachment to finding a new hobby. If I did, I would’ve come to you first—asking for help in any form.”
I hadn’t acted for the sake of a hobby in the first place.
“But I don’t want it now. That’s why I came to say I want to refuse. Could you cancel it?”
After saying that, my heart pounded wildly. I couldn’t predict how things would unfold after the rejection.
“If that is what you want, my lady.”
Huh?
He’s really accepting it?
He didn’t mind being refused?
“Thank you.”
I answered a beat late, still dazed.
Nothing happened. It was just a dry response, yet it felt like something blocked inside me had been released.
“Then I’ll be leaving, as I have no further business here.”
“I do have business with you, my lady.”
…You do?
I had been ready to turn around and happily return to my room, but Adrian stopped me.
He stepped away from the bookshelf, came close, gently took my hand, and pulled me into his arms. Then, leaning close, he whispered into my ear:
“You’ve done something worthy of praise. Shouldn’t you receive a reward, my lady?”
