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Chapter 04
As expected, this was too easy.
“Oh! What does His Grace the Duke enjoy? I heard that you don’t attend many social gatherings, so what do you usually do? Do you perhaps like boating? If you don’t mind, would you like to go with me next time?”
I’ve never been to a social gathering in my life, and I’ve never once thought of going boating since I was born.
I thought I was being quite shameless, but I was engrossed in relentlessly bombarding him with questions that would annoy him.
When I showed excessive interest, Lyxion now openly showed an irritated expression.
He completely ignored my questions and only calmly looked down at the watch on his left wrist.
As if he had been waiting, a man approached him from the side. He was probably his aide.
The man with his long hair neatly tied back slightly nodded his head to me as if asking for my understanding and whispered something to Lyxion.
“I’m sorry, lady. I actually had an important appointment today, but I completely forgot.”
Lyxion, who had finished his short conversation with the man, spoke indifferently as if he wasn’t sorry at all.
“I think we should end our blind date here today.”
Then, he stood up as if he didn’t want to be with me for even a second longer.
His actions of standing up without even listening to my response were so similar to those of the other blind date partners that I laughed for a moment.
At the same time, the tension eased, and a bright smile formed on my lips.
“Oh, really?”
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud because I thought I could finally end this terrible play that Lyxion seemed to enjoy so much.
What I regretted was when I made eye contact with Lyxion, who had stopped for a moment and was staring at my face.
* * *
‘Damn it, I laughed too brightly.’
I couldn’t move from my seat, which I had just stood up from, and I flinched at Lyxion’s gaze that was piercing through me.
Just a moment ago, the woman who had been overly interested in him was rather happy at the thought of ending the blind date. It would seem strange to anyone.
I quickly erased the smile from my lips.
I slightly lowered my head and hid my uneasy expression. I spoke slowly with a completely dejected attitude.
“Is that so? It’s too bad that we have to part already.”
Oh, this seems even stranger.
The reaction I had just shown was too artificial, no matter how much I tried to cover it up with my excellent acting skills. Even Lyxion, who had become very annoyed with me, had stopped for a moment because he thought it was strange.
Damn it, how could I make such a mistake? My pride as a professional blind date ruiner was severely damaged.
I slightly looked up. As expected.
The man who had been about to leave without hesitation, saying that he was busy, was still standing there and looking at me.
He was so expressionless that it wasn’t easy to read his expression, but the emotion in his beautiful blue eyes was clearly a strange sense of doubt about the strange feeling.
There was no way that such an intelligent man wouldn’t notice the strange attitude I had just shown.
I should have just looked sullen and showed my disappointment.
I shouldn’t have laughed so widely because I was happy that I was finally free from this man.
I criticized myself for being hasty and foolish and pinched my thigh once. Then, I slowly raised my head.
And once again, I made eye contact with Lyxion and carefully asked.
“Is there something… on my face?”
The blue eyes that had been looking down as if carefully examining my expression and attitude flickered.
As if he had just come to his senses, he averted his gaze from my face, which he had been staring at so intently, and calmly replied.
“No, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, I’m used to it.”
Oh, this damn mouth! Just stay still!
When we had the exact same conversation earlier, I thought Lyxion’s response was fortunate, but I did think he looked a little, just a little, pitiful.
But did I really think like that just now? You idiot.
Before I knew it, I had reflexively answered and was now frozen in place, feeling flustered. A loud, forced chuckle sounded from above my head.
“…?”
Did I just mishear that?
With disbelieving eyes, I looked up and was surprised to see Lyxion covering his mouth with the back of his hand, clearly laughing.
‘That man is… laughing?’
I stared up at him with even more incredulous eyes.
Lyxion, sensing my gaze, lowered his hand and met my eyes again.
His amused eyes seemed to be looking at me with a newfound favorability.
“I see. That does seem to be the case.”
Even his voice sounded warmer than when he had first expressed mere curiosity.
I wished it was just my imagination. Please.
Should I ask him when we could meet again? I considered it briefly. Then he might grimace again and run away.
But for some reason, I was terrified that he might reply, ‘Of course. When would you like to meet again?’
“Well then, it’s a shame, but I should probably get going.”
Indeed, Lyxion continued to chuckle softly as he walked out of the restaurant next to me.
“I hope we can meet again soon.”
What? He’s not the type to laugh so easily.
I clearly remember the part in the beginning of the original story where the female lead asked him if he knew how to laugh.
Why was he laughing so much?
And why does he want to meet me again?
What on earth do you want from me? I’m really scared.
He kept smiling as he watched me, and his words, whether they were just polite or sincere, about meeting again were endless.
Lyxion even offered to take me back to the Kristenner Marquisate in his carriage, even though my carriage was waiting nearby.
I barely managed to prevent the two of us from sitting comfortably in his carriage by politely but firmly declining.
Lyxion looked openly disappointed at my refusal.
“Oh? Is that so? I’m so disappointed that we have to part ways so soon.”
Wait, I’ve heard a similar line before. And that expression.
When I paused and gave him a suspicious look, Lyxion turned his head and chuckled again.
“…?”
Was this man… laughing again?
No, I’m really scared. Really.
I took an involuntary step back as I watched the man laughing with his shoulders hunched up slightly.
At the same time, Lyxion stopped laughing and looked back at me with a strange smile.
“I really enjoyed today. I almost wish I had more time to talk to you, but my schedule is so tight.”
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew between us.
As the wind blew my hair around and I frowned, a hand approached me without warning and touched my hair.
It was a purely reflexive action. I pushed his slowly approaching hand away with all my might.
Thud! The sharp sound was accompanied by the other person’s movement stopping.
Oh no, what did I just do? I was even more shocked by my own actions and froze in place like a statue.
I was surprised and scared, and then a sense of unpleasantness followed. I hoped that none of these emotions would show on my face and took an involuntary step back.
“My apologies. There was a petal stuck to your hair. I was trying to remove it, but I suppose my intentions may have been unwelcome. I’m sorry.”
Fortunately or unfortunately, Lyxion didn’t seem to mind my actions and responded calmly. He didn’t seem upset or angry.
In contrast, I felt restless. The sensation of his hand briefly brushing against mine was so vivid that it made me feel embarrassed.
‘…What the heck.’
His hand had been quite gentle as he tried to remove the petal. The petal must have been stuck to the hair that had fallen over my ear, because his hand had lightly brushed against my ear.
My entire being was focused on it, even though it had only grazed me for a split second, and before I knew it, I had instinctively raised my hand and rubbed my ear.
His hand, which I had forcefully slapped before, must have hurt quite a bit, but he smiled and flicked the petals he had been holding into the wind.
Not only that, but he even apologized to me. I was flustered in succession by the overly normal behavior of the man I had thought had both psychopathic and sociopathic tendencies.
“Ah, yes.”
That was all the response I could barely manage to utter. Still, I thought that it was not right to humiliate someone like this in front of their face, but I didn’t know what to say. I pretended not to notice the sharp gaze that was falling upon my face and slightly averted my eyes.
I knew that I shouldn’t be acting this way, but my body wouldn’t listen. It wasn’t enough that he had approached me first when I had been the one to be disgusted and hostile toward him, but now I was showing signs of aversion even though he was approaching me. Anyone could see that this was a strange attitude. I was just glad that it didn’t pique his curiosity even more.
‘Why aren’t you saying anything?’
I averted my anxious eyes. I wondered what he was thinking or what expression he was making as he stared at my face, but I didn’t have the courage to look him in the eye.
“Then, I’ll really be going now.”
After a brief silence, Lyxion stepped back plainly. Only then did I sigh in relief and raise my gaze.
“I would be grateful if you would give me another chance to make amends for my rudeness today.”
When our eyes met, he smiled again, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
