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Chapter 11
Not wanting him to notice how hot her face had become, Liriope refused to continue the conversation and turned her gaze out the carriage window.
Theo stared at her for quite some time.
When Liriope stubbornly refused to look back at him despite feeling his gaze, he let out a quiet chuckle before turning his head toward the window as well.
Liriope was soon captivated by the scenery outside.
Looking at the vast grasslands and the enormous estates scattered here and there, she was reminded once again that this really was the world of the romance fantasy novel she had once read.
If people live on land this huge, transportation really is a necessity.
Actually… if someone developed teleportation portals into a form of public transportation, wouldn’t they make a fortune?
Her mind was filled with such pointless thoughts when Theo suddenly asked,
“What are you looking at so intently?”
Liriope turned her head toward him.
He was watching her with his chin resting on one hand, looking like he had stepped straight out of a magazine pictorial.
“There’s not really anything interesting outside.”
She had no idea how long he had been watching her.
But the thought that he had been staring at her the whole time with that face and that pose made her heart heat up instantly.
Thankfully, she was a rational, well-adjusted adult.
If she had been even a little more driven by instinct, she might have already grabbed Theo’s hand and started absentmindedly playing with it.
Seriously… I want to hold it. I really do. And of course his hands have to be exactly my type.
Liriope secretly glanced at Theo’s hands and swallowed unconsciously.
Then she suddenly realized what she had just been thinking.
Her shoulders jerked.
No. No. Don’t fall for him. You absolutely can’t. He’s the male lead. Rosearin’s man!
Scolding herself for nearly falling for that beautiful face, she answered his question.
“I wasn’t really looking at anything interesting.”
“Then why are you going into town?”
Theo asked casually.
Bit late to ask that, aren’t you?
Liriope shot him a sidelong look while grumbling inwardly.
“I’m going to buy some tea leaves.”
“Tea leaves?”
“I lied and told Rosearin that I’d gotten some new tea leaves from overseas because I wanted to invite her to my house.”
“…Rosearin?”
The moment Theo spoke Rosearin’s name, an indescribably strange feeling washed over Liriope.
It wasn’t something she could explain.
It just… didn’t feel good.
Hearing the heroine’s name come from the male lead’s lips created a strangely complicated feeling inside her.
“Yes.”
Liriope nodded.
Theo tilted his head slightly.
“You lied just to invite the Count’s daughter to your house?”
Somehow, Liriope felt like this could easily be misunderstood as her inviting Rosearin over just to bully her.
She hurriedly explained herself.
“I wanted to become friends with her. I really… no, I like Rosearin a lot. But I never get the chance to meet her, so I was just trying to get closer to her.”
Theo frowned slightly.
He looked completely unconvinced.
“You may already know this, but Rosearin really loves tea. She also collects unusual tea leaves.”
“Why would I know what the Count’s daughter likes?”
“Then remember it from now on.”
“Why should I?”
“Because I said so. Everything I tell you will be good for you in the long run, Lord Theo.”
Theo’s expression changed subtly.
Since he still had no connection with Rosearin, he clearly found Liriope’s words strange.
But his next sentence made Liriope realize his expression meant something entirely different from what she’d assumed.
“So you’ve already started acting like a wife?”
Liriope’s face immediately filled with disbelief.
“What?”
Completely unfazed by her expression, Theo smiled faintly.
“I don’t dislike it.”
“There’s nothing to like or dislike! This isn’t acting like a wife.”
Liriope let out an exasperated laugh before turning back toward the window.
She could still feel him staring at her, but she desperately pretended not to notice.
There wasn’t anything on her face.
Yet Theo kept staring at her so persistently that the atmosphere inside the carriage became increasingly awkward.
How long is he planning to keep looking at me? At this rate he’s going to burn a hole through the side of my face.
Unable to endure it any longer, Liriope abruptly turned back toward him.
Theo merely smiled, only the corners of his eyes curving slightly.
“W-Why are you looking at me like that?”
His barely noticeable eye-smile completely flustered her.
Theo remained in the same elegant posture, resting his chin on his hand while quietly watching her.
The weight of his gaze left Liriope completely at a loss.
She awkwardly darted her eyes around.
“It doesn’t feel the same anymore.”
Liriope looked at him.
His jet-black eyes gleamed strangely.
“You’ve changed.”
“M-Me?”
“Yes. You.”
What…? Does this guy know something? No… he shouldn’t know Liriope that well…
“When exactly did you even see me?”
Liriope narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
When she’d claimed she’d fallen for him, he’d firmly stated they’d never met.
So why was he talking as though he’d always known her?
“You don’t remember?”
“Huh?”
Wait… had Theo actually met Liriope before?
A chill ran down her spine.
If they really had met before, then when she’d pretended to explain when she fell for him, he should have mentioned where they’d met.
Instead, every place she’d guessed had been wrong.
Anyone would have found that suspicious.
Could it be… he already knows I’m not the real Liriope?
Tiny beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
“W-Have we… met before?”
Liriope forced herself to smile despite being incredibly tense.
The corners of her lips twitched involuntarily.
“You were the one who said it.”
“…What?”
“The day you said you fell for me.”
Then, with those few words from Theo, all the tension she’d been feeling instantly transformed into irritation.
“I must have seen you then as well.”
Apparently, he’d simply wanted to play with words.
No—
He definitely had.
Instead of looking flustered, Liriope forced the brightest smile she could manage.
“Well, I’d just fallen for you back then, so I was probably trying to act refined.”
“I don’t know about that.”
Theo immediately shot her down.
“You seemed rather fierce.”
The smile instantly disappeared from Liriope’s face.
“And quite arrogant.”
“M-Me…?”
“Yes. You.”
“…Ah… I-I see. So I was arrogant…”
“Well, back then you acted as though nobody existed except that foolish Crown Prince.”
“Ah… haha… So that’s how I seemed… Um… maybe leave out the ‘foolish’ part. That was a slip of the tongue.”
The only person who could casually call the Crown Prince of Gardeia a fool was the Emperor—
Or the Grand Duke of the North, who had grown up alongside the Crown Prince almost like a brother.
No matter that she was a duke’s daughter, for Liriope to use such a word toward royalty would border on insulting the Imperial Family.
So she hurriedly corrected herself.
Of course, Theo didn’t seem particularly pleased by her correction.
One corner of his mouth crooked upward as he said something that would make anyone gasp.
“In front of me, you can call that fool a fool. Refusing to call a fool a fool doesn’t make him look any less foolish.”
She’d lost count of how many times he’d said the word fool.
Still…
Even Liriope had occasionally thought the Crown Prince was an idiot while reading the original novel.
So she couldn’t entirely disagree.
“A-Anyway… I think the biggest reason I seem different now compared to before is because I don’t like His Highness the Crown Prince anymore.”
Doing her best to wrap things up with another professional smile, Liriope spoke.
Theo smiled lazily.
“That’s right.”
His eyes curved gently.
“Because now you like me.”
She had no idea why he kept catching her off guard like this.
But if she let her guard down even a little, she’d definitely be swept away by Theo’s charm.
No… more importantly… something about this really bothers me.
Liriope glanced at Theo as he watched her with a playful smile.
The Theo she had read about in the novel and the Theo sitting before her now felt… different.
Well—
The Theo in the original story had certainly possessed this teasing side.
But only when he was with Rosearin.
That side of him had been reserved exclusively for her.
He had never once shown it to another woman.
That was exactly why readers had adored watching him soften only for the heroine.
Yet now…
He occasionally showed that very same side to Liriope.
No wonder she felt bewildered.
Theo Artein had never openly shown his emotions like this to any other noble lady.
Because of that, people often described him as a man who could only be admired from afar.
Cold.
Dignified.
Rigid.
So difficult to approach that greeting him properly felt impossible.
Those were the words everyone used to describe Theo Artein.
Exactly. He even had nicknames like that, so why…
“So that makes me curious.”
Theo interrupted her thoughts.
A mischievous smile played across his lips.
“What exactly made you fall for me, Ripe?”
