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Chapter 16
Theo delivered a sharp rebuke to Kadin in a flat, emotionless voice.
“You’re still eating, so stop bothering us and get lost, Kadin.”
Unable to contain his anger, Kadin huffed for a moment before composing his expression and putting on a gentle smile as he looked at Liriope.
Then he picked up the spoon in front of her, scooped up some ice cream, held it out to her, and said,
“The ice cream I give you will taste better.”
Just as Liriope frowned in bewilderment, Theo used his wind attribute to blow away the very spoon Kadin was holding.
Startled by the sudden gust of wind, Kadin raised his eyebrows sharply and shouted at Theo.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
Ignoring Kadin as though he were invisible, Theo raised his hand and called for an employee.
“He isn’t with us, but someone sitting at my table accidentally spilled ice cream on the floor. I’ll compensate you separately for any damage or cleaning costs.”
At Theo’s words, the employee repeatedly bowed and hurried to clean up the spoon and ice cream that had fallen to the floor because of the wind.
Kadin glared at Theo as if he wanted to kill him before letting out a quiet scoff.
“I have no idea what scheme you have in mind by approaching the duchess, but the duchess has loved me for a very long time. No matter how much you struggle, she’ll eventually come back to me. That’s what I’m saying.”
“Really?”
Theo answered indifferently as he looked at Kadin.
“We’ll be having our engagement ceremony soon, and after that we’ll get married. I’m amazed you think she’ll come back to you.”
“Do you really think I’ll just let the two of you get married?!”
“If you don’t let us, what exactly are you going to do?”
While Theo and Kadin were arguing, Liriope had been completely absorbed in eating the ice cream. Suddenly, she realized that the conversation they were having wasn’t exactly something two people should be discussing in front of the person involved.
She let out an involuntary laugh.
Unfortunately, because there was ice cream in her mouth, it came out sounding almost like a snort.
Both men immediately turned their gazes toward Liriope.
Feeling awkward under their sudden attention, Liriope fidgeted, and Kadin asked her,
“How long are you planning to keep this up, Duchess?”
Liriope’s eyes widened at the unexpected question.
“Keep what up?”
“Didn’t I tell you that you’ve done enough to get my attention? I even graciously offered to become engaged to you. We’ll end up getting married because of that engagement anyway, so why do you keep using that guy?”
“Oh my, you think I’m using Lord Theo? What a frightening thing to say.”
Liriope deliberately widened her eyes in shock before taking another spoonful of ice cream.
At her reaction, Kadin’s handsome face immediately twisted.
“What’s the problem? Why are you doing this? What the hell is the reason?”
“I’m the one who wants to ask you that. Why is His Highness refusing to believe me?”
“What?”
“I told you that I’m engaged to Lord Theo.”
“So the show you put on to get my attention should be enough—”
“I have no intention of getting your attention, and this isn’t some show. I truly love Lord Theo. Why are you denying my feelings, Your Highness?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Liriope scooped up another spoonful of ice cream and put it into her mouth.
She had wanted to continue the conversation with a serious attitude, but resisting the temptation of ice cream was truly difficult.
“You’ve liked me for years, and now you expect me to believe that kind of nonsense?”
“What’s so difficult to believe?”
Theo joined the conversation, resting his chin on the table.
For some reason, he seemed to be in an excellent mood, wearing an extremely pleased smile as he looked at Liriope.
Kadin glared at Theo and shouted,
“Do you really think a person’s feelings can change that easily?! Especially since the duchess was, until recently—”
“It can be easy.”
Liriope interrupted Kadin.
Both Kadin and Theo looked at her at the same time.
Liriope wanted to help as much as she could now, so that when Theo eventually lost his heart to Rosiarin, he would be able to say goodbye to her without feeling guilty. That was why she refuted Kadin’s words.
“That’s simply how people’s hearts work. Someone you loved yesterday might suddenly look more appealing to you when you wake up the next morning. And unrequited love is even more fleeting. Someone who loves without receiving anything in return can’t remain a sunflower forever.”
At Liriope’s words, Kadin frowned as though he disliked something about them, while Theo stared intently at her with an oddly expressionless gaze.
“Either way, a person’s heart is like a reed that can easily be swayed.”
“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand. You suddenly started liking that guy overnight, and you expect me to believe that?”
“As I said before, it can’t be helped if you don’t believe me. I have no obligation to make you understand that my feelings have changed.”
After finishing her words, Liriope took another spoonful of ice cream.
The moment it entered her mouth, her face brightened with happiness. She quickly composed herself again and continued speaking.
“Of course, I’m truly sorry for bothering Your Highness all this time simply because I liked you. You must have been quite troubled because of me, and despite that, I’m grateful that you never treated me too harshly.”
Kadin looked flustered by Liriope’s sudden apology.
Liriope actually thought Kadin was the biggest victim in all of this.
‘After all, Liriope really did torment him terribly since childhood.’
Any man would eventually become fed up if a girl he had no interest in went around telling everyone that she liked him, followed him around to the point of becoming a nuisance, and blocked any possibility of another woman entering his life.
And Liriope wasn’t some insignificant noble either. She was the only daughter of a duke who was the Emperor’s right-hand man. Her incessant pursuit had eventually created rumors that the two of them would inevitably marry someday.
In fact, Kadin probably still had something resembling affection for Rosiarin even now.
Even so, the Emperor trusted the duke immensely, and because the duke was the Emperor’s right-hand man, Kadin likely couldn’t bring himself to reject Liriope too harshly.
When someone says they like you, it feels good and you may even be grateful. But when that courtship becomes excessive or goes too far, it can become painful instead.
Even more so when the other person is someone you can never return the feelings of.
In that sense, Liriope thought Kadin must have lived a rather difficult life because of her.
She had offered her apology hoping it might bring him even the slightest bit of comfort, but—
“Hmph. It was never a bother, you know? You don’t need to apologize, so just keep liking me like you do now. I’ll allow it.”
This idiot apparently found absolutely no comfort in her words and was spouting complete nonsense instead.
“You. Just go.”
At that moment, Theo, who had been quiet until then, waved his hand dismissively at Kadin.
Liriope wondered whether it was really all right for him to speak so arrogantly to the future Emperor, but Kadin had let his previous rudeness in the reception room slide as though he were accustomed to it, so perhaps she didn’t need to worry.
The fact that Theo was also casually saying everything he wanted to Kadin without hesitation seemed to confirm it.
“You, bastard—”
“Go.”
Just as Kadin was about to say something, Theo coldly told him to leave.
At that frighteningly icy expression, Kadin clicked his tongue and stood up.
He adjusted the hat attached to his slightly disheveled cloak, pulling it down firmly to hide his handsome face, and then spoke to Liriope.
“Think about it again, Duchess. No—Liriope. I’m telling you that I’m willing to give you a place by my side. Not to the Duchess, but to you, Liriope.”
After dropping a statement shocking enough to make someone gasp, Kadin glared at Theo once before turning around and leaving the restaurant.
‘Good grief.’
Still stunned by Kadin’s sudden attitude, Liriope swallowed a bewildered laugh to herself.
Then Theo called her in a voice as cold as the expression on his face.
“Ripe.”
Liriope instinctively turned her head toward him.
Theo was looking at her with a fierce expression she had never seen before.
“I’m not someone who particularly likes easy things.”
“…Pardon?”
“Once I make a choice, I rarely change it until the very end. So you, the woman who will become my wife, will have to be the same.”
“…What?”
As Liriope simply stared at him, bewildered by the succession of difficult-to-understand statements, Theo let out a short sigh and began scooping up the slightly melted ice cream with his spoon.
Then he scooped out some of the unmelted ice cream hidden underneath and held it out to Liriope.
“I’m saying that from now on, there will never be another member of the opposite sex in either of our lives. Only each other.”
“……”
Liriope’s eyes widened in surprise.
Theo moved the spoonful of ice cream toward her, gesturing for her to hurry up and eat it.
While eating the ice cream he offered her, Liriope tentatively brought up the future.
“Um, what if someday you end up wanting to break off our engagement…?”
“No.”
Theo answered firmly before she could even finish.
His slightly stiff expression made him look angry, but considering that he was scooping up more ice cream and putting it into her mouth, she wasn’t quite sure.
Liriope absentmindedly ate the ice cream he gave her, wearing a deeply thoughtful expression.
Even after she had finished all the ice cream in her mouth, she maintained that serious expression and spoke to Theo.
“You’ll regret it…”
‘Probably one hundred percent.’
At those words, Theo’s eyebrows immediately shot upward.
“Regret?”
