🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 8
I stared intently at the face of Marquis Moldovan. He looked regretful.
“Do you still have feelings for Eins?”
Truthfully, yes.
After all, you can’t just cut off a ten-year unrequited love with a single swing of a blade. I had decided it was time to face reality.
But how that might appear to others was another matter entirely.
I lowered my gaze briefly, then met Marquis Moldovan’s eyes again.
“May I ask why you’re asking that?”
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say this was the first time I had truly seen Marquis Moldovan. He claimed to have met me before, but I had no memory of it at all.
And now, here he was, standing before me, testing the waters of my heart.
To be honest, I was suspicious. What were his intentions in approaching me? Could he be hiding some ill purpose?
Normally, it might have been fine to assume he liked me, but something felt off.
This was someone who had approached me while all of society’s eyes were on me, whispering and sneering. Isn’t it natural to be wary?
Even if his intentions were good, I couldn’t just trust him blindly.
“Well…”
Marquis Moldovan hesitated to speak. It was as if he were trying to broach a difficult subject, opening and closing his lips repeatedly.
It was a far cry from his confident demeanor on the terrace earlier.
I stayed quiet, waiting for him to speak.
Finally, he smiled sheepishly and spoke.
“I’ve liked you, Marquis Marbes, for a very long time.”
“…Pardon?”
His unexpected confession left me momentarily dumbfounded as I just stared up at him.
“You said you liked me?”
“Yes. From the moment I first met you.”
I was so stunned by the sudden confession that I barely managed to move my lips.
But Marquis Moldovan didn’t stop there; he continued to pour out his heart.
“When I first saw you, Marquis Marbes, you were already engaged to Duke Graham.”
If Eins and I were engaged then, that meant it had been at least three years ago.
“I couldn’t even dare to look at you properly. I did approach to greet you once, but I couldn’t reveal my feelings to the woman who would become the Duke’s wife, so I kept it hidden all that time.”
“…Really?”
When I asked, clearly skeptical, he gave an awkward laugh.
“Isn’t it ridiculous? A grown man pining for someone for years. I can’t even imagine how surprised you must feel, Marquis Marbes.”
His laugh was low and awkward, yet somehow pitiful, and I felt a pang of sympathy.
Still, I couldn’t easily speak to him.
He liked me?
“…That must have been very sudden, right?”
The smile on Marquis Moldovan’s face gradually faded, and he asked nervously.
“I’m sorry. I think I need a moment to sort out my thoughts.”
Was he telling the truth?
“I apologize. I didn’t want to confess like this… I only made things more confusing when your mind must already be in turmoil.”
“No, I asked first.”
“You’re very kind.”
Marquis Moldovan set down his wine glass, then drained the rest of the wine in it.
“I should be going. I worry that I may have burdened you too much, but if you ever sort out your thoughts, please let me know. I’ll be waiting.”
The smell of alcohol came from his breath.
He was about to leave but paused, then turned back toward me.
“And please return the coat when it’s convenient for you.”
“Ah… yes.”
After hearing my reply, Marquis Moldovan finally left the terrace with a relieved expression.
I remained alone on the terrace, watching him walk away.
His coat on my shoulder felt a little heavy, but returning it immediately might hurt him, so I didn’t act.
Meanwhile, the ballroom grew loud and chaotic.
I realized the reason belatedly and quickly reentered the ballroom.
“The Emperor has arrived!”
As expected, the commotion was caused by the Emperor’s entrance.
Seeing him enter, I, like the other nobles, slightly lifted my skirt and bowed.
“Heh heh, I am delighted that so many have come to celebrate such a trivial day.”
The Emperor mounted the podium and began speaking as if delivering a speech, mostly expressing gratitude and joy for the celebration.
“Now, enjoy the feast, everyone.”
When he finished, the ballroom slowly returned to clusters of nobles chatting and laughing, leaving me alone.
From across the room, I saw Marquis Moldovan talking with other nobles, his face lighting up in a cheerful expression—so different from when he spoke to me.
Then, our eyes met.
Marquis Moldovan smiled brightly and nodded in greeting. I returned a polite nod.
“You seem quite close to Marquis Moldovan.”
The familiar voice that followed made my face harden.
“Duke Graham.”
Eins had appeared beside me.
He stood there, arms crossed, watching the direction I had been looking—where Marquis Moldovan stood.
“When did you become so close with Marquis Moldovan?”
Eins asked as if interrogating me.
I frowned at his intrusion.
“Do I have an obligation to answer that, Duke? It’s my personal life.”
“Were you acquainted with him before our divorce?”
Even though I expressed my displeasure, Eins kept his gaze fixed on Marquis Moldovan and asked again.
In reality, today was the first time we had talked, and we weren’t exactly friends. But listening to Eins made me stubbornly defensive.
“Why do you care?”
“Is that coat on your shoulder his?”
“Duke.”
Ignoring my retort, he only asked the questions he wanted, which made me even more resistant.
I shifted my gaze from Eins back to Marquis Moldovan. He was chatting with friends at a distance. He glanced our way briefly, noticed Eins beside me, and awkwardly looked away.
“If I am close with Marquis Moldovan?”
“….”
“Even before our divorce, if I had a friendship with him?”
I returned his question with another question, but he didn’t answer. He simply took a passing servant’s wine glass and drank a sip.
“No. You’re not close with Marquis Moldovan. Meeting and talking properly probably happened for the first time today.”
Eins spoke with certainty, as if he already knew everything.
“Did you investigate me?”
“Of course not.”
He sipped the wine again. I crossed my arms and stared at him.
“Don’t get any closer to Marquis Moldovan. Consider this advice.”
Watching him sip his wine again, I let out a quiet sigh.
“Duke Graham, I don’t understand why you keep doing this. Didn’t I tell you before? No matter what I do in the future, don’t take an interest. I don’t understand why, after all the attention you gave me before, you’re acting like this after our divorce.”
His interest was burdensome.
After all, when I once sought his attention, he never flinched—so why now, after our divorce, does he act like this?
“I’m no longer your husband, Duke Graham.”
As soon as I said it, he turned his gaze from Marquis Moldovan to me.
“I didn’t want to have feelings for you.”
“Then you should have continued ignoring me.”
“I wanted to, too.”
Eins handed his empty wine glass to a passing servant and looked down at me, arms crossed.
There was no trace of affection in his gaze, so his questioning about Marquis Moldovan wasn’t jealousy.
Then why was he asking me about him?
While I wondered, Eins removed the coat I had from Marquis Moldovan on my shoulder.
“Eins!”
Startled, I blurted out his name.
He paused briefly but didn’t stop.
“Hey!”
He called a nearby servant. The servant hurried over, bowing.
“Return this coat to Marquis Moldovan. Tell him not to do anything unnecessary.”
“…Yes, Duke.”
The servant took the coat and headed straight for Marquis Moldovan.
I could only watch in daze.
