‘Oh, it’s driving me crazy.’.
However, contrary to what Rubica was thinking, Edgar was avoiding physical contact with her because of another reason. As soon as he saw her, he remembered what he had seen last night. Her sleeping in that nightdress which he couldn’t even describe under the dim candlelight, and her soft skin that he touched by mistake. Just thinking about it made his blood surge. He was now desperately trying to control himself.
“Elise, now we should sort these invitations and have a servant deliver them.”
“Yes, madam.”
Rubica sorted the letters, trying not to look awkward while Edgar picked up one of them.
“Stephen?”
“I’m going to invite him to the tea meeting too. It’s okay, right?”
Rubica had gotten Edgar’s advice on which nobles to invite, but as the knights were all Claymore’s subjects, she didn’t discuss with him.
“But why do you want to invite him?”
Edgar sounded quite serious.
“Why? It’s because…”
Before Rubica could say anything, Edgar picked more invitations. They all had one thing in common.
“They’re all for handsome men.”
Rubica nodded.
“Am I not enough for you?”
Rubica looked like she couldn’t understand the question, and it made him even madder. He knew very well that she liked beauty. However, she had a husband. And now, she wanted to invite a bunch of other men? Edgar was the most handsome man on the continent. Plus, he was the Arman she was so eagerly looking for. Why did she want other men when she had her own man right next to her?
“Ah, hahaha!”
Rubica suddenly burst into laughter. At first, she had been confused as she didn’t know what he was talking about. However, she could see what this was about now.
“Don’t laugh. I’m serious.”
And that was even funnier. He refused her touch only a minute ago, and now he was jealous? Really, he was extremely good at confusing her.
“Haha, Edgar, no, haha, that’s not it.”
She was supposed to explain, but she was laughing so hard that it was hard to speak. Edgar started to look really offended.
“But it is! You said you wanted to see the training ground, so I thought it was about the management of the household, but you were busy looking at the knights. I know you spied on them with binoculars. You, you even smiled at Stephen.”
You called Stephen so suddenly because of that? Then, that sudden smashing sound and your bandaged hand were because of…
Now it was even harder to not laugh. Rubica covered her mouth with both hands. She wanted to roll on the floor and laugh hard, but she managed not to because she knew Edgar would refuse to see her for a whole day if she did that. Elise and the maids were also trying hard to look normal.
“Edgar, that’s not it. I am inviting these men for the ladies I am inviting. It’s not to delight my eyes at all.”
She regretted saying that as soon as she did since now everyone knew she liked pretty faces. That had never been revealed in her previous life…
“Really?”
However, Edgar looked so serious that she decided she didn’t have to worry about that. To those who were watching this scene now, what she had just said wasn’t something they would remember. Their memories were going to be imprinted forever by the smart duke’s stupid misunderstanding and foolish acts.
‘Oh, it’s bad that this treasure-like guy’s impression is about to be ruined.’
So, she decided to join him and become a laughingstock together.
“And why would I look for anything else when I have such a great eye candy right here?”
However, her fool-like husband smiled stupidly at that.
“You’re right.”
He was glad to be her eye candy.
Along with that, his impression was totally in shambles.
“Of course.”
Rubica half gave up and agreed with him. It made him feel a lot better and he helped her sort the invitations. However, when their fingers touched, he jumped to his feet.
“I will be in the dining hall.”
Then, he ran out of the room.
“What is wrong with him?”
“I don’t know.”
As he was glad to be Rubica’s eye candy, it didn’t seem he was mad at her. However, after that, he flinched every time Rubica’s body touched him even slightly. Then, he looked away and tried not to touch her again.
‘Why on earth is he doing that?’
Rubica didn’t know that he had seen her in the nightdress yesterday and couldn’t tell what this was about. She did want to avoid physical contact with him, but she hadn’t wished for him to avoid her gaze as well.
She wasn’t the type of person who just endured such a situation. She had already abandoned her belief that she would one day be appreciated if she patiently endured. That only happened in fairy tales. When she held back her complaints, people thought she had none. When she endured, she was used. That was the reality she had experienced.
“Edgar, are you mad at me?”
She asked as soon as they were alone in the bedroom. Edgar, who was sitting on a sofa next to the fireplace far from the bed, blinked at the question.
“Mad at you?”
He asked back as if he really couldn’t understand the question. However, his blue eyes under his soft, beautiful eyebrows were still not looking at her.
“You look like you are mad at me…”
“No, I’m not.”
“Then why do you keep looking away?”
Edgar angrily looked straight at her when he heard the question. His eyes were burning like flames, and Rubica, who felt like they would burn her, took a step back. It looked like she had messed up with a sleeping lion.
“Why am I looking away? You really don’t know?”
“I don’t know… that’s why I’m asking.”
He grabbed his armrest tightly, and it meant he was really mad. Rubica didn’t know why, so she was very confused.
“You seduced me like that, and now you pretend to be innocent…”
“Seduced?”
“Why were you wearing that nightdress last night?”
He confronted her.
“That nightdress… oh!”
Rubica realized what he was talking about, and her face turned red in less than a second.
He had seen her in that embarrassing nightdress?
It was so thin that she didn’t want to remember how she looked in it, and she couldn’t believe the man in front of her had seen it.
She wanted to run away. But where could she run to? This was her room. She could run out, but she would eventually have to come back. She jumped around while ruffling her hair.
“I can’t believe you saw that. It’s so embarrassing!”
“What do you mean, embarrassing? You looked really pretty…”
“What?”
His blue eyes glistened under the dim candlelight, and Rubica could feel her body freezing in tension. He let out an extremely dangerous smell.
“Why did you wear it?”
If she really had worn it to seduce him, he wasn’t going to hesitate.
“It’s, it’s because… Ann asked me to.”
“Ha.”
He sighed. Now it was his turn to ruffle his hair as he could see what must have happened. Ann was good at interfering when she wasn’t supposed to.
“I should replace the housekeeper.”
“But it’s not her fault. She was just trying to be considerate.”
Rubica jumped to her feet and spoke for Ann. Edgar then looked at her.
‘Dull.’
She was so dull that she couldn’t even guess that he liked her.
‘Well, she thought the blind man worked for hours to make a bouquet just because of their friendship.’
And he had been stupid enough to not confess his love, and she still didn’t know.
It was no different now. He liked her and everyone at the mansion knew that. Even the dogs knew that, but she didn’t know. He kept giving hints, but she didn’t notice it.
“Rubica.”
He smiled dangerously, and Rubica couldn’t help but crouch. It felt like he was about to shake her with something extremely evil.
“I have a confession to make.”
Edgar had once promised to Carl that he would never do anything like an idiot if he ever found out Rubica liked him.
He was the Arman she loved.
He didn’t want to be an idiot who couldn’t even confess his love to her like his future self.
“A confession?”
“It seems like you will never notice it if I don’t tell you, so I must tell you.”
Rubica widened her eyes, clearly not knowing what he was about to say.
‘Of course, she would refuse now.’
However, she was going to regret it afterward. He decided to be refused gladly, and he was even ready to pretend to be heartbroken.
“I like you.”
Rubica frowned as she couldn’t understand what he meant by that.
“Not as a friend. I like you as a man likes a woman.”
He made it clear before she could interpret it the way she wanted.
“No, no way.”
“Of course there’s no way a husband loves his own wife.”
“But I…”
“Am in love with someone else? I know. You’ve told me that enough times.”
Rubica couldn’t understand him. He knew about her situation, and he still liked her? He even seemed rather relaxed.
However, Elise just shook her head.