Chapter 2.7

“The Grant family.”

Roman muttered as he watched Ver carrying Prillance in his arms before disappearing in a hurry. Both families had no interactions before. Even though he only saw it briefly, looking at how Prillance leaned on Ver and how Ver took care of Prillance, it seemed they were quite close.

“Viscount Royne. Was Viscount Grant Lady Royne’s former fiancée?”

“Huh?”

Ben suddenly stopped, seeing nothing behind Roman. He had a bewildered face. He had thought their conversations went well today, but Roman’s sudden question made him nervous.

Roman didn’t hear Ben’s answer, but his expression was enough to answer his question.

“Is it a coincidence?”

Roman smiled pleasantly, staring at the exit where the two had disappeared.

“Then I’ll leave first.”

The wary Ben was still was sweating. After leaving Ben, Roman got on the carriage. He knew well that Prillance never did anything without benefit.

“James. Find out what relationship those two families have.”

He recalled Ver carrying Prillance in his arms.

Perhaps it was because of his physical energy that he channeled to Prillance. Even within his mansion, there were cases of servants getting sick after receiving his anger.

“We’ll have to have a date, one way or the other.”

He hated being bothered, but he felt a little sorry to see her rushing out in a hurry.

***

Since the day she had met Roman, Prillance suffered from a cold for several days. As soon as her fever fell, a letter came from Roman as if he had been waiting for that moment. He invited her for dinner. And it went without saying that Marquis Weiand’s mansion soon became busy.

Anyone who worked for Marquis Weiand would know that Prillance liked Roman. Her destination was always related to him.

Uninvited, she had previously gone to the shop of Duke Tonz’ exclusive designer. She had asked him to serve as her designer in order to match with Duke Tonz’ clothes like a couple. Of course, she had to pay a very large amount. Since that day, Duke Tonz has canceled his exclusive contract with that designer.

Everyone thought this invitation was a return to her heart which had never been returned.

Mindy was convinced that Prillance’s actions, which hadn’t visited Roman for quite some time, played a big part in receiving that invitation.

By nature, it’s been said that women should stimulate men’s desire to conquer. So Mindy decided to make Prillance prettier and fancier than usual.

Prillance was nervous, unlike the excited atmosphere in the mansion. It was because she had to see Roman, who recently channeled his fierce energy towards her. She recalled the memory of his sharp energy remaining in her sick body for several days. Even now, it distressed her.

“Did he just want to try it once?”

Prillance seriously considered her date with Roman. Then she touched Ver’s clothes that were folded neatly next to her.

Come to think of it, she didn’t even get to thank him for taking her home from the ballroom.

***

Led by Fred, the butler of the Tonz family, she headed to the dining room. The size of the dining room was larger than that of many rooms combined. It seemed to have been built to serve as many guests as possible. Roman was already sitting at the end.

“I greet the Duke.”

“Sit down.”

Unlike last time, Roman treated Prillance politely. Nevertheless, Prillance, wary of him, ate carefully.

“I’m not sure if it will suit your taste.”

“…It’s delicious.“

Roman observed her as he took a sip of wine.

According to James’ information, she didn’t plant anyone in the Tonz estate. He thought it might have been through Viscount Royne, but there had been no contact with the Royne family at all.

In addition, Lady Royne did not appear frequently in social circles, so there weren’t many events where the two participated concurrently. Moreover, it had only been a few months ago.

‘How did she know?’

It had been quite a secret affair. Viscount Royne’s approach had been very cautious, and his own security was not negligible either. It was comparable to the security of the imperial family. In order to appear to be a marriage of love that overcame a gap in status, a fairly comprehensive plan had been made.

Having dates together was part of that plan. Due to Roman’s personality of not dating in a rambunctious way, he wanted to secretly spread rumors that he started meeting her at his own mansion.

However, that too was just one time in the beginning. Even then, there was thorough security at the time because, first and foremost, he wanted to know what kind of woman Cecia was.

But Prillance somehow knew about it. Moreover, she even proposed an offer. Like she knew the deal between Viscount Royne and himself.

Roman stopped eating and looked at Prillance. From the moment she entered she had never once looked at him.

She looked like an entirely different person. Like she had forgotten the days when all she did was try to catch his attention.

‘Did your strategy change? In a sense, it’s a successful strategy. ’

Unlike usual, she used a rather clever way to attract his attention. He smiled inwardly.

“Is there something on my face?”

Because Roman stopped eating and observed her instead, Prillance faltered[1].

“No. It seems that the Lady is very good at keeping her terms.”

Fortunately, he seemed to like her condition of not bothering him. Prillance quietly sighed in relief.

“Because it wasn’t a lie.”

“Yes, it really wasn’t.”

Roman resumed eating, and she drank water to soothe her throat.

“But I think the Lady has changed.”

[1]The original was “ate as much as a bird’s” i.e. she ate smaller portions