Chapter 3

“They seemed to be learning self-defense.”

“Self-defense?”

James disclosed what he had seen. He was tasked with finding out what Prillance was doing whenever she met with Ver.

Admittedly, it wasn’t easy to get close as long as Ver was there. As a knight, he was naturally sensitive to his surroundings. Hence, he chose to watch and report on what the two were doing from a distance.

“Yes. And they seemed very close.”

“Is that right?”

Roman hadn’t yet figured out whether Prillance actually liked Ver or whether she had other underlying motives. They were doing things out in the open, and the things they did weren’t of much significance.

However, she met him too often, and so suddenly, that he couldn’t say it wasn’t without purpose. The most likely reason was that she did it to provoke Roman’s jealousy.

“Observe them a little more. If there is anything unusual, report to me right away.”

“Yes.”

Shortly after James left, Fred knocked on the door.

“Lady Royne has arrived.”

“Guide her to the dining room. I will be there soon.”

Today was his dinner with Cecia. Roman had no plans on choosing either of them yet.

Roman left the office and headed for the dining room. He met Cecia on the way as she was being led to the dining room. Her neatly arranged black hair was silky. Meanwhile, her eyes contained beautiful emeralds. Her eyes looked like a clear sea that could charm whoever saw it.

“I greet the Duke.”

After greeting him, Cecia’s beautiful eyes settled on Roman.

“I will escort you.”

Fred, the guide, stepped down as Roman reached out to Cecia. She carefully raised her hand. Roman’s arm gently wrapped around Cecia’s arm as they entered the dining room.

“My father asked me to tell you that thanks to the Duke’s favor, his new project is going well.”

Cecia said softly while eating quietly.

“Ah. It looks like things are going smoothly.”

“Yes. It’s all thanks to Duke.”

“It’s because the Viscount’s work is competent.”

Their dinner continued. Roman observed Cecia as she was eating quietly. As a matter of fact, every dinner he had with her so far, she had been quiet. He liked that.

She was a woman who didn’t spill useless words. Furthermore, she wasn’t a woman who flattered him excessively either.

Because at every meal, she was silent. Looking at the atmosphere, she tried to say only what she needed. And as if frightened, she went home right away after each meal. She was different from other women who tried in every way to attract even a little bit of his attention.

Roman remembered the first time he saw Cecia. It was at a social event from a while ago. At the time, she was sitting in the corner, her face showing disinterest. All the while, she caught the attention of the men around her.

However, she never looked around. The situation was so strange that it also caught his attention. Then, when her expression finally brightened, the men who were standing around her gave out exclamations as if possessed.

Roman among them. She was a woman whose smile forced any man to turn his eye.

However, her gaze only turned to the person who called her. Standing there was that person.

“Ver Grant.”

“Huh?”

Cecia responded automatically to the name. Then, when she met his eyes, she turned away in surprise.

“Were you close to him before?”

He knew they were engaged before, but he deliberately excluded this information. He didn’t want to mention it.

“……Yes.“

Cecia replied with a cautious voice. It was a voice significantly more different than usual. It was a voice full of longing. Roman’s forehead frowned naturally. He didn’t like it.

Because of Prillance, he was unintentionally briefed on about Ver’s life. He was the man Prillance was currently approaching. And he was the only man the woman in front of him, the woman who might even become his fiancé – Cecia – responds to. (T/N: After this is Cecia’s POV)

Cecia wasn’t scared of Roman. Her face may not have any expressions, but there was a kind expression among them.

But it was different when it came to Ver. From the moment he was mentioned, her only weakness came out. It was because she was engaged to him, but that engagement was broken, and there was even speculation that he might have been involved with the former Marquis Grant’s case.

Fortunately, Roman was not the type to care about rumors. But that didn’t make the conversation on the theme of Ver comfortable for her.

Her father, Viscount Ben Royne, was not originally a nobleman. As a merchant, he met Marquis Grant. Viscount Royne was then able to accumulate wealth with his unique skills and enjoy a prosperous life equal to that of a noble’s.

That was all natural, given the support of Marquis Grant.

After a while, Ben became a real aristocrat when the current emperor granted him a title. Not long after, she became engaged to Ver. It was the happiest time of her life.

But that happiness did not last long. The Grant family collapsed, and a notice calling off the engagement came from Ver.

Since that day, Ben, with everything that he had, offered an engagement to the person in front of her, Roman. And he had accepted the engagement.

“What kind of person is he?”

Roman had never once mentioned Ver. Cecia didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what his intention was, so she was hesitant to answer.

She was reminded of Ben’s words telling her to always be careful and to choose her words wisely.

“Oh, I have no other intention. You can talk comfortably.”

Roman noticed her hesitation. He tried to casually make her answer the question. Then, he waited for her worries to settle.

“An honest, upright person.”

She answered after much thought. Roman nodded and agreed. It was something he had already known.

“A person who looks not at one’s title, but at the individual itself.”

“In addition?”

“……That’s how hard he is on himself.”

Cecia was noticeably tense as she brought out Ver’s story. But she was fully confident. Adding the last few words, Cecia smiled bitterly.

That was the reason he had called off their engagement. In the last letter he sent her, there was only a short message asking to break off their engagement. As she recalled that moment, her face darkened by itself.

“It seems he was harsh on you, not on himself.”

Roman said indifferently. He knew that her words were hinting at her feelings toward Ver.

Cecia did not refute Roman’s words. She didn’t want to deceive her feelings. So, instead of answering him, she turned her head away from his gaze.

Roman spoke in a casual tone, but his innermost thoughts felt otherwise. An unknown feeling rose from his chest. It was an unfamiliar feeling. He couldn’t determine exactly what kind of feeling it was, but he was certain it was something he never wanted to feel for a long time.