ITTRAETML 40

~Chapter 40~

The day after the banquet, Lovelace asked Larvihan out on a date.
It was sudden, but Larvihan even changed his schedule to accept.

The mood was warm and friendly. Larvihan opened the carriage door—then the air turned cold.

“What is this?”

There was already someone inside the carriage. Larvihan stared at the familiar face and asked.

“Hurry and get in, Larvihan.”

Lovelace urged him from behind. Because of that, he had to climb in awkwardly without hearing an answer from the person inside.

“Rey.”

He planned to sit first, then question Lovelace.

“Let’s just go eat. Don’t you want to eat with me?”

That wasn’t it. He just didn’t like the extra… passenger. Larvihan pressed his lips tight and stared out the window with cold eyes.

Nervous, Garri poked Lovelace’s thigh. Lovelace turned her head. Garri felt like something big would explode any second; she was choking on her breath, while Lovelace looked calm.

The Duke Larvihan’s face doesn’t look good…

That’s his usual face.

Lovelace hooked her fingers at the corners of her eyes and lifted them, imitating him. Garri snorted a laugh.

“You two seem to be having a lot of fun?”

At last, Larvihan let out a crooked line. Garri straightened her back and firmed her expression.

“Of course I’m happy. I’m dining with Duke Larvihan.”

Lovelace answered smoothly. Larvihan considered getting off right away, but remembered this was the first time Lovelace had asked him for a favor, and endured.

The carriage left the quiet road and reached a busy shopping street. Lovelace stopped in front of a famous trinket shop she had checked beforehand.

Even while showing he was displeased, Larvihan escorted her properly. He got out first and held out his hand. Lovelace took it and hopped down.

Larvihan held her by the waist with one hand to lift her higher.

“Kyaa.”

Lovelace let out a cheerful little scream and slipped into the trinket shop. Larvihan followed her inside.

Garri reached out a hand to no one, then pulled it back, embarrassed. She couldn’t shake the feeling of being a third wheel.

Should I just go back?

But Garri shook her head. It was because of how she’d declared things at the meal with Duke Handrake.

“I’m dining with Duke Larvihan today.”

Duke Handrake’s face at those words had been worth seeing. He would be restless until she came home.

Trying to look unfazed, Garri stretched her neck and walked into the shop.

Being treated like an uninvited guest wasn’t new.

“This is pretty, right? It would look nice on the office desk.”

When Garri stepped in, Larvihan was putting every item Lovelace picked up straight into a basket. In a moment, the lace-lined basket was full.

“I see.”

Without even looking at what she held, Larvihan replied in a bored tone.

“Garri, look at this. If you wind it like this…”

Inside a glass globe, a violin player began to perform. A beautiful violin melody flowed out.

“It’s a music box.”

Larvihan took the music box from Lovelace and set it on the basket. The basket was already full; the music box perched there looked like it might fall. Larvihan put the basket on the counter.

The excited shop owner started totaling the prices.

“Lovelace, did you check the price tags?”

Music boxes came in all prices. Depending on the music’s quality and the detail of the craft, the cheap ones were very cheap, but the expensive ones cost as much as a carriage.

The one Lovelace had just held wasn’t quite a carriage, but it might be a young foal’s price.

“Oh—price!”

Lovelace suddenly remembered her own purse. How much money had Judith given her?

“Don’t worry about the price. Put it in.”

Larvihan said.

“How can I not? You know my estate’s situation.”

“What do you mean, ‘you know’? Our estate’s finances are rock solid. We could laze around a hundred years and be fine.”

“Who said I was thinking about your estate? I meant our estate…!”

Mid-sentence, Lovelace realized his intention exactly.

“You’ll buy it for me?”

She didn’t refuse. Because Larvihan was, as he said, extremely rich.

“Then I’ll add just one more.”

Lovelace picked up a music box with a ballerina inside.

“Why bother adding one by one? I bought everything, so just point at what you want delivered with your finger. Hey, shop owner—no, my employee now. The staff will pack and send it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I just bought this place. All of it.”

“Just the goods?”

“No, the whole building.”

Lovelace and Garri stared at each other and opened their mouths at the same time.

“What would you like us to send?”

The man who had been the owner just moments ago came over with paper and pen, beaming. From his face, it seemed Larvihan had paid very generously.

Lovelace felt dazed.

Had he had his eye on this building for a while? Did Larvihan also like trinkets?

Thinking of his plain room and office, Lovelace was sure—no.

Then why?

Garri cut through Lovelace’s confusion in an instant.

“So this is the rich male lead behavior I only saw in romance novels.”

Lovelace slowly turned her head toward Garri. Garri picked up one music box.

“I’m jealous. Can I take this one?”

“Why ask me? Larvihan bought it.”

“Feels like it’s yours. The building too.”

Lovelace looked to Larvihan, asking with her eyes if that was true.

“True, Rey.”

So he really was going all out to woo her—in every way.

Her head was a mess, but her mood felt great. Lovelace felt like her feet were floating. Pretending to give in, she pointed here and there with her hand.

The cute little items seemed to be crying out for their new master’s touch. It was impossible to ignore them.

“Shall we go have tea?”

Thanks to Larvihan buying the entire building in under half an hour, Lovelace’s urge to shop cooled quickly—
even if the paper in the new employee’s hand was crammed full of notes.

“Do you have a place in mind?”

Larvihan asked. Since Lovelace had asked him out, he planned to match her wishes today.

“I do.”

Lovelace, excited, opened the door. It was pouring rain. It had been sunny in the morning. The weather was as fickle as she was.

“It’s raining…”

The café was at an awkward distance—too close for a carriage, too far to walk dry. And this wasn’t a light rain. It was coming down like the sky had split.

“We brought umbrellas.”

Maxmuel held out three umbrellas.

“Thank you, Sir Maxmuel.”

Truly capable. In a country without weather forecasts, he had umbrellas ready.

Lovelace quickly took two, handed one to Garri, and opened her own.

“What about you, Larvihan?”

She asked, already stepping into the rain.

“My umbrella’s broken.”

“It’s not brok— The inside of the umbrella is broken.”

Maxmuel hid the umbrella behind his back.

Would capable Maxmuel really bring a broken umbrella without knowing? Strange.

Before she could ask him to open and check again, Larvihan slipped under Lovelace’s umbrella.

“Don’t get wet.”

He pulled Lovelace close and took the umbrella into his own hand.

“You’re the one getting wet.”

One of Larvihan’s shoulders was already soaked. Lovelace tilted the umbrella toward him.

“I’m fine.”

In the narrow space under the umbrella, Larvihan’s voice came through the damp air and tickled her ears.

“How long are you going to stand there?”

Garri, who had gone ahead, turned sharply. The rain made it hard to see her, but her voice alone showed she wasn’t in a good mood.

Larvihan drew Lovelace by the shoulder and walked. Water splashed, and the hem of her dress got messy.

Larvihan said nothing. Usually, at this distance, he was dying to make a move. His quiet made her oddly tense.

“Move a bit more insi— ah!”

It happened the moment Lovelace tugged his shoulder. A carriage didn’t slow down and hit a puddle.

Larvihan pulled Lovelace into his arms, but the big splash soaked his back—and still wasn’t enough. Lovelace’s skirt was ruined too.

“Oh my, you’re soaked.”

“Your skirt looks worse than me.”

Larvihan frowned. The light green dress she wore today suited her so well.

“You’re right. The stains are awful. Will this wash out?”

Lovelace sounded honestly worried; she liked the dress. Watching her for a moment, Larvihan spoke.

“Rey, hold this.”

He pushed the umbrella firmly into Lovelace’s hand.

“Why? Are you going to change clothes?”

“Two birds with one stone. Something came up.”

Larvihan fixed his eyes on the road where the carriage had gone.