Chapter 16
His bronzed skin looked even more polished today, his neatly slicked-back black hair, those decadent red eyes, his sharp nose bridge—and the luscious lips just beneath it.
Every day, my husband’s beauty seemed to grow more deadly. I honestly felt like I might stop breathing. At this rate, my heart could actually explode.
‘Just a bit more, just a little more!’
Only a hand’s breadth of space remained. If he just leaned in a little, his lips would definitely touch mine.
The moment of victory was so close.
With his half-lidded eyes, he was just about to tilt his chin up when—
SLAM! CLANG!
A large hand struck the table. The neatly arranged cutlery clattered everywhere, and a sharp crashing sound filled the dining room.
“What happened?! Your Grace!”
Melvin, the aide, rushed in like a bullet. He looked around at the mess, then shot a look of suspicion.
“It—it wasn’t me!”
Worried that I’d be blamed, I frantically waved my hands in denial. Meanwhile, Edmund, now calmly seated again, shrugged as if nothing happened.
“I’ll get this cleaned up right away.”
At that, the servants who had been waiting outside quickly rushed in and restored order to the mess. The overturned cutlery was soon back in place.
“Once everything’s clean, leave. Don’t come back in unless I call.”
With that, peace returned to the room—except for me, who had just missed a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
‘So frustrating! I was so close!’
I shot Edmund a sidelong glare, but he simply held his head high and blankly said,
“Shall we begin again?”
“You sure know how to wriggle out of a situation, huh? You were the one who grabbed my hand first! Now you’re pretending like nothing happened?”
“You were doing so badly I had to show you an example.”
“Oh, I see. Were you scared I’d throw myself at you? Is that why you resorted to such dirty tricks?”
“Dirty tricks? Are you talking to me?”
“Who else is here but you? You grabbed my hand, you caused the mess, and now you’re blaming me for it. If that’s not dirty, I don’t know what is.”
“Hah. Looks like you’ve completely lost your mind now.”
“Whatever. Let’s just get on with it. I’m too fed up to keep arguing.”
“Finally, some good news. Great decision. Better for both of us.”
Edmund smirked and responded in a bored tone.
‘Ugh, so smug…!’
If I kept talking, I was going to explode. I figured silence might be the better option for my long-term survival. I sealed my lips and stared forward.
After a moment of awkward silence, Edmund picked up the knife again.
“Sigh, let’s start from the beginning.”
“Hmph. Whatever.”
“Bend your wrist slightly, keep your elbow relaxed. Then use your fork to steady the food and press with your knife like this.”
He demonstrated perfectly, slicing the meat cleanly and popping a bite into his mouth.
He wasn’t just handsome—he was good at this too. Was there anything this man lacked? Determined not to lose, I tightened my grip on my knife.
‘I can do it too!’
But not long after—SCREECH!
The knife hit the plate and made a loud screeching noise. Both of us winced in perfect sync.
“Ugh! Why won’t this thing cut?!”
“Have you considered that you might be the problem? My knife works just fine.”
“Wow! Sir Edmund, were you always this talkative? You’re a natural at picking fights and teasing people!”
“….”
I whipped my gaze toward him, and then—whoosh!—my cheeks turned bright red like nothing had happened.
‘Damn it. That face should be illegal. It’s a weapon! I’m mad, but one look at him and the anger just disappears!’
Frustrated, I bit my lip and clenched my fists. Edmund looked at me in silence for a moment before speaking.
“Let’s… just keep going. You’ll get better with time.”
I replied curtly on purpose. I couldn’t let myself be defeated by a piece of meat. I stared at the plate like it was my enemy.
Then—clink—a hand reached into my vision and took away the mangled meat I’d been butchering.
“Eat this first. You should at least fill your stomach.”
Edmund placed neatly cut pieces of meat in front of me. My wide eyes trembled slightly, overwhelmed with emotion.
The perfectly bite-sized cuts looked so delicious. My grumbling stomach responded immediately.
“Darling…!”
I was about to leap from my seat in gratitude when Edmund raised a hand straight up.
“No unnecessary physical contact. Saying thank you is enough.”
“Alright, alright. I won’t touch you. Honestly, you act like you don’t care, but you clearly do. If only your words were a little sweeter, my dear~”
I sang playfully in a nasal voice. It was my way of expressing thanks.
‘Something’s off.’
On the other hand, Edmund still wasn’t used to Chloen’s behavior.
That overly sweet nickname “darling,” the sudden bursts of cutesy behavior—it all felt strange. But the strangest part was… he didn’t exactly hate it.
“Ahem. Let’s eat. The food’s going cold. There’s nothing worse than cold veal.”
He focused on his knife again and spoke in a flat tone. Meanwhile, I was smiling like sunshine.
It wasn’t everything I hoped for, but it was clear we’d gotten closer over the past few days.
‘At this rate, sharing a bed is only a matter of time.’
I popped a piece of meat into my mouth and chewed happily. Edmund glanced at me and spoke calmly.
“Seems like you like it.”
“Of course. It’s delicious—how could I not like it?”
I hummed a tune with the meat still in my mouth. Edmund let out a quiet chuckle.
It was like looking at a completely different person. Not long ago, she couldn’t even stand being in the same room as him—now, she was so unguarded, so relaxed. It was hard to believe.
“Maybe this is actually a good thing.”
“Hm? What is?”
But Edmund didn’t answer. He simply curled one side of his lip into a smirk.
‘Ugh. Ignored again. He always brushes me off like this.’
I pouted and stuffed another piece of meat into my mouth.
“Don’t point the fork upward. Same with the knife.”
“Ah!”
Embarrassed, I gave a small yelp and wrinkled my nose. I carefully put the fork down.
“Eat small bites, slowly. Avoid making any noise.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I replied absentmindedly and focused on my food. Edmund also quietly ate the meat he had cut.
The savory juices filled my mouth, and the tender, chewy texture made every bite delicious. Before I knew it, my plate was empty.
After finishing the last piece, I finally set down my fork. That was one perfect meal. I hummed cheerfully and patted my full belly.
“Mmm… That was good.”
“When you finish a meal, place the knife and fork side by side, angled to the bottom right. There are no servants now, but if you do that in front of them, your food will be taken away.”
“Well, we’ll always be eating together anyway. If someone tries to take my food, you’ll stop them, won’t you?”
“You think I have nothing better to do?”
“I’m sure you’ll make time for me. We agreed to get along, remember?”
His gaze shifted quickly to his plate at my embarrassing words. Then, as if to change the subject—
“When you eat, be mindful of the noise. No slurping, no scraping sounds like earlier.”
“I want to be good at it! But I’m bad with knives, I can’t control my strength, and my wrist hurts!”
I pouted dramatically. Maybe he saw through my act, because after a moment of silence, he sharply turned his head.
“You’ll get used to it.”
Edmund replied coldly as he picked up his water glass.
“Can’t you just cut it for me like today? I really like it when you do that. It’s nice eating together too.”
PFFFT! Edmund suddenly spit out his water. He wiped his mouth, then replied coldly as if nothing happened.
“One favor is enough.”
“There’s no such thing! If a man picks up a knife, he should at least chop a radish! You do it—I’ll just eat whatever you give me, okay?”
“Stop saying ridiculous things.”
“But I’m really struggling! Look at this wrist! It looks like it could snap with a flick. What can I possibly do with this?”
Edmund’s eyes followed hers. Beneath the dramatic dress, her wrist really did look fragile.
It was so thin it looked like it might break or fall off. Compared to his own massive arms, her wrists were less than half their size.
A strange mix of feelings stirred inside him. After a pause, he shook his head and finally spoke.
“Even children can do this. You can too.”
“Seriously. You think I’m asking because I can’t? You’ve got no romance in your soul. You’re like a dried-up old tree. So stiff and boring.”
Chloen muttered to herself, clicking her tongue. Edmund smoothed out his frown and declared plainly,
“Today’s lesson ends here. Tomorrow I’ll teach you about tea. Not that you’ll remember, considering you already forgot how to hold a knife.”
“Wait! That’s it for today? What about lunch? Dinner? I still have so much to learn! I’m not ready to go solo!”
“I have somewhere to be. Unlike someone who’s lost their memory, I’m not exactly free. I’ll tell Sasha—try handling the rest on your own.”
With those final words, Edmund walked out of the dining room.
