Chapter 28
“Please put me down now.”
After being carried for who knows how long, Luna finally spoke once the crowd around them grew sparse.
It was better to wake from a foolish dream quickly. This man’s kindness was limited to the role of a purification mage, and he was not someone who would remain by her side forever. She had to find a way to protect herself as soon as possible.
A few steps later, Khalid finally set her down. Luna thought this was their parting moment, but instead, he extended his hand politely.
“An escort, all of a sudden?”
“Good food improves the mood. I’ll buy you the meal I mentioned last time.”
“It’s fine. I’ll just go home. Thank you.”
Luna waved her hands in refusal and stepped back from him. Even if he was her benefactor, unfamiliar kindness felt burdensome at the moment.
Why are you worrying about my feelings? I’d rather we bickered as usual—it would be more comfortable.
Hiding the thoughts she couldn’t voice aloud, Luna turned her head away.
As the daughter of a humble family, she was now rejecting the Duke’s hand. But if she were to take it, she would keep getting entangled, relying on him again and again.
She had already received more than enough compensation. She must not depend on him any further. Yet Khalid didn’t withdraw his hand.
He curled his lips mischievously, as though certain she would take it.
“You’d better take it. There’s something important I need to discuss with you.”
“Something important?”
Khalid nodded.
“Baron Adaret brought up a marriage proposal to me.”
“…What?”
Early evening.
Golden candlesticks in the restaurant were being lit one by one. Across a table covered in a pure white cloth, gleaming silverware lay neatly set. Luna and Khalid sat facing each other, menus in hand.
“If there’s anything you especially want, order it.”
“I’m really fine.”
“……”
They weren’t sitting here to enjoy dinner. She only agreed because she didn’t want to cause further trouble, not because she wanted to.
Her curt reply came with an averted gaze. She could feel herself unintentionally rejecting him over and over.
Inside her, gratitude and discomfort clashed. The Duke loomed far larger in her mind now than when he was just an ignorant client.
“I refused the proposal.”
His straightforward words pricked her ears instantly. Such a simple, clear answer.
“R-right…?”
Luna quickly hid her flustered face behind the menu, lowering her head.
She wanted him to refuse, yet hearing it directly made it feel as if she herself had been rejected. She had been pushing him away first, but still, some strange, lingering regret seeped in.
“I know you’ve been troubled over marriage matters. I declined properly, so you can rest easy.”
“Ah…”
He spoke as if he knew all her circumstances, even though she had never explained them. The thoughtfulness in his words left her with an odd feeling—both stung and soothed at once.
At that moment, the first course arrived: cream soup and a Caprese salad. Fidgeting with her spoon, Luna sneaked a glance at him, wondering if he remembered the salad she had spilled earlier.
But he simply began eating without a word.
He’s already made it clear he refused. What else is there to say? Just eat.
Although the situation was anticlimactic compared to her nervousness, Luna decided she might as well enjoy the meal. The fragrance of the finest restaurant’s soup was far too tempting to ignore.
The creamy soup went down so smoothly that it seemed to warm her very spirit, weary from so much hardship. Just as he said, good food really did improve her mood.
“The Baron seemed rather eager to hurry your marriage.”
Cough!
“My grandfather is being ridiculous. I’m sorry.”
Luna set down her spoon after a fit of coughing. So much for putting her at ease—what a lie.
That he could arrange a proposal in such a short time—of course, it was for her sake, but it was mortifying enough that she wanted to crawl into a hole.
“There’s no need to apologize. I only wish that you won’t be swayed by Baron Alonzo, and instead marry someone you truly like, even a little.”
“Of course. Thank you.”
He didn’t seem bothered at all by her grandfather’s meddling. Well, for a duke, proposals must be common occurrences. Surely this was hardly the most absurd one.
‘Someone I even slightly like…’
Luna glanced at him as he casually cut his steak. In terms of looks alone, he was someone she liked very much.
But only in looks.
Beyond her taste in appearances, he was still secretive, sometimes frighteningly ruthless, and far too exalted a Duke—so wealthy and powerful that words couldn’t capture it.
They lived in different worlds. Even if she did like him, even a little, there was no way they would end up together.
Chastising herself for such foolish thoughts, Luna set her fork down, appetite gone. Another discussion of marriage here, of all places. That wasn’t what mattered to her now.
There were too many problems she had to solve on her own. The burdens that he had told her not to worry about loomed like mountains in her eyes, stealing her hunger away.
“Do you know, my lady, that you’re surprisingly high-maintenance?”
“…High-maintenance? How?”
Just as a plate of delicious steak was set before her, Khalid broke the silence by pulling her dish toward himself.
Luna blinked in confusion, then widened her eyes in shock.
The Duke himself was cutting her steak into bite-sized pieces—without hesitation.
Was he taking it away because she had no appetite? Impossible. He’d sooner discard it than eat her leftovers.
Her pink eyes grew round, fixed on the serene man calmly slicing her meat.
Finishing the cuts, Khalid slid the plate back before her. In the candlelight, his pristine features wordlessly urged her to eat.
Luna’s lips fell open in disbelief. Even her grandfather had never carefully cut her food for her.
“Crazy.”
“…Crazy?”
Her honest reaction slipped out before she could stop it.
Repeating her word, he chuckled, raising an eyebrow as his hand drifted toward the sword at his hip.
A shiver of survival instinct shot through Luna, and in a flash she speared a piece of steak, chewing frantically.
“C-crazy delicious! Since Your Grace cut it for me, it tastes even better!”
After chewing like her life depended on it, she barely managed to spit out something sensible.
“That’s good to hear.”
Folding his arms, Khalid smirked with satisfaction, clearly pleased with her answer.
The oppressive aura she’d seen him unleash on the raven earlier now seemed to creep back around her. Or was it just her imagination?
Regardless, Luna found herself eating quickly under his watchful eyes.
All the while, Khalid leaned on his hand, never looking away from her, as if daring her to leave even a single bite.
Forcing a bright smile, Luna grabbed her glass and gulped down her wine.
Didn’t he say to eat comfortably? Why is he like this all of a sudden?!
The dinner finally ended—an ordeal that truly felt like torture. With her appetite ruined by worries, it was excruciating to consume course after course of fine cuisine, yet she had been forced to finish at least three dishes beyond the steak before the main course was declared over.
And then, even the strong wine jelly dessert was polished off. Now, clutching her full stomach, she faced the man who had escorted her near home.
“You repaid my lunch far too lavishly. Really.”
“As long as you’re satisfied, that’s enough.”
Satisfied? More like overwhelmed. Yet his generosity had strangely eased her burdens.
But this wasn’t the time for comfort.
“Sigh…”
“……”
“I-it’s just… I’m too full.”
As his sharp gaze turned at once toward her sigh, Luna covered quickly with an excuse. In truth, she should be the one serving him, but again, he was full of surprises.
“I told you already. Don’t worry about anything. Trust me.”
So perceptive—he noticed everything. Except the one thing she wished he would.
‘I’m trying not to rely on you… so why don’t you see that? Why do you keep drawing me in?’
Her emotions churned, finally breaking through her restraint. Luna spoke in a voice tinged with feeling.
“Your Grace… could you answer just one thing? I… I wasn’t able to purify, was I?”
“…?”
“Then why… why are you so kind to me?”
