Chapter 112
The Aneis Guild Master instantly regretted asking and waved his hands.
“I misspoke. Just seeing your expression… I really don’t want to hear the answer.”
Even imagining it made him feel sick, so the Guild Master kept asking him to pretend he never asked.
“I’ve said everything I needed to. I’ll be going now.”
He quickly left the sitting room, but then peeked his head back in.
“Your Grace, if things work out with the Duchess, you won’t be visiting the guild in person anymore, right?”
“Most likely.”
“Phew, finally!”
The Guild Master cheered and disappeared, clenching his fists in joy. Harold clicked his tongue at the door the man had failed to close properly and got up.
“Tch. What a nuisance.”
He closed the door and walked back inside, staring out the window at the falling snow. Then he spotted someone outside and smiled faintly.
Harold grabbed his coat and left his office. He followed the trail of footprints in the snow and found someone crouching at the end of the path.
Found you.
Even though he was standing right behind her, she didn’t notice—too focused on building a snowman.
Harold quietly watched her finish one snowman and start on a second. Then he gently brushed the snow off her soft, pink hair.
Startled, she flinched and turned her head back to look at him.
“I love you, my wife.”
“…!”
Her face flushed like a red rose. She stood up slowly, no longer as flustered or in disbelief as yesterday—but still kept her lips tightly closed.
Harold suddenly remembered what the Guild Master had teased him about:
“Seems like things with the Duchess are going well, huh?”
If things were really “going well,” those lips of hers wouldn’t still be sealed. Though… things weren’t going badly either.
Yesterday, Harold had tried several times to get her to say her feelings out loud. But all he got was a stuttering “Uh, um…” followed by a very loud stomach growl.
Her face had looked like a ripe tomato about to burst, and he couldn’t bring himself to tease her anymore. He let her go with a promise that she’d give him an answer within a week.
Still, he felt a bit disappointed and whispered teasingly,
“Diana, are you still thinking about running away?”
“No…! I’m not! I won’t!”
She jumped and firmly denied it.
“You’re not just pretending so I’ll lower my guard?”
“No!”
“Hmm.”
“…Harold, are you teasing me right now?”
“Yep.”
“I can’t even be mad, thinking about how I misunderstood everything…”
She pouted and muttered, “Is this karma?” while tapping her chest.
Harold smirked, remembering how she had openly shared her escape plan before.
In fact, the day they ended their contract, she’d acted so strangely that he contacted the Aneis Guild Master just in case. He told him to inform him immediately if Diana ever came by.
And when he heard her escape plan at the guild, Harold thought of countless ways to ensure she could never leave him again.
But when he saw Diana trembling with fear, all those ideas vanished from his mind.
‘Funny, isn’t it?’
He stared at her, feeling a little self-mocking.
‘It’s only now that I realize—I don’t want Diana to be afraid of me.’
He used to believe he was simply being patient to get the best results.
Instead of using power, he thought it was better to win her over, to make her choose to stay by his side. He thought he was just taking a longer route instead of forcing her.
But that wasn’t it. His previous thoughts were just arrogance and pride.
It wasn’t that he wouldn’t force her.
It was that he couldn’t.
“Umm, Harold.”
While he was lost in thought, Diana suddenly spoke.
“I heard from the gardener that the greenhouse is ready to visit again. Have you been?”
“No. The butler told me, but I haven’t gone yet.”
“Really?”
Her face brightened.
“Then… would you like to go with me now?”
She held out her hand to him.
Harold took her cold, red hand in his and kissed the back of it, like a knight swearing loyalty to his lord.
“If it’s somewhere my lady wants to go, then anywhere.”
“Eep!”
Diana gasped, remembering how he once kissed the top of her foot. Her ears turned red under her hair, and Harold laughed in a low voice, his throat trembling.
She pouted and walked quickly toward the greenhouse garden. But after a few steps, she turned and looked back at Harold, as if telling him to hurry.
With his long legs, he quickly caught up and held her hand again. It was still cold, so he tucked it into his coat pocket.
“It’s freezing—why were you playing in the snow?”
“…It just seemed like a good place to organize my thoughts.”
“Something on your mind?”
“No, not exactly.”
Their eyes met midair. Diana blushed and slowly opened her mouth.
“I’ll tell you… a bit later.”
Every step they took made a soft crunching sound in the snow.
As they neared the greenhouse, no other footprints were visible. All the way to the door, only their two sets of prints marked the pure snow.
“We’re here.”
They entered the greenhouse. Unlike the snowy cold outside, it was warm and cozy inside. Diana brushed the snow off her clothes and looked around in awe.
“Wow… I get why the gardener was so proud. It’s beautiful.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes!”
Even from the entrance, she could see roses and many other flowers blooming. There was even a small stream with fish and aquatic plants.
The greenhouse was luxurious and elegant, but surprisingly not overwhelming. It felt peaceful—like a perfect resting place.
“I feel like I’ll come here every day.”
“I’m glad. It’s yours, after all.”
“Huh?”
She looked up at Harold, eyes wide.
“Mine? …This place?”
“Yes. All the flowers in this greenhouse belong to you. Even when it’s cold like today, you’ll be able to see your favorite flowers.”
A memory flashed in her mind. Her eyes widened.
“Wait… Is that why you said you wanted to build a greenhouse back then?”
“You said you liked flowers.”
“Oh my gosh… So you liked me even back then?”
“I loved you even before that.”
Oh no. Diana stole a glance at Harold’s face and saw how clearly his love showed. She rubbed her heated ears and stared at him.
“Let’s look around the greenhouse.”
“Sure.”
They walked together among the flowers.
She carefully observed not only the roses but other types of flowers too. Some she didn’t recognize, but many she remembered from talking with her younger orphanage sister, who once dreamed of owning a flower shop.
‘These flower meanings…’
Jasmine, astilbe, campanula, purple delphinium—she recalled their meanings and glanced up at Harold.
‘He’s so obvious.’
All those flowers shared similar meanings.
The more you know, the more you notice—and there was no doubt Harold had chosen these flowers himself.
As she fidgeted with her fingers, Harold gently stroked the back of her hand and pressed her knuckles.
Their eyes met again. Diana, feeling the warmth spreading in her chest, slowly licked the roof of her mouth to calm herself.
‘What a waste of a week of waiting.’
It hadn’t even been 24 hours. That thought made her giggle quietly.
If feelings of love could be ranked, Harold would definitely be in first place.
Of course—because she loved him.
It’s time I give him the answer I couldn’t yesterday.
GIVE IT TO HIMMM~