Chapter : 08
His face, turning his back on me again slowly, was plainly marked with annoyance.
“Wouldn’t it be fine if I returned it once I find it? Do I really need to report it…?”
Finding the photo was something that had to be done, but why did I need to report it to him?
To be honest, I didn’t want to meet him.
“You have to.”
The young duke replied in a merciless voice and left the room without hesitation.
Without even sparing a glance at the sofa he had knocked over.
“Ugh, it’s damn heavy.”
After struggling to put the sofa back upright, I collapsed onto it.
“Ha… what is this?”
It was truly unfair.
I hadn’t even opened that locket.
I had simply returned it as it was, and now I had to find a photograph I’d never even seen.
“Haa…”
Still, I could understand Lawrence’s position a hundred, a thousand times over.
From his perspective, the most important photograph had disappeared from the necklace he had just gotten back after a year—of course he’d be angry.
When he opened the locket and saw it empty, he must have been furious.
A photo of his mother.
If it was a photo of his mother, then it must have been incredibly precious to Lawrence.
Yes, that must be why he was even willing to see someone he didn’t want to see every week.
Honestly, I thought that day had been the end with Gerhardt.
But to get entangled like this…
I could vividly picture myself struggling to find that photograph in the days ahead.
And if I couldn’t find it…
I didn’t even want to imagine it.
“Argh!”
In a situation where I could do nothing either way, I just messed up my hair in frustration.
I should’ve never returned the necklace.
If I hadn’t returned it, none of this would’ve happened. I couldn’t help but strongly regret having given it back.
One month earlier, the Gerhardt Ducal Estate Library.
Under the sunlight pouring in through the large windows, Lawrence Gerhardt sat with his chin propped on his hand, scanning a book as he did every other day.
Rustle, rustle.
In the quiet, still space reminiscent of early dawn, the only sound was the occasional turning of pages.
Lawrence Gerhardt was reading books related to economics for an assignment given by his tutor.
He had been sitting there for nearly four hours without moving, yet there was not the slightest change in his expression.
There was no sign of fatigue or weariness.
His face was as utterly expressionless as when he had first sat down.
Was he bored? Annoyed?
From Lawrence’s uniquely blank expression, it was impossible to guess his mood.
“Today makes it one full month.”
“…One month of what?”
Assistant Simon broke the long silence and spoke.
At Simon’s murmured words, Lawrence lifted his gaze from the book and asked.
“Today marks one month since Lady Patricia last visited the estate.”
At those words, the young duke’s previously expressionless face cracked.
Irritation surfaced across his features.
“Why bring that up all of a sudden?”
Lawrence wasn’t the least bit curious about Patricia. If possible, he didn’t want to hear anything about her at all.
At the reproachful tone, Simon hurriedly added,
“No, it’s just that someone who used to come every single day suddenly stopped, so it feels a bit empty.”
“Empty, my foot.”
“…”
“Isn’t it better now that the nuisance is gone?”
Lawrence clicked his tongue lightly, as if amused by Simon’s words.
‘What nonsense.’
There was no reason at all to feel empty just because that woman stopped coming. If anything, it felt refreshing.
“Is that so?”
“Of course.”
At the young duke’s firm reply, Simon nodded quietly.
Feeling a little awkward at Lawrence’s complete lack of concern for Patricia, Simon quickly changed the subject.
“Could it be that Lady Patricia has finally given up on you?”
Thinking it was something the duke would like to hear, Simon’s eyes brightened.
If Patricia never came to the Gerhardt estate again, the young duke wouldn’t have to deal with her anymore—surely he’d be pleased.
However, contrary to Simon’s hopes, the young duke only glared at him coldly.
“Hah! Patricia?”
Lawrence looked at his assistant as if it were absurd.
He wondered whether Simon truly believed what he was saying.
After watching everything Lawrence had gone through all this time, how could he say something like that?
Patricia.
It would be impossible to list all of her misdeeds.
Showing up every day without making an appointment was the least of it. She would “accidentally” spill perfectly good tea all over his clothes, stumble and fall into his arms, clinging to him annoyingly.
As if that weren’t enough, she even jumped in front of galloping horses and carriages.
Pretending it was all a mistake made it infuriating enough, but she had no sense of restraint.
She spread ridiculous rumors about him in high society, and now she’d gone so far as to try to bewitch him with some absurd potion.
Thinking about everything she’d done made his irritation flare.
He’d been subjected to this for seven years already.
‘Patricia no longer likes me?’
That Patricia no longer liked him?
“There’s no way.”
Lawrence shook his head slowly and spoke with a sneer.
There was no way Patricia would ever do such a thing.
As if he’d heard something ridiculous, Lawrence shrugged and turned his gaze back to his book.
“Then… could she be ill?”
After a moment of silence, Simon spoke again.
At Simon’s voice, Lawrence’s hand—midway through turning a page—froze in the air.
“Why do you keep spouting such pointless nonsense?”
Whether Patricia was sick or not had nothing to do with them.
Displeasure was evident in Lawrence Gerhardt’s voice.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Realizing he had irritated the duke, Simon hurriedly apologized.
But soon, he let out a frustrated sigh.
“Still, it keeps bothering me.”
“…”
“At first, I was so happy not having to see her face, not being harassed by her anymore. But now that someone who showed up every day is suddenly gone, I’m going crazy with curiosity.”
“…”
Simon complained as though truly distressed.
“Your Grace?”
As Simon spoke, Lawrence’s red eyes trembled slightly at the sound of his name.
“…”
“…”
For a moment, their gazes met blankly in midair.
Lawrence stared at Simon without a word.
“I thought you were busy organizing the duchy’s tax documents. Seems I was mistaken. Bring me the mining export reports within three days as well.”
“What? No, that’s not—just the taxes alone are already—”
“Get out.”
Lawrence shook his head and pointed at the door, clearly done talking.
Simon wanted to say it was impossible, but faced with the young duke’s resolute attitude, he could only shut his mouth and leave.
Thud.
Scratch, scratch.
The sound of a pen echoed in the library where the young duke was left alone.
“I can’t tell what she’s plotting.”
Lawrence muttered as he drew thick lines through Patricia’s name written in the corner of the page.
He kept crossing it out until the name was no longer visible.
“Tsk, spouting nonsense for no reason.”
Clicking his tongue at Simon’s foolish remarks, Lawrence turned the page once more.
“Your Grace, Lady Patricia has finally arrived.”
The assistant rushed in, barely having time to steady his breathing before delivering the news.
It had been over a month.
At the report, a look of “I knew it” appeared on Lawrence’s face.
For a moment, his expression resembled that of a child pleased to have been proven right.
But in the next instant, his face returned to its usual blankness.
“Calm down.”
“Ah, yes.”
Looking at his excited assistant, Lawrence spoke as if he found him pitiful.
If anyone saw this scene, they might think they had been desperately awaiting Patricia’s visit.
At Lawrence’s rebuke, Simon nodded awkwardly and asked,
“What should we do with the lady?”
“Did she notify us in advance?”
“No.”
“Then naturally, she should wait.”
Lawrence spoke as if it were obvious.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Simon nodded and turned to leave—
“Wait.”
Lawrence stopped him in a low voice.
Looking down at the garden through the study window, Lawrence spoke.
“The weather’s nice today. It wouldn’t be bad to guide her to the fountain in the garden.”
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he said it.
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you hear me?”
“No— I’ll do that.”
Though Simon hesitated at making the lady sit in the middle of the garden in this heat, Lawrence was not one to retract his words, so Simon nodded.
After the assistant left, Lawrence, alone in the room, quietly hummed a tune.
It was a rare sight—no, almost unheard of.
Soon, Patricia’s back came into view through the study window.
A deep smile, one even he did not notice, settled on Lawrence’s lips.
Though he was acting uncharacteristically petty, Lawrence seemed unaware of his own change.
“Your Grace, it’s already been over an hour.”
“And?”
Lawrence glanced out the window and asked in a flat voice.
Outside, Patricia wiped her face repeatedly with a handkerchief, seemingly overwhelmed by the heat.
“I think the lady may be having a hard time.”
In the suffocating summer heat, Simon couldn’t help but worry about her.
“If she wants to leave, she’ll leave.”
But Lawrence replied in an indifferent, emotionless voice.
