Chapter 14: Chapter 14

“what kind of big trouble…?”

what big trouble? could it be that he knows about the gold mine? that thought crossed the baron’s mind, but seeing the face filled with frustration and injustice rather than joy, he realized that fersen was talking about something else.

“what do you mean by ‘big trouble’?”

“luna… the fact that luna is dating a despicable man!”

“a despicable… man?”

“yes! luna was involved with the most despicable man in the world! i saw it with my own two eyes!”

fersen seemed to be out of his mind. he grabbed the barom’s hand tightly and shouted.

i don’t know who this despicable man is, but first, we need to calm down. the baron gestured to the attendants, indicating that they should give them some privacy.

“for now, let’s have some tea to calm ourselves down and talk. luna is not that kind of girl, so don’t worry.”

after that, the baron wrapped his arm around fersen’s still agitated shoulder and led him to his room.

“you have to stop, baron. luna is in danger… she shouldn’t be involved with such a bastard.”

“yeah, yeah. i understand. don’t worry, just calm down for now.”

why was fersen causing such a fuss after seeing who luna was meeting? while comforting fersen, the baron couldn’t help but worry.

could it be that the money luna brought was received from the person fersen was worried about? that thought crossed his mind.

‘no, luna said she discovered a gold mine. there’s no way my girl would lie.’

if luna had received money from the man, she would have told the truth. the baron couldn’t be sure about others, but at least luna wouldn’t lie to him.

a while later, the baron arrived at fersen’s room, waiting for him to gather his thoughts while sipping on the hot tea brought by a maid.

it seemed that fersen was extremely angry, as he finished drinking a cup of ice-cold water and finally calmed down.

finally, the baron was about to start a proper conversation when an interruption occurred.

“excuse me, young master fersen. i apologize for interrupting your important conversation, but may i contact lady granada? she has been worried about you all this time.”

the butler bowed his head with a repentant expression.

granada had been anxiously waiting for fersen’s return and asking about him every day. perhaps thinking that he should be informed first, the butler waited for fersen’s response without yielding, and eventually received permission to do so.

“do as you wish.”

once the butler left fersen’s room, the conversation began in earnest.

“so, you’re saying that luna met someone?”

“antes. it was antes vincent. it seems that they met each other continuously. they spent several nights together!” fersen blurted out, his anger evident as he recalled the situation.

antes? the eldest son of marquis vincent? the baron asked, his expression indicating his confusion.

“did you hear this from someone?”

“i heard it directly from antes.”

“directly…?”

just as luna never told lies, fersen was also not the type to lie. he had been honest and upright since birth. it could be frustrating at times, but he was someone who never lied.

with the baron in shock and unable to say anything, fersen continued speaking.

“so, it seems they went to vincent’s estate. they spent several days together there! i can’t imagine what strange things they did…! i couldn’t sleep all night due to my overflowing anger.”

“…”

fersen pounded the table with his fist in frustration, bringing the baron back to his senses.

‘this doesn’t make sense timing-wise…’

the usual time it takes to travel to vincent’s estate is about four days, and the same goes for the return journey. luna left for vincent’s estate and returned to the capital after only ten days.

it takes eight days just for the travel itself, so spending several days with antes didn’t add up.

“how many days did you say?”

“i’m not sure either. we got into a fight right after that because i was too angry…”

fersen replied, holding his head. he seemed to have a headache. it didn’t seem like a lie, but confirmation was needed.

“i should ask luna to confirm.”

“luna has returned?”

“yes, she came back last night.”

“…so the claim that she went to lushan was a lie after all.”

antes, that cowardly and malicious bastard! fersen exploded with anger and stood up from his seat.

“then i should go and confirm with luna right away.”

“it’s a bit inconvenient to do so immediately. i have something to discuss with the duke.”

“just confirm and come back, won’t you? what if luna leaves again to meet that bastard while we’re dawdling?”

fersen couldn’t contain his anger.

why was he so angry? after all, luna was an adult, and it wouldn’t be strange for her to have a boyfriend. if it was true that she secretly went to vincent’s estate and met a man, it would be a shock, but it could be a matter to discuss and move on from.

however, the question of whether to confirm the truth immediately or not arose. the baron, who was taken aback because it was the first time he had seen fersen this angry, patted his shoulder, understanding his feelings.

“i understand, calm down. it seems more important to confirm the truth with the young master. let’s go together for now. i’ll inform the duke tomorrow.”

“let’s go quickly.”

fersen, who had already walked to the door, urged them on, and the baron let out a heavy sigh and followed him.

* * *

luna sighed as she examined the documents brought by antes and placed them on the table. when she turned her head, she saw antes leaning against the sofa, his eyes narrowed as he smiled at her.

“stop looking at me.”

why is he acting like that? luna pointed it out, and antes shrugged his shoulders as if to say,’so what?’

“why?”

“i feel awkward, so i can’t read the documents.”

“don’t worry about it. i’m also looking at the back of the documents.”

in response to antes’ answer, luna flipped the documents over. and there, the blank back side was revealed.

despite the embarrassing situation, antes responded lightly.

“i was considering what to fill in there.”

“…”

feeling the seriousness of reviewing the documents disappear, luna crossed her arms and asked him.

“what were you going to fill in on the back of the contract?”

“whether it’s true or not that lady luna peils, the baroness, has an interest in me.”

no. he had been thinking about that until now?

startled, luna froze in shock, and antes, who had neatly organized the disheveled documents, spoke again.

“you didn’t answer. you just asked for my name.”

well, that’s true. but is that really important right now? luna blinked her eyes, and antes continued speaking.

“it’s important to me.”

“…why?”

“so that i can determine how to treat the lady in the future.”

just as laura entered the drawing room to change the cold tea, she overheard their conversation and quietly stepped back, disappearing.

unable to guess antes’ intentions, luna pondered for a moment before answering honestly.

“i don’t have a completely negative impression, but… i did say something similar.”

“what did you say?”

antes asked eagerly with anticipation in his eyes.

“i said that instead of fersen, i’d rather date antes vincent, who is rumored to be a crazy psychopath.”

“…”

“it was a remark i made to explain to those who misunderstood the relationship between fersen and me.”

upon hearing her response, antes’ face, which had been sporting a gentle smile, turned cold. they fell into silence for a moment.

did she say too much truth? but she felt like she needed to be honest for the misunderstandings to be cleared up. if she beat around the bush, it might give birth to another groundless rumor. rumors were truly tiresome.

“do you still think that way now?”

after a long silence, antes asked with a rather serious expression.

“what do you mean?”

“am i still better than fersen in your eyes?”

“you consider that as a question? of course, you’re millions of times better.”

why compare the two? there was no one in this world that luna disliked more than fersen. she had always disliked him, and now she disliked him even more.

antes’ complexion changed as if he was pleased with her answer.

“then it might be a bit sudden, but-”

unexpectedly, he paused. it was rare for him to hesitate when he had been so straightforward with his words until now.

“would you like to date me?”

“…pardon?”

there was a sound of something breaking just outside the slightly ajar door. along with it, luna’s thoughts shattered into pieces.

“what did you just say…?

“i’m millions of times better than fersen, let’s date.”

“…yes?”

he must be crazy…

the rumors about antes vincent being insane seemed to be true. luna couldn’t give a proper response to his shocking proposition, and he started to weave his flattery once again.

“i am saying this because i like the young lady.”

as antes laughed, vibrant seasonal flowers bloomed behind him. the dreary drawing room was adorned with blossoms.

“it’s only been a few days since we met, but i’ve become greatly interested in you.”

he finished speaking as if giving luna some time to think, quietly awaiting her response. as a result, her mind was in disarray, leaving her momentarily frozen.

then she suddenly felt a sense of urgency.

“is this just empty talk?”

“empty talk? no.”

“is this the face of someone confessing their feelings to the person they like?”

a face that seemed determined to achieve its goal without any nerves. that was the sense luna felt from antes.

perhaps he didn’t expect her to point that out, as he raised the corner of his mouth slightly in surprise and responded.

“oh, you noticed.”

“because you always use flattery whenever you want something.”

antes chuckled at luna’s observation.

“everyone knew but let it slide.”

“unbelievable.”

it was true. and shameless to top it off.

as luna expressed her disbelief, antes stopped laughing and swept back his sparkling golden hair.

“but i genuinely meant it when i said i have an interest in you. i proposed to date like this because i truly wanted to. and wouldn’t it be better for you, too, to be in a relationship with me?”

“…why?”

“people who have never even met us are already misunderstanding the relationship between you and fersen. he personally came to vincent territory to search for traces of you, and now is even getting angry at me. those misunderstandings won’t easily be resolved, and in fact, they might deepen.”

“fersen went to vincent territory!?”

“yes, he was looking for you. he made a mess there, demanding to release you immediately.”

is he really insane? luna’s mind was overwhelmed by his unimaginable actions. indeed, as antes said, the misunderstandings seemed to become even deeper.

“that’s why i’m asking you to date me. so i can help clear up those misunderstandings that everyone has. use me and discard me. you won’t regret it.”

antes spoke seriously without resorting to flattery. there was no hint of mischief in his words.