Chapter 20: Chapter 20

* * *

through antes’ intimidation and luna’s intervention with a smiling interrogation, they were able to purchase the carriage at exactly half the original price the owner had mentioned, 100 gold, which was the real cost.

the owner of the carriage shop received the check with an expression as if the world had collapsed. and to make matters worse, he even started spouting nonsense, claiming that he was making a loss.

“…you must never tell anyone that you got it at such a cheap price!”

“do you still have the audacity to say such things?”

antes squinted his eyes, and at the same time, the owner of the carriage shop crumpled up. even though there was no way to find out the truth, why did he keep boasting like this?

the plan was for the carriage to be transported from the carriage shop to the baron’s estate. feeling refreshed, luna, who had come out of the carriage shop, suggested to antes, who was preparing to return to the baron’s estate, to have a meal.

“let’s have lunch before going in. by the way, you didn’t even have breakfast, did you? let’s go to a nice restaurant, my treat.”

she had received so much help, so she couldn’t just brush it off.

naturally, luna thought antes would be pleased, but unexpectedly, he refused with a strange expression.

“you want to eat out?”

“why, don’t you like it?”

“i’m not really in the mood.”

why? could it be a diet? do villains do that?

luna widened her eyes in surprise, and antes opened the carriage door and replied.

“i think it would be better to eat at the baron’s estate than outside.”

“even if it’s considered the most famous restaurant in the capital?”

“just because it’s famous doesn’t mean it will suit one’s taste. and i quite liked the dinner we had last night, so if i’m going to be treated, it’s better to do it there.”

“did emma’s food suit your taste that much?”

“yeah. so let’s go back to the estate. we have a lot of work to do, and we don’t have time to waste.”

that may be true, but… it was such a rare gesture of kindness, yet it was refused so abruptly.

but she couldn’t force someone who didn’t want it to have a meal. it seemed there might be another reason.

when luna closed her mouth, antes, without any further explanation, took a seat on the coachman’s seat and slowly set the carriage in motion.

* * *

it took quite some time to choose the carriage and travel, so by the time they arrived at the baron’s estate, it was well past lunchtime.

as a result, when emma heard that luna and antes hadn’t eaten lunch, she became contemplative and let out a scream.

“what!? you want to have lunch at the estate!?”

antes, hearing the phrase ‘what should we do when we haven’t prepared anything!’, gently smiled and rescued her.

“we can have something simple. like bread or soup.”

“will that really be enough? instead of that, why don’t you wait a little and have a proper lunch? i’ll bring some fruits or something.”

luna spoke with a serious expression, even though she wasn’t making it herself. it was a way to repay what had happened in the morning, so she didn’t want to settle for just bread and soup.

“no, lunch will be simple, so let’s have a proper dinner instead.”

“…excuse me?”

wait, why suddenly dinner?

luna blinked her eyes in surprise, momentarily taken aback by how he arrived at that conclusion.

“we need to carefully review the documents, so it might take longer. so we should eat dinner before i go.”

“…but the marquis’s estate isn’t far, so you can eat there, right?”

“i think the paperwork will be exhausting, so i’m not sure if i’ll have the energy to go all the way to the marquis’s estate.”

that can’t be right. just because someone is riding in a carriage driven by someone else doesn’t mean they don’t have the energy to go. and he’s a tall, fit adult who stands out even in a crowd.

it was an obviously flimsy and transparent excuse.

what on earth is so appealing about sticking to the baron’s estate?

luna’s eyes filled with disbelief, and at the same time, emma cupped her cheek with her palm and sided with antes.

“oh, yes! you’ll have to use your head all day, so it must be tiring! i’ll definitely prepare a grand dinner, so please have it before you leave!”

“emma!”

“don’t worry, miss, please. in that case, i’ll prepare some warm soup and soft bread!”

despite luna getting annoyed and complaining about why emma was chattering so much, emma disappeared into the kitchen without even blinking an eye.

laura, on the other hand, was smiling happily, as if it were only natural for antes to have dinner here.

‘what on earth… where is my ally?’

the sense of alienation luna had felt in granada marquisate seemed to follow her even to the barony where she was born and raised.

“since everyone agrees, i can have dinner and then go, right? i remember the wine we had yesterday.”

the answer was already predetermined, but antes, pretending not to know, equipped himself with a clueless expression and asked luna.

normally, luna might have been momentarily mesmerized by his beautiful face, but now all she wanted to do was slap him. after giving antes a fierce glare, luna went to the drawing room without responding.

* * *

it seemed that antes wanted the gold luna possessed so badly because all the items she had requested were included in the documents he brought.

especially in the clause that stated the market price would always be set at the highest and that the contract could be terminated freely, antes’s determination to do anything as long as he could obtain her gold was evident.

“then let’s start working. the baron will be in charge of managing the gold mine, right?”

“yes. he plans to go down to the peils estate as soon as he quits working.”

“good. until then, we will send you reports on the work from our side. that way, the young lady can feel at ease.”

how could he be so perfect until the end?

luna’s favorability towards antes increased by two levels. her previous grumbling and eye-rolling, questioning why he was having dinner here, were nowhere to be seen.

satisfied with the successful contract, luna bid farewell to the lawyer. if anything suspicious had been found, she had planned to interrogate antes with the lawyer, but there was no need for that. the contents of the contract were crystal clear, with no role for the lawyer other than notarization.

as the carriage carrying the lawyer departed and darkness fell outside, luna checked the time.

“already eight o’clock? it’s well past the time for my father to come.”

as the barono had worked in the duke’s estate for a long time, he was proficient in his duties, and there was never any overtime work to begin with. he always returned home before seven o’clock.

so, he had dinner at seven o’clock, then he sat in the carriage and admired the night sky, took a bath, and lay in bed for a while reading a book before falling asleep.

but why is he so late today? he has nowhere else to go because of the lack of money.

emma relieved luna’s worries.

“isn’t he having dinner and enjoying some drinks before coming back? you know, sometimes he does that. maybe he met up with a friend. he’ll be back soon. don’t worry too much and have dinner.”

today, emma mentioned that she had prepared a delicious stew for antes, which made luna hide her anxious thoughts and hesitantly head towards the dining room.

“try it! i put all my effort into making it.”

with emma’s confident words, luna took a bite, and the stew, seasoned with precious spices, melted in her mouth.

luna widened her eyes. she didn’t know emma could make such delicious food. it saddened her to think that the lack of ingredients had hindered her talent all this time.

“it’s delicious. it was a good decision to eat at the baron after all.”

antes also praised emma as if he liked it. emma blushed and added a mention of tomorrow’s breakfast.

“please look forward to tomorrow morning as well. i will do my best to prepare a delicious meal.”

“emma, why are you talking about tomorrow’s breakfast to antes?”

“huh? weren’t you planning to spend the night here again today?”

“what? of course, after we finish eating, he’ll go back. we’re done with everything now.”

luna couldn’t believe it, and antes looked disappointed, setting down his spoon.

“why are you insisting on going back when the sky is so dark? i was planning to have some wine. are you intentionally pushing a handsome single man who just had a drink into the darkness?”

look at him. he’s the most dangerous person in this world. who will be afraid and of what?

luna raised her head as if she had nothing to say, and laura joined forces to support antes.

“miss, even if he stayed for one night, he should say goodbye to the baron before leaving.”

“i don’t know when my father will arrive.”

“that’s why he should sleep today as well.”

“that’s right. it’s too mean of you to leave without saying goodbye, miss.”

“i don’t remember raising the young lady so mean. why are you so harsh?”

emma and laura scolded luna, putting their hands on their waists.

geez, whose side are you on? why do you like antes so much?

if luna said anything more about antes going back, emma and laura would burst into tears. in the end, luna sighed and resumed her meal.

* * *

“if you like this wine so much, how about buying a few bottles? there’s so much of it that it’s going to spoil.”

after the meal, luna said nonchalantly to antes, who was already on his third bottle of wine.

while he was emptying his wine glass, she had already reached a pleasantly tipsy state from drinking together. she had intended to have just a little drink while waiting for the baron, but it had unexpectedly turned into excessive drinking past midnight.

“it’s not that great.”

antes honestly evaluated the wine’s worth. so, in the end, he didn’t seem to like the wine all that much either.

“but why did you insist on drinking it?”

“because you kept saying to go back meanly.”

“that’s right.”

why does he keep staying at the barony when he has nothing to do? it’s suffocating. but with everyone at the estate welcoming him with open arms, luna had no way to win.

feeling resentful, luna emptied her glass in one gulp. she couldn’t understand why the wine tasted so bitter, and the aftertaste left her feeling dissatisfied.

then suddenly, the thought struck luna’s mind that antes might plan to stay at the baron’s estate even after having breakfast and come up with another strange excuse.

“surely you don’t intend to stay here until i give you an answer, do you?”

“an answer?”

luna asked with a serious expression, her cheeks flushed with frustration. antes responded as if he didn’t understand a word, despite his incredible perceptiveness that should have allowed him to understand what she was saying.

she glared at him with disdain and effortlessly clarified her previous words.

“i meant to ask if we should date. do you plan to stay here until i give you an answer?”

“not really.”

however, contrary to her expectations, antes casually replied that he had no intention to do so. luna felt a mix of relief and disappointment.

did she go too far? it seemed that way.

even though she attributed it to being slightly drunk, she wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, and antes spoke up.

“it’s not just any answer, but until you say yes to dating.”

“what are you talking about!?”

i knew it! i couldn’t understand why he would do that to me.

if there was even a hint of liking or interest, her heart would pound, and there would be some kind of atmosphere. but antes didn’t seem to view himself rationally, which only irritated her.

luna forced a smile as she furrowed her brow at the bitter taste of the wine she had just drunk.

“why are you doing this to me?”

“what do you mean?”

“i asked you before, but why do you want to date me when you don’t even like me? it seems like there’s nothing for you to gain.”

since the moment he first suggested dating, luna had been unable to understand antes’ intentions. no, why did he, who didn’t even like her, persistently ask to date?

if she could escape from the terrible rumors by using antes, as he claimed, it would be luna who had nothing to gain, not antes, who had no benefits to offer.

but ironically, the current situation was the opposite, and luna couldn’t help but suspect his motives.

this time, luna narrowed her eyes, determined to hear an answer.

“why do you think i have nothing to gain?”

antes, who had been observing luna for a moment, responded with a rather serious expression.