CH 14

As I busily played with my hair, I pretended to be clueless.

“I guess this is why the longer you build a relationship, the better.”

“Ah… that’s…”

All of these expenses were covered by the budget of the imperial family and the duke’s house that came down to me.

After breaking up with Davan, I will be expelled from the royal genealogy, and I will also be stripped of all the titles of princess consort and duchess.

In the end, then, these expenditures were money that I had to make up for or that would be deducted from my alimony.

In a word, that woman was making a debt in front of me.

‘You should pay me back this money.’

I grabbed the papers and stood up.

“It’s all thanks to Madame. I’m looking forward to seeing how nice the area around that garden will be for 500 cents.”

Tizenna hurriedly opened her mouth.

“But my lady, the contract has not yet been fully drawn up, so the amount may be adjusted depending on the scale of the project—!”

“Ah, indeed. That’s possible.”

When I nodded, Tizenna’s eyes soon calmed down.

“Yes, my lady. If that’s the case, the budget is going to be tight.”

“Don’t worry about that part.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll just have to speak to His Majesty in person.”

“…!”

I almost burst into laughter when I saw the woman’s expression.

As soon as the name ‘emperor’ came out of my mouth, her face changed so drastically that I almost felt pity.

“If I tell him the circumstances, he’ll be able to cover the budget. I would like to take this opportunity to convey Madame’s contribution as well.”

“M-my lady!”

I was going to turn around, but I looked at Tizenna again.

“As you know, His Majesty adores me very much.”

I gave a slight smile to her sullen face.

‘That’s all I’ve got to say for now.’

Leaving behind Tizenna, who had frozen, I went down to the dining room.

But it’s true that he adores me, right?

***

I was lost in thought. With the tip of my fork flipping through the salad.

‘She should have understood.’

What happened in the morning was a great warning to Tizenna.

From now on, be sensible.

It didn’t matter what she did in the past. As long as she doesn’t commit any of those things in the future.

So was the budget. It didn’t matter as I just had to fix it from now on.

However, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t know. She made 500 cents of debt right in front of me.

“…”

Chaeng! There was an unpleasant sound coming from the quiet dining room.

Only then did I come back to my senses.

It was because I swung the crystal bowl with my fork.

‘It can’t be like this.’

There were times when I made mistakes because I hadn’t gotten used to table manners yet.

I also forgot that there were many eyes to see when I fell into thoughts as deeply as now.

“My lady, is today’s meal not to your taste?”

Mrs. Susan spoke to me, as if she had watched me just rummaging through the food.

“If you’re uncomfortable with meat for breakfast, what about a light omelet or fruit tart?”

Susan became remarkably friendly after the boy’s incident that day.

No, it was more fitting to say that she had become very friendly.

On the first day, she rarely talked to me or made eye contact, but after that day, she took care of me throughout the meal and sent snacks to my room first.

‘Well, it’s not all bad.’

There were times when such interest was burdensome, but it wasn’t bad.

At least one by one, there are people in this palace who care about me.

“No. It’s alright. Maybe because it’s morning, I don’t have much appetite.”

I put down the fork neatly.

While not forgetting to look at Davan.

“You have eaten very little today. Would you like tea?”

Although Susan and I were chatting next to each other, Davan didn’t give a glance.

‘Damn bastard.’

Even if I bled and collapsed here right now, it didn’t seem like he’d show any interest.

‘They say that indifference is the scariest thing than hating.’

As time went on, it became more evident.

Rather than an axis that he hated, he was simply not interested in Leah at all.

Davan had come down earlier than me, but there was no exchange of greetings.

When I approached, he glanced at me, and after that, he only looked at the documents most of the time.

The whole time I was holding the teacup, I was looking at Davan without realizing it.

‘I knew he was a workaholic, but it’s actually more so in reality.’

His surroundings were monotonous as if time had stopped, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

As expected, the answer is the face.

‘Well, it’s better to get some more sleep at this hour.’

Suddenly, I lost interest.

I wanted to get up from my seat, so I lowered the tea cup and picked up the glass of water.

“What’s the matter?”

Suddenly, Davan spoke up.

‘What’s the matter?’

I put down my glass of water and looked at Davan from the side.

There was no schedule today, and he was dressed lightly and naturally. I was drawn to the black hair swaying in the breeze, and I soon opened my lips.

“What do you mean?”

“You didn’t look good.”

That one sentence shocked me in two ways.

First, because he wasn’t a guy who cared about such things, second, because how could it be so soulless.

Instead of sounding like saying “you look tired tired” to a stranger, he made it sound like he was asking “what’s up with you?” to the dog of someone else’s house passing by. That’s amazing.

“No. It’s not a big deal.”

I looked into the eyes that were filled with disinterest, and there were no words coming out.

Of course, if you ask me one more time, I’m willing to answer…

“Okay, then.”

Huh? I’m out of my mind.

The man turned his head away, as if he was not interested.

‘Then you shouldn’t have asked me from the beginning!”

I felt terribly uncomfortable.

I glanced at the man.

Whether my gaze was not felt or he was not even interested, those blue eyes stayed low on the papers.

“You said it wasn’t a big deal.”

By the time I almost burst from anger, his lips opened. It seemed that he had sensed my gaze and was just ignoring it.

“Is that a lie too?”

This time, Davan’s gaze reached out. It was cold as it did not contain a single emotion.

To the extent that it would be better if he looked down like before.

“I saw the weekly’s report this morning.”

I fixed my posture and made eye contact. Seeing those cold eyes, my mouth became dry because I didn’t know where to start and how to speak.

But there was no reason to hesitate any longer.

“Viscountess Tizenna said she was going to build a pond with flower beds in the inner garden.”

“…”

“It costs only 500 cents to install statues in the pond and flower beds.”

Our eyes met for a moment, but they were soon cut off. It was because Davan turned his head back to the papers.

I didn’t know whether to keep talking or not.

“She said it is with a company that we have trusted and traded with for a long time…”

I stopped talking and looked down at the teacup. My face reflected on the tea was wrinkled.

“She paid the balance without writing a contract.”

In the quiet room, I could only hear the sound of running water from the fountain and my words.

“So I feel both grateful and sorry.”

Grateful and sorry? It was disgusting even after I said it.

I couldn’t say it openly, so I was just talking in circles. But without an answer coming back, it feels like talking to myself.

“Depending on the size of the construction, the budget may increase…”

‘As expected, he was asking without interest.’

I never expected anything from him in the first place, but it was also true that I felt embarrassed. I felt like I was talking against the wall.

“It’s just that…”

I swallowed the latter words.

My fingertips felt cold, probably because they were wrapped around the cold teacup.

“It’s a budget-related matter, so I’ll have to discuss it with His Majesty, depending on the situation.”

I had no intention of doing so.

It was just a symbolic sentence, as I said to Tizenna. In other words, I meant that I wouldn’t bother him with this.

“…”

It didn’t matter that the answer never came back. I’m done with what I have to say.

I didn’t know until I put down the teacup and lifted my head again.

“…!”

I didn’t expect him to look at me.

When our eyes met, I felt my eyelashes flutter and tremble.

‘What? What is it? Did I say something wrong?’

In fact, he looked relaxed.

“Why would you do that…?”

Contrary to my expectations that he would be as sharp as the wind in winter, he was mostly calm and dry. Rather, he looked somewhat languid as the afternoon sunlight poured down on him.

“I mean telling His Majesty.”

The strange thing was that even though we were facing each other, it was like he was looking down at me.

As I waited for the words to come out of those lips, my blood seemed to dry out.

“Why not me?”

And when he made me speechless like this, even more so.

“You don’t mind anyway, do you? Whether it’s building a garden or not, or whether it’s beyond the budget—”

“It is up to me to decide.”

What a ridiculous thing to do. My head went blank because I was dumbfounded.

“It is not for you to judge.”

“…Ho.”

Davan just stared at me, without any expression.

At times like this, he was like a snowy mountain with frozen ice, regardless of the sunlight and the winter.

“Leah Prezis.”

Davan’s low voice was heard.

“You don’t have to tell anyone.”

Those eyes with clear lines as if they were drawn turned towards me.

“Tell anything about you only to me.”

“…”

Without realizing it, I was staring at Davan silently.

I had nothing to say. I thought it would be no use trying.

‘I’m starting to get it.’

Now I got the hang of it. He was not warmer than expected. He was as cold as that distance.

In short, I didn’t know it when I was only in the cold bath, but when I go back and forth between the hot and cold baths, the cold water feels colder.

“I see. Instead…”

I took a step back first.

“Let me manage my own budget.”

Now it was Davan’s turn.