“If time permits, come over for tea.”

Killian, who took it easy and suggested a tea time to Edith, was politely rejected.

“I’m fine, Killian. Thanks for asking.”

It was as if she was aware of Killian’s offer as a courtesy.

‘Hmm… Was my attitude too rude?’

A little embarrassed, Killian invited Edith to eat together the next day.

“It seems like you eat alone in my room every time, but it’s good to come down and eat in the dining room.”

“Ah…”

“Speaking of which, how about having a meal together today?”

“I know that the Duke is still uncomfortable with me, and I don’t want to interrupt the mealtime for nothing. Thanks for the suggestion, Killian.”

It was the second rejection.

‘Well, it’s true that my father still doesn’t like Edith.’

Killian, who was worried about making a proposal that was unlikely to interfere with other family members, said lightly as if he was passing the next day.

“The weather is nice, so I’m going to take a short walk in the garden. Would you like to go with me?”

However, Edith, who was startled as she opened her eyes round, smiled again and shook her head.

“No. The sun is still hot, so I’m going to stay in my room.”

“…If so.”

After the third rejection, Killian got the feeling that Edith was avoiding him.

‘Why the hell? Didn’t I kick that damn maid out? Then isn’t it not enough to hang on to thank me?’

At the same time as he was feeling bad, he had a comeback.

The next day, Killian stopped by Edith’s room and suggested that they go to someone’s tea party. But the answer was spectacle.

“Is it mandatory?”

“Mandatory… no.”

“Is that a tea party you wanted to go to, Killian?”

“It is not.”

“Then may I ask why you want to go?”

“That’s it… Don’t women like that?”

Edith’s eyes looked startled again, but she immediately shook her head with a look like ‘I understand’.

“If it’s because of me, you don’t have to.”

“Do you hate that?”

“I don’t really want to go right now, and I don’t want to waste your time with that.”

It was a subtle refusal even to anger.

“All right.”

“Thank you for asking.”

“I don’t know if you really appreciate it.”

With a bitter taste in his mouth, Killian had no choice but to return to his room like a defeated soldier.

‘Coming to think of it, since we got married, I haven’t seen Edith go to a party at another house… Maybe she is tired of parties.’

He couldn’t help but feel so understandable and strangely nervous.

* * *

“Someone gave me a strawberry tart from <Peridot> as a gift, would you like to eat it together?”

As she was about to have afternoon tea, Killian stopped by on the way and he nonchalantly proposed.

“The strawberry tart from <Peridot>?”

‘Wow, this temptation is so hard to resist.’

Even before the store opened, she was really curious about the strawberry tart from <Peridot>, which was said to be impossible to buy without standing in line.

“Thank you, but lately I’ve been eating too much dessert, so I’ve gained some weight… How about eating it with Miss Lise?”

“Lise and… ? Are you serious?”

“Of course! Because I never cared about the two of you being close!”

She tried to appeal to her selfless heart, but it felt as if Killian’s lips were tilting crookedly, and his pupils were becoming menacing.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s just me and Lise, just the two of us…?”

Finally, it seemed that he had been able to take a look at her true feelings.

“Sure! I know very well that you two have been like family for a long time. I have no intention of interfering with your intimate relationship. Never!”

“Ha…!”

But, as if he couldn’t believe it, his angry expression did not show up.

“You are… You’re serious…”

“All right. Excuse me.”

Killian spun around. Then he walked away with the strawberry tart from <Peridot>.

‘I wanted to try it once… Won’t he give me a piece of the leftover?’

She had had a bad appetite, but she shouldn’t collapse on what to eat here. She just wanted a strawberry tart, but Killian might suspect she was slurping on a tart.

‘You have to keep a clean relationship without being soggy. You must never fall for Killian’s test.’

In order to renew her image to Killian, who misunderstood her as unfaithful and lascivious, she had been rejecting several offers from him. It was clear that Killian was putting her to the test, too, seeing as he made suggestions that he would never normally make.

‘How many times has this already been? Seventh or eighth?’

Although it was quite embarrassing to have the appearance of refusing a favor, it was not difficult to understand the intention of the examiner because all of his suggestions were to do something in close proximity to him.

‘If I continue to appeal to my pure heart like this, Killian will believe in me someday. Isn’t that the reason why he deliberately even test? Like the final gateway…?’

She encouraged herself even more with the pride of passing his tests one by one. But the next day, Lise, who hadn’t gotten out of bed yet, called her. She still had to appeal her innocence to Lise, so she quickly headed to the room where she was lying.

She didn’t bring a present for fear of raising suspicion again.

“Lise! Are you okay with your body? I was very worried.”

“I heard that Edith has suffered a lot. Why do these things keep happening…”

“Where did I read that? At times like this, everyone just thinks it’s because you’re cute.”

“…yes?”

She just smiled broadly at Lise, who didn’t understand and gave her a puzzled expression. Lise, who was smiling at the same time, hesitantly opened her mouth with difficulty.

“By the way, Edith. By any chance, did you feel sorry for Killian… No, of course there must have been. There might have been… ”

“Oh no! I’m not sorry for Killian, not even my fingernails.”

“Even your fingernails?”

“Uh… That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but anyway, I’m more grateful to Killian than sorry.”

She tried to look like the Virgin Mary as much as possible, hoping that Lise would convey her story well to Killian.

“Then why are you rejecting Killian?”

“Yes? Me?”

“Yes… Killian seems to be trying to get closer to Edith, but Edith seems to be refusing…”

“Did Killian say that?”

“Oh, oh, no! It’s not what Killian said, it’s just… Where did I hear that?”

It seemed the maids made fun of her with their light talks. She didn’t know their speed. If she didn’t know the secret circumstances, it’s a perfect situation to misunderstand like that. Unlike before, Killian stopped by her room once a day to suggest something, and she refused with any excuse. In a way, it might look like she was arrogantly rejecting him.

“Um… I don’t know how it sounds to Lise…”

“Yes, Edith.”

“Killian is a pitiful man. He is the one who sacrificed himself for the Duke of Ludwig. They say arranged marriages are common, but they didn’t have to do it for someone like Killian.”

“Ah, Edith…!”

“I am not blaming anyone, I swear! Actually, this marriage wasn’t bad for me.”

She deliberately explained in a brighter voice, but Lise’s pitiful brow didn’t seem to straighten.

“But Killian is different. That person is still… He can’t accept me. In the end, even making me this or that offer would be forced because of his position.”

“It’s not like that, Edith.”

Lise held her hand tightly and explained in detail that Killian had opened up to you and that he was trying to become closer with her. But she felt like she was going crazy and jumping to conclusions.

‘Don’t say something to comfort me, Lise. He’s looking at you!’

Of course, there’s no way that Killian would have been around saying that, so Lise might be trying to convince her, but she knew Killian’s intentions.

‘Killian may have cheated, but I won’t go over him, Lise.’

Even as she thought about that, she had to smile while pulling her trembling facial muscles as much as she could.

“So, Edith, please open your heart a little.”

“Sure. I’m grateful for Killian. Anyway, I’m worried that Lise, who is not feeling well, was concerned because of me and Killian.”

She came back from the visit as mild as possible. It seemed that everyone was pressuring her from all sides. ‘Reveal your true nature! Take off the mask!’ and poked her in the side, driving her into a corner, as if expecting her to collapse soon.

‘But no matter how much pressure you put on me, I don’t have that nature. Of course, I can’t refuse if Killian pushes me.’

Strictly speaking, that’s because Killian was lascivious, wasn’t he? He set a table for me to eat, and there was no reason to refuse that. But she was not going to actively set the table… huh? It looked like Killian was in her room again.

‘What are you trying to seduce me with again this time?’

She calmly entered the room, determined not to give in, and sat across from Killian.

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