004. Invitation (1)
Rumors spread throughout high society.
It was rumored that Duke Verdin had responded to the interest of Lady Edelt.
The source of the rumor was none other than the garden party hosted by Lucia.
Those who witnessed the two conversing at the event were shocked and quickly spread the news.
Everyone was eager to spread the rumor, so it spread quickly.
Naturally, the rumor reached the two dukes.
In Lucia’s case, she was satisfied with the rumors.
This didn’t mean she enjoyed those who spread rumors carelessly.
It was just an exceptional situation this time.
It was a well-known fact that Lucia wanted Owen.
If it had been about someone else, there might have been talk of pity or disrespect.
However, the fact that it was Lucia made a difference.
She, with the name of Edelt, was known as the flower of high society.
Those who were familiar with her influence didn’t easily speak out.
Moreover, those involved with her were also the head of the Verdin family, Owen.
There was no one who could spread gossip about the only two dukes in the empire, Edelt and Verdin.
At least, not in front of Lucia and Owen.
Behind the scenes, the stories were different.
It was natural for stories to circulate even in the royal family.
The dignity and laws of the empire.
But they were people who enjoyed conversation and laughter while talking.
Were they any different just because they were dukes?
Many who tried to impress Lucia in front of her would mock her actions behind her back.
Would Verdin really show interest just because of that?
If such rumors spread.
Even those who mocked her from behind would be silenced.
That’s why Lucia didn’t try to stop the rumors.
And Owen.
“…Do you really intend to leave the rumors as they are?”
“Is there a problem?”
He didn’t seem particularly inclined to stop the rumors.
“Rumors are not entirely baseless, are they?”
Despite the butler’s question, Owen didn’t stop his pen. Instead, he casually replied, “Do you think so?”
“Naturally. Your Excellency, you’ve discarded all the gifts Lady Edelt sent so far…”
“…”
Thrown away.
Owen muttered curses under his breath.
The damn nobleman had been diligently fulfilling his duties. No matter how others showed interest or favor, he remained impervious as a fortress. Before meeting Bella, he had no interest in reason, let alone other people. He existed solely for Lady Bella and gazed at her alone.
Thanks to that, all the gifts Lucia had sent so far had been disposed of as rubbish. Letters and invitations were thrown into the fireplace and burned. So, the butler’s reaction could be considered natural.
“…That’s how it was.”
“Yes. How could Your Excellency be interested in the lady?”
The butler asserted confidently. The assertion seemed quite plausible. If it were true to the original, that’s probably how it went.
He drew a sharp line with Lucia, who endlessly showed affection, ignored her. If Lucia, who envied Bella, committed a misdeed, he would punish her without hesitation. Yes, it must have been like that. If it were the original Owen.
But the current Owen was not him. The current Owen was just someone wearing the outer shell of “Owen.” And he had no intention of dignifying the original work.
“Logan.”
Whether he entered the novel knowing the ending through possession or not, this was his world now, and he was Owen. So, why should he be swayed by someone else’s will and dragged along for an unwanted ending?
He had no intention of following the unwanted ending waiting in the novel as it was. If he had to continue living here, he had to twist the original. He was someone who had no interest in the protagonist, Bella.
“It seems you don’t understand people’s hearts well.”
“People’s hearts, you say?”
“Yes. People’s hearts.”
Since he had no intention of being led as in the original, he had to change people’s perceptions around him. Otherwise, even if it wasn’t me, those around me might lean towards the original.
So, he decided to erase all traces of “Owen.” His beliefs, values, and interests, all of them. And then, he planned to fill all the gaps anew with his own.
“You seem to be unaware of the cunning that can change for any reason at any time.”
“…”
At Owen’s words, Logan fell silent. The meaning behind Owen’s words was clear.
“Does that explain it?”
At Owen’s question, Logan barely nodded. Unbelievable, but it seemed the rumors were true. The Duke of Verdin responding to Lady Edelt’s interest.
***
With the rumor’s main instigators not stopping it, the rumor spread like wildfire. Lucia found the situation puzzling. It was one thing for her, but it was odd that Owen didn’t stop the spreading rumor. He was a person who detested bothersome matters. Letting such a bothersome rumor spread like this… “Strange indeed….” From the garden party onwards, Owen’s recent behaviors had been quite different from his usual self.
‘As if there was no purpose at all.’
Initially, I thought there was some other motive.
For instance, a family matter.
Or a business matter.
Since Owen was someone who was always engrossed in work, this seemed much more likely.
Than the mere fact that he had taken an interest in her.
‘But there was no connection at all.’
The problem was that, no matter how hard I looked, there seemed to be no family or business issue that could possibly involve both Marquis Verdine and Marquis Edelte.
Unless he was planning to start a new business.
‘If that were the case, he would have gone to see Father from the start.’
Thanks to the garden party, Lucia was caught up in such worries.
The reason why Owen attended the garden party that day, and why she suddenly received an invitation to the mansion.
And why he let the rumors spread without doing anything about it.
“No matter how much I think about it, I don’t understand.”
Lucia, who was pondering hard, soon sighed deeply, pressing her forehead.
She bought the latest information on Owen from the Information Guild, even hired people to follow him, but there was little to gain.
He was just carrying on with work as usual.
Without bothering to hide that fact, he didn’t even bother catching the guild members who followed him.
Even though Swordmaster Owen, along with the knights of Marquis Verdine’s full of high-level knights, couldn’t possibly miss the guild members’ presence.
How disappointed the Information Guild and the Mercenary Guild must have been when they heard the news.
There were only two exceptions to the situation.
A few days ago, the garden party he attended, and letting the widespread rumors be as they were.
That was a fact Lucia was already well aware of.
‘What I need is the cause.’
When only the result is blatantly obvious and the cause remains utterly unknown.
My head started to ache.
‘I have no choice but to go and see for myself.’
Although she had tried to find out on her own with little success, there was only one option left.
To lead the person to talk about the matter involved.
And today was the day he was invited, so it wouldn’t be difficult.
As Lucia tugged at the corset, the maids knocked and entered her bedroom.
“We’ll help you get dressed.”
They took out the dress prepared for today from the dressing room and neatly arranged the jewelry to go with it.
Although she had been diligently searching for the reason behind Owen’s sudden behavior, Lucia was not solely fixated on that.
She also busily prepared for her meeting with Owen today.
At the last garden party, he had shown up unexpectedly, wearing the usual party attire he always wore, but this time was different.
Owen had personally invited her.
To his own mansion, no less.
Thinking that she couldn’t just wear anything to such an important occasion, she had roamed the salon district for a while.
Visiting one boutique after another, she had made efforts to choose the best dress and had gone to all the jewelers in the capital to pick out the accessories that best matched the dress.
The outfit she had prepared looked perfect at least in Lucia’s eyes.
If she had known Owen’s taste, she could have prepared even more perfectly, but there was no choice.
He had never had a lover before, not even someone he liked.
There was no way to know what style of clothing such a person would like.
‘But he did say so last time.’
The only thing she believed in was the one thing he had said at the last garden party.
– I’m the same way.
Since he had whispered that he also liked beautiful things, she was confident.
There was no one else searching as diligently for beautiful things as she was.
So, the dress and accessories she had chosen were undoubtedly beautiful.
“Do you like it?”
Having finished her makeup, Lucia stood in front of the full-length mirror, giving herself a final check.
“Yes.”
This was enough.
The dress, the accessories, the makeup.
They all complemented each other perfectly.
Having finished her preparations, Lucia got into the carriage arranged by the family standing in front of the mansion.
It was time to go to Marquis Verdine’s mansion.
* * *
“You’ve come a little early.”
“You’ve been waiting here in front.”
Lucia was surprised to see Owen standing in front of the mansion.
She couldn’t imagine Owen would personally greet her.
“I can’t wait inside after inviting you myself.”
He said, reaching out his hand to Lucia as she got off the carriage.
Lucia gently placed her hand on his, clad in white gloves.
The warmth between the pink lace gloves and the gloves was comforting.
“…It suits you well.”
As Lucia stepped down from the carriage, Owen whispered.
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“Lucky me.”
Her heart raced at his words, but she tried to remain calm.
She was confident in admiring beautiful things with just one glance.
Until Owen uttered the words “suits well,” she felt tense for some reason.
Now her heart was pounding for a different reason.
“Do you like pink?”
She had chosen to wear a lovely pink dress.
It was adorned elegantly with frills and lace, with small but precious jewels embedded.
Her accessories matched the dress in the same shade.
The necklace and earrings, crafted with pink diamonds in droplet shapes, had an elegant design.
She usually preferred something more extravagant, but she restrained herself today, knowing some people disliked excessive pomp.
Perhaps Owen was one of those who disliked extravagance.
“I do like it.”
“…I thought you liked red.”
Owen muttered softly, recalling the setting of a novel.
To which Lucia quickly added.
“I like red too.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes. Today, I just wanted to match the spring flowers.”
“You said you liked cherry blossoms.”
Owen spat out, reminiscing about the lake near the Edelte Manor.
Lucia nodded slightly.
“Cherry blossoms are beautiful.”
“Indeed.”
“What kind of flowers do you like, Your Grace?”
Owen turned to her with her question.
His obsidian-like eyes gazed straight at her.
“Personally, I like roses.”