Max felt his sour mood ebb away the moment he saw her, and when she told him that she had been home, he felt himself relax.
And the moment he saw her face, he felt his face heat up.
‘Huh… did I catch a cold?’
Ever since he had begun his swordsmanship training, he had never gotten even the slightest bit sick. He was convinced he was currently feeling this way because he had been busily going around looking into the people around Juvellian.
‘She might look down on me.’
Afraid that she would notice his current state, Max hurriedly diverted his gaze from the woman’s face and spoke.
“I understand, now hurry up and tell me.”
She hesitated for a moment before finally confessing, “The truth is…there’s a malicious rumor going around about me.”
Max clenched his fists.
‘So, she found out in the end.’
Thinking that she may be feeling hurt, Max scanned her warily.
“But to be honest, something like that isn’t what’s really bothering me.”
If it had been any other noble lady, they would’ve felt a great sense of shame and embarrassment, yet there didn’t seem to be a single trace of them on this woman’s face.
“Why?”
“I’m not ashamed of a secret relationship because I’ve never been in such a thing. It’s just…”
“It’s just…?”
Juvellian smiled bitterly.
“It’s just… it seems that’s the reason why everyone who sent a partner request ran away.”
Max unknowingly clenched his fists even tighter.
‘Those fools, I don’t understand why they’re being swayed by such rumors. If it were me, I wouldn’t even pay attention to such senseless rum…”
Max became startled by the thought he just had.
‘What did I….’
As he was seized by a sense of shame, Juvellian’s clear voice brought him back to his senses.
“Of course, that’s not what made me upset. Truthfully, I’m fine even if I don’t have a partner.”
Max let out a sigh before retorting sharply, “What the hell are you upset about then?”
At the sight of the woman’s eyes which rapidly lost their shine, Max instantly recalled the tone he had just used.
‘Did I come off too strongly?’
Normally, it was a thought that would never cross his mind. But, as the woman opened her mouth to speak, Max pushed his remorse aside to listen to what she had to say.
“The problem….is that I saw my father’s list of prospective marriage candidates for me.”
Prospective marriage. The moment he heard the unexpected words, Max felt his head become numb.
“A prospective marriage list?”
“Yes, it was even marked, as if it was going to be pushed ahead regardless of my opinion. Not to mention, it also seemed to be a list made up only of men from decent families.”
Max clenched his jaw and thought of his mentor.
‘To think you’re going to push your daughter into a marriage of convenience…’
If it was before, Max would have praised him, thinking that his mentor finally came to his senses. Yet, for some reason, Max became furious at his mentor’s behavior instead.
‘Was this all you amounted to? Was it all a pretense, acting like you cherished your daughter in front of me?’
Overcome by an unknown rage, Max held a murderous look on his face.
“That’s why I have to find a partner.”
Hearing her speak, Max unknowingly shifted his gaze to stare at her as she continued.
“I don’t want to go on a blind date.”
No matter how many times he saw her eyes–which glistened like a clear lake sprinkled with violets–he never got tired of looking at them. Unable to overcome the strange feeling of something knocking on his chest, Max opened his mouth.
“Maybe there’s someone suitable to be your partner nearby.”
“Nearby?” she asked gently, gazing at him with trembling eyes. Max felt a tickle inside his chest.
‘You do have an eye for people… it seems you’re looking at me.’
The moment he realized that a laugh could escape him if he wasn’t careful, Max quickly turned his head.
‘What am I thinking…!’
“You’re right.”
“What?”
Max stared at her; he didn’t think she would acknowledge it so easily like this. Before he knew it, she grabbed and held his hand, a bright smile on her face.
Smooth, soft, fragile pale hands. If he had wanted to shake her off, he could have done so easily, but Max didn’t move an inch, remaining completely still as Juvellian continued.
“I was foolish. There was indeed a suitable partner nearby, but I didn’t even realize it.”
Max became tense at her remark. His mouth gradually became drier and the hand caught between hers felt hot.
‘Am I nervous right now?!’
Max frowned at the reaction he couldn’t understand.
‘Because of this weak woman…’
He glared at Juvellian, but the moment his eyes met hers, he found himself in a dilemma. Max quickly pulled out the hand caught by the woman and gave a blunt remark.
“Did you figure that out only now?”
A bright smile soon appeared on Juvellian’s fair face.
“Yes, if it weren’t for you, I would have ended up worrying about it all day.”
Her words only made the itchy feeling in his chest grow.
‘Partner…well, yes. It’s troublesome, but it’s nothing I can’t do.’
Max was in the middle of deciding to attend the party when Juvellian spoke up, “Someone my father trusts and acknowledges…Geraldine. I’ll need to ask Geraldine.”
A name that was neither Mikhail, nor even one of the men who had sent her a partner request–it was a completely new name. Moreover, it was apparently someone even his mentor acknowledged. Max’s mood dropped sharply.
“Who is that?”
He asked in a harsh voice, showing his discomfort. But Juvellian responded brightly, whether it was because she was clueless about how he was feeling or because she was too absorbed in the feeling of relief after resolving her worries.
“Oh, he’s my guard. He’s a relative from my mother’s side so I won’t have to worry about any rumors spreading around–there’s no one who could be a better choice, right?”
Her words gradually softened his displeasure.
‘Well, if it’s a relative, that’s reassuring.’
Recognizing what he was feeling to be a sense of relief, Max furrowed his brows.
‘What does that have to do with me? She’s just my mentor’s weakness which I’m…’
As Max was recalling his original intentions, the defenseless woman’s smile caught his eye.
“Thank you.”
He felt a tingle in his chest, becoming aware of his beating heart when he saw her radiant smile. When he realized he couldn’t get his heartbeat under control, Max felt a sense of fear.
“I’m leaving.”
If he stayed here any longer, he felt like he would lose control and become strange. As Max was about to take off–as if he were running away–Juvellian called out to him, “Wait, hold on!”
Instead of a reply, Max shot her a vicious glare. It was a warning not to come any closer.
Perhaps she understood the warning, but Juvellian did not come any closer and Max felt a strange throb inside his chest at the sight.
Juvellian stared at him. She didn’t look scared, rather, she looked pleased–it was the same face she had after confirming his face the first time she saw him.
“Take this with you,” she said, placing a pouch on the floor and backing away.
‘What is that…’
He picked up the pouch and, after checking the contents, a frown marred his face.
‘Money? Why is she giving me something like this?’
Deeming it useless, he was about to throw the pouch of money back to her, but her sparkling eyes came into view–like the time when she covered him with a blanket, or when she gave him her favorite sandwiches. Max slowly lowered his raised hand.
“I’m not giving it to you for free, you just have to give me a hand if a time comes where I need your help.”
“…”
Originally, he was going to say that he wasn’t planning on coming back, but those words never came out. Max roughly put away the money she gave him and was about to leave when she added, “If by chance, you don’t have anywhere to go, you’re welcome here any time, alright?”
Seeing her fair, warm smile, Max found himself having no choice but to nod his head.
* * *
‘I was able to take care of Boromir with just one word and yet…’
It was a miscalculation on his part, thinking that his current opponent would be like the two men he had met with earlier.
‘Is it because he’s the son of that sly head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?’
Regis glared at the young man drinking tea in front of him. Despite being the target of a deadly glare, the young man remained calm.
“So, Your Grace, you’re here to warn me not to go anywhere near your daughter because I fall below the standards?”
In terms of looks, the young man’s smiling face was something he could acknowledge, but he was still infinitely lacking in comparison to Juvellian.
“That’s right,” Regis replied without hesitation but the young man remained relaxed.
“Well, of course. I can admit that person is actually more perfect than any other lady I’ve ever seen.”
Although Regis agreed with his remark, that didn’t mean that the young man in front of him was qualified.
“I have clearly given you my warning and told you not to approach my daughter, Ronald Helmann Crocus.”
Regis rose from his seat after giving his final warning.
‘Now that I think about it, this young man was also on the marriage proposal list.’
Determined to rewrite the list that had been bothering him all this time, Regis tried to leave the drawing room to return home.
“Your Grace, you’ll soon change your mind because your daughter will come to like me.”
At the big words coming from behind him, Regis turned to glare at the young man. At that moment, the face Regis saw was the same as Mikhail’s handsome face–the one his daughter loved so much.
Regis’s eyes darkened.
“You think my daughter would fall for someone like you?”
The young man tried hard to maintain his composure, but he felt suffocated by the murderous aura radiating from the duke.
‘This is the Duke of Floyen’s…!’
It would have been helpful in the future if he could have the backing and support of the one who was deemed as a national hero and had a high status as a duke. For that reason, he had only meant to provoke Regis slightly so that he would catch the duke’s eye, but it seemed he went too far.
“I’ve seen plenty of people like you. Opportunists who treat people like tools.”
Since he had been young, Ronald had always heard from his father–the current head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs–that he should never lose in a staring contest with his opponent.
Such an educated young man was confident that he could remain at ease under any circumstance, confident that he had no one to fear. And yet…
“Did my daughter look easy to you?”
The moment he met the Duke of Floyen’s chilling gaze, the young man was petrified.
“I, I ap-apolog–”
When he finally began sputtering out an apology, the intangible energy that had been surrounding and pushing down on him dissipated.
“One mistake is enough.”
After delivering his final words, Regis left the Marquess’s residence, his blue eyes filled with bitterness.
E/N: I kind of had hopes for Boromir but I guess he was just a throwaway extra…