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As soon as they both sat down, the dish was placed in front of them.
It was impressive to see the server setting up the food quickly without turning its head on the two of them, as if they were thoroughly educated.
It was a management method that accurately grasped the taste of the nobles who liked private things.
‘There’s a reason why it has been serving the Imperial family in the capital for so long.’
When Merria picked up the wine on the right, Reukis also raised his hand holding the glass and bumped it with her glass lightly.
A clear sound reverberated and the fragrant smell of wine filled my mouth.
Merria, who smiled a little at the satisfactory taste, opened her mouth wide and let out a mischievous laugh.
“It’s like a date out of a book.”
Sitting face to face in a luxurious restaurant and drinking wine looked like a line I’ve only seen in a book, which made me laugh.
Reukis couldn’t understand at once whether the meaning of her words were good or bad, but his face relaxed looking at Merria giggling.
The meal was as good as expected.
Both emptied their plates and drank several glasses of wine.
As soon as the last meal was over, a large plate was placed in front of them.
The mousse cream covered with lustrous chocolate on top of it, the cake filled with melted cream and fresh fruit in layer after layer, reflected in the light and looked like a work of art.
“Wow…”
Merria let out an exclamation of admiration.
The two of them made eye contact at the same time, and read the excitement in each other’s eyes.
“Fruit cakes are served cold, so it’s best to eat them first.”
Reukis cut the fresh fruit cake into bite-size pieces and handed it over.
Merria shook her hand at the tickling fork that she had not seen in a long time.
“I, uh, I… I’ll just eat it!”
Despite her over-reaction, Reukis calmly put down his fork.
Merria didn’t see Reukis’ face getting a little sullen as she took her share of the cake.
She put the cake into her mouth with anticipation.
Rather than melting, the texture of staying in the mouth was a taste that I had never tasted before.
Reukis followed and began to move his fork as well. It was only a couple of times that the plates were emptied and filled before their meals were finished.
Merria, who left the restaurant with a hazy expression on her face, suggested that she take a walk on a nearby promenade to quench her stomach.
It was evening time, so the sunset was quite beautiful.
It was as if someone was telling me to end the day in a good mood.
After walking silently for a while, they raised their heads a little and looked up at the sky.
As she distanced herself from the few people around her, Merria spoke in a quiet voice.
“It’s so… nice to be here with you.”
“Did you like it?”
“Yes. Very much.”
“I was happy to eat here after a long time.”
There was a distant feeling in his words.
It must have been that the Grand Duke and Duchess came often while they were still alive.
Since then, he has not even come out of the mansion and went to the battlefield, so his words that ‘it has been a long time’ would not be empty.
Merria understood him, but she did not pry further or comfort him.
Because there was no need for that.
A lover who really loves him would share Reukis’ childhood and caress his pain, but she wasn’t.
Instead, I decided to change the mood with casual words.
“Aren’t you glad to eat with me?”
Reukis paused for a moment as Merria smiled and spoke.
He seemed to be agonizing over how to answer.
Merria, equipped with the soul of a lover, who would get sulky if he didn’t answer quickly, looked at him gently.
When he made eye contact with her, Reukis answered without even realizing it.
“Yes, I think so.”
“…”
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have gone there alone.”
Reukis replied with a soft smile on his lips.
It just occurred to me that if I were alone, I might have suffered from the thought of my parents.
It’s just that Merria might like it, but I was worried that she couldn’t make it today.
I don’t know exactly what it was like, but there was no distress in the feelings I had with her today.
Rather, I even thought about going to other places I knew together with her.
I did not know where the desire to go to a good place together and share it came from.
Besides, for now, it didn’t seem to matter what the reason was.
Merria seemed momentarily captivated by his fatal smile, which greeted her without warning.
‘What? What’s wrong with his face?’,
Merria thought to herself as she was enchanted by his smile.
How can you say such a thing with such a selfless smile?
She once again applauded Reukis’ natural handsome smiling face, whom she had encountered in person.
Merria, who had barely parted from Reukis, responded with an awkward smile.
The cheeks, which had been slightly red from drinking the wine, were washed away by the evening wind.
✧ ✧ ✧
After a conversation mainly in praise of dessert, the two turned around at the end of the promenade and returned to the main street.
“Shall we take a carriage together? We could stop by your mansion first.”
Merria, who found the conversation with him more interesting than she thought, suggested lightly.
Reukis took her offer for granted and escorted her.
It was time when Merria took his hand and was about to get into the carriage.
“Where are you going-”
“Please step aside!”
There was a commotion a little distance away from them.
Since I could only see their silhouettes, I couldn’t see their facial expressions or the exact content of their conversation, but it seemed that the two were arguing.
Where did the security guards, which I had seen until now, go?
Merria shook her head.
Reukis also discovered the commotion, but he didn’t seem to want to help in person like last time.
Even in Merria’s eyes, the fight wasn’t so intense that someone would wield violence, nor was the situation urgent enough to give immediate help.
They stood by the carriage door and watched silently until the quarrel in the alley subsided.
But the noise coming from the entrance to the alley became more harsh.
Eventually the man raised his hand to the swaying woman.
“Uh. What should we do?”
Merria frowned and covered her lips.
Reukis also said with a firm face that he could no longer watch.
“Please stay here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
He escorted Merria into the carriage with great care and walked quickly towards where the commotion was.
In an instant, Reukis, who arrived in front of the alley where there were two people, grabbed the man’s arm and pulled it away from the woman.
“Calm down.”
When Reukis’ low voice was heard, the roaring noise quickly subsided.
“Let go of me. It’s a problem between us!”
“Did this woman even threaten you with a knife?”
“What?”
“If mutual violence comes and goes between you two, I won’t stop you, but from a distance, it seems like you’re using violence alone.”
Reukis tilted his head and asked the man.
It seems that the beginning of their conversation was respectful, but the man realized that he was being treated poorly and he frowned.
Somehow he felt like he was being looked down on, so the angry man stomped and shouted.
“This bitch got me first-”
“No! This man tried to drag me by force!”
A woman watching the situation with a frightened expression suddenly jumped out and stopped the man from speaking.
“Is that true?”
Perhaps he thought it was not worthy of respect, and Leukis’ voice became more threatening.
The man pounded on his chest as he vividly shouted and his clothes almost burst.
“No! This bitch clung to me first yesterday!”
“I’ve told you over and over again that I’ve never seen you before!”
“She didn’t show up at the place we were supposed to meet today, and she ran to me and talked to me first, and she kept pretending… So the two of us had a close conversation…”
No matter who started it, the man’s voice gradually decreased as he recognized that it was impossible to reason out.
The woman was staring blankly at Reukis, not listening to the man’s words.
After thinking for a while, Reukis did not let the man go and dragged him out of the alley.
“Then let’s talk in a bright place. You could also use violence, so it would be nice to have a lot of eyes to watch you.”
In response to Reukis’ absurd response, the man roughly shook Reukis’ hand and said:
“Oh, I won’t because I don’t want to be unlucky. I’m done!”
The man shook his hands and showed displeasure.
The man with his hands freed stomped his feet and walked to the opposite side.
As the distance widened to some extent, Reukis returned to the carriage where Merria was.
Merria, who was watching the situation through the window, opened the door.
As Reukis approached and tried to get on the carriage, he heard the sound of light footsteps coming from behind.
“Hey, wait a minute!”
It was a clear and pure voice that seemed like a jade bead would roll.
A voice with a bit of a weeping sound.
The woman coughed a couple of times, and then she spoke in a more pleasant voice than that.
“Thank you so much for saving me.”
She took another step closer and spoke in a lovely voice.
A weak wind blew past as the woman got closer to the carriage.
The robe hat slightly fell off as the wind passed behind her.
The hair that fell under the hat was pure silver hair.
When she closed her eyes and opened them with a bright smile, the pale pink eyes that appeared immediately caught Merria’s attention.
White and fair skin and innocent facial features.
I could recognize her right away without hearing her name.
‘Shannon Magner, the heroine of this world.’
Merria hid herself, leaning her body inside the carriage seat, so as not to show her surprised expression.
“Yes.”
It was time for Reukis to take a step, leaving only a short answer and saying nothing more.
Shannon said quickly when she came close to him.
“I’d like to know my benefactor’s name, would that be okay?”
The sight of Shannon, who was not likely to leave easily, Reukis turned to look at Merria who was hiding inside.
He seemed to ask for permission to talk for a while.
Merria nodded her head lightly, and he took a step away from the carriage.
He didn’t forget to cover the door slightly so that Merria would not be seen inside.
“It’s Reukis Frederick.”
“What! His Majesty the Grand Duke?”
Shannon opened her round eyes wide like a rabbit, but Reukis looked down at her with no emotion on his face.
“Oh, my name, it’s Shannon.”
Perhaps embarrassed by his reaction, Shannon cheeks turned red a little and introduced herself.
The sight of her continuing to say thank you with her lovely pink eyes shining was something you’d see in a novel.
Shannon, who grew up being bullied by everyone but never gave up, was always sweet, kind and friendly.
Looking at her through the window reminded me of the time I tried to prevent her from meeting Altheon, so I wanted to get out of here quickly.
When Merria frowned and urged Reukis, he gave a very dry greeting and hurriedly entered the carriage.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“It’s okay.”
When she replied with a shrug on her shoulder, Reukis knocked on the carriage wall.
It was a signal to leave.
After the carriage left, only Shannon stood tall on the calm side of the road.
“Uh, when did the robe come off?”
Only then did Shannon, aware of her empty head, put her hat back on with a tearful look.
She stared aimlessly at where the carriage had completely disappeared.
“You look like a prince…”
In Shannon’s head, the contents of the books she had been reading so far were shattered, and Reukis naturally replaced the male lead in her mind.
Her cheeks were red along with the setting sun.
Shannon didn’t know herself whether it was because of the sunset or for other reasons.