Don't Pick That Flower (2 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 11
Irene, who had ultimately ended up receiving etiquette lessons from Carlos, sat tensely at the dining table.
All sorts of cutlery were neatly arranged upon it. Some of them were things Irene had never seen before.
There were so many different kinds of utensils! Just as Irene, fascinated, reached for one she’d never seen before, the dining room door opened and Carlos walked in.
Startled, Irene quickly put the utensil down, prompting Carlos to ask curiously,
“What are you so surprised about?”
“Nothing at all.”
“You weren’t planning to steal the cutlery, were you?”
Though Carlos had only meant it as a joke, Irene took it seriously, her face turning slightly pale.
Memories overlapped—of being harshly scolded by her father after being wrongly accused of theft—and fear welled up inside her.
“No, no! I didn’t steal anything! I really didn’t!”
Carlos, taken aback by such an intense reaction to a mere joke, stared at her in slight bewilderment.
Misinterpreting his gaze as continued suspicion, Irene’s expression darkened.
“It was a joke.”
Realizing she’d misunderstood, Carlos hastily added,
“So don’t worry about it.”
Was it really just a joke? Irene remained half-convinced but nodded anyway.
“The utensil you just picked up is an oyster fork.”
Carlos strode over to Irene and picked up the fork she’d nearly dropped, then asked,
“Have you ever eaten oysters?”
“No.”
Since transporting fresh oysters all the way inland was costly, they were expensive—a single basket of oysters cost as much as a commoner’s monthly food budget. Thus, as an ordinary commoner, she’d never had the chance to taste oyster dishes.
“I’ll have them serve oyster dishes for dinner tomorrow, then.”
Irene’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“May I eat some?”
“You may.”
Carlos took her right arm and placed the oyster fork into her small hand.
“If you enjoy the oyster dish served tomorrow evening, Gilbert will be pleased.”
“…Gilbert?”
“He’s the head chef of this manor.”
Ah, so he was the one who’d prepared all those delicious meals she’d enjoyed until now. Just knowing that made Irene instantly fond of Gilbert.
“If you’ve never eaten oysters, you’ve probably never used this fork before either.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Then let me show you how to use it.”
As the proper lesson began, Irene listened intently—so focused, in fact, that she didn’t notice Carlos occasionally glancing at her with an odd look in his eyes.
“…That’s enough for today.”
Carlos stopped at an appropriate point, knowing that teaching her too much at once would overwhelm Irene—and also because their agreed-upon hour had nearly passed.
“Do you have any questions? Anything you didn’t understand?”
“No. Nothing.”
She wasn’t answering hastily out of fear of Carlos or eagerness to end the lesson; she genuinely had no questions. His explanations had been perfectly clear.
Still, there was one thing she wished for…
“May I take notes during the next lesson?”
Even someone with a good memory couldn’t possibly retain everything after hearing it just once. She’d need to hear or read it several times.
Since she couldn’t ask Carlos to repeat himself, taking notes seemed the best option.
At that, Carlos gave a small chuckle, as if he’d just heard something amusing.
“I’ve never met anyone who wanted to take notes during etiquette lessons.”
“Is that not allowed?”
“It’s not forbidden, but wouldn’t reading a book be better?”
“Is there a book?”
“Of course. I’ll bring you one if you’d like.”
“I’d like that.”
Irene’s prompt reply deepened the smile at the corners of Carlos’s lips.
He immediately ordered a servant waiting outside the dining room to fetch an etiquette manual.
“I’ve brought the book you requested, my lord.”
Moments later, however, the one who delivered the book wasn’t the servant he’d instructed—but another man.
The man she’d seen near the knights’ barracks.
The man who’d been introduced as Dewey’s twin.
Fascinated by the very concept of twins, Irene stared at him. Yet the man didn’t spare her even a glance.
“Why are you staring like that?”
Instead, Carlos asked her, his eyes on her. Only then did Irene’s gaze shift from the man back to Carlos.
“Do you have business with Dus?”
So that was his name—Dus. Irene finally learned it. It made sense; he was Dewey’s twin, and even their names sounded alike.
Though their personalities were completely different—especially unforgettable was the time he’d held a knife to her throat. Irene shot Dus a sideways glare before replying,
“It’s not that I have business with him… I’ve just never seen twins before, so I was curious.”
At those words, Dus—having not looked at Irene once since entering the dining room—finally turned his eyes toward her. His cold, disdainful gaze made her flinch.
Why is he looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?
“Dus.”
At the sound of his name, Dus instantly lowered his gaze and bowed his head, as if nothing had happened.
Carlos nodded understandingly.
“Well, twins are forbidden beings in the Luman Empire. It’s only natural you’d find them curious.”
Yet Esper Territory was part of the Luman Empire—so it felt odd that he spoke as if this place were somehow separate.
Come to think of it, Jesse had said something similar. That might be understandable since she wasn’t from the Empire, but Carlos certainly was.
As head of House Esper, he was undeniably of Imperial origin—so why speak that way?
“Here.”
For a moment, Irene’s eyes sparkled as she accepted the book from Carlos. She clutched it tightly, as if it were a precious treasure.
“You seem to like books.”
“I do.”
For Irene, who’d spent her entire life confined indoors, books and newspapers were her only windows to the world—and her only friends.
All the common knowledge she possessed had been acquired solely through reading books and newspapers.
That was why she loved them—but to Carlos, it seemed strange. Most people shuddered at the sight of etiquette manuals, so her genuine enthusiasm naturally struck him as odd.
“Shall I let you read other books as well?”
If she was this happy over just an etiquette manual, how delighted would she be with other books?
Curious, Carlos asked—and Irene’s face instantly brightened, a radiant smile spreading across her lips.
“Yes! Please let me read them!”
“…”
In contrast, Carlos’s expression stiffened.
“Why… are you like this?”
Did I do something wrong? Irene asked timidly, suddenly frightened. Carlos sighed softly and covered his eyes with his hand.
Without another word, he turned abruptly and left the dining room as if fleeing.
*
Carlos, who had practically fled the dining room, walked aimlessly without a destination in mind.
His mind was filled entirely with the image of Irene’s smiling face.
This was the first time he’d seen Irene smile so brightly.
She’d always worn either a fearful expression or a fragile, trembling smile—he hadn’t known she could smile like that.
Well, of course she could—she was human, after all…
“She was beautiful.”
The unguarded truth slipped out before he could stop it. Frowning, Carlos came to an abrupt halt.
Dus, who had been silently following behind, stopped as well and asked,
“Are you all right, my lord?”
“…”
When Carlos turned back with a scowl, Dus immediately bowed deeply.
“I overstepped by asking such a question. Forgive me.”
Strangely irritated by his loyal subordinate’s behavior, Carlos pressed his fingers to his throbbing temples and resumed walking.
He headed straight for his study. Sitting down in his chair, he asked Dus, who had followed him inside,
“So, what is it?”
Since he’d ordered a servant to bring the book but Dus had delivered it instead, Carlos knew there must be something to report.
Standing rigidly before the desk, Dus reported,
“There’s an unusual article in the newspaper published by the Temple.”
At the mention of the Temple, Carlos’s brow furrowed.
Like most denizens of the Underworld, Carlos disliked the Temple.
The Temple had once declared all Underworld residents to be monsters that must be exterminated—a baseless, hateful claim rooted in history.
Had the Temple acknowledged its past wrongs and formally apologized, relations might have improved somewhat. Unfortunately, they hadn’t.
Instead, they’d incited humans through witch hunts and intensified their persecution of Underworld residents.
As a result, the Underworld and the human world had nearly severed all contact, and now far more humans were unaware the Underworld even existed.
Given all this, it was impossible to feel anything but animosity toward the Temple.
Yet now, the Temple’s newspaper contained something strange.
From Dus’s report, it was clearly related to him.
“Bring me the newspaper.”
Dus immediately handed it over. He’d even prepared the specific page containing the problematic article, making it easy to locate.
[Northern Victor Bewitched by a Witch.]“They’re insane.”
Carlos scoffed the moment he saw the headline. He didn’t bother reading the article—it was obviously predictable, and he had no desire to sully his eyes with its vile words.
“Which Temple published this newspaper?”
“The Monserra Temple in Kaman Territory.”
Kaman Territory was a small town neighboring Silas Territory.
The surrounding territories, including Silas, usually contacted the Monserra Temple whenever they needed the Temple’s assistance.
That meant Baron Silas must have contacted that Temple as well.
After all, to condemn Irene as a witch and burn her at the stake, they’d have needed the sacred flames managed by the Temple.
Thus, Carlos understood how the Monserra Temple had learned of Irene’s existence.
What he couldn’t understand was…
“How did they find out I took her away?”
Baron Silas wouldn’t have told the Temple first—unless he’d lost his mind.
Moreover, according to Dewey’s report, Baron Silas had died in a mansion fire before even meeting the priest sent by the Temple.
The priest, arriving too late, had reportedly been horrified by the scene and conducted the funeral rites.
So how had the Temple learned of this?
The answer came easily: someone must have reported it to them.
“Investigate thoroughly who informed the Temple of this matter.”
“Yes.”
After Dus left, Carlos read the newspaper article—just in case it contained clues about the informant—but it was pointless.
“All I’ve lost are my eyes.”
Carlos crumpled the newspaper into a ball, tossed it into the wastebasket, and leaned back in his chair. He propped his feet on the desk and tilted his head backward.
The Temple’s motive for publishing such an article was clear:
They intended to use it as an excuse to extend their influence over Esper Territory and House Esper.
“You think I’ll just let you do as you please.”
His violet eyes glinted menacingly.
He fully intended to make them pay dearly for daring to reach for a tree they had no right to climb.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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