The next day, Chloe was reading a book in the duke’s office. The duke, who had told her to stay in the office,
was actually so busy with things to handle that he only spoke to her very occasionally, so she had to read a book to pass the time.
However, the letters were not easily registering in her eyes. After reading a bit, random thoughts would suddenly invade her mind,
and each time, she would gaze at the duke’s face and become lost in thought.
Does he like me? Does he really love me? But why doesn’t he look at me? Am I the only one curious about that man’s face? Am I the only one who keeps wanting to see that man?
Knock knock.
At the sound of knocking, Chloe hurriedly put on the glasses she had taken off. It was the butler.
“Your Grace, for what reason did you summon me?”
“Change the employment regulations. Post a notice that the House of Ulpaz will hire not only male but also female employees.”
“Ah… yes. But may I ask why you’re suddenly doing this?”
“I’ll be having a wife, so won’t the lady of the house need female servants?”
“Ah, a lady of the house, a wife?”
The butler’s voice grew louder, and Chloe’s eyes widened as well. She almost dropped the book she was reading. However, the duke did not glance at her and only looked at the butler.
“The existing regulations are null and void as of today. Remove the penalty clause as well. Even if violations are discovered later, there will be no retroactive application.”
“Ah, yes. But Your Grace, are you planning to marry? Are you perhaps pursuing marriage with Lady Tilbeth who is currently staying here?”
Chloe unknowingly frowned.
“Tilbeth? Ah… come to think of it, when did she say she was leaving? I hope it’s soon.”
“It seems she’ll be leaving sometime soon.”
The butler reported diligently while tilting his head.
“Hmm, let me know when the date is set. I should at least say goodbye.”
Chloe’s face, which had begun to relax slightly, frowned again. It was pathetic how her mood was swayed by every word of the duke.
To think that she was such a childish bundle of jealousy. Perhaps this jealousy was only acting more strongly towards the woman named Reina Tilbeth. She was a noble lady who was stunningly beautiful and had been scheduled to marry the duke.
“And prepare a room for the woman who will soon be my wife in this house.”
“But Your Grace. If I may be so bold, could you tell me which family’s young lady she is? I should know after all…”
“If it’s too bold, then don’t ask.”
“…Yes!”
Although the butler had his back turned, Chloe could almost see his reddened face.
“You may go.”
“Yes, understood.”
As soon as the butler left, the duke began handling work again as if nothing had happened. As if what he had just said to the butler about his ‘wife’ had nothing to do with Chloe.
Chloe was about to ask, “What did that conversation mean earlier, what are you thinking?” but felt awkward and ended up keeping her mouth shut.
A wife? It was true that she realized she loved the duke and wanted to be with him, but she hadn’t thought beyond that.
If it’s a wife, it means marriage, but is he really thinking of marrying her?
Chloe kept glancing at the duke, trying to ask him exactly what he was thinking. However, the duke, as if completely unaware of Chloe’s gaze, never once took his eyes off the documents.
“……”
For a considerable time after that, only the sound of the duke’s pen scratching paper and documents being turned could be heard in the room. In the lengthening silence, Chloe’s mood gradually sank.
Why did he bring up words like wife and lady of the house! I’ve never even thought about it.
‘Ah…..’
As her mood plummeted to rock bottom, Chloe’s eyes widened. Could it be… that it really had nothing to do with her?
The duke’s words from earlier that she had tried to brush off nagged at her mind again. Why did he say he would say goodbye? Was there perhaps a different meaning beyond just seeing her off?
Looking at the duke who still wouldn’t look at her, Chloe’s expression grew increasingly rigid.
[This is the timeline separator]Hugrey sensed that Chloe was constantly looking at him. He had to struggle to resist the urge to throw aside the pile of documents and meet her eyes.
Suppressing the desire to look at Chloe, he recalled the times when he thought she was a man, secretly stealing glances at her. Those unsightly behaviors of quickly lowering his eyes and pretending to be nonchalant when she raised her head after he had been staring for a while.
But now she was looking at him like that. Constantly watching him and then turning her gaze away and pretending to be casual when he raised his head.
Why is she so cute, how can a human be so beautiful?
So he deliberately pretended not to notice. He loved it so much when she looked at him with those eyes, afraid that if he met her gaze, she would no longer look at him like that. Afraid that he would disappear from her interest.
She had been openly looking at him with questioning eyes ever since the moment he ordered preparations to be made for his wife.
I knew she would be like this. She clearly hadn’t even thought about marrying him. Her attitude was so indifferent that it made him anxious, upset, and impatient. As if anyone other than her could be his wife. It had to be her!
‘Keep wondering about what I said. You too, be curious about my thoughts, want to know my feelings. So that you’ll end up thinking about marrying me too.’
In fact, Hugrey hadn’t planned to push for marriage right away either. For now, he thought it was enough just to have Chloe by his side. But he couldn’t keep her as a man like that forever.
Last evening when he returned home, the butler who greeted him reported that Chloe had gone out as Reina Tilbeth’s attendant. He added the excuse that despite the butler’s attempts to dissuade her, Reina Tilbeth had strongly insisted and Chloe had readily agreed.
If Chloe continued to live like this disguised as a man, such incidents could happen again. He wasn’t always at home, and he couldn’t force his will on her either.
To change both her male disguise and her status as a servant, the fastest and surest way was to officially give her the status of ‘duchess’.
Of course, to make her the ‘duchess’ according to his plan, Chloe first had to want to marry him. So he had to make Chloe keep thinking about him. Think and think until she finally wanted to marry him.
‘Think about me, Chloe.’
Hugrey was endlessly repeating the same words in his mind, like someone chanting a spell.
[This is the timeline separator]Chloe, exhausted from trying to guess the duke’s intentions all morning, decided to take a walk in the duke’s rear garden after lunch. Rather than going back to the duke’s room and indulging in all sorts of fantasies, it seemed better to refresh her mood.
The duke was the one who first said he liked her, so why was she afraid that she might be the only one liking him?
Does fear arise when you like someone too much? When she thought of the duke, her heart felt like it was floating, but it also sank. She wanted him so badly but was afraid she might not be able to have him.
‘Ah, it really feels like I’m getting motion sickness.’
After walking for a while, Chloe stopped and sat on a bench. After looking around, she took off the glasses she was wearing. It wasn’t just because of her mental worries, but also because she felt dizzy from wearing glasses with too high a prescription.
Earlier when she came to the rear garden, she had already seen two gardeners heading towards the main garden in front of the duke’s residence. There wouldn’t be any servants in the rear garden at this time except for the gardeners, so it should be fine to take off her glasses for a moment.
“Haah… I feel alive. Clear air, clear mind, positive thoughts!”
To push away negative thoughts and change her mood positively, Chloe psyched herself up. With the sunlight shining down on her head and the spring breeze blowing, her body and mind seemed to be refreshed. She even took off the overcoat she had been wearing over her clothes and put it down, then closed her eyes, tilted her head towards the sky, and took a deep breath.
“Don’t worry. Chloe Liden.”
“What are you so worried about, Chloe?”
But her peaceful and calm mood was ruthlessly shattered by a voice from behind her. She barely managed to hold back a scream she almost let out from surprise. It was because the words she heard were in Tigrium. The only person who would use Tigrium in this duke’s residence now was Reina Tilbeth.
She was the last person Chloe wanted to encounter. Why did she come out to the rear garden at this time?
“Hello.”
Chloe belatedly realized she wasn’t wearing her glasses and hurriedly put them on as she politely greeted Reina Tilbeth, who had somehow approached right in front of her. As she raised her head, she saw another woman standing behind her. It seemed to be the maid she had brought along.
“You go over there.”
Reina Tilbeth briefly instructed her maid without responding to Chloe’s greeting. The maid nodded slightly and walked away with quick steps. Despite being Reina Tilbeth’s maid, Chloe felt uneasy being left alone with Reina Tilbeth after she disappeared.
“You take off your glasses well when you’re alone?”
Reina Tilbeth said, tilting her head to one side.
__________
Male Lead, The Black-Hearted Lotus (Female-dominant)
Short intro by Yuushi L:
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
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