“What’s all this?”

Eric, looking at the ceaseless stream of gifts from Countess Russell, wore a weary expression.

“It’s from the madam. She said to take them as gifts.”

“All of this?”

“Yes.”

In the end, Eric covered his face with his hands in embarrassment.

He knew it, but as always, his parents went above and beyond in everything they did.

“Oh my. The madam certainly paid a lot of attention. Be careful over there. That’s going to someone very precious!”

Eric’s feelings went unnoticed as the butler, with a continuously beaming face, was nervously handling the gifts in case anything should go wrong.

With a look of disbelief, Eric watched the butler before trudging off towards his room without a word.

“Ugh. How did it get to this point?”

The more he thought about it, the more absurd it felt. It felt as though the whole world had conspired against him, except for himself.

He remembered a few days ago when he received the invitation from the Countess of Lancaster. It made everything before his eyes go dark.

‘What could be the reason this invitation is in my hand? Surely my mother must have intervened. Then what did she say to make the Countess of Lancaster send an invitation?’

Just thinking about it roughly made his face hot enough to feel like he could die.

‘Why was I upset at that time?’

A sigh naturally escaped.

‘It has already cooled down. No, if I put it that way, I feel a bit. Yes, in respect of their wishes. Ah, what’s the difference?’

He was upset with himself for letting things get to this point by unnecessarily asserting his pride and still not being able to come to his senses.

Pride or no pride, if he had just spoken honestly, it would have ended then.

“Ah!”

He grabbed his head and rolled around on the bed.

They say your greatest enemy is your past self, and there was not a single falsehood in those old sayings.

As the carriage gradually approached the Lancaster Count’s house, Eric started to feel a bit tense.

He hadn’t felt this tense when he stood in front of many knights as the captain for the first time.

“Hmm?”

The view from the window as he entered the mansion was a bit different from what he had imagined.

The mansion’s front yard was indeed quaint, but it had an ambiance that he couldn’t quite put into words.

There were no decorative flowers or small trees that usually enriched gardens.

Only very old trees and grass that suggested a deep history, and wellkept sculptures scattered about.

When he got down from the carriage and looked up at the mansion, he had the same impression.

According to the Duchess of Gloster, it was quaint, but there was something slightly different about it.

‘It looks a bit old.’

It was clear that it had been well maintained.

It definitely looked historic and quaint, but it had a strong feeling of being old.

As he arrived at the entrance, a man who looked like a servant of the Lancaster family greeted him with great courtesy.

“Welcome, Count Russell. We have been waiting for you.”

“Thank you.”

He was led into the mansion by the respectful guidance of the butler, who seemed experienced and older.

‘There don’t seem to be many servants considering the size of the place.’

“Welcome.”

While he was looking around the unfamiliar interior, a familiar voice rang out. It was Alicia.

Although he felt shy, he managed to smile and hand over the carefully packed bouquet of flowers from the carriage.

“Thank you.”

She smiled broadly, but to Eric, she still seemed awkward.

‘She’s not happy to see me.’

With a bitter smile, he accepted the inevitable reaction.

“Welcome, Count Russell.”

Unlike Alicia, the Countess of Lancaster welcomed him with a bright smile.

“You didn’t have to come out personally, thank you.”

He also handed a large bouquet of flowers to the Countess who joyously received it and smelled its fragrance.

“Oh my. These are very beautiful. Thank you. Shall we go inside?”

“Were you surprised that I called you all of a sudden?”

“Ah, no.”

Seeing him awkwardly smiling, the Countess of Lancaster smiled kindly.

He tilted his head at her gesture.

The Countess of Lancaster was a gentle and fragile lady, but she had an odd aura.

“How is the Duchess doing?”
“Ah, yes, you’re doing very well.”

‘I think you’re doing so well, like I’ve never seen before.’

Grumbling internally, I lifted my teacup, met eyes with the Countess of Lancaster, and awkwardly smiled again.

It felt as if I was using up a decade’s worth of smiles all at once recently, my face seemingly on the verge of cramping from so much grinning.

“I heard that you don’t care much for desserts, so I prepared fruits instead. I hope that’s okay?”

“Yes, of course.”

Truthfully, I didn’t want to eat anything, but I politely greeted her and ate a piece of fruit to maintain courtesy.

“My parents have caused you some trouble.”

“Oh my, not at all. I enjoyed myself, too.”

I reached out my hand and smiled kindly.

Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me

One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.

Synopsis:

Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.

But this is still far from enough.

He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.

_____

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