Eric laughed as if it was nothing.

“That’s all exaggeration. How could it be as much as 3%? Honestly, I don’t remember everything.”

“Are you admitting it was a lot? So that’s why you were famous. No wonder everyone was paying so much attention to us. Oh, did you meet with Miss O’Brien too?”

“O’Brien? The young lady of the Viscount O’Brien family? I did meet her.”

“Ah. You said flashy things don’t suit me, but there was a reason for that.”

Eric closed his mouth in bewilderment at Alicia’s sarcastic tone.

The focus of the conversation seemed to be subtly off.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Is it because we’re just in a contract relationship so you don’t need to explain?”

“Huh?”

“As your fiancée, I should at least know about your glorious past to predict what I’ll have to deal with in the future-”

“Alicia, wait.”

“?”

“I think you’re having a huge misunderstanding right now.”

“Misunderstanding?”

“I didn’t date all those women. It was just one meeting arranged by my parents that I ended rather rudely.”

“……”

“I don’t know what you heard, but it’s not true. If you want, I’ll even ask Prince William to testify for a thorough explanation.”

“I don’t need to go that far.”

“Then you’re not misunderstanding anymore?”

“Rather than a misunderstanding, I was just curious about the facts.”

Alicia could tell from Eric’s eyes that he wasn’t lying.

Feeling embarrassed for pressing him, Alicia pouted, and Eric placed his hand on her cheek, gently brushing her lips with his thumb.

“?”

“Ah. That-”

Eric pulled his hand away, flustered by Alicia’s surprised look and reddened face.

It wasn’t a conscious action.

He had just thought he didn’t want her to be angry, and his hand moved on its own.

“I just didn’t want you to be angry over ridiculous rumors.”

“…I wasn’t angry.”

“Then why doesn’t it look that way?”

“……”

“Do you think it’s not enough for an active explanation befitting a fiancé?”

Alicia felt somehow uncomfortable seeing Eric’s serious face.

It’s just a contract relationship.

So Alicia has no right to demand an explanation, and Eric has no obligation to give one.

“No, it’s enough. It doesn’t matter to me. I just didn’t want to be caught off guard if something like this happens again.”

“…I see.”

Eric turned his back, and Alicia looked at him quizzically.

But soon Eric turned back with a smile.

“Let’s go back. I’m tired.”

Eric took Alicia’s hand and started walking.

The hand-holding seemed awkward, as Alicia fidgeted, but he held on tighter.

“People are watching, so just hold on.”

“……”

For a moment, Alicia looked up at Eric’s face.

Since he was walking ahead, she could only see part of his profile.

Though his expression was clearly blank, he seemed to be in a bad mood, so Alicia silently held his hand as Eric had said.

Then, for just a brief moment, it seemed like Eric’s mouth was slightly smiling.

“But is it really okay to leave?”

“It’s fine.”

“Shouldn’t we at least tell your parents before-”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s fine?”

“It’s fine. They told me to go ahead.”

‘That’s not what I asked.’

The expression Eric had shown briefly earlier bothered her, but his expression had already returned to normal.

‘Found it.’

‘Huh? What?’

Alicia stopped in her tracks, feeling goosebumps all over her body, just like after meeting the prince earlier.

“What’s wrong? Do you want to stay longer?”

“No, I want to leave quickly.”

“…Alright. Let’s go.”

The two started walking again.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Eric.”

Alicia, lost in thought in the carriage on the way back, carefully opened her mouth.

“Is that reason for breaking off the engagement you said you’d decide, related to the rumors?”

“In a way, yes.”

Alicia silently stared at Eric after his simple answer.

“Are you going to be rude to me like you were to those women before?”

“I won’t be rude to you. That’s just the reason. People just need to believe it.”

“But you could suffer from rumors again. Even though it’s not true.”

“Still, it’s the simplest and most convincing.”

Their gazes met for quite a long time, but neither spoke.

In the end, there was no conversation until they arrived at the mansion.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Why does his expression look so gloomy?”

“Probably because of the weekend party. He couldn’t escape because of his fiancée and had to attend. Judging by his condition, he must have been extremely tired.”

“Ah, right. We should avoid being noticed today.”

The aides who had slightly opened the door to check on Eric quietly closed it again.

“……”

Although his complexion was dark, there was no problem with Eric’s work.

Just a bit slower than usual.

“It doesn’t matter to me.”

Suddenly, Alicia’s words came to mind.

It’s true. But still.

“In any case, ‘not caring’ would have been better than ‘it doesn’t matter’.”

He couldn’t understand why he was meticulously mulling over every single word someone else said.

It would be nice if he could just brush it off nonchalantly like Alicia.

“It wasn’t that she didn’t care at all.”

Remembering Alicia pouting, he smiled without realizing it.

“……”

He was startled as he suddenly recalled the soft, delicate, and plush sensation on his fingertips that felt like it would break if he applied force.

“Maybe I.”

He covered his mouth with a hardened face.

“Have really gone crazy.”

With an even darker expression, he stood up from his seat.

There was no point in continuing work anyway.

[This is the timeline separator]

Alicia’s mind was just as complicated.

When she suddenly came to her senses, she had been holding her pen to the paper, causing it to bleed black.

“Ah, I can’t do any more today.”

Although it was earlier than usual, she finally put down her pen and started packing up.

“Leaving already?”

Alicia looked up from organizing documents at Eric’s voice.

“What brings you here? It’s earlier than usual.”

“Ah, it just turned out that way. You’re earlier than usual too.”

“It just turned out that way.”

After awkwardly looking at each other, Alicia lowered her head first to finish organizing the documents on her desk, then walked out to stand in front of Eric.

“Alicia.”

“I don’t care.”

“Huh?”

“About your rumors. Thinking about it, I guess it’s not that I don’t care. Honestly, it wasn’t very pleasant.”

“…Why?”

“Well, why was that?”

“?”

“Hmm, maybe it’s like, it’s okay if I do it, but I don’t like it when others do it?”

As Alicia smiled brightly and started walking, Eric followed behind.

“But how did it end up like that? I don’t think you’re the kind of person who would have such things said about them.”

“Do you really think so?”

“The Eric I’ve seen so far is.”

“You’re good at reading people.”

Alicia glanced at Eric, who was smoothly responding as they went down the stairs.

“You’re not hiding your true self, are you?”

“No way. If anything, you’ve seen more sides of me.”

“For example?”

“Awkwardness, embarrassment, bewilderment, despair, and-”

“?”

“Smiling.”

Alicia stopped and turned to look at Eric standing behind her.

“You don’t smile often?”

“I didn’t know either, but that’s what the employees say.”

Eric, who had been following behind, passed Alicia and started down the stairs, and Alicia followed.

“Butler, the carriage.”

“Yes, Count.”

As the butler left to call for the carriage, Eric and Alicia were left alone, standing quietly.

Eric glanced down at Alicia standing beside him.

Despite the time he had spent worrying, Alicia had told him that she didn’t care about the rumors, or rather, that it wasn’t that she didn’t care.

It was amazing how she had said exactly what he wanted to hear.

“What is it?”

Their eyes met as he had been staring too much.

“Nothing, just…”

“Ah, I just saw two expressions – ‘awkward’ and ‘smiling’.”

“Oh no.”

“Is it ’embarrassed’ now?”

“I’m going to use this a lot for a while.”

“Pfft.”

He turned his head away from the teasing Alicia.

Soon the carriage arrived at the entrance.

“The carriage is here.”

Eric opened the carriage door and held out his hand.

Alicia took Eric’s hand and got into the carriage, sitting down.

“?”

Eric looked at Alicia quizzically as she didn’t let go of his hand even after getting into the carriage.

“Is it alright for a moment?”

“Huh?”

“I have something to say.”

“Something to say? Now?”

“Get in. It’ll only take a moment.”

Eric got into the carriage nervously, and Alicia closed the carriage door.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“About us.”

“I’m nervous. What about us?”

Eric waited for Alicia’s next words, trying to smile.

“I’ve been thinking. About our reason for breaking off the engagement.”

“……”

“I proposed the contract first, and you said we’re equal partners, so I don’t want to pass all the responsibility to you.”

“?”

“Of course, even if your personality is really terrible and you’re a relationship destroyer from the demon realm or a guardian of hell.”

“…Guardian of hell is a new one.”

“Ah, as I thought, rumors can’t be trusted. They’re always exaggerated.”

Alicia pretended to be embarrassed.

“Anyway, I won’t use that as a reason for breaking off the engagement.”

“…Why?”

“I’m not really sure if your personality is as bad as people say.”

“……”

“I said earlier too. You don’t seem like someone who would have such things said about them.”

“You did.”

“Actually, I think you’re quite good, no, a good person.”

So she hoped that after the contract ended, there wouldn’t be any more bad rumors added because of her.

It was too embarrassing to say directly though.

“And I’ll pass on being included in that 3% of Britannia. It hurts my pride.”

“……”

“Since I proposed first, I should end it first, right?”

“…You’ve already been rejected twice by me, do you remember?”

“Ugh.”

Alicia fumbled for words, flustered.

“Well- Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘third time’s the charm’?”

“Even for getting rejected?”

“That’s not the important part right now.”

Right.

No matter how many times, that’s not what’s important.

What’s important is- that right now my feelings are indescribably strange, and it feels like it would be okay to be rejected any number of times by this woman-.

…That didn’t seem right, so Eric ran his hand through his hair and ended up laughing.

“I thought hard and said all that, but what’s with this reaction? Was I the only one being serious? I feel a bit wronged.”

“Huh? Wronged? I’ve been worrying a lot too.”

“What did you worry about?”

“But you resolved it so nonchalantly that it’s a bit hard to say.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. So I think I’m a bit moved right now.”

“What are you saying?”

Eric stared intently at Alicia’s pouting lips, which seemed embarrassed.