“I am Eric Russell Gloucester.”

“I’m Alicia Lancaster.”

It was an unremarkable arranged meeting. As usual, they greeted each other, introduced themselves, and sat down.

For Eric, the only difference from other times was that he felt a strange sense of familiarity when he saw Alicia’s face, but he dismissed it as a mistake since they couldn’t have met before.

“I’m sorry for having you come all the way to the duke’s residence. It would have been better if we could meet somewhere more comfortable.”

“It’s fine. This might actually be better.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Please feel at ease.”

Eric was being kinder than usual because this was meant to be the last of these meetings he so disliked.

Strangely enough, though he didn’t know where they had found another candidate, he had initially resolved not to attend when first told about it.

However, after some consideration, he accepted when told more seriously that this would be the last time and they would never bring it up again in the future.

Of course, he didn’t fully believe his parents’ words.

He figured they would probably be quiet for a few months, during which time he planned to finish his duties in the capital and then perhaps spend some time in a border region.

That way, he calculated he could have some peace for a while.

“Please, have some tea.”

Alicia picked up the teacup as Eric offered.

“It has a nice aroma.”

“It’s Orange Silet tea. Made with tea leaves from the Silet territory.”

“There’s a slight fruity taste. Even though it’s black tea.”

“Is that so?”

“But it doesn’t seem to taste or smell quite like orange.”

Alicia was fond of tea, but this was her first time trying this one.

Since it came from the duke’s territory, it probably wasn’t widely distributed throughout the country.

“It’s been called that for a long time, but I don’t really know why either. I asked when I was young, but no one gave me a proper answer.”

“I see. That’s a shame, I was curious.”

Alicia set down her teacup.

She seemed to have something to say as she averted her gaze and tucked her hair behind her ear.

That gesture made her appear shy to Eric, and he thought to himself that this young lady, whom his mother had praised endlessly, was no different from the previous ones.

Since he had been kinder than usual, it was time to wrap things up before giving her any unnecessary expectations.

Alicia actually had no intention of coming to this meeting.

While she was grateful that the Duchess of Gloucester, whom she couldn’t even remember meeting, had taken a liking to her, it was the first time someone had suddenly visited her home to arrange such a meeting.

Perhaps because of that, her mother, the Countess of Lancaster, had been unusually enthusiastic about it.

‘What nonsense about a hammer being more suitable than a sword,’ Alicia grumbled inwardly.

When her mother had told her to go on this meeting, Alicia had been in the middle of repairing a leaking warehouse.

She was just nailing boards when her mother suddenly said that and tearfully insisted she go on the meeting.

Though she couldn’t understand how that connection was made, she nodded in a daze to placate her mother, which is how she ended up sitting here.

The one fortunate thing was that the man sitting across from her, though he looked gruff, was polite and kind, making this meeting not too uncomfortable.

But that was all there was to it.

‘I need to finish repairing that warehouse today. I should wrap this up quickly and go.’

As she tucked her hair behind her ear, mentally going over the tasks she needed to do, Alicia looked up and spoke.

“I have no intention of getting married.”

“Ah, I agree… Wait, what?”

It was fortunate that they had the same thought. It would make it easier to wrap up this final meeting smoothly.

But whether it was because he’d been beaten to the punch, or because the pattern differed from usual, Eric felt oddly strange.

Unaware of Eric’s state of mind, Alicia continued with a serious expression.

“It may be rude to say this after coming to this meeting, but I thought it would be better to tell you quickly.”

‘Right, I used to think the same and ended meetings quickly before.’

For the first time in dozens of meetings, a woman appeared who shared his thoughts.

Yet he felt oddly displeased, as if his pride had been slightly wounded.

Then he changed his mind. It was actually for the best. Since the young lady spoke up first, he wouldn’t have to hear complaints about being unkind anymore.

Even so.

“I’ve heard you’re a good person, Count. So I think you’ll find a better match elsewhere.”

‘Ah, so there are some differences in our thinking. …Is it normal to be thinking like this in this situation? Why am I reacting this way, am I perhaps flustered? Surely not.’

Whether he was truly flustered or not, no words came out of Eric’s mouth, and a moment of silence passed.

Finding that silence awkward and thinking it would be best to leave quickly, Alicia spoke up.

“Then I’ll take my leave now.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes.”

Eric came to his senses and stood up to see her off.

But feeling uncomfortable, Alicia declined with an awkward smile.

“There’s no need to see me out. Well then.”

“If you insist, I’ll say goodbye here.”

It was equally awkward, but Eric, risking rudeness, let Alicia out and sat back down.

‘One day you’ll pay dearly for this.’

Suddenly remembering Allen’s words, he looked at the clock. A wry laugh escaped him.

15 minutes. The meeting had ended in exactly 15 minutes.

***

“Was I a bit rude?”

Alicia sighed in the carriage on her way back.

She wished he had been rude first. Then she would have felt less guilty.

Unlike the men who had approached Alicia before, he remained polite to the end even after she expressed her intention to refuse.

He even tried to see her off courteously, and when she showed discomfort, he stepped back cleanly without being clingy.

Compared to that rude man at the salon last time, he was much−. Hm? Hmm?

“Ah. That security officer from before.”

She finally remembered.

“No wonder he looked familiar. I wonder if he recognized me too?”

Come to think of it, Eric seemed to have hesitated when their eyes first met.

“Surely he didn’t pretend not to know me?”

She had brusquely dismissed someone who had helped her in a difficult situation without even acknowledging it. Cleanly.

“Ugh, what should I do?”

She should have apologized for almost hitting him with the door and thanked him for his help, but she had thrown away that chance too. Quite cleanly.

Newly embarrassed by her actions, Alicia covered her face as she felt herself flush.

***

As Eric, who had been sitting alone in the reception room, stood up and came out, the Duke and Duchess were waiting outside.

“She already left.”

“Yes. Then I’ll be going too.”

He tried to just walk past, but his parents’ gazes bothered him.

Their eyes seemed to convey something like, ‘You deserve this. You’re finally getting what’s coming to you.’

Trying to ignore it and leave, the Duchess of Gloucester spoke up.

“Didn’t you break your own record?”

“The last record was about 15 minutes, right?”

“Ah, then it was broken. This ended in a little less than 15 minutes.”

“……”

“I knew you’d do this. Honestly, I thought that young lady was too good.”

“That’s right. Even I thought she was a bit out of your league.”

“That’s how these meetings go. If I like someone, the other person doesn’t, and if I don’t, the other person does.”

“That’s why they say everyone has their own destined match.”

“I’m not sure if you have such a thing as destiny, though.”

The Duke of Gloucester patted Eric’s back.

Eric wasn’t sure if this was meant to be comforting, but he kept his mouth shut.

“Well, you reap what you sow. It’s good. This was the last one, so now you’ll just live alone, lonely and miserable for the rest of your life. Just as you wanted.”

The Duchess’s words were scathing.

When the Duke nudged her to stop, the Duchess glared at him instead.

“What? Did I say anything wrong?”

“Dear. No matter how insensitive our damn son is, saying it so bluntly might hurt him. Probably.”

“Hurt? Is he the type to get hurt?”

In truth, he didn’t look fine.

Though he was trying to hide it, a parent’s eyes couldn’t be deceived, and he seemed quite flustered, which was refreshing in its own way.

To be more honest, it served him right.

“Well. Let’s hear what you have to say. What didn’t you like about her?”

“Dear. There you go again, being so direct.”

“You stay out of this. There must be reasons like the ones you always gave, right? What did you talk about?”

“Well, if I had to say, we had some points where our thoughts aligned.”

Things like not thinking about marriage, disliking wasting time, wanting to end troublesome meetings quickly.

“What? Aligned? Then you weren’t rejected?”

The Duchess suddenly interrupted.

“Pardon?”

“It seems that’s not the case, dear. He said their thoughts aligned.”

“No, Father. That’s not what I meant.”

“Then you should have said so quickly. We almost got disappointed for nothing. Anyway, upsetting your parents is what, your calling? You always manage to turn even good news into something frustrating.”

“Calm down, dear. As long as the result is good, why nitpick?”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Just a moment, let me explain-”

“Oh, forget it, son. What more could you say with that expression?”

“Look at him being all shy. I never thought I’d see you like this in my lifetime.”

‘How do you see my expression that way? I’m not shy, I’m dumbfounded. I’m at a loss for words.’

“I wish she had stayed a bit longer, dear. I barely got to talk to her.”

“She must have had urgent business. They say she’s always busy working, and she made time for this meeting in a hurry. There must be some work she couldn’t postpone.”

“I suppose you’re right. She seemed very polite earlier, so there must be a reason she left like that.”

In the end, Eric kept his mouth shut.

His mind was already in chaos, and at this point, no matter what he said, his parents wouldn’t listen.

For now, he decided to think of a way to clear up the misunderstanding later and started planning his escape.

“So when are you meeting again?”

“Meet again? Why?”

“What do you mean why? You need to keep meeting to develop feelings.”

“No, there’s no need to go that far-”

“What are you saying now, son?”

“Why? Are you shy? Well, I suppose this is your first time experiencing this, so you might be.”

‘I’m asking, how do I look shy to you? Doesn’t anyone else see that I’m clearly dumbfounded and at a loss?’

He grumbled inwardly, but as expected, the Duke and Duchess paid no attention to their son’s darkening expression.

“Still, we don’t want to step in too much, or you might seem too dependent on your parents. We’d like you to handle it yourself, okay?”

“He’s really worried. Well, he’s been surrounded by only men at the military academy and in the knighthood, after all.”

‘Should I kill my past self for running my mouth?’

He had to admit it. This was absolutely his own fault.

He had been momentarily flustered and forgotten his parents’ pattern, carelessly speaking without thinking.

‘One day you’ll pay dearly for this.’

‘Yes, Allen. I guess today is really that day.’

Just then, he snapped back to reality at the sound of the Duchess of Gloucester calling him.

“Aren’t you going?”

“Pardon?”

“You used to leave even when we asked you to stay longer, but now you’re just standing there? Go quickly. We have a lot to prepare, we’re busy.”

“……I’m going.”

While usually his parents’ dismissal would have been welcome, now it was anything but.

In the end, Eric was forcibly pushed into the carriage by the Duke and Duchess, and could only stare blankly at his parents cheerfully waving with bright smiles.

And only after leaving the duke’s residence far behind did he suddenly recall his parents’ last words.

“Huh? Wait. Prepare? Prepare what?”

And the nature of those preparations once again threw Eric into a panic.