He stared at Rozé with sunken eyes.

Her mysterious violet eyes gazed back at him without any hesitation.

It was still difficult to grasp Rozé’s sincerity. Yet, it seemed impossible to see beyond her true feelings.

Nervan decided to conclude today’s argument at this point.
Nervan looked at Rose with a blunt expression, then reluctantly apologized as if admitting defeat.

“If I’ve been impolite, I apologize.”

However, Nervan’s words didn’t end there.

“But I hope you were sincere when you said you don’t care about the Duke’s feelings.”

Rose was momentarily choked up by Nervan’s continued lack of trust.

‘He doesn’t like me…!’

Rose glared at Nervan with fiery eyes.

Facing Rose, he offered a faint smile and uttered a low remark.

“The Duke has an engaged partner.”

With that, Nervan rose from his seat.

Rose, who had been confronting him with confidence, froze in an instant.

‘The Duke has an engaged partner.’

‘He has an engaged partner.’

‘An engaged partner…’

Nervan’s words echoed like a haunting refrain.

Her mind went blank.

The heartbeat became irregular, pounding loudly.

Thump-thump.

‘…What is this?’

Something felt off. The throbbing in her head wasn’t pleasant.

After Nervan left, Rose remained alone for a while.

Even as the maids cleared the teacups and snacks, she sat there like a statue.

A maid cautiously called out to the motionless Rose.

“Um, Miss Rose?”

“…Huh?”

“It’s cold outside. Please come in for today.”

Only then did Rose look around.

Unnoticed, the sun had set, and darkness prevailed.

“Ah, right.”

Rose replied weakly and got up from her seat.

Her footsteps, walking with a dash, lacked vigor.

Caught on a rock, Rose couldn’t find her balance and swayed.

“Oops, are you okay?”

The maid held onto Rose and asked.

Without looking at the maid, Rose absentmindedly nodded.

Guided by the maid, they soon arrived at her room.

She half-heartedly exchanged greetings with the maid and perched at the edge of the bed.

Staring blankly at the floor, Rose muttered to herself.

“The Duke had an engaged partner…?”

The Duke, who was an extra in the original story.

She never dreamed he would have an engaged partner.

“Rose?”

“….”

“Rose.”

“….Yes?”

The Duke was staring at Rose intently.

‘Since when has he been watching me?’

After hearing Nervan’s story, for some reason, she had tossed and turned all night.

Rose tilted her head, softly exhaled, and shook her head.

‘I shouldn’t lose focus during business discussions. Nervan will surely misunderstand me again.’

If she showed such a state, it was clear he would question whether staking her life on the business was appropriate.

Rose glanced at Nervan, who was standing on the side.

Their eyes met. He looked at Rose with a sardonic expression and shrugged his shoulders on both sides.
In Rose’s eyes, his reaction seemed to say, ‘See, you’re not serious about the business.’

“……Tsk.”

Feeling displeased with the revealed flaws since morning, Rose glanced at Nervan and quickly responded to the Duke.

“I apologize. You asked when to invite the business partner, right?”

“Yeah. We talked about it last time, but there was no follow-up.”

According to Rose’s perception, the Duke seemed to have an impatient personality.

Even though it had only been a few days, he rushed their meeting with Gwen.

“Anyway, I sent a letter. I’ll schedule it once I receive a reply.”

“Alright.”

The Duke nodded with a satisfied expression.

“And I’ve brought several exterior designs for the department store.”

Rose unfolded the rolled-up blueprint.

There were a total of five sheets. Rose listed each exterior design one by one.

The Duke couldn’t close his mouth when he saw the designs Rose brought.

“Did you draw these?”

“No. I commissioned them.”

“I see. Among these, which one do you like the most?”

“Hmm.”

Rose carefully examined the five sheets in response to the Duke’s question.

Calmly surveying the papers, she confidently pointed to one.

“This one.”

It was a flamboyant design reminiscent of a cathedral.

‘If I’m doing this, might as well go all out.’

Seeing the sheet Rose pointed to, the Duke furrowed his brow as if in discomfort.

“That…?”

As the Duke trailed off, Rose looked at him with a tense expression.

“Why? Is this design not good?”

“No. It’s excellent. That’s the problem.”

Rose cocked her head, seemingly not understanding the Duke’s meaning.

“Creating this design takes quite a long time.”

“Oh, really?”

It takes a long time… that’s a bit inconvenient.

“How many years will it take? Um… one… five years?”

At Rose’s words, the Duke raised an eyebrow.

“Then… seven years?”

This time, the Duke raised an eyebrow again.

“Just think about thirty years.”

“Th-thirty years?!”

Rose was so astonished by the Duke’s words that she couldn’t close her mouth.

Though Nervan’s laughter was heard from the side, there was no room in her mind to deal with him now.

The Duke couldn’t help but laugh at Rose, who looked so surprised.

She was starting to seem cute for some reason.

Rose was so shocked that she couldn’t even pull out the hair that had gotten into her mouth.

To remove the hair, the Duke reached out affectionately towards Rose.

And as soon as the Duke touched Rose’s hair,

Clang!

Rose reflexively pushed away the Duke’s hand.

“Ah… I’m sorry. I was so surprised…”

The Duke seemed bewildered by Rose’s reaction and quickly apologized.

“If it startled you, I apologize.”

The Duke’s expression as he offered the apology seemed surprisingly gentle.
Now I could clearly see that the smile I didn’t easily show to others was uncomfortable for me now. That aspect made Rose even more uneasy. In response to the Duke’s words, Rose nodded her head without saying anything. The Duke’s attitude, affectionately seeking her favor despite having a fiancée, was… quite awkward.