‘What should I say to Isabelle?’

I spent the entire meal thinking of excuses.

Yet even after the meal, Isabelle didn’t look for me. I sat in the foyer, like a prisoner awaiting his sentencing day, but she didn’t call for me.

Growing impatient, I sent Betty to find out what she was doing in her room. Astonishingly, Isabelle had already gone to bed.

A stroke of luck or misfortune.

It was time for me to sleep as well. Having assuaged my anxiety and completed my preparations, I extinguished the candle.

As I was about to close my eyes, I heard footsteps approaching. Relief turned into a blow to the back of my head. Facing Isabelle in my unprepared state was impossible.

So, I pretended to sleep.

“….”

I heard the door open. The presence of someone entering the room was felt. It didn’t seem like Isabelle to just stand there and silently watch me.

“Hey, Lise. Are you sleeping?”

“I’m not.”

My tension eased. It was Roger.

Opening my eyes, I saw that water was dripping from Roger’s freshly washed hair.

I wondered where my wife had gone and why he was looking for me alone at this hour. I lit a lamp and sat down, eyeing Roger.

“What’s going on?”

When I asked, Roger lifted his head and stared straight at me.

“Did anything happen to you?”

“……You must be cold. Let’s dry your hair first.”

Roger was worried about me.

Realizing this, I avoided the topic and grabbed a dry towel from the desk. I approached Roger and began to toweldry his hair. Roger coughed a few times, his head bowed.

“You should’ve dried yourself before coming.”

“Is madam not angry with you?”

His voice was tinged with the same worry I felt.

“I don’t know. Bestcase scenario, I get to play chess in hiding; worstcase scenario, I get kicked out.”

“Do you want me to talk to madam?”

“……?”

Roger was sincere.

Unaware of Isabelle’s nature, he seemed fearless.

When Isabelle got angry, she didn’t resort to violence or raised voices. She cut off my connections to the things I cherished.

If that was not possible, she would make me do things I found shameful and embarrassing.

That’s why she was scarier. An angry Isabelle was like the calm before the storm, unpredictable in her destructiveness.

“Don’t bother. If you intervene, it’ll become harder for me as well.”

“Madam Marsen is lenient towards me, isn’t she?”

“That’s to betroth you and me. But right now, even our mothers and Lady Bacchus aren’t on good terms. Our betrothal might become null and void at any moment. If you step in, you’ll also incur her displeasure.”

At my candid words, Roger swallowed his speech.

For some reason, he seemed more agitated and restless than me.

Perhaps that’s why my previously clouded heart felt lighter. My worries didn’t completely dissipate, but they lessened significantly.

I resumed toweling Roger’s hair more vigorously.

“Ah! It hurts!”

“Don’t worry. Things will work out somehow.”

“How can I not worry? You might not be able to play chess, or meet Count Keto, or practice the violin, and our engagement might be broken, and we might never meet again….”

Just thinking about it made Roger’s voice trail off.

“Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to play chess, meet Count Keto, sneak off to practice the violin, and I’ll also come to see you.”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“……What about the engagement?”

That damned engagement. Does Roger truly like me?

No matter how much he claims to like me, would this young man want to make such a significant promise for the future? He didn’t answer but seemed to feel my gaze, slowly lifting his head.

When his purple eyes met mine, they wavered as if unsettled.
“No. If the engagement breaks, it’ll be troublesome… You might not know, but many families are eyeing me, the heir to the Bacchus family. Every time I meet a girl my age, the topic of engagement comes up. Some of them even confess their feelings to me. That’s why it’s uncomfortable… I’d rather be engaged to you, who is straightforward and without ulterior motives.”

“I am quite duplicitous, though.”

“Hey.”

Roger slightly furrowed his brows.

“I tend to harbor ill feelings for a long time. I’m as you said, straightforward, but also stubborn. You’d be better off finding someone who fits you better.”

“That’s not what I mean…”

“This is a good chance for you to find a better partner, Roger. Someone who is not only straightforward but kindhearted. Someone who can embrace your sensitivity.”

Roger threw the towel that had been on his head onto the desk. He gestured for me to return to the room, thinking his hair was now dry. Still, Roger remained seated, motionless.

“…If I’ve angered you, I’m sorry.”

“Huh? I’m not mad.”

That was true.

To be honest, I was a bit annoyed, but that’s all. I never wanted to be engaged to Roger in the first place. In fact, I didn’t want to decide on an engagement with anyone.

It wasn’t the time to be carefree, discussing engagements or marriages, without any guarantee that the future would change.