Chapter 7
“The overflowing energy, my lady! What did you just spray on me?”
Robin leaned in with an excited expression. I answered with a hesitant look.
“It was just some perfume.”
“No, I recognize this feeling well. What you just… was it an aphrodisiac?”
Robin leaned even closer and whispered.
I couldn’t help but show a bewildered expression. The perfume I had just sprayed was just a regular fragrance with fatigue-relief properties.
Well, sometimes people who often use medication might be sensitive to ordinary scents… Wait. Could it be? I looked at Robin suspiciously.
“Lady, this is quite bold for a first meeting… Ah, I’ve never met such a straightforward lady in my life.”
Robin grabbed my hand firmly.
Startled, I tried to pull my hand away, but Robin’s grip was surprisingly strong.
“Other men might have run away in fear, but I’m different. I like this boldness. I accept your temptation, my lady.”
I opened my mouth, utterly dumbfounded.
This madman seemed to have a vivid imagination.
“What are you talking about? Let go right now!”
“Hehe, after such a blatant seduction, you can’t just back out now. You’ve really hit my taste, my lady!”
“Ugh!”
As Robin’s face got closer, the pungent smell assaulted my nostrils again. Apparently, the scent wasn’t fading away. Maybe it was lingering after the medicine?
What’s wrong with this crazy person? I recoiled, trying to free my hand, but Robin’s grip was relentless.
“Let’s go, my lady. There’s no need to hesitate.”
“I’ll report you! Waiter!”
A waiter, with a surprised look, hurried over.
“What’s wrong, my lady?”
“Please report this madman. Ugh, he’s touching my hand!”
Robin pressed my hand against his chest, causing my hand to rest on a rapidly beating heart.
“Do you feel it? My heart… it’s the throbbing of love for you, my lady. Oh, waiter, understand. My lady here, she’s like a feisty cat. You can even try going back to her.”
What on earth was he saying? Could that perfume really have an effect that drives people crazy?
As soon as I got home, I promised myself to revise the recipe. I even considered slapping my own cheek. It was a hair-raising experience.
And then it happened.
“What are you doing?”
A deep, low voice, almost like it was scratching my eardrums.
I instinctively turned around. And then, I opened my mouth slightly in surprise.
An unexpected figure, Cedric Evans, was standing behind me as if he had just appeared out of thin air.
“Ah, you are… Duke Evans, right?”
Robin asked with a dumbfounded expression.
Cedric, without answering, approached with long strides, pushed aside Robin’s hand, and released my wrist.
Robin’s hand that had clung to mine was easily released. There was a red mark left behind.
Cedric glared at Robin and growled, “What’s going on?”
“W-We were just… enjoying a date.”
“A date?”
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Cedric arched an eyebrow.
“It looked more like a scene where a lunatic harasses an innocent person, in my eyes.”
“Ha, harassment, you say!”
Robin shouted with a pale face.
“Even if Your Grace were to ask me… We were just… feeling a mutual attraction…”
“Shut up, your tongue is too long.”
Cedric lifted my wrist and looked down at it.
“How about we have the same mark on your wrist?”
Cedric said, pulling a dagger from his belt with a menacing sound.
When he did, a chilling sound came from the sheath.
At that, an alarmed Robin started inching away with stumbling steps.
“Y-Your Grace! Have mercy! I was reckless!”
“You were reckless?”
“Yes, yes! I forcefully grabbed Lady’s wrist without her consent, but in reality…”
“I see, you’ve admitted it. Take him away.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The two knights who had been guarding Cedric approached and lifted Robin, whose politeness had vanished.
“What… what is this? Your Grace!”
Robin was being carried away while struggling.
Cedric, who was still looking down at my wrist, said, “What should we do, Lady Winston?”
I raised my wrist and looked at Cedric in surprise.
“What’s going on?”
Robin resisted with all his might, but the knights were dragging him away as if he were luggage.
All the eyes in the restaurant were fixed on him.
After Robin was forcibly removed, the restaurant fell into a stunned silence.
Amidst the silence, Cedric sat down heavily on the chair where Robin had been sitting.
“Marcel, the Marquis, seems to have done a terrible job with his offspring, raising criminals.”
Cedric spat out these words, then swiftly emptied the wine glass that had been placed in front of Robin.
“So, what brings you here?”
“…That’s something I wanted to ask you, Your Grace.”
“Ah, I see.”
Cedric tilted his head slightly, a somewhat nonchalant posture. His expression resembled the one I had made when I first met Robin. It was a look as if he had just detected an unbearable stench.
“Why did you come here, of all places?”
“…Well, my father arranged it. He wanted us to meet at least once.”
“Arranged it?”
Cedric echoed the word, seeming unfamiliar with it.
“Yes, he did. If I had known he was such a person, I wouldn’t have come. I must have been out of my mind.”
I had definitely been out of my mind.
No matter how much money was involved, my stomach wasn’t strong enough to sit face to face with a drug addict and a sexual harasser.
I decided to thank Cedric for what he did.
“Anyway, thank you for just now. He wouldn’t listen to me at all. And his strength…!”
I grumbled, massaging my wrist where the red mark still lingered. From above, I heard a slow response.
“I see. So, Lady Winston.”
Cedric leaned forward expectantly. His crimson eyes were piercing.
“Why did you have dinner with that scoundrel?”
“Well, you see…”
It was a bit embarrassing to answer honestly. How could I have sat face to face with such a guy? I sighed and said, “It’s because my father arranged it. He wanted us to meet.”
“…Arranged it?”
Cedric repeated the word. It seemed strange to him.
“Yes. If I had known he was such a person, I wouldn’t have come.”
Well, I stepped into that one.
Even though it was a forced contractual relationship, we were officially a couple. Furthermore, Ariel and Cedric were a fairly well-known couple, given Cedric Evans’s fame. Once news spread that I had dinner with another man so soon after breaking up with Cedric, there would undoubtedly be rumors for a while.
“Right, it’s true. I admit I was wrong.”
Cedric raised an eyebrow as I readily admitted my mistake.
“Is Your Grace unhappy about our relationship?”
“Unhappy?”
Cedric repeated the word, his forehead narrowing. At this moment, it seemed that he was quite displeased.
“Yes. Weren’t you uncomfortable with our relationship?”
“Uncomfortable?”
Cedric picked up the word again, and his eyebrows narrowed further. His crimson eyes seemed to express his discomfort.
‘Yes, maybe he is.’
I thought to myself. Even if it was just a formal relationship, we were officially dating. Moreover, Ariel and Cedric were quite a famous couple.
Breaking that relationship and going on a date with another man would undoubtedly lead to gossip for a while. Cedric was right; there should be courtesy even in parting ways. No matter how forced this contractual relationship was, it was still a breakup.
“No, Your Grace, you’re right. It seems I made a mistake, after all.”
Cedric, who had been silent all this time, finally said something odd.
“Since when was it only you and me, and you decided to marry someone else?”
That was a completely unexpected and surprising question.
I blinked my eyes, trying to process it all. Cedric, with a slight raise of his eyebrows, slowly asked again.
“Since when did you decide to date only me and then suddenly make up your mind to marry someone else?”
“That’s not what happened…”
Cedric didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence, as he was interrupted by me. I had a bewildered expression.
“Sorry, Your Grace, but I never decided to date only you. In fact, didn’t I never have a choice from the beginning?”
“Didn’t the Duke think our relationship was unpleasant?”
“Unpleasant?”
Cedric narrowed his brow furrowing back at the word. What was certain was that he didn’t know before, but he looked clearly unhappy at the moment.
‘Yes. It might be offensive.’
Upon reflection, there was nothing wrong with Cedric’s words.
Even it was for show, we were officially in a relationship. Moreover, fue to Cedric Evans’ fame Cedric and Ariel were quite a famous couple.
There’ll be gossip everywhere, if I’m seeing another man, right after breakup!
Indeed, I see. I belatedly admitted my mistake.
Cedric was right. There was courtesy in parting. No matter how semi-forced a contractual relationship was, we should bind by proper etiquette.
“MY APOLOGIES, YOUR GRACE. IT WAS A MISTAKE ON MY PART.
As I obediently admitted my mistake, Cedric raised his one eyebrow.
“Whatever your Highness’ true intentions was, Your Highness and I were official lovers. It’s my fault that I came out on a date with other man. I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
Cedric accepted my apology and asked me, “Since when?”
“Yes?”
“Since when you are thinking of dating with me and marrying with another man?”
That was a really strange and surprising question.
I managed to come to my senses and replied slowly.
“…… I didn’t exactly think that way. It was not a choice that I could make…”
“Is that so?”
Cedric looked at me instead of answering.
The sensation of red eyes scanning my expression and beyond my blood sent goosebumps down my spine for a moment. I managed to say casually.
With a faint smile, I replied, “I knew I couldn’t be Duchess Evans.”
No matter how hard Ariel tries, no matter how much she makes all kinds of love perfumes and throws them at Cedric.
Ariel Winston was just Ariel Winston after all. She can never follow the surname Evans. It was only meant for the original heroine.
T/N:
Hi! As I saw everyone really wanted to read the novel, so I thought of translating it. Though I'm no professional translator and English is also not even my first language, so I hope everyone will correct my mistakes and look at these translations with kind eyes.
Jeffreyinize 
20betcypot 
LarryDorgo 
Book Lover Slytherin 
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