Chapter 19
“I see. You must have been quite worried, madam.”
Abigail dabbed her lips with a handkerchief and spoke gracefully. From what she had gathered, she understood the situation well enough.
Elizabeth had been placed on the marriage market, but Stella was clearly anxious—worried she might end up entangled with the wrong kind of man.
Which was why she was asking Abigail, using their acquaintance, to look into the other party’s family. Abigail, too, did not want Elizabeth to end up in a bad marriage.
If that happened, she might return to Agapel Castle and settle there again.
“I understand your intentions. As a fellow club member, I’d be happy to help. If you let me know the date, time, and place, I’ll guide things naturally.”
“Thank you. I’m glad I came to see you after all.”
“It’s nothing.”
Abigail rose to leave, but then turned back and asked,
“Ah, does Sir Kiern know about this?”
Stella smiled faintly.
“No. He probably doesn’t know that marriage talks are underway.”
“I see.”
All the better.
If she brought Kiern to the meeting and made each of them recognize their place, he would understand soon enough—
just how little value Elizabeth had in the marriage market.
If she could use this opportunity to get rid of Elizabeth, nothing could be better.
“I’ll be on my way now.”
“Take care, miss.”
Abigail left as though she had learned everything she needed.
Stella remained seated, letting out quiet, satisfied chuckles—as if everything was going exactly according to her plan.
It was a bright, sunlit day.
Unable to resist Stella’s persistent urging to at least keep up appearances, Elizabeth headed to the matchmaking venue.
What bothered her the entire way was that she had run into Kiern just as she was leaving.
“Where are you going?”
“Just… out for some air.”
“I see.”
Before she realized it, she had lied.
It wasn’t something she needed to hide from him. She could have simply said she was going to a matchmaking meeting—but the words wouldn’t come out.
Perhaps it was because her feelings for him were still too strong.
Elizabeth didn’t want him to misunderstand. And more than anyone, she knew how futile those feelings were.
Pathetic.
Was she trying to preserve her pride in front of Kiern, who was on his way to meet Abigail? Did she even have any pride left to preserve?
“Nice to meet you, my lady. I’m Theo Cavil.”
Her match was the second son of a count’s family that had risen from merchants.
After the war, high society had changed drastically. Trade, once looked down upon, had become a promising field, and the value of wealth had skyrocketed.
As a result, buying and selling noble titles had become increasingly common.
Theo was one of those newly risen nobles. She had heard he was of mixed heritage from the Kingdom of Brittany.
Elizabeth, however, didn’t particularly care about such things.
In fact, she thought the Cavil family had a far brighter future than the Rua family, which was noble in name only. She had no prejudice against mixed heritage either.
The problem was that she wasn’t in a position to accept anyone into her heart.
It was already filled—completely—with Kiern.
Not knowing what to say, Elizabeth simply listened.
Theo, seemingly taken with her, kept the conversation going. Even though it was obvious she had been dragged there reluctantly, he spoke to her diligently.
Thanks to that, Elizabeth was gradually able to join the conversation.
Just as she thought they had spent enough time to part without awkwardness—
“Shall we go have dinner now?”
“No, I—”
“I’ve already made a reservation.”
Theo gently insisted, offering to escort her. Since he had already made reservations, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse, so they moved to another location.
She had only intended to have dinner and leave, never imagining it would lead to such an uncomfortable situation.
They were seated at the table, waiting for their food.
“Oh my, Lady Rua?”
A bright voice called out.
Abigail approached their table, escorted by Kiern. It seemed they had come for dinner after watching an opera.
Elizabeth’s gaze drifted to Abigail’s hand resting on Kiern’s arm—then she quickly pulled her eyes away, startled.
Why was she even paying attention to that?
Trying not to meet Kiern’s gaze, Elizabeth stared intently at Theo instead.
Abigail greeted her warmly.
“You’ve come for a meal, I see. This place is quite good, isn’t it?”
“Yes… so I’ve heard.”
“But who is this gentleman…?”
Her tone clearly asked for an introduction.
Wanting to satisfy her curiosity and send her off quickly, Elizabeth spoke up.
“This is Sir Theo of the Cavil family.”
“Oh my, I see. A pleasure to meet you. I’m Abigail Prairie. And this is my fiancé, Sir Kiern.”
Though they weren’t even engaged yet, she introduced him naturally as her fiancé.
Kiern did not deny it, simply offering a silent nod. Theo responded politely.
“What an honor to meet such distinguished people here. It seems Miss Elizabeth is a blessing to me and my family—bringing me the chance to meet such esteemed individuals.”
Theo seemed unaware of the strange tension among them, even interpreting the unexpected encounter positively—hoping to win Elizabeth’s favor.
Unfortunately, his sincerity didn’t reach her.
From the moment she saw Kiern, Elizabeth felt so uncomfortable that she had no room to think about Theo.
She silently wished they would leave—but Abigail made an unexpected suggestion.
“Since we’ve met like this, shall we sit together?”
“I’d be delighted.”
“That’s fine, isn’t it, Sir Kiern?”
At Theo’s agreement, Kiern silently nodded.
Elizabeth missed her chance to object, her lips parting slightly.
And so, they ended up sharing the table.
Elizabeth moved to sit beside Theo, while Kiern took her previous seat.
Kiern stared at her intently.
His gaze seemed to ask why she had lied, and Elizabeth felt her insides burn.
Of all things—lying to him.
As she anxiously avoided his gaze, Abigail realized they were in the middle of a matchmaking meeting and teased lightly.
“Oh, you were on a match, I see. You already look so good together.”
“Do we?”
Theo laughed heartily, clearly pleased. He had already shown obvious interest in Elizabeth, and his enthusiasm was unmistakable.
Abigail, as if determined to pair them together, kept steering the conversation to connect the two.
It was exhausting. Elizabeth’s head began to ache.
Kiern said little, merely nodding occasionally.
She could feel his gaze on her from time to time, but she desperately pretended not to notice.
Just as she was enduring the uncomfortable atmosphere—
“Ah!”
A waiter accidentally spilled wine onto Elizabeth’s dress while clearing plates.
“I’m so sorry, miss!”
The waiter hurriedly handed her a damp cloth.
Fortunately, she was wearing a red dress, so it didn’t show much—but the scent of grapes and alcohol was unmistakable.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Thinking it was almost a blessing, Elizabeth stood up.
Her thoughts were tangled—she needed running water. Maybe washing her hands would calm her.
As Kiern had once said, when her thoughts grew overwhelming, she felt an urge to immerse herself in water.
Perhaps it had started back then—
that summer day she had gone swimming with him.
What began as just dipping her feet had turned into soaking herself completely.
That memory was too vivid. Too happy. Too joyful.
Whenever her heart felt heavy, Elizabeth felt the urge to sink into water.
But since she couldn’t do that now, she settled for letting her hands rest under running water, hoping her emotions would flow away.
After some time, she finished and stepped out of the restroom.
Kiern was there, leaning against the wall.
He was already wearing his jacket, as if the gathering had ended.
Opening and closing the lid of the lighter in his hand, he spoke,
“I was going to come in if you didn’t come out in ten minutes.”
“Why would you come in here?”
Elizabeth replied casually, glancing around. Theo was nowhere to be seen.
“Sir Theo left.”
“He left?”
At her surprised question, Kiern let out a short laugh—as if displeased that she was asking about someone else first.
“Said something came up at the company. His secretary rushed over. He asked me to apologize for not being able to take you home.”
“And Miss Prairie?”
“I sent Abigail off in a carriage a while ago. You were taking too long.”
As he spoke, he kept flicking the lighter open and closed, the metallic clicks echoing softly.
It seemed more time had passed than she had realized.
Then Kiern’s gaze dropped to her hands.
Her fingertips were cold and reddened, faint wrinkles visible like ripples in a stream.
Not wanting him to notice her inner turmoil, Elizabeth quickly hid her hands behind her back.
“Then let’s go.”
She moved past him naturally, heading toward the carriage.
But at that moment—
click.
As the lighter snapped shut, Kiern grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the wall of a secluded corridor..
