Chapter – 29
Before I knew it, it was time for dinner.
At the time, everything had passed smoothly, but as time goes on, decisions often get reversed.
I was tense, thinking that Ciderion would bring up Blake.
However, from the appetizer to the main course and then onto dessert, Ciderion didn’t say a word.
‘Is he just going to let it slide?’
Well, I wouldn’t complain if that were the case.
I scraped at the fruit sorbet in front of me with my spoon while keeping my eyes on Ciderion.
‘Jealous…’
Ciderion?
Yeah, right.
I couldn’t help but snicker at the thought—it was too pathetic—but then our eyes met.
Ciderion’s eyes curved gently.
“Something amusing?”
“Nothing…”
Well, seeing him smile like that, it’s understandable that others might be fooled.
‘But even in the original story, Ciderion was supposed to be kind.’
That’s why no one noticed.
No one knew what Ciderion was scheming behind the scenes.
Well, no matter what Ciderion schemed, it wouldn’t matter—by that point, I wouldn’t even be here.
‘Ah, right. What about the divorce?’
I pondered as I ate my fruit sorbet.
Hmm… maybe it’s best to wait a few days.
It was then that Ciderion broke the silence.
“The matter from earlier…”
“Huh?”
“…I handled it.”
“What did you say?”
“Sorry, I handled it.”
What? Sorry?
I widened my eyes.
I didn’t even know why Ciderion was apologizing—it was just shocking that he did.
“I think I went too far.”
Hearing that, all I could think was:
‘Who are you?’
Why was there someone… different inside Ciderion?
At first, I passed it off, thinking it was just acting or my imagination.
But this wasn’t something even someone as oblivious as me could ignore.
‘A guy who can’t even feel emotions is somehow aware enough to apologize?’
‘Author, isn’t this a setting error?’
If he were someone who could realize his fault and apologize over something this small, he wouldn’t have been labeled a monster.
‘Then is it the book that’s wrong?’
No, that couldn’t be it.
If you dig into the details, there are slight differences, but most of the story followed the novel.
As I continued thinking, Ciderion’s piercing gaze pulled me out of my thoughts.
Right. I should answer first…
But what should I say?
After a moment of thought, I managed to say something appropriate.
“Well… it seems Blake wasn’t seriously hurt, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
Seriously, what was going on?
I was proudly staring at the empty sorbet bowl in front of me when he spoke.
“Blake? Oh, you mean that rustic guy from earlier?”
“Hmm?”
“Why are you suddenly talking about him?”
Ciderion looked genuinely confused.
“W-well… you said I went too far, right?”
“That’s right. I interfered just over choosing a single merchant. A husband should trust his wife, shouldn’t he?”
I was at a loss for words and stared blankly at him.
He continued speaking.
“But that guy really seems worthless as an investment. I checked, and he’s not a major problem, but there’s something… unclean about him. Does it really have to be him?”
Did I eat something bad?
“Of course it does. Haven’t you heard that investment requires good teamwork? Thanks to Blake, I’ve made a lot of money.”
“How much have you made?”
“Uh…”
I was doomed. What am I even saying?
It was true that I had made a lot of money through Blake.
But I had spent all of it recently on buying mines, so there was no way to prove it.
‘This guy’s mouth is reckless.’
I scolded my mind silently and said out loud:
“I… don’t know the exact amount, but anyway, I made a lot… Of course, compared to Asitria’s fortune, it’s barely a drop in the ocean.”
“Alright. I trust you to handle it well.”
Wow. There are people whom “I trust you” just doesn’t suit.
I nodded in awe. Well, whatever works.
“Also, since it came up, I want to ask something.”
“Hm?”
“If he was just an investment partner, why did you meet him in secret until now?”
“W-well…”
He paused. Even I noticed something suspicious.
This is why I tried so hard to keep my meetings with Blake secret.
When exactly did he find out?
‘I was sure we met secretly without anyone knowing—’
“Meeting in secret, without anyone knowing, was really just for investment purposes?”
“Hic!”
W-what? Did he just read my mind?
“Why the shocked look? Like someone caught in the exact spot.”
Ciderion’s golden eyes, bright and piercing, made my chest tighten.
“Th-that… the thing…”
My mind was spinning. How much does he actually know? Is he just testing me?
If even one of my excuses is wrong, could it be irreversible?
I suddenly remembered Blake’s confident words: that there was nothing to worry about.
‘Hey, you sloppy idiot. He knows everything now.’
As I lingered in silence, Ciderion sighed deeply.
“Alright. Fine. I don’t care what kind of life you lived during the seven years I was away. But I’d like you to resolve any relationships that could look suspicious.”
It was uncharacteristically magnanimous of him.
Or maybe, since he can’t feel much emotion, he can say things cleanly like this.
Thinking that, doubt crept in.
‘How long can Ciderion keep acting so cleanly?’
Until the heroine appears?
Then after that?
I didn’t know why Ciderion was being so generous, but people don’t change their nature easily.
‘Ciderion is Ciderion.’
That truth would never change.
Realizing that made the blood in my body run cold.
In the original story, I die after Ciderion returns and meets the heroine.
But since he returned a year earlier, the story had already gone off-track.
I couldn’t be sure he would meet the heroine in the same way I knew.
If he fell in love with her tomorrow, I’d die immediately.
My head throbbed.
‘I can’t trust the original story anymore.’
But I couldn’t completely deny it either.
Even if the timing changes, the truth itself doesn’t.
‘I can’t just stay complacent like this forever.’
I looked at Ciderion.
For some reason, he didn’t seem displeased with me as before.
No, he even acted like he had feelings for me, at least in public.
Probably, as long as nothing major happens, his attitude would continue.
‘Just annoying him a bit more won’t make him suddenly kill me.’
I felt confident and drew a short breath. Then I called to him.
“Ciderion.”
He gazed at me with his bright yellow eyes, as if urging me to speak.
“…Can I ask you just one thing?”
“Anything.”
“Why won’t you divorce me?”
Clang.
No sooner had I asked than the spoon he was holding rang clearly against the floor.
“That again.”
Without even glancing at the fallen spoon, Ciderion muttered coldly, then let out a faint laugh.
It wasn’t a laugh of joy—it was born of deep displeasure.
“I’ll ask first. Why are you so desperate not to divorce me?”
“W-well… you said before that ugly people can’t be duchesses.”
I threw out whatever I could, having no better words, and surprisingly, Ciderion looked a little taken aback.
‘Huh?’
I had no idea. I was all in.
I pleaded desperately in a pitiful voice.
“You called me a pumpkin… You said pumpkins can’t become duchesses…!”
I hadn’t said it exactly like that, but it was close enough.
After all, ever since Ciderion called me a pumpkin seven years ago, I had hated pumpkins.
‘Bad guy.’
I bit my lip and bowed my head, and his flustered reply came.
“Th-that’s…”
…Wait, that actually worked?
For a moment, I was puzzled, but I postponed figuring it out.
It wasn’t really that important anyway.
I pounced on Ciderion’s flustered reaction relentlessly.
“Don’t you remember? You said yourself that you’d definitely divorce an ugly pumpkin like me.”
Why did saying that make me feel pathetic?
Still, knowing this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, I pressed on.
“But seeing how reluctant you are to divorce now… maybe I’m not a pumpkin anymore.”
I must’ve completely lost my mind to be asking something like this.
‘Why do you look so serious…?’
This situation was absurd, but the most shocking part was that I secretly hoped for an answer.
Even though I was too embarrassed to show it, Ciderion’s words from seven years ago had left a deep scar.
So if he corrected that now, my wounded heart might heal, even a little.
I waited with a trembling heart for Ciderion to speak.
Finally, his mouth opened.
