Chapter 38

The next day.

“Duchess, how about this dress? A sky-blue dress goes well with pink hair, you know.”

“Hey! That one is too flashy. For occasions like this, you should look adorned but unadorned!”

“Then perhaps this dress would best highlight Lady Chacha’s charm? Though it looks simple, it beautifully accentuates her curves…”

“…”

The servants, who had heard the news that the ducal couple would be having a friendly tea time, desperately tried to dress me up. They were doing this voluntarily, partly because they didn’t know my true circumstances and partly because my favorability had risen thanks to the matters involving Adel and Roana.

While this was certainly a welcome change…

“T-Thank you, but please, all of you go back to your work. Laura and Annie will help me with my attire.”

Having them swarm me like this to dress me up was starting to feel a little scary.

After I gently refused their goodwill and sent them away, Laura brought over a few cute and flashy accessories.

“How about these? I think they would suit Lady Chacha perfectly!”

“No. Please choose something simpler. I don’t need to be dressed up any further; just the usual, please.”

“Pardon?”

Laura looked at me in surprise, but I had no intention of over-dressing to meet Nine. Annie quickly chose a dress and accessories. A small, simple sapphire earrings and necklace that weren’t excessively ornate, and an elegant, white dress decorated only with lace, which didn’t emphasize my figure.

Annie understood my intentions, so she chose nothing that was too much. As I changed into the outfit, with nothing to object to, Laura sighed in disappointment beside me.

“This look is pretty too, but I think you could dress up more…”

“Laura, stop grumbling and go brew some tea for Lady Chacha.”

“Aww, fine.”

Laura hurried away.

Laura truly enjoyed dressing me up and had no ill intent, but dressing up lavishly was not a good choice for me right now. If Nine and I were merely a couple in a normal political marriage, it would be fine.

‘But right now, I’m the shameless culprit who fed him a love potion.’

Perhaps even my approach to Adel and Roana might not have been viewed kindly by him. The only reason he may have tolerated it was because my actions were, ultimately, beneficial to him.

“Isn’t that overthinking it?”

I must have mumbled to myself, as Annie spoke while brushing my hair. Looking at my face in the mirror, there was a shallow crease between my brows.

“…Perhaps.”

But I couldn’t relax my guard just because Annie called it overthinking. I knew the original story. I knew how cold Nine was to people outside his line.

Although the situation was different now, the original Helena, who had actually given him the love potion, was only exiled to a convent because of her status as a Duke’s daughter. In reality, the punishment Nine had requested from the Emperor when he accused Helena was “death.”

I smoothed the crease between my brows, closed and opened my eyes, and spoke resolutely.

“But the weak must always assume the worst and prepare.”

“But!”

Annie’s indignant expression was reflected in the mirror. As she opened her mouth to protest, I met her eyes in the mirror and shook my head.

“And when preparing, it is better to have too much than too little.”

I said this to Annie, but it was also a warning and a promise to myself: a caution not to let my guard down, even if Nine’s demeanor seemed to have changed.

When Annie finished braiding my hair and attaching a small ornament, I checked my appearance in the mirror one last time. Was there anything that looked excessive? Anything that could invite his misunderstanding?

Having taken such care, the person in the mirror was modestly dressed, with minimal exposure, yet maintaining a level of dignity and elegance.

“Huu.”

I prepared myself, took a deep breath, and stood up.

I didn’t expect anything special from the tea time with Nine. I just hoped for peace, and a slight advancement in my plan.

‘Still, if possible, I wish I could quickly resolve this misunderstanding and return to my family.’

***

When I arrived at the greenhouse, Nine was already sitting at the tea table waiting.

Amidst the colorful, vibrant flowers, he stood out even more because he was the only achromatic element. As always, his overall black attire made it seem as if he had given his own color away to his surroundings. The white sunlight that filtered through the flowers touched Nine and shattered, twinkling like fragments.

Even his incongruous appearance was like a painting. I gathered my distracted mind, which just wanted to stare, and approached him.

“You arrived first, Duke.”

When I greeted him formally, Nine nodded slightly. The butler pulled out a chair, and I sat down, facing Nine.

In the greenhouse, only the gentle sounds of the butler placing a teacup in front of me and pouring tea into it echoed faintly. After filling my teacup to the brim, the butler paid his respects and led Annie out of the greenhouse.

The greenhouse, with just Nine and me, was bright and warm under the afternoon sun, but my heart, conversely, felt dark and cool.

Clink.

Nine took a sip of tea expressionlessly and spoke first.

“My older sister and Adel have changed from before.”

“…”

“I arranged this meeting to thank you for that.”

The start of the conversation wasn’t bad.

“Don’t mention it. I haven’t even properly thanked you for teaching me swordsmanship yet.”

When I lowered my head slightly, Nine accepted the gesture. Nine’s aura, as he returned the slight bow, was the gentlest I had ever seen from him.

I wished I could just see this entire situation at face value.

‘I must not lower my guard.’

The atmosphere and tone of his voice were soft, but Nine’s eyes were still indifferent. I wasn’t so foolish as to miss that much. I had clung to love more than anyone in my past life, and had received genuine love from the Blueberry family in this life, which made me keenly sensitive. I was a person exceptionally alert to non-verbal expressions of affection.

But the soft appearance wasn’t *entirely* devoid of hope, so I had to try hard to ignore the tiny sprout of possibility blooming in my heart.

‘What if…’

To prevent myself from building expectations on such a small possibility, I pretended to be unaffected and lifted my cup to swallow the tea. The moderately warm tea settled my mind like cold water.

“If by any chance.”

Nine continued, watching me set down the teacup.

“If you have anything you wish for, please feel free to say it. I will grant anything as a token of my gratitude.”

“Anything, you say.”

Nine’s voice was lighter than ever, but the content was not light at all. I stared at him blankly for a moment, then lowered my gaze. My heart thumped, following the faint shadows flickering in the greenhouse.

A vague thought rose in my head: ‘Is he testing me?’

But soon I realized.

‘Whether this is a test or not, there is nothing I can ask Nine for right now.’

An indulgence? That would likely be seen as evidence that I was the one who initiated the love potion incident. I briefly thought about requesting a reinvestigation of the love potion incident or immediately asking for a divorce to assert my innocence.

But should I ask this of a person who is still so deeply prejudiced and misunderstood about me that he has to test me like this? Wouldn’t he doubt the results? Asking for a divorce might even be misinterpreted as me fabricating my innocence.

“…”

“…”

Whatever I considered, the lack of trust was the stumbling block. Ultimately, the next step I had to take was simply to restore the diminished trust and favorability.

‘At the very least, when I finally tell him about the love potion incident, Nine needs to be in a state where he is ready to listen to anything I say.’

Nine did not rush me while I was lost in thought. I gazed at him quietly sitting, not even looking at me, as if to show he would wait.

Noticing my gaze, Nine finally raised his head.

In his captivating black eyes, there was neither the murderous intensity nor the sharpness I had seen before.

That look was enough.

“Then, could you occasionally have tea with me like this?”

“Tea time, you mean?”

“Yes.”

Because without dialogue, misunderstandings and prejudice accumulate.

Once all misunderstandings are resolved, Nine and I will divorce. Then the world will return to the trajectory of the original story. If Nine forgets me and falls in love with the heroine…

“Is that all you truly wish for?”

“Yes.”

I would wish for nothing more. I smiled as I answered.

“Then let it be so.”

Realizing I was sincere, Nine nodded in acceptance.

‘I can indulge in one small memory, can’t I?’

This too was just one step on the path before the original story got back on track.

The tea I drank after the conversation had cooled slightly, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.