Chapter 27 - The Duke Must Be Interested In You (2/2)

I was glad that there were only the two of us here, Martina. How embarrassing it must have been if anyone had heard it.

“You’d better stop talking and go back to your room, Martina. I’m a little tired, so I think I need to rest.”

“Ah, really? You can’t be tired. I will go now so you can rest, Marie.”

Martina pecked my forehead and trotted again out of the room.

Thud.

When the door closed, I looked at the empty spot where Martina once sat and smiled.

“She’s so cute.”

Then, suddenly I remembered what Claude said earlier.

He definitely said he would come tomorrow.

Well, yeah. It was possible that he would come visit again after a day. But was it possible for it to last ‘every day’?

I was confident that he would come to my house for the first time as if he were going to the gym, and then at some point, he would stop visiting. It was never easy to visit the same place every single day, and it was difficult to remain committed unless someone was forced. Either way, it was fine with me, and there was no way Claude would come every single day.

‘I bet the dirt under my toenail that he will stop coming after a few days.’

That’s how confident I was.

***

…It was my perfect mistake.

“Hello, Lady Maristella.”

After Claude came to my house for the tenth day in a row, I learned two important lessons of life.

First, never be sure of anything.

“The weather is so nice today. How are you feeling?”

Second, never bet on something important.

What was I going to do if I didn’t bet the dirt under my toenail, but my wrist?

“Good, Your Grace.”

I looked at the handsome man in front of me with a tired expression.

If I looked at a handsome man’s face ten days in a row, it was possible that I would get sick of his face. But the more I looked at Claude, the more attractive he seemed to grow. He must be doing a skincare routine before every time he comes to my house. Otherwise, how can someone be that good-looking?

“Yesterday, my doctor gave me some good news,” I said to him.

“I can’t wait to hear that good news. What is it?”

“He said I could start walking next week.” In the end, it was three months later that I was allowed to walk. I gave Claude a heartfelt smile. “It turned out well, right?”

“…”

But he didn’t answer.

What? Did it not turn out well?

“Duke?” I called out to him, flustered.

His expression was far away, and it was a long time before he spoke. “…Ah.” He blinked. “I’m sorry, Lady Maristella. I must have spaced out for a while.”

“No, you don’t have to be sorry… I’m more worried if you’re tired.”

“Not at all!” he protested strongly. It seemed like a bit of an overreaction. “I’m never tired, Lady Maristella. I’m very healthy and fine.”

“Th-that’s a relief.” I smiled awkwardly and looked at the man in front of me.

If I were to describe the change in our relationship for the past ten days, I would say that we made unexpected progress. Claude was far more eloquent than I thought, and he was good at leading engaging conversation. He spoke to me very naturally and, thanks to that, I talked to him for the past ten days without difficulty.

I didn’t even try anything on purpose, so he must have been quite something. It wasn’t a lie when Claude said, ‘Such as I am, I’m not uninteresting.’

“Anyway, I’m so glad you’re better than ten days ago,” Claude said.

“…Now you don’t have to send food that is good for bones anymore.”

“But it isn’t over until it’s over. I will send you the food until next week.”

“…”

I was rendered speechless. For your information, this man’s ‘financial damage compensation’ wasn’t limited to the cost of treatment for the two injured people and the broken carriage. Every day, he sent a huge box of food to my house every day containing foods which promoted bone health.

I told him to stop sending them, but it didn’t do much good, and so I was forced to surrender.

Maybe I should do that today too.

Knock knock.

There was a knock at the door, and Florinda came inside the room. She carried a silver tray bearing two cups of warm tea and butter cookies, then delivered the refreshments to us.

Claude smiled and lifted his teacup, and so did I. It was a sweet Ceylon tea, but it tasted pretty good.

Claude’s eyebrows lifted in satisfaction as he sipped the tea. “The tea tastes great.”

“Yes,” I agreed. The tea seemed familiar, but I couldn’t remember it well. I turned towards Florinda. “You must have bought a new one this time, right?”

“Ah, no. Actually, they’re tea leaves from the Crown Prince.”

“Ah, really? When did—”

Pfft!

I heard the sound of a spit-take, and I hurriedly turned my head to the source of the noise.