The warning words that came out, and Reinhardt's facial expressions, were extremely stern.
But Eric looked at Reinhardt with a sarcastic look.
“Why should I follow your words, Duke Tarrant?”
“It is not polite to hold a woman’s hand without permission.”
Eric's blue eyes narrowed sharply at his words.
“You seem to be overstepping your bounds, aren't we a couple?”
I thought I would leave at this moment, but I was surprised when Reinhardt unexpectedly agreed with his opinion.
“Yes, indeed, the Duke is Her Highness’s husband.
But what about that?
Her Highness suggested that she come back with me.”
Then Eric stared at me with cold, piercing eyes.
"Is this correct?"
Was it because I had been criticized for so long?
The moment his eyes met mine, my heart trembled.
'Are you scolding me?'
Honestly, it wasn't unusual for Eric to act like this.
A married woman riding in a carriage with a man who is not her husband is enough to cause a major scandal.
But now, I no longer care about such scandals.
'You don't have the right to be mad at me because I'm with another man, do you?'
I wanted to make him feel something similar to what I was feeling, even if it wasn't as painful as mine.
With this resentment bubbling within me, I nodded.
“Yes, it has been a long time since I have seen the Duke.
I thought we would have a little talk.”
Finally, I looked at him with determination.
“By the way, Duke, it seems you left something in the garden.”
In other words, it was a message to his lover, Madeleine, to leave.
But Eric replied rudely: “I didn’t leave anything in the garden.”
“Sure”
She must have gone somewhere else by now.
I stopped laughing for a moment and spoke seriously.
“I would be grateful if you would let go of my hand now.
I have to get into the carriage.”
Suddenly, Eric's grip loosened.
I thought this was my chance, so I tried to withdraw my hand.
But Eric grabbed my hand tightly again.
“In that case, I will join you.”
For a moment, I was puzzled by the unexpected answer.
“We don’t want any strange rumors spreading.”
Then, I stared at Eric.
'You're persistent, aren't you?'
Once again, he is trying to monitor and control me because of his reputation.
'But this time, I won't let you control me as you wish.'
With this determination, I was about to express my disapproval to him.
But in that moment...
“Okay.
Let's go.”
The kind-hearted Reinhardt answered first.
I stared at Reinhardt and thought to myself.
'There's a reason I don't love you the way others do.'
You are still ignorant.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
After I got into the carriage, I sat there nervously.
Between Reinhart, who was watching me carefully, and Eric, who was watching me with a keen eye.
'Ah, if I had known this would happen, I would have gone to the Emperor.'
It was too late, but I couldn't help but continue to regret it.
'By the way, is Sardine okay with what I asked him to do?'
Then someone broke the silence, “Your Highness, do you still like playing chess these days?”
“What's your business...”
I tried to ignore Reinhardt's sudden question, but I noticed Eric looking at me suspiciously.
'Oh, I shouldn't have said I had something to talk about...!'
Trying to hide my earlier mistake, I reluctantly accepted his annoying question.
“Honestly, it was fun when I was younger, but I'm not that interested in it these days.”
“Right?
But I remember that you were very good at swordsmanship as well.”
“I didn't like it either, I was just good at it.”
“Hahaha, I get it.
So, what are your hobbies these days?”
“Well, I don't have any hobbies.”
“However, you must have something you enjoy when you want to pass the time, right?”
Honestly, I've been doing something like this for quite some time.
Activities such as spying on Eric or causing trouble for the women who accompany him.
But I can't say it out loud.
When I hesitated to answer, Reinhardt changed the subject.
“It seems like my question was impolite.
By the way, do you still like peaches?”
I nodded.
“Well, it's delicious, as you would expect from an expensive fruit.”
Reinhardt smiled and his face flushed slightly.
“You're still as adorable as ever...”
“What?”
Since I couldn't understand the words he whispered, Eric suddenly interrupted him while asking me,
“Ma’am, you mentioned that you like Jad not long ago, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but why do you ask?”
“We recently discovered a special Jade piece, and I would like to introduce it to you.”
Honestly, I didn't want to accept anything from him, but on the other hand, was there really a reason to reject what he was willing to offer?
'Well, I didn't ask for it in the first place, he was the one who offered it.'
Frankly, given that he had deceived me by concealing his relationship with Madeleine, even going so far as to marry me, I felt justified in accepting this modest dowry.
I nodded my head in agreement.
“Yes, I understand.
Please, go ahead and give it to me.”
Is it possible that he wanted me to express my gratitude and rush to thank him?
Eric's facial expression looked upset for some reason.
'Honestly, I'm the one who feels most humiliated right now, that you're publicly betraying me.'
While there was an awkward silence in the carriage, I tried to ignore Eric and looked out the window.
Then Reinhardt broke the silence.
“My God, it seems that the Duke has outdone me.
I was going to give you a gift to commemorate our reunion, but...”
"A gift?
What is it?"
“Although this is not the right season, I apologize, but I would like to give you peach trees from our farm in the suburbs.”
Although it was not harvest season and the fruits would not be ripe, the imperial peach was known for its sweetness and juiciness, but cultivation was difficult, and it was considered an expensive fruit that only nobles could afford.
Even if he gave me a basket of peaches during the harvest season, it would be appreciated, so I was pleased, but I also felt puzzled.
“Why are you giving me a gift?
We usually don't communicate.”
When I asked him, he smiled kindly.
“Well, we used to see each other a lot when we were younger, right?
And maybe I see some hope in this.”
Hope?
His words puzzled me.
Reinhart added,
“Anyway, it's just a simple matter for me, so please don't feel heavy and accept it.”
Well, it was just one tree, so it didn't seem like a big deal.
“Okay, I'll gladly accept it.”
Then Reinhardt burst out laughing,
“Haha, it makes me happy to see you smiling at a little gift like this...”
Before he could complete his sentence, Eric spoke,
“mine”
Suddenly, Eric mentioned a mine out of nowhere, and I frowned.
'Why interrupt someone's conversation so rudely?'
But when I heard his next words, my eyes widened.
“I'll give you a mine of jade.”
Although the value of jade was not high at that time, it was a mine.
And then, wasn't this Jade Mine supposed to be in honor of the contract with Marquis Arjin?
If so, the contract must have lapsed or the terms have changed...
Anyway, there seems to be a problem with the contract with Marquis Arjen, and it seems like Eric is trying to pass on the troublemaker, the serious mine, to me.
‘So, all of this is because he is underappreciated by serious people. fool'
Even as I laughed at him inside, I was overcome by an immense feeling of happiness.
'Thanks to this, I will be able to extract the Jade so that the plan can be implemented!
And I won’t have to see the friendly relationship between Eric and the Marquis Arjin family.”
If I show too much joy, he may cancel the gift.
So, after suppressing my urge to laugh, I nodded indifferently.
“Yes, let’s go home and draft the mine transfer contract...”
Before I could answer in this way, I looked out the window and realized that we were already close to the Duke's house.
Squeak-
When the cart finally slowed and stopped, Reinhardt got out first and extended his hand to me.
“It was nice to see you again after all this time, Your Highness.
Goodbye.”
Honestly, because of this stupid man, it wasn't fun, but since I decided to accept the gift, I kissed him goodbye as a gesture of forgiveness.
I took his hand and responded.
“Yes, remember not to forget my gift next time you come.”
“Sure”
In the end, Reinhart looked at Eric and smiled.
“I will not miss the opportunity that comes my way, Your Highness.”