Deceived, Yet Drawn to You - Chapter 17

Blair blinked, then turned her gaze toward the sunlit ripples on the water. She seemed to be admiring the shimmering scenery, but in truth, she was quietly turning over their earlier conversation in her mind.

The way she gently bit down on her full lips was pleasing to look at, so Edmund made no effort to break the silence. It was better not to interrupt a woman sinking into the afterglow of realization.

Before long, Blair became aware of his presence and glanced up at him. Her faint smile was as lovely as the river reflecting the sunlight.

“The Ridgeway River grows more beautiful the more you look at it.”

“I agree.”

Without changing his expression, Edmund added with a gentle smile, “However, I was thinking that Lady Twyford is beautiful.”

“…Th-thank you.”

“If I were to be more honest, I imagine you’d slap my cheek.”

“Lord Libert, I don’t like that kind of joke.”

“Why do you think it’s a joke?”

“Because I don’t want to feel uncomfortable in this moment.”

Did the woman realize that even if she drew a line like that, she’d already stepped into a territory she couldn’t turn back from? Swallowing a quiet laugh, Edmund changed the subject.

“You said this before, Lady Twyford. That you wouldn’t judge others rashly until you’d experienced them firsthand.”

“I did.”

“Does that opinion still stand? Or have you started to want to take it back?”

At the teasing provocation, Blair narrowed her eyes slightly. “It still stands. I believe you’re nothing like the scandals surrounding you, Lord Libert.”

“I’m honored.”

“So I don’t think you need to use language that belittles yourself.”

Edmund, who’d been half-minded to tease Blair, fell silent. The woman often moved just as he expected, yet at times she caught him off guard. The question about whether the gift to the Duchess had been delivered safely was one such moment. It had certainly unsettled him. There was nothing he needed to hide from a woman who didn’t know the full circumstances, but it was true his feelings had twisted slightly. Perhaps that was why he’d wanted to needle her with mischievous remarks.

Their gazes became tightly entangled in the open air. When he maintained the silence, Blair’s bold look seemed to lose some of its edge. Edmund lowered his eyes, letting the shadow of his lashes stretch across his cheek, then met her gaze again.

“There are only two kinds of looks that follow me. Desire, and suspicion.”

And what Blair Twyford felt toward him was clearly closer to the former.

“I’ve yet to encounter an exception, so I find myself curious what kind of eyes you’re looking at me with.”

Unable to find an answer, Blair pressed her lips tightly together. Her mind was in an uproar, thoughts tangled like a skein of thread.

She hadn’t even given a name to the feelings she held toward him yet, so what could she possibly say? Could she truly claim they were emotions of a different color, neither desire nor suspicion?

Contrary to the dissolute rumors circulating about him, Edmund appeared to Blair as a cautious man. He didn’t seem like someone who would easily open his heart to others or allow them close.

Because of that, it was hard to imagine. What it would be like for him to reach out and caress someone, to cup their cheek and kiss them.

And the moment she realized that, in these absurd fantasies, the woman touched by Edmund’s hand was herself, Blair hastily shook her head to chase the thought away.

Just then, the sound of bells rang out from the distant clock tower, announcing three o’clock in the afternoon. Blair turned toward the sound and let out a small exclamation.

“Ah.”

Only then did she remember the time they’d promised. Mrs. Norris and the driver, Mr. Hamilton, would be waiting in front of the museum.

“Do you need to be going?”

“Yes. The driver will be waiting in front of the museum.”

Unlike her, Edmund nodded once without the slightest hint of urgency.

“Let’s walk together.”

“It’s all right. I’ll go on my own.”

Blair shook her head and stopped him when he tried to follow. She couldn’t let the servants see her alone with a man who wasn’t her fiancé.

Edmund’s silent gaze felt as though it were reading her thoughts, but Blair paid it no mind and bowed her head slightly in farewell, forcing herself to ignore the sensation that the spring sunlight lingering on her face had grown even hotter.

“Thank you for everything.”

“I enjoyed today, Lady Twyford.”

“So did I.”

Turning away, Blair quickened her steps. Edmund’s gaze lingered for a long time on the woman retreating as if in flight.

***

“You already know there’s nothing wrong. You’re suspiciously healthy.”

At Benjamin’s oddly phrased remark, Edmund let out a scoff and rose from the examination bed. It was the day he’d visited Benjamin’s office for one of his tedious routine checkups.

“Hearing the same thing every time I come in does get a bit dull.”

“Should I deliberately catch a cold next time?”

“You’ve never even had a cold, have you? In any case, there’s no need for that. I’m just grateful you’re healthy like this.”

Benjamin smiled faintly, then hesitated as if weighing his words. Sure enough.

“By the way, did you hear? Rufus is back in the country.”

Edmund picked up the shirt he’d taken off and slipped it over his bare upper body, casting Benjamin a sidelong glance. It was a name he didn’t welcome.

“And he’s still impotent?”

“He even went all the way to Rorschach and tried every possible method, but it seems it didn’t work out. In the end, he had no choice but to give up and come back.”

“If you can’t get it up, no one can.”

“…I suppose that means I’m an excellent physician? That’s an easy statement to misunderstand.”

Benjamin propped his chin on one hand, tapped the desk lightly with the other, then pushed the medical records aside.

“I heard you went down to Eldenvale but didn’t get to see the Duke.”

“That’s right. He turned in early.”

“Painkillers alone weren’t enough to manage the pain, so I had to prescribe sleeping pills as well. His condition is steadily worsening.”

It was about time the nagging would begin. The obvious lecture about how he needed to find a young lady from a good family as soon as possible to secure the dukedom. Edmund blinked slowly, then deliberately steered the conversation elsewhere.

“What about the documents I asked you to look for?”

“Not yet. But I did find the person involved. Turns out he was the brother of an acquaintance of my father’s.”

“Where is he now?”

“He’s dead. Passed away from illness.”

Benjamin looked at Edmund with concern.

“Edmund, why are you looking for a doctor who worked for the ducal household twenty years ago?”

When he’d visited the Eldenvale estate recently, something about the Duchess’s words had left him with an unsettling sense of dissonance. Isabelle had been furious from head to toe, so it might have been nothing more than thoughtless abuse, but Edmund couldn’t shake the feeling that there’d been something pointed beneath her words.

“You should’ve died right there beside your mother back then.”

The vile remark that the child he’d been should have died alongside his mother.

“The day your lackey lays a hand on me is the day the sky falls.”

Even her refusal to trust Benjamin, his attending physician, out of fear that he might poison her, felt deeply unnatural.

It might all be needless suspicion, but investigating ahead of time wasn’t a bad idea. Before anything else, he needed to secure the dukedom. Only then would his safety be guaranteed and any plan proceed smoothly. Only then would he gain the authority and footing necessary to uncover the truth surrounding his mother’s death. And along that path, an opportunity would also arise to corner Isabelle and bring her to judgment.

If marriage was the condition for succession, then he could simply use it as a means to an end. What he needed was a bride who wasn’t perfect, and just then, a suitable candidate had appeared right before his eyes. At least in terms of appearance, there was nothing to criticize, so he figured he’d be able to immerse himself even in a trivial farce.

A self-mocking breath slipped out from between his lips. Edmund buttoned his shirt one button at a time, deliberately lightening the mood.

“I’m thinking of seeing a woman.”

“…Wh-what? You? Since when?”

Benjamin sprang up from his chair in an uncharacteristically undignified way and pointed at him. But Edmund didn’t stop there.

“It’d be even better if it led to marriage.”

“What did you just say!”

The finger pointing at the friend who’d just dropped such a bomb trembled violently.

“Who did you pick? The Marquis of Archibald’s daughter? Someone from the Howelling family? Or don’t tell me it’s Lady Vandergelt?”

“Well….”

Edmund let out a subtle smile. Rumors were circulating that he was seeing more than ten women at once. Even his closest friend couldn’t guess who it might be.