Chapter 120
Chapter 120: I Wanted to Get Closer to You
“Yes, though I was a bit surprised by your unannounced visit.”
When Lupeon nodded slightly with his gaunt appearance, Elena’s heart softened and she asked with a worried expression:
“Have you finished your schedule in the capital? You must be so tired…”
“I’m fine.”
‘What am I thinking, feeling hurt by Lupeon.’
She knew well how grueling his schedule was as he worked to clean up and rebuild after the corrupt regime.
Though he had just gained recognition of his legitimacy, leading an empire required corresponding effort.
Elena lifted her head at a suddenly felt gaze while imagining him standing before the imperial citizens as Lupeon Simon Argenta.
Her eyes met those of the man intently watching her.
“…?”
Wondering if something was on her face, Elena wore an awkward smile and carefully touched her face when—
“Why aren’t you asking why I returned to the North so quickly?”
Her golden eyes trembled uncontrollably at Lupeon’s unexpected question.
“Well…”
Before she could even gauge the meaning of those words, he let out a chuckle.
“Because I missed you.”
“…!”
At Lupeon’s words added without context, Elena felt her heart pounding wildly.
‘If you don’t specify the subject, I might misunderstand.’
Trying to stay composed, she told herself he surely meant his young sister, not herself, and attempted to suppress her confused feelings.
The man, unaware of Elena’s thoughts, looked at the garden she had carefully tended and spoke:
“It seems to have grown a lot since I last saw it.”
Feeling embarrassed at possibly being overly conscious, Elena nodded slightly. Then she answered with subtle pride:
“Right? I’m so happy to see it growing so well.”
The man raised the corner of his mouth slightly and stared at her.
“I knew… you would tend it well.”
“R-really?”
‘Why am I feeling so shy?’
Pleased yet embarrassed by the sudden compliment, Elena awkwardly scratched one cheek. Then she naturally changed the subject.
“You were interested in plants too, weren’t you?”
Elena smiled gently, remembering how he had once eagerly read plant encyclopedias.
Though now he probably had no time to study plants, being so busy.
She planned to personally recommend other books besides plant encyclopedias to Lupeon when she had the chance.
But for some reason, no particular response came from him.
Elena tilted her head, wondering if she had made some mistake.
The man, lost in thought for a moment, slowly shook his head.
“Not particularly.”
“What?”
Elena’s golden eyes widened at his words saying he wasn’t interested in plants.
‘He read plant encyclopedias so eagerly despite having no interest in plants?’
Lupeon casually shrugged his shoulders and pulled his lips into a relaxed smile.
“I was just trying to be clever.”
“…”
‘What does he mean by being clever?’
As Elena tilted her head with a puzzled look, Lupeon stared at her.
“Because I wanted to get closer to you.”
His eyes, reflecting the sun particularly clearly, held only truth.
‘He wanted to get closer to me…?’
Elena couldn’t hide her flustered expression as she rolled her eyes around.
Not knowing how to respond, she could only keep her mouth tightly shut.
In the quiet greenhouse garden, butterflies fluttered between the flowers.
Neither spoke first as they held each other in their gaze.
Elena, momentarily shaken by confused and subtle emotions, slowly opened her mouth.
“With me… why?”
As he didn’t seem to be joking, she showed an equally serious expression.
Lupeon spoke softly with a look that seemed to ask if she really didn’t know:
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Obvious? What do you…”
As Elena blinked with confusion spreading across her eyes, a mischievous smile escaped his lips.
“Hmm, think about it.”
Lupeon took another step closer to her. Then before she could answer, he whispered:
“Why I act this way only with you.”
“…!”
Elena’s golden eyes trembled slightly at her fiancé’s words that struck deep.
As she could only stare at him without saying anything, Lupeon showed his characteristic languid smile.
“I’ll try not to disappoint. Whatever it may be.”
The air between them seemed to heat up like a sweltering summer day.
* * *
Not long after, Elena received a mysterious letter from her young lady.
The sender written on the light blue envelope was none other than the child’s brother, Lupeon.
“My lady, what’s this?”
When Elena asked with a puzzled look, wondering why he had sent her a letter, Anasha answered with sparkling eyes:
“Brother asked me to deliver it to you!”
Elena couldn’t hide her bewilderment at the sudden letter.
‘Lupeon wrote me a letter?’
She was worried about why he had written, but also felt somewhat excited about receiving her first letter from him.
Swallowing dryly, Elena calmly opened the envelope and read the short letter written in neat handwriting:
「Elena, could you spare some time this evening?
Let’s meet at the plaza fountain around six o’clock.」
Elena tilted her head after reading the brief, clear contents.
‘Is this… really a letter?’
While her previous letter to him had filled two pages densely, Lupeon’s letter was just two lines.
She already knew he wasn’t particularly eloquent, but she slightly pouted her lips, wondering if he really had so little to say to her.
Looking at her sister-in-law’s expression, the child tilted her head back and forth and asked:
“Sister-in-law, what’s wrong?”
“Ah, I was just thinking about something. My lady, how’s your evening?”
Elena thought it would be nice to spend time together, all three of them, since she was going out anyway.
“Evening?”
“Yes, shall we spend time with Lupeon after so long?”
Anasha’s clear eyes sparkled at those words.
But soon she seemed deeply troubled and began shaking her head vigorously.
“Umm, no. I’ll just stay at the mansion!”
An unexpected answer came from the child who Elena thought would surely agree happily.
Elena stared at Anasha with round eyes and continued:
“But we’re going to the dessert café you like…”
“About that, I already negotiated with brother—”
Elena raised an eyebrow as the child suddenly covered her mouth with both hands, startled.
‘Negotiated…?’
“What do you mean by negotiated?”
At her direct question, Anasha rolled her eyes around and shook her head again.
“Ah, it’s nothing! Have a wonderful time with brother today!”
As the child quickly closed the door and left, Elena blinked slowly.
‘Something seems suspicious, or is it just my imagination?’
She hurriedly began preparing to go out. Her preparations, which continued until late afternoon, barely finished an hour before the appointment time.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Elena’s eyes trembled slightly, thinking she might have overdressed compared to usual.
“Vivian, is all this really necessary?”
Vivian, who was helping her put on a wool coat, nodded firmly and answered decisively:
“Of course! It’s a date with the Grand Duke!”
“D-date… it’s not like that.”
Vivian wore a fresh smile seeing her mistress’s face turn red as she stammered in denial.
“Of course, my lady. Oh! You’ll be late for your date if you delay any longer.”
‘I said it’s not a date…’
Elena swallowed a shallow sigh at her servant who seemed to have no intention of listening. Somehow, the embarrassment felt like hers alone.
