Chapter 2: Gold Spoon Experience (2)
I really should start pretending I have amnesia or something, but I can’t seem to find the right moment.
When do I start? Now? Yeah, strike while the iron’s hot. I’ll start playing along right away!
I followed the staff member through an elegant white door accented with ornate golden trim.
As soon as I meet this ‘Lord Moore,’ I’ll start probing… wait, wha…?
“It’s been a while, my lady.”
There was an incredibly handsome man sitting in one of the drawing room chairs. As he turned toward me, his dark hair swayed gently. Beneath it, jet-black eyebrows framed almond-shaped, violet eyes. His lashes, perfectly arranged like decorative strokes, fanned down like an art piece. His nose was a sleek, clean line from brow to tip, and his jawline tapered sharply, cleanly beneath his ears.
And those lips, red against his flawless skin, were moving. He was speaking to me.
This has to be a dream.
“Have you eaten? If not, there’s a lovely restaurant nearby I can recommend.”
Without thinking, I blurted out the truth.
“I-I have…”
“I see. Very well, then.”
Dear past me from five seconds ago, why couldn’t you just shut up and let the handsome man take you out to eat?! Aghhh…
Thankfully, the beautiful man didn’t give up and spoke again. Good job, handsome man! Well done, handsome man!
“Then perhaps we could take a walk in the garden? The rose garden here always brings me peace.”
The faint melancholy in his eyes… maybe he’s been going through something rough lately? Normally, I’d scoff and think, ‘What do I care if the roses comfort you,’ but… with that face, it all suddenly makes sense. Of course he has a story. A man with a past.
If the roses bring you peace, then so be it.
“Sounds good.”
And just like that, we headed to the garden. The morning sunlight glinted off the dew on the rose petals, making the entire garden sparkle like a fairy had dusted it with glitter.
But the thing sparkling even more… was that face. It’s electrifying. Amazing. Being handsome really is the best…
“Every time I visit, the roses here never fail to impress, but today the garden feels especially vibrant and full of life. Is there a special technique involved?”
Ugh, my brain is stuck looping the pickup line ‘Maybe it’s thanks to your god-tier face?’ Gross. Get it together. This isn’t the time to be swooning. I don’t know the first thing about how this garden is maintained, but I need to find out. Or make something up!
Buy time!
“Well, I’m not very knowledgeable about gardening, to be honest… But I’ll ask the gardener next time I see them.”
“You’d do that for me…?”
He smiled faintly. The corners of his eyes and lips curved in perfect symmetry, forming a gentle, graceful arch.
Were his eyes sparkling because the light shifted? No. The glitter fairy must’ve hopped off the roses and moved into his eyes.
“Thank you. That truly means a lot to me.”
“Haha…”
Okay. This is it. Today is officially Day One of my fan-girling era. I finally have a man worth swooning over. Life doesn’t get better than this. Hooray for out-of-body experiences!
“I’ll do my best as your fiancé from now on. Rosé.”
“…?”
Was that a hallucination? Did I just fall for him under false pretenses?
“Fiancé…?”
He seemed a bit awkward at my reaction.
“Yes… It’s true I haven’t been able to visit much recently, so calling myself your fiancé feels a bit presumptuous.”
“…”
Okay, brain, get it together. This is happening. This isn’t a hallucination. I’ve never been a fan of parasocial romance, but this is crossing into new territory.
“But I have no obligations this month, so I plan to visit more often… Would that be all right with you?”
“Of course.”
Okay. Not a hallucination. And actually, this is amazing. My rationality and my inner fangirl are now in harmony. They shake hands, throw their arms over each other’s shoulders, and raise a collective thumbs up. I get to see that face for an entire month?! Whatever happens after that is future me’s problem! I think I said something similar just before my last finals… but I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.
“I’ll come often.”
The corner of his mouth curled up in a long, graceful smile.
“Often.”
* * *
After taking a walk and sharing a light lunch together, the handsome man departed.
Throughout the meal, he asked all sorts of thoughtful questions. Was I feeling well? What kinds of food did I like? Was everything comfortable at home? Had anything been bothering me lately?
And in that moment, I had a sudden flash of realization. I’d almost forgotten, thanks to his face, honestly, but wasn’t I supposed to be pretending I had amnesia? Right! So I put on my most serious expression.
“Come to think of it, lately… my memory’s been strange. I’ve been forgetting all kinds of things, and I can’t recall much from my childhood either.”
His eyes widened in surprise, then he looked at me with genuine concern.
“When did these symptoms begin?”
“Just about a week ago.”
“Have you taken any steps? Have you told anyone else?”
“I figured it might just be temporary, maybe from being sick, so I haven’t mentioned it yet. This is the first time I’m saying anything.”
Of course, from now on I fully intend to let it slip to anyone and everyone.
“I see.”
He nodded slowly, lowering his lashes with a pained expression. Then he lifted his gloved hand and gently placed it over mine on the table.
Wow. Even his hands are handsome. I could feel the shape of his large, graceful fingers, long and perfectly straight, even through the gloves.
“Next time I visit, I’ll bring something that might help with the symptoms. Just as you said, it could be temporary, so please don’t worry too much.”
“Okay.”
Whoa, whoa. Is this what it feels like to win the fan lottery at a signing event? I stared at his hand as he slowly withdrew it, trying to steady my breath. Watching him leave, I made up my mind.
From now on, I’m going full fangirl mode. Time to collect the profile of this literal face genius!
* * *
The info I managed to glean about my fiancé, through some subtle prodding of the staff, is as follows:
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Name: Lucas Moore
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Same age as my body pre-out-of-body experience (although I still have no idea how old this body actually is)
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Heir to some major landowning family in a region with a complicated name
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Apparently very busy with business matters
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Only gets free time one or two months a year
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Only visits this mansion during those rare windows
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Which happens to be right now!
This is wild. What is he, the male lead in a historical drama? Every Western period piece from Pride and Prejudice to North and South is flashing through my mind. Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if this whole thing is just my imagination while I lie in a coma from overwork.
I pinched my arm just to be sure. Ow. Definitely real.
“It’s time for your walk, young lady.”
Seriously, is everyone in this house addicted to walks? Every day at the same time, the staff reminds me about it like clockwork. And even though I already went for a walk this morning with my fiancé, they’re prompting me again. But it’s fine. Today, I have a purpose.
I’m going to find the gardener and ask about how the mansion’s garden is maintained. That way, at the next face-to-face meeting, oops, I mean ‘visit’, with the face genius, I’ll have a natural topic to bring up and more excuses to gaze upon that face. Muahaha.
I did think about just asking one of the staff to call the gardener for me. But considering I already pestered them earlier trying to gather intel on my fiancé, I felt bad about taking up more of their time.
So since I was heading to the garden anyway, I figured I might as well try myself. And weirdly enough, living such a leisurely life has actually made me feel motivated to take initiative. Who knew?
Humming to myself, I headed cheerfully into the garden. For reference, the tune I was humming was last year’s 14th most-streamed hit by a popular boy band, according to the Watermelon Chart.
