Chapter 35
In truth, Kyrie was genuinely thrown off.
Listening to what the Grand Duke was saying, she found herself sincerely confused.
“This is… a textbook capital noble’s date course.”
She had never been on one herself, but she’d overheard enough chatter from noble ladies to recognize the pattern.
Only after hearing her reaction did Dominique seem to realize that he had just proposed something akin to a date.
But what did it matter? She was the one who said they needed to look like a real married couple. And dating, surely that was something natural between a husband and wife.
So Dominique responded calmly.
“Yes. A date.”
The air shifted slightly at his words.
Kyrie drew in a quiet breath before replying.
“That’s…”
“Something perfectly natural between a married couple,” he finished with a faint, composed smile.
“There’s no need to assign any special meaning to it, is there?”
The subtle stir in the air faded as things settled.
Dominique’s smile thinned into something more cynical. Kyrie, catching the change, lowered her gaze.
The atmosphere around them cooled noticeably.
Dominique mused without much emotion.
They were already playing at being a couple, what need was there to assign deeper significance to each gesture? That was the extent of it.
Unless,
“Unless you’re hoping to feel like a sweet, star-crossed lover?”
It was a sentiment that had no place in their thoroughly contractual relationship.
Still, if she insisted on it, he was willing to play along.
Just as so many of his past impulses had led to unexpected pleasure, perhaps this too might prove surprisingly entertaining.
But Kyrie answered in a flat voice, devoid of emotion.
“Of course not.”
She didn’t know why, but she felt deflated.
“Unless it’s to show others, why bother?”
Of course. There was no way the Grand Duke would seriously propose a date.
Just like he’d impulsively dragged her to the tailor, this outing was probably the same, a whim.
So then… was there some performance he expected from me here, too?
“…In that case, what exactly am I supposed to do at the dining room and the park?”
Kyrie regained her composure quickly, her tone bordering on dry sarcasm. As if asking whether she was meant to create some kind of scene in the park.
Dominique let out a quiet laugh and slid an arm around her waist.
“I expect nothing in particular.”
“Truly?”
“Well, perhaps we should match the jewelry to be especially extravagant.”
His gaze flicked to her bare ears and neck, and he recalled just how delicate and soft the skin there had felt.
“If you’re wearing those, then walking around a dining hall or a park will be more than enough.”
“Enough for what?”
“Walk with your head high. Let everyone who sees what you’re wearing gossip about how obscenely lavish it is.”
Kyrie turned her gaze thoughtfully. Her eyes, so fluid they seemed as though they might splash with every shift in direction, glimmered faintly.
Then, as though something clicked into place, she looked him squarely in the eyes.
“So that they’ll say the mad dog of Erenberg is draining the Grand Duke’s coffers bare.”
Dominique rather liked how sharply she caught on.
Even if she did occasionally misread his intentions, she quickly adjusted course with little prompting.
For a woman he had chosen almost on a whim, Kyrie Erenberg was proving to be quite a capable partner. Dominique acknowledged it without resistance.
“Perhaps that’s why the impulses keep coming.”
Like this one, buying her dresses.
A capable subordinate deserved a fitting reward, after all.
“If you’re willing to play the role to that extent, I certainly won’t complain.”
He had just gently pulled her closer when the boutique entrance erupted in mild commotion.
“Elise, once we’ve picked your dress, let’s, ”
A familiar voice brushed past Dominique’s ear.
Then the speaker spotted them, and froze.
“…Cousin.”
At the entrance stood Crown Prince Lexian Roman Kalach, his hand entwined with that of his fiancée, Elise Ehrenberg.
The four of them stood frozen, tension so thick it might snap the air itself.
“……”
Lexian’s gaze swept over Kyrie’s entire figure, slowly, far too slowly. So long that Kyrie found it distinctly unsettling.
He stared down at her with a blank, distant expression.
“What is that look supposed to mean?”
Unease crept in as Kyrie’s brow began to furrow.
“Your Highness.”
Elise spoke softly, as though to distract him. Lexian blinked, as if waking from a trance, and his face darkened.
Then he turned to Dominique and spoke in a clipped, cold voice.
“The Grand Duke and his wife can’t even offer a proper greeting when meeting the Crown Prince?”
“……”
“So much for the famed discipline of House Haswell. What a disappointment, cousin.”
At the pointed mockery, Dominique merely shrugged and offered a perfectly measured bow. Kyrie, too, dipped her head in a courteous gesture.
“We greet the Empire’s shining sun.”
Their demeanor was flawless, if minimal. Nothing one could fault, but not a shred of warmth either.
To Kyrie, Lexian was long past being a man worth getting upset over.
If there ever came a reason to confront him, it would be because the Grand Duke wished it.
But Dominique gave no such signal.
He simply pulled her in a little closer, as if urging her to ignore the distraction and move along with their day.
So Kyrie gave her formal greeting without ever meeting Lexian’s eyes. Her gaze remained fixed on the Grand Duke, reading his cues, watching his subtle changes, preparing her next move accordingly.
To outside observers, it would look as if the mad dog had fallen thoroughly, hopelessly in love with the Grand Duke.
Clench.
A sound like grinding teeth came faintly from Lexian’s lips.
“So expensive a dress… House Haswell will bleed dry at this rate. Then again, such extravagance is typical of you, isn’t it?”
“……”
“You were always overly indulgent, even when you were chasing after me, weren’t you, Grand Duchess?”
The words were meant to provoke, but Dominique remained unmoved.
Lexian’s expression only grew more twisted.
“In that case, why don’t you help pick out a dress for my Elise while you’re at it?”
Elise beamed at the suggestion.
Watching the whole scene, even Kyrie allowed a dry chuckle to escape.
“For Lady Elise’s dress?”
“She is your sister, after all, ”
“Pardon, but I’ll have to decline. I’m going on a date with my Dominique.”
Kyrie responded coolly and linked arms with the Grand Duke.
It was a title she had refused to use earlier when Dominique teased her about it. But now, in front of Lexian, who had just uttered my Elise, the phrase slipped naturally from her lips, driven by a faint twist of resentment.
And then,
“You’re absolutely right. Let’s go, then.”
“…Ah!”
Without warning, the Grand Duke clasped her hand and began walking. Kyrie looked up at him in surprise.
“Your Grace?”
She called to him softly, but Dominique, wearing a barely concealed smirk, strode forward with long, confident steps.
Sunlight pierced through the shop’s archway, touching Kyrie’s forehead.
She squinted in the brightness and murmured, “Your Grace, we should at least finish the pleasantries…”
“We have a date to enjoy, my lady.”
His calm voice drifted back, a genuine smile playing at his lips. It caught Kyrie off guard.
But then, that smile turned impish.
“Didn’t you beg to call me my Dominique, just a while ago?”
The teasing tone was almost affectionate. Kyrie flushed, biting back a retort, though she hesitated.
Despising the sight of Lexian and Elise is one thing…
But openly snubbing the Crown Prince is another.
“But if we just leave like this, ”
“Wouldn’t that make for quite the scandal?”
The Grand Duke replied with obvious satisfaction, then fell silent.
And Kyrie, realizing that this, this precisely, was what he had wanted all along… stopped asking questions.
He smiled again, pleased.
“Then, let’s go.”
He took her hand as though it were the most natural thing in the world and kept walking, right past the waiting carriage.
The coachman, seeing Dominique’s subtle signal, nodded and drove off.
Kyrie frowned. “Did we just walk past our carriage?”
“I changed my mind,” he said, pausing only briefly to whisper.
“A date should be private. What kind of date includes a coachman?”
“You dismissed the carriage just for that?”
“We can’t enjoy time alone with attendants trailing behind us.”
He meant to walk through the city with her, deliberately, visibly, for all to see.
Dominique, shimmering in the sunlight, glanced over at her and gently tightened his hold on her hand.
“Where shall we go after the park?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Is there anywhere you’d like to visit?”
It was the first time anyone had ever asked her that.
Just as it had been the first time someone asked her what she’d like done with the people who had wronged her.
Her heart fluttered without reason.
And suddenly, she had a strong feeling, That this date was going to last much longer than she expected.
