Chapter 91 - Tea Time With the Ladies

Mikhail paused while wiping his dripping face with a towel.

“I definitely saw it. She was with some handsome guy,” Radian had said.

‘My God, there’s no way that woman would do something like that.’ He thought when he heard a knock on the door.

“Young master, you’re scheduled to attend the Terence family’s tea party today— ”

“I’m aware. I’ll be ready on time, so you can leave.” 

Mikhail gritted his teeth after sending away his servant who came to remind him of his agenda. ‘A new lover? That doesn’t make sense. Radian must be speaking nonsense like he did last time.’ Thinking back on the time Radian made false rumors about the cufflinks, Mikhail observed himself in the mirror. His face had become thinner, but it was still attractive. ‘If she sees me today, I’m sure she will…’ Mikhail clenched his fists, unable to finish his thoughts.

* * *

On the morning of the tea tasting party, I spun around in front of the mirror while wearing the new dress I ordered from the dress shop. Maybe it was because I had the cumbersome frill sleeves replaced with short puff sleeves that it was easier to move my arms around. I also had the top of the stomacher changed to expose less of my upper body since I had always been concerned about that. ‘Hm, this should be okay, right?’ I wondered.

The fashion trend in the novel significantly changed after Princess Beatrice showed up to her coming-of-age ceremony in a dress that had a much larger than usual pannier. Unlike the splendor that the princess sought, the dress I was currently wearing was completely different. The whalebone pannier was replaced with a petticoat made of several layers of cloth and the long sleeves were replaced with short puff sleeves. These were only slight improvements to the uncomfortable Rococo style clothing.

‘If I could, I would like to wear something more comfortable, but I’ll become an eyesore if I stick out too much… I’ll just wear whatever I want after I become independent.’ I thought when I heard Merilyn’s voice.

“My lady, there’s a guest waiting.” I nodded at her words knowing that she was talking about Max.

“Okay. I’ll be right down.” I said and glanced at the clock. ‘He’s an hour earlier than expected…’ I admired his diligence when Merilyn spoke up again.

“And this is an allowance from the master.”

I sighed at my father’s unexpected surprise. ‘That’s a relief. I was worried about losing my allowance. But…’ In this situation, it probably wasn’t enough for my father to cut off my allowance and kick me out. Honestly, I didn’t understand why my father was acting this way. ‘I’ll think about this later, I have things to do today.’ Ignoring my thoughts, I sighed again and left the room.

‘That man. He didn’t dress weirdly, did he?’ With this question in mind, I went down the stairs and was impressed by the sight that greeted me. ‘Wow.’ His usually messy black hair looked neat today as if he had decided to dress up. On top of that, he was wearing the clothes I bought for him along with some accessories that matched perfectly.

‘He’s already a stunning person, but now that he’s dressed up… he’s no joke.’ He was definitely a handsome guy who could catch anyone’s eyes. While I stared blankly at him, I noticed something strange. ‘Why is he staring at me like that?’ The thought popped up in my head when I felt his piercing gaze. ‘Does he think I look weird?’ I gazed back at him.

“Let’s go,” he said coldly as he quickly turned his head.

‘Well, I didn’t expect anything in the first place.’

* * *

Although her dress was simpler than usual, it had greatly increased her pure and innocent aura. Like the servants in the mansion who saw her, Max was hardly able to take his eyes off of her.

‘She looks different than normal today.’ Whenever Max saw her, his face would heat up and his heart would start to pound uncontrollably. Afraid that she might notice, he kept his gaze fixed out the window when he boarded the carriage. Soon after, he heard Jubelian’s breathing become even. Max frowned and turned his head towards her.

‘Is she… asleep?’ He noticed it before, but she was the very definition of defenseless. ‘She doesn’t do this in front of anyone else, does she?’ Max thought as he glanced sideways at Jubelian. After a while, the corners of his lips turned upwards. ‘What a sight to behold.’ Seeing Jubelian nodding off while sleeping was somehow both precarious and funny. ‘It’ll be worth seeing if she ends up falling forwards.’ At that moment, a big movement caused Jubelian’s head to shake as Max’s eyes widened in surprise. Before he could even think about it, his body had moved and he was now supporting her head with his hands.

‘Why am I doing this?’ His face scrunched up as he mulled over his actions. Max laid Jubelian’s head on his shoulder as he tried to rationalize his behavior. ‘Well, it was pretty annoying to see her nodding off like that.’ Unlike before when her head was shaking dangerously, she now looked stable leaning against him with her eyes closed. Max recalled Fresia’s report as he felt her warmth spread to him.

“I heard that Lady Terence invited Sir Mikhail on her own accord and did not notify the other ladies about this.”

‘Mikhail.’ For no reason, he began to feel unpleasant when he thought about this name. ‘Until the misunderstandings are cleared, I can’t let that bugger bother her.’ Max scowled.

“Mm, huh…?” Jubelian, who had just woken up, looked at him with a puzzled expression. He felt heat creep up the back of his neck when he saw her defenseless face.

“Keep sleeping,” he said as he turned back to the window. It was better when he couldn’t see her face.

“Alright, thank you,” she replied in a pleasant voice. At that, a faint smile made its way onto Max’s face.