I Became the Male Lead in a Romance Fantasy Novel

078. Affection (1)

“I didn’t know, but Duke Verdin seems to be much more affectionate than I thought.”

At the tea party held at the Edelt Countess’s mansion in autumn, a young viscountess who attended said so.

Lucia smiled as she looked at the young viscountess.

“Is that so?”

Wanting to know what she meant, Lucia asked, and the viscountess continued naturally.

“You heard that His Grace went to buy the cake himself, right? Isn’t that true?”

The response to the question was another question.

Pointing to the strawberry cake on the table, the viscountess and others echoed.

“Yes, I heard that too.”

“It seems there were nobles who saw His Grace passing by.”

As Lucia had also heard the story from Owen, she nodded her head.

“Yes, that’s right. Owen went to the bakery to buy it. He also mentioned that it would go well at today’s tea party.”

Yesterday afternoon, Owen had visited the Edelt Countess’s mansion with the cake.

Although he had sent gifts suddenly many times before, he had never visited in person, so Lucia was puzzled.

Before visiting the mansion, Owen always sent a letter in advance or had someone send word.

Owen, who disliked being impolite, had never visited suddenly like this.

– Owen, what’s the matter? Is everything okay?

– No, nothing. I just thought of you and bought this.

That was his response when she asked.

– I just remembered there’s a tea party tomorrow. I’ll bring it out then. The cake is a bit big to eat alone.

– What is this for…?

– It’s a strawberry cake. I saw a bakery on my way home.

– A bakery?

– Yes. I heard it’s a place known for delicious strawberry cakes. So, I bought it. I thought you would like it.

The sudden visit was for a very affectionate and thoughtful reason.

Was it because it was so touching and nice?

A smile had formed on Lucia’s lips without her realizing it.

“Oh my… You’re really affectionate.”

“That’s right. You used to be quite cold before.”

“That’s all in the past. After meeting Lady Edelt, you became a completely different person, didn’t you?”

It was Owen who brought up the change in Lucia.

It was quite satisfying just to listen, but another story was brought up along with it.

“I heard you bought all the other bread at the bakery yesterday. You donated them to the orphanage, right?”

“Oh, really? How did you know?”

“The orphanage director is our father, so I heard it from him.”

It was a new piece of news.

It seemed like the news of the donation to the orphanage had not spread yet.

Perhaps Owen had personally kept it discreet.

However, it was the Count’s daughter who casually brought up the topic.

“Father said this wasn’t the first time. He mentioned that you regularly donate to the three orphanages in the capital. Yesterday it was bread, but there were many other items as well. Not just cash.”

“Oh, my goodness….”

“But he didn’t want it to be publicized. Usually, when people donate, they go to great lengths to make it known.”

Nobles were meticulous about spreading good rumors about themselves.

It was both to leave a good impression and to gain the favor of the imperial citizens and the residents of their territories.

But Owen didn’t belong to either category.

Owen didn’t care much about whether his image was good or not.

He didn’t need to go out of his way to win the favor of the imperial citizens or the residents of his territory.

He had already received much praise from the residents of Verdin as the lord of the Berdine estate.

“Doing good deeds without anyone knowing. It makes one wonder if he isn’t overly kind.”

“Lady Edelt must be pleased. After all, she’s soon to be engaged to His Lordship of Verdin.”

The conclusion reached was Owen’s kindness.

As the envious gazes turned towards Lucia at the end, she smiled brightly.

“That’s right. We’re planning to have the engagement ceremony in October.”

She spoke with a smile, but she didn’t feel particularly happy.

It was nice that Owen was kind and warm, but when that extended to others, it somehow felt… what was the word?

It didn’t feel entirely pleasant.

Being kind and generous to others didn’t make him a bad person.

It’s just that aside from being a good person, having it constantly brought up was not particularly enjoyable.

And maybe that was why.

After that, Lucia felt rather indifferent throughout the tea party.

Finishing the ambiguous gathering, she felt a bit tired for some reason, unlike her usual self after social events.

Lucia was left alone at the table after everyone had left, looking at the completely empty plate of strawberry cake.

“I should go eat this with Owen next time.”

The cake Owen had brought was incredibly delicious.

Not just because he had brought it, but it really was.

None of the strawberry cakes she had ever tasted matched this one.

The strawberries on the cake were incredibly fresh and tangy, the whipped cream was very fresh and sweet, and the sponge was so soft it melted in her mouth.

“It seems like a bakery I’ve never been to. How did Owen find this place?”

She suddenly became curious.

He didn’t seem particularly interested in food usually, so how did Owen come across this bakery?

“Maybe he found out while looking into new business ventures.”

That was the conclusion she came to after some thought.

Owen, who had semi-organized his existing businesses, had recently started new ventures.

After about a month of research and study, he finally launched a new business.

The contents of the documents he had shown Lucia had become a reality.

He had started an import company specializing in fruits, bought a fruit farm in the southern part of the empire, and opened an auction house, boutique, and jewel shop.

When Lucia asked why he was setting up new businesses instead of focusing on the ones he already had, Owen had replied:

-That place is already one you like. Among the reasons you like it, there must be the way they have been managing it, and I don’t want to ruin that.

He was quite meticulous and thoughtful.

Apart from the awkwardness she felt at the tea party today, she honestly liked Owen’s personality.

“Why do you donate in secret?”

Lucia grumbled towards Owen for no reason.

She didn’t like that someone else knew before her about this fact.

“I’ll ask him next time we meet.”

Their promise with Owen was for this weekend.

It was only three days away, so it wasn’t that long.

But still…

“…Let’s just go today.”

She didn’t want to wait.

Lucia muttered softly and eventually rose from her seat.

Then, she strode off towards her room.

“I’ll go to Duke Verdin’s residence.”

As she declared upon entering the dressing room, the maids hurriedly assisted with her attire.

Lucia took out the chosen dress and laid out the jewelry.

Among the jewelry laid out, Lucia selected the ruby earrings and ring that matched the gorgeous red dress she would wear today.

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Once she had chosen all the items to put on, the maids helped her get dressed quickly.

Thanks to them, Lucia was soon dressed in the dress and adorned with the jewelry.

Following that, she summoned Marie to bring out green tea.

Upon discovering Owen’s preference for green tea during her stay at Duke Verdin’s residence, Lucia had instructed Marie to procure it.

It was a specialty obtained from the Kingdom of Helrun, and with the recent resolution of the Saint Sacrifice Incident and the signing of a new treaty, the tea had become more expensive due to increased tariffs.

However, Lucia had enough money, so she didn’t hesitate to purchase the green tea from the Kingdom of Helrun.

“Take me to Duke Verdin’s residence.”

After receiving the green tea from Marie, Lucia boarded the carriage and instructed the coachman.

As Lucia often headed to Duke Verdin’s mansion, the coachman seemed familiar with such commands.

Thus, the coachman rushed through the fastest route and arrived at Duke Verdin’s residence in a short time.

“Thank you.”

Perhaps due to arriving in the red carriage with the Edelte’s eagle emblem, the knights easily opened the mansion’s door for her.

As a result, Lucia could alight from the carriage inside the mansion.

As Lucia stepped down, a knight approached her.

“Lady Edelte, welcome. The Duke is likely in his study as usual today.”

Having visited Duke Verdin’s mansion frequently, Lucia had grown quite familiar with the faces of the knights and servants.

“Oh, you again.”

“It’s an honor, Lady. I am Helen, the Deputy Knight Commander.”

“Helen, I see.”

“Yes, if you become a lady, I might become your personal knight.”

Duke Verdin’s knights consisted of 60% men and 40% women.

Compared to other knights, whose ratio was usually 70:30, they had a fairly balanced gender distribution.

For this reason, there were many female knights in Duke Verdin’s service, and Helen held the highest rank among them.

“You said Deputy Knight Commander?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then, are you usually not busy?”

“Typically, the Duke’s lady appoints the Deputy Knight Commander as her personal knight. And the lady may have more than one personal knight.”

“I see…”

It was fascinatingly different from Edelte.

Although Edelte also had knights like Duke Verdin, the customs and traditions were entirely different here.

Unlike Duke Verdin, who valued merit above all without regard for status or background, Edelte placed significant importance on lineage.

Furthermore, Edelte’s knights only listened to the Lord and Lady.

“Both the master and mistress of the house are considered the heads of the family.”

But Duke Verdin seemed different.

It appeared that here, both spouses were served as masters.

“How intriguing.”

“Is it? In Verdin, it’s quite natural.”

“It’s different from Edelte, then.”

“That, in turn, seems intriguing.”

Guided by Helen, Lucia headed towards Owen’s study.

After some conversation, even the fifth-floor study was soon reached.

“Sir, Lady Edelte has arrived.”

As Helen reported, a voice granting permission could be heard, and she opened the door to the study.

“Owen.”

Upon entering the study, the stacks of documents piled high were visible again today.

In between them, Owen, buried as if under a pile of papers, caught Lucia’s eye.

“Lucia. Come in.”

Unlike Lucia, who was still unfamiliar, Owen seemed accustomed to sudden visits from Lucia.

Since Lucia had often made abrupt visits like today, it was understandable.

“Will you sit over there? The tea…”

“I brought the tea.”

When Lucia revealed the box she held, Owen nodded in acknowledgment.

Then, he instructed the butler who was waiting to bring a teapot filled with hot water and teacups.

The butler promptly followed Owen’s orders.

In no time, the tables were set with teapots for brewing green tea.

Owen gestured to Helen and the butler to leave, and swiftly took a seat on the sofa opposite Lucia.

“This is green tea from the Halrun Kingdom. I heard they produce the best green tea in Halrun.”

Lucia opened the box and took out tea leaves.

Following the method she had learned, she brewed the green tea.

Fortunately, the temperature and brewing time of the green tea were just right.

“Try it.”

Lucia poured well-brewed green tea into Owen’s teacup.

Owen held the teacup elegantly and sipped the green tea.

After a few sips, Owen smiled and responded, “Delicious.”

“Thank goodness.”

With Owen’s smile, Lucia felt her earlier discomfort fading away.

However, unable to resist her curiosity after coming this far, she brought up the question.

“Owen, how did you find out about the bakery that sells the strawberry cake we bought yesterday?”