The Monstrous Grand Duke's Fake Lady

Ez was confident that he wouldn’t come by anymore.

But the next day, without fail, he once again took his seat. Still donning his black robe, this time he requested for the same room before sitting at the table. And that was just all.

Fortunately, there was no such wailing from a child like yesterday. Vivian completed her dishes safely and the man in black robe had gulped everything down perfectly before leaving. Gazing at that empty plate that was imposing on the table, Ez made a long face in response.

“Does my cooking still taste bad…?”

Vivian then comforted Ez, whose shoulders were drooping weakly.

“No way. Even yesterday’s cooking was rather tasty.”

“But I don’t think the customer thinks so. When I was the one who made it, he left an obvious difference.”

“He could be the only customer who disliked it. Didn’t the others enjoy it deliciously then?”

“Is that so?”

“Of course.”

Although it was rather faint, Ez’s face straight away livened up at her comfort.

However, she questioned the similar thing as well. Ez’s dish that was made yesterday had been prepared with the exact same ingredients and seasonings, so there was no reason for it to taste differently.

Her head immediately became dizzy due to her thoughts in regard to his plate, which had leftovers despite that fact.

“By the way, shouldn’t you be leaving now? You’ll be starting your day off tomorrow, right?”

“But……”

Ez hesitated as he stared at Vivian. He liked his days off where he could just enjoy sleeping in late, but he was also tormented by the fact that wouldn’t be able to see Vivian then.

Ever since Vivian arrived at the village, she had already become the talk of the town. After all, she did appear suddenly in an uninhabited house with notions of living there.

At first he thought of her only as a peculiar young lady, but since her stomach had gradually grown bigger, rumors began sprouting even more rapidly.

She was having an affair with someone else’s man and had to run away. The one she loved had passed on and since she could no longer stay there, she had to come here. She was kicked out all because she was pregnant and thus, she had to move here and so forth. Those baseless rumors had been propagated profusely.

Nevertheless, even when he had been putting all those rumors aside, Ez still couldn’t take his eyes off of her entirely. It wasn’t due to the fact that she had suddenly appeared in this boring village. Also, Vivian wasn’t the type of woman who possessed a distinct beauty as well.

It was only the presence of her, who had appeared out of the blue, that had shaken Ez’s heart immensely. He was in quite a shock when he saw how Vivian’s stomach was gradually getting bigger, but as it seemed that his feelings still persisted, he also felt rather perplexed.

“Who knows you might be the one to miss me, ma’am.”

“What? Me?”

Vivian laughed before she gave a nonchalant response.

“That’s right. Perhaps it’ll be rather empty without you, who has always been helping me out everyday.”

“Really?”

However, Ez happily replied to Vivian’s light words. When she clearly saw Ez’s sparkling eyes that literally revealed the depth of his heart, she took a step back.

“You should get going now. The hours of darkness where you can’t even catch sight of the ground will soon arrive.”

Right at Vivian’s words, Ez could no longer help but to pack up his luggage. Only after looking back at Vivian’s face for a few times did Ez gradually leave the inn.

When the place had finally become quiet with no one around, Vivian heaved a faint sigh.

As soon as a sense of loneliness crept in when no one was present anymore, Vivian felt a tingle at the tip of her nose. She was fine when it was lively or even when she had been busy, but when everything dissipated, she wasn’t any longer.

She had already become numbed, but she was still carrying a big thorn in her heart. When she was all alone in that dark inn lobby, tears began to well up in her eyes.

“Waaaah!”

Right at that moment, the sound of a child’s cry had pulled Vivian back to reality all of a sudden. The cry of her child woke her up from that deep melancholy. With a small smile, Vivian took a hold of the last candle and headed to the second floor.

The first day of the inn without Ez, who had been helping out for over a year already, was easier than she had thought. Since the inn had yet to have that many guests, the chores she had to undertake were very few.

Today, her child had slept and even played well, so she was able to clean up the yard unexpectedly early.

But the real ordeal arrived in the afternoon.