Chapter 16
“Yes. I heard you told them to make a robin house before you went out today. That’s what we were talking about.”
Ah.
A short acknowledgement escaped from Duke Drexton’s lips.
“That’s right. That’s what it was.”
He looked out beyond the greenhouse. Even though he knew there was no way the robins could be seen from here.
“Do you like robins?”
Duke Drexton asked rather abruptly. What? Julia tilted her head in a somewhat foolish manner and asked back. Then Duke Drexton smiled a little more deeply. Just like in the past, only his left cheek dimpled.
“I’m asking whether you like robins.”
His voice seemed gentler than a moment ago. Julia couldn’t grasp the change in his mood, and she also didn’t know how to answer the question about liking robins.
Julia’s mission was, first, to perform her duties as a private tutor perfectly, and second, not to let it be discovered that she was the ‘Julia’ from the past. That was why Cecile had deliberately omitted her first name when writing the letter of recommendation.
「 Duke Drexton won’t go so far as to investigate your background in detail. My husband has already built trust with him. 」
If she answered that she liked robins here, wouldn’t it awaken memories Duke Drexton had kept buried. That was why Julia hesitated.
“I don’t dislike them.”
That vague answer was the best she could manage. When she glanced at him cautiously, Duke Drexton seemed satisfied with that response alone.
“It’s cold. Let’s go inside.”
As he said that, he extended his hand to Julia. After hesitating, Julia accepted his escort and gently placed her hand atop his.
Why had he returned early against schedule, and why had he come all the way to the greenhouse? Julia was very curious about both, but she swallowed the questions.
Instead, it was Duke Drexton who asked.
“Will you have dinner with me?”
She couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
* * *
Having a meal together with Duke Drexton, sitting at his right side.
Julia knew that seat was meant for the woman who would one day become the Duchess.
She had sat there yesterday as well. Why did Duke Drexton seat Julia here?
Was this also ‘practice’? For becoming a proper married gentleman.
Julia’s thoughts grew increasingly tangled. As she quietly closed her eyes to chase away the distractions, Duke Drexton suddenly spoke to her.
“Does it not suit your taste?”
Julia startled like a rabbit hearing a gunshot. Her lips, red even without makeup, parted slightly.
“N-No. That’s not it.”
She hurriedly moved her cutlery. Duke Drexton watched her closely as she did.
His gaze was so persistent she could feel it even without looking. Julia’s heart began to pound violently. With a subtle fear and discomfort.
“Or is it because of the lesson?”
Cough—
It became twice as uncomfortable as before.
She had choked. Julia’s face flushed red. What kind of disgrace was this, in front of Duke Drexton. Overcome with embarrassment, Julia sat stiffly like a stone statue for quite some time.
During that time, Duke Drexton didn’t move the hand holding his fork and knife either. He simply watched Julia quietly.
After briefly letting his gaze linger on her moist eyes, then on her dry lips in contrast, Duke Drexton looked at Julia’s clothes for a long while.
The dark-colored clothes she wore with almost obsessive care. The collar, wrapped around her slender neck like a fortress. The brooch, standing guard like a sentry.
Duke Drexton wasn’t oblivious. He understood well what all of that was asserting. His lips twisted slightly, as if displeased.
“Don’t be so tense.”
Perhaps because of that, a bit of the gentlemanly tone was stripped from Duke Drexton’s voice. It sounded faintly sharp, a voice lacking some consideration.
“It’s only a lesson, after all.”
Julia’s shoulders trembled.
Did I harass her, Duke Drexton wondered. He felt a little stifled. Because of that, Julia had turned her head away. He grew impatient, wanting to see her expression.
He quietly leaned his upper body toward Julia.
That was when it happened.
Julia turned her head back toward him. Instead, it was Duke Drexton who was startled.
Forgetting what he had been about to say, Duke Drexton gazed at Julia blankly.
Julia’s eyes, calmly settled, looked back at Duke Drexton.
“That’s right.”
A first-night private tutor.
A position befitting a widow.
“It’s only a lesson.”
The more firmly Julia recognized what her place was, the more reassured she felt.
In that moment, the only one whose temper became twisted was Duke Drexton.
“…Let us have the second lesson.”
And so, rather mercilessly, he declared thus.
Julia’s complexion paled briefly, but she obediently nodded.
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