A Blanchett carriage entered the main gate of the Roem residence. Tuesday Tea Time was finally being held again after a long time.
Gerard tried to calm the excitement that had been lingering since this morning.
The feeling was there until he saw a man through the carriage window.
'That man...?'
A neatly groomed red-haired man with a straight nose and a sturdy build. The man, who was a decent knight, rode quickly past the Blanchett carriage.
As Gerard Blanchett entered the Roem residence, Herace Moore came out. The future of the two men was changing little by little.
'He's still chasing after the young Lady of Roem and not going back to the North?'
Gerard frowned abruptly.
It didn't feel good to imagine Anata's knight clinging to Chloe's side.
It felt as if black ink sprayed on white paper. Unknown anxiety and nervousness spread.
"Phew."
When the carriage came to a halt, Gerard tried to clear his thoughts. He couldn't see Chloe like this.
"I've been waiting for you, Marquis Blanchett. Thank you for visiting the Roem residence."
A Roem servant approached as he got out of the carriage.
"I'll lead you to the garden where young Lady Chloe is."
Gerard followed the butler into the garden. He looked around the garden of the Roem Residence, which he visited for the first time in a while. The leaves appeared a deep green color as they bathed in the spring sunlight.
And among them sat a woman who appeared fresher than anything else.
The one who came to his dreams when he fell asleep after getting tired of his busy life. The reason why he, who didn't dream well, had been tossing and turning until dawn. Chloe Roem turned him into a teenage boy every morning with that modest look of hers.
'Yes, I've missed you... not just in my dreams, but meeting you in person like this.'
Gerard realized that he longed to meet Chloe Roem. His heart was suffocated by the surging affection inside.
'Why am I so nervous?'
Gerard began to become conscious of every step he took towards her. And from the moment he became conscious of it, all his actions became awkward.
"May you rest in the peaceful arms of the empire, young Lady Roem."
Gerard greeted Chloe first.
"May you also rest in the peaceful arms of the empire, my Lord."
Chloe, who stood up from her seat, returned his conventional greeting.
However, Gerard, who was sitting opposite Chloe, frowned. He felt a slight warmth on the chair he sat on. Someone must have been sitting here before his arrival. And he had a hunch that it was Anata's knight.
"...I saw Grand Duke Anata's escort knight at the front door of the Roem residence."
"Oh, that's right."
"If you had a previous appointment, we should have postponed our date."
Gerard examined Chloe's expression while spitting out an insincere remark.
"No, it's not like it was a previous appointment."
Chloe responded gracefully, but Gerard became even more offended by it. Herace didn't even make a prior appointment! He just came like that and met with her.
"Is he the one who is going to marry the young Lady?"
Gerard asked, pretending to be clueless.
"Yes, well... I think we're definitely at the right age to get married."
He responded with eyes casted down.
"I've been hearing about marriage lately, too."
Chloe's hand shook slightly as she grabbed her teacup handle.
"What?"
Gerard quickly noticed it. Chloe seemed to be shaken by this topic. No, it was a good thing.
At that moment, Chloe lifted her eyes.
Flinch.
Gerard, who had been relaxed, paused as he could see himself in her clear eyes.
"And come to think of it."
Chloe opened her mouth.
"I wonder who you're going to marry, my Lord."
She suddenly wondered about his wife, who hadn't appeared in the book inside her dreams. She envied the woman who would take the seat beside Gerard.
Gerard, on the other hand, was confused by the sentence that slipped out of her plump lips.
'What does she mean? Does she not even think of me as a marriage partner? Is she drawing a line?'
He finally cleared up his confused thoughts and couldn't help but admit his feelings.
"I suddenly wonder, too. About the man who will marry the young Lady."
Gerard responded moderately to Chloe's words. Then, he asked what he was really curious about.
"By the way, do you have a specific type of husband in mind?"
"Specific type of husband? Well..."
Chloe was lost in thought for a brief moment thinking about Gerard's question. His eyes were trained on her cute pink lips that protruded while she was thinking.
'Is she doing that on purpose?'
Gerard was now confused. Was he overly conscious of her lips? Or were her lips just naturally sensual?
He felt his face heat up in excitement. He had begun consciously thinking of her as a woman.
"I think I'd prefer someone who respects me."
Chloe, who had been thinking, gave an answer in a calm way.
"Respect?"
"Yes. Someone who respects my thoughts and feelings."
The answer was very much like Chloe Roem. Gerard nodded at her answer and asked a pointed question.
"I guess the Anata knight is not that kind of person?"
"He's..."
Chloe was reluctant to talk about Herace in a situation where he was absent.
Herace Moore was a good man. It's just that he wasn't the one she wanted to be with.
Chloe didn't have the confidence to spend the rest of her life with someone who pitied her. She didn't want to be a reward for a man who wanted to feel superior through her.
However, it was probably all an excuse. In fact, her rejection of Sir Moore was because...
'It may be because of this man.'
Her feelings for Gerard Blanchett were more tenacious than she thought. No matter how she tried to clear her mind, cut it off, or give it up, small thoughts about him would make her feelings swell again.
However.
'I must stop this now.'
It was time to end her meaningless unrequited love and accept reality. Sir Moore didn't give up on her as easily as she thought, and her parents were subtly pressuring her to accept as well.
'As expected, will everything happen according to the book in my dream?'
It was when she felt helpless again.
"I'm confident."
Gerard was able to mess with her mind with a few words.
"Pardon?"
"I'm confident of being able to live as a husband who prioritizes the young Lady's thoughts and feelings for the rest of my life."
Gerard smiled genuinely as his eyes folded. He looked like an angel.
Chloe swallowed with difficulty. What he said felt like a secret seduction. It was so sweet that she wanted to grab the hand that was laid out to her.
Why on earth did this man shake her so much? Why did he keep making her so excited, anxious, and greedy? Why?
There was no future where Chloe Roem and Gerard Blanchett got married. Unlike Herace, with whom she was guaranteed a moderately calm future, she wasn't sure what a future with Gerard would look like.
The original Chloe would've chosen the safe and guaranteed path without a second thought. Chloe Roem was a coward. She didn't change the future laid out for her.
However, love was a seam that connected unnatural threads, the justification for a forced narrative.
She wanted to be swayed by Gerard like this. Just once. She wanted to do it once. She wanted to have courage.
That was the love of Chloe Roem.
***
Gerard had a dream that night. Actually, he kept dreaming about Chloe these days, but this dream was a bit special.
"Honey, are you coming?"
"Father!"
Chloe welcomed him with a boy who resembled him. It was a family that welcomed him at the end of a tiring day.
"Uh... I'm back."
Gerard nervously returned their greetings.
"You had a hard time today, didn't you? Good job."
Chloe smiled beautifully as she said so. The consolation was heartwarming to him.
"Father! I was complimented by Lord Aiden during my swordsmanship class today!"
The child clung to Gerard's arm and bragged happily.
"Really? You must have been very happy, my... son."
Gerard naturally encouraged the child in the dream.
"Yes, I'm going to grow up quickly to become like you, Father."
The bright blonde-haired child with blue eyes looked lovely. It was amazing that such a lovely being could exist.
"Abel, if you want to be like your father, you know that you have to fix your habit of being picky about carrots, right?"
Chloe made eye contact with the child and lightheartedly scolded.
"But I don't like carrots!"
The child stuck out his lips as if he hated carrots desperately. Chloe smiled quietly and kissed his cheek.
It was the image of a harmonious family that he only experienced in books. Gerard looked at both of them as if he was spellbound.
Then, Chloe said while taking the child's hand.
"Honey, you should go and wash up. We'll be waiting for you."
"Oh, I..."
They slowly walked away. It was too bad. He wanted to hold on to them a little longer, to share the peaceful happiness.
***
"Huh, huh...?"
Gerard muttered after he opened his eyes early in the morning and raised a hand above his eyes.
"It's over."
There was nothing more to think about or do. He could see that if he hesitated and let Chloe slip away, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
Gerard got out of bed and fixed his pajamas. And he headed straight to his office.
He had to send a marriage proposal to the Roem residence as soon as the sun rose.
What made him propose to Chloe Roem? It was too complicated to give a clear answer.
It was ambiguous to call it love, and too overwhelming to be called a crush. Gerard didn't know what to call this feeling.
However, Chloe wasn't the only one who changed her fate.