~Chapter 85~
Leah got to the glass greenhouse first and waited for Johann inside.
‘Is he really going to ask me to live with him?’
Surely he doesn’t mean marriage, right?
As far as she knew, noble-commoner marriages weren’t legally recognized, and their children were often considered illegitimate.
‘Even if Raphaella’s legally acknowledged as a noble lady, if I’m not recognized as her mother, wouldn’t that be weird?’
She was getting more and more anxious.
“…You got here first.”
“Yes, I came a little while ago.”
Johann appeared just as Leah’s mind was spiraling with all kinds of thoughts.
‘Huh, he has his bangs down today?’
It made him look a bit younger and reminded her of old times.
But something was off.
‘His eyes look red and puffy?’
Like someone who just had a good cry.
Leah walked toward him, puzzled.
“What did you want to talk to me about?”
“…Ahem. Let’s walk a bit first.”
“Okay.”
Johann’s voice sounded a little cracked, which made Leah tilt her head in curiosity.
But strangely, even though he’d called her out, he didn’t say anything while they walked.
He just opened and closed his mouth a few times, and whenever their eyes met, he looked away or stopped walking.
‘This can’t be because of the kiss… Something’s definitely off today.’
They’d been walking in circles inside the greenhouse for ten minutes and still nothing, which frustrated her.
She stopped.
‘If this keeps up, we’ll just walk forever.’
“Duke Johann.”
She called out to him.
He stopped and turned toward her.
But he still avoided her eyes, and his eyes were redder than before.
“Didn’t you call me because you had something to say?”
“…”
There was a pause.
Leah waited patiently for him to speak.
“…Yeah, I called you because I had something to say.”
“What is it?”
“This might sound sudden, but I want you to stay in this mansion. Not just as a guest, but as a member of House Blumhardt.”
She had guessed this might be it, so she wasn’t that surprised.
But his voice sounded strangely emotional, and his red eyes shimmered.
‘…Why does he look so sad while saying this?’
“Is this for Raphaella’s sake?”
It almost sounded like he was apologizing.
“…You could say that.”
He gave a vague answer.
“Because being together is good for her emotional development?”
Leah thought it would be best to set clear boundaries, so she asked again, more directly.
“…Probably, yeah.”
His voice sounded like he was forcing the words out.
“But how can I live here as part of House Blumhardt?”
Leah looked confused.
“Through an engagement. And eventually, marriage.”
“But I’m not of noble birth, so legally I can’t marry you….”
“…I’m sorry.”
Instead of answering, he apologized—and a tear fell from his eye.
He quickly wiped it away, looking surprised.
“Are you okay, Duke?”
Leah moved toward him, startled.
“I’m really sorry, Leah.”
Another tear fell from his eyes.
His usually cold red eyes now looked heartbreakingly sad.
It made her want to hug him and tell him everything was okay.
‘…He’s not my husband Hart, but right now, it really feels like he is.’
Even though she knew that was impossible.
“I’m just… so sorry to you.”
“What are you sorry for that ‘s making you cry?”
Leah gently placed her hand on his back.
“…I’m sorry I forgot everything about you.”
“Oh…”
So that’s what he was apologizing for.
‘For forgetting me… and then still proposing engagement and marriage.’
Even so, this wasn’t like him.
The Johann she knew wouldn’t lose control of his emotions like this.
‘Hardt maybe would, but not Johann.’
Seeing him biting his lip to stop crying made her feel sorry for him—enough to soften her old resentment.
Leah took a handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped his tears.
“I’m okay.”
You didn’t forget me on purpose, right?
So I’ll forgive you.
Surprisingly, he couldn’t stop crying for quite a while.
‘Even Hardt never cried like this. It really hurts to watch.’
Maybe some memory had returned, like during Raphaella’s birthday.
She wanted to ask, but she held back—worried it might make him cry even more.
She’d ask later when he calmed down.
—
Johann was overwhelmed.
He thought he’d gotten his emotions under control before coming to see Leah.
But the moment he saw her, his eyes stung, his throat closed up, and he couldn’t speak.
He thought taking a walk would help, but when he tried to ask her to live with him, his throat tightened again.
Her calm acceptance only made his emotions boil over.
He felt like he had to say sorry—and as soon as he opened his mouth, the tears he’d been holding back spilled out.
Even as a child, he never cried much—not even in front of his parents.
But now he couldn’t stop.
His recently returned memories were still weighing heavily on him.
“You’ve regained a lot of your memories with Rafi. You’re the best dad now.”
Pat, pat.
Leah’s soft voice and warm touch slowly helped him calm down.
Eventually, the tears stopped.
Once he was calm, he felt super embarrassed for crying in front of her.
“…I’m really sorry for showing you that mess.”
He cleared his throat.
His voice still sounded a little stuffy.
“Are you okay now?”
“…Yeah.”
“I’m glad.”
She smiled.
“Thanks for the handkerchief. I should return it—”
“You can just give it back later after washing it.”
“No.”
Johann pulled it back when she tried to take it.
“Huh?”
She looked confused.
“Let me repay you properly.”
“It’s just a handkerchief….”
She scratched her cheek, flustered.
“Ahem, anyway. Let’s go back to what we were talking about.”
Johann tucked the handkerchief into his jacket and changed the subject.
“Once we’re engaged, your social status will change. So your birth doesn’t matter anymore.”
“How’s that possible?”
“I made a deal with the Emperor, as compensation for what Princess Patrizia did.”
“What?”
Johann explained the deal he made.
“So you used that huge incident’s compensation just to fix my status?”
Leah frowned slightly.
“It was worth it. I believe you deserve just as much respect as Raphaella.”
“…Still, that’s a bit much…”
She mumbled.
“Don’t worry, I got a decent piece of land out of it too.”
He smiled reassuringly.
“Well, what’s done is done. But next time, make sure you get a proper reward for things like that.”
She scolded him lightly.
“Got it. I’ll make sure next time.”
“But… Do we have to get engaged? Can’t we just register the marriage?”
“Nope. For nobles, engagements and weddings are necessary—both for tradition and politics.”
Truthfully, he just wanted to be engaged and married to her.
“Oh, I see.”
Leah nodded, not realizing his true feelings.
Johann wanted to propose properly this time—better than Hart ever had—and hold a real wedding, even if the engagement was simple.
“Leah.”
“Yes?”
He pulled a small box from his pocket and opened it in front of her.
“Oh… What’s this ring?”
She covered her mouth with both hands.
“It’s the engagement ring passed down through our family.”
He said that and slid the ring onto her left ring finger.
The sparkling diamond ring was a little loose on her.
“We’ll need to get it resized.”
He frowned slightly as he looked at her hand.
“…It’s really beautiful.”
Leah whispered, staring at the ring.
It reminded her of the wooden ring she had tucked away somewhere at home.
‘…I was so happy back then.’
A bitter smile tugged at her lips.
“I’ll get you an even bigger, better ring for the wedding.”
“Huh?”
Leah looked surprised.
Wasn’t this one already more than enough? And this was supposed to be just a formal marriage, right?
“Don’t worry about it. There’s no such thing as too good for the future Duchess of Blumhardt.”
“No, but still…”
“You just accept it. I’ll handle the rest.”
He gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
The tears were all gone from his eyes now.
Instead, they were filled with a warm emotion she couldn’t quite read.
