Chapter 18
Briana stared at Sebastian for a moment after hearing his sharp voice.
What had made him so angry?
She thought deeply, but there was only one thing that could’ve upset him:
[Sorry I’m late. I found someone I’ve been looking for, and I couldn’t wait to meet them before coming here.]
She knew that being late would have seemed rude to him. They had a contract, and breaking the time promise was a big issue.
[I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you who they are right now. You’ll find out soon.]
She apologized again and lowered her head.
Sebastian observed her carefully. His eyes were focused on the slightly swollen area around her eyes.
He didn’t know her well, but he thought she wasn’t the type to show tears easily.
Yet, there she was, with tears.
For some reason, he became curious about this person she had met.
“Sit down first.”
He gestured for her to take a seat, and Briana nodded slightly before sitting down.
Sebastian didn’t sit across from her. Instead, he came back to her and handed her a bouquet.
Briana looked at him, surprised, as he placed the bouquet in her arms.
“I thought this might be more effective for your work,” he said.
His words didn’t reflect his true feelings, though.
On his way to the café, Sebastian had passed a flower shop and, for some reason, thought of Briana holding gladiolus flowers. He had absentmindedly walked in and bought a bouquet.
When he saw the purple lilac flowers, he instantly thought of Briana.
Without thinking, he had ended up here with a lilac bouquet in hand.
As he watched Briana holding the lilacs, he thought, It suits her more.
It looked better than the gladiolus from yesterday.
Sebastian couldn’t take his eyes off her.
[This is unexpected, but thank you. I think it’ll be more effective as you said.]
Briana’s face broke into a gentle smile.
Sebastian couldn’t help but wonder, Is she smiling because of the flowers? Or because they’re effective for her work?
But he didn’t ask.
He took a sip of tea and said,
“Morgan came to the Duke’s residence this morning. She wants to see you again.”
Without any notice, Morgan had knocked on the Duke’s door early in the morning, bringing a pile of clothes.
“She came in looking half-dead, claiming she wanted to see you again and brought a bunch of clothes with her.”
[For me?]
“She brought four or five outfits and said they’d look great on you.”
Morgan had appeared tired, but her face was full of confidence.
“Everything will look perfect on you.”
Sebastian furrowed his brows at Morgan’s words.
“So, does that mean she wants me to give her more money?”
“I already got a good amount from you yesterday. These clothes are just part of the fair payment for her work. But, of course, I wouldn’t mind taking more if you’d give it to me.”
Morgan’s playful words made Sebastian smirk.
He took a look at the clothes she brought.
Just as Morgan had said, the clothes did look like something that would suit Briana. He could already picture Briana wearing them in his mind.
“I wanted to give you all of them today, but I thought it might interfere with your plans, so I left them at the Duke’s residence.”
Briana nodded in agreement.
“Since it’s going to be your space with me, it wouldn’t be weird to have your clothes there. I’ve already told Aba to arrange a room for you.”
Briana was taken aback and quickly wrote in her notebook.
[You’re setting up a room for me? That’s too much.]
“Too much? Well… you’re going to be my wife, aren’t you?”
Sebastian stammered, realizing what he had said.
Trying to make things right, he quickly added,
“And when Morgan gets obsessed with something, she’ll go all the way. So, I was worried about the size of the room for all the clothes.”
As Sebastian said, once they were married, Briana would need a proper dress room. He had been uncomfortable with receiving so many things from Sebastian, but now he saw it as necessary.
In the end, Briana nodded.
[Okay, I understand. Please make sure to thank Morgan for me.]
“I think it’s better if you thank her yourself. Morgan has been waiting for the chance to meet you, so you’ll see her soon. Speaking of which…”
Sebastian hesitated to say something, unsure of how to bring it up.
Briana quietly waited for him to speak.
“I’d like to invite you to the Duke’s residence soon.”
He finally said it, but as if trying to justify it, he tapped his fingers on the table.
“I thought it would be a natural opportunity for you to meet Morgan there.”
His extra explanation almost sounded like an excuse.
Briana listened to him in silence before nodding.
[Yes, if you invite me, I’ll come.]
Sebastian smiled when she responded positively, even though he didn’t fully understand why he wanted to invite her.
“Today’s weather has gotten warmer.”
Sebastian casually mentioned the weather and looked out the window.
[The last month of winter ends tomorrow.]
“That’s why I guess my job today is to sit here and look at you with loving eyes?”
Sebastian leaned toward Briana with his arm resting on the table.
His actions were more natural than yesterday.
Briana felt like his gaze truly reflected love, and, feeling a bit shy, she turned her eyes away.
[Yes, I think it would be good if you kept doing that until today.]
Briana held up her notebook to hide her face.
She kept the notebook up for quite a while, until the warmth in her cheeks faded slightly.
“If I want to look at you lovingly, I think I’ll need you to put down that notebook hiding your face.”
Sebastian said playfully, and Briana lowered her notebook slowly.
As she did, Sebastian seemed deep in thought about her actions.
After a long pause, he finally asked,
“Are you avoiding looking at me because you want to show that we’re playing hard to get?”
His question made Briana laugh.
The smile on her lips didn’t fade, and it seemed to linger on her face.
Seeing her laugh, Sebastian tilted his head in confusion.
“Why are you laughing?”
Briana stopped laughing and grabbed her pen.
[I didn’t expect you to say something about playing hard to get.]
“Why didn’t you think I’d say that?”
[Sorry, I guess I just assumed you were like what people say about you.]
As Briana wrote, Sebastian’s smile faded slightly.
After a moment, he let out a small chuckle.
“It’s not a prejudice.”
This time, Briana looked at him with a puzzled expression.
He had been smiling naturally just moments ago, but now his smile seemed bitter.
“Like they say, I am a devil, a ruthless warlord, Lady.”
“…!”
“Many people have died by my hand, and those who followed me have died as well.”
