CHAPTER 43……………………………………………………..
As if to flaunt his identity, Edwin wore a mask that revealed most of his face.
Unlike Trisha, whose mask concealed nearly all of hers.
“I wonder what kind of drink a beautiful lady prefers. If you wouldn’t mind, perhaps we could share a glass and talk for a moment—”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”
It wasn’t Trisha who cut Edwin off so cleanly.
“She’s with me.”
A black-haired man wearing a mask that covered most of his face naturally draped an arm around Trisha’s shoulders.
The gesture boldly displayed just how intimate they were, and Edwin faltered.
“With you?”
When he asked suspiciously, the man shrugged.
“We’re lovers.”
“Ah.”
Edwin seemed to have nothing more to say after that.
“Then, please excuse me.”
In the meantime, the man lightly brushed past Edwin and headed toward the exit with Trisha, weaving through the crowd.
As though, having finished what they came for, they intended to leave the soirée.
Trisha didn’t bother to shrug him off.
Instead, she tossed out a remark.
“You’re still sharp as ever, Millard.”
And yet Edwin, who had lived with her for years, hadn’t recognized her.
Millard shrugged as if it were nothing.
“I’m the greatest rake in the capital. Of course I can recognize a lady’s face.”
Despite his words, he released the arm he had draped around her and kept a proper distance.
Very gentlemanly.
“More importantly, don’t you have something to say to me?”
“Something to say?”
“The code.”
His eyes curved pleasantly beyond the mask.
“I was the one who taught it to you, remember, Master.”
His gentle voice seemed to chide her as it cut through the air.
After glancing at him once, Trisha began walking ahead.
The moment they climbed into the waiting carriage and the door shut, Trisha removed her mask and spoke flatly.
“You didn’t find out who the host was.”
“So you’re planning to take all the profit for yourself?”
When Millard flashed a crooked smile, Trisha let out a small laugh.
“Would you like that?”
“….”
Millard hesitated.
It had been so long since he’d seen her smile that it felt strange.
A faint tickling sensation stirred deep in his chest.
He tried to suppress the unpleasant feeling.
“Go on.”
“Of course not.”
Having neatly tucked away those unnecessary emotions, Millard returned to his usual playful demeanor.
“Tell me what you want. If it’s what you want, Master, I’ll grant you anything.”
“Even if I ask for a kiss?”
At Trisha’s meaningful words, the corner of Millard’s lips curved.
With a teasing smile, he lightly traced the inside of her wrist.
“Master, do you want to sleep with me?”
At his languid, affectionate tone, Trisha tilted her head.
As if genuinely puzzled.
“I don’t see how the conversation jumped to that.”
“Because I don’t trust myself to stop at just a kiss.”
Millard shrugged.
“And I doubt you would either.”
The competitive gleam in his smiling eyes was impossible to hide.
It was the gaze of someone who knew he would never lose.
“I’m good at it.”
“….”
His shamelessly seductive attitude made Trisha falter for a moment.
She folded her arms and stared at him incredulously.
“Good at what? You’ve never even properly kissed anyone.”
“Drop the prejudice that you need experience to be good at something.”
“Ha….”
“Talented people are born good.”
As Millard continued his absurd logic, he suddenly frowned slightly, as if recalling something.
“But how do you know I don’t have any experience, Master?”
“….”
Trisha didn’t answer.
She had said it jokingly, but since he really had no experience, she had nothing to say.
Millard pressed her.
“How did you know?”
“I just… had a feeling.”
When she brushed it off, he raised one eyebrow in dissatisfaction.
“I’m married, you know.”
Trisha said defensively. For some reason, she couldn’t meet his eyes.
“You can tell at a glance.”
“Hmm, really?”
Unexpectedly, Millard remained calm. She had expected him to look hurt.
Then again, he wasn’t a child. He wouldn’t cling to her forever.
Trisha swallowed a self-mocking smile.
She had tried to keep her distance from him, yet the thought of him truly drifting away didn’t feel good.
Just then, as if pondering something, Millard spoke casually.
“Then get a divorce.”
“…What?”
“And we can try seeing each other casually.”
He shrugged.
“You can personally teach your former student how to kiss.”
“….”
“As befits the title of ‘Master.’”
At this point, Trisha was close to forgetting how this conversation had even started.
Millard, too, acted as if that hardly mattered.
“I really don’t understand you.”
“That makes two of us, Master.”
Snapping back to herself a little at his reply, Trisha held out what she had received from the blonde woman.
“A memo?”
“Take it.”
And without looking back, she tried to get out of the carriage.
“Stay.”
Millard quickly caught her and made her sit back down.
“Why? It’s what you wanted.”
“And the price? I haven’t given you anything yet—”
“I don’t need one. I intended to give it to you from the start.”
“…What?”
Millard frowned. Under his questioning gaze, Trisha replied cynically.
“No matter how much I increase my assets through investment, it all ends up belonging to the Grand Duchy of Mason.”
In other words, it would benefit him more to use it.
But Millard didn’t seem satisfied.
“Why me?”
His violet eyes fixed steadily on her.
“You could go to Sister Hestia, or Count Rosentain.”
At his question, Trisha parted her lips. She had once wrestled with that herself.
“You’re the most convenient.”
Millard tilted his head.
“I don’t follow.”
“If I went to Her Highness Hestia, I’d have to think of a way to recommend the investment without arousing suspicion.”
She continued,
“And if I went to my brother, it might look like our relationship has improved.”
“Ah, I see.”
Millard finally nodded in understanding.
“Well, I figured you had your reasons. You always do.”
Though he understood logically, his tone remained slightly crooked.
“So what do you want me to do with this? Quietly grow my fortune and wait?”
At his obvious sarcasm, Trisha let out a hollow laugh. Then her expression hardened.
“Don’t throw a tantrum like a child. I’m not your nanny.”
“Should I be grateful you’re calling me a brat instead of a bastard?”
Millard shrugged with a smile, but it was clearly different from before.
Noticing that, Trisha’s face stiffened.
“How you use it is up to you. I haven’t made any plans.”
“And what if I make a bad investment and lose it all?”
“That’s for you to deal with.”
Though she said that, Trisha knew Millard.
He wouldn’t make a mistake.
Especially not when Hestia’s life might once again be in danger.
After finishing her conversation with Millard, Trisha returned to the venue and looked around.
She still had to accomplish the true purpose of coming here.
With the Cup of the Goddess already claimed, the soirée was nearly over.
Only those unable to give up remained, lingering over their drinks.
‘Is today a failure?’
Just as Trisha, resigned, was about to turn away—
“I hear you obtained the Cup of the Goddess.”
Someone spoke to her.
“…Who might you be?”
She feigned a wary look at the person who had addressed her so abruptly.
Finally.
The most important reason she had come here today had arrived.
