Episode 11 – I Like You
Oh my god. He actually proposed to me!
I was still scrambling for a response when Irene jumped in, looking at him like he’d lost his mind.
“Enoch, are you serious?”
Enoch didn’t even glance her way. He pulled something from his pocket, eyes locked on me.
“I didn’t have time to get a ring that fits you. I’m sorry. For now, I’ll use the one I’ve been wearing. I hope you’ll
accept it.”
He was suddenly holding out a ring. I had no idea what was going through his head.
But no matter how hard I stared into those mysterious green eyes, I couldn’t read a thing.
“Enoch!”
Irene’s voice cut in again, louder this time, almost shrill.
I shot up from my seat first. I needed to clear out this noise before I could figure out what he was really thinking.
“Irene, we can finish our talk after I’m done with Enoch. Please, leave us for now.”
I straightened my back and spoke as firmly and authoritatively as I could just like the real Nora would.
Irene’s lips trembled with anger, but maybe my tone got to her, because she didn’t cause another scene.
Instead, she turned on Enoch, still kneeling, and said coldly,
“Duke Osmond, I hope you truly understand what you’re doing right now… and what you stand to gain or lose from
it.”
She bit her lip so hard it drew a tiny bead of blood, then stalked out.
With the room finally quiet, I didn’t even know where to start. So I just tried to get him off the floor.
“This is awkward. Get up already.”
But he stubbornly stayed kneeling, slipping his hand into mine.
“Nora, I need an answer.”
“…Answer to what?”
“My proposal.”
Oh, right. That.
“At first, I thought you were joking.”
“I’m not.”
“I know. You’re just trying to protect me from the scandal, right?”
His silence said yes. It was actually pretty touching proposing to me when he didn’t even love me, just to save my
reputation.
But that was as far as I’d let it go. I wasn’t about to break the original story’s setup.
I smiled at him, grateful.
“I told Irene, I’m going back home soon. The rumors will die down.”
“And you think word won’t reach your hometown?”
“It’s a week away by carriage. The gossip will burn out before I even get there. You don’t need to make that kind of
sacrifice for me.”
He let out a long sigh and slowly stood.
“This isn’t just for you, Nora. It’s for me too.”
“What?”
“Sure, your hometown might be safe, but the capital and my duchy will be swimming in rumors by this afternoon.
You know how stories grow soon, I’ll be painted as some bastard who seduced an innocent lady and dumped her.”
I hadn’t even considered that. Scandals always hit women harder, so I hadn’t thought about how it’d affect him.
But from his expression, I could tell it mattered a lot.
“My mother will be disappointed. My grandmother will say it proves the ‘low-born blood’ in me can’t be helped.”
“They’d understand if you just explained, right? They’re your family.”
“You’ve never heard the stories about the Grand Duchess, my grandmother, have you?”
“What about her?”
His jaw tightened.
“She’s never accepted that a duke could be born from a mere maid. It’s her life’s greatest shame.”
“That was over seven years ago!”
“Seven or seventy, she’ll never stop looking for faults to pick at. And I’m not giving her any ammunition.”
I couldn’t help muttering, “Wow… what a piece of work.”
His eyebrows shot up at my tone, but then he gave a short laugh.
“Nora Cornell, you’ve always surprised me, but these last two days you don’t even seem like the same person I
knew.”
I flinched. Of course, I wasn’t not the version of me he remembered.
“We barely knew each other ten years ago at the academy. What could you possibly know about me?”
My voice came out defensive, but he just nodded.
“You’re right.”
He studied me for a moment, then said,
“Back then, you were indifferent to everyone but Philip. But you weren’t prejudiced.”
“…Was I?”
He smiled warmly.
“You treated nobles and low-born academy staff exactly the same. Always indifferent.”
“…That’s an insult, right?”
“It’s a compliment.”
He laughed like he was enjoying this.
“When I tried to pick up a book you dropped, you looked horrified. I almost felt hurt — but then you reacted the same
way when some noble kid tried to do it for you.”
“…Right.”
“You once handed out cookies your family sent you to all our classmates. You gave me one too when I was heading
back from sword practice.”
“You remember everything, huh.”
Listening to him talk about something the old Nora had done felt oddly embarrassing.
“How could I forget? One of your friends threw hers away because she couldn’t eat the same thing as a ‘low-born
servant.’ And you asked her, so calmly, if that meant your parents were low-born too, since they ate them as well.”
Wow… the old Nora was kind of badass.
I almost smiled in pride, but held it back couldn’t exactly praise myself like that.
“I really liked that about you.”
“…You did?”
“Yeah. And I like how direct and honest you are now, too.”
His already-handsome face went all warm, and I struggled to keep my wits.
“Nora Cornell. You’re right — I don’t know you that well.”
He hesitated, then added,
“I’m not madly in love with you. But I won’t let you be dragged through a scandal. And I don’t want one either.”
“Right.”
“You’ve always been upright, that’s why I trust and respect you. I’ll give you my loyalty and respect for life. Marry
me, Nora.”
…That was cheating.
If he’d just said he loved me, I would’ve brushed it off as too good to be true. But loyalty and respect? That hit
different.
It was safer than love, and it was exactly what I wanted. I actually wanted that.
I almost said yes on the spot… until reality slapped me.
The reason he hadn’t promised love was because his heart belonged to someone else — Irene.
Could I really be happy marrying him knowing that?
My eyes, which had been wavering, steadied again. He noticed.
“Nora, what’s going on in that little head of yours?”
“Thinking about a marriage without love.”
“What?”
“You still think I love Philip, and I still think you love Irene.”
“Nora, Irene—”
“Answer my question. You’re marrying me to avoid your grandmother’s wrath. Are you really okay with throwing
Irene away for that?”
His green eyes went cold.
“I don’t care.”
“What?”
“If it proves I’m a flawless Duke Osmond, I’ll do whatever it takes.”
And just like that, the friend I could share embarrassing memories with was gone, replaced by a cold politician
willing to sacrifice even the person he supposedly loved.
If he was going to treat this so logically, then so would I.
“Enoch, give me time to think.”
His face froze like he hadn’t expected that answer.
Right after leaving my room, Enoch went to see Irene.
She looked thinner than before, fragile enough to snap. But he couldn’t focus on that; his mind was still stuck on me,
putting his proposal on hold.
He’d honestly thought I’d be grateful and say yes. Instead, her hesitation felt almost like rejection.
Irene frowned.
“So… you two are actually getting married?”
“She asked for time to think.”
Irene let out a disbelieving laugh.
“She should be grateful you even asked, and she wants to think about it? She really doesn’t know her place.”
“Don’t talk about Nora like that in front of me.”
Enoch’s voice was icy. Irene’s expression hardened.
“Are you serious about this? Do you love her?”
She looked at him like she already knew the answer was no.
“I respect and trust her.”
“What man marries for respect and trust?”
“I do.”
Enoch’s tone was sharp.
“For me, those are more important than love.”
“Enoch!”
“My father promised my mother love. And look how that turned out for her. The only thing that’s kept me going is
my trust and respect for her. That’s enough for me.”
“But you love me!”
At that, Enoch’s face went completely still.
