The two men's gazes immediately turned toward the source of the sound.
"Honey! It's me, Chloe."
"…!"
For a split second, Edmund's red eyes, which had been fixed on the door, wavered violently.
"H-Honey…?"
As if he couldn't believe it, he muttered under his breath.
Honey. It was a word he had never heard in his life—nor ever expected to hear. And now, to hear something so outrageous from Chloe.
What on earth was she plotting this time? He was completely dumbfounded.
"Aren't you inside? Duke Randolph? Edmund? It's me!"
Once again, Chloe's gentle voice rang out from beyond the door.
"Your Grace, I believe Her Ladyship is looking for you…?"
Unable to stand it any longer, Mars chimed in, but Edmund didn't budge.
"Should I come in? I'm telling you, I'm coming in. No taking it back later, okay?"
With that unilateral declaration, the doorknob rattled. Thanks to the lock he had engaged, the door showed no sign of opening.
"What? Why won't this open? Hello? Hello? Edmund!"
Her voice now sounded flustered.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As the repeated knocking and calls continued, Edmund said blankly,
"When someone loses their memory… do they suddenly change like this?"
"Honey! Are you in there?"
At the persistent shouting, the duke's face drained in shock.
In front of Duke Edmund's office, Sasha's struggle did not last long. As a result, the expressions of the two people standing before the door were starkly different.
"Your Grace! Open the door! Your wife, Chloe, is here!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Contrary to her soft voice, the thunderous pounding echoed again, as if she meant to break it down. With every resounding hit, Sasha's face grew paler.
"My lady, what on earth are you doing? His Grace told you to rest. If you keep this up, I'm really going to die…!"
Glancing nervously at the closed door, Sasha whispered in a tiny voice.
"What do you mean what? I just want us to get along better from now on."
"With all due respect, I think your method is a little… wrong. Right now, you look like… like a debt collector who's come to reclaim unpaid money. Very threatening. Extremely threatening!"
"Hmm… I suppose it could look that way."
She nodded innocently. Watching her, Sasha furrowed her brows and began to complain.
"No, really, why are you doing this? You used to growl just at the sight of His Grace! Even if you've lost your memory, changing this completely all at once makes no sense. Have I served you for just a year or two? You're the one who always told me that once you make a decision, you never take it back…!"
At that moment—
Click.
Like a machine gun abruptly ceasing fire, Sasha's rapidly moving lips snapped shut. A pair of blazing red eyes silently turned toward the two of them.
"What is going on?"
Edmund's low, sunken voice echoed through the corridor.
He looked somehow disheveled. His eyes trembled uncharacteristically.
'Something's strange… but I can't figure out what.'
Her gaze darted around quickly, but she couldn't find anything particularly unusual.
"If you were there, you could've at least made a sound. Why lock the door? I've been waiting forever."
After a brief grumble, she brushed past Edmund and entered the office. Inside stood the middle-aged doctor who had been tormenting her palm just moments earlier.
"Oh my! Sir Mars, you're still here? Were you having an interesting chat with my husband?"
"A-Ahaha! My lady, we meet again. Are you… feeling any better?"
"Of course. Thanks to that hunk of scrap metal you brought, it's still tingling… but I'm fine. It was very… refreshing."
Who would've imagined I'd run into a lie detector in this world?
Unaware of the meaning behind her words, Mars's complexion gradually darkened.
They say married couples resemble each other. Even though she was smiling, a chill ran down his spine. Was he about to be dragged underground and lose his life? As he repeatedly wiped away cold sweat, a savior-like voice rang in his ears.
"I'll take my leave now."
"I-I will send medicine that may help Her Ladyship's condition through a messenger. Then, Duke Randolph, I shall take my leave. Please, the two of you, speak comfortably."
Turning on his heel, Mars spoke hurriedly.
"You came all this way—why not stay for a meal? We can have a nice little chat about my condition. I'm the only one who doesn't know about it, after all."
With a faint smile directed at me, Mars forced a stiff grin.
"Hahaha… I'm actually fasting these days. I'll also send my written opinion regarding Her Ladyship through a messenger. Th-then I'll be off."
Bang!
Mars scrambled out the door.
"He looks like he eats five meals a day…"
I muttered to myself while staring at the closed door.
"Th-Then I'll go prepare the meal as well…"
Sasha, who had been reading the room, quietly slipped away too. Just like that, the two of us were left alone. The spacious office filled with an awkward silence.
After some time, two entirely different pairs of eyes met in midair.
"What is it?"
His pleasant, low voice resonated softly. Was this what it felt like to have honey poured into your ears?
"I wanted to have lunch together. Sasha said you hadn't eaten yet."
I answered with the prettiest smile I could manage.
For a split second, one of Edmund's brows twitched. His flame-like red eyes fixed on me in disbelief.
"Lunch?"
"Yes, lunch. What are you doing? Aren't you coming down?"
His heavy gaze lingered. Under those burning pupils, I felt oddly self-conscious.
'Making eye contact with a face like that for more than three seconds is cheating.'
As the silence dragged on, I shrugged lightly and gave him a faint smile. Even so, his expression showed no sign of easing.
"Lunch… lunch, you say…"
Meanwhile, Edmund's mind was more tangled than ever. Had she truly lost her mind? Or was this yet another scheme to secure an easy divorce?
"How amusing. So I look that ridiculous to you? It seems pretending not to notice and letting myself be deceived all this time has only turned against me."
He let out a quiet scoff and continued in a low voice.
"What is it this time? Did you slip sleeping pills into the food—or the drink? Are you planning to put me to sleep? And then what?"
"No, I just… wanted to share a meal, that's all. As a, a celebration! I heard it was your wedding anniversary not long ago?"
"The more I see, the more interesting you become."
At some point, Edmund had drawn close enough that her heart felt as though it dropped with a heavy thud.
Not only that—he even bent at the waist to meet her eyes, closing the distance step by step. The nearer his body came, the more she faltered and stepped back.
"For three years, we haven't shared so much as a single meal—haven't even met each other's eyes."
"..."
"And now you want to sit down together so affectionately?"
His flat, even tone accompanied him as he came to stand right before her. The cold wall pressing against her back reminded her there was nowhere left to retreat.
'Ah, wait just a second… this atmosphere is…?'
A flurry of pink-tinged fantasies brushed through her mind, and she swallowed dryly without realizing it.
"To get away from me, what scheme is our noble Duchess plotting this time?"
Edmund's red eyes flashed as if he had spotted prey. His heated breath brushed her forehead. Tension stretched taut between them.
"You still don't trust me at all, do you?"
With a quiet murmur, her slender fingers loosely grasped the front of his collar. Before long, a large shadow fell over her body.
'Taming a beast is always the fun part.'
As the space between them narrowed, his cold crimson gaze began to waver ever so slightly. Now, not even the width of a fist remained between them.
"Was there ever trust between us to begin with? You and I—we were never in this for love."
His pointed words echoed within her. Her small lips hovered just shy of touching as she leaned closer to Edmund.
"Then let's start building that trust now. And while we're at it, affection too. Something very… tight and unbreakable."
"I truly can't figure you out. What on earth is going on inside that small head of yours?"
"You really don't know? Then I'll tell you one thing for certain."
"I'm all ears."
As she spoke, she slowly caressed his cheek. It lasted only a moment, but she saw his Adam's apple twitch.
'Game over.'
She suppressed the surge of adrenaline and spoke in a lofty, composed voice.
"I have no intention of divorcing you. None at all."
"You've always been skilled at hiding your true feelings."
"That's true. Well, think whatever you like. Whether I'm telling the truth or not—I'll show you from now on. Actions speak louder than words, don't they?"
"..."
"Look forward to it. Whatever you're imagining—I'll show you something far beyond that."