# 20
**Chapter Twenty**
“I wasn't even on the balcony in the first place. I made that up after hearing how calmly you explained everything.”
What…? I was so stunned that my mind went blank.
What did he just say...
This man, who said he wasn't the type to lie to protect someone, just lied—without his expression changing at all.
Wow... I let out an involuntary sigh of surprise. Then I came back to reality, jumped up, and slapped my palm on the table.
“What would you do if you discovered that you were lying?!”
Sure, I have a bad reputation, so maybe it won't hurt the Wesen or Harold family too much. But if Harold's lie was discovered...
Just the thought made my face turn white. Meanwhile, Harold was holding the wine glass in his right hand and calmly resting his chin on his left hand. He raised his chin slightly.
“Do I look careless enough for my lie to be discovered?”
“…”
I slowly sat down again.
That's right... Harold wouldn't take matters lightly. My worry was unnecessary.
"I'm lucky to have such a skilled husband. I feel comfortable now."
“Only now do you realize how lucky you are?”
As my fears melted like snow, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
I looked across the balcony and suddenly remembered last night. I was practicing dancing in my pajamas.
"I trained hard for today... but now, because of these two, I'm just sitting here. Well, it's not like today is the only chance."
With my mind now at peace, a passing complaint slipped through. Thinking about the amount of time I spent training made me cringe a little, but honestly, I felt like my legs were so weak now that going to the concert and dancing would have been impossible. I probably would have made more mistakes than I did during training.
I also wanted to get a little closer to Mrs. Mayer, but... I hope today's chaos won't keep me away from her.
I sighed.
“You're taking a deep breath,” Harold observed, narrowing his eyes as he set down the glass of wine.
He stood up, and with a few long steps, he was in front of me.
“...Harold?”
He gently took my hand, which was lying quietly on the table. Then he raised it to his lips and kissed it gently.
“Shall we dance?”
My eyes widened.
“My legs are so shaky; I'll definitely mess this up!”
“As if you wouldn't ruin it even if you weren't shaking.”
Ah, this guy.
I stood, staring at him as he smiled that annoyingly beautiful smile.
“I'll show you what the perfect dance looks like tonight!”
“We'll see if you can make it happen by the end of tonight.”
I grabbed his hand and shoulder with a determined look in my eyes. Perfect timing—music started playing from the concert hall.
As we danced, I focused carefully on each of my movements. So far, everything is fine—no errors yet.
Feeling proud of myself, I flashed Harold a wide smile, but then my gaze crossed his path to the beautiful night sky, and I found myself thinking about last night again.
Last night, I was dancing on the balcony in my pajamas. Tonight, here I am, all dressed up, dancing right.
The situation was funny in a way, but I didn't feel bad about it.
The night sky was gorgeous, the sound of the orchestra mixed with the sound of the crickets was nice… everything was kind of romantic.
Thod.
"Yes!"
I accidentally stepped on Harold's foot and fell back in shock.
I looked around nervously, trying to gauge his reaction.
“…”
“…”
"Is your foot okay? Should I treat it?"
“Heh, you're really bad at dancing.”
I clenched my fist in annoyance.
“If I had not been nervous about the previous events, I would have danced perfectly.”
Even I knew that sounded like a ridiculous excuse, so I turned my head in embarrassment.
"Really? If nothing had happened earlier?"
"Yes."
probably.
At that moment, Harold gently grabbed my chin, making me face him.
He approached slowly, his dark eyes getting closer, making it impossible to know what was on his mind.
“Am I taking revenge?”
The cool night air mingled with the sweet scent of wine, enveloping me. Suddenly, I felt warm all over, probably thanks to the lingering euphoria from the wine.
"Hmm? Diana, do you want revenge?"
His voice was soft, almost joking, as he adjusted his grip on my chin. His fingers ran over my lower lip for just a second.
I gasped and pressed my lips together. He only touched my lips, but it felt like something else in my body was being tickled.
“Uh, um… I mean...”
Revenge. He said revenge, right? The word echoed in my mind as if I was drunk, even though I didn't drink much. It must be because his ridiculously handsome, beautiful, and slightly decadent face was so close to mine.
I've said it before, but I'm really weak when it comes to his face!
I raised both hands to cover my eyes.
“Pfft.”
Harold laughed loudly and rubbed my chin. His soft voice had a musical quality that was strangely pleasant to listen to. As I looked through my fingers, I saw Harold's smile—it was more beautiful than the night sky.
“You can just look at me directly.”
“…”
I quickly closed the gap between my fingers and pretended not to hear him.
"Oh? Do you enjoy voyeurism instead? You really are a pervert."
Not wanting to be described as a pervert, I quickly lowered my hands.
“Diana.”
"Yes?"
“You're actually very interesting.”
Does he think I'm a clown? He pushed my lips outward with a whimper. Harold just laughed, clearly amused, as he sat down at the table.
“Diana.”
“Again, what?”
“You know? Even if you told me not to take revenge, I would have done it anyway.”
Harold tilted his head, smiling slyly.
“I can't stand seeing people messing with what's mine walking around as if nothing happened.”
'Lee.'
The possessiveness in his words was intense. Not that I minded so much—maybe it was just a temporary thing while I was still helping him recover.
“So this wasn’t a suggestion, it was an announcement.”
"almost."
I nodded. I was not so soft-hearted as to feel pity for those who set a trap for me with malicious intent. And besides, if I think about the real Diana, maybe those two deserve some punishment.
"Do it with all your might. I'm sure you'll handle it well, Harold."
As I sat down, he raised his glass.
“I will not disappoint my wife.”
Kayden gently placed Ella across the cart seat. Her golden hair fell chaotically on the seat, yet her beauty remained striking, even with her disheveled hair.
Seeing her pale skin under the moonlight reminded him of a time when she had been poisoned. After taking the antidote and recovering, Ella is shocked to learn that Diana was behind this.
'Diana tried...'
Although she was terrified that her friend had tried to kill her, Ella initially begged Kayden not to take action against Diana.
"Diana, don't be too hard on her, Kayden. I'm fine."
“You're shaking like this and are you okay?”
“...Diana loved you so much. I can understand why you did this to me. Sigh...”
Her golden eyes were filled with tears.
“...I'm afraid of Diana now, but I will try to understand her.”
“You are very kind.”
It was hard to believe how she could forgive someone who almost killed her with blind love. Kayden admired her for that. Ella was nice.
She has things that Diana—who has been following him like his shadow—does not—beauty, a support network, and a big heart that seems capable of containing anything.
This is what a duchess should be.
Kayden decided to choose Ella as his partner and treat her as such. After much thought, he decided to eliminate Diana for trying to harm Ella.
“No matter what you say, I will not forgive Lady Diana.”
“Kayden...”
“There's no use trying to stop me.”
"…Good."
In the whirlpool of his memories, Caiden's expression tightened. He gave instructions to the cart driver to start. One of the Meier family's servants suggested waiting until Ella woke up before leaving, but Caiden politely declined.
As the cart started moving, Kayden's face hardened.
“Ella.”
“…”
In the quiet, secluded space, his low voice echoed with an ominous tone.
“I know you're awake.”
“…”
“I saw it all. The way you treated Lady Diana—or rather, the Duchess.”
He followed her into the garden while she was looking for Harold and saw everything. Gritting his teeth, Kaiden felt a burning in his chest.
“Why did you do that?”
Ella opened her eyes and sat up, meeting his gaze. Kaiden's eyes were frozen with quiet anger, a look that only appeared when he was truly angry.
“Or is this the kind of woman you are?”
Ella bit the inside of her cheek, trapped in the situation she feared most.