# 32
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The gilded title immediately attracted attention. Are there really a hundred and forty-six ways to talk?
The world of couples is so deep...
Dana extended her hand towards the book with the luxurious red cover. But her height did not help her.
While she was about to give up after her attempts, a shadow appeared above her.
“This book?”
Edwin had appeared beside her without her noticing.
The warmth of his close presence brought back the rapid beating of her heart...and with it that sweet scent that distinguished him.
“Yes, thanks...”
She deliberately lowered her head as she opened the book; She didn't want him to realize that she had become so aware of his presence.
So she didn't realize what she was reading.
Then, his confused voice fell over her.
“Why… this particular type…?”
She looked up at him. His face was red to the tips of his ears. Why does it look like that?
She stared at him in confusion.
He said in a low, trembling voice.
“…Preparing in advance is okay.”
What does it mean? Dana looked back at the pages.
Explicit drawings showing overlapping bodies filled the entire page.
So by communication he did not mean conversation, but rather the conversation of bodies?
Dana's head was completely empty.
She was, in all seriousness, standing on her tiptoes to pick up this book...
And in front of Edwin too.
I stuttered out of confusion.
“No… I didn’t know this was the kind of… the… huh...”
The more I talked, the worse it got.
“It's okay, senpai.”
“I will do my best.”
His red color deepened as he finished thrusting. He puts his effort into...what exactly?
But Dana couldn't ask that question.
He finished the account, then took her hand and led her outside. However, he did not let go of the book from his hand.
His palm was getting warmer than usual.
Dana tried to relieve the tension, so she raised her voice with fake cheerfulness:.
“I'm hungry. How about we eat something now?”
"Okay. I know a place that's famous for its apple pie... I made a reservation there."
He began explaining to her the specifications of the restaurant he had chosen, according to her taste. When I responded to him, the tension in the atmosphere faded a little.
To change the subject, she returned to an earlier matter.
“I went to the bank today.”
“To end the mortgage issue you talked about earlier?”
“Yes, it was easier than I expected.”
Dana's face was uncomfortable as she said it.
“Senpai, did something happen?”
I sighed lightly.
“When I saw those other than me affected, I felt bad... It was not a comfortable sight.”
“I don’t know who these laws were designed for. Continuing like this will only increase the number of oppressed people.”
"…correct."
Edwin nodded slowly.
The ghost of his father's image passed through his mind, but he chose to listen to Dana and share her feelings.
“Oh, and there's one more thing...”
“Yes, we should start living together.”
He was smiling as if he had been waiting for this very sentence. As if living with her was his only goal.
“Don't worry, everything is ready.”
everything…?
Just move to his old house, nothing more.
She smiled lightly.
“If someone heard your words, they would think that you bought a new palace.”
Edwin smiled too as he recalled a previous memory.
***
Their wedding house had been prepared long ago.
Edwin, for several days, had been working himf for the palace which he and Dana were to bring together.
Ironically, finding a palace that suited her taste was not difficult.
He immediately found a verse that completely agreed with what he had gathered in his mind about her character and what he had heard from her over the past period.
However, the owner of the palace was very stubborn.
So Peter, his assistant, and his father struggled to convince her to l.
When Edwin heard this, he went to the palace himf. Peter and his father were still arguing with the landlady.
'I'm offering you double the price of the palace!'
'Huh, no and I won't l!'
The white-haired old woman was reviewing the memories of her life, insisting not to abandon the house.
'I was born here, and I lived with my family...'
'This is the eighty-fourth time we've heard this!'
Edwin continued the endless conversation, then said in a calm tone.
'It seems that you wouldn't agree... even if I offered ten times the price.'
The old man's mouth froze.
tenfold?
A sudden sparkle flashed in her eyes.
'...I've been waiting for this. 'I'll organize my things now.'
She disappeared inside within a moment and began packing her bags.
'What a kind-hearted woman.'
Edwin murmured in sincere admiration as he saw this sudden change.
Edwin's pitying gaze met Peter's expressionless face.
***
“What are you busy with? You look happy.”
Dana asked, seeing his satisfied smile.
"Nothing. We've solved the mortgage problem. Is there anything left to do?"
“I'm thinking first about meeting a lawyer.”
"lawyer?"
“I need action to prevent the Count’s family members from getting close to me. I also want to get the compensation I deserve for everything they did.”
Edwin listened to her with full attention. The first matter can be solved by him personally.
After investigating the Hartouin family, it was found that the Count and his son had not received any actual combat training.
And if they dared to approach Dana...
'I'll just have to cut them in half.'
The thought crossed his mind with an expressionless face, and then he turned to her with a gentle smile.
“What do you mean by compensation?”
“Money...and freedom.”
A slight, slanting smile appeared on her lips.
“No matter how repentant the Viscount’s wife pretends to be, she is not sincere. Then the past full of pain will not go away.”
She wanted to extract from them what they valued most.
Dana said in a steady voice.
They were raised from childhood on disgusting extravagance.
Even when they were running away from debt, they hung endless jewelry around their necks and hands.
Money was everything in their lives: their purpose, their value, and the weapon with which they exploited Dana.
However, they never worked with their hands.
It would be a fitting sight when they were kicked out of the palace and left with nothing.
A gentle curve came into Edwin's eyes.
He no longer finds in her a prisoner of pity, but rather a person who moves forward steadily. That filled him with pride.
He said in a soft voice.
“Then we need a brilliant, articulate lawyer.”
She tilted her head in surprise.
"Oh? I was going to ask Kira's sister to take over..."
Edwin shook his head.
Dana, out of nowhere, has become the wife of Amir. Any small step could turn into a hurtful rumor that devours her.
He had to protect her in every way possible.
This step required confidentiality... and a more skilled lawyer than anyone else.
“I know an excellent lawyer.”
Edwin fixed her gaze so as not to distract her.
“He is an acquaintance of my father and has extensive knowledge of the law.”
“But Kira’s sister too...”
“Experience cannot be ignored.”
His words were clear and powerful, and Dana raised her eyes in astonishment.
“Is he that clever?”
“He didn't lose a single case.”
Take a look of reassurance. Such words can only be said about a very rare person.
“But… isn’t he very busy?”
“No, you mostly find him killing time playing chess.”
A lawyer...and chess?
Any relationship between them?
'Is this some kind of brain exercise?'
She shook her head in admiration.
“Okay, I'll count on you.”
“I will get him as soon as I can.”