Chapter 2
At the dining hall, the Earl of Theodore was already seated at the head of the table and looked toward me as I entered.
"You're late."
Richard's curt greeting left me with my brows creased. But I didn't pay him any attention and went to sit opposite him.
"Did you wait?"
"I couldn't even serve you tea, so shouldn't I wait for you at dinner to make up for it?”
"You're more considerate than I thought."
What a guy. He purposely used my words earlier against me to tell me off that I was late.
When I sat down without showing any expression, Richard stared at me.
"You look pale.”
"I must have overdone my makeup."
I didn't want to tell him that I wasn't feeling well.
Richard was still observing me without saying a word as if he knew that I was lying.
“…….”
When I remained silent, Richard finally picked up his fork and knife. I followed suit but didn't touch my food.
"You're different than I thought.” Richard said before putting a slice of Prosciutto e Melone in his mouth.
"May I ask what were you expecting?” I asked, pretending not to know.
I only stayed for a day, but it's unlikely that he'll kill me. Above all, I already knew what was going to happen to me in the future. This man will abandon me and brush off all my woes.
Instead of killing me, he will choose to deny my existence. As it was, I would end up with a few lines of begging for attention to this man and dying a lonesome death.
It would be a fate that cannot be changed, however, I wouldn't be begging for love before I die.
Because I'm the new Diana Theodore.
I wasn't the kind of woman who was dying while being pessimistic about her situation. I wanted to live the way I wanted while I was still alive.
I only had a few lines in the original story, but at least I didn't want to live a depressing life awaiting death.
Why don't I stay next to Richard and increase my presence little by little?
The minor thought gently caused a stir inside me.
It doesn't have to be love, so I thought it would be a good idea to become one of his people so that at least he'll help me find a cure for my illness.
"It's nothing big. You looked better than you should.”
"You were expecting that I would be bawling my eyes out after being sold off, weren't you?”
Richard frowned at my blatant choice of words and said, "I was thinking of something similar but nothing to that extent."
"Is that so? Still, it's a pity that you had to expect that sort of thing but I'm not that kind of person. Let me know if you don't like the way I present myself, I can do just that."
I thought I'd get a blunt response from Richard, but instead, he laughed.
"You're not worse than I thought.”
".... Eh?"
You have a strange taste.
As I narrowed my eyes and stared at Richard, he looked back at me with his fork down. Then he suddenly spoke.
"Does it not suit your taste?"
He must have wondered why I didn't even touch my plate.
"I don't have much of an appetite."
He made a sour face and prodded the melon with a fork a few times before putting the fork back on the table.
Until a while ago, I threw up a lot of blood, so there was no way food could go into my mouth right now.
"I had a hard time coming here from a long journey. It's not that easy to be inside a carriage for hours." I shrugged, lying calmly.
Fortunately, Richard wasn't a bit suspicious. It may have been because it was the truth.
"Then why did you come out and not take a rest?"
"You asked me to see you again in the evening, did you not?"
Richard, who belatedly realized what I said, slightly chuckled. I smiled after him.
I wanted to prevent not being able to meet with him constantly.
There will be many days ahead that we will not see each other, but I had to show my face to him at least a few times while I could.
As the saying goes, being away from sight means being away from the heart.
To increase my presence, I'll do my best to run into him as much as I can.
"Then why don't you go in first?"
"No, I prefer to stay until you're done. It's our first meal together since we've gotten married."
Richard put down his fork and leaned against the table and chuckled. He looked at me oddly as if he had seen something strange.
"Is there something on my face?”
I touched my cheek unknowingly because it was uncomfortable if someone kept looking at me without saying a word.
There couldn't be blood left on my face since I already checked it with a mirror before I came out.
Furthermore, I didn't even eat so there shouldn't be staining my face right now.
So why?
Richard smiled and shook his head, aware of my bewilderment.
"No, there's nothing on your face.”
"Sure?"
"I've just been thinking that you seem to be a very unusual person since we met.”
"Me?"
Richard nodded.
Why did he say that?
I looked back at my past actions, but I didn't think of anything unusual.
"It's the first time."
"What is?"
Richard spoke in a small voice as he was reminiscing by himself.
I blinked in wonder but before I could get a response from him, the plate in front of Richard was removed by a servant and the next main dish was served.
They did the same to mine.
The chef served the dish and explained it was a steak made of lamb.
It was only after Richard took a bite and praised the chef for being excellent that the chef left.
Only then did Richard and I continue our conversation earlier.
"At mealtime, it's the first time someone stayed with me for no particular reason."
No wonder Richard looked lonely while eating lamb steak with a smile on his face. I raised my hand on the table and rested my chin on it.
I knew he was super rich. I also knew that he was super greedy.
In the novel, this man fell in love with the female lead who treated him sincerely without malicious intent.
Richard was a man whose parents died early and grew up alone. He became wary of his relatives who always coveted his money and properties.
Thanks to that, he became greedy, but he grew up denying it all the time.
Just as the real Diana longed for the interest and affection that he would not return, he also longed for the attention and affection that the female lead will not be able to give.
Richard and Diana were hoping for the same thing, only for their relationship to be withered away because they couldn't get what they wanted.
Richard continued his meal with graceful movements. He looked so noble though deep inside he was cruel and cold-blooded.
The female lead and I must have weighed differently to him.
Eileen Heinz, the main female character, was nice to him for no reason, but as for me, I have already received an exorbitant amount of money from him even though I haven't yet given him something in return.
I will never be as important to Richard as the female lead was.
On the other hand, Richard had hoped to gain more from me and the Tristan duchy: the background and connections of the Duke of Tristan, as well as the status of being the Duke's son-in-law.
He doesn't know that he will gain nothing...….
"Can I call you Richard?”
Richard's hand stopped at my sudden remark. Then he looked up and stared at me with piercing eyes.
The gaze, which had been soft until a minute ago has returned to its original cold state.
I shrugged, facing his gaze head on.
"We're a married couple anyway so from now on we should address each other by our names."
"You don't seem to know yet that our marriage is only in paper."
"Isn't political marriage still marriage?"
Richard, whose lips were firmly shut, narrowed his eyes at me.
As if to see through me, I closed my mouth for a moment and waited for Richard's response.
"You know that it's fake. What? Do you want it to be real?” He questioned in a harsh tone.
"I never thought that far just by calling your given name.”
Richard's eyes became harsher when I answered with a deliberate smile.
"Tristan."
"No, it's not Tristan, it's Diana. I've changed my last name since I got married to you, but isn't it too much if you start calling me by my previous last name? Moreover, it would be weird to call you Theodore since it's my last name, too.”
Richard's gaze was uncomfortable, but now I had to endure it. This is how I'm going to protect myself in this house.
Richard, who had been staring at me without saying a word for a long time, suddenly laughed incredulously.
"Names. Yes, we'll do that. But you'd better not mistaken your place."
“…….”
"And just in case, you'd better get rid of the idea of having our first night. I have no intention of truly marrying you and having a child as a normal couple would."
"That's a relief then.”
I pretended to be relieved by Richard's words.
"Relief?" Richard asked with a confused look on his face.
I shrugged as if I wasn't bothered at all.
"Fortunately, Richard, I don't love you the way you think I do."
“…….”
Yes, the difference between me and the Diana in the original story was that I knew everything that was going to happen in this world.Especially my future.
However, for some reason, Richard was silent. He was just staring at me with brows furrowed trying to understand my intentions.
It would be strange even for me.
If I were a normal person, if I were me in the novel, it would be right to demand his love.
"Don't worry. Until I die, I will never love you."
At least I won't die while begging pathetically for his love.
“…….”
"It'll only take a year anyway."
I smiled brighter than ever at Richard, who didn't know what I was talking about.
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