CH 87

“Don’t look so bothered like you’re going to die, but hurry up and follow.”

The Marquess of Attlee was also the most important guest in the individual exhibition.

So it was right to remain with the Marquess in a rational way.

“Excuse me, then.”

But Enoch couldn’t let the Countess leave by herself.

He ran through the throng of people and disappeared.

When she told him to chase her, the Marquess looked rather surprised.

“……there are times when he acts in such a hurry.”

The Marquis of Attlee, who arrived late just in time, rushed to the Marquess. 

“Sorry for being late, Margaret.”

“Really, why are you so late?”

The Marquess glanced at her husband in an upset way.

“Really, you should be scolded for making me wait so long.”

“I’m sorry, but you’ll forgive me, right?”

After a long, sweet conversation.

The Marquis looked around.

“By the way, where are the Countess of Brierton and the Duke of Sussex? Let’s greet them.….”

“No, we don’t have to.”

The Marquess covered her mouth with a fan and smiled strangely.

The Marquis squinted down at his wife.

“……Madam?”

“Adult men and women sometimes need their own personal time. You know it well.”

After a mischievous reply, the Marquess gently pulled on her husband’s sleeve.

“Don’t be curious.”

“Madam?”

“Let’s enjoy the exhibition a little more.”

* * *

Ines quickly walked out of the exhibition hall.

Now, she explained almost all the works displayed in the individual exhibition, and she showed her face enough to be seen at the cocktail party.

Everyone was either appreciating the paintings or engaging in social activities among the VIPs.

Ines didn’t have to be attached to the exhibition hall.

“Ha.”

Ines stopped in the garden attached to the exhibition hall and took a deep breath.

A round moon casted a fair moonlight on everything.

Dark green eyes scanned the surrounding scenery.

The leaves swaying black in the dark were like her complicated mind.

“……really, why am I like this?”

Ines muttered nervously.

She thought the outside air would calm her down, but it seemed to be her illusion.

The wind was quiet, and the night air was lukewarm.

Ines strode and slumped down on a bench under the shade of a tree. 

She felt like her face kept heating up, so she tried to fan her face for no reason.

“I have to get sober quickly.”

Ines tried to comfort herself .

‘I’m the organizer of this exhibition. It’s not polite to be away for a long time…….’

After a while.

Ines’ expression was distorted as if she was going to cry.

……what’s so confusing.

All her attention was on Enoch. 

‘I feel like I’m hovering in a maze that I can escape.’

‘Look, even now.’

‘Come to think of it, I’ve been out like this with the Duke before.’

Obviously, it was warm spring weather now, but strangely, the cold air peculiar to winter seemed to hover at the tip of her nose.

At that time Enoch was leaning against the balcony.

It was when the indifferent blue eyes looking back at her became a friendly light.

Since when did she want those eyes to look only at her…

But then.

“Countess of Brierton.”

Ines looked back at an unexpected voice.

She froze.

“……Your Excellency.”

Enoch stood against the colorful lights of the exhibition hall.

It was as if he had walked out in the winter when she first met Enoch.

Just the way he was standing in front of her now.

“Why are you here alone?”

Enoch approached her with a worried expression.

“Let’s go inside.”

Countless words circulated in her mouth.

‘Why did you follow me?’

‘Did you leave the Marquess alone?’

‘Go back quickly. She’s the most precious guest, so you have to stay with her.’

But Ines didn’t put the words out of her mouth.

Instead, she said something else.

“It feels weird somehow.”

A sigh of whispers scattered through the air.

“In the past, I visited Your Excellency the Duke, but this time, Your Excellency visited me.”

“…….”

Enoch paused on the spot.

At the same time, Ines shook her head with a long sigh.

“I’m sorry, I’m embarrassed because I said something out of the blue.”

“……Countess.”

“I think I drank a little too much.”

She had already had three champagne glasses while watching Enoch and the Marquess of Attlee talking earlier.

“You’ll feel better after a little walk.”

Ines tried to get up from her seat but she wobbled 

due to the mixture of accumulated fatigue and alcohol.….

“Oh.”

Ines, who lost her footing, was falling.

“Countess!”

Surprised, Enoch reflexively grabbed Ines’s wrist.

“You may as well sit down. It’s better to move after you’re sober then.….”

“Your Excellency the Duke.”

At the same time, Ines called Enoch in a clear voice, unlike a heavy drinker.

Enoch stared at Ines as if possessed.

Emerald-colored eyes that only look up at him, shining clearly alone in the dark.

That eye was the only one in the world.

Something that could keep him from moving.

Ines, who had been staring at Enoch for a long time, suddenly asked a question.

“The relationship with the Marquess of Attlee…… How serious was it?”

[T/N: =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̣̥̇) baaaaka]

‘Stupid, stupid Ines!’

Ines rebuked herself in her mind.

The next day, when she was sober and clear headed, she would regret that she asked this question.

And yet.

“I want to know.”

How seriously Enoch took the marriage proposal of the Marquess of Attlee.

How deep was the feelings he had for Marquess at the time.

“That’s…”

The moment Enoch moved his lips was as long as eternity.

Ines forgot to breathe and focused all her attention on Enoch.

“That’s… … a long time ago.”

Enoch, meanwhile, answered sincerely with a puzzled face.

“Both I and the Marquess were not yet of age, so neither of us was very serious-“

“Us?”

Ines asked reflexively.

“You must have been in a very friendly relationship to the point where you call us together.”

‘Oh, please don’t do this.’

At the same time Ines clenched her fist tightly.

She felt as if she had become a child crying and whining.

But her mind was completely out of control.

She kept spouting pointy words.

“I think you two have a very good taste and personality. It’s too bad that the marriage didn’t happen…….”

“Countess of Brierton,”

At that moment Enoch suddenly opened his mouth.

His blue eyes, looking straight at Ines, were deep in darkness.

“Why do you ask me that?”

“…….”

He hit the nail on the head.

Ines stiffened her shoulders.

Enoch tilted his head and looked down at Ines.

“No matter who I talked to or if I confessed to someone.”

Enoch asked quietly.

“………the Countess has never cared before. Why now?”

It was a question that pierced her heart.

Ines closed and opened her eyes with force.

“It used to be.”

She thought she shouldn’t before.

Because she didn’t deserve to meddle in who Enoch loved.

In the first place, she was afraid to fall for him, so she tried to draw a line and distance herself.

Therefore,

‘Maybe this is the last time.’

Ines bit her lip hard enough to bleed.

A moment to step back.

She wanted to smile and say sorry for being rude when she was drunk.

But,

‘……I don’t want to’

Ines opened her dry lips.

“It’s not that I didn’t care.”

She wanted to make it as clear as possible and pretend as if nothing happened.

Her voice was coming out with a terrible tremor.

“……I tried not to care.”

A heavy silence fell.

Not confident to face Enoch, she looked away.

“I…”

Ines bowed her head to avoid Enoch’s gaze.

“I’m concerned about Your Highness…too much.”