Rubica wished she could tell him to stop it immediately or to get away from her. However, thinking about the many people watching them, she couldn’t find the courage to do that. What about Edgar’s feelings after she turned him down flat? Plus, he seemed to have some kind of obsession with his honor and pride even before their wedding. Anyway, this was his mansion and those maids and servants were all his people. She had come and could leave like the passing breeze, but Edgar couldn’t.

More than that, she had been educated that she had to be careful with what she said in front of people with an inferior rank since her childhood. Show your true thoughts and feelings only to the maid closest to you, the fights of married couples should be done in private without people watching, and you should not scold your children when the servants are watching. That was how she had been taught.

Was it because of that education? Saying no to Edgar in front of so many people wasn’t easy even for her.

It was going to embarrass him, but she was going to get embarrassed as well. She couldn’t do anything. She just blushed even harder and stared at Edgar.

Edgar couldn’t wait any longer and lowered his head. Rubica was surprised to see his face come closer, so she closed her eyes. She just couldn’t look at him and determinedly told herself, ‘But I am not going to let him get what he wants this time.’

I will not let him take more than my lips, even if that incubus tempts me with his soft lips. This is an ordeal given by the gods. I couldn’t fight back at the wedding because I was surprised, but this time, he won’t get past my lips.

For that short second, she made many promises and blamed Hue for giving her such a harsh hardship and asked for his forgiveness at the same time.

‘Huh?’

However, those soft lips landed on her forehead, not her lips. When she opened her eyes in surprise, she couldn’t see his face. His silky hair was shaking in front of her eyes instead.

He was trying not to laugh with his face buried between Rubica’s neck and shoulder.

His breath kept tickling her collarbones, and Rubica’s face turned red like fire.

“Get away from me!”

Now, she couldn’t even think of her dignity and the watching eyes. Her yelling let Edgar know she had reached the end of her patience and quickly went away. He regained his coldness as if he had never laughed and shrugged.

‘I didn’t kiss your lips as promised. You told me it was okay to kiss your forehead.’

His gesture was saying so. Rubica thought it was unfair, but it didn’t look like it would be right to lash out her anger there. She just trembled with an anger that she couldn’t accurately define. Edgar ignored her rage and looked at Steven.

He cut the cake with a cake knife and started to explain as if he had been waiting for it.

“The fruits here were preserved in honey last winter, and…”

However, when Edgar looked annoyed, he shut his mouth and cut a slice with Edgar’s favorite fruit on it. Then he put it on a dessert plate. He put a slice with sour fruits like plums and cherries for Rubica as he had been instructed by Ann.

“The fruits should be eaten with ice cream for a better taste.”

He added one sentence of explanation out of disappointment. Edgar coldly ate a spoon of ice cream and pushed it away to the side.

On the other hand, Rubica diligently did as the cook said.

“Oh, you are right. It tastes even better this way. The ice cream has a unique scent.”

When Rubica looked at Steven to ask for more explanation after having a bite, he smiled broadly. It was the moment he had been waiting for.

“It is because of honey.”

“Honey?”

“Yes, Your Grace. Lighter but fragrant honey is better than heavy honey for making ice cream. Honey gathered in this time of the year smells like spring flowers.”

“Oh, I knew each kind of honey had different features, but I didn’t know it could be used this way.”

Rubica was genuinely impressed, and a warm feeling filled up Steven’s heart at seeing it. This was it. This was what he had been waiting for. Exclamation and question with every bite eaten. He had chosen ingredients, stayed in front of the hot oven for the whole time, and put his hands in icy cold water to make cream just to get that feeling.

“Yes, yes. Milk and eggs have differences, too. The eggs used for this cake were…”

“Steven.”

But Steven’s explanation had to end before it was even started. Edgar had just called his name, and he had been working at the mansion for a long time. He immediately realized what his master meant.

‘It’s annoying.’

“… are very fresh.”

Steven had to end the long explanation he had prepared there.

“Then I must go to prepare for tomorrow’s breakfast…”

“Oh, I made a busy man linger here because of me.”

‘No, Your Grace!’

Steven yelled so in his heat as he hastily left the hall.

Rubica was sorry to see the man who could teach her how to enjoy the dessert properly and how special it was. She stopped using her fork and stared at Steven’s back as he left. Then Edgar’s sharp voice reached her.

“Do you like him?”

Rubica tilted her head, confused. Then she put a small piece of cake in her mouth. The soft cream melted on her tongue. How could she not like the man who had made such a delicious cake?

“Yes.”

“But he’s fat.”

“Huh?”

“He’s small and bald.”

Before Rubica could ask what he was talking about, Carl cleared his throat.

“Your Grace.”

“This cake is terrible.”

Edgar put down his fork. The piece of cake on his plate looked like it had never been touched. Rubica looked at her own plate that was clean and empty now.

‘I wish I could have more.’

The cake tasted so good that one piece wasn’t enough. She couldn’t understand how Edgar could not eat such a delicious cake. The rest of the cake was going to be eaten by the servants afterward, but they probably couldn’t eat that piece of cake on Edgar’s plate that he had touched.

That was the rule. Food touched by the master even once couldn’t be given to the servants.

“Edgar, your cake… are you not going to eat it?”

Edgar nodded. Rubica then looked at the piece of cake that was about to be thrown in the garbage bin. It was too delicious to be thrown away like that.

“Then can I have it?”

“Your Grace, why don’t you have me cut you a new slice?”

Before Rubica could reply to that, Edgar pushed his plate to her without saying anything. He still looked greatly offended about something, but as Rubica didn’t know what he was thinking, she decided not to care about it and grabbed her fork.

The slice of cake was surprisingly intact. Edgar had used his fork on it, but there was no sign of it on the cake’s cream. What had he eaten?

‘… only the strawberries are gone.’

The slice had had a few huge and delicious-looking strawberries. Edgar had eaten only those.

‘Picky eater.’

Rubica silently protested about losing the delicious strawberries and ate the cake. As it was decorated with different fruits, it tasted a little different from the piece she had had first. It would have tasted even better with the missing strawberries.

‘Yes, Arman used to like strawberries, too.’

However, he hadn’t done such a thing like eating only strawberries. Of course, they never had enough supplies for someone to do such a thing…

Rubica now felt a little lonely and sad.

***

After dinner, Edgar asked Rubica to go on a walk with him. At first, Rubica asked how they could take a walk in the night, but when Edgar laughed and spoke of mana quartz, she immediately agreed to go.

“Wow.”

They passed through low bushes and roads in the garden. Then Rubica’s jaw dropped at seeing the statue that glowed within the beautiful light.

Mana quartz was some kind of stone that had a small bit of mana stone component. It couldn’t be used as a mana stone as it had too many impurities, but they glowed like the moon in the darkness. Its color differed according to the component mixed with the mana stone. In addition to that, the mana quartz in the Claymore Mansion’s garden had been carved into a beautiful statue.

Rubica almost cried. She had heard about mana quartz and always wanted to see it someday. However, the stone was extremely rare. Not any stone glowed just because it had a little mana stone component. Only some rare mana quartz glowed like the moon and they were priceless. Now her wish was being fulfilled. It made her even think that getting married to Edgar wasn’t all that bad.

“Oh, how can it be so beautiful?”

Edgar laughed at seeing her exclaim. He gestured to his guards to make them wait there. Then he looked at Steven. He immediately took the order to stand guard unseen and left.

“There is something more beautiful in there.”

“More beautiful? There is something more beautiful than this?”

Rubica couldn’t hide her excitement.

“Do you want to see it?”

Rubica nodded without hesitation.