His serious eyes looked like they were on fire, so Charlotte immediately lowered her gaze. 

  

“Well, it’s easy to make, so I’ll be able to prepare it right away.” 

  

When Charlotte spoke, she moved her hand incessantly. With her fingernails, she gently tore off the middle of the flower stem, and repeated this with the other flower stems. 

  

Carcel watched her move silently. Soon after, Charlotte’s hand completed a tiny bracelet. It was a flower bracelet for Theo as a gift. 

  

“By the way, if I’d known we’d come here, I’d have brought Theo, too. Duke, do you know that? Theo loves flowers more than you think.” 

  

“Is that true ?” 

  

“Yes, he likes flowers and he likes vegetables and cats. I think it would be good to have a cat in the palace when he’s a little older.” 

  

“I’ll think about it.” 

  

Charlotte, who had put the bracelet on her wrist to see if the size was right, started making something new this time. It was a little more structured and larger than the bracelet I had made a while ago. 

  

“What are you doing this time?” 

  

“It’s a wreath.” 

  

Charlotte laughed cheerfully as she looked at Carcel’s dark hair. 

  

“I will give it to the duke.” 

  

“………” 

  

Carcel fell silent again since he had nothing to say, it was a positive sign. 

  

Charlotte moved her hands vigorously, chatting about anything that came to her mind. 

  

When Charlotte finished the wreath, she asked about what she’d been curious about for a while. 

  

“Why did you leave Theo to Mr. Chase? He had better come with us.” 

  

“I wanted us to be alone.” 

  

Charlotte’s hand stopped. Her mind became muddled, wondering if what Carcel had said was true. 

  

I asked again out of curiosity. 

  

“What? What did you just say….” 

  

“I just wanted to talk to you alone.” 

  

He whispered softly and got up before Charlotte’s heart calmed down, then sat on his knee in front of Charlotte. 

  

“Du… Duke?” 

  

“I have something I want to give you.” 

  

In his hand was a small ring box, which he pulled out of his arms. 

  

Charlotte couldn’t keep up with the chain of events that were happening, so her hand stopped completely. 

  

Carcel carefully opened the circular box. It contained a ring of brilliant blue diamonds, similar to the color of Charlotte’s eyes, sparkling. 

  

The diamond, meticulously set by the craftsmen, was the size of Charlotte’s thumb. 

  

Come to think of it, I haven’t given you an engagement ring yet. 

  

“This….” 

  

Because our engagement is fake. But when she looked into Carcel’s serious eyes, she couldn’t help but utter those words. 

  

She felt she should never have brought up the word fake or contracted here. 

  

For some reason, it seemed Carcel would be heartbroken if she said that. It was terrifying to imagine him closing his heart once more, who had barely opened his heart to her. 

  

“Charlotte, your hand.” 

  

So Charlotte extended her right hand as if possessed when he quietly asked her to do so. 

  

Carcel lightly wiped Charlotte’s fingers with his thumb and put on the diamond ring. 

  

The ring fits snugly on her finger as if it was made for Charlotte in the first place. 

  

As if satisfied, Carcel raised the corner of his lips slightly and pressed his lips firmly against the back of her white hand. 

  

“It Suits you .” 

  

“Duke, this is too much for me…” 

  

“It’s not much at all.” 

  

“But….” 

  

“You can think of it as a gift in exchange for a wreath.” 

  

After saying that, he silently looked at the wreath on the table. 

  

“Do you want me to put it on you?” 

  

“………” 

  

There was clearly no answer, but this silence was different from the silence she had seen every time. It was obvious that he was asking her silently. 

  

Charlotte picked up the wreath with trembling hands as the diamond ring on her finger reflected sunlight and gave off a dazzling light. 

  

Charlotte carefully placed a wreath on Carcel’s head. She said it was for Carcel, and what she did was just a joke. She was just curious about his reaction. 

  

But seeing him wear a wreath like this, suited him more than I expected. So much so that I wondered if I should paint a picture of him and leave it as a legacy for generations to come. 

  

Carcel, who closed his eyes, took Charlotte’s hand and placed her palm on his cheek. 

  

he asked in a voice full of emotion. 

  

“but why ?” 

  

A warm breath tickled Charlotte’s palm with every word he said. 

  

“Why ‘Duke’?” 

  

“Ah, that….” 

  

You are the duke. Charlotte, who was involuntarily trying to answer, knew he didn’t want such an obvious answer. 

  

Carcel asked again. 

“I asked you to call me Carcel.” 

  

“Oh, that is.” 

  

Charlotte continued talking, thinking about what to answer here so as not to offend him. 

  

“Well, I’m not used to it yet. After a while, I’ll call you by name.” 

  

In front of the former Duchess’s tombstone, Charlotte only calls his name once by mistake. Perhaps she was attracted to Carcel or the atmosphere at the time. 

  

But she had no intention of calling him Carcel in the future. It wasn’t because she wasn’t qualified to call him by his name. 

  

It was only because I’m not ready yet. 

  

Every time she tried to say Carcel’s name, her face would heat up, and her heart would beat as fast as a teenage girl with her first love. 

  

If I had called out Carcel’s name, I would have crossed a river from which I could not go back. 

  

Maybe this river… 

  

‘Even if Penelope appears, I will not be able to cancel this contract.”’

  

Charlotte was not so dull. She was able to tell what kind of change would happen if she called him Carcel, who now called her Charlotte instead of Miss Lannia. 

  

Perhaps this assumption is correct. 

  

In the original work, Carcel now calls Penelope by her name instead of “Miss Ohene” when he started falling for her. 

  

She wouldn’t even ask herself this question: “Why is Carcel interested in me instead of the original heroine?” 

  

Because that’s what happened in many of the romance novels I’ve read before. 

  

But in the meantime, she thought, there was no reason for Carcel to give her his heart. Perhaps the wall around his heart was broken during the Duchess’ memorial. 

  

Then the question changed. 

  

Am I ready to accept his feelings for me? 

  

The answer is no. At least not yet. 

  

Carcel didn’t say anything yet. So if it’s love, I’d better not have these hopeless expectations. 

And when I call him by his name, maybe my heart… 

  

Charlotte cleared her mind and smiled. 

  

“So please wait.” 

  

Until I open my heart to you a little more. 

  

Has my feeling been transferred? 

  

“Yes, if that’s what you mean,” 

  

Carcel muttered as he kissed her gently on the palm of her hand. 

  

“I will wait forever.” 

  

*** 

  

Charlotte lay on the bed and raised her right hand to the ceiling. Until last night, a blue gem was shining on her ring finger, which was empty. 

  

The jewel was so transparent that it was no match for the jewels that Charlotte had. 

  

As Chase mentioned earlier, it’s not a sapphire, it’s a blue diamond. 

  

He said this as if it were just a passing thing, and Charlotte didn’t think much of it. 

  

“A blue diamond….” 

  

Charlotte gave in and lowered her hand, after guessing in her head the price of this ring for a moment. 

  

No matter how much you think about it, it would be an unimaginably hefty number. 

  

Charlotte raised her body, pulled the ring from her trembling hand, and put it in the box. 

  

She should always wear it, Carcel insisted, but she didn’t have the nerve to roll over in bed with it on. 

  

Lying on the bed, she thought about the previous situation and smiled involuntarily, and suddenly came up with a different idea. 

  

‘By the way, Carcel didn’t have a ring?’ 

  

Unlike wedding rings, engagement rings are usually only worn by women. This is because the man proposes to the woman and gives her a ring as a gift. It was only natural for Carcel not to wear an engagement ring. 

  

But Charlotte was somewhat concerned about his empty fingers. 

  

‘Even if I was an engaged fiancée, wouldn’t it be okay if I gave Carcel an engagement ring as a gift?’ 

  

But the problem was different. 

  

‘I can’t give a ring like that.’ 

  

She was given a blue diamond ring, so if she gave him a ring, she had to give him a matching ring, but where did he get the money for that? 

  

Although there was a bonus from the contract with Carcel, it had to be used for the Lannia estate. 

  

Even if I bought Carcel a gift with it, 500,000 gold wouldn’t be enough. 

  

Then I thought of the magic stone that I had failed to craft. 

  

The magic stone was obviously darker than this blue diamond, but it was blue anyway. It was a unique color for an engagement ring. 

  

Originally, I was thinking of an easy collared button or brooch. 

  

But she thought it was useless because he couldn’t wear it anytime. 

  

It is strange to tell him to wear it every time and everywhere. 

  

But the engagement ring was different. An engagement ring is usually worn without taking it off, didn’t Carcel tell Charlotte to wear her engagement ring everywhere? 

  

‘If I make an engagement ring with a magic stone he can wear it everywhere, right?’ 

  

In addition, she would be able to present a magic stone to Carcel, away from the suspicions of Carcel and the others. 

  

But Charlotte soon realized the truth and sighed. Before a ring or something else, the first thing to do was to craft a magic stone. 

  

‘I have to think slowly.’ 

  

She tried to think as positively as possible and lifted herself up. Then she picked up Carcel’s white handkerchief, which Emma had washed well. 

  

The first thing to do was to put embroidery on this handkerchief and return it to Carcel. 

  

To give back to Carcel who made me feel like I was in the land of Lannia. 

  

Charlotte’s cheek, with eyes peering through the handkerchief and imagining the design, was already red.

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