It Was Me, Not You

It’s not that Diana wants to be here.

Diana turned her gaze away from the duke and Rowoon, who were exchanging secret glances, and looked at Edwin.

The two’s eyes met.
Diana bit her lip, worried that Edwin would greet her for a moment.

Edwin, who saw her like that, turned his head slightly to look at the duke and Rowoon.

The duke and Rowoon didn’t know what they were talking about, but they weren’t interested in this.
Edwin looked at Diana cautiously, checking them like a secretly spying person.

Edwin smiled softly as if he knew everything.

And very quickly, he bowed his head to Diana and was polite.

Diana’s anxiety was blown away by his bright smile with her head raised.

Thank you so much for Edwin’s consideration.
Diana looked at him and smiled slightly.
Then Edwin’s green eyes fluttered in embarrassment.

‘Is it weird that I laugh?’ I rarely laugh, so Diana doesn’t know what my smile looks like.

In response to Edwin’s reaction, Diana lowered the corners of her lips that had gone up in a hurry.

 “Ah.” 

As Diana wiped her laughter away, Edwin opened his lips as if he had something to say urgently, and then quickly bit his lips at the movement of the duke.

As if the story with Rowoon was over, the duke’s gaze turned to Diana.

Theduke looked at Diana silently and turned his gaze to Edwin.

 “Edwin.”

At the call of the duke, Edwin tightened his body and answered with a stiff face.

“Yes,Grand Duke.”

“Do you still have a lot of time until afternoon training?”

 “Yes, it is.”

“Then  you should do the laundry instead.”

 “Yes Yes…?”

Edwin, who had answered immediately, looked at the Archduke with an incomprehensible face for a moment.

Rowoon also looked back at the duke with a surprised look.

 And so was Diana.
The duke narrowed his eyebrows as if he felt bad when the eyes of the three were focused at once.

Diana was the first to look away from the duke.

“Do I have to say it again?”

“No.
I got it right.
Your Majesty.”

Edwin answered in a voice filled with spirit.

“Okay, when work is done, take her home and come back.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Diana looked at the duke involuntarily in an incomprehensible consideration.

The duke was also looking at Diana, and as soon as she turned , his and her gaze met.

 The duke’s neat eyebrows twitched as he looked at Diana.

He glanced up and down Diana with a complex expression on his face, and turned  around without saying anything.

“Stop after going back.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The duke quickly walked along the stream.
Rowoon looked at Diana once with cool eyes and followed the duke.

As Diana watched the back of the duke as he moved away, Edwin called her.

“Miss.”

Edwin was looking at Diana with her sad eyes.

Perhaps he misunderstood the meaning of Diana looking at the duke.

“I’m fine.”

“Yes, lady.”

Edwin did not ask any more questions or comfort him, and drew a bright smile.

Diana smiled and froze after him, closing the corners of her lips.

She fears he’ll be embarrassed again if she smiles at herself.

Diana raised her lips awkwardly and asked Edwin.

“Edwin, don’t I look very ugly when I smile?”

“Yes ? What is that… Oh, ah! You’ve misunderstood after all.”

“Misunderstanding?”

What’s wrong? Diana opened her eyes and looked at Edwin. 

Edwin leaned over to Diana.

“Yeah, what surprised me was that the lady smiling was so pretty.
I really thought that a fairy had appeared.”

‘Me a fairy…’

” …Nonsense.”

He was embarrassed by his words and his cheeks heated up.

“It’s crazy how pretty you are.
Everyone doesn’t say it, but you must be thinking like a fairy on the inside.
I can be sure.”

Diana, seeing Edwin’s serious face, even to the point of nervousness, burst into laughter.

Diana, who was laughing haha, was startled by the sound of my laughter for a moment.

And she instinctively looked around to see if anyone could have seen it.

‘I’m laughing out loud.’

It was the first time.

While Diana was bewildered and stunned, Edwin bent one knee to meet Diana’s gaze.

He looked at Diana and smiled kindly as if it was okay.

“You’re really pretty because you’re smiling…miss.
So don’t worry, it’s always bright.
“

“I  hope you laugh.
“

 “··· thank you.”

Diana told him, for the first time in her life, smiling comfortably.
Edwin looked down at Diana with warm eyes and looked down at the laundry.

“Hmm, shall we start now? Lady, it’s cold, but you’re wearing this.
You’re too thin.”

Edwin took off his knight uniform’s jacket and draped it over Diana’s shoulder.

It was the perfect jacket for Edwin, but for Diana it was large enough to drag on her ground.

Diana, startled to see Edwin’s jacket dragged to the floor, tried to take her off, but she said no to Edwin and grabbed her clothes.

“You’re wearing it.”

“No, and Edwin doesn’t have to do the laundry.
I’ll do it.
I do the laundry well.”

Diana had no intention of leaving Edwin to do the laundry.

Because it was her own job, and doing laundry in icy water was pretty tough.

“If you disobey the orders of the Grand Duke, you will be expelled from the entire Order.
I have nowhere to go… Can’t you just let me do it?”

Edwin looked at Diana, crying.
Being kicked out this winter with nowhere to go.
That’s terrible.
Perhaps it was the worry Diana had always been worried about, and her heart sympathized with him a hundred times.

“Still… your hands must be very cold…” 

Edwin shook his head as Diana glanced into the stream and spoke.

“I don’t usually get cold.
So you don’t have to worry about that.
Lady, then sit here.
I’ll finish it soon.”

Edwin sat Diana on a large boulder and started pounding her laundry with a bat.

[T/N: boulder: a large rock]

 Punk-!

Edwin’s hand gestures while washing the laundry were quite clumsy, but he was strong enough that it was much faster than Diana’s usual laundry.

Diana suddenly remembered the Grand Duke as she watched Edwin’s back as she quickly wiped the dirt off the laundry and rinsed her clothes in the stream.

She said, ‘I thought you hated me…’ 

The cold eyes that showed no affection were still vividly remembered.

His eyes were similar to those of Seia.

He then answered Diana’s question earlier, and had Edwin to help Diana’s work.

‘What the hell is he thinking?’

Whatever it is, I hope it’s not a bad one, but I have an ominous feeling over and over again.

“Lady, it’s all over.
Did you wait for a long time?”

Edwin, who had finished doing the laundry, approached with a basket.

“No, I’m fine.
Edwin must have been cold, sorry.”

“I’m sorry, next time, don’t say that.
Would you like to go home then?”

Edwin reached out to Diana, holding the basket in one hand, and flinched, then pulled her hand back abruptly.

“Why? Is your hand hurt?”

“No, it’s not… My hands are still very cold, so I think it would be too much for a lady to hold.”

“Then we should hold more.
That way it warms up quickly.”

Diana took Edwin’s hand as he walked away first.  Edwin, who was startled as he flinched as he grabbed her by giving her strength to run away, immediately smiled and took Diana’s hand.

‘I hope it warms up soon.’

Diana wished in her heart, sorry for Edwin’s cold hand.

Then, as if her heart had been conveyed, Edwin’s hand became warm in an instant.

“Huh? The lady was right.
My hands got warm very quickly.”

Edwin’s eyes widened in surprise, and then he smiled at Diana.

“Thanks to the lady.
Thank you.”

 “No, I’m more grateful.”

“Well, on the way home, your hands might get cold again… so it’d be better to hold them like this?”

“Yes!”

Her hand was warm enough to never cool again, but she didn’t want to lose Edwin’s hand, so Diana nodded her head.

The corners of Edwin’s lips went up as Diana responded with a bright face.

“Then let’s go home now, miss.”

Diana grabbed Edwin’s hand and headed home.

“You have been staying here.” 

Edwin arrived in front of the hut where Diana and Leah lived and looked at the hut and narrowed the gap between them.

She was often used to being ignored by others, but for some reason, Diana blushed in embarrassment to show Edwin this shabby place.

The maids of the annex, where the servants lived, were far better than this.
Maybe this is a little better than the stables.

Diana replied with a calm face, just in case Edwin was worried.

 “Yeah, I’m staying here.”

Diana has lived here since she was a child and she was really okay with it.

Of course, she doesn’t have good heating in the winter, so it was a little tough for her, but now she’s used to it and it’s bearable.

Edwin looked at Diana like that with pity, but as if feeling Diana’s heart, who pretended to be brave, said with a smile.

“Lady, if you ever need anything, just tell me.
I’ll get it for you.”

“Yeah, I got it.  Edwin, give me the basket now.
I’ll listen.”

“Ah yes.”

When Edwin held out the basket to Diana.

“Diana!”

Leah’s sharp voice was heard.

Diana, startled, turned her body to where she heard her voice.

Leah always came in late every evening, but she came early today.

Leah quickly approached Diana.  She looked at Diana and Edwin alternately with bitter eyes.

But, surprisingly, it was Edwin, not Leah, who spoke first.

“Huh… Have I ever seen you somewhere?”

 Edwin narrowed his eyes and looked at Leah’s face.

‘Have he ever seen.
What do you mean?’

Diana looked at Edwin and Leah alternately.

Edwin and Leah, Leah and Edwin.

It was a combination that didn’t fit well to say where the two met.

Leah looked at Edwin for a moment, but her lips soon moved to capture her expression.

 “No.
I’ve never seen a knight.”

In response to Leah’s sword-like reaction, Edwin straightened his narrowed eyes.

“Oh, sorry.”

When Edwin responded with a shy face and apologized, Leah’s gaze fell down.

With Diana facing Leah.

Edwin, who was taller than Leah, did not see it, but Diana saw Leah’s eyes twinkle fiercely for a moment.