CH 57.2

Isabella cut the roasted meat with the knife and put it in her mouth.

Her blue eyes widened in surprise.

The juicy texture of the grilled meat from the wild boar was fantastic.

At once, Isabella quickly understood why this restaurant was well-known for the best cuisines on Trias Street.

“Is it good, Isabella?” Duke Kyar asked as he watched her eat heartily.

Isabella gave him a vigorous nod as she chewed on the meat.

“It’s delicious, Your Highness. Please try it.”

He cut a slice from the meat and put it into his mouth at her urging.

“How is it? Isn’t it delicious?”

“Delicious.” Duke Kyar spoke with nonchalance.

Since he only praised a few foods he had tasted, it was rare for the word ’delicious’ to spill from his mouth.

The fact that Isabella had convinced Duke Kyar to say it himself meant that the food in this restaurant was superb.

“Right, Your Highness? I can eat this every day, you know? It tasted that great to me.”

“Really? Then I guess I will have to buy this restaurant for you.”

Isabella didn’t understand why the conversation had turned out like this.

Maybe, the Archduke was merely jesting… but she had no way of knowing whether he was serious or not.

“What the hell did you say you wanted to buy? Please don’t buy anything here, Your Highness.”

Isabella should be careful of her every word in front of this man.

“I just find you strange, Isabella. I know you love money so much, but why don’t you take it when I  wanted to give you some?”

Frowning, he asked with a disgruntled voice.

“It’s not just some random money that I need, Your Highness. It should be the kind of money I worked hard and earned myself. I feel really good about myself if I make a lot of money by doing things I love. I like the sense of accomplishment that came from my efforts.”

Unfortunately, in Isabella’s previous life, she already died just before she felt that sense of accomplishment from achieving her goals.

“A sense of accomplishment, huh? I think I know what you mean.”

“Your Highness, do you have a goal?”

He nodded slowly.

“You.” Duke Kyar replied with no hesitation.

Isabella was too stunned to speak.

“For the first time in my life, I want something so bad. That is you, Isabella.”

“I’m not a thing, Your Highness.” She reminded him coyly, and it brought a faint smile across his lips.

“I mean, not just you. But your heart as well. Oh, and of course, some of the things you possessed other than your heart.” Duke Kyar said.

As he peered at her beneath his thick lashes, Duke Kyar’s dark eyes had glittered with desire that Isabella almost choked on the meat she was chewing on.

Isabella quickly brought the cup’s rim to her lips and drank all the water in it.

Then, she looked at him with a questioning gaze.

Why didn’t he just say that he was interested in her and bring it out in the open?

Was he aware that it was the most important thing to address?

“But why don’t you say the most important thing, Your Highness?” Isabella asked when she couldn’t bear the frustration any longer.

She just wanted him to be straight to the point when it came to what he wanted.

Duke Kyar stared at her with one eyebrow slightly raised.

“What do you mean?”

“No. You know what they say, Your Highness. I want to see you… or something like that.”

“We do see each other every day.” Duke Kyar looked at her with a puzzled face.

He didn’t seem to understand her subtle prompting.

Was he aware that ‘seeing someone’ didn’t mean meeting each other like that… or was he just pretending that he didn’t know?

“Never mind. Pretend  that you didn’t hear any of that, Your Highness.”

It was evident that he pretended not to understand.

Did he like her but not enough to be in a relationship with her?

He was a man who could never understand.

Frustrated, Isabella continued to slice the meat in front of her with trembling hands.

“Isabella,” He called her gently.

Isabella raised her head to look at him instead of focusing on the food.

“I like you.”

Isabella blinked slowly at the short but blunt statement.

Duke Kyar’s gaze didn’t waver as he declared his feelings.

Her heartbeat quickened.

“Isabella.” He called her name again. “Everything is up to you. Not me. I have already thrown the ball to you. It depends on you whether you pick it up and throw it back to me or not.”

Does that mean that it should be her, not him, who should ask him out?

“Well, I mean–”

His sudden confession made it difficult for Isabella to organize her thoughts.

Duke Kyar looked at her affectionately.

Yet, when he opened his mouth to speak, he seemed to stutter slightly.

“You don’t have to answer me now. Let’s do it slowly. From the beginning, I already told you that I would wait. I’m still waiting.”

Isabella was already aware of what she felt about Duke Kyar, so she stopped questioning her emotions at this point.

Being jealous of Angela made her realize her feelings for the Archduke.

Yet, where did her hesitation come from?