CH 21

“Haha. I’m kidding. I wanted to wash and change you myself, but unfortunately, I left it to Lisa.”

Phew. Her eyes, which had widened at Brandon’s joke, returned to their normal size.

Callie was so cute that Brandon leaned beside her with one arm on the headboard. 

Callie swallowed hard as he approached.

Brandon smiled softly and bent over her. His lips lightly touched and fell on her forehead. 

“Your body hasn’t returned to normal yet, so keep sleeping.”

“…”

Brandon straightened. 

After a brief kiss goodnight, Brandon turned to leave the room when Callie rushed to stop him.

“Brandon.”

Brandon turned to her.

“Thank you. For saving me from the horse, and for keeping me warm in a cave.”

“I should do that much, as a husband whose wife was in danger.” 

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He kissed Callie’s hand once more and walked out of the room.

As Brandon left and the door closed, Callie felt that the seat next to the large bed was empty.

The following morning, Callie went down to the dining room for breakfast.

She arrived before Brandon did and went to the seat where the cutlery Anton had given her was placed.

A moment later, Brandon came into the dining room.

“Good morning, Callie.”

“Good morning. Brandon.”

Perhaps because of yesterday’s events, the morning greetings between the two were friendly like never before.

However, the warm air flowing between them did not last long.

Callie’s body stiffened in tension when she saw Brandon’s gaze turn to her cutlery after their friendly greeting.

If you have a meticulous personality, you should notice that the cutlery is different when the two of you are dining, but I wondered if a man, not a woman, would notice that, but I couldn’t escape his sharp eyes.

Was he always this sharp? To the point where he couldn’t just look at a single cutlery and think nothing of it?

He asked Mrs. Valerie if it was the housekeeper’s fault for setting different cutlery.

“But why does a couple sitting at the same table have different cutlery?”

Callie, who instructed Lisa to set the cutlery she received from Anton, interrupted, “I asked for it.”

“You did?”

“Yes. I received it as a gift, and they said it prevents bad things from happening if I used it.”

She didn’t go into specifics, but it was true anyway.

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However, despite her explanation, Brandon’s gaze did not easily fall off the cutlery.

Why are you like that? Is there a separate cutlery I need to use?

This reminded Callie of the poisoned wine glass she had forgotten for a while.

No way… Were you thinking of killing me for breakfast this morning?

As his gaze lingered on the cutlery for a long time, the loose cords of doubt tightened again.

“Why? What’s wrong with me using this?”

The image of him risking the risk of riding on top of a galloping horse to save Callie yesterday and the poisoned wine glass flooded her mind simultaneously.

The gaze that had been directed to the cutlery turned to Callie.

“I don’t know who gave it to you. Still, it would have been nice to have a gift for a newly married couple.”

“I’ll ask if I can get another pair of the same thing next time we meet.”

“…Okay.”

Just then, a woman Callie had never seen before entered the open dining room door.

Contrary to Callie, who was wearing a low-key, long-sleeved simple cotton dress for breakfast, the woman wore an elegant, high-quality lace dress with lots of frills that was so beautiful that even Callie couldn’t look away.

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Who’s that woman?

While Callie’s eyes lingered on the unexpected woman, Brandon got up and greeted her. 

“Callie, this is my old friend, Olivia Gonette.”

Old friend?

You’ve been friends with such a beautiful woman for a long time?

Brandon, the biggest flirt in Irze?

Brandon’s introduction made Callie laugh.

That’s a lie. She probably wasn’t a friend, more like an ex he broke up with one day.

Brandon also introduced Olivia to Callie.

“Olivia, this is Callie, my wise and beautiful wife.”

After Brandon’s introduction, Olivia said hello first. “It’s nice to meet you. I went to the wedding, but I couldn’t say hello because you seemed to be too busy.”

“Yes, I understand. I greeted so many guests back then that I can’t even remember who was who.”

“So it’s better to say hello now.”

“I would have remembered you even if you said hello on the wedding day. You are so beautiful.”

“Thank you for thinking so.”

“By the way, I didn’t hear that you’d have guests over for breakfast this morning. Is this a scheduled visit?”

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Why didn’t you let me know in advance about a visit from your old girlfriend, Brandon?

As Callie’s gaze turned to him for an explanation, Brandon said, “It wasn’t supposed to be an invitation, but Olivia came with me yesterday. When you were riding along the lake.”

“You two came together yesterday?”

So, was Olivia why he went out for urgent business?

Was there a woman that an attractive man like him couldn’t win if he wanted to?

That’s why it’s hard for a woman who liked him to give up easily even if he’s married to another woman.

Was Olivia like that?

Callie couldn’t shake off her doubts, but Brandon continued explaining. “Olivia’s mansion is nearby. She said she’s also staying at her mansion, and when I mentioned I was going to the villa, she said she wanted to say hello to you. So, she came with me on the way back.”

“I should have told you in advance, but I don’t know if my visit was disrespectful.”

Even as she said that, Olivia’s face showed no remorse. Rather, Callie could see her determination not to take away what’s hers.

“It was a sudden visit, so I was a little surprised. Could you please let me know in advance the next time you visit again? Then I can ask Mrs. Valerie to prepare something more delicious.”

Of course, Callie didn’t mean it. Next time, she wouldn’t want her to come like this at all.

She understood what Callie meant, but Olivia didn’t care.

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“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. There’s no need for that formality between Brandon and me.”

An invisible war of nerves ensued between the two. Then, watching from the middle, Brandon cut in again, “Ladies, I think that’s enough of the greetings, so we’d better start eating now. Olivia, sit over here.”

When Brandon pointed to a seat, Olivia also stopped talking and went to her spot.

After the meal, Callie came up to her room and tried not to pay attention to Olivia, but Olivia was still on her mind.

After seeing Callie’s confused look when she helped her change into a dress in the afternoon, Lisa asked, “What are you worried about?”

“Lisa, have you seen Olivia on my wedding day?”

Lisa asked back, “She said she came to the wedding, too?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought she looked familiar, so I must have seen her at the wedding.”

“Do you remember anything else?”

“No… At that time, milady told me to keep an eye on Lord Brandon, so I focused on that and didn’t notice anything else.”

“Well, let me know if you remember anything later.”

“I will. By the way, what is her relationship with Lord Brandon that she came with him yesterday?”

“A friend. A very old friend.”

As Brandon mentioned, the two were childhood friends. 

Vihiru, famous for its scenic beauty, was the coolest in summer and the warmest in winter in Irze.

So Brandon would stay with Leslie for months in summer and winter to escape the heat and cold.

One day, the siblings went boating on Lake Centio. At that time, Olivia, the daughter of the Gonette family, also came aboard the boat, but she fell into the water while playing on the top. Brandon, who saw what happened, reflexively jumped into the water and rescued Olivia.

To Olivia, Brandon was her savior.

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After that incident, the three of them hung out together and had been friends for a long time.

“A friend? Isn’t she an ex-lover?”

“Well, maybe,” Callie muttered to herself, absentmindedly looking down the window.

Coincidentally, she saw Brandon and Olivia, who were together at the time.

Why are you two together?

She hoped it didn’t matter what the two of them were and what they were talking about right now. Callie’s face hardened as she looked down through the window.