Chapter 14

Chapter 14

It was all the more absurd considering that Dillon’s reason for acting this way was because she knew she was living in the world of a novel—a perfectly valid reason for her, but one that would be completely baffling to everyone around her.

“It would have been fine if you had humiliated me,” Dillon said. “My previous fiancé broke off our engagement in a public setting. If you had just made some flimsy excuse, it wouldn’t even have been embarrassing compared to that.”

Dillon said it lightly as if she was joking, but it wiped the smile right off Cedric’s face. There was a pause.

“Did that really happen?”

“Yes,” Dillon replied. “Getting publicly proposed to after having my previous engagement broken off publicly isn’t something one can experience easily, wouldn’t you agree?”

Cedric just looked at her, at a loss for words. Dillon smiled faintly. Usually, when someone easily reveals something embarrassing about themselves, people briefly lose the ability to respond. It would be awkward to comfort them, but it wouldn’t be right to pretend you hadn’t heard. The process of trying to find something safe to say would, of course, render them speechless for a while—Dillon took the opportunity to return to the subject at hand.

“I would rather have been momentarily embarrassed at the ball than have two broken engagements,” was what she said.

Please call off the engagement, was what she meant. Cedric’s expression flickered slightly at the implication. This wasn’t the first time it had crossed Dillon’s mind that Cedric’s face looked vastly different when he was and wasn’t smiling.

“Would it really be that terrible?”

“Are you really that desperate?” she countered.

The conversation was blatantly sidestepping the word “marriage.” Do you really hate me that much? Do you really like me that much? If they were lovers, this would have been a mere lovers’ quarrel. But they were not lovers.

“Could it be that you have such strong feelings for me that…” Dillon stopped speaking when she saw Cedric’s face immediately go blank.

Ah, sorry, sorry.

“See, I knew it wasn’t that. Well, I feel the same way,” Dillon beamed in satisfaction as she resumed walking. “Some people say a platonic marriage is possible, but I believe love is necessary.”

“I agree.”

“See, that’s— What?” Dillon interrupted herself, caught off-guard by his response.

Donning a polite smile, Cedric continued, “I believe it’s necessary for the married couple to have affection for each other. If there’s no affection, there’s no reason to continue married life together.”

“Yes,” Dillon agreed, then gestured between the two of them. “But you and I, we’re not like that, are we?”

“Given time, we could be.”

No, there’s no way, Dillon thought, but she held her tongue. If anything, you’ll probably come to detest me the more time passes.

“You’re a pretty interesting person, so I could see my emotions developing in a positive direction over time,” he said as if stating the obvious.

Based on his words alone, it may have seemed like he had a genuine interest in Dillon, but she knew that wasn’t the case. Cedric’s was an interest more akin to that felt upon seeing a strange and exotic animal for the first time. People who have only ever interacted with refined and well-mannered people will often find those who are crass and rude refreshing.

Eventually, the novelty will wear off, leaving only irritation behind. Dillon had already learned this from past experiences. She fought the sigh bubbling up inside her.

“I’m not just talking about affection, I’m talking about love,” she said. “A true love that you recognize instantly, at first sight, that draws you together irresistibly. I believe that each and every person has someone they’re destined to be with, and that’s who they should marry.”

I’m referring to you, not me! Dillon added inwardly. He was bound to meet his destined person soon, and she didn’t want to get in their way. If she told him what she was really thinking, she knew she would sound crazy.

“That’s,” Cedric said, pausing before he continued, “a very idealistic and romantic point of view.”

It was clear what he meant by that: You really have your head in the clouds, don’t you? Dillon really wished she could read him the novel. Anyone with all the information she had would be of the same mind. Every last aspect of the novel revolved around Cedric and Adeline meeting and falling in love. Each meticulously detailed emotional moment only served to prove that they were meant for each other, and only each other. It was a well-written story, and though there may have been countless others like it, Dillon liked this one best.

‘It needs to be you. It can only be you. Even if I have to throw away everything I own, I can’t live on without you.’

That’s what you told Adeline at the climax of the story! If only she could say it out loud. But then Cedric would think her head had shot right past the clouds and straight into outer space. Even if Dillon didn’t try to kill Adeline in this world, she would still be sent packing to the mental ward.

“Let’s agree to disagree,” was what she chose to say instead.

“Is there anything I can say to change your mind?”

“I don’t want to change my mind about this.”

She both believed in and didn’t believe in true love. To be precise, she had never thought she personally would be someone who experienced it. After all, if true love were a common occurrence that just anyone could count on, there would be no reason for people to yearn or long for someone.

Dillon knew that the man in front of her, at least, had that kind of fate in store for him, and she didn’t want to get in the way. She had learned from her father not to covet what wasn’t hers.

She looked up at Cedric earnestly while he searched her face with a stiff expression on his own.

“If that’s how it is,” he started. “Then it might be better to do as you wish.”

“Exactly!” Dillon exclaimed, her face brightening. Cedric may have been stubborn, but Dillon knew he was someone her words could reach.

“But I’ll only allow it if you relay the news to my grandfather yourself.”

Dillon tilted her head. “By ‘grandfather,’ do you mean His Grace the Duke?”

“Yes,” he replied. “After all, a union between our families was his wish.”

“His wish?”

“My grandfather actually knew your late grandmother for quite a long time,” he explained. “They were close friends, and it has been my grandfather’s lifelong dream for his grandson to marry her granddaughter. He said he wants to see it happen before he dies.”

Before he dies. Dillon’s heart sank. Cedric said it casually, but she couldn’t take those words lightly. She knew that in the not-so-distant future, the Duke of Southerwick really would die.

“Is he very unwell?” Dillon asked.

“No, he’s in good health,” he said nonchalantly. “He was just exaggerating, but I found his determination admirable.”

The more lighthearted Cedric’s tone was, the further Dillon’s heart sank. So the duke’s condition wasn’t serious yet. What would be the cause of his death again? A heart attack? Some other heart-related complication? She couldn’t remember exactly, but she knew it was a cardiovascular disease of some sort. Heart conditions were hard to detect. A person could seem totally fine up until the very moment something struck.

Dillon’s chest felt heavy. Now that she had met the Duke of Southerwick in the flesh, not to mention squared off with his grandson on several occasions, she didn’t want to see him die. Moreover, the fact that her wedding to Cedric was the elderly man’s earnest wish weighed heavy on her conscience.

“That’s why it would be better for you to tell him, Lady Dillon,” Cedric continued. “We will also need my grandfather’s assistance if we are to let others know that we broke off the engagement of our own volition.”

Dillon was silent for a moment before saying, “All right. I’ll try to tell him.”

She nodded, swallowing hard. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. Even if she was crushing an elderly man’s dream, it was unavoidable. After all, she needed to take care of herself too. If that meant disappointing some people along the way, then so be it. Right?

There was no need to complicate things. You can do this, Dillon Langton. She clenched her fist in determination.

* * *

After sharing a light lunch with Cedric, Dillon accompanied him in his carriage—for convenience’s sake, of course—to the Duke’s cottage, which was about a fifteen-minute ride from Dillon’s home.

“Here we are, sir,” the attendant said.

“Thank you, Jake.”

Meanwhile, Graham Hayworth, Duke of Southerwick, was holding a letter in his hands and smiling widely. It might have been on short notice, but pressuring the archbishop with the Southerwick name had surely proven successful, which he looked forward to showing Cedric as soon as he returned from visiting the Langton estate. The ring would also be finished shortly, so everything was going according to plan.

Preparing the dowry and the wedding could take a while, but if they hired more people, they could hasten the process. After all, the heir to the dukedom was getting married, and it needed to be perfect, the kind of extravagant event that would be talked about for generations. Even those who deemed holding such a lavish wedding to be overly indulgent would nonetheless be envious of it. While Graham was happily thinking about these things, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Jake, his attendant, opened the door and greeted him. “Your Grace.”

“What is it?”

“Lady Dillon has come to visit.”

Graham jumped up out of his seat. He hadn’t been expecting this. He hurried over to the sitting room, where Dillon was waiting, dressed in green and with her hair up. Lila loved wearing green clothes too, Graham thought, chuckling as he caught himself trying to find similarities between Dillon and her grandmother. They were really quite different.

“Well, if it isn’t Lady Dillon— No, that won’t do. Now that you’re to marry my grandson, I suppose there’s no need to be so formal, wouldn’t you say?”