My Beloved, Whom I Desire to Kill - 230

That’s why at first, I thought it was a different person, but after thinking it over, I had to believe it was the Duke. He’s only obsessed with Ms. Bishop. So, that blind-crazed killer isn’t going to harm the Duke’s woman, is he? I was worried, but then I realized it was unnecessary. If there were a risk, the Duke wouldn’t have agreed to meet her in the first place, would he?

—Where do people go on dates these days?

This morning, he even called in some unmarried staff in their 20s, the ones with active dating lives, and asked them. It seemed like it had been so long since his last date that he was a blank slate, like it was his first date ever. The Duke had many questions.

—Is it too old-fashioned to pick up your date?

—No, not at all. It’s a proper courtesy.

—That’s a relief. But do people still bring a bouquet when they pick someone up?

—Of course, they do.

—Shall I prepare a bouquet for you, Your Grace?

—I would appreciate that.

—If you could tell me about the lady’s taste or impression, I’ll make something she’s sure to love.

—She likes all flowers, as long as they’re beautiful. As for her impression…

He fell into thought, then suddenly curved the lips he had been rubbing with his fingertips into a smile. It didn’t seem like a conscious smile.

—She has a difficult personality and she’s beautiful.

Good heavens. He’s completely smitten. The Duke doesn’t usually use expressions that reveal his emotions when he evaluates other people. Just that one word, «beautiful,» felt like a glimpse into a man’s innermost heart.

The flutter in his heart spread to the staff. All day, the employees were bustling about with pounding hearts, as if the Duke’s date were a wedding. A maid went all the way to a flower market in the suburbs to buy an armful of flowers and made a bouquet by hand. Loise compiled a list of suitable and atmospheric restaurants, and reserved the one the Duke chose. One young secretary even organized a list of modern dating etiquette, and another employee wrote down jokes to use if the conversation fell flat.

A faint smile appeared on the Duke’s lips as he looked down at the paper placed on the console in the dressing room. He neatly folded the well-intentioned notes—which he would normally have politely declined—and slipped them into his jacket’s inner pocket.

He had seen the Duke prepare for a date before, but he had never seemed so excited and happy. Loise was sure of it. This must be love.

Before he inherited the title, Loise didn’t serve him, so he didn’t know about Edwin Eccleston’s love life from that time. After he became Duke, from what Loise could observe up close, the Duke seemed to view meetings with women as business rather than romance. He had never seen him look forward to a date like this. The Duke has finally found his other half.

What kind of woman is she? He said she has a difficult personality, but I wonder if she knows that the Duke himself is a man who is equally unyielding. I am so curious about the woman who opened his tightly-closed heart and breathed new life into him that I can’t concentrate on my work. But the Duke was cruelly planning to go alone, without an escort. In the past, he used to enjoy having several attendants with him, to the point that some of his dates were disappointed if Loise went out alone. So, perhaps the person he’s meeting today doesn’t like that kind of atmosphere?

I offered to go with him as his driver in case he needed an attendant, but he refused even that. I was puzzled, as it felt like he was intentionally hiding her.

Trrrrrring.

The phone in the bedroom rang. I was about to go and get it, but the Duke shook his head and went over himself. I followed him out of habit and stood in the doorway.

—This is Edwin Eccleston.

The private phone in his chambers rarely rings. It’s the Duke’s personal number, only known to people he’s close to. I don’t even think his relatives know this number.

—Yes. What’s wrong? Why? Ah… is that so?

But who could be calling? The Duke’s smile vanished instantly, and his expression darkened rapidly, which felt ominous.

—Why you? Are there no other guys? Didn’t Lieutenant Latimer owe you a favor the other day?

As soon as he realized it was a call from the military, Loise’s usually calm expression unraveled, and his brow crumpled. It seemed another emergency had broken out. Loise was sick of the military. The Duke’s late marriage and the lonely life he was forced into against his will, with the addition of a mental affliction, were all the fault of that damn war and that blasted military.

And now, after he had finally decided to meet someone he struggled so much to get to know, the military was trying to interfere again. Of course, I was furious.

Why can’t they solve things on their own? Can’t they last a single day without our Duke? The damn army.

Doesn’t the Duke resent the military? The man who dedicated his entire 20s, a period of infinite possibility, to the military, was only left with a future withering away from a mental illness. I thought he had left the military out of disillusionment, just like me, so why did he enlist and go to war again? This extreme sense of responsibility is a sickness.

Because of that sense of responsibility, Loise was on tenterhooks, worried he would cancel his date yet again and rush to Army headquarters.

—7 o’clock? What about dinner?

Studying the Duke’s thoughtful expression, he cried out internally, «Please choose the woman! Please!»

The Duke sighed quietly and ended the call.

—Alright. No, I’ll come pick you up, so you stay there. We might end up missing each other. Okay, see you soon.

Wait. He’s going to pick her up? The Duke turned to Loise, who was blinking in a daze, and made a request.

—I’m sorry, but we’ll have to cancel the restaurant.

So the date was canceled after all. The two statements—going to pick her up and canceling the restaurant—didn’t quite line up, leaving Loise confused.

—Also, it’s a bit sudden, but could you ask the kitchen if they could make and pack two sandwiches in the next 30 minutes?

—Yes, of course.

This was a first. The pieces of the puzzle were so close, yet he couldn’t immediately put them together.

—She said she’s going to be late because of work. We’ll eat in her office.

—So, you are still going on the date?

The Duke gave a faint, shy smile and nodded, then returned to his dressing room. Loise sighed in relief and went downstairs with a wide grin. In that short time, the puzzle in his mind, which had been scattered just moments before, clicked neatly into place.

That means the person on the phone was his date. Does that mean she’s a soldier? Now, he didn’t entirely hate the military anymore. After his inexplicable re-enlistment, he had not only regained his lost vitality but had even found love in the army.

But if she works for the military, she probably isn’t nobility. In that case, having a swarm of attendants following them would be uncomfortable. As expected, our Duke is considerate enough to think that far ahead.

What woman wouldn’t fall for a man this thoughtful and caring? Loise felt a strong premonition: soon, the Duke’s estate would be preparing for a wedding, not just a date.

The call that interrupted Giselle’s last day of vacation came from a member of Room 303, who was on duty today.

—I came to the infirmary because my stomach hurts so much it feels like my guts are tearing, and they’re telling me to go to the hospital right away. I’m sorry, but could the lieutenant come and take my place for a little while?

It wasn’t right to say no to someone who was in so much pain that they had to go to the hospital, just because she was on vacation and had a mountain of laundry to do. She would have to give up on the laundry, but if she could ask the person assigned to the night shift to come in a little early, she wouldn’t be late for her 6 o’clock appointment. Of course, this calculation was brutally shattered after her replacement, who had promised to come in early, called and said something came up and they wouldn’t arrive until after 7 p.m.

‘Why did I even answer the phone? Someone else could have come instead…’

It felt awkward to call someone else for just one or two hours.

Actually, the date itself was only a change of plans; the dinner was canceled. The movie wasn’t a must-see for today, so it could be postponed. The story she had to hear before midnight could still be heard before midnight. So, she wasn’t upset that her dinner plans had gone awry.

‘What a complete waste of time.’

The duty officer’s job was to log incoming communications and answer the phone, but so far, both the communications device and the phone had been quiet. The duty officers from other units were in the same boat. So, just like any other weekend duty, they had pulled a conference table and chairs into the middle of the hall, gathered around, and were passing the time by playing cards.

‘To be «killing» such precious time!’