My Beloved, Whom I Desire to Kill - 255

Even though Edwin’s mind agreed that he had been over the top, there was nothing he could do to soothe his aching heart.

I want to see you every day, every hour, every minute, every second, but you don’t feel the same.

He had thought that Giselle’s heart was opening up earlier than he had expected, but in moments like this, he felt the great disparity in their feelings.

Was Giselle ever in the same place as me? How long will it take for her to return to that state of mind? No, can she even get it back?

—Then let’s have a date at my house. We can relax and make something delicious to eat, and if we get bored, we can play cards or…

—I won’t be bored. Just looking at your face is enough to make me happy.

Giselle let out a chuckle and leaned her head against his shoulder. Edwin kissed her lavender-scented golden hair, his smile only a half-smile.

—I’m so touched that you’re finally inviting me to your house.

He was happy about the home date, anyway. It meant she was open enough to let him into her space.

—Now, Lorenz will probably show up on Saturday, plant all the flowers for me, and even steal my first invitation to your home.

His burning anticipation was doused in cold water. Edwin’s eyes naturally turned cold. The reason Giselle’s heart had been stuck in place lately could only be the thief who was stealing her time with him. Giselle didn’t show it, but maybe she was tired of dealing with two men and had decided to only give him time on weekends.

What if Giselle can’t take it anymore and abandons them both?

The sinner had nothing to say and would just be faithful to the time he was given. Regardless of what that bastard would do, Edwin wanted to prove that he was a husband-material who would faithfully assist his wife with shopping. So, he dutifully held out his basket even after Giselle put in her hundredth bulb.

—Oh? Queen of Night.

Giselle’s face lit up as she stopped in front of a crate overflowing with bulbs instead of bags.

—My neighbor planted these tulips last year, and they were so, so beautiful.

The sign described the tulip as a satin-glossed black-purple.

—Doesn’t that color clash with the other flowers you’ve chosen?

Giselle shook her head and pointed to another bag of tulips in the basket.

—They say if you plant them with white tulips, it’s a magnificent sight.

The smile full of excitement vanished the moment she looked back at the sign.

—…That’s a very extravagant sight.

The price of a single tulip was close to the price of five to ten other bulbs. That was probably why they were sold individually instead of in bags. Why was this young woman hesitating at the price when she had a rich man who was eager to buy her anything she wanted?

—When it comes to extravagance, an Eccleston cannot lose.

Edwin picked up an empty paper bag from the crate. Giselle gave a shy smile, then didn’t refuse and began picking out bulbs.

—Queen of Night. An excellent choice.

The shop owner, who had been watching them from a distance, approached with a beaming smile.

—They look magnificent when planted with white tulips.

—We’ve already picked those out.

Edwin held up the basket, answering on behalf of Giselle, who was engrossed in searching through the crate. The owner looked back and forth between the two of them and began to flatter them.

—As expected, your wife knows best.

Wife? Did he not see that I don’t have a ring on my left ring finger? Since women often got married in their early twenties, Giselle was used to being mistaken for a married woman and didn’t think much of it, focusing on choosing bulbs that all looked the same.

—It’s a new variety that’s only a few years old. We were expecting it to become a sensation and stocked up on it, but the war broke out, and it became a burden.

—Give me all of them. And the white tulips, too.

Not only Giselle but the owner was also shocked by Edwin’s order.

—Th-thank you!

The owner, grinning at his unexpected fortune, grabbed the crate of expensive tulip bulbs and headed for the checkout counter. Only after the owner was out of earshot did Giselle question Edwin.

—What are you going to do with so many? They’re not potatoes. You can’t eat them.

—As you said, they’re an extravagance that can’t be eaten.

—So why are you buying so many?

—They probably won’t sell well during the war, so the flower farmers must be struggling. And after the war, everyone will be sad that there are fewer varieties of flowers.

With the start of the war and rationing and rising prices, people had dug up their flowerbeds and planted vegetables and crops in their place. Therefore, few people would be able to afford the extravagance of flowers.

Yes, this is when the wealthy should help out. There is such a thing as good extravagance. All her thoughts of stopping him vanished.

—Are you going to plant some at the townhouse, then?

—No, you can give them away to your friends as a Christmas gift. It will make them happier since it’s a gift no one else is giving.

—The problem is that 80% of my friends are men.

—Giselle, men are also happy when they see something beautiful.

As if she were that beautiful thing, he lightly tapped the tip of Giselle’s nose and smiled with the corners of his eyes curved. Her cheeks instantly flushed, and Giselle glared at him and whipped her head away. Since she couldn’t see the signs anymore, she rummaged through a crate she didn’t even know the contents of, when a thought suddenly came to her.

—Tell me honestly.

—What?

—You bought all of them because he called me your wife, didn’t you?

Edwin bit his lower lip, which was curving into a smile, as if he had been caught.

—What do you mean, a wife? We’re not even dating. You have big dreams.

As Giselle grumbled sullenly, she linked her arm with Edwin’s and they walked side by side toward the checkout counter. With her words, she was pushing him away, but with her body, she was clinging to him. Her heart was still in the same place, but lately, her body had become so much closer to his.

She would smile and lean on him without hesitation, or if she felt like it, she would grab his hand first. The awkward distance they had during a slow dance had vanished at some point, and she would now rest her head on his shoulder.

He should have been happy, but Edwin wasn’t. His gut told him that this was a trace of the other man.

What in the world are those two doing?

There was a blank space in that bastard’s memories. He would brazenly display memories of mundane moments like eating and walking, but he would desperately hide that one time.

It feels like they’re learning something.

He had discovered this by unearthing a part of a conversation his other personality had with Giselle while driving at night. However, he still hadn’t figured out what they were learning or why the topic had come up in the first place.

Since he was hiding it so thoroughly, it was ominous, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He had decided not to pry into what was going on with that guy as long as Giselle was okay. He didn’t want to put any kind of burden on the woman he loved. If he couldn’t avoid the woman he loved meeting another man, then not knowing was also medicine for himself.

But was she really okay? He couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable now that their bodies were closer.

On the way to Giselle’s house to drop off the things they had bought, Edwin finally broke his own rule and asked.

—What do you do when you meet that guy?

—Oh, we just do the usual stuff. We have dinner, we have a drink, we go for a walk, and we just talk about pointless things…

—You’re doing something that’s not usual at all. You’re going to need to train a lot harder not to get caught lying if you’re going to lie to me.

Giselle pouted her lips, glared at him, and turned her head to look out the window. She didn’t deny that she was lying, but she didn’t confess the truth either. Now that he had brought it up, Edwin wasn’t going to stop until he got an answer.

—If that bastard, who’s so desperate to show off everything he does with you, is hiding something, then of course I’m going to be anxious.

—I understand, but you don’t need to be anxious about it.

—If you say so, then I guess that’s that… Whatever it is, if it’s not a bad thing, why don’t you do it with me, too?

—Your cross-examination won’t work on me.

—…I didn’t think you would hide things from me, too.

He ended up showing that he was hurt. Giselle glanced back at him, then scrunched up her nose and gave a bitter smile.

—Lorenz asked me to keep it a secret. I’m sorry.

Why are you keeping his secret? You should be on my side. He had a childish thought, but he couldn’t sink to the same level as that six-year-old bastard.

—Don’t be sorry. I was just asking because I was worried. You know me. I’m a classic overprotective type.

Edwin tried to change the mood with a joke, pulling out a phrase Giselle had used once. Giselle glared at him but still took his hand.

This man was trying so hard not to show it, but the reason he was anxious wasn’t just because of Giselle’s well-being.

‘He’s jealous’

Were his words, «do what you do with him with me, too,» just empty words to try and get her to talk? Giselle didn’t want to make Edwin anxious because of another man, as she had been through it herself, but this time, she put more weight on her promise to Lorenz.