Raising my Fiancè with Money - Chapter 55

Friends

TL: Jasmine

Lilia stared at the direction where the carriage disappeared, then turned her head and looked up at Karhan.

“By the way, how did you know what happened?”

“I was at the appointment place and heard the commotion, so I came here just in case.”

Well, since they had an argument in the middle of the boulevard……. Lilia looked around. Before she knew it, there were a lot of people.

“Shall we go first?”

When Malek and the horseman finished talking, Lilia took a step first. As the crowd dispersed, Lilia stopped. Karhan, who quietly followed, also stopped.

“By the way, your outfit is a bit bold today.”

At Lilia’s words, Karhan glanced at Tession and asked,

“Is it weird…..?”

“It’s okay, but…….”

With a body that was not common, people passing by would look back. His straight clavicle and ridge-like shoulders stood out in particular. With a great

physique, even when he frowned like before, it made a significant difference.

In the event of the carriage accident, if Karhan had put his forearm out the window instead of Malek, the other party would not have tried to pick a fight. Lilia looked at Karhan silently for a moment and shook her head.

“No, it looks good on you.”

This was different because he always wore clothes with plenty of cover. Above all, his body, which seemed to have been strengthened by training, was very ideal. If she had seen his body in the atelier, she would have thought his torso was imitating a statue’s..

Tession looked noticeably relieved at Lilia’s compliment. Seeing him, Lilia tilted her head and suggested walking for now. The two walked slowly down the street without going to the meeting place,

There was a moment of silence. Normally, Lilia would have naturally started the conversation, but it was Karhan who opened his mouth first,

“Did you go home safely that day?”

He was referring to the last day they met. It was the day they met by chance at the exhibition and even drank together.

“Did I make a mistake or something…”

Lilia recalled the memories of the day she had buried for a while. She remembered his eyes, which had been filled with heat. Lilia laughed jokingly after shaking off her memory,

“You didn’t make a mistake, but you were weaker than I thought.”

“…I didn’t know I was that weak either.”

Frances, Malek, and Tession, who were standing behind, naturally looked at Lilia. Karhan’s drinking capacity was about average, but Lilia drank so well that he looked relatively weak. But the two didn’t notice anything strange.

“Come to think of it, someone talked to me earlier.”

“Really? Who was it?”

“I couldn’t ask his name, but it was with a friendly attitude from the first moment.”

Karhan continued to talk with his eyes down as if it were regrettable.

“I tried to continue the conversation as you told me last time, but the other person apologised and left. I think I made a mistake.”

Lilia recalled the conversation method she had previously taught Karhan. She thought it was easy, but it seemed difficult for him. Lilia suggested to Karhan, who looked upset,

“Let’s practice together later.”

“Yes.”

He nodded as if he was still gloomy.

“……. Lilia seems to have a lot of friends.”

At Karhan’s statement, Lilia remained silent.

“Do I have any friends?’

There was no person who came to mind. All the names that barely came to mind were people who were related to Richard. Most of them just looked at her for the money and approached her.

“I don’t have any.”

Karhan was perplexed at the firm answer. Lilia shrugged lightly.

She remembered she had a friend when she was young, but when she grew up, quarrelling interests led her to stay away from everything. She had been betrayed so many times that she no longer felt the need to make friends.

Lilia looked up at Karhan. They joined hands for the same purpose, but if she defined her relationship with Karhan, wouldn’t it be close to friends?

“I don’t know about you, but I think we are friends.”

Karhan’s expression, who was silently looking at Lilia, shook for a moment. Lilia, who did not see it, suggested,

“You didn’t have lunch, did you? Shall we eat first?”

“Yes.”

Karhan removed the shadow on his face and briefly replied. They went straight to the restaurant, had a simple lunch, and then sat down at a nearby tea house, chatted lightly, and stopped by a bookstore,

Lilia and Karhan each went to their respective fields of interest. After choosing some music books related to the orchestra, Karhan moved on to the love field. Karhan’s eyes as he scanned the bookshelf stopped for a moment.

(Love beginner, become a master! Volume 2]

The next volume of the book he was reading hard these days had come out. Karhan picked up the book without any hesitation and put it on his side. As he turned his head, he saw Lilia, who was choosing a book right next to his corner.

Lilia reached out to see if she had found the book she was looking for. Even if she raised on her tip-toes and reached out her hand as far as she could, Lilia couldn’t reach and muttered to herself,

“I’ll have to call an employee.”

Lilia turned around and tried to find an employee. Then something hard touched her back slightly. His muscles-filled chest gently pressed her shoulders, and a familiar scent suddenly came in.

Lilia stopped at the refreshing scent that covered the smell of paper. Soon after, his body fell off, and a low voice came from above.

“It’s this right?”

Lilia turned slowly and faced Karhan. She saw a book held out towards her. It was the book that she couldn’t reach no matter how much she tried,

“….. That’s right. Thank you.”

After receiving the book, Lilia once again recognized the difference in her physique with Karhan. Karhan was tall enough to feel like he was rising when he lined up against any passersby. On the contrary, Lilia, was slightly shorter than the average height.

Lilia raised her head a little more. His face was shrouded in shadows. There was a dark wall behind his eves which were covered by descending black eyelashes. Even if he improved a lot, he still looked blunt in the eyes of others.

Their eyes met for a moment. Lilia saw a faint smile like the dawn of the morning. Her heart skipped a beat like a book standing out on the bookshelf. It seemed that the emotions that had fallen off and hidden in them would unfold soon.

Lilia pressed her chest with her fingertips. She didn’t want to take it out and dig it up. She didn’t know she’d have useless feelings for no reason.

“I think I’m done, so I’ll go pay first.”

As Lilia took off, Karhan also headed to the cashier. After purchasing the book, the two left the bookstore, The sun floating above her head was already inclined to the west. Lilia recalled the purpose of meeting Karhan today.

“I’ll return your coat.”

Karhan followed Lilia along. Upon arriving in front of the carriage, Lilia said her goodbyes first.

“It’s already late, so we’d better break up for today.”

Karhan looked at Lilia with disappointed eyes. After contemplating for a while, he carefully opened his mouth.

“Can I see you off to your home?”

“….. Won’t it take longer to get back?”

Each person came in a carriage, so there was no need to bother. When Lilia pointed out the realistic problem, Karhan was eventually forced to step down.

“I borrowed your coat well.”

Lilia returned two cleanly washed coats. While Malek put the coat in Karhan’s carriage, Lilia held out a small box.

“It’s a present.”

Karhan’s gaze was stuck on the box.

“What’s inside is a cuff button. I frivolously bought it while passing by, and I thought it would look good on

you.”

She bought it without much thought, but when she tried to give it to him, she was a little shy. Karhan, who took the box, fiddled with it several times with his long fingertips. He carefully put it in his arms as if dealing with precious jewellery

“I’ll cherish it.”

“It’s not for ornamentation, it’s consumables, so wear it often.”

“Then… I’ll use it after a while.”

He fiddled with his coat as if he couldn’t use it because it was a waste. He looked happy like a child who received a gift he wanted very much on his birthday.

The feelings hidden under the slightly curved eyes were warm. It was the first time karhan showed all his emotions on his face, so Lilia blinked.

She felt weird. She remembered Richard, who took for granted the things she gave him as gifts from some point on. She thought of him who was openly disappointed when he received something he didn’t

like.

Lilia had a light smile. Seeing him so happy and glad, she felt proud.

“See you next time.”

Lilia, who gave a short farewell, got on the waggon. Karhan stood there and watched the waggon depart. The carriage of the Bloden family gradually moved away from his sight.

The box in his arms poked his chest as if it reminded him of its existence. Karhan raised his head and muttered.

“I have to pay her back.”

“What?”

Tession, who was standing next to him, asked back. Karhan took a step instead of explaining. If he received a gift, he should pay it back. He wanted to give it to her as soon as possible, so he thought he should just give her a gift today. In fact, he might be able to see Lilia again with that excuse.

Karhan entered the downtown area where the shops were lined up and looked at the items with attentive eyes. While thinking about what gift to give, he opened the love guide he was reading earlier. Referring to the recommended gift list, Karhan chose the gift after much consideration.

What he chose after a long time was a small parasol. For some reason, Lilia seemed to have every style of parasols, but that was the case for other items as well.

“Let’s go to the Bloden mansion.”

“What? Now?”

Thinking it might be a little late, Tession took out his pocket watch and checked it.

“I just want to give her a present.”

He didn’t wish to have an appointment with Lilia. He just wanted to give her a present and go back.

The two got on the waggon. On his way to the Bloden mansion, Karhan looked out the window. It seemed somewhat special to think that Lilia would have gone the same way.

Karhan took out the box he had put in his arms and fiddled with it. As far as he remembered, he had never even received a birthday gift properly. A birthday that no one celebrated was just lonely.

So Karhan forgot his birthday. He didn’t really care about it, so he often passed it without knowing that his birthday had passed. He had a handful of occasions when he received a gift on his birthday, but it was the first time he received a gift on a day that was nothing.

A faint smile came to mind. Karhan leaned his head by the window and ruminate over what happened today. And he recalled what Lilia had said.

– I don’t know about you, but I think we’re friends.

The smile around his mouth disappeared. If it had been before, he would have been just happy. He must be excited to be friends with Lilia…… Yet when he heard that from Lilia, his heart tightened.

He thought it would be nice to make friends, but he didn’t want to be friends with Lilia. Karhan could not tell what this contradictory mind was.

“We are here”

The carriage stopped in front of the gate of the mansion. It was late, and he was going to ask the gatekeeper to give her the gift because it could be burdensome to suddenly visit.

Karhan got off the waggon. And he saw two people raising their voices next to the gate. It was Lilia and Richard Tersian.

T/N: ah shit….here we go again….