28. As Vast as the Sea
“Who is it?”
“Damion! I think it’s your wife.”
Hofrey, his face already regaining color, called out cheerfully toward the inside. Damion, who had been in conversation with someone else inside, immediately turned around.
“Come quickly, will you!”
Despite wearing a dubious expression, Damion began walking toward the terrace. Since he usually didn’t show much interest in any kind of spectacle, Hofrey found this situation all the more intriguing.
A woman with neatly tied black hair under a bonnet appeared. As soon as Damion saw her, he leaned casually on the terrace railing.
“Ansi!”
And without a hint of hesitation, he called out to her.
Ansi blinked wide-eyed and glanced around several times before finally looking up to find the source of the voice.
“Damion?”
“Are you on your way back to the mansion?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go together. I’ll come down.”
As Damion turned right away after saying that, Hofrey—desperate for something entertaining—was so surprised that he blurted out without thinking:
“How about having dinner with us?”
Damion froze at that.
Too late. Hofrey, now regaining his senses, tried to say it was just a joke—but Ansi’s answer came first.
“Should I come up then?”
She looked at them with bright, curious eyes and began to walk toward them.
Everyone in the restaurant near the club building was a member of the Low Club.
Everyone except one—Ansi de Orphee.
The restaurant was solemn and quiet. Everyone who had followed along to relieve their boredom from cards and billiards was now too intrigued by the scene to speak.
While eating in that heavy atmosphere, Ansi glanced around and asked, without malice,
“Is it usually this quiet?”
Though it was a soft question, it carried across the room due to the sheer silence. Several people flinched. Damion calmly responded,
“What kind of atmosphere did you expect?”
“I thought it would be more lively. That people would talk more.”
“So, are you disappointed?”
“Do I have to be honest?”
“My friends enjoy feedback. That’s why you were invited today. So go ahead and speak frankly.”
“Truly honestly?”
Damion nodded as if that were a given. And so Ansi, with a calm face, delivered her critique:
“You don’t seem close at all. I don’t really understand why you all even meet up. It looks like everyone’s being punished.”
Pfft. A few people couldn’t hold back their laughter.
Ansi blinked, not understanding what was so funny. Damion’s eyes crinkled at the corners.
He hadn’t intended to turn her into a spectacle. That’s why, before she came up, he had politely told the other club members not to say anything unnecessary.
But at this rate, if the meal continued in silence, everyone would be so tense they’d get indigestion and tomorrow’s attendance rate would drop to zero.
“Truthfully, it’s usually a noisy place. Everyone’s just afraid of saying something wrong to you.”
Damion whispered kindly.
Normally, a person would reply not to worry about them. But Ansi’s reaction was different.
“Oh, that’s actually a good method.”
She exclaimed in awe and calmly resumed eating.
Damion found himself smiling at the sight.
At this rate, they really were going to eat in complete silence. Henette, unable to watch any longer, poked Damion in the ribs.
Only after leisurely swallowing his food and sipping wine did Damion finally lean toward Ansi.
“It seems everyone wants to get to know you better. Would you grant them permission to speak—as long as it’s not inappropriate?”
Ansi looked up and glanced around. All the silent diners were focused intently on her.
“Is that something I need to permit? Everyone’s responsible for their own mouths.”
With that, it was as if a dam had broken.
“Right? We’re all intelligent adults.”
“You’re very wise, madam.”
The restaurant quickly turned boisterous. Like people who hadn’t spoken in years, they chattered among themselves and even began addressing Ansi.
“Madam, what did Damion say when he confessed? He won’t tell us.”
“Well, then I guess it would be difficult for me to tell you either.”
“Hmm… then how is married life? Is Damion a good husband?”
A good husband?
Ansi turned to look directly at Damion, who sat beside her.
Just then, the next course was served. Damion expertly cut his food, his long eyelashes brushing against his lowered eyes. As she was looking, he raised his head. A lock of hair that had fallen forward swayed slightly.
Their eyes met. Ansi instinctively held her breath.
Then Damion silently reached over and switched his plate with hers, giving her the food he had already cut neatly.
“It’s a bit tricky to cut.”
He offered a light explanation.
A good husband.
It was the same kind of question Elise had once asked. Ansi repeated it silently.
She had avoided answering in front of Elise. But here, dodging the question felt inappropriate.
Ansi tried to think not of the man beside her, but of Damion’s objective traits.
Wealth, appearance, capability, personality.
Objectively speaking, marrying a man like him wasn’t something easily achieved.
So, while he might not be a “good husband” to Ansi de Rubelsa, for others…
“He is a good husband.”
“How good?”
Damion asked playfully, smiling.
How good? That was a hard question. Goodness wasn’t visible, so it couldn’t be measured or quantified.
In the end, Ansi borrowed an expression her parents used when she was young. She hadn’t really agreed with it back then, but it felt like the kind of romantic exaggeration Damion might enjoy.
“As vast as the sea.”
At her answer, Damion froze.
Ansi wondered if she had said something wrong. Or maybe he didn’t understand?
“The sea is so vast you can’t see the end. So I meant he’s a good husband to that extent.”
She helpfully explained. Damion burst into laughter.
“I know what it means.”
“Then why that reaction?”
“I expected answers like ‘a lot,’ ‘pretty good,’ or ‘very.’ But ‘as vast as the sea’? That caught me off guard.”
“That… it’s not really my preferred way of speaking.”
“Well then, how about this: a good husband who might not suit your taste in metaphors but is charming enough to lift your mood with exaggerated expressions?”
“Brilliant.”
Ansi chuckled.
Seeing her smile made Damion feel like a child who’d just been praised.
Why did his shoulders feel like they were rising? Why was he grinning like a fool? Was this champagne secretly a strong spirit?
Originally, he hadn’t planned to add anything to the questions being thrown at Ansi.
The mood might be light now, but he knew public opinion of her hadn’t fully shifted yet. If anyone crossed the line, he had planned to end things on the spot.
But hearing “good husband” come from a woman who had never been good at expressing things… somehow pleased him.
So, on impulse, he had asked how much.
And now, strangely, having joined the conversation, he found himself curious about all her answers.
“What do you think is Damion’s most attractive trait?”
Especially this one.
Damion listened closely.
Ansi turned to the one who asked.
“What did Damion say?”
The man scratched his head awkwardly.
“He didn’t answer.”
Damion cleared his throat.
It was true—he hadn’t responded when asked what he found attractive about Ansi. Whether in a good or bad sense, he hadn’t wanted to discuss her in front of others.
But now, this could easily be misunderstood.
“Ansi, listen—”
“There isn’t one?”
“What?”
“Nothing attractive about me?”
“Of course not.”
Damion replied immediately.
Then he asked himself why he answered so quickly—like someone was chasing him.
Ah, it was because she now thought he didn’t find her attractive at all.
Come to think of it, he’d only ever said vague things like “I like you” or “I fell for you at first sight,” never anything specific.
Maybe it was time to say something more concrete.
“Ansi, I—”
“I’m not answering either.”
Ansi sharply turned her head away. She didn’t seem to have any regrets about it.
But Damion had already made up his mind. He would tell her what he found attractive.
Not because he wanted to hear her answer—but because, in this pleasant atmosphere, it felt like the right moment to share.
Because it was part of getting what he wanted from her.
“How about we say it at the same time?”
Damion asked, flashing a gentle smile.
