# 13
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The weekend came quickly. During that time, I diligently read the books delivered to the duchy, and sometimes took early morning walks, seriously thinking about how to fix Ian's mind. The final result I arrived at was...
“Well, that's pointless.”
In the end, I decided that confronting the problem head-on was the best approach.
No matter how many books I read or how much I studied about the ideal husband model, there was no guarantee that this cold-blooded Ian would follow through.
So, after I finished reading “Men Loved by Women,” I sent all the books directly to the far corner of the huge palace library.
And now, here I was, sitting at a tea table in the middle of the garden with Ian.
“I wondered what you were doing...”
He glanced at the refreshments on the tea table.
“Are you really going to waste your whole weekend just having tea?”
“…Well, since it's our first session, I thought we could start with some light conversation.”
I shrugged nonchalantly and took a sip of the black tea in front of me.
Ian was watching my every move intently.
Stop staring like that, you'll burn my face.
“Jumping straight to fixing… No, your behavior may be exaggerated because we don’t know each other well yet. The first step in any education is to assess the student’s level, after all.”
He frowned slightly at the word 'level', but that was all.
I was planning on teaching this guy how to have a conversation with another human being. According to the story, this main man didn't know how to have a proper conversation.
Naturally, poor Diana was the one who suffered the most from this.
It was normal for Ian not to initiate any conversations with Diana, and even when she made an effort to bring up a topic and keep the conversation going, he would usually respond with short, awkward answers, and end them abruptly.
Especially before Diana left for the academy, their last conversation was so heartbreaking that even the author's biased writing, usually dripping with love for Ian, couldn't hide her misery.
Which is understandable, because when Diana told Ian she was leaving for the academy, he basically drew a line by saying.
“There is no need to bother me with such trivial matters.”
In that chapter, even Ian's most ardent fans commented that Diana looked pathetic, so there was no need to explain further.
'This impudent man...'
She suppressed the anger that was starting to rise again, and smiled softly.
"Anyway, since we know so little about each other, I thought this kind of time would be necessary. Is that okay with you?"
Ian, who had been staring at me the whole time, sighed and nodded.
"Good."
“In a year, you will be grateful to me.”
“Have you suddenly developed the ability to see the future?”
What a naughty child.
“Well… I have a good feeling what's going to happen.”
This is correct. I guarantee you will thank me with tears in your eyes in a year, my friend.
Ian, who was staring at me with that piercing look, sighed in reluctant agreement.
“…Okay. Let’s have this light conversation.”
Although he cooperated, his tone was still strangely uncooperative.
In fact, he looked uncomfortable from the moment he sat down.
"Okay, let's start with something simple. How about exchanging a hello?"
“Greetings?”
"Yes."
Ian frowned.
“But we met this morning...”
"my regards."
She interrupted him with a smile, a wrinkle appearing on his perfectly smooth forehead.
You can push that handsome face all you want, I'm not falling into the trap.
"Even people who live together say hello every morning. You know, things like, 'Did you sleep well?' Or “The weather is nice today.” There are many things that can be said. Haven’t your servants greeted you before?”
“You must have slept well since I saw you at breakfast this morning, and you must think the weather is nice because you put the tea table outside.”
As I watched Ian respond to every word I said, I thought to myf,
'If you weren't a sword expert, you would be under the influence right now.'
How did a man who deserved to be beaten like that end up becoming the champion?
I couldn't respect this author's tastes, no matter how hard I tried.
Wanting to sigh, I clenched my fists resolutely.
It was all for Diana. I had to take it and be patient.
"The purpose of greetings is to build a feeling of connection. She never greeted me again."
“Because this is unnecessary.”
“Should I go back to reading every scandal about me instead?”
In frustration, I lashed out at him, and a crack finally appeared in his deadpan expression.
Sigh
He pressed his fingers gently to his temple as if he were tired.
He seemed to have no idea why he was putting up with this.
"I hope you slept well last night. The weather is nice today."
'Why do you repeat it verbatim like that?'
The lack of honesty has ruined my mood.
'But no, this is still progress.'
Although it didn't look like much, the fact that he was playing along was a small victory.
In the original story, he didn't say that much to Diana.
My not-so-subtle threat seemed to work well.
“Yes, I slept well...and yes, the weather is nice. The flowers are beautiful too.”
I looked around as I spoke.
This garden was the same rose garden I visited on my first morning walk.
That day, I couldn't walk long because of the wind, but in the daylight, the roses were blooming beautifully, filling me with gentle warmth.
Now that I thought about it, Diana also loved the rose garden in the duchy
“Don't you see these flowers every day?”
Unlike me, Ian's expression was as dry as ever.
I knew he was emotionally distant, but seeing him so desensitized was completely depressing.
"Even the flowers you see every day can feel new. Haven't you ever felt that way?"
"no."
I clenched my teeth hard.
“However, is there nothing you can feel?”
Come on, say something.
My intense gaze made Ian pause for a moment.
“…flowers.”
Flowers?
“It's… colorful.”
At this point, I should have felt a deep sense of doubt.
Can I really fix this guy in a year?
Perhaps the only reason Ian pretended to change in front of Diana was because of the overwhelming power of love.
I swallowed the obscene words that were about to slip from my lips and forced myf to smile like a businessman.
“Your Highness, did you know? Women like men who can carry on a good conversation.”
"so what?"
“I'm a woman too, you know?”
“…This is an absolutely amazing discovery.”
Ian replied with a completely unimpressed expression.
“...Ah! What I'm trying to say is that women like men who can appreciate the beauty of flowers with them, not men who simply point out that they are colorful.”
“At the very least, you could say something like, ‘The garden is beautiful,’ or, ‘It is an honor to enjoy tea together on such a sunny day,’ or even, ‘This is fun.’” Surely, you can handle such empty pleasantries?”
“Are such empty words really necessary?”
Ian looked at me with an expression that suggested neither of us were particularly enjoying this meeting, and I had to stop myf from punching him.
“I think it's time to add a new base to these lessons.”
“No more unnecessary questions.”
Although Ian frowned upon hearing this, he did not argue.
Fortunately. If he had said something here, I probably would have dropped this entire lesson right away.
“Okay, let’s keep going. Let’s try to say something nice. After all, there is no woman in the world who doesn’t like kind words.”
I explained that this was an extension of the previous greeting and cleared my throat.
“Watch carefully.”
I put on the sweetest expression I could control and stared at him warmly.
“No matter how beautiful the flowers are, they cannot compare to the person sitting in front of me.”
Ian's expression immediately turned yellow.