Seyard pulled Kisa close, holding her in his embrace.
Then, with a slightly trembling voice, he whispered in her ear.
“I’m delighted that you love me too. Truly delighted.”
Was he overwhelmed? This was unlike his usual composed self in any situation.
“I promise. I will certainly make you happy, Kisa.”
I’ve already received more than I deserve from you. Kisa was about to answer that way.
But before she could even open her mouth, Seyard continued.
“So for now, let’s think only of our feelings.”
Only of our feelings. It was like magic.
With those words, various shadows that had loomed in Kisa’s heart melted away like snow on a spring day.
Her sense of indebtedness toward Seyard, vague anxiety about the future. And the worries that had troubled her these past few days… let’s put them all aside for now.
At this moment, she wanted to surrender herself to these sweet emotions welling up inside her, just as he said.
Feeling his strong arms around her waist, Kisa answered after a long while in a tiny voice. “Yes,” she said.
****
“Miss.”
“……”
“Miss?”
“……”
“Miss!”
Startled by the loud voice near her ear, Kisa looked at her nanny with wide, rabbit-like eyes.
“What is it, Nanny?”
The nanny, who had been cleaning the window frame, tilted her head suspiciously as she looked at Kisa sitting at her desk.
“You haven’t been listening to me, have you?”
“Oh, yes. I was just lost in thought.”
The nanny’s eyes narrowed as she held a wet cloth.
“Miss, do you realize you’ve been particularly absent-minded today? Did something happen yesterday? Come to think of it, you visited Duke Hillan’s residence. So perhaps with the Duke—”
Afraid that something odd might be said, Kisa hurriedly waved her hand.
“Nothing happened. Now, if you have something to tell me, just say it.”
The doubt wasn’t particularly strong, as the nanny willingly changed the subject.
“About this bag you took out yesterday. Shall I put it away for you?”
As soon as she saw the bag in the nanny’s hand, Kisa darted forward and snatched it.
“It’s fine. I’ll put it away myself.”
“My, are you hiding some treasure in there?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just… I feel a bit sorry for always leaving everything to you.”
After briefly glancing back and forth between Kisa and the handbag, the nanny soon smiled mischievously.
“I see. You must have received quite a gift from the Duke yesterday.”
“What?”
“I’m a bit hurt that you don’t want to show me what it is, but I understand. You’re at that age. When I was your age, I had many unnecessary secrets too. Especially regarding romance.”
Thinking it better to let the misunderstanding stand, Kisa vaguely agreed with the nanny’s words.
“Ah, well. That’s right.”
“My goodness, how intimate a time must you have spent with the Duke yesterday to be so dazed since morning?”
…For the record, this was actually true.
“Anyway, seeing you so happy makes me happy too. You look much happier than when you liked Young Master Daniel.”
“Do I?”
“Yes, to my eyes that have served you for so long, it’s quite obvious.”
“When did I ever act like the world would end if I couldn’t marry that fellow?”
At Kisa’s grumbling, the nanny responded defensively.
“W-well, back then we didn’t know someone like Duke Hillan would appear. Who could have imagined that you would marry someone as perfect as a prince on a white horse from a fairy tale?”
“A perfect person, you say.”
“Ignorant people may call him extravagant and impulsive, but that’s practically perfect. How could anyone be flawless from head to toe?”
“……”
“Oh my! Look at me. I forgot I need to pick up the laundry from the laundry room. Miss, I’ll see you later!”
With that, the nanny hurriedly left Kisa’s room.
After being lost in thought for a moment, Kisa looked down at the handbag she was holding.
Carefully opening the handbag, she took out the leather notebook that had been resting at the very bottom.
This was the item she had intended to give to Seyard yesterday, but due to his sudden confession of love, she ultimately hadn’t even mentioned its existence.
While wondering how she could have forgotten something so important, looking back at the memory, she could understand why.
As the nanny had guessed, Kisa had been in a half-dazed state since last evening because of the time spent with Seyard.
‘The person I like actually likes me back.’
It was a strange sensation, as if her body was floating in mid-air.
In Kisa’s life of just over twenty years, love had always been an unrequited emotion, but as of yesterday, that was no longer the case.
None other than someone nearly perfect like Seyard had told her that he loved her.
As such, Kisa didn’t want to ruin this sense of complete happiness.
“…Later.”
After staring at his diary for a long time as if in a staring contest, she made her decision.
She would return the notebook to Seyard at an appropriate opportunity later.
They had just confirmed their feelings for each other, so there was no need to make things awkward.
No matter how difficult his childhood records might be, it seemed unlikely that an object containing such raw hatred would evoke good feelings in him.
Moreover, though it was embarrassing, Kisa had already checked its contents.
It would be simple to lie and say she hadn’t read it.
But Kisa didn’t want to lie to him, and she wasn’t confident she could deceive someone as perceptive as him.
So, later. When the right time came, she would return it to Seyard.
Even while clearly knowing it was an evasion, Kisa decided to keep this evidence of sin, given by the old monk, for the time being.
Having made up her mind, she needed to put it into action.
‘I can’t let the nanny or other servants see it.’
They regularly touched every corner of Kisa’s room. Except for one place.
Going to her vanity table, Kisa opened the bottom drawer.
This revealed a wooden jewelry box with intricate floral patterns engraved on it.
After fiddling with the lock on the lid a few times, it unlocked within seconds.
Contrary to its original purpose, it contained more items of little value than actual jewelry.
To begin with, Kisa had a separate jewelry box on top of the vanity table where she kept her real jewelry.
In other words, there was relatively less worry about this jewelry box being stolen.
Most of the servants who entered Kisa’s room knew that she kept her jewelry in the box on top of the vanity table.
This was an item she had received as a gift years ago, and although she had no use for it, it seemed too valuable to throw away, so she had tucked it away in the drawer she opened least often.
However, at some point, Kisa had started using this jewelry box for the purpose of hiding a different type of item.
The contents were things like her diary or letters her deceased mother had left for her daughter—items she didn’t want others to see, regardless of their monetary value.
In Kisa’s room, there was no better place to hide the leather notebook.
Kisa placed Seyard’s boyhood diary next to her own diary and was about to close the lid.
But at that moment, something caught her eye.
The most recently added item among these—the marriage contract with Seyard.
“This is probably unnecessary now.”
Kisa murmured, holding the contract rolled up in scroll form.
The two of them were now in a relationship where they genuinely loved each other, so the contract that had forced their relationship might be useless now.
After the contract period of two years ended, Kisa had no intention of leaving his side.
“Still, there’s no need to throw it away.”
After all, wasn’t it a precious memory shared with Seyard?
Even now, when she closed her eyes, she could vividly recall the memory of putting their heads together to decide on the wording that would be written in the contract.
Kisa put it back in the jewelry box, closed the lid, and locked it.
****
Two days later, Kisa went out for a date with Seyard.
The date was quite overdue, as Kisa had been to Bonzmos, and Seyard had visited his territory.
Furthermore, it was their first date after confirming their feelings.
In a way, this could be considered their first true date.
Perhaps because of this, Kisa felt excited yet simultaneously nervous throughout the date.
It was strange. They had simply dined at an elegant restaurant as usual and wandered around the shopping district, but for some reason, her heart was pounding.
“Kisa, how does it taste?”
“G-g-good.”
Even her voice trembled when Seyard asked questions with his charming smile.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Seeing him simply smile despite her awkward appearance, Kisa bowed her head deeply.
She hadn’t imagined that dating someone you love could be such a heart-fluttering experience; it was beyond imagination.
However, the exciting time didn’t last very long.
“I’m truly sorry, but I must go now. His Majesty the King is looking for me.”
Although unable to prevent their marriage, the King still seemed to view Seyard, who had refused the marriage proposal with his youngest daughter, unfavorably.
“It’s okay. It can’t be helped.”
Kisa tried to hide her disappointment and answered brightly.
“Would you like me to escort you to the Vansfelt residence on my way to the palace?”
“That’s all right. I can call our family carriage here. And I’d like to look around while I’m in the bustling area.”
“I understand. I’ll contact the Vansfelt family.”
After saying that, Seyard left some guards to accompany Kisa and departed.
Afterward, Kisa wandered the streets as she had told him.
“Oh my, fancy meeting you here.”
Then she encountered an unexpected person.
“This is our second meeting, Lady Vansfelt.”
Madame Oshuana.
[I saw your fiancé courting a widow.]
The person who had revealed the truth to Kisa long ago.
