‘The Duke isn’t seriously considering my sister.’
It wasn’t that Dylan had the old-fashioned idea that meeting someone meant you had to marry them.
But if only one side was serious, it was a different story.
Carol had a reserved personality that made it difficult for her to meet people easily.
‘Does my sister know what the Duke is thinking?’
If she didn’t know, what should he do?
Dylan anxiously bit his nails. Thanks to the Knight Captain’s consideration, he was allowed to stand in the hallway, but he thought it might be better to eavesdrop on their conversation from outside.
‘When will it end?’
He felt he needed to see Kevin quickly.
This was the kind of worry he couldn’t handle alone.
The Knight Captain was just as busy due to the sudden staff shortage. The Second Knights’ Order had become more cooperative than before after hearing the news of Kevin and Dylan’s knighthood.
So, even in the midst of his busy schedule, the Knight Captain couldn’t help but stop and ask when he saw Dylan’s anxious appearance.
“Is something wrong?”
“Huh?”
When Dylan startled, the Knight Captain pointed out his behavior, saying he wasn’t trying to scold him.
“You’re fidgeting like a dog that needs to poop.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“No, there’s nothing to apologize for.”
“I’m sorry.”
His lips closed stubbornly, as if he had no intention of explaining the situation. The Knight Captain smiled at the young-looking Dylan.
“Should I let you go earlier today?”
He believed without a doubt that Dylan would decline as usual, always saying it was fine when told to leave early.
If he did, the Knight Captain thought he’d buy him a drink and tell him to take a secret break, but to work well until the end of his shift.
The Knight Captain had already decided what to say next.
But Dylan jumped at those words.
“Is that really okay?”
Dylan’s eyes sparkled excessively as he suddenly looked up.
“…Huh?”
The Knight Captain was rather taken aback, but Dylan, interpreting it as an affirmation, raised his head with sparkling eyes.
“Really?”
If he said no now, he’d feel like a jerk who mocked his subordinate.
“Y-yeah…”
“Then I’ll be going now.”
Where had the person who always said he’d stay longer gone? Dylan bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle, as if desperate to leave quickly.
“…Alright.”
Instead of taking back his words, the Knight Captain replied with a dumbfounded expression.
Dylan glanced at the clock. Kevin would still be at the temple.
Dylan hurried out of the royal palace.
From tomorrow, he shouldn’t even jokingly say he’d let them off early.
The Knight Captain touched his forehead, cursing his own mouth.
The place where Kevin was located was a small temple not far from the royal palace, famous for being frequented only by high-ranking nobles.
Inside the royal palace, objects imbued with divine power were placed everywhere to prevent ominous things from entering.
Kevin had gone to the temple today to receive new objects imbued with divine power.
“Kevin!”
Upon arriving at the temple, Dylan could easily find Kevin right away.
“Dylan.”
“Are you done with work?”
“Yeah. But they said it might take longer than expected, so come back tomorrow.”
“Then do you have to return to the palace?”
“No. The senior went to the palace. I’m told to watch here and then go straight home.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Are you done with work?”
“Yeah. The captain let me off early.”
“Why? Do you have some urgent business?”
Kevin asked, noticing Dylan’s urgent expression.
“It’s not urgent… but there’s something I want to consult about.”
“What is it that makes you look so serious?”
Dylan touched his forehead. He had almost burst trying to keep it to himself.
“It’s a bit of a long story.”
Kevin sighed softly and looked at the clock on the wall.
“Just a moment, I’ll be done with work soon.”
Dylan sat on a bench in the central garden of the temple until Kevin came.
Perhaps because it was a place frequented by high-ranking nobles, there weren’t many people around.
With many trees inside the temple, the dense foliage created shade, making it cool even though the sun hadn’t completely set yet.
Tap.
Shortly after, Kevin, having finished his work, approached Dylan with drinks in both hands.
Tap.
When Kevin pressed a drink to Dylan’s forehead, Dylan, lost in thought, startled.
“You scared me.”
“What were you thinking about so deeply that you couldn’t even sense my presence?”
Dylan naturally took the drink and said in a serious voice.
“It’s important.”
“So what’s the matter?”
Dylan unnecessarily looked around. Only after confirming no one was around did he carefully open his mouth.
Dylan relayed the story exactly as he heard it, trying to exclude his own emotions as much as possible.
“So which noble family started with ‘Che’?”
Dylan muttered in a serious voice after finishing his story. However, Kevin seemed puzzled rather than immediately agreeing with Dylan.
“Isn’t it just your misunderstanding?”
“…Huh?”
“You said you didn’t hear the entire conversation.”
Frustrated that Kevin wasn’t agreeing with him, Dylan roughly messed up his own hair.
“Do I need to hear the whole conversation to know?”
“You need to hear people out to the end to understand, you know.”
“Isn’t this too clear-cut this time?”
“Who knows.”
“Then should we not tell my sister?”
“For now, we shouldn’t say anything. What if we tell her and it turns out to be wrong?”
Dylan frowned at Kevin’s firm words.
“Why?”
“Wait a second.”
“What’s wrong?”
As Kevin asked again, puzzled by the incomprehensible attitude, Dylan bit his lower lip.
“Move aside.”
It was because of the scene visible over Kevin’s shoulder.
Dylan pointed behind with his eyes instead of words.
“But isn’t that… the Duke over there?”
Kevin turned his head back. Dylan lowered his head to avoid being seen, and with one hand, pressed Kevin’s head down.
The Duke was with a woman.
Golden hair shimmering in the fading sunset light, clothes that looked expensive despite being modest. She was clearly a noblewoman at first glance.
“It does look like him.”
Kevin also held his breath along with Dylan.
“Why do we run into him here too?”
Dylan sighed deeply. It could be an insignificant encounter, but he couldn’t take his eyes off, feeling concerned.
Kevin, who had told Dylan he was overthinking, seemed to feel the same way, as he also watched the two people silently.
They couldn’t hear the conversation, but they could clearly see their figures. The two were laughing heartily about something apparently amusing.
“What are they doing?”
“Isn’t everything starting to look suspicious because we’re doubting?”
Despite saying this, Kevin was also feeling oddly uncomfortable seeing the two who appeared so close.
“…Huh?”
The Duke handed the woman a box that looked obviously luxurious. Then he took out what seemed to be an elegant container from inside.
“What’s that?”
“Looks like some kind of bottle.”
“What kind of bottle?”
“Seems like perfume.”
The woman carefully took out the gift and kissed the container. She appeared to be handling something very precious.
Kevin and Dylan’s eyes widened simultaneously.
“What are the chances they’re just exchanging perfume for work-related reasons?”
And what are the chances of receiving a gift and kissing it if they weren’t in a relationship?
Perfume was an expensive item and one of the gifts exchanged only in very personal relationships.
“…Wouldn’t it be better to consider the possibility that the person isn’t the Duke at this point?”
“…”
Even looking with wide-open eyes, it was still the Duke.
It was impossible for there to be two high-ranking nobles in the empire with striking silver hair and burning red eyes beneath, who were exceptionally handsome and able to frequent this temple.
“Will you still say I’m overreacting?”
“…We couldn’t hear the conversation though.”
Kevin objected, but his words lacked conviction.
“Who is that person?”
“I’m not sure. I can tell she’s a noble though.”
“Right?”
Just as the two of them tensed up, the priest who had first greeted Kevin at the temple stopped him cheerfully.
“You haven’t left yet?”
“Ah, Father. My family member dropped by briefly, so I was introducing the temple. It’s such a wonderful place.”
Kevin stood up, greeting naturally. The priest looked back and forth between Dylan and Kevin.
They were embarrassed, worried they might have been caught peeking.
“Oh, is this the family member you mentioned who’s in the same knighthood?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t be nervous. I completely understand wanting to share the beauty of the temple.”
The priest spoke with a voice full of pride. He seemed to have misunderstood their embarrassment as being due to Dylan’s presence. Kevin didn’t bother to correct the priest’s misunderstanding.
The priest came closer. Before they could stop him, the priest spotted the Duke through the gap between them.
“It’s His Grace the Duke.”
“…It’s His Grace the Duke!”
Dylan replied like a broken machine.
“He’s quite a rare sight, isn’t he?”
The priest nodded as he spoke. Realizing they hadn’t been caught spying, the two naturally turned their gaze back towards the Duke.
In the brief moment they weren’t looking, the gift seemed to have been put back in the box, as it was no longer visible in her hands.
“This is my first time seeing him.”
Dylan’s voice came out cracked. Before the priest could look at Dylan strangely, Kevin smoothly redirected the conversation.
“…Who is that person with him?”
