Jack finally seemed to notice that the situation was turning unusual, as he rolled his eyes.
Kevin and Dylan, who had approached Louis standing quietly behind, carefully asked,
“How much of the conversation did you hear earlier?”
“From the part where you said Carol wouldn’t meet someone powerful enough to introduce her to a position in the Royal Palace.”
Of all things, he had to hear that part of the conversation. Dylan clicked his tongue as he recalled the dialogue in his head.
Kevin looked behind Louis and, noticing Carol’s absence, asked,
“…Where’s my sister?”
“The Duke spilled tea, so she went to buy a new dress from a nearby shop to change into.”
It was a blessing in disguise. He meant it was fortunate that his sister didn’t hear unnecessary words and get hurt.
Unfortunately, it would be unfortunate for the other party.
If Carol had been here, she would have confronted them and it would have ended there, but since the Duke had heard it, he clearly wouldn’t let it slide.
“Your Grace?”
Jack looked at the Duke with a stupid expression.
The Duke had a somewhat vindictive personality. Louis knew this from working with the Duke for a long time, and Kevin and Dylan realized it when he didn’t immediately return their swords.
But Jack, who had only just learned the Duke’s identity, had no way of knowing this fact.
The Duke belatedly realized why he was uncharacteristically angrier than usual.
Jack’s brief words prominently displayed his contempt.
Carol had things she wanted to do too.
It irritated him to see the underlying assumption that her value was determined by the man she met, as if her only purpose was to meet a good man and pave the way for her siblings.
Her value didn’t shine only through sacrificing for others. No one had the right to force that upon her.
And it grated on his nerves that Jack spoke so lightly of her as if she were a fugitive criminal, something even the Duke could only guess about her past of running away.
That’s why he was angry.
Even if he got angry here, no one would punish the Duke, but they were Carol’s benefactors, and the Duke didn’t want to spoil Carol’s excited mood.
The Duke knew Jack’s type very well.
‘Jack, was it?’
Judging by how he acted like a cornered rat under his appraising gaze, he seemed to be the type who was weak to the strong and strong to the weak.
If that was the case, instead of getting openly angry, he could just crush him with power.
The Duke glanced towards the door of the shop Carol had entered. It seemed there was still some time before she would come out.
The Duke casually licked his lower lip, pretending to be nonchalant.
****
“Why…?”
Jack closed his mouth, unable to continue speaking. He seemed like he was about to say something more, but all that came out was a stupid “Huh?”
Jack appeared overwhelmed by the Duke’s sudden presence, unable to think about why he was here.
Lord Elais couldn’t hold back and struck Jack’s back hard.
“Ugh!”
The three people standing behind gasped at Lord Elais’s rough behavior, so different from his usual gentle demeanor.
Only the Duke looked at the two with an indifferent expression. Then he spoke in a calm voice.
“Apologizing on his behalf. Despite appearances, you must still be quite young.”
The Duke spoke in such a serious tone that for a moment it seemed he might actually think that, but his chilly gaze soon revealed he was being sarcastic.
Lord Elais’ eyes widened as he realized how unseemly it was for someone who wasn’t even young to hide behind his parents and have them apologize for him.
“I’m sorry. Ah.”
Lord Elais started to apologize again but hesitated, looking at his still-frozen son beside him.
“I-I’m sorry. I misspoke.”
Jack bowed his head, his face turning pale as he belatedly noticed his father’s sharp gaze.
“Isn’t the person whom you should apologize to not me?”
The cold tone was like a needle, and Jack felt like he might bleed from being stabbed by those words.
‘What exactly did I do wrong?’
In fact, Jack wasn’t fully aware of why he was bowing his head.
Even after replaying his words in his mind, Jack couldn’t understand which part of his speech had angered the Duke.
He just didn’t want to go against that gaze.
As Jack opened his mouth to say something more, the Duke’s expression softened. The sudden change in expression made him think it might not be such a big deal after all, and he was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
The three people behind had the same thought, but soon they heard a bell chime and saw Carol emerge from a shop a few blocks away.
Carol was about to call out to the Duke when she noticed Kevin and Dylan, greeting them with wide eyes.
“Why are you outside… Kevin, Dylan? You’re here already?”
“Sis?”
Even the sharp-sensed pair only realized it was Carol after the door opened.
The two turned their heads to look at the Duke.
“What were you talking about outside?”
“Nothing important.”
His face showed he had already known Carol would come out.
The Duke wrapped his arm around Carol’s waist, naturally joining the conversation.
“I’m sorry. Did you wait long?”
The Duke answered Carol’s question with “Not much,” while looking at Kevin and Dylan.
The two felt a chill from the warning in his gaze. They also felt a strange sense of triumph that he had noticed before the two knights did.
“Uh. Huh?”
Jack stared at Carol with a dumbfounded expression.
Jack knew that the Duke and his father were part of the same group. But he was so surprised that he hadn’t thought about why they could be together.
Even though this was obviously the occasion for Carol to introduce the person she was meeting.
Clatter.
Two carriages stopped right in front of them. The elaborate ducal crest engraved on the black carriage looked even more imposing.
Lord Elais, thinking he should somehow smooth things over, quickly spoke before the carriage door opened.
“I think it would be better to send my son back. He seems to be unwell.”
“Oh my, are you feeling very ill?”
Although Carol wasn’t particularly fond of Jack, she showed concern when hearing he was sick enough to miss the gathering.
“It would be a shame for even one person to miss out on this rare occasion.”
At the Duke’s cold words, spoken while avoiding Carol’s gaze, Lord Elais had no choice but to keep Jack there, despite wanting to send him away first.
“…Yes.”
At the Duke’s dismissal, everyone except Carol thought they would need to take digestive medicine after the meal.
“Ah, right.”
The Duke suddenly turned his gaze back, as if remembering something he had forgotten. Louis, Kevin, and Dylan all wore puzzled expressions in a row.
The Duke judged it would be more comfortable to have at least one person on his side.
“The sword I was going to return is in the carriage.”
“!”
Dylan’s eyes widened.
“It would be better if you took it after the meal.”
As the Duke drove the point home, Dylan’s eyes sparkled brightly. He looked like he could bring back a dragon’s heart if asked right now.
“Yes!”
The number of people who wouldn’t get indigestion during the meal increased by one more.
****
Carol sensed something was off later than usual.
This was because Carol had forgotten. That today was the first time she had properly seen the Duke since returning from the lake.
Although the Duke had briefly shown his face to coordinate schedules after that, it was so brief that they hadn’t even hugged.
Being alone together, and standing side by side like this, was the first time since they went to the lake.
‘To think I had forgotten that fact.’
She realized belatedly, having been too focused on Lord Elais’s arrival.
The memories she had tried so hard to suppress came flooding back in an instant, as if mocking her efforts.
[Are you okay?]
[Yes.]
[Tell me if it’s too much.]
[D-don’t stop.]
[It’s best not to provoke me like that.]
[…What happens if I provoke you more?]
She recalled his sweat-soaked hair, his biting his lower lip to maintain control, the veins bulging on his arms as he firmly supported her pale, delicate waist with strong hands.
Only now did she realize how foolish she had been to think she was fine, that she could act nonchalant.
The Duke’s arm naturally around her waist was intensely distracting. Every place the Duke’s touch grazed felt like her heart had relocated there to beat, burning as if on fire.
From the moment she realized she wanted the Duke more, something seemed to have broken inside her.
‘Is it okay to touch like this in front of others?’
The Duke’s escort felt unbearably suggestive. The fact that she couldn’t point it out even while thinking this way was because, if she consciously paid attention, there was nothing wrong with the Duke’s etiquette.
“Teacher?”
Startled.
Carol flinched, her shoulders jerking at the Duke’s gentle call.
“Yes?”
“We’re moving to the restaurant. Did you forget something?”
