“Lireania? What’s going on?”
Serhen’s eyes widened as he saw Lireania enter Kasion’s office.
“You haven’t had dinner yet. I brought you something to eat.”
“Ah, right. Thank you.”
Lireania placed the food she brought on a nearby table.
The butler frowned, blaming himself for not properly attending to the guests. “I’m sorry.”
“The other servants followed my instructions well, so it wasn’t difficult. They’ll soon bring meals to the duke and Lady Ariel as well.”
The butler looked at her with a kind gaze. She and Serhen made a perfect match. But it was strange, wasn’t it? He felt like he had met this woman somewhere before, a very long time ago. But that couldn’t be.
“But where is Ariel?”
The butler snapped back to attention at Serhen’s voice.
“She’s with the knights, watching over the duke.”
Serhen immediately stood up. The butler began to feel a bit disappointed in him. Why did he dislike this so much? Did he not want to see his sister become the duchess? His master had genuine feelings for those siblings.
“You’re not planning to punch the duke again, are you?” Lireania spoke in a stern voice. “No matter how oblivious Lady Ariel might be, if Lord Serhen keeps doing this, she’ll figure out why.”
“T-That’s…”
“Don’t you know? If she doesn’t know, it’s one thing, but once she does, she’ll start noticing, and then she’ll pay more attention and take an interest.” Lireania smiled sweetly, speaking from her own experience. “Especially if it’s someone she’s relied on since childhood who begins to see her as a woman. Don’t you agree, Butler?”
The butler nodded in agreement. “If Lady Ariel understood His Grace’s sincerity, she would surely come to like him.”
“Exactly.”
Serhen’s mouth fell slightly open at Lireania’s words. That’s why he had been trying to stop it so thoroughly.
“They say the more you try to prevent love, the stronger it grows.”
“But…”
“Perhaps the duke’s feelings have deepened because of you, Serhen.”
The butler looked at Lireania, puzzled by what she was saying. Lireania just smiled gently as she continued.
“The cross…”
“I made a mistake.”
The butler seemed reluctant to let that word reach his ears. It would be even scarier if Serhen’s sister heard that.
“Just let the duke handle things his way.”
“But if Kasion decides to seduce innocent Ariel—”
“Lady Ariel is someone who clearly knows what she likes and dislikes.”
“That’s true, but…”
“If she dislikes the duke, she’ll push him away herself.”
Lireania’s words made Serhen smile. If that were the case, there was no way he would lose. Ariel had said she disliked and feared Kasion.
Lireania had to stifle a laugh at Serhen’s transparent thoughts.
“Lady Ariel says she finds Your Grace frightening and unpleasant.”
“It’s probably because of that incident. It’s not that she can’t remember. She’s likely forcing herself to forget.”
“How about being a bit kinder?”
“If I suddenly changed my behavior, Ariel would find it strange and run away.”
In a peculiar way, the two friends were similar. They pretended to listen but didn’t really hear what others were saying. Was it because of the pride that came with their noble status?
“Lady Ariel says she prefers moderately slim muscles over overly built ones.”
“That must be a lie. If she really disliked it, she wouldn’t have tried to make Serhen more like me.”
They were both excessively confident. And neither of them truly understood Ariel.
“I’ll try for just one year. If I can’t convince Ariel and Serhen by then, I’ll find her a better suitor than myself. As long as Ariel can be happy, that’s all that matters to me.”
Both shared a sincere love for Ariel, though one was overly jealous while the other was too clumsy.
That’s why Lireania decided to support Kasion. Watching that clumsy man change was entertaining, and seeing her man constantly worried about losing his sister was even cuter. Most importantly, she knew who could make Ariel, whom she adored, the happiest.
“If you’re that concerned, just finish your work quickly and go back to Lady Ariel.”
She gave the butler a knowing look.
Lireania was already on Kasion’s side. If he failed again this time, she was ready to step in for real.
* * *
Tension filled the room once again. Even though the other person was acting like a beaten puppy, why was that?
“You don’t have the strength to lift a cup?”
“Well, as you can see, the fever has made my muscles twitch uncontrollably.”
Kasion lifted his arm and clenched his fist in front of me. His arm shook strangely, almost like it was convulsing.
“If you don’t want to, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
As I watched him with suspicious eyes, he backed down again. Is this what a wolf without claws would look like?
I handed Kasion the cup with the medicine. He took it with both hands. He wasn’t lying; his arms were trembling. It was possible to shiver like that when you have chills.
“Be careful.”
“I know that much.”
Gotcha. Did he think I wouldn’t notice? Anyone who’s had frequent fevers knows this. His body trembled, but how could his jaw not? No matter how much you try to control it, a slight tremor always remains.
“Hmm…”
I figured out his plan. I wouldn’t fall for it so easily.
As I hummed in suspicion, Kasion sighed deeply and drank the medicine in one gulp. It was still a bit hot, though.
“Here, have a candy.”
“Are you treating me like a child?”
“If you don’t want it, then forget it.”
I started to pull back the hand holding the candy, but Kasion obediently opened his mouth.
“Ah.”
I carefully moved my fingers to drop the candy into his mouth. Despite my caution, my fingers brushed against his lips. They were indeed warm.
Kasion, with his cheeks puffed out from the candy, chewed it with a dissatisfied look.
“But, Kasion…”
“Yes?”
“I’m curious about something. You know, at the last ball.”
“What about it?”
“What did you mean when you said my brother lied?”
A vein throbbed in Kasion’s temple. “If you find out, are you going to confront Serhen?”
“Maybe. It depends on what you say.”
He pouted unhappily, then said one word. “Cross.”
“What cross?”
“Ask Serhen about the rest.”
What the… How unsatisfying. But a cross?
A vague memory from the novel resurfaced. The cross in his hand when he killed Serhen. The one he shamelessly held while pretending to comfort me. Kasion didn’t usually carry a cross. The only cross around us was the one on my necklace.
“Hmm.”
“Are you done with your questions?”
“No. Over there, that thing. Why is it here?”
I pointed to the cabinet, causing Kasion to suddenly start coughing. His act of being sick made me pat his back. The more I patted, the more he coughed, and his face grew even redder. I glanced at his back out of curiosity.
“Oh…”
He was shirtless, wasn’t he? His physique was so consistent whether dressed or undressed that I’d forgotten. Feeling embarrassed, I quickly withdrew my hand, and a slight flush crept into my cheeks.
“If Serhen sees this, he’ll throw another punch at me.”
“T-Then wipe yourself off first before changing clothes.”
I handed him a dry towel. My body stiffened with embarrassment, and I couldn’t turn my head. As a result, my gaze kept drifting toward him.
There were scars on his chest and abdomen, which I hadn’t noticed before. They weren’t just fresh wounds from the battlefield. There were deep, old stab wounds. For some reason, they felt familiar. Even though it was the first time I’d seen his fully exposed body today.
I found myself staring unconsciously as Kasion’s muscles twitched and moved. Startled, I quickly turned my head away.
“Once you’ve wiped down, put on your clothes too.”
I fumbled to find the clothes and handed them to him. My face felt so hot it was almost painful. My scalp even tingled, as if Kasion were staring at the back of my head, making it impossible to look back.
“I don’t have much strength in my arms.”
“Should I call the servants to help you dress?”
“No, I don’t like other people’s hands on my body.”
Such a sensitive person. I had just patted his back, so what did that make me? If he tries to obsess over and confine me after this, I’ll make sure to fight back.
“I’ll do it myself. But where are the pants?”
“Pants?”
“My pants and underwear are wet too.”
“…”
It wasn’t a particularly suggestive comment, but my face flushed anyway.
After gathering the rest of his clothes, I quickly left the bedroom. Rustling sounds began to emerge as I walked away. Kasion’s soft sigh accompanied them.
Sitting on a chair in the living room, I resolutely kept my head turned away from the bedroom. Honestly, I was curious about how impressive those muscles under his pants from the garden must have been. But I felt that crossing that line would lead me to a point of no return.
“I’m done.”
I got up from my seat and headed back to the room. He had neatly folded his clothes beside him. But his current outfit was far from neat.
“Hmm, unlike the Kasion I know, you seem more human today.”
“Are you saying I’ve always seemed like a monster to you?” Kasion squinted his eyes.
“No, I mean this is the first time I’ve seen you so disheveled.” I pointed to the belt on his clothes with my finger.
Today, Kasion wasn’t the person I knew. He was always neat and perfect, unable to tolerate even the slightest disorder. It might be good for Kasion to get sick sometimes. It makes him seem a little more human, like now.
“By the way, can I ask you again about my earlier question?”
Kasion’s eyes wavered. “What do you mean?”
“Why is that thing there?”
At my question, Kasion glanced at the cabinet. He turned his head away as he spoke. “Isn’t it because this was your room when you were younger? Your stuffed rabbit and the portrait.”
“No, not that.”
“Then what?”
Why was he pretending not to know when it was so obvious? I stared at him intently, just as he often did to me, and asked again.
“Why did you put the letter I sent to cheer you up in a frame like that?”
Yes, it’s time to make sure. I needed to know if he really saw me as the female protagonist of this novel.
“Kasion, do you like me? Since when?”
Is that what his eyes would look like if he were ambushed on the battlefield? Kasion’s eyes wavered intensely.
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😂 so blunt… I’m so on edge wanting to know about the cross!