“…Are you done crying now?”
“Yes.”
I sniffled and nodded at Ian’s soft question, which descended gently above my head.
I had cried so much that my eyelids were burning, and my nose was so stuffy that it made a nasal sound.
Ian’s shoulder, which had been holding me the entire time, had long since become thoroughly soaked.
“…”
Had I cried too much?
I wasn’t sure what had made me so upset about his words, “I believe you,” but no matter how hard I tried, the tears kept flowing.
After all, this was Ian Cloud.
Anyone would find my words absurd and laugh at them, but he believed me without any doubt. I knew how hard that must have been for him.
‘I really thought we might part ways like this…’
As my thoughts reached that point, the tears that had finally stopped began to trickle again.
It was almost fascinating that I still had tears left to cry after shedding so many.
When I sniffled again, I felt Ian looking down at me.
“My lady?”
“…Hmph.”
As if I hadn’t already soaked his shoulder with my tears and snot, I couldn’t make it any worse.
I suppressed the lump in my throat that threatened to rise again and lifted my head.
Through my tear-blurred vision, I could see Ian’s face. I couldn’t tell what kind of expression he wore, but judging by the arms still wrapped around me, I figured I didn’t need to worry any further.
“…Sniff.”
As the embarrassment belatedly hit me, I timidly turned my head. That was when he cupped my cheek and gently brushed it with his thumb.
Because of my heated eyelids, his hand felt cool to the touch.
I stared blankly up at him and asked,
“Does my face look awful right now?”
With a face swollen like a soggy dumpling, I couldn’t help but feel shameless for even asking.
Ian tilted his head.
“…Hmm.”
The hesitation in his answer only confirmed how bad I must look.
Well, it would’ve been stranger if I didn’t after crying my heart out like that.
Feeling awkward, I tried to avoid his gaze and hide my face, but he raised his other hand and cupped both my cheeks.
Before I could say anything, he pressed a light kiss on my lips.
“Ian?”
“You’re still beautiful.”
“…You’re getting better at lying without batting an eye now.”
“Why do you think it’s a lie?”
“Because…”
Even without looking in a mirror, I could vividly imagine what I looked like.
But I didn’t feel the need to spell that out.
Before I could finish my thought, he leaned in with a mischievous smile, planting a kiss on my lips again with an audible smooch.
“No.”
Smooch.
“Ian, let me speak—”
Smooch.
“Ha…”
Smooch.
Ah, so he intended to shut me up completely like this.
I rarely engage in self-reflection, but he wasn’t giving me any chance to now.
In the end, I forgot all about my tears and snot as I desperately pushed against his face with all my strength.
“Wait, Ian. Let me talk.”
“Are you going to dismiss my sincerity again?”
“It’s not dismissal, I just…! I need to explain.”
“Oh.”
When I shouted urgently, he finally let out a soft exclamation, as if he’d just remembered something.
Even so, the way he slowly pulled away felt reluctant.
Freed from his barrage of kisses, I cleared my throat awkwardly.
“But my legs hurt. Can we sit down while I explain?”
“Of course.”
Ian practically carried me to the sofa in his office.
The problem was, even after sitting down, he showed no intention of letting go of me.
As a result, I ended up explaining everything while practically sitting on his lap.
I started from the fact that I had read a novel where he was the protagonist, to suddenly being transported into Eloise’s body, my initial plan to connect the two original protagonists, the many events that had occurred since, the clues surrounding the disappearance of ‘Eloise,’ the appearance of the mysterious old woman, and finally, the story about Duke Roger.
Ian furrowed his brow slightly from time to time, as if he found parts of it incomprehensible, but he never interrupted me.
Of course, when I brought up Duke Roger at the end, his expression openly twisted in displeasure.
“…So, that’s what happened.”
“In other words, to ensure I don’t lose you, we need to find out more about the ‘knot’ of that spell.”
“Yes. The old woman said that because I’m an outsider, this world is becoming distorted.”
“An outsider…”
Ian muttered in a low voice.
I looked at him quietly before adding somewhat hastily.
“Well, you might think it’s a completely absurd story… but somehow, I don’t think going back to how things were is the only solution.”
Ian, who had been lowering his eyelids, raised his azure eyes to look at me.
“Eloise… She must have been certain of something when she risked her life to perform that spell.”
“Certain of something?”
“Yes. As you know, Ian… She wasn’t reckless enough to bet her only life on a mere one-year spell. She was a smart person.”
Yes, my conviction stemmed from that fact.
The Eloise I knew wasn’t someone who would gamble everything she had just to buy herself a year of running away.
She must have been sure—sure that she could cast off all the duties she wanted to escape and start a new life.
Ian responded,
“That does sound like her. She was never one to take on a losing trade.”
“…Right?”
“Yes.”
He spoke as if he knew her well, yet his tone was detached, almost emotionless.
I found it strangely unfamiliar.
It made me realize that he truly believed me and saw Eloise and me as separate people.
“I’m going to find a way. Even though I don’t have much information right now. This bracelet… well, before the old woman cast some sort of spell on me, I used to occasionally see ‘Eloise’ in my dreams, as if she were inhabiting my body. I suspect she was aware of me too.”
I shook my wrist, which seemed bare but held an invisible weight.
Although I hadn’t seen any glimpse of that other world since the old woman gave me the bracelet, I felt certain there was a way to reconnect.
“So, you were secretly investigating magic with Kyle.”
“…Yes. I didn’t expect to get caught so quickly, though.”
As I lowered my head and replied in a shrinking voice, he chuckled softly. Then, pulling me close by the waist and turning my face toward him, Ian added,
His deep blue eyes, flickering in the proximity, were utterly serious.
“I feel the same as you. I don’t want to lose you.”
“…”
“So let’s find a way. No, we will find one. I will use every means and resource available to me.”
At his unwavering voice, I found myself nodding slowly.
When I’d been searching for a way on my own, I was constantly afraid that I’d end up leaving his side.
But now, I didn’t feel the least bit uneasy.
“…I believe you.”
❖ ❖ ❖
…Or at least, that’s what I said.
But I hadn’t expected this.
“W-What is all this…?”
The next morning, when I came downstairs to look for Ian, who had left early, I could only gape at the sight before me.
It was because the massive hall of the grand duchy’s main building was completely filled with books, wooden crates, peculiar artifacts, and miscellaneous objects.
On top of that, servants and unfamiliar faces bustled around in a frenzy.
And amidst it all, Ian stood calmly with his arms crossed, observing the scene.
“Ian…?”
When he turned his head at the sound of my voice, he strode over and pulled me into a firm embrace.
“Why didn’t you sleep in a bit longer?”
“Well, first of all… I think I need an explanation for this.”
“As you can see, they are materials and items related to magic.”
“…This much?”
When Kyle and I had been searching with all our effort, all we managed to find were a few measly books.
“I issued an announcement last night. In the name of the Cloud Grand Duchy. I promised a reward to anyone who could bring relevant materials, and by dawn, we were inundated with responses.”
…Ah, of course.
Only a grand duke could pull something like this off.
Judging by the sheer volume here, the news must have spread not just throughout the Levant Empire but across the seas as well.
Could something like this really happen overnight? As I wondered, I thought of Kyle and quickly withdrew the question.
Considering how Ian worked Kyle to the bone, it was more than plausible.
The fact that Kyle was nowhere to be seen in this chaotic hall made it easy to imagine just how much he must be suffering elsewhere.
“I also hired several well-known sorcerers near the capital. They’ll conduct the first assessments, and we’ll review the information they gather.”
“Ah, so that’s why there are so many unfamiliar faces….”
Still awkwardly held in his embrace, I glanced around the hall before lightly biting my lip and looking up at him.
“But Ian, won’t rumors spread among the other nobles? If that happens, won’t it damage the duchy’s reputation…?”
The situation now was completely different from when Eloise had been secretly investigating magic on her own.
To make matters worse, it hadn’t even been a month since Ian had renounced his claim to the throne. If rumors started spreading that the grand duke was obsessing over nonsensical magic…
As my face darkened at the thought, he reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear.
“It doesn’t matter.”
His gaze didn’t waver in the slightest.
“It’s not important to me.”
“…Ian.”
At that moment—
“My lady.”
A maid quietly approached, cautiously holding something out to me.
“A letter has arrived for you….”
• • •
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