If You Tell a Pickpocket to Save the Male Lead

“Ugh!!”

Startled, Ciello covered her mouth. However, the one who discovered her was not the duke or the servant, but the spirit Serpiente.

–Why are you so surprised? I thought you were sick, but you’re not as bad as I thought.

“You, you, what are you doing popping out of nowhere!”

–I came out because it’s comfortable here. That guy, if he had a place like this, he should have told me sooner…

Tears welled up in Ciello’s surprised eyes. But Serpiente flapped his wings and spoke shamelessly.

–Let’s see…Yes. You picked that up well.

The spirit circled around the ornament in Ciello’s hand.

–You said something about the smell of money, but my contractor indeed has a discerning eye. Now, hurry up and take it.

“Take it? Won’t I get caught?”

–It’s okay. I will absolutely keep it a secret. I can use my power here.

Serpiente flew up and landed on the ornament. At that moment, the shelf where the items were placed flashed brightly.

“Huh?…What. Nothing has changed?”

As Ciello said, the shelf was the same. It didn’t seem like any special barrier had been created, and there wasn’t even an identical replica placed there. Serpiente flicked his head towards the confused Ciello.

–I erased the incident of you picking up that piece from the world. Of course, I can’t completely erase what has already happened, but it’s just a temporary illusion.

“Huh…It didn’t disappear? But I’m alive now…”

–Once something happens, it is inevitably engraved in the world’s history. If there is even one being who remembers that event, it will not disappear. For example, your six deaths are now gone, but they all ‘happened’.

Ciello nodded her head half-understandingly. Serpiente clicked his tongue.

–It’s too difficult a story for you. To conclude, he won’t remember that the piece was there. He probably didn’t tell anyone, so there won’t be any collision of memories, and since he’s deeply connected with me, the effect will be more certain.

At Serpiente’s words, Ciello seemed to remember something and asked.

“Right. I’m curious. Is it true that the Duke is offering you power?”

–Ho ho, why do you doubt that?

Serpiente shook his tail interestingly inside the bead.

“You were originally the guardian spirit of Peregrine. The Duke is an imperial person. Imperial people can’t offer you power, can they?”

–It’s a smart question for you…

Serpiente yawned with his mouth wide open.

–It seems like there’s no time to explain now.

“Huh? Why?”

Serpiente disappeared with a whoosh. At the same time, a greeting sound was heard from beyond the window. The Duke had returned.

“Ah, tell me this kind of thing a little earlier!”

Ciello stuffed the problematic ornament deep into her pocket and ran out of the secret library. Ciello closed the entrance to the library again and rolled her feet as she put the book back.

“Why is it so slow!”

The heavy sound of climbing the stairs, the sound of Ciello’s heart, and the sound of the library closing mixed together and thumped like crazy. As soon as Ciello confirmed that the library had returned to its original state, she quickly ran from his office to her bedroom. The sound of stepping on the marble stairs soon changed to the sound of walking on the carpeted corridor.

“I’m late…!”

Ciello quickly racked her brain. It was already too late to erase all traces of her visit and return to her room. Rather than that.

“I don’t care anymore!”

Ciello clenched her skirt tightly and threw herself onto the Duke’s bed. A moment later, the bedroom door opened.

“…Why are you here?”

The Duke, whose face was paler than before, looked down at Ciello. His eyes were dead black and his complexion was sallow.

“Ah…You’re here?”

Ciello calmed her heart and rubbed her eyes as if she had just woken up. Estribal frowned and said.

“I asked why you are here.”

“I’m sorry. I fell asleep…”

Ciello covered his mouth with his hand and yawned as if pretending, watching Estribal’s reaction.

“I wanted to surprise you, so I was waiting for when you would come…”

“…You were waiting for me?”

“Yes.”

Estribal’s bright yellow eyes widened slightly.

“You were waiting for me…”

He mumbled unconsciously, then covered his mouth with his hand and coughed.

“Didn’t I tell you not to wait? It’s a pointless thing to do.”

He didn’t ask how the door was opened and she entered, or if there was another secret. She didn’t know why, but he didn’t ask. She thought she could gloss over it at this point.

Ciello looked up at him with the prettiest smile she could muster.

“But isn’t it natural to wait for the person you’re going to marry in bed?”

Estribal crossed his arms with a disbelieving expression.

“Now that I’ve indulged you, there’s nothing you can’t say. You’re cheeky.” (TL: spoiled)

His words were cold, but a different emotion could be felt from the strangely wriggling corners of his mouth. This time, Ciello’s heart started to pound in a different direction.

“Do more. I’m not feeling well today, so I might as well listen to your nonsense.”

Estribal took off his coat and strode over. Ciello, who was quite tall, rarely faced a man much taller than herself this close. Ciello subtly backed away and avoided his gaze.

“Huh? What more to say…”

He chuckled, propped himself on the head of the bed with one arm, and leaned towards Ciello.

“So you’re going to back down after all that bluster. Right?”

His face was too close. His eyebrows were raised as if he was angry, but his lips were subtly curved, and there was a spark in his tired eyes.

The curves that appeared on his mostly straight face were unfamiliar. Ciello decided to take a chance on this unfamiliarity.

“There’s no need…to say it in words.”

Ciello’s finger lightly touched the back of his hand. For a moment, his face hardened, retracting all its curves. Ciello could feel his hand bone twitching and his veins rising.

“Right, I shouldn’t touch carelessly, should I?”

Ciello withdrew her hand. Estribal, who had been momentarily frozen, laughed as if something had been cut off.

“Ha, haha… ha…”

Estribal, who had been laughing as if he had lost his energy, exhaled deeply and met Ciello’s eyes.

“You really must think I’m a joke.”

His bright yellow eyes flickered somewhere between impulse and plan. Ciello bit her lip in tension.

“Yes, it’s understandable. You see me as a weakling who can’t even touch the tip of your finger.”

Estribal murmured softly and pulled out a black glove from his pocket. The thin leather fit his hand perfectly.

“Uh, uh…”

Ciello looked up at him in surprise at his unexpected action. He smiled faintly and touched Ciello’s cheek with his gloved hand. The coolness of the leather made her shiver. Estribal bowed his head and whispered at a distance where the fluff in her ear barely didn’t touch.

“That’s why you crawled up.”

“Huh…”

Ciello bit her lip tightly. The gloved hand that touched her face was cold, but the breath in her ear was hot, and his tone was stern, but his voice was boiling from deep within.

“Finally, I’ll ask you one last time. Do you truly want to lie in my bed?”

Their eyes met. An almost suffocating silence lingered between them.

Ciello gently slid her face held in his hand and pressed her lips against his wrist, which was slightly exposed between the glove and his shirt.

“Keuk…!”

Finally, an uncontrollable groan escaped his lips. Simultaneously, Estribal pushed Ciello down onto the bed and buried his face in her clothes. Ciello gasped lightly and grabbed onto his shoulders.

“Don’t know. The scent that’s coming from you right now.”

He whispered, brushing his lips against the thin cloth covering Ciello’s collarbone. With a groan, Ciello’s foot twitched on the sheet.

“Grapes, figs, and…”

He took a deep breath before exhaling.

“It’s bergamot. A scent I used to like.”

He chewed on Ciello’s neck over her clothes as if wanting to devour her. Each time, Ciello’s waist twisted, trying to escape from him.

Estribal, as if displeased by this, briefly pondered before narrowing the distance between their thighs and trapping Ciello’s body in his embrace. Their bodies pressed closely together.

“Duke, this…”

Blushing, Ciello slightly pushed back, her face turning crimson.

“You provoked this.”

As he gripped her hips and pulled her closer, Ciello’s face turned even redder to the point of being scarlet. He chuckled softly as he leaned down to kiss Ciello’s body again.

The sounds of their breathing, rustling sheets, and occasional groans echoed loudly in the almost furniture-less room. Each time, Ciello’s fingers gripping Estribal’s shoulders tightened.

After exploring Ciello over her clothes for a while, Estribal slowly sat up. Her thin blouse was crumpled messily, and her red hair scattered over the pillow. But what caught his attention more was Ciello’s flushed cheeks. He gazed down at that red hue as if mesmerized.

“Duke, I…”

Struggling to breathe, Ciello reached out towards his shirt that was tightly closed at the neck. However, Estribal grabbed her hand to stop her.

“Don’t touch me.”

“What…Where is such a thing! Petty!”

Ciello cried out in an aggrieved voice, but he retorted with a snicker.

“I am inherently selfish.”

Estribal grabbed both of Ciello’s hands and lifted them above her head. Without hesitation, he unbuttoned her blouse with his other hand.

At that moment, Estribal’s expression hardened. The necklace resting on her bare, white skin caught his eye.

“…Ciello. What is this necklace?”