“What did you say?”
Estribal looked at the servant with a puzzled expression. Then, without giving the servant a chance to stop him, he almost ran out of the room and started going down the stairs. As he crossed the courtyard and went outside the mansion, a high and cheerful voice was heard from afar.
“Ciello! Have you been well?”
Estribal stopped abruptly. A woman was hugging Ciello, who was standing in front of the carriage, and next to them stood a short man.
“What is this… Didn’t I tell you not to let suspicious people in recklessly!”
He furrowed his brow. The servant flinched at the rare reprimand from his master and bowed his head.
“Of course, we told them they couldn’t come into the mansion, but they happened to run into Miss Ciello who was going out to ride the carriage…”
“Ha… I see.”
Estribal was about to step forward but hesitated. He couldn’t reveal his true self without knowing who they were.
He sighed and put on the glasses that were in his pocket. He took out the neatly tucked shirt from the belt, and when he tucked the falling hair behind his ears, the neat nobleman became a naive country bumpkin.
With his shoulders hunched and his eyes squinted, the figure of a fool named Trepe was created in an instant. The Duke approached them with quick steps.
“Ci, Ciello, I heard. Is this lady your mother?”
“Ah, well…”
He examined Ciello’s expression. There was more of a troubled look than a happy one on Ciello’s face. Clearly, they were not the ones Ciello had called for. Having confirmed this, the Duke greeted the woman and naturally hid Ciello behind him.
“Ah, hello? I am…”
“Duke Trepe! I heard you are the benefactor who took care of my daughter.”
Then suddenly, a short man began to sob and grabbed the Duke’s hands. Estribal quickly composed his momentarily distorted face and subtly pulled his hand away.
“Uh, benefactor, I don’t deserve such words. Elder.”
The Duke spoke slowly and under his half-open eyelids, he examined the two people with sharp golden eyes.
A man with gray eyes, a woman with red hair. The man had no resemblance to Ciello except for his eyes, but the woman looked quite like Ciello.
“Don’t say that. You’ve treated my daughter like a lady…”
The woman reached out to Ciello’s face again. But fortunately, Ciello, who had come to her senses, avoided her hand and retreated behind Estribal.
“I… I don’t know. It’s been too long since we parted, and I don’t remember. I’m sorry…”
Ciello shook her head without hiding her embarrassment. But they too were persistent and confident, as if they had expected this reaction.
“Ciello! No matter what, how can you forget your mom and dad?”
“That’s right. We lost you at the circus and searched for you…”
A bewildered look crossed Ciello’s face.
“Circus…? Could it really be…”
“That’s right. It seems you remember now!”
“Oh, honey, don’t cry. On such a good day…”
The man did not miss the opportunity and began to sob. The woman exaggeratedly comforted the man, and Ciello, as if she had been hit on the head, looked at them with a flustered face. In the chaotic scene, Estribal endured a rising headache and stammered softly.
“Well, I understand how you feel, but Ciello seems very surprised, so why don’t you go back and contact us again?”
“But how can we just go back!”
Estribal’s head throbbed. There might be a way to give them a handful of money and push them away, but once started, there would be no end. He winked at Ciello and spoke.
“But today, we have to go to the suburbs…We, we don’t have time.”
“That’s right! We, we have a reservation.”
At Estribal’s wink, Ciello hastily matched his words. They hadn’t exchanged a word since the argument, but they had no choice for a common goal.
“Oh my, then can’t we go together?”
“That’s right. Sob, we also have constructive talks about our daughter…”
“What?”
Ciello, startled, opened her eyes wide and stared at Estribal. Estribal also flinched as if he had not expected this far.
If it was really a schedule to go to the suburbs, there would be a way to take them along, check what they were thinking, whether there was a backer, and quietly handle it depending on the situation. But this schedule was something that could never be done with others.
The Duke hesitated with a troubled expression, sighed lightly, bowed to Ciello and whispered.
‘I’m sorry. You understand.’
Before Ciello could even ask back, he pulled Ciello’s waist tightly and hugged her. Ciello gasped and took a breath.
“Oh, but it’s been so long since we had a date alone…I can’t stand the heat.”
He looked at Ciello with sticky eyes, and with his pincer fingers, he pressed Ciello’s back as if urging her. Ciello, who had come to her senses, quickly smiled and gently rubbed his chest with her fingers.
“Oh dear, Duke. You can’t do this in front of the adults.”
The Duke’s face turned red. Until then, she would have firmly believed that the blush was also an act. But now it was different.
[Do you know what I think every time I see you, every time I touch you?]
Ciello’s face heated up belatedly at his words.
She had only come close to sharing a bed with Estribal once, and after that, he never attempted any sexual advances, even when the atmosphere grew heavy. He would quietly push her away, even if she did anything that might have been misconstrued as an invitation.
When Estribal acted affectionately when playing Duke Trepe, it was nothing more than foolish naivety, and it was difficult to associate it with any romantic or sexual interest. As a result, Ciello had forgotten for a long time that Estribal might see her as an object of desire. Occasionally, Estribal’s subtle actions were dismissed as part of their contractual obligations.
But Ciello was wrong. Estribal desired her.
Those who claim to have no interest in money are often the most obsessed with it. The same was true for Estribal. His strict chastity was actually a manifestation of his intense, almost obsessive, lust.
Ciello could not forget the vulgar words that came out of Estribal’s refined mouth. Those perverted phrases clung to her like a sticky, persistent film, making it difficult for her to look at Estribal in the eye for a long time.
Of course, avoiding him was not a solution. After all, Estribal had confessed that his mind was constantly preoccupied with indulgent thoughts. Now, it was Ciello’s heart that was perpetually soaked.
“Oh my! We were oblivious.”
Fortunately, the woman quickly changed her stance after reading the awkward atmosphere between the two.
“Well, but still…ugh.”
The woman stepped hard on the man’s foot, who was regretful.
“Then we’ll come back soon. Have a good time.”
The woman laughed and bowed her head, then dragged the man away. After the two disappeared on an old horse, Ciello sighed deeply as if relieved and rested her forehead on his chest.
“…Hmm.”
A faint groan seemed to flow from his closed lips. At that moment, Ciello flinched and pulled her head away. His face had returned to its usual impassiveness, but it was still red. Probably the same for her.
“Ciello, so…”
Estribal began to speak as he took off his glasses. But Ciello quickly escaped from his arms.
“We, we’ll be late. Let’s go.”
Awkwardly, the two bodies distanced themselves. Ciello, who had been watching for a moment, quickly ran to the carriage and jumped onto it first. Seeing this, Estribal sighed and slowly followed to the carriage.
For a while, it was his job to escort Ciello when she got on the carriage. At first, Ciello felt awkward, but now she accepted it quite naturally, no, even more than that, she enjoyed it.
But after arguing and saying such things, how could she want to hold his hand? Moreover, knowing this, she had just touched his body, so it couldn’t have been comfortable.
He got on the carriage with a heavy heart. The carriage started. But Ciello, who should be looking out the window and chattering about useless things, was still quiet. Unable to do anything in the awkward atmosphere, Estribal opened his mouth first.
“…I apologize again. It wasn’t meant in any other way, so don’t feel too uncomfortable.”
No answer came. Estribal, unable to meet her eyes, lowered his gaze and only looked at Ciello’s knees. Ciello was folding and unfolding her hands on her knees. It was the fingers that had just touched his body. Estribal tried hard to ignore this fact and continued speaking.
“Even then…I said that, but since I have reason, I won’t do anything to you recklessly. Just let it pass.”
“Duke, I…”
When Ciello finally opened her mouth, color returned to his face. But Ciello bowed her head again.
“I’m sorry. It’s nothing.”
“…I see.”
Ciello closed her mouth again after that remark. Estribal nodded without pressing, but his gaze was still on Ciello’s fingertips.
The carriage moved with a jolt. Each time, the two bodies shook lightly. Usually, when Ciello got bored, she used this shaking as an excuse to tap his shoes and tease him. But this time, their feet did not collide, even by mistake, until they reached their destination.
“We’ve arrived.”
At the coachman’s words, Estribal looked down at his neat shoe tip. In the meantime, Ciello had already gotten off the carriage.
“She has no intention of listening to the warning that it’s dangerous to go out alone.”
Estribal muttered. But on second thought, the most dangerous thing for Ciello right now would be him. Estribal sighed late at the situation he had caused and followed Ciello.
It usually took a few days to get to the detached palace of Raysendella by normal means. But thanks to the Liberation Force’s efforts, they could arrive in one go by taking a gate from the outskirts of the capital.
“Ciello, you’ll hurt your hand. I…sigh.”
Before he could finish his sentence, Ciello had cleared a few wooden boxes placed under the tree. The magic circle carved into the tree roots was revealed.
Estribal sighed again and stood behind Ciello. Originally, he used to hold Ciello tightly and use the dragon’s scales instead, claiming that teleportation magic was dangerous.
But Estribal was not a man who didn’t know what Ciello’s continuous refusal meant. Unlike usual, he held Ciello’s shoulder plainly. Ciello’s body trembled slightly, but she did not escape from his hand.
“…Let’s go.”
Ciello glanced at his hand holding her shoulder as she turned the scale with the necklace she took out from her bosom. The gloves he was wearing were familiar.
“Ah…?”
He was still wearing the leather gloves she had used before. It was embarrassing to dismiss this as a coincidence.
“Ciello? Did I make a mistake…”
Estribal, who was surprised in turn, took his hand off Ciello’s shoulder. At that moment, magic swirled.
“Ugh, Ciello, be careful…!”
“Ah!!”
The two staggered and were swept away by the wave of magic. Unprepared, their bodies tangled and flew without gravity. When they barely opened their eyes,
“…Duke?”
“What is this…”
Noah and the elder were looking down at them with stunned faces.
