It's A Misunderstanding That I'm Dating The Villain

“Uh… Ah…. Captain Clara…?”

“Yes! That’s right! Haa… … I’m so relieved.”

Although I had heard from Ludger that she would be okay, seeing her waking up, the lingering worries I had seemed to have melted away like snow.

“Are you feeling dizzy? Do you think you can stand up?”

“Yes….”

“Lord Duke, could you help her from the other side? It seems more stable to have support from both sides.”

“Certainly.”

Lan, with a dazed expression, relied on me and Ludger to stand up.

“But this… What happened…? I don’t remember much after the door opened…”

“A demonic creature suddenly attacked you, Sir Lan, and you lost consciousness. I was worried, but I’m relieved to see you awake so quickly.”

“…Oh!”

As soon as Lan heard this, she hurriedly bowed her head.

“I made a terrible mistake as a knight! I’m so sorry!”

“No, no. It’s okay. It seems that the demonic creature was good at concealing its presence. Even if I had been in your position, I might have been caught off guard too, right?”

If I were sensitive to magical energy, I would have been affected by the dark magic instead, so it was not an entirely incorrect statement. Lan is not to blame at all.

“…No. I think it’d be natural for you to be disappointed. Even if you want to reprimand me….”

“Really, it’s fine! Truly!”

Feeling a pang of conscience, I encouraged her awkwardly.

“Isn’t that right, Young Duke? Sir Lan did nothing wrong, right?”

“Yes. Sir Lan fulfilled her duties, so there’s no need to be so humble.”

“Thank you…?”

Lan responded with a bewildered expression as she looked between Ludger and me before withdrawing her hand.

“But… May I ask you a question?”

“Yes, please feel free. Sir Lan.”

“That… this isn’t Mr. Mark Baker…is it? Is he the Duke…?”

Ludger and I realized our mistake at the same time, and let out a blank ‘Ah’.

In the rush of the situation, we had forgotten that the Duke was supposed to be disguised as an officer, but….

I stepped forward to resolve this embarrassing situation in Ludger’s place, who was covering his face with his hand in embarrassment.

“Well, then let me explain to you. For today’s investigation, the Duke disguised himself as an expert, to work comfortably. This person is actually….”

***

Afterward, Lan caused another commotion, apologizing profusely. However, I tried comforting her since naturally, she had done nothing wrong.

If anything, it was Ludger who was more at fault, but I only thought that to myself.

“Let’s consider today’s incident as a lesson. Next time we send out an official investigation team, we’ll make sure to include more security personnel.”

“…Yes. That sounds like a good decision.”

“I apologize deeply for showing such an embarrassing side today. I will correct this behavior in the future.”

“No, it’s fine. I hope you don’t have to worry about such things, Sir Lan.”

Even Ludger, known for his composure, spoke kindly to her. He then called me aside before getting into the carriage.

“…I didn’t expect the reasons for monitoring you would increase like this, Sir Clara.”

“This incident really wasn’t my fault, it seems to have been unavoidable…”

“I understand. It was unavoidable on my part as well.”

“Yes.”

“…Aren’t you curious? Why I requested that it be kept a secret.”

“With so many secrets already to protect, adding one or two more doesn’t make much of a difference. There’s no need for the Duke to explain further.”

“….”

Ludger’s expression grew somber. It might have been my imagination, but he seemed a bit melancholic.

“…Right. It’s something I have to handle everything alone anyway.”

“…?”

“Nothing.”

He changed his expression and smiled brightly.

“Nevertheless, it seems that the reason I have to monitor Sir from now on remains unchanged.”

“…I truly intend to keep the secret with integrity.”

“That doesn’t mean I would stop the surveillance, so it’d be best to give up.”

The awkward exchange before was repeated once again.

“Are you free next Sunday afternoon?”

“Yes… assuming Heilbronner doesn’t send a warning letter or anything suddenly.”

Hearing my response, Ludger burst into laughter. It seemed he genuinely found it amusing, despite my blatant attempt at humor. Yeah, laugh as much as you want.

“Alright. Your wish of Heilbronner not sending a warning letter is accepted. I’ll visit Sir’s house around 3 p.m. that day. Is that okay?”

“No, if Young Duke just tells me the location, I can go there myself….”

“Well, it seems like some preparation will be necessary.”

“….?”

“Then it seems Sir is okay with it, so I’ll see you on Sunday.”

‘Preparation? What preparation?’

It was an expression that made me feel ominous.

But as someone who had to prove my innocence (= I will keep his secrets) to Ludger, I had no choice but to agree what he said.

In the end, while seeing off his carriage with bleak eyes, I decided to turn on a positive circuit, thinking, ‘Maybe I can enjoy another delicious meal that day…’

“Well then, let’s head back, Sir Lan. Oh, and don’t apologize anymore, okay? If you keep apologizing, I might get angry.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll just… show you through my actions in the future. I’ll earn your trust as a reliable member…”

“…Yes. Even without saying that, I trust you, Sir Lan.”

“Thank you….”

Lan hadn’t done anything wrong, but she felt completely apologetic.

“Nevertheless, I feel like the Captain is personally acquainted with the Duke.”

“No? What’re you talking about? Absolutely not! Really!”

“…Ah. Yes.”

Oh no, it sounded like I was scolding someone who was already feeling down!

I was flustered and hurriedly said, “No, it’s really nothing! Sorry for overreacting, Sir Lan!” and patted her shoulders.

Nothing good ever happened when I got involved with Ludger anyway.

***

“Sir Lan, Sir Clara, you’ve returned. Both of you worked hard.”

Upon returning to the knights’ office, Lionel greeted us cheerfully.

In fact, Lan could have just left from the scene, but she insisted strongly that it was proper to greet everyone at the office before leaving, so I agreed.

In the meantime, I briefly introduced Lan to Sir Sein, who had just arrived at work. As expected, Sir Sein greeted Lan with a reserved and passive demeanor.

Billy, who was organizing documents, peeked out and asked,

“Did everything go alright?”

“I was so lacking that I caused a lot of trouble for the Captain… I’ll strive to improve from now on!”

As Lan clenched her fist and answered, Lionel asked with a curious expression.

“Oh, what happened? Did a demonic creature appear?”

“Yes… The Captain and the Young Duke were understanding and let it pass, but I ended up causing trouble…”

“The Duke?”

Oh no. Should I have been more careful about mentioning Ludger? But it seems strange telling someone not to talk about it, doesn’t it?

Lan nodded and briefly explained today’s investigation, including the fact that Ludger had disguised himself as a mere employee to avoid complicating procedures.

“Oh, that’s nothing to worry about. You’d be surprised if you heard about our Sir Billy’s bravery.”

Indeed, even if Lan had actually fainted, it would still be a minor issue compared to Billy’s past accidents.

After Lan finished explaining diligently, she shook her head.

“No! I’ll write the report as a sign of my reflection, Captain!”

“…Well, alright. But really, Sir Lan did nothing wrong, so I hope you can be at ease.”

At that, Lan gave a bitter smile, looking apologetic.

“You’re so generous, Captain…I feel so fortunate.”

“…It’s really not like that.”

The overwhelming guilt was engulfing me. This was all Ludger’s fault.

“By the way…Clara.”

“Huh?”

“To run into Young Lord Kassen again so soon… Is it really a coincidence?”

Ah, I was wondering when that comment would come. This punk had already teased me in the morning about Ludger, so it was no surprise he’d bring it up again.

“Yes. It was really a coincidence. The Security Forces called us because we were close by….”

“Oh, so it’s ‘fate.’ Impressive.”

“….”

I quietly moved closer to Lionel and began choking him again.

“It hurts, it hurts! This knight is killing a civilian!”

“Oh, you still have the energy to protest?”

As I tightened my grip on his neck, Lionel let out a shriek and flailed his arms around.

Then Billy, who had been watching us, shouted a beat later.

“Ah! By any chance, Captain, are you in a relationship with Young Lord Ludger Kassen? Is that why you had dinner together yesterday?”

“……”

I stared at him in disbelief, while Lan, standing next to me, covered her mouth with her hands and blushed. No, don’t make the new recruit misunderstand!