“Then, it seems you’re only kind to me, Duke-nim.”
The wind blew through the open window, causing the curtains to flutter and obscuring Sig’s view of her. The time he spent waiting for the wind to die down felt agonizingly slow.
“Is it alright to interpret it that way?”
As the wind settled and the curtains fell, her figure came into view. She had a gentle smile on her face, and her cheeks were slightly flushed.
“Duke-nim, you should take off that fur coat.”
Seeing the excessive amount of sweat on her forehead, Sig smiled and closed his eyes, unable to do anything about it.
“Would you come over here? It’s a bit cooler due to the breeze.”
Just then, there was a loud crash, and a teacup shattered. Sig had gripped the teacup too tightly in his agitation, causing the handle to break and the cup to fall to the floor, spilling tea all over his pants.
“Oh no!”
Britia rushed to him, pulling out a handkerchief to help clean the mess. But there was hardly any place he could let her wipe.
“It’s alright.”
Although he didn’t look fine at all, he reassured her.
“What on earth were you two doing?”
In a rush, Britia sought help from Crave. Marquis Lockhart, who came upon the request, couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
“The teacup is shattered, and the reception room is a mess. Sig-nim, why are you standing there with such a sloppy posture?”
Crave glared at them sharply.
“They haven’t even gotten engaged yet, and they’re acting like this! Even if dirt gets in my eyes…!”
Britia covered Crave’s mouth with her hand to stop his questioning.
“Let me borrow your pants.”
Enough with the sounds that could be misunderstood by others, she urged him to move and pushed Crave’s back to lead him to change his clothes.
“I knew you were big, but seeing you like this, you’re incredibly huge!”
Crave’s voice resounded so loudly that even Britia waiting in the hallway could hear it.
“Tia, my pants won’t fit!”
Though Crave tried to explain the situation in a somewhat amazed tone, Britia just wished he would stop talking.
“Do you want to come and see too?”
What exactly did he want her to see? Britia resolved not to leave him alone when he came out.
“How about changing into something more suitable?”
Unaware of the expression on Britia’s face as she waited outside, Crave seemed to suggest that he should also change his upper garments.
“Ah! Let go! You’re tearing my clothes!”
However, he soon screamed.
“Just take off the upper part!”
“Crave, I’m starting to think you’re playing with me.”
“But it suits you best in this state.”
Asking him to undress, what nonsense! Hearing their conversation, Britia was taken aback and quickly knocked on the door.
“Crave! Stop fooling around and lend him proper clothes!”
Then, Crave flung the door wide open. Bridia caught a glimpse of his bare back and hastily covered her eyes.
“What? Why are you eavesdropping so sneakily?”
“I said I would wait!”
“I didn’t expect you to wait so mischievously outside. If that’s the case, you might as well come in.”
“You’re insane!”
As Britia cried out, she felt a strong presence right beside her and froze.
“So, you’re still going to wear it like that? Fine, I guess it’s the best you can do.”
Crave said, telling her to open her eyes, and then playfully tapped her arm.
She dreaded seeing Sig’s appearance. Did they manage to find a fitting pair of pants after all? He surely wouldn’t be walking around naked, would he? What about the upper garments? Is he perhaps topless?
Swallowing her saliva, she slowly removed her hands.
“What’s so funny? Why did you swallow your saliva?”
Crave laughed mockingly, and Briyia retaliated by stepping on his foot.
“Ouch!”
Pushing the suffering twins aside, Britia lifted her head slowly.
It seemed that there were no fitting pants, as Sig had wrapped a bedsheet around his lower half, and his shirt had a few undone buttons, revealing his chest.
Imagining Sig in such an extreme state of undress, Britia thought he managed to cover himself relatively well. But despite herself, her eyes kept straying to the exposed area between the undone buttons on his shirt, revealing his chest.
“Be careful, Sig-nim. Our little one is mischievous; she’s probably stealing glances at your chest, agh!”
Britia scolded the bothersome twins as she stepped on Crave’s foot again, just like before.
“Why are you stepping on the same spot again?”
“Sorry, Duke-nim. It’s just that Crave is too small, and there weren’t any fitting clothes for him.”
“It’s not that I’m small; it’s that Duke-nim is big!”
“Thank you for lending me.”
“I’m the one who lent the clothes; why are you thanking Tia?”
Crave, who had been writhing on the floor, stood up in bewilderment.
“Look at them! Why are their faces so red, and they can’t even look at each other?”
Although Crave questioned what they were doing, both of them were too embarrassed to answer.
“Anyway, until the pants dry, just stay like that; it’s hilarious to see you both in this state.”
Crave, who had been alternately observing the two with a puzzled expression, clapped his hands together, chuckling.
“But I can’t let our little one stay alone with a man in such a suspicious state.”
Britia felt uneasy about his meaningful smile.
“How about playing the Lockheart Card Game in the meantime?”
At the mention of the card game, Sig’s tail reacted.
“Leni happens to be absent, so the number of players is just right.”
Crave linked arms with Britia and laughed heartily.
“What’s the plan?”
“What plan?”
The Lockheart Card Game was a simple two-player card game, without any special rules, unlike the individual card games typically played. But if one were to ask why they came up with such a game, it was for no particular reason.
“You created the game to tease Hailey, right?”
“That’s how it started. But we’ve played it occasionally ever since.”
“You always said, ‘Let’s play,’ right? In the early days of our marriage, you used the game as an excuse to subtly get closer to Hailey, who was shy about showing affection.”
Observing Britia, who seemed skeptical of his intentions, the Lockheart Marquis chuckled and glanced at Sig.
“I brought it up, but sorry about that. Tia doesn’t want to play with you!”
“When did I ever say that!”
Flustered, Briyia hurriedly covered the Crsve’s mouth. At that moment, Sig’s tail, which had been wagging, stopped abruptly.
“I see. Well, I guess there’s no choice then.”
Although Sig’s expression and tone did not reveal any disappointment, Britia noticed how rigid his tail had become and how easily she could read his emotions through it.
“Let’s play card games! Please join us!”
Britia closed her eyes tightly and shouted. Even though she wanted to look at the twins’ faces as they laughed and enjoyed themselves, she couldn’t do it. How could she refuse when she saw that tail?
“Why suddenly play card games?”
When the Lockheart Marquis’s wife was urgently called to the reception room and saw Sig’s attire, she was taken aback, but she pretended not to see anything, rolling her eyes. To her, Crave mumbled something in Morse code.
“You too.”
Unable to contain himself, the Marquis’s wife sighed and they both immersed themselves in their own world, engaging in affectionate conversation.
Britia glanced at Sig, who was sitting beside her. Was it because of the heat, or had he forgotten to button up his shirt? Through the undone buttons on his shirt, she caught glimpses of his chest. Moreover, as she sat next to him, she inadvertently kept seeing his chest within her line of sight.
“Duke-nim, do you like card games?”
As Britia continued to be preoccupied with Sig’s chest, he felt a sense of anticipation and excitement for the card game he hadn’t played in a long time.
“I quite like them.”
Although it didn’t show on his face, his tail was evidently excited, hitting the sofa repeatedly.
“Is my tail moving a lot again?”
Looking back and seeing Britia smiling contentedly, Sig asked. Throughout his life, he had been used to not showing emotions on his face and not knowing what others were thinking. However, with Britia, it was as if her eyes could see through him, and whenever he stood before her, he felt stripped bare, like someone exposed.
“It’s been a while, so I might be a little excited. In Altheim, except for the Deputy Head, no one wanted to play with me.”
Sig’s apologetic expression looked quite adorable to Britia.
“Is the Lockheart Card Game different from regular card games?”
Without meeting Britia’s eyes, Sig asked.
“Other than the fact that it involves two players forming a team, it’s the same as a regular card game.”
There were no special rules, just an excuse for Crave to get closer to someone while playing cards together. There was only one difference.
“In the Lockheart Card Game, the losing team gets a punishment.”
Crave seemed confident about the game, looking at Britia and Sig.
“Too bad, Sig. Tia is not good at hiding her thoughts on her face, so she’s weak at this game.”
So, Leon, who had always been on the same team, sat beside Britia and stood up as if it had become routine for her. The sight made Britia bite her lips. She wanted to deny it, but the truth was that she would lose 8 out of 10 times if she played ten times.
“It’s alright. You’re confident in card games, after all.”
“Darling, did you hear that? Turas-nim seems to be underestimating us!”
Crave teased as he planted a light kiss on his wife’s cheek while checking the cards.
And after a while…
“Statue? What kind of sculpture is this?”
About ten minutes into the game, the Marquis shouted.
“Why does no one show any change in expression?”
Leon and Britia were siblings whose thoughts were transparent on their faces, and so they always had the power of victory or defeat in their hands during the game. But when it came to Sig, who held the cards, things were different.
“Today, the punishment should go to you.”
Britia had never overwhelmingly defeated Sig in a card game before, so she thoroughly enjoyed the current situation.
“Alright, Crave. You can show off with Hailey in your arms later.”
“But it’s not over yet.”
“But it will be soon, right?”
As the twins engaged in a mental battle, Sig Turas, leading the game towards victory, was fighting an internal battle with a stoic expression.
If someone were to ask him what he was fighting against, he wouldn’t have an answer. He didn’t understand what he was fighting against either.
He should have anticipated it when they shared the same hand, but Britia was just too close.
“The real game starts now.”
“At the point of saying that, you’ve already lost. Isn’t that right, Duke-nim?”
As Britia smiled and giggled, Sig felt like he would jump up every time her arms and hands brushed against him. But he held back because doing so would lead to his defeat in the game.
“If I knew it would be like this, I should have suggested playing it when you were here before.”
Every time Britia smiled, Sig couldn’t share his concerns with anyone and had to fight alone.
Thanks for the update!