What was this person just saying…? What is he talking about? Is he talking about taking off her clothes now?!
Min-ha hurriedly responded by waving her hand.
“No…! It’s okay! I’m really fine!”
“I’ve seen a lot of ladies who were seriously injured because they passed out due to the corset squeezing them too tightly. In the worst case, your organs could be twisted to death.”
“R, really…?”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I wouldn’t do anything to tarnish my honor as a knight. So, just leave it to me.”
“…I see.”
Min-ha, who didn’t know that much but agreed that the corset was quite uncomfortable, eventually nodded her head at his words.
Then, Seth, standing behind her back, immediately began to unbutton her dress.
Tuk, tuk.
Since they were the only two people in this spacious secret garden, the unbuttoning of the dress’s buttons sounded loud as if it were a loudspeaker.
Min-ha swallowed dry saliva and breathed in unconsciously at the sound of him unraveling the dress, the sound of Seth’s breathing close by, and his hand moving over her clothes.
How many times did his long, hot fingers dance behind her back?
Finally, feeling a sudden release, Min-ha suddenly felt that her breathing became easier. She could feel that the shackles that held her body came off and Seth’s hand buttoning up her dress again.
Having fully buttoned it up, he took her hands off her slender back before turning around and asked.
“It’s done. Are you okay now?”
“…Thank you. It’s easier to breathe.”
“That’s a relief.”
“By the way, how do you know how to untie a corset?”
While Mrs. Pompa and Ella were both clinging to each other and took a lot of time to tighten it, Seth managed to untie it very easily.
Curious, she questioned him though he replied with an indifferent voice.
“Well, it’s not like I’ve undone it once or twice.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
At Seth’s response, Min-ha’s heart was pounding for nothing, so she asked the question without realizing it.
She thought in her heart that, naturally, many women would have followed him because he was a person from a commoner who rose to the rank of the Duke. In addition, Seth was a wonderful person without missing any part in appearance or physique.
However, when these words came out of his mouth that seemed to hint at the so-called splendid past, she was somehow annoyed. So, Min-ha, who had been staring at him for nothing, quickly questioned herself.
‘But, why am I so annoyed…? I have no reason or right to feel like that.’
As she thought, she doesn’t have the right to have such thoughts toward him, from any position, whether it’s Kim Min-ha or Minase Persen…
It was at the moment when Min-ha, who felt sorry for her feeling that she was angry with him for nothing, slowly opened her mouth to apologize.
“I get a rough idea of what you are imagining, but it’s not what you think. Every knight knows how to untie a corset.”
“…Yes? Really…? Every knight?”
“How many ladies do you think fall over because of a corset at a party hosted by the Imperial Family? It’ll probably be three or four times as much as you’d guess.”
“…That much?”
“Drunk in the party atmosphere, or just being drunk. There were more than one girl who ate food that far exceeded the amount they normally eat and danced hard with many people as they went beyond the limit of what they could endure.”
“Wow…”
“Of course, the ladies and maids around them were the first to reach out to such ladies, but sometimes there were ladies who come out with a corset tight enough that they couldn’t untie it with normal force.”
“…Ah. They are putting their lives on the line.”
“Well, you can say that.”
“…I don’t understand.”
Min-ha shook her head with a look that she was tired after hearing Seth’s explanation.
What in the world is beauty here, even to bet your life on it? In the era in which she lived, most people valued natural beauty more highly than exaggerated decorations.
So, she couldn’t understand the feeling of decorating herself excessively like that. It was because she couldn’t show her candor, and Min-ha felt that she couldn’t last long with her partner, who only liked her perfectly decorated figure.
When she clicked her tongue, remembering the appearance of the people in this era who were obsessed with beauty even at the risk of their lives, Seth laughed softly as if the sound of the wind and opened his mouth.
“Didn’t you, too, go around risking your life by dressing up like that not so long ago?”
“…I, I did?”
“Put your long hair high, wearing the highest shoes, and tighten your corset as tight as you can—like a person who risked their life to decorate herself perfectly without any fuss.”
“…I see. You’re right.”
It was really like Minase Persen.
Min-ha shook her head as if tired of thinking about how vividly she was dressed, even though she tried not to imagine her.
“Well, I can’t do that now. It’s perfect to be a target for thieves or kidnappers when you go out with expensive accessories like that.”
“So, you’re saying you’re not interested in jewelry now?”
“Oh, it’s not bad if I have it because it can be easily converted into cash, although carrying around is a bit…right?”
“Is that so?”
Although in Min-ha’s subsequent words, his expression hardened somehow. Then, Seth, who had been staring at her this whole time, took his gaze away from her and turned his head away.
‘Huh…?’
No matter how much she looked at his face, it looked like he was offended. So, she carefully pulled Seth’s hem and spoke.
“What’s wrong? Did I say something that offended you?”
“…No.”
“Then, why do you look like that? Right? You’re offended now. Don’t hide it, tell me.”
“…Do you remember when I said to you, who gave me a handkerchief, ‘I have something to give you when you come back,’ before leaving for the expedition?”
At his words, she tilted her head and traced her memory.
Come to think of it, he seemed to have said something like that. She then recalled her memories of that time again and opened her mouth.
“Oh, what about then?”
“Well…”
When she posed back, Seth put his hand inside his pocket and held out a small box. The box that fit in the palm of his hand was wrapped in dark blue velvet, giving it a very luxurious feel.
‘Did he want to give this to me…?’
Min-ha asked, carefully pointing to the box.
“This… is this for me?”
To her question, he opened the box without saying a word and held what was inside in front of her. At that moment, she saw what came to her view and she gave a brief vociferation.
“…Oh.”
She gasped.
It was an emerald necklace.
The moment she saw the dark green necklace twinkling in the soft moonlight, Min-ha remembered where she had seen this.
The day she went out together to celebrate Noah’s birthday, the jeweler’s owner offered it to her. She thought she was really pretty, though she didn’t think she wanted it because Noah’s birthday present came first.
Min-ha couldn’t keep her mouth shut as she felt like her heart was pounding.
So, as she peered into the emerald necklace, Seth smiled bitterly, perhaps interpreting that she didn’t like it.
“…No, I didn’t know you dislike jewelry now.”
“….”
“On that day, you bought only Noah and couldn’t buy yours. So, while you were looking for a place to sit with Noah, I bought it without you knowing, just to give it to you.”
“…Did you?”
“I did, but I was unexpectedly caught on a mission, so I missed the chance to give it to you again… To be honest, I thought about giving it to you back then, but it was probably not the best because of the situation.”
“…Ah.”
“Do you not like it?”
Hearing Seth’s question as he was gazing into her eyes, Min-ha responded by waving her hand right away.
“Oh, no! I like it! I hesitated for a moment only because I didn’t expect this at all. So, please… give it to me.”
At her answer, Seth eventually loosened his stiff expression and smiled slightly.
His appearance seemed to resemble the face of Noah, who was acting like a child. Because of that, Min-ha answered straightforwardly on purpose and took the box containing the necklace as if to steal it.
Then, she quickly wrapped the necklace around her neck, raised her arms, and wiggled her fingers to fasten the rings.
But, no matter how much she moved her hand, the ring did not fit well.
Maybe, it was because of her impatient mind that she had to fill it up quickly, Min-ha kept doing it in vain.
“If you don’t mind, can I put it on for you?”
It was then that Seth, who had been watching her, asked. He carefully reached out his hand as if asking for permission. Min-ha lowered her arm without realizing it. as his hand touched hers.