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“That’s in the carriage over here!”
“Carry with care! I told you not to cover it because it will break!”
For several days already, the mansion has been noisy. Selina stared out the window at the servants carrying the goods to the carriage. It was mainly Selina’s things.
“Are you never coming back to Mion? You usually buy it and wear it when you come back, right?”
“How do I know if we can come back or not? You have to carry it around as much as possible.”
“Indeed, it is.”
What the maids said was not very wrong.
As Juna said, the will is real, and if she found it, Selina would never come back again. She could leave the dress, but she plans to take the jewelry. She told them just to pack all the dresses as well as all the jewelry. It was also annoying for her to designate what to take.
“As scheduled, the advance party is scheduled to depart today.”
Kalcion came behind her and looked at the servants who were carrying the luggage.
“Wouldn’t it be okay if the escort was minimal?”
“Anyway, the targets are only you and me, so the servants will be fine. Even if they are targeted, they will only be targeted by thieves who don’t even recognize the family crest. They can handle that much.”
The number of people going back was minimal when they went, just as they were minimal when they came. Being separated from the attendant was nothing inconvenient, as it was only one day of galloping at full speed.
Even if the advance team set off first because of the increased load, it would not be much different from when they arrived at the border of the territory. One day at most.
The decision to return separately was due to the news of Count Orlen’s recovery party, that arrived yesterday.
“If you want, you can skip the party and leave now.”
It was a word out of consideration in case she wanted to return to the original world as soon as possible.
Selina shook her head.
“No, but I still want to see their faces one last time.”
“It’s okay to delay the departure as much.”
This time, his considerateness went in the opposite direction.
“How much?”
“As much as you like.”
Looking back at the serious Kalcion, Selina laughed teasingly.
“If I’ll be here forever, what are you going to do?”
“It’s fine too.”
“….”
She was supposed to say something teasing, but only her mouth opened, and no words came out.
Selina opened her mouth awkwardly, then she just shut it. She was speechless because she knew that Kalcion was not one to say either empty or joking words. She could make fun of his immature acting a hundred times out of a hundred, but she couldn’t make fun of his sincerity.
When she didn’t make fun of him, unlike the usual, Kalcion looked at her strangely.
“Then it could be a real disaster.”
She had to go back to acting. Now it was not a role to melt the scary northern Duke, but pretending not to know his heart, ‘acting as a lover as usual.’
“Is there anything disastrous about you being here for the rest of your life?”
“What are you going to do if I wanted the biggest extravagance among Duke Renbird’s women?”
“Then, I should be the richest duke ever. It’s already the case.”
It was a pretty solid defense.
Pretending not to know Kalcion’s heart, she quickly forgot a part of her heart that was uncomfortable with it, and a sense of victory flared up. If he was confident about things like that, she had to show what a person couldn’t really handle.
“I want to have my own soldiers because the dress and jewels aren’t enough.
“You’re welcome to. More troops is a good thing.”
“What if I ask you to wipe out all the monsters in the mountains?”
“Good idea. If we clear the land beyond the mountain range, the resources will be abundant.”
In the meantime, she hoped he wouldn’t think about it seriously.
“What if I ask you to build a castle because you don’t have enough houses?”
“There is nothing I can’t do for you.”
There came the limit of her imagination. Kalcion was a huge person more than she thought, and the road to approaching his limits was far. It was difficult to come up with a way to make him in trouble as long as it did not betray humanity.
“Will you give it to me if I ask for Renbird’s castle?”
“There’s nothing I can’t give you.”
“Don’t just talk.”
“Instead, there will be a few conditions.”
He laughed softly, showing what he was thinking. Did he just laugh in front of the robber who asks for the Renbird’s castle?
“No conditions. Just that.”
“Alright. Keep it.”
When he laughs, it is as meaningful as if he is putting on a huge condition but then gives it up again. Since when did our northern duke become so bland?
“…This is all just words right now, right? Could it really be like that?”
“As much as you like.”
No matter how much she tried to make it difficult, Kalcion’s composure did not disappear. Selina, who got angry, was even thinking of even abandoning humanity.
Then, she blinked and crossed the line.
“What would you do if I told you not to get married and live alone and then cut off Renbird’s future generation? What if I want you to act as a lover for the rest of your life and stick to me?”
As soon as she popped the question, Selina observed him. She wondered if she might have opened the eyes of someone who had been unaware by asking these questions.
“I will.”
Kalcion did not hesitate and answered lightly.
“What? Does that make sense? Marriage and future generations are the duties of the duke, right?”
“If I don’t do it, that’s fine.”
“Are you abandoning Renbird?”
“Even if I throw it away, there will be many people who will pick it up. What else will you ask for?”
“…Haa.”
He looked not troubled but rather amused, and awaiting the next challenge, Selina succinctly admitted her defeat. She couldn’t sway this man with just her own wits.
“No, I wasn’t originally this generous, was I?”
Looking at Selina grumbling while admitting defeat, Kalcion laughed once again.
“That’s right.”
However, shortly after giving his answer, his laugh soon subsided.
“…That’s right?”
He repeated his answer once more, looking at Selina.
“Why? I’m generous to you endlessly. It’s not just words, I don’t think I’ll have any regrets if I actually do what I’m saying now.”
Her mouth went dry.
Too bad this dull, stupid man had yet to find a name for this feeling. Curiously, his heart didn’t swell well until he realized it.
“If it’s not just a throwaway comment to make fun of me, but if you really mean it, I can negotiate the terms of the contract again at any time.”
Since when did the Northern Duke, who used to get into trouble when he opened his mouth, started pouring out only pretty words when he opened his mouth like this? Each time she spoke, a flower bloomed everywhere. It was clear that she was intoxicated by the scent.
Selina sought Kalcion’s lips as if attracted by a magnet.
While she wrapped her arms around his cheeks and brought their lips together, he would have had enough time to evade or shove, but Kalcion stood still and waited.
Rather, their lips met.
The soft lips overlapped as if they were sticking to each other.
Each other’s breath tickled their cheeks, and the eyelashes of their closed eyelids shimmered in the blurred gaze that had been lowered. Kalcion’s touch, clasping Selina’s waist and the back of her neck as he rubbed her lips, was now natural.
Selina even felt a tingling sensation from the palm of his hand skillfully brushing her waist. Like new sensory organs sprouting from her lips and tongue, a strange feeling she had never experienced since birth changed its shape every moment and knocked on the inside of her skin.
“Ah…!”
She felt that if she continued, something would explode. Selina couldn’t stand it and pushed his chest. Kalcion held out for a few seconds before loosening his arm. Unlike him, who could control anything, it was uncharacteristically greedy.
Pushed to the limit in that brief moment, Selina’s face turned red. Her legs trembled, and she felt like she was going to fall down.
Kalcion also breathed through his mouth, his wet lips parted. Even after running dozens of laps around the training ground, his breath, which did not become rough at all, was now as rough as Selina’s.
Like hot water running down the top of the heads, the warm energy soaked the two of them.
It was the moment when he could not avoid the eyes and had to deal with the consequences of his impulses.
“May I ask why?”
Kalcion asked softly.
“Just so.”
Because your heart was so tender and warm to listen to anything I want.
“If your lover says something pretty, that’s usually what lovers do.”
“Aahh. I see. If your lover says something pretty and does something pretty, you kiss them.”
Like learning another lesson, Kalcion nodded his head, and their lips touched again.
This time, he pushed Selina until she was about to suffocate, but then, unable to hid his regret, he lets go. She was going crazy. Every time this person instinctively coveted her like this, she lost the confidence to take the center stage.
Whether it was hugging or kissing, the initiative that she had never missed kept getting passed to Kalcion.
Whenever that happened, her body and mind seemed to vibrate on their own.
Her body turned red, and her heart fluttered. As she forcibly stopped her racing heart, it seemed that a burnt smell was coming up from the sudden brakes.
“Seeing how the Duke’s acting is improving day by day, I feel proud. There is no better acting than acting that has become one with life.”
Selina feigned a relaxed smile with all her might.
“Is that so?”
Kalcion seemed to accept Selina’s words without questioning her.
Stupid.
Selina muttered into her mouth.