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“……W-What are you doing?”
Embarrassed, she complained, but in a weepy voice.
“You’ll calm down if I do this.”
“Do I look troubled to you?”
“You seemed quite nervous.”
Even if she thought that she concealed her tears, Kalcion could understand just from her body language. She got caught.
“Did I look like that to others?”
“Not that I know of.”
“How did you come to know?”
“Unstable breathing, tensed trapezius muscle, and tremors.”
She expected a rough response, but to her surprise, she received an answer based on scientific facts. Thanks to that, her tears dried up.
Still, she didn’t want to part away from his warm and stable embrace. Selena sighed, hugging Kalcion back.
“Now that I got used to this, I thought it wouldn’t matter to me anymore. But, it seems like I was wrong.”
“How can you get used to being insulted?”
“Insulting is proportional to popularity. It’s better to eat curse words than acting indifferent…….”
“I suppose an actor’s life isn’t that easy.”
“It’s not easy to be a Duke, either. You have to risk your life. You swear in front of people’s faces……”
Nothing was unchallenging in the world.
Kalcion cleared his throat when Selena’s grumble transferred a sense of responsibility to him. Thanks to this, she laughed. Understanding she no longer needed comfort, he released his arms.
Although the dissipating warmth felt a little disappointing, Selena sat up straight and flashed a smile towards Kalcion. Her tears were nowhere to be found.
“But, we did achieve success today.”
“Success?”
“I had a hard time, but thanks to the Duke, there is no need for him to act forcefully.”
“I don’t need to act?”
She thought he’d be delighted to hear it, but Kalcion’s reaction came out to be dull.
“Yes. It’s a single action against a hundred words. When I was in that crisis, you rushed to rescue me, didn’t you? Now, everyone in the store knows that the Duke of Renbird is serious about Lady Selena. They have no choice but to believe it.”
“With just one action?”
“Absolutely. Whether the Duke sees me as his lover or not, he has become someone who will come running to save me if any happens, right? It’s fine as long as they think I’m precious to the Duke.”
Selena nodded proudly, thinking that she could stop coaching his acting now.
It was true that every man, even though they didn’t show-off, rushed to save their special someone during a crisis. The audiences would describe it as romantic. At this rate, Selena would be firmly established as Kalcion’s woman.
“Oh, and you did amazingly good with the lines. They didn’t sound fake.”
“What lines?”
“Why are you…… You sounded so serious.”
She thought he was pretending, so she smiled and teased him, but Kalcion’s expression said otherwise.
“I wasn’t acting. I spoke the truth.”
“What?”
Selena’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Kalcion was serious. He wasn’t a person who joked, but she thought it was the result of how she trained him to act. Was he serious?
‘That means….. what he said was all true?’
Selena swallowed a dry lump in her throat, genuinely feeling nervous in another sense.
“Oh, I….. I had no idea that the Duke felt that way…… but we are from different worlds……. and I might leave someday…….”
“So what?”
“Uh, I mean, I accept the Duke’s sincerity, but……… Nevermind. If the Duke is serious, there shall be no problem with other acts in the future. I don’t mean it’s necessary at the moment.”
“Why will there be no problem with the other acts?”
Kalcion enquired, out of extreme curiosity.
“…….Hold on. I think we’re going off-topic..…?”
“I suppose. So what would be the problem?”
“When someone says they’re serious about a relationship, don’t they often think of getting married?”
She felt embarrassed to say it, but for accurate communication, it was better not to spin around the topic.
As expected, Kalcion was caught off guard as if he heard something he wasn’t supposed to hear.
“Is it always the case?”
“Don’t you think so?”
“I don’t know.”
Neither had he properly met a woman nor was he interested in talking about women with anyone else. Because he doubted that it’s worth knowing. So of course, Kalcion’s indirect experience was too insignificant to count.
“That’s what used to happen in my world. I don’t know how those things work here. But, from the reactions we got from others, I think I have the right direction.”
“Ah……”
Kalcion turned his head. His head was throbbing at the awareness of what he just did.
“So….. If I think of marrying you, I’ll have to declare it in front of everyone?”
“That’s it!”
Selena applauded, glad that he finally got her point. However, Kalcion did not feel appraised.
“…..Uh …..By myself.”
“Yes. By the Duke himself.”
She teased him. But Kalcion didn’t seem so bright, so she shifted her tone to flattering him.
“Yes, that’s my point. That would be the final act we will commence by slowly developing your acting skills. But, why do you seem so troubled?”
“……”
“Aw, what’s wrong? Is it because you feel shy now?”
“……”
Selena smiled as she touched his arm. Kalcion’s hard and thick forearm did not move. Instead, his earlobes turned bright red.
‘Opps.’
Kalcion was never used to these gestures. He flushed red as soon as he was teased.
It became awkward all of a sudden, so Selena decided to change the topic.
“But if you didn’t mean it in general, what were you serious about?”
Kalcion heaved a sigh in relief before sitting straight and looking back at Selena.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
What was he going to say? Selena copied his position and looked straight at him.
“I don’t think of you as a disposable woman.”
“Uh….. Thanks?”
“We’ve been through some situations for you to be called as one.”
He was right.
She shared a bed with him every night, ate every meal together, encountered an assassin, and even trained together in the morning. These situations were rare. Even comrades on battlefields didn’t spend every moment with each other.
“I was thinking, both materially and mentally, that if you wanted to stay here regardless of the success or failure in our deal. Of course, it includes your safety during the job.”
“Yes……. I’d be grateful.”
“And, to add to that, do you have any thoughts about learning sword arts properly?”
“……What?”
Why was he suddenly talking about swords?
The moist atmosphere quickly dried up despite the warmth of the furnace inside the carriage.
“It’s your talent which is important. It’s not too late for you to learn it. I can teach you.”
“I’m done.”
Selena firmly refused.
People like Kalcion were always entertained upon doing exercise-related activities.
Selena was good at sports and she did enjoy it, but if she had to do it in front of him, she would have to look stronger. After all, she couldn’t maintain her physique and health without exercising.
Kendo used to be good as a form of exercise to her, but she never wanted to learn sword arts in earnest.
At her firm rejection, Kalcion did not ask twice and gave up his offer in regret.
“Do you have anything else to do here?”
“Hmm…….”
Since she had no other things to see here, it would have been the right choice to return to the mansion. But, she wasn’t in the mood. She felt she wouldn’t be able to relax even if she went back to the mansion.
Juna, who served her, would not leave her alone, and she didn’t know when Mrs. Janet would come out from lurking behind the shadows to start nagging at her again, even though she went quiet these days.
In addition, gazes filled with curiosity and jealousy always followed her. At the very beginning of her arrival, the butler was replaced and she had had no accidents since. But that didn’t mean she felt comfortable in that mansion.
“I want to get some fresh air before going back. If the Duke is busy, I shall return in my carriage.”
“I’ll be with you. I have nothing important to attend.”
Selena nodded calmly. There was no reason for her to refuse his kindness. It wasn’t a bad thing if people saw them hanging out together.
“Where should we start? You’ve been to the Capital several times before.”
“I always stay in the mansion or attend gatherings at the royal palace when I come here, so it’s the same as my first day in this city.”
“Well, of course, it is. Hmm, then let us start from the most famous place around here. And since the Duke is joining me, there’s no place they might stop me from entering.”
She was briefly depressed by what happened in the store, but she recovered quickly. It was better to forget such a painful scene by engaging in pleasant activities.
Not long ago, she figured Kalcion had a significant effect on her surroundings. It should be fine if she had him behind her while visiting luxurious stores. The stores that wouldn’t let her in.
“Do you know a place?”
“Yes, I hope there’s a table, too. I shall flip it over.”
“?”
Kalcion did not understand her, but nodded gently, agreeing to accompany her if she needed.
It was about time she took her revenge.
Someone might ask, “what’s the point if one can’t take revenge using their strength”. However, there was no need for justification as to how one won or lost. If the former act was unfair towards someone, that means they could reappear with a Duke supporting them.
It was better this way if they were persecuted for no reason.
If one side decided to act dirty, what was the point of maintaining innocence by the other side? It didn’t mean that the other should surrender quietly.
Selena had to do something, regardless of the means she used.
“First, let’s go to ‘Crange’.”
The carriage began to rattle as soon as she declared her destination.