The answer didn’t come easily. It was unlike Duke Kalinos, who always put reason and logic first. Maybe that’s why. I found myself unconsciously fixing on his slightly moving lips…
“Giselle! Oh, I’m dying here!”
Suddenly, a loud voice from beyond the door broke my concentration. I shot a cold look toward the doorway. “Such theatrics…”
“Oh dear, oh dear! I’m terminally ill!”
Considering Count Florette’s robust build, the idea of him being terminally ill was honestly ridiculous. He was probably just playing a big prank to keep Duke Kalinos from meeting me.
For some reason, I started to feel a bit embarrassed in front of the duke. Maybe he noticed, because he asked in his usual indifferent tone, “Are you feeling alright?”
“As you can see, I’m perfectly healthy.”
“…I see.” He seemed like he wanted to say more, but with all the yelling outside, the conversation couldn’t go any further.
In any case, less than a minute later, our meeting was over.
I spent the rest of the day idly lying in bed at Count Florette’s estate. Once the mood at the Kalinos Mansion is just right, I’ll make my move. I was sure that Hwairi was waiting for the perfect moment to kick me out for good, so I might as well enjoy my time here while I could.
For some reason, I couldn’t get Duke Kalinos’s face out of my mind. Even the food I usually enjoyed tasted bland. A day without his deadpan jokes, delivered with that stoic expression of his… felt duller than I expected.
* * *
Vientin returned to his mansion and gazed at his empty bedroom. Everything was in its usual place, so familiar it felt routine. Only one thing was missing.
“It feels empty.” He was surprised by the words that slipped out, his eyes narrowing in self-reproach. Now that he’d said it out loud, it felt as if something truly irreversible had happened. To control his stress hormones, he took a deep breath.
No one’s supposed to worry her? He knew why she thought like that. After all, this was a contract marriage, entered into by mutual agreement. He was the one who’d asked her to dislike him. Though he understood and fully accepted that, he couldn’t help but worry.
Vientin roughly loosened his cravat, thinking over it again and again. It feels strange not having Giselle in my bed. For over twenty years, he’d slept alone. But somehow, in just a few short months, sharing a bed with Giselle had become second nature.
Vientin had always been the type to fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, but tonight, sleep was impossible. The subtle insomnia that had visited him from time to time now crashed over him like a tidal wave.
It was the next day. Even in his own office, Vientin’s odd behavior continued.
“Yo-Your Grace? So…”
When Vientin came to his senses, he found his seal had been stamped haphazardly all over various reports. “I’ll approve these later. Leave.”
“Yes.”
Vientin then set the reports aside. Everything is a mess. For the second time in his life, a disaster struck. He couldn’t focus on his work during office hours.
Fine, he had to admit what needed admitting. Vientin had to admit he felt anxious about Giselle’s absence. He reminded himself that a consummate professional like Giselle would never leave before her duties were finished. Only then did his heart, which had been pounding so precariously, begin to settle down.
Just then, as if passing a baton, the office door opened, and Riwes appeared.
“Riwes.”
Clutching a recording magic device adorned with a teddy bear, Riwes toddled over to him. “Look at this!”
“What is it?”
“It’s sister and Riwes, kising!” Riwes grinned and showed him the recording device. Inside, there was an image of Giselle.
“Kis!”
“…Riwes.”
Sitting on Giselle’s lap, Riwes’s chubby cheeks blushing as he hugged her tightly…
—Sister, give Riwes kis!
—Okay!
Watching Riwes proudly show off his morning kiss with Giselle made Vientin feel…
“Uncle, you look really mean right now!”
…Yeah, it was a mean look. He was jealous that his five-year-old nephew could kiss Giselle and touch her so easily.
What kind of childish thinking is this? I must be losing my mind. But even as he scolded himself, he was finally able to face his feelings head-on. This vivid sensation was unmistakably jealousy, rooted in possessiveness. Possessiveness, of all things. Did he really have that foolish urge to completely possess another person, to see them as nothing more than an object?
The moment Vientin realized this, his expression darkened.
* * *
“Since the young madam left the mansion, His Grace has become totally cold. Just look at how tense the atmosphere is around here…”
“Honestly, these days, I really want to quit. Don’t we get a pension or something if we do?”
“But isn’t it kind of entertaining, though? I think the duke’s actually in love. I’ve never seen him act like this before.”
“He’s acting just as obsessed as he gets with his research. Maybe that’s just how he when in love.”
As the servants gossiped about the romantic drama between Duke Kalinos and Giselle, Hwairi clenched both her fists tightly. She had acted saintly, used her divine power, and even won some family members to her side. Garno had adored her too. But Duke Kalinos, who was supposed to become her fiancé, seemed only to think about Giselle. He even seemed to doubt her divine power.
“The mercenary you healed is missing.”
“Re-Really? I haven’t seen him since I treated him…”
“There’s no sign of life at all. It’s like he’s dead.”
“T-That can’t be! Why would someone healed by Hwairi die? That’s impossible!”
She tried to deny it, but all that remained was the duke’s cold gaze.
The night of the full moon is almost here. This won’t do. He’s supposed to fall for me.
All of her plans were set to come to fruition on the night of the full moon. She thought she’d easily win the family’s favor and the duke’s heart by then, but things were going wrong.
I’m this beautiful, this divine, so how could he not fall for me? Hwairi simply couldn’t understand these people.
With a look of discomfort, Hwairi started walking. As she moved, the starlight Giselle had seen scattered beneath her feet, only to vanish again. Arriving at the usually deserted garden, she plopped down on a bench and muttered under her breath. “I think it’s about time I got rid of that damn woman, Giselle, who keeps getting in my way.”
She looked down at the flowers blooming in the garden. Seeing the ‘drag herb’ she’d planted with Garno’s permission at the edge of the flower bed made her feel like she could finally breathe again.
“Aah… Should I really just kill her?”
* * *
Ivanka, the tiny hamster who’d been digging in the flower bed to plant sunflower seeds, froze with wide eyes and mouth agape. Recently, thanks to her hearty appetite, her glossy golden fur stuck up like radar.
Why doesn’t she just die herself instead of killing Madam Giselle? What a jerk! Muttering ‘jerk,’ which is the only curse she knew, Ivanka shot off toward Florette Mansion like a bullet.
And so, while Giselle was basking in the sun, she nearly fainted when a small hamster suddenly leapt into her arms and breathlessly recounted everything that had happened. After chattering away and relaying everything she’d seen and heard, Giselle was smiling.
“Huh? Hwairi wants to kill me?”
“Yes! She’s… she’s such a terrible person! And the mercenary that person treated? He’s nowhere to be found! He disappeared!”
“Ah… You mean that person. Does she tend to vanish often?”
“Yes! How did you know? She keeps sneaking out at night! No one knows where she goes!”
A suspicion crossed Giselle’s mind. Resting her chin on her hand, she murmured softly to herself. “Now I know who Hwairi really is.”
“Huh? Who she really is?”
Giselle smiled warmly and patted Ivanka’s head. “And I’m certain who’s behind all this, too.”
Ivanka rolled her wide eyes, unable to make sense of Giselle’s cryptic words.
“Ivanka, the full moon is coming soon, isn’t it?”
“Yes!”
“I’ll return to the mansion then.”
Without even a moment to process what Giselle had said, Ivanka beamed brightly. “Yes! That’s wonderful! Please come soon! Everyone’s waiting for you!”
“Really?”
“Yes! Especially Duke Kalinos! You know, he talks about you all the time!” Because she was a master at hiding, Ivanka had sharp ears. There were some things you couldn’t help but overhear in the mansion. Especially when it came to talking about Madam Giselle!
“…Huh?”
Oblivious to Giselle’s flustered, hesitant expression, Ivanka, still brimming with excitement, began to mimic in a small voice.
“Giselle, if you try this… Ah, she’s not here.”
“Giselle, the cravat, is he… ah, never mind.”
“…Giselle, have you seen Riwes?”
“He keeps looking off into space and calling for Madam Giselle, then suddenly stops. Do you know what Count Teren said when he saw that?”
“…”
“Wow, so that’s what my brother is like when he likes someone. I can’t believe someone as stiff as him could act like that. Isn’t it funny, Ivanka?” Ivanka, who had been chattering away excitedly, suddenly widened her eyes.
Huh? Why are Madam Giselle’s ears turning red? Ivanka tilted her head in confusion, but soon forgot about it. Anyway, Madam Giselle will be back soon! Awesome!
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