I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 108

 

There I stood, dumbfounded, long after the butler, Viscount Altemere, had left.

 

‘Should I not have told him I was a commoner?’

 

But I didn’t want to pretend to be noble. It was something that would be revealed one day.

 

“I’m so used to the Academy, it’s been a long time since someone openly discriminated against a commoner…”

 

Well, someone who’s so hung up on status wouldn’t be so quick to mess with me.

 

‘Not after what Carson has done for me.’

 

I shrugged and made my way to the bed, lying down on my stomach and reveling in its fluffiness.

 

The bed was of the highest quality for a dukedom.

 

“Ahhhh… this is life.”

 

I felt like I wanted to wash up, change clothes, and sleep in this cozy bedding right away.

 

“And by the way…”

 

The Duchess had already adopted me as her daughter-in-law in her mind.

Or baby, whatever she called me.

 

The way Mister spoke, he sounded convinced that the Duchess wanted to keep her power long enough to set up a puppet…

 

Looking into the Duchess’s clear green eyes, I couldn’t help but think she wasn’t making it up.

 

If the Duchess really did like me for who I am, then maybe she does see me living with Carson…

 

‘No.’

 

Forcing myself to wake up, I shook my head. I tried to drift off into another dream.

 

If only the Duchess liked the idea. I hadn’t even met the Duke yet.

 

I’ve never met the Duke, and it’s not because I’m worried about a feud between the Duke of Begonia and the Duke of Lysianthus.

 

Furthermore, I had to find a place to live and quit my job as a maid as soon as possible.

 

With a heavy sigh, I continued to think.

 

There was a steady, mechanical knock on the door.

 

“I’m the butler you greeted earlier, may I come in, if you don’t mind?”

 

I slowly raised my upper body, hiding my slightly weary face.

 

“Yes, please come in.”

 

He stepped in, his movements as neat as opening the door, and bowed slightly.

 

“I’ve gotten word late that the hot water enchantment in the bathroom attached to this room is having problems.”

 

He sounded somehow more cheerful than he had earlier.

 

‘…Did he get a kick out of the servant from earlier?’

 

“I see, thanks for letting me know.”

 

“If you’re going to wash up, I’ll show you to the other bathroom.”

 

Reluctant to follow him, I tried to say ‘no, thanks’. But the thought of washing in cold water on this cold day made me shudder.

 

I hesitated for a moment, but finally stood up.

 

“Please, then.”

 

We arrived at a very neat-looking room. However, it was also very strange to see a large room with no decorations, just a big bed.

 

It looked even more empty than the guest room, which was Leen’s room.

 

As she looked around the empty room, she heard the Viscount’s voice.

 

“Do you need a maid to help you, by any chance?”

 

“No, I’m comfortable on my own.”

 

“Good. I didn’t prepare for that, you know.”

 

‘Wow, this guy…’

 

My eyes may or may not have squinted, but he continued with a nonchalant face.

 

“The maid will bring you a change of clothes and those that need to be washed, and then I wish you a good night.”

 

Click—

 

It wasn’t until after he had left the room that a thought occurred to me.

 

“Oh, I should have at least touched his hair, pretending it was a mistake.”

 

‘To see if it was a wig or real.’

 

I wouldn’t have done such a rude thing to anyone else, but he was looking down on me, and I didn’t have to respect him.

 

Gritting my teeth at Viscount Altemere’s filthy nature, I walked into the bathroom.

 

As I washed myself, I was pleasantly surprised to smell the familiar scent of Carson emanating from the soap.

 

It was a scent that suited him so well that I had assumed it was his natural body scent. Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same scent.

 

Carson’s scent was a bit more concentrated, a bit more mesmerizing.

 

Perhaps it was his body scent that gave off the scent.

 

Thinking of Carson, whatever mood the Viscount had caused me to sink into returned to normal.

 

My heart seemed to thump pleasantly. After a good bath, thanks to the soap, I opened the bathroom door slightly to get dressed and picked up the clothes that lay in front of me.

 

I checked my clothes and saw…

 

“Holy crap.”

 

In disbelief, I threw the clothes haphazardly.

 

No, it wasn’t even clothes.

 

[Cloth] — [Thing] 

 

An object made of skin or other material worn to cover or protect the body.

 

It had lost its function. But not long after I threw it away, I was forced to pick it up again.

 

For I realized in hindsight. The maid had taken away my first set of clothes, and all I was left with was something that had lost its function.

 

If only I had a towel. Whether they forgot or intended to leave it behind, there was no towel.

 

Trying to remain calm, I quickly pulled on my robe, rushed out of the bathroom, and wrapped myself in the comforter on the bed.

 

Grabbing the rope at the foot of the bed, I shook it. I was hoping for a maid rather than a servant.

 

But the thought was fleeting.

 

No matter how much I shook the string, nobody came into the room. There’s no way they could not have heard it.

 

I had a reasonable suspicion that Viscount Altemere had set me up. No, I was almost certain he was trying to screw with me.

 

“Do I have to walk all the way to my room in a blanket?”

 

And if I ran into the Duke on the way…?

 

The thought was too horrible to imagine. Meeting the rumored Duke for the first time in such an unflattering outfit.

 

And he’s Carson’s father, after all. 

 

The notion of sleeping here flashed through my mind. But the fact that I was dressed like this would not change in the morning.

 

I would never be able to step outside again.

 

My head throbbed, thinking, ‘…Viscount Altemere, you’ve screwed me over.’

 

As I gritted my teeth and tried to figure out how to handle the situation.

 

The door burst open and someone entered the room. I pulled the covers tighter around me and looked up to see who it was.

 

“Leen?”

 

Carson’s eyes widened as we locked eyes. I called his name, extremely relieved that it was Carson who had entered.

 

“Caon…!”

 

‘Thank goodness.’

 

I don’t know what brought him into this room, but…

 

Carson was the only person I could fully trust in this dreary dungeon.

 

Now I didn’t have to think much about anything. I could just ask him to bring me some clothes or teleport me back to my room.

 

A smile crossed Carson’s face when he saw me, then he tilted his head in question.

 

“What brings you to my room?”

 

‘…My room?’

 

Carson asked, suddenly sounding somewhat excited.

 

“Did you come to see me?”

 

“…Was this your room?”

 

It was too empty to be anyone’s room, so I assumed it was vacant.

 

There was just a bed lying there. There should have been at least a couch or something.

 

His mouth dropped slightly in disappointment as he realized I hadn’t come looking for him.

 

“So, Leen, how did you find your way here, and are you cold? I see you’ve got a couple of blankets.”

 

“Oh, this.”

 

I rolled my eyes, realizing it was time to explain.

 

“The… butler must have had a misunderstanding.”

 

“Misunderstanding?”

 

His eyes narrowed slowly. The urge to mock him rose to the top of my throat at the sight of his innocent face.

 

But I clenched my fists, barely holding them back.

 

If I pulled the covers off of my head, I was sure he’d either collapse with a nosebleed or have a heart attack.

 

The reason he was relatively unharmed on the evening of our first night together was because of the control magic in his body.

 

He told me that he’d used all the control magic in existence on his body.

 

He’d forgotten how to breathe just by looking at my face, no matter how much I’d tried to make it so.

 

It would hardly be Carson if he could make love to me without consequence.

 

When I didn’t answer what the misunderstanding was for a long time, he rushed toward me anxiously.

 

I was startled by his straight charge and called out urgently.

 

“Stop! You’re going to get yourself killed!”

 

“…Huh?”

 

There were a lot of omissions. He stopped moving as I said, but the bewilderment on his face remained.

 

For a moment, I debated in my head whether to tell him.

 

But then I realized that we had seen enough, so I figured it would be okay to tell him.

 

“The butler must have misunderstood us. He brought me a strange change of clothes. I’m sorry, but can you please take something from my suitcase…” I said.

 

Before I could finish my sentence, he shifted his pace and stepped closer to me.

 

I looked at him, my mouth slightly open in surprise.

 

Judging by the bright red color of his face, I don’t think he understood me.

 

Perhaps I hadn’t expected him to be so aggressive.

 

Pulling the covers tighter around me, I said warningly, “Caon, didn’t you hear me? You’re going to get yourself in a heck of a lot of trouble.”

 

But Carson seemed unwilling to budge, and eventually his shadow fell over me. I gulped and swallowed hard as I met his blue-blazing eyes.

 

They say blue burns hotter than red. I was feeling it with my whole body now.

 

“I can cast any number of control spells now, Leen.”

 

As he finished speaking, dozens of magic circles appeared around us. I was frozen in place at the sight.

 

It was amazing that he could cast more than a dozen spells simultaneously, but the fact that he needed so many control spells to do so was ridiculous.

 

His face, which had looked like it was going to explode at any moment, calmed down a bit.

 

He leaned closer again and said, “I can smell myself on you, Leen.”

 

Carson purred, lowering his gaze in pleasure.

 

“You smelled like this the morning after I spent the night with you, too.”

 

The scent had shifted because she’d been with him all night.

 

Not the same as now. I know I shouldn’t be doing this.

 

‘I should push him away because I know I have to leave sooner or later.’

 

But I couldn’t seem to resist that tempting face. Eventually, I squeeze my eyes shut. 

 

Then I felt Carson’s hand slowly reach out to me.