She opened her eyes but he tried not to meet her gaze. However, he obediently offered his hand.

“Stop it already. You know everything, so why are you acting like this?”

“How would I know when you didn’t explain? Am I some kind of astrologist who can read people’s minds?”

He spoke in a disgruntled voice.

“All I know is that there are rumors about you and Sir Jenassen getting engaged. The whole city is in an uproar.”

Jade tried to hold back the trembling corners of her mouth.

Despite his displeased face, averted eyes, and harsh voice, he strangely seemed adorable in her eyes.

The reason was obvious. She knew what emotions were underlying that chilly demeanor.

Heavens, to think the day would come when I find that height and build cute. Honestly, even though he has a handsome face, there isn’t an ounce of charm. Rather, when his mouth is closed, he looks fierce.

“Why are you smiling in such an unpleasant way?”

It seemed her attempt to hide her laughter had failed. The gaze that finally met hers was somehow burning fiercely.

Jade spoke in a very gentle voice, as if trying to extinguish a fire.

“No… You know. Sir Jenassen is helping us.”

“What do I know? I said I don’t know.”

What do you mean you don’t know? I’m with you right now! Do you think I would hold hands, embrace, and kiss another man while having a fiancé? Don’t you know me?

Of course, she couldn’t say this to the growling man.

“Okay. Then you at least have a rough idea.”

“I don’t know.”

She lightly scratched his palm with her index finger. His hand, accustomed to holding a sword for a long time, was as firm as if encased in hard leather, so she gently stroked it again.

As if ticklish, Axel frowned and lightly flipped his hand over, applying a bit of force. No matter how much she wriggled inside, she absolutely could not escape.

Jade reached out her other hand to hold his and whispered as if to soothe him.

“I was going to tell you once the plan was fully outlined. Right now, how should I put it, I’m so busy preparing various things… Still, I should have told you the plan in advance. Did you hear the rumors after we parted ways on the bridge?”

Axel still had a disgruntled face without answering, but somehow it felt like he had cooled down a bit. With a soft sigh, he loosened his grip on her captured hand.

However, Jade instead intertwined her fingers with his.

“I’m sorry. Even knowing it was a false rumor, it must have upset you. If you have time this evening, stay for dinner. I also have something I need your permission for.”

“Somehow your voice sounds like you’re coaxing a child.”

“It was like that earlier, but not now. Thinking about dinner makes me a bit nervous.”

Jade tried to pull the hand she was holding and place it somewhere around her collarbone. It was to let him feel, even from a distance, how fast her heart was beating.

But long before touching her body, Axel strongly pulled his hand away and hurriedly stepped back. He moved so thoughtlessly fast that the low table, pushed by his large body, fell over with a thud.

Jade looked back and forth between her empty hand and his face with dumbfounded eyes.

“What, what…?”

His swift movement should have certainly stunned her, but Axel also had a very perplexed expression.

“No, you….”

“What about me…?”

The two stood there blinking stupidly. Until a loud, raucous laughter burst out.

“Wahahahaha!”

Startled, she looked to the side and saw Jenassen rolling on the sofa holding his stomach. He was so genuinely amused that he couldn’t even catch his breath properly.

“Heu, heuk, ahak, ahahahaha!”

“Are you crazy?”

Axel erased his dumbfounded expression in an instant and asked irritably, but Jenassen was too busy rolling around to answer.

“Pft, it’s so funny! Wahahahak!”

“…What’s so funny?”

When Jade spoke in a sulky voice, Jenassen slowly began to steady his panting breath, as he couldn’t ignore her words no matter what.

“That, heu, heu heu, you two, aren’t some ten-year-olds, euhehek…. Getting star, startled by that kind of contact and falling back is really….”

Jade widened her eyes and looked at Axel. Only after hearing Jenassen’s words did she see it. At first glance, he just seemed to be frowning, but underneath was hidden embarrassment.

But even after realizing that, laughter didn’t come out, rather that embarrassment was contagious.

Jade stammered an excuse.

“Ah, no, I was just… trying to let him feel around here, near the nape of the neck…. That, that my heart was beating fast.”

Axel curtly replied.

“I know.”

“What do you know! Ah, that was a good show. I’m dying of laughter! Kissing seems out of the question. Did you two hold hands? Ah, are you ten years old and couldn’t get adult permission to hold hands? Puhahaha!”

Unfortunately, Jade, who had started with kissing, could only swallow her saliva and not answer.

Eventually, Axel’s hand moved so fast it was invisible, and after whatever he did, Jenassen only groaned in pain and fell silent.

In the room where only agonized moans intermittently rang out, Jade and Axel’s gazes briefly wandered.

Jade swallowed and spoke.

“Sh, shall we try again…?”

Only a glare as if asking if she was crazy came back, so she stopped. But it was a pure intention to let him feel her rapidly beating heart, so she just felt wronged.

Jenassen seemed to have recovered from the pain as he began to blabber again.

“So fresh and young. It would have been nice if Lady Ives was here. At least she’s already married, right? She definitely would have given deep and good advice, no, Sir Leon, how can you stop me from saying this? Why are you glaring at me like that? Anyway, you’re fresh, but it’s surprising to see you two looking more intimate than I thought.”

“What intimacy? Weren’t you gleefully giggling earlier that we were like ten-year-olds?”

When Jade grumbled, Jenassen smirked. Except when lying, he mostly had a brazen and shameless face.

“The level was clearly that of ten-year-olds.”

“Then what made us look so intimate?”

“Hmm….”

Jenassen reviewed the scene he had witnessed earlier. Other than being startled and jumping apart when she tried to pull his hand to feel her beating heart, a bit before that.

The oddly friendly tone of speech, well, let’s say that’s the case. They had been giving off a strange vibe throughout the subjugation team, so if they continued to meet afterwards, it could be like that.

In the first place, didn’t Lady Ives vow to sell off her family if there were no feelings between those two?

Of course, when told to write those words on paper, she ran away, but anyway, approaching then turning away, being sensitive then looking out for each other’s safety, anyone could see there was something there.

Holding hands, capturing that hand again, intertwining fingers and locking them together.

Yes, this could also be overlooked. In the early stages of a relationship, if you don’t hold hands, what’s the point of having two? One is enough to hold a sword.

But openly displaying an irritated demeanor as if jealous of someone, meeting gazes as if to soothe, and with just that, all negative emotions eventually melting away.

Those were things he truly never expected.

In other words, what surprised Jenassen was the various emotions appearing on Axel’s face.

He knew the Axel of the past. Even if that was 5 years ago, he thought he was someone who wouldn’t change.

Isn’t it natural? Feeling annoyed at being trapped, he recklessly roamed the unsafe North despite safety being guaranteed, naturally kicked away the golden throne given to him, charged into the Marquis’ castle alone to save his younger brother, and finally, after reading the late king’s will, abruptly buried himself in the Athanase Forest.

Looking at someone like that, it’s difficult to imagine anything soft.

Around the time he was having these pleasant thoughts, an attack came.

“So, Sir Jenassen. When are you coming to the training grounds?”

“Pardon…? I don’t know what you’re talking about…?”

“I told you to stop bothering Sir Jenassen. We’re in a position to request help!”

“You have to understand why I’m doing this. And I’ve heard a lot of interesting stories lately, so it’s hard to suppress my suspicions.”

“What did Lady Ives say this time? What on earth is it. What is it this time!”

“A certain noble who only collected red-haired lovers. I wonder if light-colored hair isn’t your preference.”

“Sigh…. Sir Jenassen’s hair isn’t even that light….”

It may not be that he changed, but rather someone brushed off the thick layer of dust. Anyway, it was still much better than any moment in the past.

Jenassen watched their bickering with warm eyes as if he were their parent. If he could see this, and if Sir Leon didn’t return to the Athanase Forest, rolling around in the training grounds would be sufficiently bearable.

In that noisy moment, someone knocked on the door. Jade waved her hand as if to blow away all topics and quickly ran to open the door. Then she exclaimed in a bright voice.

“Betty! Thank you for coming.”

“What are you saying? You even sent a carriage to comfortably bring me here. Riding in such a luxurious carriage made me feel quite good. I was in a rush to do another fitting… Oh my.”

The woman with tightly tied hair smiled shyly, then widened her eyes upon seeing the two large men.

“I told you to bring some finished pieces too… Can alterations be made right away?”

“Of course I brought them. Don’t worry, alterations are possible. By the way…”

Betty, the owner of the dressmaking shop, whispered. Which one of the two is it? I like both of them.

Jade muttered. Don’t say things like that. There’s already someone who’s upset….