Chloe’s hands were not small for a woman. However, now her hands were completely enveloped by the large duke’s hands, not visible at all.

“Your Grace, why are you holding my hand… Ah!”

She flinched mid-sentence. It was because the duke tapped her clenched fist.

“…?”

She unconsciously turned her head to look at the duke. She immediately regretted it though.

Because the duke’s face was so close to hers that her cheek almost brushed against his chin. Chloe quickly turned her head forward. The duke’s laughter tickled her earlobe.

Really, why is he doing this! Immobilizing a person and then laughing about it.

Bewilderment and annoyance rushed over her simultaneously.

“Won’t you let go?”

What? Let go? Who’s the one holding my hand right now!

“Why are you laugh…”

Chloe’s attempt to say ‘Why are you laughing so unpleasantly, Your Grace should let go of my hand!’ was cut off by the duke’s amused words.

“If you hold onto the reins I’m supposed to hold so tightly, what am I supposed to hold?”

What on earth does that mean!

“Those reins you’re holding are mine. So won’t you let go now? This here is what you’re supposed to hold.”

The duke released her hand and pointed to the leather strap in front of her.

“… Ah!”

She felt a rush of heat, as if not just her face but even her scalp had turned red. Only then did she understand what the duke meant by ‘mine’, and why he had held her hand. Stupidly, she had preemptively grabbed the reins the duke was supposed to hold. Not even realizing there was an auxiliary handle in front for her to hold.

“Here, like this.”

The duke took her hand again and directly placed the leather strap in it.

“Ye… Yes, Your Grace.”

Falling from this height probably wouldn’t kill her, but could she briefly lose consciousness? She wanted to fall off the horse and bury her reddened face in that dirt ground.

What on earth had she imagined when he said ‘mine’.

The duke’s breath that she had felt right next to her face moved a little further away. It seemed the duke had straightened up after leaning towards her.

Now she could no longer feel the duke’s breath on her earlobe, nor did his voice wrap around her, but her whole body was still hot. Not because of the inexplicable heartbeat anymore, but because of the maddening embarrassment.

Oh, really! Why did Your Grace have to phrase it so strangely. Wouldn’t anyone misunderstand!

She wanted to glare at the duke. But she didn’t even have the courage to look back, let alone glare. She just gripped the innocent leather strap so tightly that the bones in her hand protruded. As if that leather strap that had been attached there was the culprit of her embarrassing misunderstanding.

“Let’s depart.”

Whether he knew about her embarrassment or not, the duke’s leisurely words still full of amusement made Chloe just nod slightly. She was determined not to say another word to the duke until she got off the horse. Because if she opened her mouth again, she felt she would immediately make another mistake. And then she would really want to jump off the horse.

The mountain path was shorter than expected when riding on horseback. So short that it passed quickly even without saying a word, as Chloe had resolved.

However, sitting at the front of the horse running downhill, being mercilessly shaken, and occasionally trying to avoid tree branches that seemed about to touch her head, by the time they entered Beurgen town, she was in a state of half-lost consciousness.

She didn’t realize at all that even if she hadn’t tried so hard to avoid the branches, the duke had been paying careful attention to ensure that not even the smallest leaf touched her head.

“Whoa.”

Pulling on the reins to stop the horse, the duke dismounted and then looked at Chloe as if waiting for her to get down.

“…”

Chloe started to get down but then just stared blankly at the duke. Now that she was actually trying to dismount, she couldn’t figure out how to get down from this tall horse.

“How long are you going to stay on the horse? Aren’t you getting down? I guess you still don’t know, but this horse doesn’t like you.”

“I… I’m not sure how to get down. The horse is too tall…”

The duke slightly furrowed his brow as he looked at her. It was an expression of hearing something completely unexpected.

“It’s my first time riding a horse…”

“Hmm… Keep your left leg where it is, and first bring your right leg over to this side, then get down…”

“Ah…”

Chloe lifted her right leg as she listened to the duke’s explanation. But at that moment, the horse suddenly leapt up.

“Oh my!”

Startled, she hunched down close to the horse.

“Hmm! Just reach your arms out to me. I’ll help you down.”

“Pardon?”

“If you try to get down on your own, you’ll probably end up planting your head in the ground. Hurry!”

Chloe hesitated for a moment but eventually stretched out both arms towards the duke. Somehow, she felt like she might fall, just as the duke had said.

“Huk!”

However, shockingly, the duke’s hands instantly bypassed her hands and grasped her body just below her armpits.

“Your Grace!”

Before Chloe could say anything, the duke had already lifted her up and set her down off the horse. As her feet touched the ground, she momentarily felt the earth swaying and thought her knees might buckle.

“Haah…”

As she let out a sigh of relief, she felt the duke’s hands, which were holding her body as if to support her, tighten. She tilted her head back completely to look up at the duke.

“Don’t you think you’re clinging to me too much?”

“Pardon?”

“Your arms, my neck.”

“…Ah!”

In an instant, Chloe’s eyes widened as big as coins. When the duke had lifted her down, she had instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Well, this isn’t bad either, but it seems there are many eyes watching.”

“I’m sorry!”

Chloe, too flustered, shouted as she tried to detach herself from the duke, unwrapping her arms from his neck.

“…!”

However, the duke, who had just been complaining about her clinging too much, didn’t loosen his grip on her and instead stepped back, pulling her even closer into his embrace.

Why, why are you hugging me again? Her heart felt like it was beating twice as fast at this incomprehensible action.

“Your Grace…”

Squirming in the duke’s arms, Chloe tried to push against his shoulders.

“Shh!”

The duke spoke as if soothing a whining child. She closed her mouth like an obedient child at his words.

“Horses are sensitive animals. Especially to sound. If you shout like that right next to a horse that doesn’t even like you, you might get kicked by its hind legs.”

The duke said as he released her from his arms.

“Ah…!”

Only then did she realize that she had apologized earlier almost shouting because she was too flustered. She also realized that the duke had pulled her into his arms to protect her from being attacked by the horse. Following her misunderstanding about the horse reins earlier, embarrassment washed over her for misunderstanding once again.

“Of course, unlike that fellow, I like you.”

But the duke’s added words instantly turned her embarrassment into shock.

Chloe trembled without realizing it. She knew her own eyes, meeting the duke’s, were shaking unsteadily like a candle in the wind. Yet she couldn’t look away.

‘I like you.’

The direct and clear words that left no room for misunderstanding or misinterpretation were echoing in her ears. As if telling her not to be embarrassed about all the misunderstandings and misconceptions she had while mounting and dismounting the horse. As if in fact, not all those moments were just her own misunderstandings or misconceptions.

The duke likes me. It really seems so. And I keep…

“Shall we start touring the town now?”

Chloe, who had been feeling something prickly seeping out of her chest as she looked at the duke’s face, snapped back to her senses at his strange words.

“Tour the town? Aren’t we returning to Loizen?”

“I told you. It’s your first time in Beurgen. It’s your hometown, so we should at least take a look around before leaving. Since I like you, I’m curious about many things about you. I want to see what kind of place you grew up in.”

“Your Grace!”

Chloe finally tried to muster the sternest voice she could with her fully returned senses. Please stop. It’s not like it’s a habitual confession, so why say ‘I like you’ so casually at any time? Her heart felt like it wouldn’t last.

She wanted to say such things, but couldn’t.

At that moment, the duke flashed a smile that could bewitch anyone and uttered something shocking.

“Let’s go, Chloe.”

Chloe froze like a rock. It was as if Chloe’s mind had lost its function after being hit by an iron ball thrown by the duke.

“Where’s the best place to visit in town? Ah! You said you don’t know well either, right? Hmm… Then shall we start with the best place among the ones you’ve been to?”

The duke was cheerfully chattering away as if he hadn’t just delivered a tremendous shock to her mind.

Was it a slip of the tongue? Perhaps because he had been thinking about the woman named Chloe, he misspoke? But she didn’t have the courage to ask if he had called her by the wrong name.

In the end, she decided to pretend she hadn’t heard it. The duke also seemed unaware that he had called her ‘Chloe’.

“Lead the way. Clyne.”

The duke urged her again. This time he called her ‘Clyne’ again. It seemed that earlier he had indeed mistakenly called her the wrong name.

Really. He says he likes me. He even said he likes men… But in the end, his mind is full of only ‘Chloe’.

Chloe’s mood instantly sank.