Regarding him, Maiana could also praise him enough. Lately, Cedelloi had spent a lot of time with Arianthe. Even while working, he would take a break when Arianthe wandered into the study, eating snacks or drinking tea together. He awkwardly tried to respond to the child’s random chatter.

“Bringing Swan as a duke might have been one of my mistakes. But fortunately, I realized something before discovering that fact too late.”

“You realized something? What?”

“No matter what path that child takes in the future, there’s only one thing I can do. As the child’s formal guardian and protector… to create a barrier so that she can grow up like other children her age. The purpose of bringing Swan in the first place was that, but I felt like I couldn’t catch the right moment.”

Maiana looked at Cedelloi with wide eyes, as if genuinely surprised. When she met Cedelloi’s expression as if asking why he was like that, she raised her hand and touched his forehead.

“What are you doing?”

“Since suddenly your head seems hot, I thought I’d check if you have a fever. Fortunately, you seem perfectly fine.”

In an instant, Cedelloi, who had mischievously smiled, wrapped his arm around Maiana’s waist. As his lips were about to approach, Maiana quickly raised her hand to cover his mouth.

“Calm down. Lady and Young Master Swan are still in the other room.”

“It’s quiet. They seem busy playing around.”

“You should be a bit more discreet about the time and place, Your Grace.”

Maiana pushed him away resolutely. Cedelloi, too, didn’t murmur any further, just chuckled teasingly. It felt like the fog that had lingered in his mind had lifted, and he was in a surprisingly good mood after a long time. He seemed to have returned to the old days when there were no worries or troubles.

“It feels quite refreshing when you call me ‘Your Grace.'”

“If you want me to continue calling you that way, I’ll change the title. Actually, I thought the title ‘Your Grace’ should only be used for the king. ‘Your Excellency,’ ‘Your Majesty,’ or ‘What’s-her-name Lady,’ I really don’t know.”

“You can use titles as you wish. Although it would be better to use the correct titles for others… I am an exception.”

“Why? Are you giving me such leeway because I’ve already caused a major incident with you?”

Cedelloi, blinking his eyes, suddenly leaned back and burst into laughter. Over his stretched neck, blue veins and the Adam’s apple stood out prominently. For a moment, Maiana thought about touching it, then suddenly came to her senses.

“As much as I care about my face, this might be a bit too much,” Maiana thought.

Cedelloi, still unable to stop laughing for a while, looked at her with a wide-open face.

“You always have a talent for making me laugh with absurd expressions. ‘Major incident,’ to use such a term, how did you even think of that?”

“Then what should I say? I can’t use even more explicit words.”

“Can’t you use expressions like ‘love me’ or ‘being loved by me’?”

Making an exposed expression, Maiana frowned briefly.

“That’s not my taste.”

“I can’t say I like saying it that way either.”

Turning his body and leaning his upper body forward, Cedelloi draped his arm over the backrest. The other hand still held Maiana’s hand, so at first glance, it seemed like the two might hug each other at any moment.

“You’re like a storm.”

Maiana smirked.

“I did shake up the duke quite uproariously.”

“No, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Then what?”
Cedelloi momentarily closed his mouth with a cheerful expression. Due to his demeanor that didn’t match the stillness, Maiana once again felt a strange, fluttering sensation in her chest.

“Until now… during that long time, I was in a state of not knowing where to swim in the dark waves. I didn’t know where to go or what to do. I had the desire to leave this place, but I didn’t know how. But, Maiana, you… you rushed to me like a storm. And you made the waves flow in the right direction. Now I know where I should swim. I know where to reach the warm sands, escaping this cold and lonely place. Because you keep pushing me forward. I just have to swim hard following your direction.”

A subtle smile, seeming somewhat uneasy, appeared on Maiana’s face.

“You might get tired and sink, which is scary.”

Upon hearing that, Cedelloi, with a relaxed smile, lightly kissed her cheek.

“You’ve seen it too; I have experience in swimming.”

While Cedelloi was confiding in Maiana, Arianthe, who had disappeared into the adjacent room with Swan, peeked through the slightly open door, eagerly observing the scene outside.

“Arianthe, what are you doing! Peeking is not a ladylike behavior.”

Though Swan tried to stop her, Arianthe clung to the door and didn’t try to move away. Occasionally, she would grab the doorknob tightly, and there were moments when she almost pulled the door wide open, but in those cases, Swan would startle and push the door closed, preventing her from being caught.