As Eric’s hand approached her face, Alicia flinched in surprise.

However, his hand touched not her face but a strand of hair beside her ear, picking something off.

“Did I startle you? Sorry, there was a petal stuck there.”

“Ah, thank you. Should we eat something?”

Feeling embarrassed by her momentary thrill, Alicia quickly grabbed a piece of chocolatecovered fruit from the finger food and pushed it into Eric’s mouth.

Taking the food in surprise, Eric only frowned after finishing it.

“Sweet.”

“How about this?”

Next, Alicia randomly picked something else and pushed it into Eric’s mouth.

Seeing his face scrunch up again, she realized that this, too, was sweet.

“I guess I only put desserts in the snack pile.”

While Alicia was examining the heap of snacks Eric had set aside to find something less sweet, Eric leaned back against a cushion, smiling leisurely.

“You know I don’t really like sweets.”

“I know.”

“I’d never eat them on my own.”

Eric said, grinning slyly.

“Ah, well. We can’t throw all of this away.”

Resigned, Alicia picked up another piece of finger food and placed it in Eric’s mouth.

As Eric ate it naturally and their eyes met, they both burst into laughter.

It was astonishing how they understood each other’s intentions, sticking together like caramel.

(This is a time divider.)

“Ah, so annoying.”

Buried under a pile of documents, Allen finally lifted his head.

“You need to hurry. The division leader isn’t here, so you, the deputy, must handle everything.”

“I know. That’s why it’s annoying. Why did he have to be absent today of all days?”

Since hearing talk about giving fur as a gift, Allen had been uneasy. For the sake of Eric’s smooth engagement life, he had resolved to provide assistance in every way and had even acted on it today.

Still, he hadn’t expected this thankless person to leave him with all this work, especially on a day heavy with document processing.

Annoyed once more, Allen abruptly stood up and walked to the window.

His subordinate, watching, commented disdainfully.

“If you keep slacking off, we won’t finish today.”

“Can’t I curse for just five minutes?”

“Cursing? At whom?”

“Who do you think?”

Allen looked outside with a grumpy expression. The weather was irritatingly good.

‘I’m drowning in work while that man is probably enjoying his time with my sisterinlaw.’

‘Because he works people to the bone, some of us can’t even clear our single lives, how can this be?’

‘Shouldn’t a person have some conscience?’

“Hoo.”

Letting out a deep breath, Allen cursed loudly.

“Let there be a windstorm! A tempest! Destroy all the flowers!”

Watching Allen suddenly shout out the window, the subordinates all pretended not to see or hear, muttering to themselves.

‘Here he goes again.’

‘It’s a headache if we interfere, so let’s just ignore it.’

Just then, the office door opened and a clerk walked in.

“Is Division Leader Russel here?”

“He’s not. He’s probably frolicking around, enjoying his good fortune.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Nothing, clerk. What brings you here?”

A subordinate hastily interrupted Allen’s words with a reply.

“Oh, there was an important report after the meeting. He had to leave early for an urgent schedule.”

“An urgent schedule? Hah.”

‘This man is finally shirking work. He was the empire’s most workaholic. His mind must be gone.’

Ignoring the fact that he had even lent his own villa, Allen walked from the window to the clerk.

With Eric absent, Allen had to act as the division leader and handle the work.

“So what’s the important report, clerk?”

“Deputy, I’m sorry, but when will the division leader return?”

“Well, he probably won’t be back today.”

“That’s a problem. The vicedirector told me to report directly to him. What should we do?”

Cornered by the clerk’s inquiry, Allen grinned.

“What to do? I have to go interrupt him right now.”

“Excuse me?”

(This is a time divider.)
The gentle breeze and the undulating waves calmed my mind.

“Being here makes the monster’s appearance seem like a lie.”

“True.”

“But with Eric here, it would be okay even if a monster appears now, right?”

“Ah, I didn’t bring my sword, so that’s a problem.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to take it down barehanded. It doesn’t look like something I’d want to touch.”

“Even though you were thinking of bringing its fur?”

“That’s why I planned to skin it in a way where I wouldn’t have to see its face.”

“What are you saying?”

Casual chatter led to a silence as they watched the lake’s shimmering waves reflect the sunlight.

Alicia pointed at the ducks floating by the lakeside and looked at Eric.

“Ah, ducks.”

“Could you please stop?”

Eric grumbled, and Alicia chuckled mischievously.

Then Eric began to speak, almost as an excuse.

“I didn’t say that because you actually resemble a duck. I was concerned I might breach our special agreement.”

“Special agreement?”

Oops.

“What special agreement were you about to breach?”

“Ah, well.”

The special agreement wasn’t solely about physical touch, but in his fluster, Eric couldn’t remember any other clauses.