“Somehow I got cut by a carving knife.”

“If it needs to be wrapped to that extent, shouldn’t you see a doctor?”

My reflection was visible in the Duke’s eyes inside the carriage. Slightly flushed cheeks and slightly disheveled pink hair. Even an expression that didn’t dislike his concern.

“Ranson and Anna treated it excessively. It’s only cut this much. Really, just this much.”

I tried to show how it was smaller than a fingernail by spreading my thumb and index finger, but my body swayed as the carriage window kept wobbling.

“Anyway, you came to pick me up, right?”

“If I say yes, will you come to the mansion?”

“Please wait a moment. I’ll bring Anna out.”

I turned around staggering. When I opened the office door, Ranson was sprawled on the waiting room sofa, and Myrtain was sitting in a chair, exhaling heavily.

Anna, who was relatively fine, was fetching water and making the two men come to their senses.

“Anna, the Duke says we should go home?”

Anna replied anxiously to my words.

“Is it okay to just leave these people here?”

Ranson had already fallen asleep, stretched out. Myrtain got up saying he’d return to the hotel, then circled the waiting room once. Then he flopped down on an empty sofa, saying he had arrived.

“I think it’s fine to leave them?”

The floor kept writhing, making my body sway. Anna came closer and grabbed my arm.

“Anna, I’m not drunk at all.”

“Yes, I know.”

Anna smiled brightly and opened the office door, saying we should leave. I touched my slightly disheveled silk hat with my hand to straighten it. I didn’t forget to pat my skirt to neaten my clothes.

When we went outside, the Duke was standing in front of the carriage.

“Oh? Duke? What brings you here?”

Strange. This situation feels familiar.

“…Didn’t you say you weren’t drunk?”

“Yes, I’m not drunk.”

I neatly folded my arms in front to show I could walk properly. The Duke put his hand on his forehead and shook his head.

“Duke, can I help the young lady into the carriage?”

“I think you should.”

As soon as the Duke gave permission, Anna pushed me towards the carriage.

“Get in.”

I obediently got into the carriage at his command spoken in a low voice.

“May I ride in the coachman’s seat?”

“As you wish.”

“Thank you, Duke.”

I could hear Anna and the Duke talking outside the carriage. I hastily took off my hat and placed it on my knee to show respect to him who would soon board the carriage.

The carriage soon departed for the mansion. The Duke sitting across from me was looking at me with his arms folded. No, I’m not sure if he’s glaring or just looking.

“Why are you glaring at me?”

I couldn’t help but be curious. The alcohol gave me courage as if there was no tomorrow.

“I was just looking.”

His voice was quite sweet. If only it weren’t for that terrifying expression, it would have been enchanting.

“No, you’re not. Whenever you look at me, you always do this with your eyes.”

I lifted my chin and lowered my eyes. Then I looked at him and said.

“You always look at me like this. Always.”

“Does it bother you?”

“Yes. It does!”

I briefly covered my blurry and swaying vision with my hand and lowered my head back to normal. Then I smiled widely and said.

“From now on, look at me like this when you see me.”

“…What?”

“I said, do it like this.”

You’d look handsome if you smiled. Why does the Duke always act like a scary person?

“Young lady, are you ordering me now?”

I flinched for a moment. But I have the power of alcohol, you see.

“If I say it’s an order, will you listen?”

“What are you saying now…?”

I got up from my seat and sat down next to the Duke. Then I used my index fingers to lift the corners of his mouth. My bandaged thumb pressed against his chin, but it couldn’t stop what I intended to do.

“You’d look handsome if you smiled.”

The Duke widened his eyes. But I wasn’t scared at all.

“You know what? You’re quite handsome, Duke.”

Lifting the corners of his mouth made him look much softer.

“If you smile like this often, people will like you too.”

I gently lowered my hands, afraid it might hurt if I kept lifting them. Unfortunately, he returned to his original expressionless face.

“Young lady.”

“Yes?”

My body swayed in sync with the bumping of the carriage. I don’t know when it happened, but both my wrists were caught by the Duke.

“I don’t understand why only you are alright.”

I just blinked, not knowing what he meant by alright.

“What’s the reason? Is there something you do that others don’t?”

I tilted my head at the question missing a subject. I twisted my wrist to pull out my trapped arm.

“I don’t understand what you’re asking. Could you ask again so I can answer?”

“No, it’s fine if you don’t answer.”

“What, how bland.”

What I meant to think inwardly popped out of my mouth. I realized my mistake, but you can’t take back what’s already been said, right?

“Anyway, try smiling often. Don’t just frown and look scary all the time.”

I muttered, leaning back in the chair. Words I wanted to say gushed out like a waterfall, but my eyelids felt as heavy as iron.

“Be kind… to Rublion too. How bad must it have been… for him to act like that?”

I was too sleepy to bear it. In the end, I nodded off repeatedly and completely lost consciousness.

Anna’s small heart, sitting in the coachman’s seat, was beating so anxiously it felt like it might burst.

‘She won’t cause trouble, right?’

The unfortunate thing was that Schmidt had a drinking habit that bothered those around her, like Baron Deli.

The fortunate thing was that Schmidt didn’t lose her fortune due to impaired judgment from alcohol, unlike Baron Deli.

She just became more honest than usual and spoke without a filter?

‘That’s why I’m more worried!’

There are people you can be stubborn with and people you shouldn’t be.

Because of the sound of hooves and carriage wheels rolling, she couldn’t hear what conversation was taking place inside.

With such an anxious heart, Anna, who had waited beside the coachman, hurriedly jumped down as soon as they arrived at the mansion’s main gate. Then she urgently knocked on the carriage door.

“We’ve arrived.”

She thought the door would burst open, but surprisingly, there was no response from inside.

Her already uneasy heart grew even more anxious. So she gently grasped the door handle.

“I’ll open the door for you.”

She resolved to act calmly no matter what was happening inside. Even if the young lady was frantically rubbing the Duke’s cheeks and touching his hands all over, just like she had done to her, she would absolutely not be surprised.

“Now you can get ou…”

“Shh.”

The first thing Anna saw when she opened the door was the Duke raising his index finger to his lips. He looked tense, trying not to wake Schmidt who was sleeping with her head on his lap.

“Duke, shall I help you?”

Anna asked in a whisper, lowering her voice completely. He shook his head.

“Prepare the young lady’s bedroom. I’ll move her when she falls into a deeper sleep, as she just dozed off.”

“Alright, I’ll go up first.”

Barely suppressing her twitching mouth that wanted to smile, Anna dashed to the main entrance. Then she approached the butler, passing by the maids lined up for greeting.

“The young lady fell asleep in the carriage, and the Duke said he would move her to the bedroom himself.”

The butler’s eyes widened upon hearing this. Then, as if realizing something, he said.

“The young lady’s bedroom… or the couple’s bedroom?”

“You might be disappointed, but it’s the young lady’s bedroom.”

“Ah.”

The butler, who had been full of expectation, suddenly became gloomy.

“They’re coming now.”

A maid watching the entrance cried out, spotting the Duke crossing the garden while carrying Schmidt. Startled, Anna bowed quickly to the butler before dashing to the second floor. Her breath caught with each two-step leap up the stairs.

“Sister?”

When she reached the second floor, Rublion was standing in front of Schmidt’s room door.

“Ah, young master, you haven’t gone to sleep?”

“Yeah, I was waiting because auntie hadn’t come yet.”

“She’s coming now.”

“Really? Can I sleep with her tonight too?”

“Ah… The young lady has already fallen asleep.”

The small eyes that didn’t understand rolled around. It was because of the heavy sound of someone coming up the stairs.

“I’m sorry, young master. I need to quickly prepare the bedroom.”

“Okay.”

Rublion spotted Askal appearing with Schmidt in his arms. The young boy grinned at his uncle doing something he couldn’t do himself.

“The young lady fell asleep on the way. You seem to have been waiting to sleep together.”

“No? I wasn’t waiting. I just came out because I heard a noise.”

“Is that so?”

Rublion stared intently at Askal’s back as he entered Schmidt’s room, which Anna had opened.

Then, after confirming that he had laid Schmidt on the bed, he turned around. Afterwards, he muttered in a voice so small that no one could hear.

“Not much longer now…”

Askal, who had come to his room after laying Schmidt down, was mulling over what had happened in the carriage.

The flushed cheeks. The faint smile that seemed both present and absent.

The woman who was babbling her thoughts without even knowing what she was saying.

The expressions that changed wildly according to those thoughts.

Even the emotions that could be read from those expressions.

Askal recalled Schmidt touching his face. He had thought he would have no desire to hold a woman. However, when he grasped Schmidt’s wrists, he wanted to kiss her slightly parted lips with her surprised face.

He was afraid of women who approached without hesitation. The atmosphere felt from their excited breaths and expressions pained him, and he resented his father who had left trauma that prevented him from loving anyone.

But Schmidt was different. For reasons he couldn’t exactly pinpoint, it was okay when their hands touched, and it felt good even when their bodies made contact.

So he wanted to do even more than that. If Schmidt knew what kind of imagination he had in the carriage, she would have been afraid, calling him a beast.

‘Damn it.’

Askal noticed that his feelings for Schmidt were not just at the level of simple liking.

He realized he wanted to hold her, kiss her, lie in bed and whisper words of love.

He drank cold water repeatedly to quell the rising desire. But the thirst wouldn’t easily subside.

“…Is it okay for my heart to beat like this?”

His chest felt like it might burst. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink because of the pounding in his ears.