Leah also couldn’t sleep, and she was looking at him wrapped in a shawl.

“Can’t sleep?”

“A little.”

Before he knew it, Leah had come close and stood face to face with him.

“This place is much older and narrower than the Duke’s residence.”

No matter how old the Duke’s mansion was, it couldn’t compare to a mere orphanage.

‘Moreover, he spent his childhood in the royal palace, so how uncomfortable must his bed be.’

It was natural for the Duke to have trouble sleeping. So why did he bother to come all the way here and bring trouble upon himself?

Leah looked at him with a puzzled gaze.

“But why did you really come all the way here?”

“That’s……”

Akkia, who was contemplating what to answer for a moment, replied evasively.

“……In the past, the Hyderne territory owed a debt to the Tren region, so I came to see if there was anything I could help with.”

It was a plausible answer considering he had thought of it in a hurry, but Leah was not easily convinced.

“Then why don’t you come as His Grace the Duke of Hyderne, why bother……”

“I have to be a sickly duke.”

Ah. She had forgotten for a moment. How precarious the Duke’s situation was right now. The light atmosphere instantly turned heavy.

Feeling guilty for bringing up a bad past, Leah looked around to lighten the mood.

Trying to find a bright topic to talk about.

Suddenly, an old tree caught her eye.

“Oh! That tree is still standing!”

She deliberately drew Akkia’s attention with exaggerated gestures. An old swing hung from a lone zelkova tree on a small hill.

Leah ran to it as if she had seen something welcoming.

Akkia naturally followed Leah and stood in front of the tree, staring blankly at the swing. But for some reason, his complexion was more downcast than before.

Leah didn’t notice it though.

“When I was young, I often played on this swing. I even fought with the kids over who would ride it……”

She touched the ropes of the swing as if reminiscing about the longing past.

“Did you like swinging when you were young, Your Grace? Ah. I guess there wouldn’t be swings in the palace.”

“……There were. Swings.”

An arrogant man like him on a swing. No. Maybe he was quite cute when he was young.

Since the Duke was handsome, his childhood appearance must have been quite lovely.

“Then did you like swinging too, Your Grace?”

Even with Leah’s repeated questions, Akkia was at a loss for words. Because seeing the swing brought back memories of the past.

[Akkia.]

In his mind, a beautiful woman with a kind smile came to mind. Silver hair that shone like sunlight reflected on a lake and matching sky-blue eyes.

Akkia liked the swing that his mother pushed.

Unlike the suffocating royal lessons, he felt free like a bird when he was on the swing.

So Akkia liked the swing. Until his mother passed away so tragically.

“I……”

Just as he was frowning at the sudden memory of his childhood, Leah grabbed his hand.

“Why are you just standing there and looking? Let’s swing together after a long time! I’ll push you!”

“No. I……”

But before Akkia could refuse, he was already seated on the swing, led by Leah’s hand.

“Alright, here we go!”

Not even an eight-year-old child, and she’s going to push the swing. A chuckle involuntarily escaped at the sight of Leah treating him like a child.

But it was only for a moment, soon a cool night breeze swept through his hair. He unknowingly closed his eyes quietly at the sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time.

The memory of that day comes to mind. The happiest and brightest period of his life.

Because he knew better than anyone that it would never return.

‘Yes, this was the feeling. Maybe?’

He closed his eyes and tried to recall the memories of the past. It was the same. The scent of grass touching the tip of his nose and the cool wind permeating his whole body.

It created the illusion of returning to his childhood when he knew nothing. After a while, the speed of the swing gradually slowed down and eventually came to a stop.

“How was it? It’s fun, right?”

Leah asked in an excited voice as if she had ridden the swing herself. Akkia, who was sitting on the swing, tilted his head back.

“Huh? Your Grace?”

Leah also lowered her head and asked him again.

− Rustle.

Then her crimson hair cascaded down, tickling Akkia’s face. It was a distinctly different feeling from when the wind tickled his face.

Had he ever seen her face this close?

Apart from seeing Leah sleeping, this was probably the first time they had been this close.

Was it because of the freedom he felt after a long time? Or was it because it stimulated the buried nostalgia? She looked particularly pretty. Leah’s face.

Her leaf-like eyes were sparkling in the moonlight, emanating a noble light like emeralds.

Snow-white skin like a blank canvas. A high-bridged nose. And lips with a reddish tint like her hair.

His gaze lingered on her lips for a long time.

[The elder brothers at my workplace said that a woman’s lips are like a warm peach. Very soft, hot, and sweet.]

Suddenly, he wondered.

What would it feel like to touch those red-tinged lips that looked like a ripe peach?

Would it really taste sweet like biting into a soft, mushy peach?

“Your Grace?”

Leah asked again, wondering if it was strange that the Duke was just sitting still.

“Do you like peaches?”

It was too impulsive. As much as the question he blurted out.

“Huh? Peaches?”

Coming here too. And.

“Yes, I like them. But why are you suddenly asking that?”

Akkia’s hand, which had been holding the rope, was now touching Leah’s cheek.

“I’m curious about the taste.”

Kissing Leah’s lips like this too.

As soon as he finished speaking, Akkia pulled Leah’s face down.

Although he couldn’t see because his eyes were closed, he could tell from the heat transmitted through his palm.

That Leah’s face would be as red as her crimson hair.

Akkia, who briefly touched his lips and pulled away, looked at Leah. She was wide-eyed, probably startled by the unexpected situation.

“Sweet.”

Theo was right. A woman’s lips were sweet.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Haa…….”

Leah, who was cleaning the interior of the orphanage, let out deep sighs as if the ground would collapse. That night, she didn’t even know in what state of mind she returned to her room.

Because she was busy running away like someone being chased, unable to say a word to the Duke’s unexpected action.

‘By the way, I thought you liked men?!’

Leah had firmly believed that the Duke liked men, so the incident that day came as an even greater shock.

A light kiss, ambiguous to be called a kiss. The duration of the lips touching was fleeting, but the sensation was as vivid as if it were imprinted.

[Sweet.]

The words he recited to her with a languid gaze lingered in her ears like tinnitus.

And.

− Thump, thump.

She quietly placed her hand on her chest, where her heart was pounding just like that night. Since then, Akkia was always at the end of Leah’s gaze.

As if her mind could only think of Akkia.

“Haa….. I’m going crazy.”

Leah lowered her head, disliking herself for being like this. She was now confused about what face to show the Duke in the future.

She couldn’t even remember how she had treated the Duke before that incident happened.

On the other hand, the Duke……

“Why does he seem like nothing happened!”

Although she had been avoiding him, shouldn’t he at least provide some explanation for doing such a thing?

Recalling the Duke’s appearance of acting as if nothing had happened since that day, a sense of injustice surged within her.

“Could it be.”

Was it a mistake? Was he drunk, so he doesn’t remember…….

But Leah soon shook her head. Where would there be alcohol in the orphanage? Moreover, there wasn’t even the smell of alcohol coming from the Duke that day.

Leah was pulling her hair out of frustration when.

“Theo?”

Theo was standing at the doorway, looking at Leah, not knowing when he had arrived.

Was the work too hard? Unlike a few days ago, there was a shadow on Theo’s face.

“Is something wrong? You don’t look well.”

Feeling unnecessarily worried, Leah approached Theo and patted his shoulder. Then, he glanced at her face and moved his lips.

“You know, Leah……”

“Yes.”

Indeed. There must have been something bad that happened. However, Theo, who was only mumbling like a goldfish, soon shook his head.

“No……”

‘There’s definitely something bad going on.’

Leah, who felt sorry for not paying attention to her old friend because she was distracted by other things, urged him.

Then suddenly, Theo held Leah’s hand in return.

“……Leah. You must be happy.”

“Huh?”

Theo, wiping away slightly tearful eyes, covered his mouth with his hand and ran off somewhere.

Leah stood blankly, dazed by his appearance that resembled a tragic heroine bidding farewell.

“What’s wrong with him again?”

Anyone who saw him would think he had been dumped. It was suspicious enough to wonder if there was medicine in the water. There were many people acting unexpectedly.

‘Theo is like that, and so is His Grace…… Yes, among them, His Grace is the strangest!’

There were more than one or two strange things.

Not only did he suddenly come to Tren, but despite being a weakling, he was helping with the work at the orphanage, pretending to be an assistant.

And suddenly kissing her. Just as she was seriously considering examining the drinking water, another presence was felt.

“I was wondering where you went, but you were here.”

Akkia looked down at Leah with a tilted posture.

“Y-Your Grace?”

She stuttered unconsciously at the Duke’s sudden appearance. This was the first time she had faced him since that night, as she had been busy running away whenever she saw Akkia.

“Hmm. Your face is red.”

He tilted his head as if trying to gauge something.

“I-Is that so? Is it very hot? Haha.”

Why did she keep stammering like a fool?

Even when she tried to calm down, her heart was pounding like crazy and her face felt hot. Unlike Leah, Akkia asked in a calm manner.

“That young lad didn’t say anything strange, did he?”

“Pardon?”

‘Why is Theo being brought up here all of a sudden?’

A look of puzzlement spread across Leah’s face.

Soon, thinking that nothing had been said between the two, Akkia replied with a more relaxed expression.

“Well, if he didn’t say much, nevermind.”

But.

‘Why is he so calm?’

Seeing the Duke so nonchalant, she began to feel a sense of injustice for some reason.

‘It was His Grace who kissed me first, but why am I the only one feeling uncomfortable!’

The very person who caused it was standing there with such a peaceful face.

It was too unfair to be unfair.